Kosanze Ragnaraku!
One of Kaidou's strongest techniques, named after the Four Wisdom Kings—like the wrathful strike of a thunder god, powerful enough to pulverize any foe.
In that instant, a surge of danger erupted in Daren's heart. Every muscle in his body tensed at once.
And yet, his eyes gleamed with unmatched clarity, sparkling with mad excitement.
This was it!
Not even Queen the Plague and King the Conflagration, attacking together, could give him this kind of pressure!
"What do you think this place is?!"
Kaidou's bloodshot eyes blazed with fury as his kanabō, wrapped in crackling black and red lightning, crashed down like a thunderclap.
Caught off guard, Daren had no time to counter. All he could do was raise his arm in a desperate block.
Boom!
A shockwave exploded high above, lightning flashing and intertwining through the air.
King staggered back from the force, eyes wide with alarm.
In the very next breath, Kaidou's club smashed the black-haired youth into the ground, carving out a crater over a hundred meters wide.
Boom!
The earth surged like a raging sea, as if several colossal dragons were churning beneath it.
Moments later, Kaidou landed like a cannonball, the impact shaking the earth as he let out a heavy breath.
He had already shifted into his hybrid form—his body sheathed in dark azure dragon scales, a muscular dragon tail swaying in midair, and a pair of fierce orange-red vertical pupils locked on Daren's crater.
"Ahhhhhhh! Kaidou-sama, you're finally here!"
The fat man in suspenders howled in despair.
"That bastard Daren was shouting about killing you and stealing your title of 'strongest creature'!"
"As a Beasts Pirates officer, do you think I'd just let that happen?"
"Of course not!"
"So I fought back with everything I had, bravely holding him off for over ten minutes... But in the end, I couldn't stop him. He destroyed the entire lab on Onigashima."
Queen roared in outrage, his face twisted in righteous indignation.
"Is that so? Funny... When I arrived, all I saw was some deadweight getting stomped into the ground like a slaughtered pig."
King's figure slowly descended behind Kaidou, sneering as he spoke.
He had finally shaken off the lingering dread from earlier. Cold sweat still beaded on his back.
"You—!"
Queen's face flushed bright red. He clenched his teeth, then smirked.
"Still better than someone who couldn't even last ten seconds."
"—Enough! Shut your damn mouths!"
Kaidou suddenly barked in fury, face twisted with rage as he cut off their bickering.
King bowed his head in respect and stepped back half a pace.
Queen clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath, but didn't say more.
Because they both noticed the look on Kaidou's face.
That expression—tense, cautious, like he was facing a genuine threat.
The kind of look Kaidou only showed when going up against an equal.
He ignored them, his brow unconsciously furrowing deeper.
Truth was, he'd sensed it the moment their weapons clashed.
The feedback from Hassaikai—his kanabō—felt off.
Way off.
That brat... No, that damn brat from the Marines had gotten stronger.
Stronger than he was back at Philseque Island. Stronger than when he clashed with the Five Elders.
What the hell was going on?!
Rogers Daren...
What in the world is that body made of?!
How the hell is he growing this fast?!
If he hadn't witnessed it himself, Kaidou wouldn't have believed it.
As his expression darkened with uncertainty, a mocking voice echoed out from the dust-filled crater.
"Haven't eaten yet, Kaidou-sensei?"
Through the swirling smoke, Daren staggered out from the cracked earth.
He spat a mouthful of blood—along with a broken tooth—onto the ground.
Wiping the blood from his mouth, he raised his eyes to the creature before him—
The so-called strongest creature alive—
And grinned.
Blood-stained teeth flashing as he smiled.
"That blow didn't hurt at all..."
Kaidou's pupils narrowed slightly.
He wasn't shocked that Daren had taken damage—but that the damage was so minimal!
"I really didn't expect this..."
Daren laughed wildly, both hands trembling with uncontrollable excitement.
A surge of satisfaction flooded his whole body—nothing beat the thrill of turning the tables. It made him want to howl at the sky.
"Remember? The first time I came to Onigashima, you almost killed me with one swing."
At those words, Kaidou couldn't hold back any longer. Roaring, he charged from his spot.
"You're asking for death!"
Dragging his kanabō with one hand, purple-black lightning exploded around him as he vanished across the ground like a flash of teleporting fury.
It was as if he was wielding Hassaikai, or Hassaikai was the one dragging him—blazing toward Daren like a bolt of divine judgment.
"Raimei Hakke!"
BOOM!
Like a meteor crashing into the earth, the sky itself seemed torn open.
A hurricane of destruction exploded outward from the clash, sweeping across Onigashima and shaking the entire island as if it might collapse at any moment.
The ground split apart in violent rumbles, spewing earth and debris into the air.
But the moment the scene became clear...
King's expression twisted in shock.
Queen's eyes bulged, jaw practically hitting the floor.
"What!?"
A single combat boot.
A military boot wrapped in black and crimson Haki had stopped Kaidou's kanabō cold.
Lightning sparked from the clash, erupting into the sky as a thunderous burst shattered the clouds above, revealing a massive rift in the heavens.
Kaidou's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
It was really... blocked!
Raimei Hakke—his fastest, most explosive strike—was actually stopped by that brat Daren!
"Don't look so surprised. You've hit me with that move... what, thirty, maybe fifty times by now?"
Daren stood with one foot planted firmly on Kaidou's kanabō, flashing a bold grin.
"If I still couldn't block it, I might as well give up on fighting the World Government. Just surrender and die on the spot."
Kaidou's eyes narrowed.
"Daren, you brat... What are you really doing here on Onigashima?"
He ground the words out through clenched teeth, his voice cold as death.
If looks could kill, Daren would have been torn limb from limb already.
"Your real problem right now is the government, not me."
"You came alone into my territory, and it's gained you nothing but a waste of strength!"
"No, no, no..."
Daren shook his head.
"You've got it all wrong. I didn't come to Wano to waste my strength... I came to grow it."
He winked at Kaidou.
"What do you think, Kaidou-sensei?"