"The fight for first place... Darren versus Kuzan!!"
As Zephyr's voice echoed across the training field, the crowd's eyes lit up with excitement. All attention turned to the two figures at the center.
"It's finally happening!"
"A showdown between monsters!"
"Both are Devil Fruit users—and both are terrifyingly strong!"
"I still feel like Darren gives off more pressure than Kuzan..."
"Yeah, but can he actually threaten a Logia? You just... can't touch them!"
Speculation buzzed through the elite Marines gathered from across the world.
After everything they'd seen, it was clear:
Darren and Kuzan were no longer on their level.
Only those with the title monster had the right to stand against another monster.
At the edge of the field, Zephyr stood watching silently, his eyes unreadable behind his sunglasses.
In all their earlier battles, neither Darren nor Kuzan had been pushed to their limits.
But now—this final duel might reveal their true strength.
"HAHAHAHA!! Darren!! Are you ready for this!? Finally... finally, it's our turn!!"
Kuzan practically bounced into the center, flushed with excitement. His eyes blazed with pure, burning anticipation.
Darren couldn't help but chuckle.
He had to admit—there was something comically dramatic about young Kuzan.
But it wasn't irritating.
It was... oddly endearing.
No speeches. No warm-up.
Darren raised his arm. The metal bracer around his wrist melted, then twisted and solidified into a glowing metal sphere. A magnetic pulse sent it rocketing forward.
The orb tore through the air, shattering the sound barrier multiple times. Shockwaves rippled in white rings behind it, trailing sonic booms.
Facing a monster like Kuzan—there was no point in holding back anymore.
With his magnetic field at full throttle, the projectile was moving twice as fast as it had against Yamakaji.
Aside from Zephyr, no one could track it.
They only felt a violent gust of wind—and then...
Kuzan's face exploded.
Shards of ice flew outward. Half of his head was reduced to a gaping hole, the rest frozen over in jagged crystalline patches.
Frost crawled across the surface of what was left, cracking at the edges.
His face reformed from ice.
Kuzan stood frozen in place, blinking slowly.
Even he hadn't reacted in time.
The Marines finally snapped out of their shock.
"Did you... see that?" Doberman asked, face pale.
"No..." Onigumo rasped, voice dry and tight.
"Unbelievable..." Dalmatian whispered, forehead beaded with sweat.
Terror and awe twisted their expressions.
Now they understood—Darren had been holding back a lot during his fight with Yamakaji.
If any one of them had taken that hit...
Their heads wouldn't have turned into ice.
They would have become a red mist.
"Yeah... you're strong, alright."
A bead of sweat trickled down Kuzan's brow.
He stood still for a second.
The shock vanished, replaced by wild joy.
"Just what I'd expect from a man I've acknowledged!"
"Darren—only someone like you deserves to be my lifelong rival!!"
His words rang out like a vow.
A chilling mist erupted from his palm as he formed a white, glimmering ice lance.
Kuzan's expression turned serious. His grin faded into steel focus as he took a long, steady step forward.
His body became taut like a drawn bowstring. The frozen spear in his hand glinted coldly in the sunlight.
"Watch yourself, Darren. Try this!"
He threw the spear with everything he had.
A white explosion tore through the air as the lance flew like a missile toward Darren.
Darren narrowed his eyes.
His bio-magnetic field flared to maximum.
The spear missed him by a hair, skimming past his head and slamming into a ruined fortress behind him.
In less than a second, the entire structure turned white—frozen solid.
The frost spread ten full meters outward before finally slowing. The Marines stared, horrified.
Darren launched forward like a shell from a cannon.
The ground beneath him shattered and collapsed in layers. Yellow sand rose in waves behind him.
Kuzan's pupils contracted.
He'd known Darren was strong—but this?
Kuzan raised a hand. A gleaming white ice pillar burst from his palm.
But from behind Darren, a metal orb streaked forward and morphed into a wide metallic shield.
The shield smashed into the ice pillar, shattering it into sparkling dust.
Darren cut through the snow like a phantom.
He spun mid-air, body twisting, black boot arcing wide.
The centrifugal force turned the kick into a bladed whip—aimed straight at Kuzan's face.
Kuzan didn't retreat.
He conjured another ice spear and swung.
It shattered immediately.
Kuzan shouted, and instead of dodging—he opened his arms.
He was going to take the hit head-on.
Then freeze Darren solid.
No matter how strong he was... he couldn't touch a Logia.
Darren's kick landed. Directly. Fully. On his face.
The impact warped Kuzan's horse-shaped mug like jelly. Ripples distorted his skin from the sheer force.
It was like being hit by a giant's hammer.
He flew through the air like a ragdoll.
Over a hundred meters.
Until he crashed into a five-story teaching building.
Everyone watched in stunned silence.
Until the building crumbled completely, smoke and debris rising like a storm surge across the training ground.