[Part I] The Greatest Disgrace in Marine History (One Piece)

Chapter 2.80: Weapons Should Not Have Freedom

The New World — waters near Wano Country.

Prison.

The sweltering air gathered into droplets on the jagged stone ceiling, falling with slow, rhythmic drips. In the empty and deathly still prison, the sound was piercing.

Two bloodstained figures sat in the darkened cell, their wounds no longer bleeding, but still raw.

"Never thought I'd end up locked in the same prison as a Marine... and yet here we are."

Bullet leaned his back against the blood-smeared, freezing wall, head tilted up slightly, eyes blankly staring at the ceiling above.

His long blond hair was matted, caked in dried blood.

Darren rolled his eyes weakly, the corners of his lips twitching.

The high-purity seastone shackles around his wrists drained him like nothing else—his body felt heavier than it ever had.

"Yeah, well… I didn’t think a Marine like me would be imprisoned in a pirate’s dungeon either."

He licked his cracked lips.

"I figured, if I ever got thrown in a cell, it’d be after pulling off something world-shattering. Maybe get a bounty from the World Government and end up in Impel Down or something."

Bullet glanced at him.

"Heard from Kaido that you're a 'monster' among the Marines... Someone like you, they’d do everything to cultivate. With time, you’d definitely become an Admiral. No way they'd let you get captured."

Their battle had left a deep impression on Bullet.

True, the one who'd gone head-to-head with him was that Sakazuki guy.

But Darren’s bizarre Devil Fruit power, his ruthless decisiveness, and precise control of the battlefield made him even more difficult to deal with.

People like that always survived war.

Bullet knew—because he was one of them.

"Who knows?"

Darren gave a crooked smile.

Whether it was the lingering effects of the mummy virus or just blood loss and exhaustion, his consciousness was starting to blur.

"Weren’t you a national hero too? And in the end, the World Government branded you a criminal. The world’s twisted like that—who really understands it?"

Bullet fell silent.

Darren said no more either, leaning against the wall to rest.

"I'm not a deserter."

Bullet spoke suddenly, voice raspy.

"Sakazuki called me one. But I’m not."

He clenched his one remaining hand into a tight fist, veins bulging on the back.