Conqueror's Haki +1.04!
Conqueror's Haki: 76.889!
It moved.
Finally, it moved.
Feeling his Haki surge, Darren almost burst out laughing, eyes burning with wild, fervent light.
Ever since Kaido-sensei's "lessons" in Wano, his growth had frozen in place.
He could still see the readout he'd checked after his brutal fight with Bullet:
Physique 92.112 (Indestructible Body) Strength 83.291 (Giant's Strength)
Speed 83.833 (Soru's Divine Speed)
Devil Fruit Ability Development 85.894 (Island-Covering)
Armament Haki 72.715 (Internal Destruction, Demon Form)
Observation Haki 75.121 (Magnetic Field Sensing)
Conqueror's Haki 75.577.
After that clash, nothing had budged. His Physique had crept up by barely two-tenths.
Even after fighting Gecko Moria and Mihawk, there hadn't been the slightest uptick.
They simply weren't strong enough to push him to his limit.
But now—
Against Gol D. Roger, the future Pirate King and one of the era's mightiest, a single exchange had shattered the shackles on his will and given him a full 1.04 boost.
That tangible leap made Darren forget his injuries entirely.
So worth it.
A 1.04 boost. It might look small, but to wring that much out of a weakling like Moria, he would have had to crush him with Conqueror's Haki again and again.
More than that, the pressure of Roger's presence had forged a focus he'd never felt before. Mind and body snapped into alignment; even his Observation Haki sharpened under that unity.
Observation Haki: 0.86!
His first gain in Observation since "training" with Charlotte Katakuri.
"Yes. That's the feeling."
Blood pattered from his arm, speckling the ground. Darren wiped his mouth and laughed, unrestrained.
His black hair whipped about; his white cloak, stained red, snapped in the wind.
A fiercer aura erupted, Armament Haki surging with it until the pressure became a visible, dark-crimson storm. Stone cracked; buildings groaned under the weight of it.
He threw his arms wide, laughing like a madman. His fingers curled, and red lightning crawled across his knuckles, bursting into sparks that raced up his arms.
"Just as I thought. Crossing blades with a monster like you—that's what makes it worth it, Roger!"
The Roger Pirates stared, horrified—faces blanched, eyes wide, mouths open.
"A m-madman…"
"Doesn't it… hurt?"
"He's already half-dead…"
"This monster…"
Buggy and Shanks felt a cold shiver lance down their backs. Faced with that demonic pressure and the Vice Admiral's crazed grin, sweat pricked their foreheads; the terror from their first encounter with him surged up anew.
Rayleigh and Gaban traded grim looks, each seeing the same worry mirrored back.
They'd just realized something alarming: despite the gash he'd suffered, the brat's aura had grown stronger.
He was adapting to Roger's pressure in real time.
His battle focus honed to a savage edge, his Armament Haki began to spit crackling crimson lightning—a rare sign of mastery born of extreme control.
"This is bad," Rayleigh murmured, lips tightening as his eyes narrowed.
"Hahahaha! Not bad for a little punk!"
Roger seemed oblivious to the shift—or else he noticed and simply didn't care. With Ace wreathed in crimson-black current, he gazed at Darren with naked admiration and barked a laugh from deep in his chest.
"It's been far too long since I felt this alive!"
He turned his head and shouted, "Listen up! No one interferes!" Without waiting for an answer, he snapped his battle-hungry stare back to Darren. "Little Brat Darren—let's have a bloody, no-holds-barred brawl!"
Darren crouched, hands braced to the ground, leaning forward like a caged beast against its bars. Red lightning flashed in his eyes as his grin sharpened.
"Just what I wanted."
BOOM!
Power erupted under his feet; the ground shattered as he lunged like something finally loosed.
"HAHAHAHA!" Roger roared, lifting his blade one-handed as he charged straight in.
They hurtled toward each other again and met with a thunderous crash.
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters in Marineford, Admiral Sengoku was in high spirits, settling in for a leisurely afternoon tea.
A pot steamed on the low table; a plate of fresh, hot senbei perfumed the room with savory warmth.
The Marines were thriving. The Golden Generation—monstrous talents like Darren—was stepping into real authority, becoming the backbone of the force. Morale and combat capability had transformed.
Where Sengoku once had to oversee everything himself, starved for reliable subordinates—and Garp was impossible to control at the best of times—now he commanded a strong, well-equipped corps. With a string of victories humbling the New World's great pirates—Darren had even slain the Golden Lion, the greatest triumph since God Valley—Sengoku was reaping the reward. His promotion to Fleet Admiral felt like a formality.
The assassinations of several Shichibukai candidates? He'd outwardly obeyed orders to investigate, but inwardly, he could hardly be bothered.
They were pirates. Good riddance.
Their deaths proved only that they were too weak to serve as a deterrent.
Of course, orders were orders.
For a problem like that, he'd immediately thought of Darren. Smooth, powerful, cunning—perfect for a delicate mission.
And Darren hadn't disappointed. Once he moved, the killings stopped.
"Everything's going smoothly," Sengoku murmured, pleased. "We should accelerate the Admiral Candidate process for Little Brat Darren."
He eased back on the sofa, poured tea, and relaxed.
Bang!
The office door flew open.
A messenger stumbled in, pale and breathless. "Admiral Sengoku! Something terrible has happened!"
Sengoku shot him a look of displeasure and smoothed his tone. "Calm down. With me here, we can handle anything."
The messenger gulped air and forced his voice steady, though it still trembled. "Vice Admiral Darren is engaged in a fierce battle with pirates on Fish-Man Island!"
"Hm?" Sengoku lifted a brow, faintly puzzled. He raised his cup and smiled. "Fish-Man Island is politically sensitive, but I trust that brat to handle it. Just some pirates." He sipped, unruffled.
"It's the Roger Pirates!"
Pfft!
Sengoku spat his tea and shot to his feet, eyes bulging as he stared at the messenger. "What?!"
To be continued...