Byrnndi World slowly turned around—and there stood a tall, imposing figure.
Jet-black hair tousled gently in the snowstorm. His tailored suit clung taut to a well-built frame, exuding a wild and dangerous aura. Behind him, a wide, snow-white cloak billowed violently in the wind.
Byrnndi World narrowed his eyes, and his expression darkened.
With a casual twist of his hand, the sleek metal hoverboard beneath his feet contorted with a screech, warping like a twisted rope.
At the same time, he gently set down Byojack, who had been perched on his shoulder.
The old man limped away on his cane, disappearing into the distance.
A few hundred meters away, hundreds of pirates froze briefly, then broke into wicked grins. They raised their brand-new weapons in unison, hollow barrels locking firmly onto the silhouette of the Marine officer.
"Darren—no... I've heard that name somewhere before..."
Wald squinted at the black-haired Marine before him, and a mocking smirk curled across his lips.
"Ah, I remember now."
"A so-called 'big shot' from the North Blue. Word is, even the World Government's allied nations in that sea give him a wide berth... The highest-ranking officer in the North Blue Marines—Rogers Darren"
"If I'm not mistaken... that's you, isn't it, brat?"
Darren didn't answer. His eyes briefly flicked to a fallen mafia thug at his feet—eyes glazed, chest still. Dead.
"That's not how you do business," he said suddenly.
"...What?" World blinked, his expression lopsided in confusion.
"The North Blue has its own rules. Business has rules. And I don't take kindly to being stared down by gun barrels."
The Marine's face remained impassive as he gazed at the corpse. His voice was calm—eerily calm.
As soon as the words left his mouth—
Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack...
Hundreds of pirates flinched as the guns in their hands jolted—ripped from their grips by an invisible force like red-hot iron. They flew from their hands with blinding speed, spinning midair...
All the barrels now pointed back—at their original wielders.
And then—the triggers pulled themselves.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!
Gunfire erupted. The staccato rhythm of bullets tearing into flesh echoed over the frozen terrain.
The snow-covered ground exploded with countless craters. Scarlet blood bloomed in violent sprays as pirates screamed and twitched, their bodies riddled with bullets.
Byrnndi World's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
When the storm of bullets ceased...
What was left was a crimson wasteland.
Hundreds of mutilated pirate corpses lay sprawled in grotesque shapes, staining the snow red.
The rifles hovered in the air, still aimed, smoking barrels sizzling in the cold.
They rotated in unison.
And pointed directly at Byrnndi World.
"...Now we're even," Darren said softly, lifting his gaze.
"Metal manipulation, is it?" World narrowed his eyes, lips curling into a sneer.
"You cocky little Marine brat. You think getting your hands on a Devil Fruit makes you my equal—"
He didn't get to finish.
The twisted metal hoverboard beneath his feet abruptly writhed like a living serpent. Silver liquid metal surged up and coiled tightly around his legs, knotting like braided steel.
His expression shifted.
Darren lifted a finger and gave it the slightest flick.
A faint arc of blue energy shimmered and vanished in the air.
The floating rifles erupted once more in a blazing fury. A torrent of bullets surged forward like a metallic hurricane, an overwhelming wave crashing down on Byrnndi World.
"...You think that'll work?" Wald spat, laughing coldly.
A black, metallic sheen swept over his body—Armament Haki, dense and armor-like.
The storm of bullets struck him again and again, but each round bounced harmlessly off his skin, ricocheting into the snow and gouging out craters.
Through the downpour of fire, World sneered darkly:
"You Marines don't understand the true terror of this sea."
"The North Blue? Just a tiny corner of the world. You haven't even set foot in the Grand Line... You're nothing but a frog in a well!"
With a roar, he stomped down—his legs, wrapped in Armament Haki, cracking the earth beneath him.
The metal binding his feet groaned and warped—
He tore himself free, the metal unraveling like taffy.
Darren watched him quietly. His eyes, dark and unreadable, showed no change.
"No," he said. "You're the one who doesn't understand the true terror of the North Blue."
That smile—it set off alarms in his mind. Unease surged through his chest. He instinctively activated Observation Haki, sweeping the field.
And then his face turned pale.
Darren raised his hand high and gestured with practiced clarity.
Thunder roared overhead. A massive rumble shook the air as fire ignited across the sky. From the heavens, ten Marine warships emerged from the clouds like monstrous blades cleaving through the sky.
Ten ships in perfect formation, hovering ominously in the air above.
From their decks and flanks, rows upon rows of cannon barrels extended out—black and menacing, trained on the island below like the eyes of a waking war god.
The air itself seemed to shudder.
"Times have changed, Byrnndi World," Darren said quietly.
In World's constricted pupils—
In Byojack's horrified eyes—
Darren brought his hand down.
Deafening cannon fire tore through the clouds. A storm of orange-red shells screamed downward in a cataclysmic bombardment. The entire bay lit up in a hellish blaze as all four pirate ships docked at the harbor were reduced to flaming wreckage.
One after another, the ships detonated—explosions rippling across the bay like firecrackers set off in sequence.
Fireballs surged skyward. The sea burned. The land shook.
The shockwaves rolled out in rings, hurling debris, pirate corpses, and seawater into the air.
Amid the flames, screams echoed faintly—then were swallowed by the inferno.
Black smoke billowed into the sky.
And through that rising smoke, crimson fire lit up the clouds like blood across the heavens.
The Marine officer turned his back to the burning bay.
His white cloak, caught in the firelight, fluttered like a banner soaked in blood.
Supreme Commander of the North Blue Marines, Rogers Darren, spread his arms wide.
Behind him, columns of flame roared skyward.
He stared down the infamous pirate, lips curled into a wild, arrogant grin—
"Welcome to the North Blue."
"Welcome... to my territory."