Worthy of a Genius

The blue sky met the azure sea, with white clouds drifting lazily overhead.

A massive warship sailed at a steady pace across the endless expanse of the blue ocean, leaving a long, white wake trailing behind its stern.

Inside the dim cabin, Darren sat cross-legged on the deck, his eyes closed in solitude.

The light from an oil lamp cast a blurred shadow of his figure against the cabin wall.

Three smooth metal spheres floated in mid-air, orbiting his body in a centripetal motion.

If anyone were here to witness this, they would surely be astonished.

Because these three metal spheres, circling the Navy Captain, maintained an absolutely consistent relative distance from one another even while in motion!

This required an incredibly high level of control.

Time ticked away, second by second.

As Darren's fingers flicked gently, the three metal spheres shifted shapes like liquid; at one moment stretching into sharp, piercing spikes, at another twisting and writhing like insidious iron chains, and then expanding to spread out like sturdy steel shields...

At a certain moment, Darren slowly opened his eyes.

The three metal spheres immediately converged, finally reshaping into a silver metal bracer that locked onto the Navy Captain's right wrist.

He exhaled softly, a satisfied smile curling the corners of his mouth.

Physique: 60.451

Strength: 55.890

Speed: 58.048

Fruit: 71.871

"As expected, only true combat and slaughter can force one to grow faster..."

Darren used his Insight talent to perceive his physical condition, unable to help but sigh with emotion.

Over the past few months, his cultivation progress had essentially slowed down significantly; his speed and Devil Fruit abilities had even reached a near-standstill.

Although his various physical stats were still slowly rising as he increased the intensity of his training, the rate of improvement was far from satisfactory.

However, after the battle with Germa 66, both his physique and strength had increased by more than 1 point.

If he had relied on training alone, it would have taken at least a month to achieve the same result.

"It's just a pity that Germa 66 was too weak to truly push me into the zone."

Darren chuckled and lit a cigar.

Germa 66 and Vinsmoke Judge weren't actually weak; it was just that his own abilities were the perfect counter to Germa's technology.

Without a doubt, had he not appeared, Vinsmoke Judge and Germa 66's military might would have made "slaying the kings of the four North Blue nations" or even dominating the North Blue a task well within their reach.

"I really miss the days of brawling with that madman Sakazuki..."

Darren's gaze turned nostalgic.

Before Sakazuki left the North Blue to undergo training at Marine Headquarters, the two of them would often train and spar without using their Devil Fruit abilities.

Of course, their "sparring" would have looked like a death match to anyone else.

After all, that guy Sakazuki never held back.

A moment of carelessness could lead to being killed, only for it to be tragically written off as an "accident."

During that time, even though he was covered in heavy injuries almost every day, the sheer exhilaration of those battles—the state of being forced to break his limits while teetering on the edge of life and death—was something Darren found intoxicating.

That was also the period when his strength had leaped forward the fastest.

It was a pity that those days were in the past.

Following his training at the Headquarters Officer Academy and the tutelage of former Marine Admiral Black Arm Zephyr, Sakazuki had likely mastered Haki by now.

The gap between them had widened infinitely.

After all, Teacher Kaido had said... Haki is the most powerful ability on these seas.

Thinking this, Darren slowly stood up.

He was in no rush.

The third Officer Academy session was about to begin, and barring any accidents, he had already secured a spot.

Although his talent was far inferior to monsters like Sakazuki and Borsalino, Darren believed that with his own abilities, he would absolutely carve out a place for himself in the Navy.

And before that, he had to build up the North Blue Fleet.

He would forge this powerful fleet, soon to be armed with Germa technology, into a military force that belonged only to him and answered only to his command.

A flash of firm resolve crossed Darren's deep eyes as he walked out of the cabin and pushed the door open.

Sunlight poured down. Outside the cabin, rows of Navy soldiers were patrolling and standing guard, performing routine maintenance on their rifles and cannons.

And on the spacious deck, Gion and her partner were sweating profusely as they trained.

The former was hoisting a one-ton barbell, teeth gritted and face contorted in a grimace as he performed handstand push-ups.

The latter gripped his long blade, expression solemn, practicing his swordsmanship with methodical precision; the sharp edge sliced through the air, emitting a series of shrill whistles.

"Have those two lost their minds?"

Darren watched the scene with a puzzled look, turning to ask Momonga, who was walking over.

Momonga rubbed his temples in resignation.

"The Germa 66 incident hit them pretty hard, especially Gion's partner... he's been training like a madman ever since we got back."

Darren recalled the miserable sight of Gion's partner being stepped on the face by Vinsmoke Judge and kicked away, and he couldn't help but chuckle.

BOOM!!

Just then, a magnificent column of water dozens of meters high suddenly erupted on one side of the warship.

Raging waves surged in its wake, causing the entire vessel to sway violently.

"What happened!?"

"Is it an enemy attack?"

"No! It's, it's a Sea King!!"

"..."

The expressions of the Marines on deck shifted as they moved quickly, drawing sabers, raising rifles, and adjusting the ship's cannons.

A massive shadow slowly emerged from the splashing seawater, casting itself before them and nearly engulfing the entire warship.

The scorching sun above seemed to vanish, replaced by a gargantuan beast standing sixty or seventy meters tall.

