"Impressive presence... this Daren kid..."
At the edge of the training field, Zephyr stood with his arms crossed. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the black-haired Marine at the center of the grounds. A satisfied smile curled at the corner of his lips.
He'd already reviewed the combat intel Sengoku had submitted on Daren, but paper reports were one thing—Zephyr preferred to see a man's strength with his own eyes.
Still, if the reports weren't wrong...
Zephyr's body tensed slightly.
He needed to be ready to step in at a moment's notice...
...
In the middle of the scorching, sand-blown training field, Daren and Dalmatian stood ten meters apart, locking eyes.
"Daren, are you ready? I know you just got out of the hospital today," Dalmatian asked in a low voice.
Daren smiled.
"No problem. Come on—it's not like you'll make me break a sweat."
The calm, almost indifferent tone instantly got under Dalmatian's skin.
"Then don't blame me for going all out!!"
With a beast-like roar, his body underwent a dramatic transformation.
His frame grew taller and more muscular in full view, the uniform ripping apart as thick, bulging muscles swelled beneath it. His bronze skin quickly sprouted fur marked with spotted patterns. His fingers sharpened into claws, and his legs shifted, bursting through his boots and becoming the powerful hind limbs of a canine.
Zoan-type, Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Dalmatian—Hybrid Form!
A wild, primal aura surged from Dalmatian's body.
"So that's how it is..." Daren muttered.
As Dalmatian shifted from human to hybrid, Daren could feel his life-magnetic field spike by more than thirty percent.
"A full-body enhancement from a Zoan-type... can't help but be a little jealous."
Among the three main classes of Devil Fruits—Logia, Zoan, and Paramecia—only the Zoan-type directly boosts physical attributes and close-combat prowess.
In that sense, Zoan fruits were the ideal choice for hand-to-hand specialists.
But before Daren could finish his thought, Dalmatian made his move!
With a slight bend of his knees, the ground beneath him cracked. Shards of stone flew into the air as he exploded forward like a pouncing predator.
He moved so fast he left afterimages trailing in his wake.
"What speed!"
"No wonder he's a Zoan user!"
"He's like a beast on the hunt!"
The surrounding Marines were wide-eyed, some even cheering.
In an instant, Dalmatian was upon Daren.
He raised his clawed hand high and slashed down at the Commodore's chest with a force that could shred solid rock!
Ssssh!!
But the expected sound of flesh tearing didn't come—instead, a harsh metallic screech echoed across the field.
Dalmatian's pupils shrank into needles. His face twisted in disbelief.
His claws, strong enough to gouge through stone, had only sparked against Daren's skin, barely leaving a scratch.
And he wasn't the only one stunned—the watching Marines were equally shocked, eyes wide in disbelief.
That guy... just tanked it with his body?
What the hell is his skin made of?
Steel!?
Zephyr's eyes lit up, heart pounding as he clenched his fists.
It's real.
The intel was true.
That brat actually trained his body to the level of Tekkai—an iron body!
"Speed's decent. Strength? Not so much."
Daren stood motionless, offering a calm critique with a smile.
"No way!!"
Dalmatian snarled, blood rushing to his eyes.
He launched a flurry of strikes, his claws blurring with speed, raining down on Daren like a violent storm.
"Fang Claw Barrage!!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Like bullets pounding steel, each strike landed with a dull thud. Daren's uniform was punctured all over, but he didn't budge an inch.
"Damn it! Your body—!"
Dalmatian leapt into the air, twisted mid-air, and lashed out with a crushing roundhouse kick aimed at Daren's neck.
Boom!!
A shockwave rippled out, but Daren's head merely tilted slightly to the side.
Dalmatian's pupils quivered.
The Marines around them stared, frozen.
"Still don't get it?"
"I defeated Byrnndi World—sure, with some outside help..."
Even as Dalmatian's leg pressed against him, Daren slowly turned his head, eyes sharp and looking down on his opponent.
"But that doesn't mean I don't have the strength to back it up."
Boom...
He raised a hand—and grabbed Dalmatian's leg.
Dalmatian's face changed dramatically.
Before he could react, the world spun violently, flipping upside down—
Daren hurled him.
With monstrous force, Dalmatian was sent flying through the air, crashing like a cannonball into the wall of an abandoned military fortress a hundred meters away.
The fortress shook. Stone cracked. A gaping hole opened in the wall as Dalmatian's body embedded itself inside, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
But his eyes were locked on the Marine Commodore in the distance. His Zoan instincts were screaming—this man was a threat like nothing he'd ever felt.
"Now... let me show you what real strength and speed look like."
Daren casually tore off the tattered remains of his uniform.
Then, like a knight, he dipped his knees slightly and offered a graceful bow.
And in the next instant, a terrifying sight unfolded—
The ground within thirty meters of Daren crumbled at once. A column of sand and dirt shot ten meters into the air.
The entire training field shook violently, and many stumbled where they stood.
Then—
A massive figure burst through the rising debris like a shell fired from a heavy cannon, tearing through the air.
In the blink of an eye, he was face-to-face with Dalmatian.
The Commodore's presence exploded, his aura wild and unrestrained.
A black leather glove clenched into a massive fist and rose high into the air.
Tokikake covered his eyes, his mouth twitching.
The other Marines could only watch in stunned silence.
Kuzan's eyes blazed with intensity.
Dalmatian's pupils trembled. Under this crushing pressure, it felt like his heart had stopped.
A wave of pure terror surged up inside him.
As the howling wind closed in, it was as if the entire world had vanished.
All that remained... was that comet-like fist, growing ever larger in his vision.
"Daren!!"
Zephyr's shout rang out in the distance.
The punch fell.
BOOM!!
The shockwave brushed past Dalmatian's ear.
Behind him, the wall rumbled with a deep, echoing thud.
The world fell silent.
Dalmatian stood frozen, gasping for breath.
Sunlight poured down from above.
In front of him was Daren's face—calm, confident, and touched with a devilish smirk.
"Well then, Dalmatian... I look forward to working with you."
Daren smiled, lowered his fist, and turned away.
And the next second—
In front of everyone's horrified, speechless stares—
BOOM!!
A massive crater appeared in the center of the fortress, blasting clean through the building.
Then—
The towering, twenty-meter structure...
Collapsed in on itself with a thunderous crash!
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake