The street was still in chaos.
Terrified civilians ran for their lives, frantically dialing their Den Den Mushi.
But Darren and Dragon sat there as if nothing else in the world existed—as if the swirling storm and the panicked mob were a thousand miles away.
Thunder rumbled louder and louder, lightning streaking across the sky as dark as midnight.
Darren gazed calmly at Dragon's scarred face and asked quietly:
"What do you plan to do?"
Dragon scratched his head, a bit sheepish.
"I don't know. But first, I have to escape from you... don't I?"
"The orders you've received must be to capture me at all costs—or to kill me where I sit."
"But if I do find a way out... I want to build something new. A new organization founded on harmony, freedom, equality, and dreams... I'll need more people to join me."
He looked at Darren, letting out a wry laugh.
"Originally, I was going to invite you... but then I realized, you'd never agree."
"The North Blue Fleet. The training camp's top instructor... all these years of careful planning and your character—there's no way you'd ever join me."
Darren gave a small, teasing smile.
"Sleeping rough, always on the run, never knowing what tomorrow will bring... no women, no cigars, no good liquor—I'd never survive that life."
The two of them shared a smile.
So much said in that one glance.
Another long silence.
Darren smoked his last cigarette down to the filter.
He ground it out and suddenly said:
"Dragon, this path you've chosen—it's a hard one."
"No one will understand you."
"Even the people you're trying to protect... they'll fear you. They'll hate you. They might even shoot you in the back someday and turn you over to the World Government."
Dragon's smile was bright—truly bright this time.
It was the smile of a man who had set down the weight of his heart, ready to face both the bitter truth of the world and the unreachable ideal he carried.
"Darren, this world needs a complete change."
"I know they're just afraid, and that fear will always be there. But I can't let the fear and weakness of the people stop the revolution."
Darren gave a small laugh.
"Sounds like you've already made your peace with it."
Darren's eyes glimmered with satisfaction.
"Good. Before you begin... Vice Admiral Garp asked me to pass on a message."
"He wanted me to tell you—"
Darren repeated the words slowly, every syllable measured:
Dragon looked as if he'd been struck by lightning.
His eyes turned visibly red. He buried his face in his hands, his voice rough and choked:
"Damn it... I'm sorry. I've caused so much trouble for the old man... for everyone... for you..."
Tears slipped through his fingers, and he bit down hard on his teeth.
"Damn it... I always wanted to be a hero like the old man... but now I'm nothing but a fugitive, wanted by the entire world."
Darren let out a long breath.
"Dragon... do you know what a hero truly is?"
Dragon hesitated, raising his head to look at Darren. Instinctively, he said:
"A hero is someone strong enough to protect the weak, to uphold justice."
Darren shook his head.
"No. Strength matters, sure. But a hero... is a flag."
"Yes. The common people are too weak, and the powers they face are too strong. They might want to fight back—but they don't have the will. So... they need a flag."
Darren's smile was faint, his eyes bright and unwavering.
"To guide the lost, to give the timid courage, to plant belief in the hesitant... like a blazing beacon in the darkness, lighting a spark in every buried heart, driving them forward without fear."
"That is the true meaning of a hero."
"In my eyes, Dragon... right now, you're more of a hero than Vice Admiral Garp ever was."
"Because you did what none of us dared to do."
He pointed at Dragon, his tone grave and full of meaning.
"You killed a Celestial Dragon in front of the whole world."
"You shattered the myth of this world—dragged those so-called 'gods' down from their throne."
A faint smile flickered across Dragon's face at those words. But just as quickly, it faded again, leaving only a bleak sorrow.
"But I couldn't protect them."
After the incident, he had fled that island.
He had heard what happened afterward:
The World Government's agents scoured the island.
The boy with the kite, and his parents... tortured so mercilessly in the search, and in the end, they hadn't survived.
"Regret is the constant of this world. You can't protect everyone—but you must keep going, Dragon."
Darren's smile was soft.
At his words, Dragon unconsciously straightened his back. His tired smile held a hint of melancholy... and a quiet pride.
Another bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating the world for a breath.
In the howling wind, streaks of black rain spread across the ground like ink.
The first fat drops of rain fell. And then, in an instant, it was a downpour.
Darren suddenly murmured, almost to himself:
"Time's just about up."
Dragon didn't hear him. He sat there in the deluge, letting the cold rain wash over his face and hair. He murmured:
"Even the sky is weeping for this world?"
"No. The sky... is saying goodbye to you."
Darren raised his cup with a smile.
Dragon blinked. Then he smiled too.
He raised his cup in turn.
Two cups, filled with the "strongest drink," clinked together in midair, the amber liquid shimmering with the light of parting and of journeys to come.
They downed it all in one.
Dragon rose to his feet in a single, fluid motion. There was no more doubt in his eyes—only the unwavering conviction of a man with no way back.
His black hair whipped in the wind, lightning casting his silhouette in stark relief.
From this day forward,
Those who once fought at his side would become his enemies.
The colossal power that ruled the world was his enemy.
The decaying old order was his enemy.
Even the ignorance in people's hearts... that was his enemy.
The world was drenched in rain. The path ahead was heavy, shrouded in darkness.
But he would walk it alone.
The whole world an enemy.
And yet he laughed—loud and bold.
Darren rose slowly, lifting his hand and tearing away the green cloak that had concealed his face and hidden his identity.
Revealing his black suit and the pure white justice coat.
Before the eyes of the world, his cold voice cut through the storm, through the lightning and thunder, and rang out across the island.
"Criminal Monkey D. Dragon! I, Rogers Darren, Marine Headquarters commodore... in the name of 'Justice,' officially place you under arrest!"