Days slipped quietly by.
Darren remained on the rainforest-covered island—partly out of worry for Zephyr-sensei, partly because the warm climate was ideal for Toki's recovery.
And partly because he himself finally needed a place cut off from the world, somewhere he could focus entirely on healing.
From leading the Shichibukai to intercept the Whitebeard Pirates in the New World, to the brutal battle against the Gorosei on Felsek Island, and then the desperate clash with Sakazuki and the others at Marine Headquarters… in less than ten days, Darren had scarcely drawn a steady breath.
Even three full days of treatment in the Pleasure District hadn't been enough to completely mend the horrific damage to his body.
But the world's political storm never stopped raging.
Darren had no luxury of rest. He'd had to immediately contact Morgans to arrange a global broadcast and announce his strategic deterrent, then race across the seas to find a doctor for Zephyr-sensei… and even squeezed in a single exchanged blow with Roger on the way.
Facing Roger's world-splitting Divine Departure, Darren had seemed to hold his own. In truth, though, the Pirate King's overwhelming Conqueror's Haki had left him with even deeper internal injuries.
Now that a rare chance had opened, Darren naturally seized it—calming his mind, healing his wounds, taking stock of the gains he'd carved out of blood and fire, and straightening his thoughts.
Deep within the island's tropical rainforest, in a hidden clearing untouched by human presence, sunlight streamed through veils of mist.
A clear stream wound its way through the clearing, the surface gleaming with faint crimson and violet reflections.
Slender green water plants swayed in the current, while small fish darted between them with quick, light movements.
Darren sat cross-legged on a massive boulder in the middle of the stream, activating his innate "Perception" to carefully survey his own condition.
The cuts and tears across his skin and muscles had mostly healed. The scabs had begun to fall away, revealing new, tender flesh beneath.
As for his internal injuries, his organs showed complex, resilient patterns under his Perception, each scar and strain clearly visible.
"Looks like I'll need more time to fully recover," Darren murmured after a while, coming to a quiet conclusion.
To put it bluntly, this was the worst beating he'd ever taken in his life.
Continuous battles, nonstop movement, and in the middle of it all, resorting to Ivankov's Hormone Fruit to forcibly squeeze out even more power from an already overtaxed body…
Even for a monster like him, such abuse came with a price.
Still, measured against that pain and damage, the power he'd gained was immeasurable.
Quietly feeling out his body's vital signs, Darren slowly exhaled a long, stale breath. A faint smile tugged at his lips.
Physique: 98.826 (Indestructible Body)
Strength: 95.015 (Giant's Body)
Speed: 89.098 (Soru's Divine Speed)
Devil Fruit Mastery: 89.010 (Island-Covering)
Armament Haki: 85.335 (External Emission – Burst)
Observation Haki: 79.917 (Magnetic Field Sensing)
Conqueror's Haki: 89.999 (Substance Influence)
His Physique and Strength needed no explanation. Thanks to the Gorosei—especially Saint Saturn's "help"—those two stats, which had long been stuck, had finally made a big leap forward.
It was precisely because of these two boosted foundations that he'd been able to survive the Gorosei's relentless assault at all.
Speed, however, had clearly hit a ceiling.
No matter how he trained, it refused to budge. Darren suspected he was either missing an effective training method… or a proper teacher.
Experts in pure speed were rare even in the history he remembered.
I wonder if Devil Fruit users count. If they do, Momonga or Borsalino might be good choices…
He rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
In fact, it wasn't just Speed. Observation Haki—closely tied to speed—had also plateaued. No matter how he pushed, he couldn't break through.
To some extent, how far an ability grows is deeply tied to one's fighting style and the path they walk.
Different styles and habits naturally lead to different specializations.
In general, the truly great swordsmen focused on speed and Observation Haki. Their sharp Observation let them dissect techniques and predict movements; paired with explosive speed, they could unleash lethal sword strikes in an instant and decide the battle in a single blow. Masters like Katakuri, Hawk-Eyes, Red-Hair, and Rayleigh were all such "skill-focused" monsters.
On the other hand, you had more orthodox martial artists like Garp and Zephyr, who specialized in close-quarters combat.
Darren, however, fit neither mold.
With his "Indestructible Body," his fighting style was closer to Kaido and Big Mom. Add in the brutal, rule-breaking savagery he'd inherited from Golden Lion…
If I can tank the hit, why waste the effort dodging?
In a real fight, dodging nonstop only put you on the back foot. It gave your opponent more chances to probe and expose your weaknesses.
By relying on his monstrous physique to absorb the blows head-on, Darren could seize the initiative instead, ready to counter the moment the enemy slipped.
This kind of style, which leaned hard into raw physicality and brute force, had pushed his growth toward severe specialization.
His progress in Armament Haki, however, was obvious at a glance.
Bombarded again and again by Marine Headquarters' "monster trio"—Sakazuki, Kizaru, and Kuzan—Darren had been forced to evolve his Armament Haki. His techniques had pushed past "Internal Destruction" and transformed into "External Emission – Burst."
"Internal Destruction" was already a form of Armament's outward projection, letting Haki leave the body, pierce through defenses, and attack from within—terrifyingly efficient on its own.
The higher-tier "External Emission – Burst," however, allowed for even greater coverage and efficiency.
A classic example from the story he remembered was the Summit War: when the three Admirals raised their hands together above the execution platform and stopped Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor shockwave—that was the purest display of Armament Haki's "External Emission – Burst."
As for Conqueror's Haki…
"89.999… even those Pinduoduo cashback cuts aren't this stingy…"
Darren massaged his temples, a wry smile twisting his lips.
To be continued...