What the hell is wrong with this brat?
Does he actually enjoy getting beaten!?
The twisted thought popped into Kaidou's mind without warning, sending an involuntary chill down his spine.
Something wasn't right...
Even as the thought formed, that blood-drenched Vice Admiral came charging at him again.
"Damn it! Get the hell away from me!!"
The sight of that increasingly deranged grin on Daren's face made Kaidou's skin crawl.
Grimacing, he decided he was done wasting time on this psycho Marine.
The muscles on his dragon-scaled arms swelled violently, surging with the might of his most powerful hybrid form.
Waves of dark purple lightning burst outward, crackling and expanding like a net stretching across the sky... At the center of that thunderous storm was his black kanabō—Hassaikai.
Kaidou roared in rage and stomped forward, splitting the ground beneath him as he poured every ounce of strength into one swing.
"Daiitoku Raimei Hakke!!"
He flashed past Daren in an instant like a thunderbolt.
The pitch-black lightning, compressed to its limit, erupted behind Daren's back with the force of a nuclear blast.
A colossal mushroom cloud, wreathed in hellish winds, shot skyward.
For a moment, the entire world fell into silence.
Then came the second wave of Haki. Daren spat out a mouthful of blood and was blasted away like a missile.
He tore through more than a dozen mountains before finally slamming deep into a rocky barrier far off in the distance.
Cracks spidered through the surrounding cliffs. Dust billowed into the sky. All of Kuri shook like it had been hit by an earthquake.
The sky split. Fierce winds howled in chaos.
Queen stood frozen, face pale, jaw twitching. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then quickly shut it and slapped a hand over his lips.
King's gaze turned sharp and deadly serious.
Kaidou landed heavily on the ground, still gripping Hassaikai in one hand. His breath was slightly ragged, and his bloodshot eyes were locked on the mountains ahead.
The smoke finally cleared, scattered by the howling wind.
And there, embedded deep into a massive crater in the rock wall, was Daren's battered body.
Blood poured from his nose and mouth. His ribcage had caved inward, and a broken rib had pierced straight through his skin, its bone-white tip exposed to the air.
He was gasping, face white as a corpse.
They locked defiantly onto Kaidou and the others—and then, he laughed.
"Hahahahahaha!!! That felt great!!"
Queen and King both flinched, their eyes flashing with pure disbelief.
He was... still laughing!?
But shock quickly overtook their confusion, and that shock turned into horror.
"This... can't be..."
They turned to each other and saw the same fear reflected in each other's eyes.
Kaidou shouted, stunned.
Through the perception of their Observation Haki, they could sense it—Daren's aura was rising!
His life force had nearly burnt out, like a candle in the wind...
And yet, the presence radiating from his body...
Was unmistakably stronger than before.
"Well... that wraps up today's training."
Daren let out a crazed laugh.
He raised a hand, gripped the rib that had pierced through his skin—and slammed it back into place with a sickening crunch!
The sharp sound made Queen flinch, the corner of his eye twitching violently.
"What a rewarding lesson this was."
Panting heavily, blood dribbling from his mouth, Daren grinned wildly without a care in the world.
At that moment, his personal stats had changed to:
Physique: 90.001 (Indestructible Body)
Strength: 80.991 (Giant's Strength)
Speed: 80.917 (Soru's Godspeed)
Fruit Ability Development: 85.445 (Island-Wide Coverage)
Armament Haki: 65.315
Observation Haki: 72.887 (Magnetic Field Induction)
Conqueror's Haki: 63.091
Under the punishing, nuclear blast-like strike from Kaidou just moments ago, Daren's Strength and Speed had finally shattered the 80-point barrier!
And just as he had predicted, similar to Physique, breaking through that threshold awakened unique abilities:
Giant's Strength: Every strike now carried the power of a fully grown Giant warrior—and would only grow stronger alongside him.
Soru's Godspeed: Every burst movement or evasive step surpassed even the Navy's Rokushiki Soru in speed!
Finally... the breakthrough!
Daren felt like every bone in his body was ready to fall apart.
But after taking that many hits from Kaidou, he'd finally reached his goal!
As those words left his mouth, Kaidou's pupils narrowed into slits.
This brat hadn't come here to challenge him—he'd come here to use him for training!
That twisted smile Daren wore while being smashed around wasn't sadism... it was satisfaction.
He was getting stronger. The source of this content ɪs novelFɪre.net
The instant Kaidou realized this, an uncontainable wave of rage surged from his chest, completely overtaking his vision.
"You damn Marine brat!!"
Blood vessels popped in his eyes, and killing intent exploded off him.
"I'm Kaidou of the Beasts! The strongest creature alive! And you... you used me to train and level up!?"
"No no, you're not just the 'strongest creature on land, sea, and air'..."
A flash of black light swept beneath his feet, lifting his battered body high into the sky.
"To me... you're the strongest sensei on land, sea, and air."
Daren hovered high above, blood streaming down his body. With surprising grace, he placed a hand over his chest and gave a deep, respectful bow.
"Thank you for the lesson, Kaidou-sensei."
He shot Kaidou a polite smile.
"I'll be sure to visit again sometime."
Kaidou stood frozen, as if struck by lightning, stumbling back two steps.
After that, Daren paused for a beat—then turned to look at Queen.
Under Queen's horrified stare, Daren gave him a slow, meaningful smile.
Before anyone could react, what little strength he had left erupted into a surge of magnetic force, launching his body skyward. In a flash, the Vice Admiral disappeared into the clouds.
Queen's eye twitched violently.
Realization hit him hard, and he let out a hoarse scream.
"Why did you look at me!? Why did you smile at me!? Damn it!! Come back here and explain yourself—!"
His voice cut off instantly.
At some point, two murderous figures had appeared behind him.
A massive shadow fell across his back. Queen turned, trembling, forcing a nervous smile.
"Uhh... l-look, this really has nothing to do with me—AHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
What greeted him was a kanabō crackling with purple lightning and a long sword engulfed in flame.