BOOM!
A relentless storm of cannon fire hammered against the War Giant's massive frame, tearing through its armor and scattering molten shards of steel across the battlefield.
The monstrous machine groaned in protest, flames devouring its blackened surface until the entire construct burned like a mountain of fire. The shockwaves shattered the air itself, and the very ground beneath it cracked and split apart.
When the barrage finally ceased, the War Giant sagged to one knee with an earth-shaking crash, smoke billowing from the holes that riddled its body.
Darren exhaled a lazy puff of cigar smoke and waved his hand.
With a low, metallic groan, the War Giant's shell began to peel away—massive plates of armor screeching as if ripped apart by invisible hands.
"Had enough, Bullet?" Darren called out, his tone calm, almost casual. "Crouching inside that scrap heap can't be much fun anymore."
Cigar clenched between his teeth, he strolled forward through the haze, the crimson glow of molten metal reflecting in his eyes.
A deep, guttural laugh rumbled from within the wreckage.
"Kahahaha…"
The laugh grew louder—madder.
"You really are something else, Darren."
"Exactly the kind of opponent I've been waiting for!"
A massive hand punched through the wreckage, crushing steel beams like twigs. A moment later, a towering figure emerged from the smoking ruins—bare-chested, golden hair whipping wildly in the wind, muscles corded and scarred like carved granite.
Douglas Bullet.
"The real fight starts now, Darren!!"
With a roar, Bullet's aura exploded outward. The air around him distorted, the sky splitting with thunder.
A storm of Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body—a violent, purple tempest that tore through the landscape, swallowing the battlefield in a hurricane of raw power.
Darren's gaze sharpened.
Then his own Haki surged forth.
A crimson force ignited from within him, crackling like living lightning. The two storms collided with a deafening boom, purple and red intertwining in midair like dueling gods.
The clash of wills rippled outward, splitting clouds and flattening mountains. Waves hundreds of meters high crashed against the Buster Call fleet, tossing the battleships like driftwood.
On the flagship, teacups shattered. Three Vice Admirals abandoned their seats, faces pale with awe.
"Such pressure!"
"A clash of Conqueror's Haki!"
"It's like watching two demons fight!"
The island was no longer an island—it was a storm given form. Bolts of violet and crimson lightning split the sky as the two men stood locked in silent defiance, their wills grinding against each other like tectonic plates.
Nearly ten thousand Marines aboard the fleet staggered under the crushing weight of their auras. The strongest bit their tongues and held their ground. The weaker ones fainted outright, collapsing where they stood.
Then Darren took a single step forward.
That step changed everything.
The crimson storm flared brighter—raging like wildfire. Bullet's purple aura buckled, then shattered under the pressure.
Conqueror's Haki Level: 75,317!!
"What the hell—?!" Bullet's voice cracked, shock flickering in his eyes as he fought to stand against the invisible weight pressing down on him.
The earth split open at his feet, and his War Giant—already on its last legs—crumbled completely, reduced to smoking debris.
"What did you do?!" Bullet shouted hoarsely. "How can your Haki be this strong?!"
This wasn't supposed to happen. Rayleigh himself had told him his Haki was top-tier—second only to Roger's among their crew. Yet the pressure radiating from Darren now dwarfed his own.
Darren chuckled. "Try getting impaled by the Golden Lion sometime," he said dryly. "Might work wonders for your willpower."
He could still remember the agony of that battle—his blood soaking into the sea, his body torn apart, his heart burning with the desperate will to live. That kind of pain reshaped a man's spirit.
And Bullet, for all his strength, had never truly known it.
Darren stepped closer, his voice cool, confident. "Give it up, Bullet. You're strong—but not enough. I've surpassed you in strength and Haki both."
He gestured subtly toward the horizon, where ten warships loomed like a ring of steel.
"The Buster Call fleet has you surrounded. You can't win. You can't run."
"I don't want to kill you. We've both seen enough cages for one lifetime."
He paused, exhaling smoke as his tone softened slightly. "You fought Crocodile before, right? Then you must've heard about the government's new project."
"The Shichibukai."
Darren's eyes gleamed. "I'm officially inviting you—on behalf of the Marines—to join."
Bullet froze.
For a heartbeat, he didn't move. Didn't breathe.
Then his eyes turned blood-red.
"Join the Shichibukai?" he repeated, his voice trembling with fury.
The air around him distorted. His veins bulged, his aura flaring like an inferno.
"You think I'd be your dog?!"
"Don't fuck with me!"
BOOM!
His Conqueror's Haki exploded anew, shaking the island to its core.
Wind howled, tearing trees from the ground as Bullet's killing intent surged skyward. His hair whipped around him like golden fire, his muscles coiling as he roared:
"Darren!! If you've got the guts—come and take me down yourself!!"
To be continued...