Covered in pitch-black scales and possessing gill-like organs, it looked much like a colossal eel.

With pupils the size of lanterns, it looked down at the Marines on deck, slowly parting a blood-red maw filled with rows of menacing, razor-sharp teeth.

"A small Sea King?"

Darren examined the "strange fish" before him with keen interest.

At this point in time, Vegapunk had yet to develop the method of mounting Seastone to the hulls of warships, which would allow the Navy to traverse the Calm Belt.

In other words, Sea Kings could still sense the presence of warships during this era.

Beside him, Momonga instinctively reached out to grip the hilt of the saber at his waist, ready to strike.

Darren, however, pressed down on his shoulder and shook his head.

Momonga was stunned, only to hear a strange cry erupt from the deck.

"Hahahahaha!! Just in time!! I'll use you, little crawler, to test the fruits of this genius's training!!"

The moment the arrogant laughter rang out, Gion's partner stepped onto the ship's railing and launched himself backward like a cannonball.

ROAR!!

A flicker of human-like anger flashed in the Sea King's blood-red pupils; seemingly provoked by the audacity of this "ant," it let out a deafening roar.

The massive sound wave crashed down, causing many of the Marines on deck to stumble and sway.

The Sea King opened its tooth-filled maw and lunged to swallow Gion's partner whole as he leaped high into the air.

BANG!!

Gion's partner threw a punch!

Visible ripples of air pressure expanded outward.

The Sea King's pupils dilated, its expression turning blank with confusion.

Crack, crack, crack...

Under the force of that punch, its teeth began to develop dense, spiderweb-like cracks before shattering into pieces.

Sea King: ...

Scalding tears welled up in its eyes.

Just then, CLANG!!

The resonant hum of a famous blade leaving its scabbard exploded through the air.

A golden blade tore through the atmosphere, and a streak of golden sword light whistled across the void, vanishing in a flash.

SHING!!

A thin, long line of blood slowly appeared across the neck of the pathetic Sea King.

Severed in one stroke!

And then, RUMBLE!!

The massive head and body of the Sea King were severed, then plummeted into the sea, once again kicking up turbulent waves.

The continuously gushing blood dyed a large expanse of the sea surface a deep crimson.

On the deck.

Gion's partner landed steadily, striking a pose he considered dashing.

Gion sheathed her blade with a cold expression, her cape billowing wildly behind her.

The other marines stared in astonishment at Gion and Gion's partner, who had effortlessly dealt with the giant Sea King; after a second of silence, they erupted into joyful cheers.

Some were even quick to cast out nets, preparing for an extra meal.

"Truly worthy of being the geniuses of Headquarters... future Admiral candidates indeed..."

Darren watched this scene, murmuring to himself with a sigh.

Through their display, Darren could tell at a glance that their strength had clearly improved by a significant margin compared to when they first arrived in the North Blue.

Gion's partner's power, speed, and martial arts level had increased by at least thirty percent.

As for Gion... she had even grasped the Flying Slash, capable of projecting sword energy, stepping into the realm of a master swordsman in one fell swoop!

And this was in just a few days!!

Such terrifying talent, even if not quite on par with "monsters" like Sakazuki and Borsalino, was not far off.

"Hahahahaha!! Darren, did you see that!!"

Gion's partner walked over, looking smug, and flexed his arm to show off his bicep.

"Such a huge Sea King, and this genius shattered all its teeth with a single punch. Could you—"

BOOM!!

Just then, as if drawn by the blood of the Sea King, the sea surface exploded with surging giant waves once more.

One, two, three, ...

A full eight Sea King creatures, each over a hundred meters tall, reared their heads from the undulating sea, roaring in response to one another with a sound that shook the heavens and earth.

As their massive bodies twisted and rolled, the sea churned into violent waves, lunging toward the warship.

The "tiny" warship swayed unsteadily, trembling before the eight even larger Sea Kings.

Darren beckoned with his hand.

The metal bracer on his arm suddenly detached, then twisted and stretched like a living thing into a sharp, long spear, instantly piercing through the air.

Sharp sonic booms erupted continuously, and under the propulsion of a terrifying magnetic field, the space around the metal spear rippled with white waves as it passed.

Its speed climbed to the extreme in an instant.

No one could track its trajectory.

Everyone on deck felt a blur before their eyes, as if something was darting back and forth through the void like a silver phantom.

The eight roaring Sea Kings froze in unison.

PSSST!!

Dense, tiny blood holes erupted across the surfaces of their bodies, spraying high-pressure jets of blood like sieves.

RUMBLE!!

The behemoths collapsed one after another, sending pillars of water shooting into the sky.

Darren recalled the metal spear, watched it reform into a bracer, and put it back on nonchalantly, with the scene of the eight lifeless Sea Kings sinking into the ocean behind him.

He turned to look at the dumbfounded Gion's partner and said:

"Major Gion's partner, what was it you were saying just now?"

Gion's partner's mouth twitched, and he laughed:

"I was saying that you would definitely be able to do better than me!"

Darren glanced at him, patted his shoulder, and looked toward the distance.

The outline of an island gradually emerged on the horizon.

"Everyone get ready, we are about to land."

A mocking, half-smile curled the corners of his mouth:

"Our mission this time, after all, is to protect the great, holy, and noble Celestial Dragons."

Requesting everything, much appreciated.