"Otherwise, when I get angry, you're going to suffer!"
The fat on Queen's face trembled as cold sweat poured down his forehead. He shouted with false bravado, his voice fierce in tone but weak in spirit.
Several pirate subordinates: "..."
Daren: "..."
Seriously, how do you say something so bold in such a pathetic voice?
"Kaidou's not in a rush. I'll head over later."
Daren took a step forward, strolling toward Queen with a gentle, friendly smile on his face.
"It's just... I haven't been to Wano in a while, so I thought I'd drop in and check on you first."
Queen's heart skipped a beat.
"No, don't come any closer!"
His voice was trembling now.
The bastard in front of him wasn't the little Marine he once locked up in an underground cell, the one he could toy with at will.
Standing before him now was one of the most dangerous criminals in the world—
A man who dared to wage war on the World Government, whose bounty had even surpassed that of Kaidou-sama himself!
If it had been anyone else—even a Marine Admiral—Queen wouldn't have flinched. He would've taken the opportunity to test out his newest weapons.
But this was the lunatic who used the Ice Oni Virus as mouthwash.
Queen didn't think the fat on his body would be enough to last even one solid beating.
Panic-stricken, he staggered backward.
Then suddenly, the black-haired youth vanished before his eyes.
Queen felt pressure around his neck.
An arm had hooked around him, pulling his shoulders back.
That single arm carried a force so immense that even Queen, a user of an Ancient Zoan, couldn't break free.
"Don't be so tense. I just came to catch up a bit."
The madman's cheerful voice whispered right beside his ear.
It's over. He's gotten even stronger!
Queen's muscles tensed like stone, his entire body going cold as the overwhelming strength gripped him.
His expression twisted through several emotions—
One second...
Two seconds...
Three seconds...
Suddenly, Queen forced a grin.
"Come on, take a seat! Tea?"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The nearby pirates collapsed backward to the ground.
Daren beamed in satisfaction.
...
One minute later.
Several pirate subordinates returned from the lab's storage room, their faces pale with fear as they carried out boxes of sealed virus samples.
They trembled as they placed them on the lab bench.
Then, before their stunned eyes, Daren opened bottle after bottle—ignoring labels or ingredients—and drank them down in one gulp.
One bottle, two bottles...
In no time, the contents of several entire boxes were gone.
Daren belched, then turned to the dazed pirates and smiled apologetically.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. Got a little carried away. You guys want some?"
The pirates all shuddered and shook their heads like crazy.
"No, no thanks!"
"Much appreciated!"
"Take your time!"
"..."
"Well..."
Daren sighed in disappointment, then turned toward the fat man in suspenders busy with lab equipment.
"So, how is it?"
At the moment, Daren's body was connected by all sorts of tubes to a life-monitoring device. The readings had already exceeded the machine's limit, with colorful warning lights flashing nonstop.
"This is insane! Completely unbelievable!"
Queen, wearing protective goggles, stared at the data in shock, his face flushed red with excitement.
"Your immune system is over twenty times stronger than that of a normal human. The exact value can't even be measured—it breaks the scale!"
"Your skin and muscle hardness... In a relaxed state, it's already 1.5 times harder than diamond. When tensed, it's nearly double that!"
"Judging by your blood circulation and pulse... your heart is stronger than that of a giant dinosaur!"
"No wonder even my latest enhanced Ice Oni Virus didn't affect you. It's unreal!"
Queen's eyes bulged as he rapidly adjusted the settings, his big butt jiggling with every excited twitch.
Daren gave the fat man a swift kick and said irritably,
"I'm not here for a damn physical."
Queen shrank his neck, scratched his head awkwardly, and chuckled,
"Sorry, sorry, I got a little too excited. I mean, research subjects like you are practically unheard of."
Daren lit a cigar, squinting as he spoke,
"I'm not the only one who's trained his body into an Indestructible Body."
Queen's mouth twitched, and he started to mumble.
Sure, Kaidou-sama also had an Indestructible Body—but like hell he'd ever let Queen run any experiments on him!
Just thinking of that kanabō wrapped in purple lightning made Queen break out in cold sweat. His legs were already starting to give.
"So... talk."
Daren glanced at the data wildly jumping across the instruments.
Queen pulled a bitter face and shook his head.
"The enhanced Ice Oni Virus did make it into your nervous and immune systems, but it was purged almost immediately by your body's defenses. Aside from a rise in body temperature and mild dehydration—both caused by your immune system kicking into overdrive—there were no noticeable symptoms."
He glanced over at the empty boxes of standard virus samples, and his eyelids twitched slightly.
"...That's also why you're so thirsty."
"That's it?"
Daren frowned, clearly unimpressed.
Queen's face turned bright red, and he looked like he was grinding his back teeth to dust.
What do you mean, "That's it"!?
You think everyone can just guzzle down virus samples like you, you freak!?
Suddenly, Queen slammed his palm down on the lab table, spreading cracks through the surface.
"You're looking down on me!"
He roared in frustration.
"This is an enhanced virus I painstakingly developed! Without the antidote, even massive dinosaurs or giants wouldn't last half a minute!"
Daren sighed, looking exasperated.
"But I didn't feel a thing... I actually had high hopes at first."
Queen's expression froze.
"You've gone too far!!"
He shouted through gritted teeth,
"Fine! I'll show you just how powerful the Ice Oni Virus is!"
He grabbed a blue test tube and raised it to his mouth.
"No! Queen-sama, please calm down!"
"You're the All-Star of the Beasts Pirates!"
"You can't die here!"
"..."
Several of his subordinates panicked, rushing over to grab his hand. Their faces flushed red from sheer anxiety.
"Hmm... when you put it that way, fair enough..."
Queen blinked, then nodded in agreement.
"In that case—why don't you guys drink it instead?"
Swish!
The subordinates immediately backed far, far away.
Daren shook his head, removed the tubes connected to his body, and muttered,
"So... science really is a dead end, huh..."
"The Plague" Queen was one of the most brilliant scientists in the sea. In the fields of bioweapons and human modification, he'd even surpassed Vinsmoke Judge—second only to Vegapunk, the man said to be five hundred years ahead of the world.
So if even this suspender-wearing fat man's most potent virus couldn't do anything...
Then the whole 'get stronger by taking drugs' path was probably a dead end.