A freezing shock swept down from above.
Darren's eyes gleamed with wild exhilaration. He stepped back and threw his fist up to meet the incoming blow.
"Bone-Shattering Meteor!"
Black lightning arced along his arm as it collided with the Ice Fist in a deafening blast.
Crackle…
Cracks laced through Kuzan's ice gauntlet, but the man only laughed, eyes burning with manic joy.
"Hahahaha! You broke my newest technique already… Darren, you really are my greatest rival—"
Boom!
Darren's boot slammed into his face, sending him hurtling through the air.
Crash!
Kuzan smashed into an armory. The structure trembled on the brink of detonation—until a wave of glacial white ice surged outward, freezing the whole building solid.
"A weak point!"
A massive shadow loomed. A Giant Vice Admiral, long hidden, strode forward, eyes gleaming. The fifteen-meter warrior swung his enormous battle-axe down at Darren.
The Vice Admiral raised a brow and lifted his Three-Fingered Dragon Claw.
Clang!
He caught the axe in mid-swing.
"Impressive strength," Darren said evenly, knuckles whitening as veins bulged. Then his grip tightened—and the steel weapon shattered in his hand.
The giant's pupils shrank. He barely had time to gasp before Darren seized his arm and wrenched him forward. His world spun, sky and earth twisting—then a hand the size of his own head clamped down on his face.
BOOM!
The giant's skull hit the ground hard enough to carve a crater. Blood ran from his mouth and nose; his eyes rolled back, teeth broken.
"Finding weakness isn't about looking," Darren said quietly, standing over him. "It's about perception."
One strike… he flattened a Giant Vice Admiral!
Vice Admiral Darren—no, Rogers Darren—has become something else entirely!
"Monster among monsters…"
Marines gaped in disbelief. None of the three "monster" Vice Admirals—Borsalino, Sakazuki, or Kuzan—had even drawn blood, and now a giant lay broken at Darren's feet.
"How are we supposed to fight this?"
"Damn it! Open fire!"
A Headquarters Vice Admiral roared.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Hundreds of rifles flared. Rockets streaked through the air. A storm of bullets and shells swallowed Darren whole.
Rounds sparked harmlessly from his skin, cratering the ground at his feet. A rocket screamed into his face—
BOOM!
Flames engulfed him.
Then he walked out of the inferno, untouched, smoke curling from the cigar between his teeth.
He advanced through the storm of fire as if on a stroll, eyes calm and pitiless.
"You should know by now—guns and cannons can't even scratch me."
Hearts pounded across the field. Watching that indestructible form stride through their full bombardment, the Marines trembled. Not even Kaido, the so-called strongest creature alive, could have done it with such ease.
The Marines' artillery was the finest in the world, capable of crippling the likes of Whitebeard or the Golden Lion under sustained fire. Against flesh and blood, it always mattered—until now.
But this man didn't even bother to defend. He simply stood there, untouchable. Despair spread through the ranks.
"Only Haki-infused attacks can hurt me," Darren said, exhaling a slow trail of smoke.
"Then I won't hold back, Darren!" rasped a voice behind him.
Dark shadows whipped upward as Onigumo's hair writhed, clutching eight gleaming swords like the limbs of a spider.
Rear Admiral Onigumo.
The blades plunged down—but Darren tilted his head aside, caught a handful of that thrashing hair, and yanked.
"Your swordsmanship's still sharp," he said with a grin, dragging Onigumo close. "But without the courage to face your enemy head-on, you'll never grow."
He swung the man by the hair and slammed him into the ground.
BOOM!
Onigumo's head buried into the earth, legs flailing helplessly. Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"That's gotta hurt…"
Before the dust settled, another voice cut in.
"Here I come, Darren!"
Doberman lunged forward, saber flashing in a perfect textbook arc. The emerald slash carved the ground—until Darren caught it with his bare hand, shattering it like glass. In the same instant he vanished, reappearing in front of the swordsman.
Too fast.
Boom!
The punch landed square in Doberman's gut, a white shockwave bursting from his back. The man froze, eyes twitching. His sword fell, knees buckled, and he doubled over retching.
"How many times have I told you? Tekkai's for bullying weaklings," Darren said, sounding genuinely disappointed.
Doberman made a strangled sound and collapsed unconscious.
For one breath, the world went silent.
Then the battlefield erupted.
"I'm next!"
"Kill him!!"
"Charge!!"
"Take down Vice Admiral Darren!!"
Eyes bloodshot, voices hoarse, Marine officers and soldiers drew their blades and surged forward.
At last, they understood.
This wasn't a battle.
It was Vice Admiral Darren—Marine Headquarters' Special Instructor—giving them their final lesson.
To be continued...