Zzzzzzz...
Blue arcs of electricity crackled in midair, faint currents dancing across the surfaces of the steel beasts.
Massive limbs raised high, heads looming like mountains, black cannons locked and ready to fire—yet with just a single step from the black-haired young man, everything froze.
The world fell utterly silent, as if even time had come to a halt.
Only the immense shadows cast by the metal giants quivered faintly in the wind.
Stussy let out a slow breath.
Looking at the tall, unwavering figure ahead of her, a deep sense of security filled her chest.
He stood alone, facing over a dozen towering steel monsters that could drive anyone to despair—yet the pressure he gave off made it feel as if not even a thousand soldiers could break through.
"Life signs scanned... vitals locked... behavioral data analyzed... ultra-dense alloy exoskeletons, rocket launchers and laser cannons far beyond this era's norm..."
Daren rubbed his chin as he studied the paralyzed mechanical beasts with genuine interest, clicking his tongue in appreciation.
"Vegapunk really lives up to his name. This level of weapon engineering… it blows Germa 66 out of the water."
He waved a hand casually.
One of the beasts, shaped like a mechanical tiger, floated into the air and flew toward him.
As it hovered in midair, Daren curled a finger.
The seemingly indestructible armor began to ripple and dissolve like liquid metal, revealing the intricate core inside.
Perfectly aligned gears, bearings glowing red from heat, and integrated circuits sparking with live current—its complex inner framework was laid bare before Daren and Stussy.
"Any one of these metal beasts could go toe-to-toe with pirates worth over 100 million in bounty..."
Stussy shook her head, a hint of awe in her expression.
"Too bad in front of your Devil Fruit power, they're nothing more than scrap—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Because in that moment, she realized—forget pirates with 100 million bounties. Even those infamous New World monsters with over a billion on their heads... weren't that different from scrap metal either.
To this man, it didn't matter.
They'd all be crushed in a single blow.
So what was the difference between a billion and ten billion?
This guy always played the part of a cheeky, unserious rogue when he was around her. It was easy to forget how terrifying he actually was out there in the real world.
"They might not be much of a threat to top-tier fighters, but... if possible, I'd love to get a few of these steel beasts deployed in the North Blue fleet."
Daren smiled faintly.
Stussy rolled her eyes.
Ever since she saw the North Blue fleet's terrifying readiness firsthand, she'd had a question nagging at her.
Why was someone like Daren—already absurdly powerful—so obsessed with pushing his fleet's firepower even further? It was like a compulsion.
She didn't get it.
But what Stussy didn't know was that in Daren's previous life, this sort of obsession had a name.
It was called "Firepower Deficiency Anxiety."
Just then, Daren casually snapped his fingers.
A pulse of invisible electromagnetic energy rippled out from him like a shockwave.
Around them, the steel giants suddenly shuddered—the red glow in their eyes blinked out all at once.
"What did you just do?"
Stussy asked, clearly intrigued.
Daren smiled.
"Just a little trick. A quick burst of low-frequency electromagnetic waves—an EMP, basically. It wipes the integrated circuits in electronic devices... In simpler terms, I fried their 'brains' from a distance."
Since awakening his Devil Fruit, his magnetic field control had advanced far beyond what it was before.
Back then, if he wanted to destroy machines like these, he'd need to brute-force it—overwhelm them with a crushing magnetic surge.
Now, all it took was a pulse. A whisper of magnetism.
And they all shut down like dolls with their strings cut.
Stussy nodded slowly, not fully grasping the theory—but deeply impressed by Daren's creativity in evolving his Devil Fruit powers.
"So, what now?"
Stussy glanced around at the kaleidoscope of bizarre buildings, a troubled look on her face.
They'd already looped around once and still hadn't found the lab's direction—they were clearly lost.
"If we can't find it ourselves... why not have someone show us the way?"
A sly smile curled at the corner of Daren's lips.
Stussy froze for a second, then suddenly sensed something. Her expression shifted dramatically.
Without hesitation, she spun around and lashed out with a Rankyaku kick.
A dark green slicing wave ripped through the air, tearing up the ground like a falcon in freefall. It shot straight toward a shadowy figure that had appeared out of nowhere...
And carved a gaping wound straight through his torso.
"Well, that's terrifying... Never thought a senior CP0 agent like Stussy would end up working with the World Government's top enemy—the so-called 'World's Number One Criminal.'"
The sliced figure shimmered, bursting into a storm of golden photons that quickly gathered back together and reassembled his body.
A tall, uncanny silhouette slowly materialized.
Black hair. Oversized toad sunglasses. A yellow-and-white striped suit. He was stroking his unshaven chin with one hand, staring at Daren and Stussy with a look of amused interest.
"Kizaru!"
Stussy's heart skipped. Her body tensed instinctively.
The man standing before her was, like Daren, one of those dubbed "monsters."
Not long ago, during a high-level meeting at Marine Headquarters, Borsalino, Sakazuki, and Kuzan were all promoted as candidates for Admiral. Each received their own Marine code name—"Kizaru," "Akainu," and "Aokiji."
"Come on, don't be dramatic. I'm not the world's most wanted man anymore, Borsalino."
Daren turned around slowly, met Kizaru's gaze, and gave a calm smile.
"Been a while."
Borsalino shrugged, completely ignoring the tense and wary Stussy, and grinned at Daren.
"Yeah, long time no see, Daren."
"Oh, and... you're going the wrong way."
Then, without the slightest sign of wariness, he turned his back to them and casually started walking away.
"If you're looking for the lab, it's this way..."