Spirit

"You... killed him..."

The naked, battered woman stared in horror at the Celestial Dragon lying in a pool of blood. As the blood continued to spread, her voice trembled and her face turned deathly pale.

She could hardly believe what she was seeing. It felt like a dream.

"You... killed a Celestial Dragon..."

She murmured the words over and over, reaching out to touch the blood flowing across the ground and feel its warmth.

The corner of her mouth slowly curled into a smile.

"You killed him..."

Her smile grew more and more frenzied.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! You killed him!"

"He's finally dead!"

"Ha ha ha ha..."

The woman laughed with wild abandon, though blood-red tears gradually welled in her eyes.

"He's finally dead... Sob..."

She choked on her sobs, then broke down completely.

Darren watched the woman laugh and weep, her expression twisted and frenzied. His eyes lowered.

"You're free now."

He spoke quietly.

"Free?"

A bitter smile crossed the woman's face. She turned around, slowly, showing Darren her bare back.

A blood-red mark of the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon stood out starkly against her skin.

"How can there be freedom for me in this world?"

She lifted her head and smiled at Darren.

It was a frank smile, almost one of release.

"Thank you, Marine."

With difficulty, she got to her feet, then fell to her knees and bowed her head to Darren in earnest.

"I have no reason left to go on living. Everyone I ever cherished in this world has died at his hands."

"Please, go and do what you have to do."

Darren looked at her deeply.

He saw the stubborn resolve to die in her eyes.

He had no idea what she had been through or how long Saint Childers had tortured her.

But he had always lived by one principle.

If you haven't experienced someone else's suffering firsthand, don't rush to judge their life.

"I understand."

"Then go in peace."

With that, Darren turned without hesitation and headed out of the cabin.

Kneeling on the ground, the woman watched the Marine Captain walk away and wiped the tears from her face.

Her eyes were no longer vacant or numb.

A bright, warm smile slowly spread across her bloodstained face.

Like a flower stubbornly blooming on the edge of a sheer cliff.

"Thank you. Truly, thank you... Marine."

"If I survived, wouldn't that just make things difficult for you...?"

She smiled faintly.

Then she slowly picked up the golden pistol from the ground.

Bang! Bang!

Grimacing, she fired twice at the Celestial Dragon's corpse.

"Father, Mother, I'm coming to join you."

Her smile was as lovely as a flower.

She pressed the barrel to her temple.

She had saved the last bullet for herself.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out behind him, followed by the thud of a body hitting the floor, but Darren didn't break stride.

He wasn't a saint.

He couldn't force someone who had resolved to die to find the courage to keep living.

Before, she hadn't had a choice.

Now, at least, she was free to choose death.

Suppressing his emotions, Darren hurried toward the cabin where the slaves were kept aboard the government ship.

The locked cabin door flew off its hinges.

With nothing to stop him, Darren walked inside.

A rancid, damp stench hit him. A dim yellow oil lamp flickered in the murky air.

Lia, curled up in the corner of her cage, heard the noise. A flash of fear crossed her little face, but when she saw Darren, it quickly gave way to delight.

Darren waved his hand.

The iron cage collapsed and twisted, then came apart. The shackles on the little girl broke as well, clattering to the floor.

"Marine brother!"

The gag fell from her mouth. With tears streaming down her cheeks, the little girl cried out and stumbled toward Darren, clinging tightly to his leg.

Darren patted her head and smiled.

"Come on. I'll take you home."

Lia's eyes reddened. She nodded firmly.

Darren took her hand, and they walked out of the cabin.

However,

When Lia stepped outside and saw the bodies strung up on iron spikes across the deck, her little face suddenly went pale.

She instinctively looked back into the cabin.

The terrifying, hideous Celestial Dragon lay in a pool of blood.

Lia let go of Darren's hand and took two frightened steps backward.

Suddenly, she gritted her teeth and lunged toward the mast!

Darren grabbed her by the clothes and lifted her up like a kitten.

"What are you doing?"

He frowned.

The little girl's voice quavered with tears.

"I can't stay alive, can I?"

"If I survive, I'll cause Marine brother a lot of trouble."

Darren froze, then sighed.

He remembered the little girl's father trying to bash his head against the wall and felt helpless.

Just like father, just like daughter.

He picked her up and said seriously,

"Since you survived, then live well."

"Your father is waiting for you at home."

"I took your money, so I have to protect you."

The little girl stared at him, then said, embarrassed,

"B-but... I didn't give you much money..."

Darren smiled.

"It was enough."

A metal hoverboard floated over. He stepped onto it, and they began to rise into the air.

Hovering high above, Darren held the dirty little girl in one arm and looked down at the blood-soaked government ship. He slowly raised his free hand, spread his fingers, and grasped at it from afar.

Rumble...

Crack! Crack!

Under the pull of the metal hull, the whole ship began to compress, collapse, and twist under the force of a strange magnetic field.

With a thunderous boom, the gunpowder in the hold and the cannons aboard the ship exploded. Blazing flames shot skyward, engulfing the vessel like a massive fireball.

A scorching shock wave roared toward them. The little girl instinctively buried her face against the Marine Captain's chest, as if it were the safest place in the world.

The government ship slowly sank, its flag—the symbol of the World Government's supreme authority—turning to ash in the flames.

Black smoke billowed into the sky.

Lightning flickered and thunder rumbled among the heavy black clouds. The long-brewing storm was about to break.

In the hazy, flickering, distorted firelight,

Darren seemed to see faces appearing and disappearing, like figures in a dream.

He saw Gion standing in the street, dazed, clutching a rose tightly in her hand;

He saw Gion's partner punching the wall again and again, venting his anger;

He saw the man kneeling before him, offering up a heap of coins and pleading with him;

He saw the woman smiling as she picked up the golden pistol and took her own life;

He saw the Celestial Dragon's hideous, sneering face...

One face after another, one scene after another, flickered in and out of sight in the blazing fire.

Darren let out a long breath.

The pent-up frustration and gloom deep in his heart finally... dissolved completely.

As his thoughts cleared, an indescribable emotion and power surged in his chest, demanding release.

Rip!

A pale bolt of lightning suddenly tore through the dark sky, illuminating the world.

A violent storm swept in right after it.

The wind rose and the clouds churned.

The Marine Captain hovered high in the air, his presence growing ever stronger as his broad cloak whipped behind him like a raging dragon.

A vast, domineering, and solemn aura burst from his body, as if answering the storm raging between heaven and earth.

The world changed color.

At the same time,

In Darren's perception, a new "stat" slowly appeared.

Conqueror's Haki: 20

The aura of a king... had awakened.