"Damn it!!"
Gion's face changed drastically at the sight. She finally realized—Daren wasn't just strong. He was toying with them.
Tokikake specialized in close-quarters combat and had immense physical strength. Yet his attacks hadn't done a thing to Daren!
Looking at Daren's bare upper body—those muscles covered in jagged scars—a thought suddenly struck Gion.
—His physical defense...might have reached an inhuman level!
Even under normal circumstances, his toughness could rival Tekkai!
As the thought flashed through her mind, Gion didn't hesitate. She launched forward like a pink blur.
Fierce battle spirit flared in her eyes, and the golden blade in her hand gleamed with piercing light.
Things had escalated to the point where retreat was no longer an option.
She and Tokikake were here representing the Marine Headquarters, and with so many Marines watching, they had to save face no matter what!
"Watch yourself, Captain Daren!"
The moment her voice rang out, Gion was already in front of him.
Her golden sword tore through the air, unleashing a sharp, explosive whistle.
"Battō: Peach Smoke!"
A single slash!
Shhlick!!
The golden blade came crashing down, and blood sprayed in all directions.
A gruesome gash opened across Daren's chest, blood gushing out like a fountain.
But Gion's pupils shrank in shock.
He didn't dodge!?
She stared at the Marine Captain in disbelief, momentarily stunned.
The blade of her sword was stuck deep in the muscle of Daren's chest—but couldn't go any further!
Then she saw it.
A smile.
Cruel, pleased, and with a hint of madness, it slowly curled across Daren's lips into an unrestrained grin.
"To feel the breath of all things...the realm of cutting steel, huh?"
Daren licked the salty blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze toward Gion filled with appreciation.
"You really are Headquarters' genius. Just one step away from becoming a true swordswoman."
As soon as he finished speaking, a violent gust slammed into Gion, tearing at her cheeks with raw force.
The air exploded with a deafening blast.
So fast!!
Her face paled, and she instinctively raised her blade to block.
Clang!!
A black military boot crashed down onto the blade with tremendous force.
Gion felt an overwhelming power slam into her—as if a speeding Sea Train had hit her head-on—and she was launched like a cannonball.
Waves of pressure rippled through the air.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Her body smashed through several heavy stone targets before finally crashing to the ground in a roll.
Shattered debris rained down all around her.
Blood ran from the corner of her mouth. Her hand trembled violently as she gripped her sword. The skin between her thumb and index finger split open, blood flowing as a burning pain flared.
She stared at Daren in disbelief, heart pounding like a tidal wave.
This man... not only was his defense monstrous—his strength was nearly that of a full-grown giant!
"Ahhhhh!! Damn it!! Daren, you bastard! You actually hit me in the face!!"
A furious roar suddenly echoed through the field.
"I make a living with this face!"
Tokikake, his face swollen like a pig's head, struggled to pull himself out of the crater. He was panting heavily, his eyes now bloodshot with rage.
His aura changed in an instant, like a ferocious beast awakening from deep slumber.
"To think you pushed me to use this kind of strength… You should feel honored."
Hunched over, Tokikake staggered as he rose to his feet.
Suddenly, his military uniform puffed up, and the withered muscles beneath began to bulge and swell like volcanic rock. His expression turned savage.
Crackle... pop...
As power erupted from his body, the ground beneath him cracked under the crushing pressure of the energy he unleashed.
The terrifying sight made the watching Marines' expressions shift.
"What insane physical strength!"
"He had this kind of power hidden inside him?!"
"Is this the genius of Headquarters!?"
They stared in shock as Lieutenant Commander Tokikake from Headquarters charged at Daren with thunderous momentum.
His speed surged—faster, fiercer—nearly double what it had been before!
Like a meteor, he hurtled toward Base Commander Daren...
Then—
BOOM!!
...he was sent flying back even faster than he'd charged.
A stream of scarlet blood spewed from his mouth. His uniform was torn to shreds by the sheer force.
