I'm injured...
Seeing the Marine Vice Admiral in front of them still full of energy, the three Vice Admirals finally realized the terrifying power behind Daren's punch. Their mouths twitched at the sight.
They subconsciously glanced at the collapsing mountains on the distant island, feeling cold sweat pour down their backs.
One punch!
Just one punch, and the towering mountain hundreds of meters tall was almost shattered!
And the main force of that punch hadn't even struck the mountain directly—it was the impact of Bullet's body crashing into it that caused the destruction.
It was easy to imagine: if Daren's punch had landed directly on the mountain, the force, like a meteor falling to earth, would have easily blasted a hole right through it!
Just picturing that scene in their minds sent a chill down the spines of the three seasoned Vice Admirals.
A monster!
This was a monster, through and through!
They looked at Daren, their eyes filled with awe and reverence, then immediately raised their hands in salute.
"Yes, Vice Admiral Daren!"
Then they hurried off, leading a team of Marines with Seastone shackles.
"Right—make sure you use high-purity Seastone. That guy's undergone resistance training against Seastone. Ordinary shackles probably won't fully restrain him," Daren casually added, as if remembering something.
The three Vice Admirals' faces twitched again.
Monster!
That Douglas Bullet was a monster too!
As the three Vice Admirals quickly took their positions and led an elite Marine unit toward the collapsed mountains, Daren lay back leisurely on a beach chair beside Borsalino, under the admiring and respectful gazes of the gathered Marines.
Finishing his cigar, he lit another one, then accepted a glass of whiskey carefully handed to him by a soldier, taking a small sip.
"So, you've gotten stronger again..." Borsalino said, glancing at him with a small smile.
The oversized sunglasses covering his eyes made it impossible to read his emotions.
"Just a slight improvement, nothing major," Daren shrugged indifferently.
Bullet's devil form wasn't so much a way to increase strength as it was a technique to temporarily break through physical limits.
It was a more refined use of Armament Haki compared to "Internal Destruction."
Bullet had a point—most people on the seas wield Armament Haki in a rough and clumsy way.
Simple wrapping and hardening only enhanced their defense and explosive strength, giving non-Devil Fruit users a means to fight against Logia-type Devil Fruit users.
But the devil form wasn't just a simple hardening of Armament Haki.
That level was something many people could reach.
For instance, Vergo from the original story could cover his whole body with Armament Haki, but that only strengthened his defenses.
Bullet's devil form, however, fused Haki into his very being, using it as "fuel" to push his body's potential, erupting with greater speed, strength, and resilience!
It definitely gave a short-term boost to combat power.
However, for Daren, the effect wasn't as significant.
If Bullet unleashed his devil form, his strength would jump by at least 30%.
For Daren, it would be good if it increased by even 10%.
After all, Daren's physique, strength, and speed were already overwhelmingly solid, especially his physique. He could feel himself brushing against his limit, stuck at a stubborn, lifeless bottleneck.
Thinking about it, Daren instinctively checked his physical stats.
Physique: 92.112 (Indestructible Body)
Strength: 83.291 (Giant's Strength)
Speed: 83.833 (Soru's Godspeed)
Fruit Ability Development: 85.894 (Island-Wide Coverage)
Armament Haki: 72.715 (Internal Destruction, Devil Form)
Observation Haki: 75.121 (Magnetic Field Induction)
Conqueror's Haki: 75.577
As he expected, after his battle with Bullet, there had been almost no significant change in his stats.
Especially his physique—it was completely stuck.
He had already broken through to 91 points under Kaidou's "guidance," reaching the level of "Indestructible Body."
After clashing with Shiki and now Bullet, his physique had only risen by a mere 0.2 points.
It was easy to imagine that any further improvement would only become more difficult.
If he couldn't find a way to push himself further, as Daren grew older, he might not only plateau but even regress.
After all, he wasn't Kaidou, born with the blood of an oni.
"That's not just a little... You're already as strong as a monster," Borsalino sighed in frustration.
Daren blew out a smoke ring and gave him a half-smile.
"I'm curious, Borsalino—just how strong are you now?"
Borsalino raised both hands in surrender.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm no match for you."
Daren rolled his eyes.
This guy was still as elusive as ever—no one could figure out what he was really thinking.
And with every move he made being just a light touch, like a dragonfly skimming the water, it was impossible to gauge his true strength.
If he weren't worried about causing trouble, Daren sometimes seriously considered dragging the slippery monkey into a fight just to satisfy his curiosity.
Still, overall, this mission had been quite rewarding.
Even though what he learned from Bullet—the devil form—didn't drastically boost his combat power, a 10% increase was still a substantial gain.
The only downside was the insane consumption of Haki while using devil form. Even with Daren's current reserves, he could barely maintain it for three minutes before exhausting his Haki.
Which meant the devil form could only be kept as a hidden trump card.
...
While the two casually chatted and probed each other, the Vice Admirals returned, carrying the gravely wounded and unconscious Bullet.
Bullet lay limp on the stretcher like a dead dog, completely unconscious.
His hands and feet were shackled with Seastone cuffs, his body covered in blood and dirt, with at least twenty bones broken throughout.
"Vice Admiral Daren, what should we do with this guy?"
The three Vice Admirals carefully looked at Bullet, who was out cold.
Don't be fooled by how badly he was beaten. If he were awake, aside from Daren and Borsalino, probably no one among the ten Buster Call warships could stop him.
"Lock him up first. Give him good wine and meat—don't treat him poorly... After all, he's one of our esteemed Shichibukai now," Daren said with a bright smile.
The three Vice Admirals froze, then asked in confusion,
"But didn't he swear he'd rather die than submit?"
Daren replied calmly,
"He'll come around... I'll give him a reason he can't refuse."