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Thank you, everyone! We quickly reached our first milestone of 300 Power Stones! As promised, 10 extra chapters, on top of the regular daily releases.
⚓ MASS RELEASE RULES ⚓
For every 300 Powerstones gathered by the end of the current Powerstone cycle (Sunday night reset), I will drop a 10-CHAPTER MASS RELEASE!
Powerstones Collected Bonus Chapters Dropped
300 PS +10 chapters (X)
600 PS +20 chapters (X)
900 PS +30 chapters (X)
1200 PS +40 chapters (X)
1500 PS +50 chapters (X)
1800 PS +60 chapters (X)
2100 PS +70 chapters
...and so on! Unlimited potential!
No caps. No mercy. You vote, I drop.
🗓️ Campaign Duration:
From now until the end of the current Powerstone cycle (Sunday 11:59 PM Webnovel time)
...
As they walked from the military hospital toward the Fleet Admiral's office, Daren—who had been confined to a hospital bed for ten days—finally got a clear look at the current state of Marineford.
The military zone remained in ruins. Along the way, wounded Marines occasionally paused their patrols to salute the four of them, eyes filled with admiration.
The rubble from collapsed buildings and military fortifications had mostly been cleared, but the ground was still riddled with cracks and craters. What lay ahead was a vast emptiness, bleak and desolate.
Only a few skeletal structures of buildings and forts had been hastily erected—early steps toward the long road of reconstruction.
Daren couldn't help but frown repeatedly at the sight.
The devastation caused by Shiki's assault was even greater than the Marineford War he remembered from the original timeline.
More than half of the military district had been destroyed. The civilian areas hadn't been spared either—not even his own residential complex, which had been leveled by a "meteorite" that fell from the sky.
Fortunately, Zephyr had acted swiftly at the outbreak of the attack, organizing a proper evacuation effort. Thanks to that, civilian casualties had remained low.
Still, across Marineford's scarred landscape, the mood was grim. Many Marines bore exhausted expressions, and civilians stood in front of their shattered homes, dazed and silent—some openly weeping.
To Shiki, this war had been nothing more than a game, a whim, a way to vent his anger at the Navy.
But to the countless Marines and civilians who lived here, it had been a catastrophe. They had lost loved ones, friends, lovers, and homes.
Even Daren, who had grown emotionally calloused in the brutal North Blue and had long become numb to war and suffering, found himself weighed down by the scene before him.
"Damn that bastard Shiki. I'll make him pay for this!"
Kuzan gritted his teeth, fists clenched so tightly the veins on the backs of his hands stood out.
"Marineford was fine just days ago... now look at it. If only I were stronger—I could've saved more people!"
As a "double disciple" of both Zephyr and Garp, two old hardliners in their own right, Kuzan had naturally inherited their understanding of justice and their unwavering commitment to it.
To them, true justice wasn't just about hunting pirates—it was about protecting civilians and the next generation of Marines.
Kuzan had embraced that belief wholeheartedly.
His eyes blazed with grief and fury—rage at Shiki's cruelty, and even more at his own powerlessness.
Daren gave him a look, then patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"You did great, Kuzan. Without your powers, this battle could've cost us a lot more."
And that was no exaggeration.
To stop Shiki's floating island from crashing directly onto Marineford, Daren had used Enma to slice it in half, sending the pieces into the sea instead.
But even then, the island was massive—so massive that when it hit the ocean, it triggered towering tidal waves that threatened to flood nearly half the city.
If Kuzan hadn't acted in time and frozen the sea with his Devil Fruit powers, the consequences would've been unimaginable.
Before Kuzan could respond, Sakazuki spoke in his usual flat tone.
"Casualties are part of war. There's no avoiding it."
His pace didn't falter even in the face of the surrounding devastation.
"Instead of wasting time complaining or getting emotional, we should be planning our next move."
Staring at Sakazuki's cold, unyielding back, Kuzan gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath,
"Cold-blooded bastard."
Daren said nothing.
That was just who Sakazuki was.
He had forged himself into a merciless engine of war—unyielding, immovable, like a towering wall of iron. Unshakable and beyond reform.
To him, emotions like pity, grief, sympathy, or sorrow were nothing but obstacles. They clouded judgment and got in the way of eliminating the enemy.
"Sengoku's been having one hell of a time lately... Post-war compensation, tending to the wounded, temporary housing for civilians, rebuilding Marineford... Everything hit all at once. Even the Science Division's research budget took a serious cut."
Borsalino sounded like he was trying to ease the mood, casually shifting the topic with a relaxed smile.
His injuries had long since healed. He walked with a spring in his step, as if he'd never been hurt at all.
"What about government military aid?" Daren asked.
Borsalino shrugged, both hands raised with a sly grin.
"Shiki killed a Celestial Dragon. The news couldn't be contained, and now the Five Elders are probably losing their minds..."
"Fleet Admiral Kong has already gone to Mary Geoise to give a report."
Military funding had always been the biggest obstacle to the Navy's development—without question.
The Marines relied entirely on appropriations from the World Government. They had no other source of income, meaning all operations were bound by the government's decisions.
This had been an inescapable dilemma for centuries, and no solution had ever been found.
It was precisely because he understood how suffocating financial restraints could be that Daren had done whatever it took to amass funds in the North Blue, eventually forming his own independent North Blue Fleet.
The four of them chatted idly as they made their way to the central military fortress.
This was where the Fleet Admiral's office was located.
On one side of the grand fortress wall, a massive and jarring hole gaped open. Workers nearby were patching it up with steel and lumber.
That was the crater Borsalino had blasted through after taking a direct kick from Shiki.
"Gentlemen, the hearing is about to start. Admiral Sengoku and the others are already waiting in the conference room."
A uniformed messenger strode up quickly and gave a sharp salute to the four of them.
An internal Marine hearing.
It was the Navy's standard review process for newly promoted Vice Admirals, carried out by the upper ranks. In most cases, it was little more than a formality.
The Navy had a rigid and detailed hierarchy—from the lowest-ranking support staff who weren't even allowed on the battlefield, all the way to the Admirals hailed as the "World Government's strongest fighting force." Every rank had clearly defined authority.
Each promotion was a major leap forward, signifying greater power and status.
But only after reaching the rank of Vice Admiral could one truly be said to have entered the Navy's core decision-making body.
These Vice Admirals, often referred to as the "pillars of the institution," were the true backbone of global justice.
And today, Daren was about to face such a hearing himself.
Once he passed, he would officially step into the Navy's upper echelon—gaining the right to participate in most core operations, command his own flagship and independent forces, take charge of a Grand Line branch, and even receive authorization to carry out the legendary Buster Call.
Daren looked up at the imposing, majestic structure that housed the Fleet Admiral's office. His gaze burned with unhidden ambition.
He knew—after today, the door to the Navy's highest power would begin to open for him, even if just a crack.