Chapter 24: For the Sake of Balance! Six Years Pass in a Blink

Loya was flying high in the sky.

Clutching Bullet in his hand, he soared above a massive fortress nestled in a mountain pass. This was a stronghold belonging to the opposing force of Bullet's faction, and it was where the enemy army that had previously clashed with them was stationed.

"Are you ready, Bullet?" Loya asked.

"Reporting! Ready for deployment at any time!"

Even while flying hundreds of meters in the air, Bullet’s expression remained unchanged. Although he was only seven years old, he was the second-strongest seven-year-old in the world today.

"Remember to use your elemental form."

With that, Loya threw Bullet from the high altitude. Feeling the whistling wind in his ears and watching the ground draw closer, a brilliant smile spread across Bullet’s face—a face that looked youthful despite having weathered many storms. He had realized long ago that whenever he went into battle, he felt genuinely excited.

"Bullet, deploy!"

The boy's body suddenly melted, transforming into a mass of silvery liquid.

The next instant.

Boom!

The heavy mass of mercury crashed directly into the central plaza of the fortress, smashing a massive crater into the sturdy ground. A cloud of dust and smoke rose into the air.

"What’s going on?" The soldiers within the fortress immediately went on alert. "An air raid?"

Before they could react, a black shadow surged out from the smoke. Bullet looked at the panicked enemy soldiers before him, and with a mere thought, his fists transformed into spheres of mercury. He then unleashed a backhand punch at the enemy.

Although mercury was a liquid, the combination of speed and mass gave it astonishing power. The enemy's body was twisted by the impact, and without even a chance to scream, he was sent flying.

The power of the punch was immense! Bullet felt amazed, like a child who had just received a new toy.

*I can make it even bigger!*

He transformed both of his fists to a size of one meter and instinctively swung at the enemies. However, the fists were a bit too heavy, and instead of hitting his targets, he stumbled.

By now, the enemy had regained their composure.

"There’s only one enemy! Kill him!!" an officer commanded.

*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!*

A dense hail of gunfire erupted. Bullet panicked for a split second, thinking, *Oh no, I’ve lost my balance, I can't dodge!*

He was riddled with bullets like a sieve.

"Huh?"

Bullet steadied himself and looked down at his body. It didn’t hurt at all! From each mercury-colored hole, the bullets were being squeezed out.

"That's right! I can turn into an element!"

Loya had told him about his ability on the way here. What was there to be afraid of?

Bullet’s smile widened as he locked onto the enemy officer commanding from the second floor of the fortress. "Die!!"

He swung his right arm with all his might, launching the massive mercury fist.

"What!"

The officer had no time to react. He was struck by the flying mercury fist and sent crashing into the wall behind him, where his body burst into a spray of blood.

"I can do this too!"

Bullet’s eyes lit up as he discovered a new way to fight. He swung his fists repeatedly, launching spheres of mercury. While the speed wasn't particularly fast, when combined with their weight, they easily smashed through walls, and every soldier struck was flattened instantly.

However, Bullet’s breathing began to quicken. *This uses up too much stamina.*

*In that case...*

Having grown up in the midst of battle and weaponry, Bullet quickly came up with a new idea.

"Mercury Gatling!"

His hands transformed into the shape of Gatling guns. The next moment, *da-da-da-da!* Finger-sized mercury bullets sprayed out. The enemy soldiers fell in rows, like harvested wheat.

"Hahahaha! Die, all of you!!" Bullet roared with laughter; the slaughter had him completely exhilarated.

"It’s a Devil Fruit user! Take cover! Everyone, take cover!!"

The enemy soldiers realized how terrifying he was. Neither guns, cannons, nor swords had any effect! How were they supposed to deal with an enemy like this?

"Trying to hide?" Bullet took a deep breath. "Taste this!"

White, nearly translucent mist spread instantly from his body, sweeping across the fortress like a gale. The first to suffer were the enemies closest to him. The boiling point of mercury is over three hundred degrees, and its maximum temperature can reach over a thousand—comparable to magma. This was not a power a normal person could resist.

"Aaaaaah!"

Piercing screams erupted from the mist, making the skin of the remaining soldiers crawl. The unlucky ones were scalded to death before the poison could even take effect.

"Monster! It's a monster!!"

Finally, the soldiers completely broke, throwing down their weapons and attempting to flee. But how could they hope to defeat such an enemy? This was not an opponent they were meant to face.

"No one is getting away!"

Bullet knew nothing of mercy. In his worldview, one had to wipe out the enemy completely. He transformed entirely into steam, weaving through the fortress like the wind, with more mercury vapor billowing from his body. Eventually, a semi-transparent fog enveloped the entire fortress, and the cries of agony began to fade away.

Loya landed lightly on the top of the fortress and took a deep breath. "A very suitable ability for cooking, isn't it, Bullet?"

Delicious. Nothing more needed to be said.

"Bullet, how do you feel?" Loya asked casually.

The swirling steam converged, and Bullet’s figure appeared within the mist. "Reporting! It feels great!"

"Very good."

Loya was also satisfied. The boy adapted to his ability very quickly.

Soon, Gray and Dylan hurried over. Seeing the corpses strewn across the fortress, even someone as experienced as Dylan couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The boy was already extraordinary, but after gaining a Logia-type ability, he had evolved into a monster in his youth.

"Did Bullet really do all of this by himself?"

Douglas Gray, who had been beaten severely and looked quite weak, was now flushed with excitement. "Excellent! This fortress was the hardest to defend and the most difficult to attack! Now that it has fallen, our army can push straight through!"

"Oh?" Loya, having returned to his human form, turned around. "Are you saying this fortress is that important?"

"Yes, Lord Loya!" Gray replied with gratitude. "Thank you so much! Perhaps the civil war that has lasted for decades will finally come to an end because of this!"

"How can that be?" Loya said, suddenly looking serious. "We are only guests; how could we interfere in the internal affairs of this island?"

"Eh?" Gray looked bewildered.

"How about this? For the sake of balance," Loya looked at Gray, his pupils and irises suddenly inverting in color. "Do you want to become the king of this island?"

*King?*

An irrepressible ambition surged in Gray’s heart. *Yes, if I have the support of Lord Loya, how hard would it be to rule this entire island? I want it, I want it, I want to be king!*

"A very good look in your eyes," Loya said with a smile. "In that case, the first step is to get rid of your superiors and take the position yourself."

*That's right!* As long as he killed the old men above him, he could ascend to the top! The darkness in Gray's eyes grew deeper, and his expression became increasingly manic. "I understand, Lord Loya. I finally understand what I must do!"

His enemy wasn't the opposing army! Relying on killing the enemy to get promoted was too slow! The real enemies were in the rear!

"Good." The strange phenomenon in Loya's eyes faded. "Go do what you must."

"Yes!"

The darkness in Gray's eyes gradually dissipated, but the manic excitement on his face remained undiminished. For those with weak wills, even a castrated version of malicious manipulation in human form was enough to cause irreversible damage to their psyche. Turning a good man evil or driving a villain to madness was, for Loya, as easy as flipping his hand.

Gray ran off in high spirits.

"Now then, we should find a place to settle down as well," Loya said.

"Don't we need to conquer this island?" Dylan asked.

"Oh, don't be so unfriendly; we are guests," Loya said with a smile. "This country is already quite nice; what right do we have to change it?"

"Yes."

And so, Loya officially settled in the country. In the blink of an eye, six years passed.

The year was now 1490 of the Sea Circular Calendar.