Blue skies stretched over the turquoise sea, and white clouds drifted overhead.
A massive warship sailed steadily across the boundless blue ocean, trailing a long white wake behind it.
In the dim cabin, Darren sat alone on the deck with his legs crossed and his eyes closed.
Lamplight cast his blurry shadow against the cabin wall.
Three smooth metal spheres floated in the air, orbiting his body.
If anyone had been there, they would probably have been astonished.
Because the three metal spheres circling the Marine Captain maintained an absolutely constant distance from one another, even as they moved!
That required an incredible degree of control.
Second by second, time passed.
With the slightest crook of Darren's fingers, the three metal spheres continuously changed shape as if they were liquid. Sometimes they stretched into sharp spikes; sometimes they twisted and writhed like sinister iron chains; sometimes they spread out into sturdy steel shields...
At one point,
Darren slowly opened his eyes.
The three metal spheres immediately drew together, merging and reshaping into a silver metal bracer that solidified around the Marine Captain's right wrist.
He let out a soft breath, a satisfied smile tugging at his lips.
Physique: 60.451
Strength: 55.890
Speed: 58.048
Devil Fruit: 71.871
"Sure enough, real combat and killing are what force you to grow faster..."
Using his Insight talent to assess his physical condition, Darren couldn't help but remark with a sigh.
Over the past few months, his training progress had slowed considerably. His speed and Devil Fruit abilities had even nearly ground to a halt.
Though he kept increasing the intensity of his training, his physical stats continued to improve little by little, but the rate of progress had become disappointing.
However, after his battle with Germa 66, Darren's physique and strength had both increased by more than a point.
Training alone would have taken at least a month to achieve the same results.
"It's a shame Germa 66 was too weak. They couldn't get me into the zone."
Darren smiled and lit a cigar.
Germa 66 and Vinsmoke Judge weren't weak, exactly. It was just that Darren's abilities were a perfect counter to Germa's technological weapons.
Without a doubt, if Darren hadn't appeared, Vinsmoke Judge and Germa 66 would have had more than enough military strength to "slay the kings of the four North Blue nations" and even dominate the North Blue.
"I sure miss fighting that lunatic, Sakazuki..."
Darren's eyes filled with nostalgia.
Before Sakazuki left the North Blue to train at Headquarters, he and Darren would often train and spar together without using their Devil Fruit abilities.
Of course, their "sparring" would have been life-threatening to anyone else.
After all, Sakazuki never held back.
One mistake could get you killed, and turn the whole thing into a tragic "accident."
During that period, Darren was badly injured almost every day. But he had loved the thrill of those fierce battles, of forcing himself past his limits in the face of death.
That had been the period when his strength had improved the fastest.
Unfortunately, those days were over.
After completing the Officer Training Camp at Headquarters under the tutelage of former Marine Admiral Black Arm Zephyr, Sakazuki had probably already mastered Haki.
The gap between Darren and him had grown impossibly wide.
After all, Teacher Kaido had said... Haki was the strongest power in this sea.
With that thought, Darren slowly stood up.
He wasn't in a hurry.
The third Officer Training Camp was about to begin, and barring any surprises, he had already secured a spot.
Though his talent was nowhere near the monstrous level of Sakazuki or Borsalino, Darren believed he could carve out a place for himself in the Marines with his abilities.
Before then, he had to build up the North Blue Fleet.
He would turn this powerful fleet, soon to be equipped with Germa technology, into a military force that belonged to him alone and took orders only from him.
A glint of determination flashed in Darren's deep-set eyes. He left the cabin and pushed open the door.
Sunlight poured down. Outside, Marine soldiers patrolled their posts and performed routine maintenance on their rifles and cannons.
On the spacious deck, Gion and Gion's partner were both drenched in sweat as they trained.
The latter was carrying a massive one-ton barbell, gritting his teeth and contorting his face as he did handstand push-ups.
The former gripped a long sword, her expression serious as she practiced her swordsmanship with precision. Her sharp blade sliced through the air, releasing a series of shrill whistles.
"Are those two losing their minds?"
Darren watched in confusion and asked Momonga, who was walking over.
Momonga helplessly rubbed his temples.
"The Germa 66 incident really shook them up, especially Gion's partner... He's been training like a madman ever since we got back."
Darren remembered the miserable sight of Gion's partner getting stomped in the face and kicked away by Vinsmoke Judge, and couldn't help laughing.
Boom!!
At that moment, a towering column of water erupted dozens of meters high beside the warship.
Towering waves surged up, and the entire ship suddenly rocked.
"What happened?!"
"Are we under attack?"
"No! It's—it's a Sea King!!"
"..."
The Marines on deck blanched and sprang into action, drawing their swords, raising their rifles, and adjusting the cannons aboard the ship.
A vast shadow slowly emerged from the spray, looming over the people before it and almost engulfing the entire warship.
The blazing sun overhead seemed to vanish, replaced by a monstrous creature standing a good sixty or seventy meters tall.
