"Is this really something a human can do?!"
Seeing the outrageous scene before him, Gecko Moria's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
Momonga's face also changed slightly as his figure vanished into a flash of lightning, pulling away and leaping high into the sky.
Watching the ground collapse and giant pillars of mud shoot upward, it felt as if the entire island was trembling under Daren's terrifying strength. Momonga's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
"This guy... is he planning to tear down the entire branch base..."
Crack, crack... Daren twisted his neck, sharp pops echoing like roasting beans, a savage grin curling at the corner of his lips.
"Come on then, Gecko Moria."
A near-violent surge of Conqueror's Haki burst from his body. His military uniform and cape flapped wildly in the howling winds, as fierce as a raging inferno.
The crimson storm of Haki instantly engulfed the entire island.
Even the surrounding walls and loose gravel on the ground began to crack and jump, sharp cracking sounds filling the air.
Compared to Gecko Moria, the pressure radiating from Daren at this moment was far more oppressive and heavy, like a tangible force crushing down on everyone's hearts.
The Marines hiding in the shadows, their shadows stripped away, clutched their heads in agony, wailing like ghosts.
Conqueror's Haki: 75.822!
Standing at the forefront, Gecko Moria instinctively raised his arms to shield his face, his massive frame pushed backward by the roaring hurricane.
"Damn it... How is this possible?! You're just a Marine! How can you possess such powerful Conqueror's Haki?!"
He gritted his teeth fiercely, a storm of shock raging in his heart.
He had never set foot in the New World, nor had he ever encountered another opponent who had awakened Conqueror's Haki, leaving him utterly unable to comprehend what he was witnessing.
"Conqueror's Haki is nothing rare..."
Daren grinned.
"In the New World, those with the spirit of a king are as common as fish swimming across a river."
Gecko Moria was struck as if hit by a bolt of lightning.
He had never imagined that the Conqueror's Haki he prided himself on was something so commonplace in the New World!
"Damn it! Even so, I won't lose to you!"
With bloodshot eyes, he let out a furious roar. His massive body leaped from the ruins of the military fortress, brandishing his unique serrated blade with both hands as he charged toward Daren.
Countless shadowy bats fluttered around him, and under the coating of Armament Haki, arcs of purple electricity danced across his blade!
At the same time he moved, Daren's power also reached its peak.
With a heavy boom, like an invisible giant stomping the earth, the ground around him tore apart for dozens of meters, and the Vice Admiral's figure shot out like a cannonball.
His speed was unbelievable, flashing before Gecko Moria's eyes in an instant.
Moria's eyes bulged wide as he swung his sword with a ferocious roar!
Daren grinned broadly. As he struck, Armament Haki surged across his right hand like a black tide.
His fingers closed into three, bent slightly, forming a dominating dragon claw.
"Ryusoken..."
A dragon claw came crashing down!
In the next instant, Moria's serrated blade and Daren's dragon claw collided fiercely.
Bang!!
The clash of Armament Haki produced a deep, muffled roar, followed by a shockwave that swept across the ground like a raging sea, lifting massive waves of mud that surged outward in all directions.
Countless shards of stone were blasted into the air. Gecko Moria's expression suddenly shifted in horror, his eyes widening.
He watched as his long sword, coated in Armament Haki, began to crackle like shattering glass, spiderwebbing with dense fractures.
His Armament Haki... was being completely overpowered!
Moria's heart quaked violently.
The Marine Vice Admiral in front of him bared a vicious smile.
"Didn't you want to know how I took down Shiki?"
Moria froze.
Before he could react, a sharp killing intent flashed through Daren's eyes as he forcefully unleashed his three-fingered dragon claw!
"Dragon's Breath!!"
Boom!!
It was as if a dragon that had been gathering strength for ages finally unleashed a roaring blast of heat.
Under Gecko Moria's terrified gaze, the Marine Vice Admiral's dragon claw crushed everything in its path with overwhelming, unstoppable force.
The Armament Haki armor shattered.
The massive steel-forged blade shattered.
Then came Moria's right hand—the one gripping the sword...
From his fingers to his wrist, from his forearm to his upper arm—everything that stood in the path of the dragon claw was obliterated in an instant by the erupting impact!
Crack!!
As the dragon claw tore through, chunks of flesh and bone burst apart, exploding into a mist of blood.
"Rip!!"
From the shadows, the Marines hiding in the corners and Momonga in midair all inhaled sharply, their faces twitching uncontrollably.
"Aaaaaaah!!"
Gecko Moria let out a heart-wrenching scream, clutching at the gaping bloody hole on his right shoulder as he staggered backward.
His already pale face now looked deathly white, like a ghost.
"Lost an arm after all..."
Momonga covered his face helplessly and shook his head.
"...Damn it! You forced my hand, Daren!!"
Moria, gripped by agony he had never experienced before, twisted his face into a grimace of pure rage.
Blood poured uncontrollably from between his fingers, dripping onto the ground.
"I'll tear every last one of you apart!!"
He roared in a broken voice.
"Shadow's... Asgard!!"
As he shouted, countless shadows burst out from the collapsed buildings and cracked ground, rushing toward Moria like black streams flowing along the surface.
Moria opened his mouth wide, ready to absorb the flood of shadows.
His eyes burned with a savage desire for destruction.
This was his ultimate technique: using his Devil Fruit ability to absorb every shadow under his control into his body, expanding himself and massively boosting his strength.
As long as his body could endure it, he could absorb up to a thousand shadows—enough to smash an island apart with a single strike!
Even though he had only gathered a few hundred shadows from the Marines on the island, it was more than enough!
That damned Marine had dared to cripple one of his arms... Unforgivable!!
"Kishishishi!! You're dead!! Da—mmph!!"
Just as he was laughing madly, a massive hand appeared out of nowhere, brutally clamping down over his mouth and face.
The rushing shadows instantly lost their target, swirling helplessly in the air.
"You took way too long to set that up."
Daren's figure silently appeared beside Gecko Moria, letting out a sigh of disappointment.
Then...
He grabbed Moria's head with one hand...
And smashed it viciously into the ground!
Moria's face slammed into the earth with a sickening crunch, blood gushing from his mouth and nose as his pupils quickly went vacant.
Boom!!
The ground within a hundred meters collapsed violently, massive cracks devouring the surrounding fortifications as a huge cloud of dust surged into the sky.
From above, the Marine base looked as though it had been flattened by a raging dragon, clouds of dust spiraling into the air.
The island trembled.
...
A minute later,
The Marine Vice Admiral dragged Gecko Moria, now limp like a dead dog, out from the ruined crater. Tossing him carelessly onto the ground, Daren lit a cigar.
"Patch him up. Don't let him die."
The Marines, having retrieved their stolen shadows, hurried over to carry out the order.
"You really went overboard this time..."
Momonga appeared at Daren's side, looking at the shattered ruins all around, his face dark.
Moria had only destroyed a few turrets and a fortress... Meanwhile, Daren had practically razed the entire base!
He was like a living, breathing Tyrannosaurus.
Daren exhaled a puff of smoke, a look of disappointment on his face.
"I was just starting to get fired up, and it's already over."
He cast a contemptuous glance at the unconscious Moria.
"Weakling."
Momonga: ...
Aside from monsters like Kaidou and Big Mom, isn't everyone a weakling to you?!
"How about I be your next opponent?"
Suddenly, a deep voice echoed across the sea in the distance.
Daren blinked, then as if sensing something, a strange smile curved his lips.
"Looks like everyone's coming to me now. North Blue really is getting lively..."