As Darren began his charge, the ground beneath him trembled with each step. His powerful stride left deep craters in the earth, as if struck by an invisible hammer. Dirt and debris scattered in all directions.
With an explosive burst of inhuman strength, Darren surged forward like a cannonball fired from a barrel, shrouded in a violent whirlwind. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance to his prey.
For a moment, Vinsmoke Judge felt an overwhelming sense of oppression engulf him. A bone-chilling coldness crept up his spine, as though a colossal Sea King had locked its gaze upon him.
The murderous aura emanating from the Navy Captain was palpable. It was as if he were a demon that had clawed its way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Even the salty breeze seemed to carry the metallic tang of death.
"Kill him! Take him down now!" Judge roared, bloodshot eyes wide with fury. Memories of the Navy Captain's brutal methods of suppressing pirates flashed through his mind.
At his command, dozens of cloned soldiers armed themselves and charged at Darren.
Two gleaming blades swung down simultaneously, aiming for Darren's head. With a smirk, Darren shifted his body slightly.
The sharp edges missed him by a hair's breadth.
In the split second they passed each other, Darren moved.
His hands, like steel-forged spears, turned into deadly blades. With blinding speed, he drove them into the throats of the two cloned soldiers.
Splat!
Blood spurted into the air, and the soldiers' lifeless eyes dimmed.
Without pausing for even a moment, Darren leapt forward like a caged tiger unleashed.
With a body as durable as steel, he barreled into the ranks of cloned soldiers. He was a force of nature, unstoppable and destructive.
From afar, the scene was chaos.
The swarm of cloned soldiers surrounded the Navy Captain in a suffocating ring. From the center of the formation came the sickening sounds of flesh tearing and bones shattering.
Warm corpses of cloned soldiers, drenched in blood, flew from the melee one after another, lifeless.
In just ten seconds, the ground was soaked red with blood, littered with the shattered remains of the soldiers.
Onboard the naval warship, Gion and Kaji watched the spectacle unfold in stunned silence, their faces pale with shock.
At this moment, Darren resembled an efficient, precision-engineered killing machine.
Not a single cloned soldier, despite their physical prowess far surpassing ordinary humans, could withstand even a moment against Darren's monstrous physique and ferocious combat skills. Touch him, and they died instantly.
Darren's every move was an act of devastation. His entire body became a weapon, mowing down lives like a whirlwind scattering leaves.
Bullets, blades, axes, swords, none of the weapons could harm him. Each strike against his body sparked like steel against steel, leaving only faint red marks.
Drenched in blood, Darren laughed wildly. The pristine white cape of justice on his back was now a deep crimson.
"That man… he's enjoying the thrill of battle," Gion murmured, her eyes fixed on Darren's ferocious grin. Her mind drifted back to the training grounds yesterday.
Faced with her swordsmanship, which could cut through steel, Darren had chosen to endure it head-on.
Now it was clear, he wasn't just confident in his defense. He relished the feeling of life and death hanging by a thread, the reckless abandon of combat.
"This guy… is insane!" Gion muttered, biting her lip.
Beside her, Kaji glanced at Gion, noticing her distracted gaze fixed on Darren's back. Realization dawned on him, and he turned abruptly to Mouse, shouting:
"Move it! We're going in too!"
"I'm gonna send Vinsmoke Judge flying!"
Mouse hesitated, puzzled by Kaji's sudden enthusiasm. "Are you sure? Captain Darren doesn't like interference in his fights. Besides, according to intelligence, Vinsmoke Judge and his advanced technology—"
Before Mouse could finish, Kaji grabbed him by the collar.
Face flushed red, Kaji growled, "You idiot, Mouse! Who do you think I am?!"
"I am the prodigy of Navy Headquarters, Kaji!"
"There's no way some Germa 66 could ever be my match!"
He released Mouse, turning dramatically toward Germa 66's fleet. His small eyes darted to Gion for a moment before he feigned a low chuckle and declared:
"This rush of blood and adrenaline… It's been too long since I felt this!"
"To think someone in the North Blue could give a genius like me this kind of pressure…"
Mouse's lips twitched as he watched Kaji's "heroic" pose. With a resigned sigh, he waved a hand, signaling the crew.
The Navy warship's engines roared to life, propelling it toward the Germa fleet.
Elsewhere on the battlefield.
Clang!
A crisp metallic sound rang out as several steel blades struck Darren's chest, only to snap in half.
The cloned soldiers holding the broken blades stared in stunned disbelief.
Though stripped of pain and fear of death, the soldiers retained basic emotions. And now, they couldn't comprehend how the man before them had a body harder than their forged steel weapons.
What's more, his defense seemed to be growing stronger as the battle raged on.
"Almost there… As expected, real combat is the best way to grow stronger."
Darren grinned.
Through his Insight ability, he could sense his physique and strength improving dramatically during the fight. His physical resilience, in particular, had surpassed a critical threshold of 60 points.
"It's time to get serious."
Once Darren's physique reached 60 points, the attacks from the cloned soldiers no longer had a significant impact on him.
These beings, stripped of fear and driven by an unrelenting spirit, neither tired nor feared death. Continuing to engage them was nothing more than a waste of time.
Thinking this, Darren licked his dry lips.
A sharp whistling sound came from behind him.
Several cloned soldiers leapt high into the air, steel blades in hand, slashing down toward Darren's neck.
But in the next second, they were struck dumb.
Their long swords, aimed at the back of Darren's head, stopped abruptly in mid-air, mere inches away from their target.
A heavy, oppressive silence enveloped the surroundings.
The suspended swords trembled violently, emitting an eerie hum.
Then, without Darren making any noticeable movements, the ground beneath their feet suddenly shifted.
Steel bars erupted from the earth like black serpents, intertwining and twisting together to form a dense web, surging toward the cloned soldiers.
They didn't even have time to react before the bars coiled around them, binding their bodies tightly and pulling them to the ground.
The steel tendrils dug into the earth, pulling tighter and tighter.
Under the horrified, frozen gaze of Vinsmoke Judge, hundreds of cloned soldiers within a hundred-meter radius were ensnared by the writhing steel bars.
Blood gushed forth as the rusted bars tore through their flesh and muscles.
In mere seconds, the ground was soaked with crimson. Their bodies were pierced, crushed, and dismembered by the relentless, twisting steel, spilling their organs everywhere.
The battlefield fell deathly silent.
Standing amid a sea of blood and corpses, the North Blue's highest-ranking naval officer remained unscathed.
Around him, countless steel bars writhed like black serpents, an image of a demon raised from hell.