A blinding golden light erupted, instantly blotting out everything from view.
"Borsalino!?"
His sudden attack caught everyone off guard. The entire room froze in disbelief.
Even Sengoku couldn't hide his shock, his eyes widening in stunned disbelief.
With that bastard Daren provoking them so brazenly, Sengoku had expected someone to snap—Sakazuki, proud and aggressive, was the obvious candidate. Even that hot-blooded fool Kuzan seemed likely to strike.
But the first to move?
It was the laid-back, always-aloof Borsalino!
And in that split-second of stunned silence, Borsalino's kick, traveling at the speed of light, had already been unleashed!
A flash of eerie red light flickered in the Vice Admiral's eyes. Daren, who had long activated his Observation Haki, instantly locked onto the incoming attack.
His expression remained unchanged. The moment his body shifted forward, he raised his arm and blocked the strike.
His Haki-coated forearm clashed violently with Borsalino's shin, erupting with a thunderous shockwave.
Biu... BOOM!!
A golden laser beam suddenly fired from the tip of the white leather shoe, screaming into a distant building—and detonated with a deafening explosion.
Flames surged skyward. Thick black smoke rolled out in waves.
As the searing heat rippled through the air, Borsalino casually rubbed his chin and muttered with a sigh,
"Blocked, huh... Guy's a damn monster."
Clasping his hands together, a golden blade of light stretched from his palms.
Ama no Murakumo!
Gripping the glowing sword in one hand, Borsalino brought it down in a sharp, clean arc aimed straight at Daren's face!
CLANG!!
Sparks burst violently in the air, illuminating Daren's blood-streaked, wild expression.
A black Cursed Sword howled upward, locking against Borsalino's golden blade with force.
"Aren't you one of us monsters too?"
Daren smirked.
"I'm nowhere near as terrifying as you..."
Borsalino muttered.
Then—an abrupt gust tore the silence apart.
A fierce black claw, wreathed in crackling dark lightning, sliced through the air and lunged straight for Borsalino's midsection.
Ryusoken—Dragon's Claw!
"Dragon's close-combat moves... such a pain."
With a helpless sigh, Borsalino's body split into countless golden photons and scattered in an instant, narrowly evading the brutal strike.
The particles soared high into the air. As they converged once more into a human form, Borsalino floated midair, forming a delicate hand sign, arms spread wide as his pristine white cape flared behind him.
Golden light flared.
A barrage of luminous energy bullets exploded from his body like a storm, flooding the skies and raining down toward the Vice Admiral below.
Yasakani no Magatama!
"Borsalino... same old tricks, huh? You never change."
The blinding golden bombardment filled the sky, forcing Daren to squint as he muttered,
"Damn, that's bright."
He took a slow breath.
The cigar in his mouth flared, burning away in a flash.
With a heavy step forward, smoke poured from his nose and mouth, twisting in the air—like a massive dragon spiraling into form on the battlefield.
He raised his arm. Three fingers curled into claws.
Then came the release.
Like a dragon exhaling destruction, a titanic shockwave exploded outward, coated in black lightning and infused with overwhelming force.
"Dragon's Breath!"
BOOM!!
The raw impact tore through the air, crashing head-on into the golden storm of light bullets above.
The sky erupted.
A massive explosion bloomed in midair, sending fireballs and heatwaves roaring in every direction.
And then—
Two massive figures—one cloaked in black, the other in gold—burst through the smoke and flame, colliding with a violent crash.
CLANG!!
BOOM!!
A black iron fist clashed with a golden blade of light, sparking brilliantly with every impact.
The earth quaked beneath them, like waves crashing in a storm. Shockwaves pulsed outward, sweeping away the fire and smoke in every direction.
"You don't look even a little stressed, Daren."
Feeling the monstrous power coming through Ama no Murakumo, Borsalino's smile only grew more teasing.
Daren smiled.
"Same goes for you, Borsalino."
In a flash, his hand shot out and seized Ama no Murakumo. His left foot pivoted sharply, twisting his body.
Then his right leg snapped forward like a whip, lashing out at Borsalino's head.
Coated in Armament Haki, the black military boot on his right foot radiated a sense of cold, unyielding force.
Bang!
Borsalino raised his arm to block. The impact shook his body violently—and in the next instant, he turned into a streak of golden light, blasted hundreds of meters away by Daren's kick. His beam-like form punched through more than a dozen buildings in a row.
Boom!
A distant military fortress exploded, sending tremors rippling through the ground.
Daren narrowed his eyes. Blue arcs of electricity crackled across his body. He was just about to press the advantage when he abruptly halted.
His hand suddenly shot upward.
Several sharp flashes of light whistled through the air. They sliced the incoming ice spear into glittering fragments, which scattered in the wind as harmless shards.
"Kuzan..."
Daren's lips curled into an eager smile.
Crack—
A faint fracture echoed behind him.
Red gleam surged in his gaze, and a suffocating sense of danger surged up his spine.
Without hesitation, Daren spun around and launched a punch.
RIP!
The ground behind him shattered violently, bursting open to reveal a geyser of molten magma.
From within the blazing torrent leapt a fierce, shadowed figure—charging like a hellhound lunging at its prey. His swollen, contorted right arm drove forward with a deadly punch.
"Inugami Guren!"
Boom!!
Daren's iron fist, wreathed in black lightning, clashed with the magma fist like a meteor crashing to Earth. The resulting shockwave was deafening.
Centered on the two men, the ground within a hundred meters collapsed several meters deep. Dust and debris blasted outward, forcing nearby Marines to stagger back, their faces filled with dread.
Cracks spidered out across the earth as crimson magma spewed forth, an infernal spectacle.
A raging storm of black and red surged from both men, violently splitting the air between them.
"I didn't expect this fight to happen so soon, Daren."
Beads of magma trickled down Sakazuki's grim face as he stared coldly at his former adjutant.
Daren grinned.
"I was starting to think it was coming too late."
Sakazuki's brows furrowed, his eyes flashing.
So… you'd made up your mind to rebel against the World Government long ago?
No wonder you laid so many foundations in the North Blue—no wonder you built that unstoppable flying fleet.
Just then, a shadow flickered overhead.
"Dahahahaha! Daren! Let me show you what I've gained from my training!"
With a burst of laughter, Kuzan appeared midair, drawing back his right arm. A massive sphere of ice engulfed his fist.
"Ice Iron Fist!"