Shhhh!!
The blazing sword, now a hundred meters long, pierced the island without the slightest resistance. Its tip burst through the other side, erupting the sky in a hailstorm of shattered stone.
Sinister black aura swirled along Enma's massive blade, merging with the flames until they gave rise to ghostly violet-black hellfire.
A storm of sword energy howled from the tip of the blade, smashing the dense cloud cover above and blowing it apart.
The island's terrifying descent abruptly halted—as if frozen in midair by that single strike.
Shiki's mad grin froze on his face. Blood vessels burst around his eyes, and his pupils dilated in shock.
That slash… it almost split the heavens!
Time itself seemed to stop for one breathless moment.
On the ground of Marineford, tens of thousands of civilians and Marines stood in stunned silence—unable to believe their eyes, unable to process what had just happened.
That colossal, sky-shrouding floating island… had been pierced straight through!?
That purple-black blade, stretching between heaven and earth, looked from a distance like a divine pillar holding up the sky—a bastion of justice standing firm.
This sight—this miracle—was destined to be burned into their memories, never to fade.
"What… is that…?"
Zephyr stared in disbelief at the massive sword, then turned to Sengoku with wide eyes.
But Sengoku, too, was speechless. He had no answer.
He had known Darren possessed a cursed blade from Wano.
He had assumed it was a gift from the mysterious woman Toki, and never paid it much attention. To him, giving such a weapon to someone who didn't even practice swordsmanship felt like a waste.
After all, even a demon blade was just that—a lifeless tool.
So how… had it changed so monstrously?
Wait—!
Sengoku's mind flashed back to something else entirely.
He remembered that not long ago, Borsalino, head of the Marine Science Division, had mentioned receiving new breakthroughs from Dr. Vegapunk—technology "five hundred years ahead of its time."
Borsalino had formally reported that Vegapunk had cracked the secret of Devil Fruit transference—developing a method to transfer Devil Fruit powers…
…into objects.
At the time, Sengoku had scoffed.
"What utter nonsense," he'd said, dismissing it with contempt.
Part of his reaction stemmed from his deep-seated distrust of Borsalino's careless, slippery demeanor.
Make dead objects eat Devil Fruits? Ridiculous!
Devil Fruits were rare and invaluable. Wouldn't it be smarter to let people eat them instead?
A living person could train, adapt, and unlock even greater potential.
But now...
As he stared at the cursed blade that had just pierced an entire island—he had no more doubts.
…
"What kind of power is that!?"
"Is that Darren's Devil Fruit?"
"No—it isn't!"
"It looks like… it's coming from the sword itself!"
"That's impossible!!"
The Marines snapped out of their stupor, turning to Darren with disbelief.
"That sword… it grew in size…"
Kuzan's eyes sparkled as he stared at the massive Enma.
Turning to Darren, stars dancing in his eyes, he exclaimed:
"Darren… that was so cool!!"
Even Sakazuki looked visibly stunned.
Darren only smiled, his face pale and hollow.
But he had done it.
He had found the perfect vessel for the More-More fruit.
Enma.
Ideally, the More-More fruit would be consumed by a strong, capable person.
But no such candidate had presented themselves in time.
And Darren—already a user of the Magnet-Magnet Fruit—could never consume a second Devil Fruit.
Then Borsalino had come to him with news:
Vegapunk had succeeded in transferring Devil Fruit abilities into inanimate objects.
In that moment, a bold, outrageous idea took root in Darren's mind—
Let Enma consume the More-More fruit.
Just like the sword in the original incident with Spandam that had eaten the Elephant-Elephant Fruit, Enma—empowered by the More-More fruit—would gain the power of exponential growth!
And best of all—it wouldn't drain Darren's stamina.
He only needed minimal energy to magnetically hurl Enma at supersonic speed.
Then, with the More-More fruit's power, Enma would multiply in size and velocity—achieving a single devastating strike capable of piercing an entire island!
Perhaps… this was the true, ideal usage of the More-More fruit.
"Well then… I suppose it's over."
Darren turned to Shiki and smiled.
"Sorry, but in the end… you lost."
Whoosh—
A ripple of blue lightning flickered along Enma's colossal blade.
