I Am the King of the North Blue

Dust billowed into the air.

Cold steel danced in a relentless frenzy.

Vinsmoke Judge stared at the Germa Kingdom, now largely reduced to ruins, his eyes threatening to burst from their sockets.

"Damn you!! I am the man destined to lead Germa to conquer the North Blue!!"

Darren squinted and smiled:

"The Navy is the true hegemon of this sea... As for the title of King of the North Blue, I won't be handing that over to you."

He raised his hand and swept it forward.

Dozens of twisted steel bars suddenly erupted, violently elongating as they pierced the air under the influence of the magnetic field, whistling toward Vinsmoke Judge.

Screech!!

White smoke suddenly jetted from the heels of Vinsmoke Judge's Battle Suit boots, and propelled by the thrusters, his figure soared from the spot like a monstrous bird.

"Then let me show you the true power of Germa 66!! You brat, Darren!!"

He brandished his metal spear, knocking away the steel bars that were piercing toward him at high speed, and dove down from high altitude, his golden hair fluttering behind him.

Zzzzz...

Sparkling blue electricity bloomed on the spear, emitting a dazzling light.

"Electromagnetic Thrust!!"

In the blink of an eye, Vinsmoke Judge had dove right in front of Darren, gripping the electrified spear with both hands and thrusting it down ferociously!

The high-temperature current and the piercing force caused the very air to explode with a deafening crack.

"The power of technology, is it?"

Facing the electrified spear capable of piercing steel and fortresses alike, Darren merely chuckled.

The oncoming gale ruffled his black hair, and even as the tip of the spear drew closer to his brow—close enough that he could feel the searing heat of the current—he maintained his smile.

An invisible magnetic field fluctuation suddenly rippled out from his body.

The next second, The air seemed to ripple.

The explosive spear felt as if it had stabbed into a mass of transparent paste; its piercing speed slowed drastically, until it finally ground to a complete halt.

Vinsmoke Judge's pupils constricted.

No matter how hard he pushed to drive the spear forward, the high-tech weapon that had never failed him remained motionless, as if gripped tightly by a giant hand.

"Using the power of technology against me—that is your greatest folly."

Darren said calmly.

"Damn it!! I don't believe it!!"

Vinsmoke Judge roared hysterically, abandoning the spear in his hand. He spun his body in mid-air, his boots erupting with dazzling electric light as he delivered a heavy, horizontal kick toward Darren's head.

"Electromagnetic Smash!"

Yet, the same scene played out once more.

The boots, still venting white plumes of air, were "frozen" and "imprisoned" in mid-air by that bizarre power, unable to move an inch further.

A look of horror flashed across Vinsmoke Judge's face.

His high-tech weapons... were they completely countered by this guy's Devil Fruit ability!?

Before he could react, Vinsmoke Judge felt a blur before his eyes, and the Navy Captain in front of him had vanished.

Such speed!!

An explosive gust of wind detonated at his side, and Vinsmoke Judge gritted his teeth, a chill running down his spine.

Behind him, his fluttering cape suddenly writhed like a living creature, wrapping around his body.

BOOM!!

A military boot slammed heavily into his abdomen.

Under the eruption of massive force, the commander of Germa 66 was sent flying backward like a cannonball, hurtling toward a military fortress in the distance.

Rumble...

The entire castle was pierced through in an instant, dense cracks spreading across the walls before it collapsed with a thunderous roar.

Countless stones fell, and the earth groaned under the unbearable weight.

Darren landed steadily.

"Damn it!! This is impossible!! My technology is supposed to be invincible!!"

Watching Vinsmoke Judge's figure stumble as he crawled out from the ruins, a satisfied smile curled the corners of Darren's mouth.

He was testing the power of the Battle Suit.

Vinsmoke Judge was different from the children he would later have; his body had not undergone any technological genetic modification, and he lacked that monster-like physique impervious to blades and bullets.

