Out on the ice-choked sea off Felsek Island, every Marine stiffened at once, as if some colossal beast had set foot upon the world. Faces drained, eyes turned inland.
From the island's depths, a pillar of force ripped into the sky, a riptide of power shot through with writhing black lightning.
"What… is that?"
"That pressure—"
"It's like a demon crawled out of Hell!"
"Vice Admiral Darren—no, the criminal Rogers Darren—what kind of monster… what kind of Gorosei is he fighting?!"
"Even from here, I can't breathe…"
Sengoku spun, turmoil written across his face.
All five of the World Government's supreme authorities had descended on this barren, frozen corner of the North Blue.
"Young Darren…"
A chill of helpless bitterness settled in Sengoku's chest.
The Gorosei's might defied reason. Even at his peak, Sengoku felt powerless before those five ancient men whose ages no one could name. Bodies like living calamities, Haki and Devil Fruits honed beyond comprehension, and some secret that made their deaths refuse to stick—who on this sea could truly stand against them?
To Sengoku's knowledge, only one man had ever scarred them for good: the New World overlord once hailed as the "King of the World," captain of the Rocks Pirates—a man who commanded monsters like Whitebeard, the Golden Lion, Charlotte Linlin, Ochoku, John, Kaido, and a legion of other tyrants.
Rocks D. Xebec.
The truth of that war had been buried and erased, remembered only as the God Valley Incident.
So what in the hell was that kid Darren doing?
If it were only Saturn, Darren could have walked away whenever he pleased—Saturn couldn't even fly. But this had dragged on too long, and Darren hadn't retreated. He'd goaded Saturn until the other four arrived.
What is he planning?!
Sengoku loathed Darren's decision to flip the table on the World Government, but he couldn't stomach the thought of Darren dying here.
He had tamed the North Blue, crushed Byrnndi World, pulled the strings at Edd War, felled the Golden Lion alone, contained Kaido and Big Mom, and stymied Whitebeard at Miracle Island. His name was a ledger of victories. A talent like that—perhaps the greatest on the sea—was not something Sengoku could bear to waste.
Yet no matter how he turned it over, Sengoku couldn't grasp Darren's aim.
Why hasn't he run?
Marcus Mars could take to the sky as Itsumade. If all five moved together, even with Darren's power and that impossible body, escape would be a fantasy.
"Mamamama! Stop daydreaming, Sengoku!"
Big Mom plummeted like a meteor, flames cupped in her fist. Her punch cracked the heavens.
"Damn it!" Sengoku snarled, meeting her blow head-on.
Boom—
Golden light and fire detonated, shockwaves ripping outward in rings.
"Who'd have thought those five old coots still had that much bite…" Big Mom's pink hair whipped across her face; her red eyes glittered. "What are they hiding?"
"The Gorosei's authority is not for you to toy with!" Sengoku drove forward again, voice a roar.
Elsewhere on the ice, Sakazuki and Kuzan felt that fivefold pressure like a hand on the back of the neck.
Sakazuki's brow knotted; his blows came harder, hotter.
Kuzan's expression tightened. "Can Darren really hold out?"
A golden lance shot skyward and spat twin beams. Kaido slid aside with a contemptuous grunt.
Borsalino peered toward the island. For a heartbeat, something flickered in his eyes behind the dim sheen of his glasses. He smiled, faintly intrigued. "Such rare specimens… truly frightening, Excellencies."
He turned back to the rampaging dragon-man and scratched his head. "Even among Mythical Zoans… they feel different."
---
In the island's heart, five demon shapes towered until they swallowed the sky. Their presence alone split the earth and peeled the wind.
Rocks tore free. Gales screamed through a mangled forest of stumps.
Dragon, Kuma, and Ivankov felt their skin pebble, every nerve braced to snap.
"The game ends here," growled Saturn—the Gyuki—looking down on the blood-slick Vice Admiral. "Your body is near its limit. To guard against me, you've held your Haki up without rest. Even an Indestructible Body will break under that weight."
"After today, there will be no place on this sea for you."
"Still, we'll offer you one last chance."
His gaze slid past Dragon and the others as if they were shadows.
"Kill them. Our previous offer stands."
"You remain a Marine, rise to Admiral, and we groom you to succeed the Fleet Admiral."
"Power, status, reputation, wealth—everything."
Topman Warcury—now a hulking Fengxi—added without heat, "You'll command segments of Cipher Pol. The World Government's invincible blade."
It was the tone of a man accustomed to absolute compliance.
At that, Dragon and his allies froze, eyes flaring.
Dragon, in particular, stared like he'd been slapped.
"You decrepit fossils look down on people too much!" he burst out, stamping hard enough to crack stone, a vein jumping at his temple.
Madness. Pure madness.
We both killed Celestial Dragons. We both broke with the World Government. And yet you offer Darren a seat at your table?!
What about me?
I kill one Celestial Dragon and you hound me to the ends of the earth. You never even think of negotiating. Darren butchers scores—elite bloodlines at that—and still you bargain?
Insulting didn't begin to cover it.
But the Gorosei didn't spare Dragon a glance. Their focus stayed on Darren—silent, unblinking, implacable.
Unlike Dragon, shackled to his Justice and iron creed, Darren looked like a blade that could still be turned—an edge that could cut either way. In their eyes, his ambiguity made him priceless.
Win Darren, and their dominion would be seamless.
The stronger he showed himself, the more their resentment swelled—and the more their desire grew. With this weapon in hand, an ocean of problems would become trivial.
Dragon? A stubborn purist. Even with monstrous talent, he was another Garp waiting to happen—a headache they didn't need.
"Darren… we have offered you our utmost sincerity."
To be continued...