The palace's ornate, opulent dome suddenly shattered. A sky shrouded in dark clouds flickered with black and red lightning storms, instantly catching everyone's eye.
Chunks of stone and tile came crashing down, walls cracked and shook, and clouds of dust billowed into the air.
Chaos erupted in the palace hall as members of the Beasts Pirates scrambled for cover. They clutched their heads, struggling both to resist the pressure of their captain's Conqueror's Haki and to dodge the falling debris.
"Prepare for battle!!"
King kicked aside a massive falling boulder. Behind him, his black wings ignited with blazing crimson flames as he shouted with authority.
"Queen, rally the troops! Protect the armory sector!"
Queen flinched at the command. His rotund body trembled as he staggered to his feet, nodding furiously.
"Y-Yes! Got it!"
Before his words had even finished, a surge of murderous aura burst from King's body. His flame-wreathed black wings flared wide, launching him into the air.
Mid-flight, his form rapidly shifted—transforming into a massive, pitch-black Pteranodon that soared after the rising azure dragon.
...
Boom...
Far off in the mountainous terrain of the Kuri District, colossal clouds of dust churned skyward like a dragon twisting in the earth, wave after wave crashing like a stormy sea.
The ground groaned beneath the pressure. Cracks spiderwebbed across the cliff faces.
The vast industrial complex hidden among the peaks had become a blazing inferno.
Steel machines, lathes, and chimneys twisted and collapsed under a bizarre, invisible force, then exploded within the smoldering furnaces, sending flames roaring into the night.
Black smoke surged upward, and tongues of red fire—like giant wings—licked at the belly of the sky with a howling roar.
When Kaidou laid eyes on the devastation, his fury-filled eyes bulged, as if ready to burst from their sockets.
Wano Country had several political regions, and over half of the Beasts Pirates' military industry was concentrated in the Kuri District.
Yet in less than ten seconds, more than half of those facilities had been wiped out—by that damn Marine.
"Damn it!!"
In his blue dragon form, Kaidou swept his gaze across the smoky skies—and immediately locked onto a figure.
"Daren, you little brat!!"
A thunderous roar of pure rage tore from Kaidou's throat, his voice thick with bloodlust and fury.
But Daren, mid-"demolition," simply looked up with a relaxed smile, raised a hand in greeting like he was spotting an old friend, and called out casually:
"Yo, Kaidou... You made it."
He gestured toward the burning ruins below with mock surprise.
"Scary stuff. Can't believe you managed to rebuild such a huge weapons facility so fast."
The furious look on the dragon's face froze.
"Yo, you made it"?
What the hell is that supposed to mean!?
Do we look like old buddies or something?!
Humiliation surged through Kaidou, mixing with his boundless fury—it exploded like a volcano.
"You're dead!!!"
The blue dragon roared with the force of thunder cracking the sky. His maw, lined with jagged fangs, opened wide.
A violent torrent of air surged within his throat, rapidly compressing into dozens of emerald wind blades. Like a storm of sickles, they slashed forward in a dense wave aimed squarely at Daren.
"Kaifū!!"
The blades screamed through the air, splitting it with a shrill, piercing whistle.
The range was massive—completely sealing off a wide area around the target.
But just then—
Two streaks of violet lightning sparked to life in the depths of the Vice Admiral's eyes.
He moved—without warning.
His figure flickered across the sky, shifting laterally again and again. He moved so fast that a dozen afterimages trailed behind him.
The wind blades, powerful enough to cleave fortresses and battleships, missed him entirely—whizzing past and carving deep, jagged scars into the earth far below.
What... is this?
Kaidou's pupils contracted sharply.
This kid—he's gotten way faster than he was at Marineford not long ago!
No, wait... it's not just his speed.
It's—
Kaidou's eyes suddenly widened, staring at Daren in utter disbelief.
"How did your Observation Haki get so much stronger!?"
Daren grinned.
"Who knows?"
Buzz—
A coin suddenly snapped into the air from between his thumb and forefinger.
It spun rapidly in midair, glinting with a cold, metallic shine, reflecting the contrasting expressions of Daren and Kaidou.
"Magnetic Overload—Railgun."
With a flick of his index finger—
BOOM!!
A colossal blue-white beam erupted from in front of Daren, piercing through the void and bursting into rippling shockwaves as it roared toward the colossal dragon blotting out the sky!
The Railgun, with its overwhelming power, wasn't very useful against someone as absurdly agile as Shiki. And back in Marineford, Daren had avoided using it for fear of accidentally injuring other Marines.
But for Kaidou—a massive, grounded target—it was the perfect weapon.
"Damn you, Linlin!! What the hell did she do to you?!"
Kaidou roared with fury, mouth opening wide again as he unleashed a torrent of blazing flames.
"Bolo Breath!!"
The red and blue attacks collided in midair with immense force, turning the black sky blindingly bright.
For a split second, all of Wano fell silent.
Then came a thunderous explosion, echoing through the heavens!
Amid the blazing firelight, the massive shadow that had been floating in the sky shrank rapidly to the naked eye. Kaidou's monstrous form came crashing down from above like a demon descending from the heavens.
His wild black hair flared around him like a storm, his presence ferocious and maddened.
Back at Marineford, this Marine brat's Observation Haki had been nowhere near this strong.
More importantly—just a few hours ago, Kaidou had personally watched his battle against Charlotte Oven via visual Den Den Mushi. He knew exactly what level Daren's Observation Haki had been.
And now, in just half a day... it had reached this level!?
Unbelievable!
Aside from the possibility that that crazy hag Linlin had personally taught him the secrets of Observation Haki, Kaidou couldn't think of any other explanation.
But the moment that thought surfaced, a chill ran down his spine. Cold sweat beaded across his back.
If Daren's Observation Haki really came from that insane woman—
Did that mean... they'd already made some kind of secret deal?
Could it be that...
The intelligence about the Beasts Pirates' operations in Wano had been leaked by Linlin herself?
Was she trying to use this Marine brat to undermine his power?
The more Kaidou thought about it, the more disturbed he became.
But his body didn't hesitate.
With both hands, he gripped his massive spiked kanabō and charged at the Marine Vice Admiral like a bolt of lightning.
Like a stormwind—like thunder's roar—he crossed the distance of hundreds of meters in an instant.
Purple lightning coiled around the kanabō, leaving a blazing trail of thunderous light across the air.
"Raimei Hakke!!"