The vast majority of his strength was derived from his high-tech weapon—the Battle Suit.

If he were stripped of the Battle Suit, his strength would not exceed that of a Marine field officer.

Although this was only the first generation of the Battle Suit and its power was far inferior to its performance during the Whole Cake Island arc, it was still quite impressive.

Looking at it now, at least judging by the intensity of Vinsmoke Judge's attacks and the defensive capabilities of his cape just moments ago... Darren was quite satisfied with the power of this first-generation Battle Suit.

At the very least, within his estimations, any Marine who had undergone professional training would likely gain combat prowess no less than that of a Marine Commodore if equipped with a similar Battle Suit.

And just at this moment—

"Hahahaha!! Let me help you out, Darren!! Gion's partner from Marine Headquarters, Gion's partner... will defeat the commander of this evil army in this battle, save the Yadis Kingdom from the flames of war, and become a hero of the Marines!!"

A wild, arrogant burst of laughter drifted over from not far away.

Darren was stunned and turned his head to look.

He saw that his own warship had docked at some point, and Gion and Momonga were leading the Marines in a fierce battle against the remnants of the Clone Soldiers.

Gion's partner's figure charged out from the crowd with great momentum, kicking up rolling dust as he lunged toward Vinsmoke Judge like a hot knife through butter.

Several black lines appeared on Darren's forehead.

This guy... trying to steal the spotlight again?

He instinctively wanted to speak up, but unexpectedly, Gion's partner laughed haughtily:

"Darren, don't you dare interfere!!"

Darren thought for a moment and stopped in his tracks.

Seeing this, Gion's partner was ecstatic.

Looking at the panting Vinsmoke Judge, he couldn't help but curl his lips into a smug smile.

From the exchange just now, he had already realized that this guy wasn't very strong.

As long as he could knock this guy down, Gion would definitely look at him in a new light.

Even if that didn't work, he would still become the hero who saved the Yadis Kingdom; how many ladies and misses would be waiting for his care then?

Thinking this, Gion's partner's charging pace grew faster and faster.

"Commander of the 'Evil Army' Vinsmoke Judge, I, Marine Headquarters Major Gion's partner, in the name of Justice..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

BOOM!

A combat boot wreathed in blue electrical sparks landed squarely on his face.

And then, He flew backward at twice the speed of his charge, crashing through a military fortress.

Not far away, Momonga covered his face with his hand in agony.

Vinsmoke Judge hadn't been defeated so thoroughly because he was weak; it was just that Darren was too strong...

Gion shook her head, speechless.

After kicking away the idiot Marine who had popped out of nowhere, Vinsmoke Judge turned back, panting heavily, and stared fixedly at Darren.

"Damn it all... one after another, you Marines are all such eyesores!!"

BOOM!

The combat boots on his feet spewed high-heat air currents once more, and his figure soared into the air, diving toward Darren again.

He absolutely refused to admit that the technology he had painstakingly researched from Vegapunk could lose so thoroughly.

However, facing his onslaught, Darren simply raised his hand and made a light, grasping motion.

An invisible magnetic field expanded and took effect.

Vinsmoke Judge's figure stalled in mid-air.

The next instant, excruciating pain surged from his hands and feet.

SHING!!

The sound of flesh being pierced rang out.

The metal spear in his hand, As well as the combat boots he wore, The loaded metal components writhed like living creatures, piercing through his hands and feet and leaving him dripping with blood.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!"

Intense pain forced a howl from his throat.

But soon, several thick steel bars erupted from beneath the ground, coiling around him like pythons and pinning him tightly in mid-air.

Clang!

A piece of metal sealed his mouth, cutting his wail off abruptly.

Thick, blood-red veins densely crowded the area around his pupils.

"Shh..."

The Marine Captain walked up to him, made a gesture for silence, and smiled elegantly:

"My apologies, but your plan to dominate the North Blue ends here."