Dragon's lips twitched as he watched the Overalls Fatso swagger around, belly puffed out, basking in his own arrogance.
Is this guy an idiot? he thought, shaking his head in exasperation. Something was seriously off.
Then he turned to Darren—and immediately realized what it was.
They were on Onigashima, floating high above Wano—the very heart of the Beasts Pirates' territory.
And Darren, that lunatic, was calmly letting "Plague Queen" jab needles into him, eyes half-closed like he was about to drift off to sleep.
Are you kidding me?! This is the enemy's headquarters!
Dragon was beside himself, practically clawing at his own hair. Several strands came free, making his already precarious hairline look even more tragic.
"Relax," Darren said with a lazy smile, eyes barely cracking open. "After seeing the state we're in, Kaido won't be in the mood to kill us."
Dragon: "..."
Your idea of 'comfort' is making me more nervous, you bastard!
Time dragged by, painfully slow.
The same Overalls Fatso who claimed he "felt no joy from Darren's praise" was now bustling around like a man possessed, using the most potent—and most expensive—medications and nutrients he had on hand. By the time he finished, sweat was pouring off him.
He pushed the last vial of pale green serum into Darren's vein, glanced at the gradually stabilizing vitals, and finally let out a long breath.
Wiping the sweat from his round face, he forced on a smug look, pulled out a cigar, bit off the tip, and lit it. With a theatrical snort, he sneered:
"Don't get the wrong idea. It's not like I used anything good on you."
He jerked his chin toward the trash can overflowing with empty medicine bottles and added coldly:
"These are all expired rejects. But with a body like yours, you'd probably survive stuff that's a few decades past its date."
"I already feel much better. Thanks this time, Fatty," Darren said sincerely, a faint smile on his lips.
He meant it.
After Queen's rampage of treatment, he could feel his body roaring back into motion, his injuries knitting together at an astonishing pace.
It couldn't erase the hidden damage from Magnetic Field Rotation, but it would get him back to peak fighting condition a lot faster.
There was no denying it: for a mad scientist like Queen—who excelled at tech modification and biological research—medicine was practically second nature. He dared to prescribe dosages no normal doctor would even contemplate, and with Darren's monstrous constitution, he could push everything to the limit.
"Tch! Hypocrite."
Queen turned his face away and stalked toward the door with exaggerated indifference.
Just as he reached the threshold, he paused.
Without looking back, he rumbled in a low voice:
"Don't you dare drop dead just because you burned your lifespan too fast… I'm gonna invent the strongest virus in the world and poison you to death fair and square."
Darren: "..."
Dragon: "..."
Seriously? He's actually fired up about this? What is wrong with this guy?
Dragon glared at Queen's retreating back, a dark line throbbing at his temple as the man squeezed through the doorway and casually pulled it shut behind him. With a sharp huff, Dragon rolled his eyes skyward.
He turned back to Darren and couldn't hold back anymore. "Is that Fatty completely out of his mind?"
Darren chuckled. "That's how scientists are. The pressure gets to them. You get used to it."
Dragon thought about it, and Borsalino's face popped into his mind out of nowhere. Somehow, the explanation started to make sense.
Of course, compared to a frontline lunatic like Queen, Borsalino's role in the Scientific Corps was more as a commander than a researcher.
"Even so… are you really alright?" Dragon asked quietly, watching Darren sit up on the lab bed and light a cigarette. Concern clouded his eyes.
He had always regarded Darren as his closest friend—even back in their Marine days. Dragon had long sensed that Darren, unlike everyone else, carried a natural distrust of authority… or more accurately, a deep contempt for the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.
Aside from Darren, no one in the Marines had ever truly understood what Dragon was struggling with.
And this time, Darren had suffered these horrifying injuries because he'd come to rescue Kuma at Dragon's request. Dragon couldn't help but feel a gnawing guilt.
"Don't fuss," Darren said, exhaling smoke with a faint smile. "You wouldn't understand that feeling… that raw, overwhelming power that can tear everything apart, crush anything in front of you. It's completely out of control."
A restless madness flickered in his dark eyes.
"The risk was higher, sure. But I still think I made the right call. If I'd followed the conventional path like everyone else, developing the Magnet-Magnet Fruit step by step, maybe I'd eventually reach Awakening and affect the external environment. But that kind of Awakening would never have given me the chance to kill 'The Strongest Celestial Dragon.'"
Dragon fell silent.
He knew Darren was right.
Devil Fruits had limits. Someone standing at the very top of the food chain, like Saint Michael, could use overwhelming Haki alone to resist the effects of most abilities.
Even if I awakened the Magnet-Magnet Fruit the normal way, I still wouldn't be able to kill that silver wolf hiding in the dark.
"I'll find a way to deal with the lifespan drain," Darren said lightly. "Besides, I've got a feeling that as my Devil Fruit mastery improves, the side effects of Magnetic Field Rotation will shrink."
Hearing that, Dragon let the matter drop—for now.
"Fine. Get some rest first."
Darren smiled and shut his eyes, pretending to sleep.
But his consciousness slowly sank inward, turning completely toward his own body.
Activating his familiar Perception, he finally saw his full status clearly laid out before him:
[Physique: 99.295 (Indestructible Body)]
[Strength: 96.377 (Giant's Body)]
[Speed: 91.827 (Thunder Armor)]
[Devil Fruit: 91.888 (Magnetic Field Rotation)]
[Armament Haki: 88.952 (External Emission Burst)]
[Observation Haki: 88.982 (Magnetic Field Sensing)]
[Conqueror's Haki: 89.999 (Substance Influence)]
To be continued...