Its scales were black, and it had gill-like organs. It looked like a gigantic eel.
Its lantern-sized eyes looked down at the Marines on deck as it slowly opened its gaping maw, packed with rows of vicious teeth.
"A small Sea King?"
Darren studied the "monster fish" with interest.
At this point in time, Vegapunk hadn't yet figured out how to install Seastone on the bottoms of warships, allowing the Marines to cross the Calm Belt.
In other words, Sea Kings could still sense the presence of warships.
Momonga instinctively reached for the hilt of the sword at his waist, ready to strike.
But Darren put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.
Momonga paused, just as a loud yell rang out from the deck.
"HAHAHAHAHA!! Perfect timing!! I'll use you, you little worm, to test the results of my training!!"
As the arrogant laughter rang out, Gion's partner stepped on the warship's railing and shot upward like a cannonball.
Roar!!
The Sea King's blood-red eyes flashed with a humanlike fury. Seemingly enraged by the "ant's" insolence, it let out a deafening roar.
A torrent of sound crashed down, making many of the Marines on deck stagger and stumble.
The Sea King opened its tooth-filled maw and lunged to swallow Gion's partner, who had leapt high into the air.
Thud!!
Gion's partner threw a punch!
Visible ripples of force spread through the air.
The Sea King's eyes froze, its expression turning blank.
Crack, crack...
Under Gion's partner's punch, its teeth filled with dense cracks, then shattered.
Sea King: ...
Scalding tears welled in its eyes.
Just then,
Clang!!
The ringing of a Famous Sword being drawn suddenly rang out.
The golden blade tore through the air. A golden sword wave screamed across the sky, flashing through the air and disappearing in an instant.
Sshk!!
A thin line of blood slowly appeared along the neck of the poor Sea King.
One cut, two pieces!
Then,
Rumble!!
The Sea King's enormous head separated from its body and crashed into the sea, raising another surge of waves.
Blood gushed out, staining a vast stretch of ocean crimson.
On deck,
Gion's partner landed steadily and struck a pose he thought looked cool.
Gion calmly sheathed her sword, her cape billowing behind her.
The other Marines stared, dumbfounded, at Gion and her partner for effortlessly taking down the giant Sea King. A second later, they burst into jubilant cheers.
Some quickly threw out nets, eager to prepare an extra meal.
"Just as you'd expect from Headquarters' geniuses... Future Admiral candidates..."
Darren watched the scene and murmured in admiration.
From the two of them in action, Darren could tell at a glance that both had grown considerably stronger since arriving in the North Blue.
Gion's partner's strength, speed, and physical combat skills had improved by at least thirty percent.
As for Gion... she had even mastered the Flying Slash, able to unleash sword waves and step into the realm of a swordsman!
And in just a few days!!
Even if their terrifying talent wasn't quite on the level of "monsters" like Sakazuki and Borsalino, it wasn't far off.
"HAHAHAHAHA!! Darren, did you see that?!"
Gion's partner came over, looking smug, and flexed his arm to show off his biceps.
"That Sea King was huge, and this genius shattered all its teeth with one punch. Can you—"
Boom!!
At that moment, as if drawn by the Sea King's blood, another enormous wave erupted across the sea.
One,
Two,
Three,
A full eight Sea Kings, each over a hundred meters tall, raised their heads from the heaving sea and roared. Their deafening cries echoed across the ocean.
As their massive bodies twisted and rolled, they churned up towering waves and surged toward the warship.
The "tiny" warship trembled and rocked before the eight even larger Sea Kings.
Darren beckoned.
The metal bracer on his arm suddenly fell away, then twisted and stretched like a living thing, turning into a sharp spear that shot through the air.
Sharp cracks rang out as the terrifying force of the magnetic field propelled the metal spear. White ripples blossomed in the air wherever it passed.
Its speed reached its limit in an instant.
No one could see its path.
Everyone on deck felt their vision blur. It was as if something had darted back and forth through the air, a silver phantom.
The eight oncoming Sea Kings abruptly froze.
Sshk!!
Dense pinpricks of blood erupted across their bodies, and pressurized streams of blood sprayed out like water from sieves.
Rumble!!
One after another, the giant creatures crashed down, sending columns of water soaring into the sky.
Darren recalled the metal spear and reshaped it into a bracer, casually slipping it back onto his wrist. Behind him, the eight lifeless Sea Kings sank into the ocean.
He turned toward Gion's partner, who was staring in shock, and said,
"Major Gion's partner, what was it you were going to say?"
Gion's partner's mouth twitched. He laughed and said,
"I said you could definitely do even better than me!"
Darren looked at him, patted his shoulder, and gazed into the distance.
The outline of an island was beginning to appear on the far-off horizon.
"Get ready, everyone. We'll be landing on the island soon."
The corners of his mouth curled in a mocking half-smile.
"Our mission this time is to protect the great, sacred, and exalted Celestial Dragons."
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