An overwhelming, terrifying aura erupted from Kaido, like a storm of lightning and thunder unleashed all at once. The dense sea of clouds above Onigashima shattered under the pressure.
A razor-sharp gale, crackling with lightning, surged in from behind.
Deep within Darren's pupils, a crimson glint flashed.
The moment his Observation Haki activated, his mind clearly registered it:
The kanabo, wrapped in violet lightning, was already arcing toward the back of his head at near-instant speed.
"Seriously? Right in front of your daughter?" Darren snapped, exasperated.
Ignoring Yamato's flushed, dazed face, he abruptly pulled her into his arms. Blue arcs of electricity burst to life across his skin.
Lightning Stimulation.
Physical Activation… Thunder Armor!
The electric surge roared through his body, forcing every cell to its absolute peak.
In less than a thousandth of a second, Darren vanished from where he'd stood.
Kaido's berserk strike cleaved through empty air. The unleashed shockwave tore across the ground, flattening a mountain peak tens of meters high into dust with an earth-shattering roar.
He dodged it?! At point-blank range?!
Watching from a distance, King's pupils contracted hard.
Just moments ago, Darren had only been able to layer Lightning Activation onto his explosive techniques, using it like a temporary power-up.
But now…
The man's entire body flickered, reappearing hundreds of meters away. Blue lightning clung to him like a cloak, blazing like azure fire licking at his muscles.
King's mouth opened, but no words came out.
He wasn't just powering up attacks anymore—he'd begun fully integrating Lightning Activation into every movement, every step. His whole fighting style was being rebuilt around it.
This talent… it's monstrous.
In barely half an hour, he'd already brought a brand-new ability up to this level of proficiency.
King couldn't help recalling something Kaido had once mumbled to him while drunk:
"On this sea, Big Mom's got the top natural talent, no doubt… but if we're talking about actually turning that talent into real combat power… I think that brat Darren is even scarier."
This was the kind of monster who could squeeze out every last drop of his potential—and convert all of it into pure killing power.
"She's not my daughter!"
Kaido's expression twisted as black as the bottom of a burnt pot, his fanged jaw clenched tight.
"My daughter should be a natural-born pirate! When she grows up, she'll raise the skull flag and rule the seas!"
"…Not some little brat obsessed with picture books, daydreaming all day long!"
"I—I'm not daydreaming!"
Still clinging tightly to Darren's neck, Yamato peeked out from his shoulder. Her cheeks were burning red, but she still blurted out:
"A-and I definitely didn't cut out Darren-san's picture and tape it to my pillow so I could pretend to hug him while I sleep!"
…Kaido never even mentioned you did that.
Veins popped faintly on Darren's forehead.
"Besides, who'd want to be your daughter anyway?!"
Pressed against Darren's neck, Yamato seemed to draw endless courage from the warmth of his body. Her usual fear of Kaido faded. She puffed out her cheeks and screamed:
"You're ugly! All you ever do is drink, beat people up, and try to kill yourself! You've made Uncle Queen cry so many times!"
Crack.
King and the other Beasts Pirates stiffened like they'd been struck by lightning.
Queen's face went pitch black. He immediately waved a hand at Darren, frantically signaling: That never happened.
Darren looked down at Yamato, her small hands planted firmly on her hips, brimming with righteous indignation, and sighed inwardly.
A leaky little cotton-padded jacket, huh…
Then he glanced over at Kaido.
The massive beast stood completely still, one hand gripping his kanabo so tightly the veins on his forearms bulged like writhing snakes. Veins pulsed on his forehead, twitching violently.
Darren's lips twitched.
His instincts screamed danger.
Sure enough—
"AAAAAARGH! You… you're all going to DIE!!"
Kaido roared to the sky, his voice a primal, hair-raising howl.
Tangible killing intent and blazing heat surged from his body. With a single stomping step, the ground within a hundred-meter radius shattered into dust.
This wasn't mere physical weight crushing the earth.
His Conqueror's Haki had condensed into something almost solid—shredding the ground beneath his feet.
A hurricane-force wind erupted outward, crisscrossed with a dense web of black-and-crimson thunder.
Darren's expression sank.
His heart thudded painfully in his chest.
Kaido's aura… was even more terrifying than before.
What the hell?
Weren't you just my training instructor?
Why is the instructor powering up mid-lesson?!
Don't tell me Yamato really pissed him off that badly…
Darren had to admit: ever since he himself had barged into this story as a complete variable, Kaido's current combat power was already far beyond what the "original timeline" should've allowed.
As the "master" who'd personally hammered Darren into what he was now, Kaido himself was constantly evolving. At his age, he was still in his physical prime, steadily clawing his way upward.
The pressure pouring off Kaido now—Darren estimated—it was already edging terrifyingly close to that of the madwoman Big Mom.
If things had gone like the original story, and Oden had disembarked from Roger's ship and marched back to Wano to challenge this version of Kaido…
He wouldn't have left a single decent bone in his body.
The so-called "Paradise Totsuka" would never have carved its legend into history.
"Furious and impotent! Pathetic!"
Yamato, righteous to the end, yelled again in her childish voice:
"I told you ages ago, Darren-san's gonna beat the crap out of you someday!"
BOOM!
Kaido stomped down.
The earth split open, tearing into a yawning chasm that seemed bottomless. Smoke and dust exploded skyward as he snatched up his kanabo and charged like a maddened beast.
"Damn brat! Come on, Darren! Today, either you kill me—or I kill you!"
That oppressive, suffocating aura slammed into Darren like a tidal wave.
"Darren-san, take him down!" Yamato shouted, her arms looped tightly around Darren's neck, her face flushed with excitement. "I'll help you!"
Darren's heart jolted.
There was no time to think.
He met Kaido head-on.
Clang!
His military boot, coated in Haki and wreathed in blue lightning, slammed against the kanabo.
The collision unleashed a thunderous shockwave, sending the earth heaving like a storm-tossed sea.
"Now's your chance! He always stumbles a bit after each attack!" Yamato's excited voice echoed in Darren's ear in the midst of the blast.
Darren moved on instinct.
He surged in close.
"His left shoulder! He said it was injured!"
Without hesitation, Darren's Three-Fingered Dragon Claw latched onto Kaido's left shoulder.
"Dragon's Claw…" Kaido's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
Then—
"Dragon's Reverse Throw!"
Darren bent his knees, sank his hips, and pivoted in a smooth, practiced motion. He seized Kaido's massive frame, hoisted him up over his head…
…and smashed him into the ground like a falling meteor.
BOOM!
To be continued...