"How fascinating..."
Daren grinned as he tore off his tattered military uniform, revealing a well-trained, muscular torso.
His bare upper body was drenched in blood, skin torn and lacerated—a horrifying sight. Yet, in that moment, the bloodstained skin seemed to shimmer with a cold, steely sheen.
He could feel the changes in his body, and a cocky smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
It was only a small boost in stats, yet after crossing the 90-point threshold, he could clearly sense a dramatic improvement in his physical resilience.
Indestructible Body!
Even shackled in Seastone, he could resist executions by blade, fire, lightning, or poison, relying solely on the durability of his flesh. He had become something worthy of the title "monster!"
Daren hadn't expected this. He had focused solely on training his Strength and Armament Haki, but in the end, it was his long-dormant "physique" that broke through first.
"Talk about a pleasant surprise..."
He subconsciously glanced at Queen in the distance, the fat man frozen in shock. Daren grinned.
That grin alone made Queen's face twist in fear, his chubby cheeks trembling.
"Why are you looking at me!?"
"Why did you glance my way!?"
"Why are you smiling at me!?"
Caught between Kaidou and King's murderous stares, Queen turned pale and stammered through gritted teeth.
"This... this has nothing to do with me!"
Trying to prove his innocence, he suddenly stepped forward.
A massive metal arm lifted, and with a blinding flash from its mechanical claws, a piercing laser beam shot through the air.
"Black Coffee Beam!"
The world around them suddenly darkened. The golden laser beam reached Daren in a flash.
Sparks of violet crackled deep within his eyes—his Observation Haki had already "seen" the beam's precise path.
But he didn't move to dodge.
Instead, he sneered and raised a hand, grabbing at the laser head-on!
Boom!!
A deafening explosion erupted, engulfing everything within a hundred-meter radius in blazing flames.
Black smoke billowed into the sky, heat waves rippled outward, scattering debris in all directions.
"D-Did it work?" Queen muttered, squinting as he lowered his voice.
Beside him, King wore a grim expression, his eyes flashing warily behind his mask.
"It almost did..."
A hoarse, mocking voice echoed from the distance.
The figure of the defiant Vice Admiral slowly emerged from the sea of flames, the arm he used to catch the laser beam barehanded now trailing wisps of black smoke.
From afar, he looked like a demon god rising from hell, his presence oppressive and overwhelming.
"No matter how advanced your tech is, it's still just an imitation. Compared to Borsalino's real deal, you're still a few steps behind, fatso."
Daren lifted his hand, examining the faint scorch marks on his palm. A faint smirk appeared in his narrowed eyes.
If that laser had come from Borsalino at full power, even with the Indestructible Body, he would've been seriously burned.
Of course, that was purely his physical defense.
With Armament Haki layered on top, it might've been a different story!
Daren clenched his fist, snuffing out the remaining flames.
He had to admit—the Indestructible Body was insanely powerful.
By his estimate, no attack lacking Haki could harm him now.
Even if coated in Armament Haki, it depended on how strong the Haki was.
If it hadn't reached the "Internal Destruction" level of Ryuo, even if it pierced his defense, it would likely cause nothing more than surface wounds.
Still, he couldn't deny it—this level of physical durability gave him a dangerous sense of overconfidence.
He could've dodged Queen's laser just now with his boosted Observation Haki. But in that moment, Daren simply didn't feel like it...
Sure, part of it was testing his defense, but honestly—what's the point of training Observation Haki when you've got an Indestructible Body?
Good thing he went to see Katakuri first...
The thought flickered through his mind as he checked his stats.
Physique: 90.001 (Indestructible Body)
Strength: 79.591
Speed: 79.415
Fruit Ability Development: 85.444 (Island-Wide Coverage)
Armament Haki: 62.315
Observation Haki: 72.887 (Magnetic Field Induction)
Conqueror's Haki: 62.091
Almost there...
Daren narrowed his eyes.
"I didn't expect you to actually reach this level..."
A deep, thunderous voice suddenly echoed through the air.
Daren turned to look and saw Kaidou's aura had inexplicably quieted.
"All these years, no one's ever brought their body to the level I have."
Kaidou's head hung low, his long black hair falling over his face. An overwhelming battle spirit, wild and unrestrained, was gathering inside his monstrous dragon-hybrid body like a massive storm vortex.
"Good."
He abruptly lifted his head, blood-red eyes locking onto Daren as he let out a booming, satisfied laugh.
"Wororororororo! Daren, you brat! You're finally worthy of a head-on fight with me!!"
Boom!!
A fierce eruption of Conqueror's Haki burst from his body, transforming into streaks of black and red lightning that exploded outward, crackling through the air.
They filled the dark sky like a storm of chaos, illuminating Kaidou's twisted, ecstatic expression in flickering flashes.
A hellish gale swept across Wano Country, tearing through everything in its path.
The clouds shattered and scattered, and for a moment, it felt like the entire world had lost its color—leaving only that tyrannical figure, looming like a demon god.
"Come, Daren!!"
Kaidou gripped his kanabō in one hand, and with a sudden drop of his dragon-scaled legs, the ground beneath him cracked.
Daren's pupils narrowed.
This guy... his aura just shifted!
Crack... BOOM!!
The earth split wide, then erupted into a massive crater.
Kaidou vanished from sight.
In the next instant, he reappeared above the Vice Admiral's head, both hands gripping the kanabō as he raised it high.
His speed was unreal—so fast it felt like he'd outpaced lightning itself.
Zzzzzzz!
Torrents of black and red lightning, entwined with flashes of purple lightning, tore through the sky and coiled around the kanabō, radiating an overwhelming pressure.
"Die!!"
Kaidou roared, eyes blazing, and brought his club crashing down!
"Kosanze Ragnaraku!!"
It was like a wrathful deity descending upon the world—an earth-shattering strike that tore through the void. Everything in Daren's sight fractured like glass, the air itself twisting into chaos.
An indescribable sense of death surged over him, making every inch of his skin sting with the threat of annihilation.