Black smoke billowed into the sky.
Cries for help and sobs echoed from every corner of Marine Headquarters. From the civilian district came the sounds of children weeping. Marines formed quick-response teams, moving swiftly to evacuate the populace.
From the seething magma, bubbling with heat, a figure slowly took form.
Molten lava dripped from his cheek as he adjusted his Marine cap with one hand, his eyes like frozen steel, locked on the Golden Lion.
"Don’t forget—this is Marine HQ."
Countless golden photons gathered into a tall figure as well. Borsalino rubbed the stubble on his chin, his voice lazy and light:
"A legendary pirate... how scary. He really did invade Marineford, huh?"
Ice crystals spiraled upward from the ground, forming the outline of a third figure. Kuzan exhaled a blast of frigid air and flushed red with excitement.
"Hahahaha!! Finally, it’s my turn to join the action!!"
"Darren! Now’s the time for us to fight side by side!!"
The three tall figures stepped forward, lining up beside Darren.
Their massive white coats bearing the word Justice whipped in the wind. Just standing there—they radiated an overwhelming sense of security.
The entire battlefield was shaken.
"That’s Rear Admiral Sakazuki!"
"Rear Admiral Borsalino!!"
"And... that’s Captain Kuzan!!"
"All four of Marine HQ’s ’monsters’... they’re all here!!"
The surrounding Marines clenched their fists, shouting with joy as they beheld the towering silhouettes of the four prodigies.
"I thought you all fell asleep."
Darren glanced sideways, dryly.
Sakazuki said nothing.
Borsalino shrugged, flashing a toothy grin.
"I came as fast as I could, you know..."
Kuzan scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"I... did fall asleep, actually."
"Jihahahahaha!! A bunch of snot-nosed Marine brats..."
Up in the sky, the Golden Lion Shiki suddenly cackled wildly.
"You really think the lot of you can stop me?"
A sharp crack tore through the air.
A white ice spear shot up toward the sky, cutting Shiki’s words short.
Kuzan had made the first move, unable to hold back his fighting spirit.
The spear howled through the wind—Shiki’s eyes narrowed as he whipped out his sword with lightning speed.
The spear shattered midair, but an intense chill burst from the fragments, racing up Shiki’s blade.
A sheet of frost crept swiftly up his sword, threatening to freeze even his arm.
Shiki grunted, his Armament Haki surging in a spiral that blew the frost away in shards.
"Hahahaha!! With the four of us here, it’s more than enough!!"
Kuzan roared with laughter, pointing skyward at Shiki, his eyes blazing with fury.
"Just you alone—you’ll never take Marineford!"
Borsalino’s face twisted with irony.
And Darren felt a shiver of foreboding crawl up his spine.
Oi oi oi... don’t go jinxing it!
Shiki smirked, a flicker of amusement in his eyes.
"Who said I came alone?"
The moment his words dropped—
A suffocatingly powerful aura spread from a different direction in the sky.
Darren’s face twitched.
I told you not to say things like that!!
"Worororo!! Darren brat... long time no see!!"
A voice thundered across the heavens like rolling thunder—low and vicious, laced with murderous hatred.
From the thick clouds above, a massive shadow emerged—growing larger by the second.
In the blink of an eye, it blotted out the sky.
Marines stared upward, aghast.
Thunder and lightning coiled across the heavens. Purple bolts slithered through the wind-wracked sky.
From the sea of clouds, a mountainous head emerged.
Jagged fangs. Long horns. Flowing whiskers. Crimson, vertical-pupiled eyes—
"’The Strongest Creature on Land, Sea, and Air’... Kaido of the Beasts!!"
"How is this even possible!?"
The Marines gasped in horror as the massive teal-scaled dragon drifted from the clouds. Lightning danced along his scales. Wind blades curled around him in a whirling storm.
A wave of sheer dominance crashed down from the sky—dragon might, fierce and crushing.
Thousands of Marines stumbled. The weaker ones passed out cold.
Kuzan’s eye twitched.
"You had to say it..." Darren sighed.
Sakazuki and Borsalino turned to stare at Kuzan—who instantly turned red, gulping as he muttered:
"He’s not here for me! He’s here for you, Darren!!"
The dragon Kaido locked eyes with Shiki in the sky. Then he let out a guttural growl.
"Shiki. The brat’s mine."
"He destroyed my base. I haven’t even begun to settle that score!"
"Now now, these brats are Marine HQ’s prized prodigies... I want to kill them all."
"That’s not what we agreed!!"
"Then go ahead—if you can take the head from me, it’s all yours."
"—Are you two serious right now!?"
Kuzan suddenly snapped.
"You’re underestimating us Marines way too much! We’ve got four people here!! You only have—mmph!!"
Darren quickly slapped a hand over his mouth.
A hoarse laugh echoed from another direction in the sky.
Purple lightning burst from the clouds, dancing wildly.
As the storm clouds tore apart, a slender, curvaceous figure descended—standing atop a swirling black thundercloud, wielding an enormous blade.
"Kaido. Shiki. The other little brats are yours—but Darren..."
Pink hair shimmered like flame. Blood-red lips curled into a predatory smile. Long, luscious legs in crimson fishnets hovered above.
She licked her lips and grinned down at him.
The entire base fell silent.
It exploded into chaos.
"One of the legendary pirates!!"
"Charlotte Linlin—Big Mom!!"
"Three legendary figures of the New World... gathered in one place!?"
Darren’s face twitched uncontrollably.
Borsalino grinned with devilish amusement.
Sakazuki turned and stared at Kuzan, expression blank.