"Charge!"
"Let me go first!"
"Damn it, I was here first!"
"I'll take down Vice Admiral Darren myself!"
The Marines surged forward in a frenzy, eyes burning with feverish determination. Even before a man who seemed like a demon god, their morale soared to dizzying heights.
Why hesitate?
Rogers Darren stood among the world's greatest. He had subdued the three "monsters" of Headquarters, fought legendary pirates like Roger, Whitebeard, and Kaido without retreat, and defeated Golden Lion Shiki and Byrnndi World with his own hands.
And these very soldiers had witnessed him tear down the Gorosei—the supposed gods of the world.
To face such a man in combat, to be guided by him through fists instead of words—what Marine would shrink from that? Judging by the condition of the Giant Vice Admiral, Onigumo, and Doberman, Darren was clearly holding back.
At worst, they'd be beaten. At best, they'd be enlightened. Either way, they'd learn.
Driven by this twisted courage, the crowd of Marines roared forward.
"Rankyaku!"
"Shigan!"
Two Commodores led the charge from opposite sides, executing a perfect pincer strike.
But Darren's response came faster than thought—he caught both men mid-movement, twisted their limbs, and hurled them skyward like rag dolls.
"Your intentions were far too obvious."
Crash!
The two officers slammed into a nearby building, collapsing it into dust and rubble. Groaning, they clawed at the debris, exchanged a glance… and then promptly threw themselves backward, feigning unconsciousness.
The Marines watching brightened with sudden understanding.
They rushed Darren one after another, unleashing their best techniques only to be sent flying, coughing blood, and collapsing theatrically to the ground.
Soon, the battlefield turned absurd—Marines charging in waves, only to be blasted away one by one until the field was littered with bodies.
From afar, Darren moved through them like a storm given form, unstoppable and untouchable.
"What are these idiots doing?" Sengoku's jaw twitched as he watched. His veteran eyes saw through it immediately. They weren't fighting—they were taking falls!
And Strawberry, that brat—did he think Sengoku hadn't noticed him lying there scratching his chest?!
Before long, the "fallen" Marines carpeted the field, piled like mounds of discarded armor. Sengoku's patience snapped.
If this went on, Darren would flatten all of Marine Headquarters! What would happen to the honor of the Marines—the symbol of Justice itself?
Resolve hardened in his chest. Sengoku's body burst into radiant gold.
A colossal Buddha rose from the shattered ground, golden light blazing like the dawn.
"Darren! I won't let you run wild any longer!"
The earth split beneath the weight of the transformed Admiral as he leapt skyward, towering above the Vice Admiral. A titanic shockwave cascaded from his palm.
"This is our Holy Land of Justice!"
Great Buddha Impact!
The sky split under the force of it.
But Darren's eyes flashed with savage light. Armament Haki surged over his arms, crackling black lightning across his skin. He met the descending palm head-on.
"In this so-called Holy Land of Justice," he snarled, "I see no justice at all!"
"Seabed Drop!"
BOOM!!
Fist met palm. The world convulsed.
The shockwave tore the battlefield apart, collapsing the ground for hundreds of meters. Marines were hurled like leaves before a storm. Black-red lightning flared and vanished in the blinding gale. Clouds ripped open, a gash splitting the sky.
"Evenly matched!"
"This is insane!"
"Vice Admiral Darren… he's fighting Admiral Sengoku as an equal!"
Marines staggered back, shielding their faces from the violent wind. Terror filled their eyes as they watched the two titans collide—Buddha and demon, gold and black.
Darren's short hair whipped wildly in the storm. His grin was feral.
"All I see here is obedience without conviction, rules without reason, and a Justice that's lost its soul!"
Sengoku's roar shook the air. "At your age, you know nothing of true Justice! To preserve peace, Justice must bend when the world demands it!"
Darren scoffed, darkness flooding his body like ink spilling through water. Black-crimson lightning arced across his skin as his aura warped into something monstrous.
Demon Form.
"That's because your Justice isn't strong enough, Sengoku!"
His right arm expanded, muscle surging like molten stone.
Giant Power.
"Demon Form—Giant Impact!"
He struck.
Crack!
The clash shattered.
A gargantuan black fist tore through the golden light, smashing the Buddha's palm aside and sending Sengoku hurtling through the air.
Boom!
He crashed into a distant fortress wall, blasting a crater deep into its heart.
Darren advanced—but the ground froze beneath his feet. White mist bloomed. The ruins around him turned to glassy ice as a killing chill climbed his legs.
"You've grown much stronger, Kuzan," Darren said with a faint smile, glancing toward the source.
Kuzan knelt on one knee, hand pressed to the ground, breath fogging the air.
"Ice Age!"
To be continued...