Monsters aren't called monsters for being strong in just one area. They're monsters because they're overwhelmingly powerful in every way.
Physique, strength, speed, resilience, Devil Fruit mastery, Haki control and intensity, combat experience, killer instinct... Any one of these would be enough to make someone a top-tier fighter in the eyes of most. But for monsters, these are just the bare minimum.
And among monsters, Rogers Daren stood out for his inhuman physical prowess. When it came to raw body strength, there were only a handful across the seas who could even come close.
Charlotte Oven might be known as a "monster" within the Big Mom Pirates, but against Daren—who had fought countless powerful foes and endured brutal, hellish training—he was utterly outclassed.
The sickening sound of tearing flesh and snapping bone echoed out. Blood soaked Oven's twisted arm, a sight that horrified the global audience watching through the Den Den Mushi.
Many instinctively grabbed their own arms, feeling phantom pain, and gasped sharply.
"Damn it... This is Totto Land... I won't lose to... someone like you...!"
Oven's lips had gone pale from pain. His eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging, teeth grinding as he screamed in defiance.
"Totto Land or not, one day... justice will raise its flag here."
Daren scoffed with a mocking grin, then yanked violently with his three-fingered dragon claw.
Rrrip!!
A scene straight out of a nightmare unfolded—
Charlotte Oven's entire right arm was torn off!
Blood gushed skyward like a fountain, dyeing the air red.
Oven roared in unbearable agony, staggering backward, barely able to stay on his feet.
But Daren didn't give him even a second to breathe.
In the blink of an eye, he was already in front of him.
He dropped his weight—then launched a brutal knee strike.
Bang!
The hit slammed into Oven's gut like a cannon blast. His body folded in half. Armament Haki burst from the impact on his back, sending shockwaves that shredded what was left of his upper garments.
Blood poured from his mouth and nose. His eyes bulged, and his mouth opened wide like a suffocating fish. His pupils were already starting to fade.
"Damn it!!"
"Get in there!!"
"Save Oven-sama!!"
The surrounding pirates, who had been frozen in shock, finally snapped out of it and charged at Daren, roaring in fury.
Weapons and attacks rained down on his head, neck, arms, back, and legs—but all they did was spark off his body with sharp metallic clangs.
Daren didn't spare them a glance.
With one hand, he grabbed Oven by his oddly-styled hair and glanced casually at his wristwatch.
"Hm... fifteen seconds left. All the pirates are here. The civilians should be mostly evacuated."
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
BOOM!!
A tidal wave of terrifying pressure exploded from his body—an invisible storm sweeping across the entire town.
Gale-force winds tore through the air. Rocks blasted into the sky.
In that moment, everything turned gray and lifeless—as if the world itself was ending.
Conqueror's Haki.
The pirates froze as if struck by lightning.
Those with weaker wills dropped instantly, eyes rolling back, collapsing unconscious to the ground.
"Time to end this."
Daren stood atop a mountain of blood and bodies, one hand clutching Charlotte Oven's throat, lifting him high into the air.
Blood dripped steadily from his arm. Under the sunlight, his justice cloak—now soaked in crimson—billowed like a banner of wrath.
The scene looked like hell itself had descended.
"You... what are you trying to do...?"
Charlotte Oven's face was deathly pale. Barely clinging to life, he gasped for breath, eyes locked onto Daren.
With a shattered arm, massive blood loss, and severe internal injuries, his body was on the verge of collapse.
"I told you already."
Daren raised his head, voice cold as ice. A wide grin stretched across his face.
"To wipe out every last pirate on this island."
Charlotte Oven froze. His bloodshot eyes shrank to pinpoints.
Then suddenly, a memory flashed—intel about the man in front of him... and that eerie cursed blade he carried...
Without thinking, Oven looked up toward the sky. His expression twisted in terror, an instinctive dread rooting him in place.
At last, he understood.
The logic behind everything Daren had done.
Why someone with such overwhelming firepower would bother descending into Fukkura Town and fight hand-to-hand.
This man had one goal—lure the thousands of Big Mom Pirates stationed across Yakigashi Island into one place... then annihilate them all at once.
The "three minutes" he mentioned earlier hadn't been the time it would take to kill the pirates here—
It was the time he was giving the civilians to escape.
"No..."
Realization struck, and Oven muttered in despair.
"No!!"
Faces flashed through his mind in a blur. Gritting his teeth, he let out a furious roar, eyes nearly bursting from their sockets.
Many stationed here were his brothers and sisters!
As his roar echoed, a crimson cyclone of heat surged from his body.
He looked like an erupting geyser—like a furnace capable of melting steel. Flames danced across his body as he charged forward, arms spread wide...
And wrapped them around Daren in a desperate embrace.
It was a final, suicidal attack—burning the last of his life force.
At the brink of death, he chose to go out with Daren if it meant saving the others still in Fukkura Town.
"Nekkai Jigoku: Furnace!!"
But at that very moment, Daren gave a final, chilling command.
"Enma, fire."
"More-More Thirtyfold Slash: Island Collapse."
The words had barely left his lips when—
Under the stunned gaze of countless spectators around the world...
High above Yakigashi Island's Fukkura Town...
A massive streak of black light tore through the clouds.
It was wrapped in devastating energy, the kind that could obliterate everything in its path.
Like a divine sword swung from the heavens...
It came crashing down in a vertical slash!
The world stopped. For one full second—nothing moved.
BOOM!!!
Every Den Den Mushi screen in the world turned to blinding white, too intense for anyone to keep their eyes open.
Had anyone viewed it from above the island, they would've seen a nightmare.
The moment the black slash landed, it radiated outward from the impact point—several kilometers of Fukkura Town...
Were reduced to rubble in an instant.
...
How much time passed was unclear.
It felt like a century—or maybe just a few seconds.
Then, across the world, the Den Den Mushi projections flickered back to life.
The image sharpened.
It showed a street somewhere on Yakigashi Island.
From that vantage, the once-bustling Fukkura Town was now an inferno. Buildings lay in ruins. The ground was torn apart. Pillars of black smoke blotted out the sky.
Everything burned red.
...
Through the haze of smoke and ash, a figure stepped forward from the fire.
The Vice Admiral.
The dark sheen of Armament Haki faded like water peeling off his skin, revealing the Justice cloak beneath—tattered, soaked in blood, yet somehow even more pristine in its defiance.
Behind him, another explosion rocked the ground. The screen trembled.
Daren casually pulled a fresh cigar from his coat. The flickering firelight played across his silhouette.
He lit it and took a deep draw.
Only then did he pull out a military Den Den Mushi and dial in.
"This is Sengoku."
A deep voice came through, unable to hide its excitement and awe.
Daren exhaled, smoke curling like a dragon from his lips. With the burning ruins of the town at his back, he spoke calmly.
"Admiral Sengoku. Vice Admiral Rogers Daren, reporting in."
"As you can see, the mission is complete."
He looked straight into the Den Den Mushi and gave a fearless, cocky smile.
"The enemy has been erased."
The world fell silent.
The Den Den Mushi broadcast screens linking the world's kingdoms, powers, and islands froze in place.