He rolled across the ground over a dozen times before collapsing in a heap, curled up like a boiled shrimp.
Tokikake opened his mouth wide, gasping like a fish out of water. His eyes, bloodshot from pain, bulged grotesquely from their sockets.
"Urgh!!"
A puddle of sour-smelling bile burst from his mouth, instantly fouling the air with its stench.
Silence.
The entire training ground fell into a deathly quiet.
Under the stunned gazes of everyone present, the newly appointed Admiral of the North Blue began walking slowly toward Gion and Tokikake.
His towering figure cast a long shadow under the blazing sun, engulfing the two of them.
Looking down at the two "inspectors" Headquarters had sent to watch over him, Daren wore a warm, sunny smile.
"You two really are top-notch talents from Headquarters..."
He gave them a wink.
"——I'll be counting on you from now on."
"Damn it!! Daren, you bastard! How the hell are you this strong?!"
Still panting, Tokikake lifted his head. His bloodshot eyes locked fiercely onto Daren.
Hearing that, Daren suddenly smiled, as if recalling something amusing.
"Compared to the real monsters out there, I'm honestly not that strong…"
He chuckled, then glanced down at the gash across his chest.
Hmm. The bleeding had stopped—almost scabbed over.
"Well, that sparring match was pretty fun."
He turned and began walking toward the far side of the training field.
"Warm-up's over. Time for actual training."
Tokikake and Gion: ???
They were completely dumbfounded.
That exchange just now… was just a warm-up to you!?
You got cut! You were bleeding!
Oh. It's almost scabbed over. Guess that makes it fine.
The two of them exchanged a glance, their shock written all over their faces.
...
RUMBLE!
Just as Tokikake and Gion were still reeling, a deep, trembling rumble suddenly echoed from beneath their feet.
Dust and gravel jumped on the ground around them.
Sensing something, they looked up—
And their minds went blank at the sight.
A hundred meters away—
The man who had just overpowered both of them with sheer brute force was now gripping a massive black iron chain.
The rusted black chain stretched about ten meters long, extending all the way to an abandoned warship at the far edge of the training ground.
With his muscles swelling like jagged volcanic stone,
Daren gripped the huge chain with both hands, and was dragging the six-meter-tall medium-sized warship—forward!
Step by step.
Each time he stepped, his boots left shallow craters in the ground.
And with every stride, the massive warship scraped across the ground, carving out a deep trench and shaking the earth with its weight.
From where Gion and Tokikake stood, they could only stare.
That seemingly small Marine Captain, dragging a hulking warship under the blazing sun, created a sight so overwhelming it burned itself into their minds.
Gion and Tokikake gawked, mouths open, utterly speechless.
"You two just arrived in the North Blue. There's a lot you don't know."
At that moment, Momonga walked up beside them.
He looked toward the distant figure of the Marine Captain dragging the warship, his gaze filled with undisguised reverence.
"Before Rear Admiral Sakazuki was reassigned to Headquarters, Captain Daren served as his aide."
"The countless scars on Captain Daren's body… most of them came from sparring with Rear Admiral Sakazuki."
Gion and Tokikake gasped sharply in unison.
Those horrifying scars… came from sparring!?
That… that wasn't sparring...
That was a savage, beast-like clash!
A man who could survive matches against Sakazuki—that monster...
Recalling their earlier "sparring," both Gion and Tokikake felt their faces flush with shame.
They'd gone all out, but in Daren's eyes, it must have looked like child's play…
"Another monster…"
Tokikake swallowed hard and muttered dryly.
The saying "The North Blue breeds monsters" had already spread throughout Marine Headquarters, Marineford, in the past year or two.
From the most chaotic of the four seas had emerged two terrifying prodigies with wildly different personalities—
Sakazuki and Borsalino.
They'd graduated from the officer training camp in less than half a year, their monstrous talent and unstoppable rise earning them the title of "monsters" from Admiral Zephyr himself.
But now—
It wouldn't be long before another "monster" rose from these turbulent waters.
His name—was Rogers Daren.