And then—
In Shiki's bloodshot eyes,
It was as if some divine, unseen being raised the sword of judgment—
—and brought it down.
CRACK!! CRACK!!
Tear!!
The sound of the island splitting echoed through all of Marineford, sending shivers down everyone's spine.
BOOOOM!!
The legendary cursed sword—Enma—shattered the floating island and tore apart the heavens.
The island split in two, and as it fell, it crumbled further into countless fragments—raining down into the sea on either side of Marineford.
A roaring shockwave followed. Towering tsunamis surged skyward, over a hundred meters tall. The tidal waves crashed over docks and batteries—until Kuzan froze them with a sweep of his hand.
A few massive fragments plummeted toward Marineford like meteorites, trailing flaming tails like falling stars.
Buildings shattered. Fires erupted across the city. Infernos spread.
But compared to the doomsday that had nearly come… it was nothing.
The moment it ended, Enma shrank rapidly and returned to Darren's side.
Shiki, lips trembling, glared violently at the commodore who stared back with cold, defiant eyes.
Just as Shiki gripped his swords—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several figures flashed in front of Darren, encircling him protectively like stars surrounding a moon.
Sakazuki. Kuzan. Borsalino. Sengoku. Zephyr…
Shiki froze mid-motion.
Blood dripping from his mouth, Darren sneered.
"What's wrong? Need help getting out?"
As he spoke, Enma hovered again—its blade tip aimed straight at Shiki.
Shiki's pupils shrank.
"…Hmph."
He slowly sheathed his swords, then chuckled darkly.
"That's enough fun for one day… But this isn't over, Darren, you little brat!!"
"Jihahahaha!!"
He burst into manic laughter and vanished into the clouds.
As Shiki fled, Sengoku and the others quietly exhaled in relief.
The winds howled. Fires burned.
Island fragments streaked across the sky like falling stars.
And through the cleaved sky, golden sunlight broke through—like the fingers of a god reaching down to earth.
Sunlight poured over the ruined land, the collapsed buildings, the broken fortresses, and every wounded Marine standing tall.
They clenched their fists. Hearts pounding.
"We… we protected our home."
Someone whispered.
The sun shone brighter.
Dawn had come.
The darkness was gone.
Their young faces, though weary and wounded, glowed with radiant smiles as they turned to look—
Kuzan. Tokikake. Gion. Yamakaji. Onigumo. Doberman. Dalmatian. Strawberry...
Each lifted their gaze to the man who stood at the center of them all.
The Marine commodore—smiling gently.
A man who stood as tall as a mountain.
Snap!
Face flushed with emotion, Kuzan could hold back no longer. He raised his hand in salute.
Next came Yamakaji.
Then the third.
The fourth.
One by one, the Marines saluted—without a single order.
"Che. He stole all the glory again!" Tokikake grumbled, wiping blood from his mouth. But under Gion's fierce glare, he hunched and saluted.
"This really is quite a touching scene..." Borsalino muttered, amused.
Sakazuki paused. Then saluted too.
Zephyr and Sengoku exchanged glances, warm smiles spreading across their faces. They stepped back two paces—and saluted.
In that moment—
There was not a single Marine whose arm remained lowered.
Except for one.
He stood at the peak of the rubble, drenched in blood, a cigarette burned down to the stub in his mouth—
Bathed in a thousand rays of golden light.
———
Year 1493 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
The legendary pirate "Golden Lion" Shiki, after the destruction of his airborne fleet, joined forces with Kaido and Big Mom in a vengeful assault on Marineford.
Wielding a power that could destroy the world, he nearly succeeded in sinking the Marine headquarters.
In that earth-shaking battle, more than half of Marineford was devastated.
Notably, in the absence of Marine legends, the new generation—trained by former admiral Zephyr—became the key to victory.
Their unyielding spirit and overwhelming strength shone like constellations, and like gold—unbreakable, dazzling.
Among them, the brightest star was without a doubt: Rogers Darren, the "King of the North Blue."
From that day on, the next generation of the Marines grew into a pillar of justice across the world.
Later historians would come to call this generation, born with unshakable will and golden strength—
"The Golden Generation."
—Morgans, President, World Economic News
---
To be continued...