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"First Gate — Gate of Opening… open!"
Dan's soft, childlike voice echoed across the silent battlefield, sharp and out of place.
Then—
BOOM!
An indescribable, overwhelming force erupted from his tiny frame like a sleeping dragon suddenly waking!
The baby's dark, round eyes blazed with a strange, emerald glow.
Thin veins rose under his pale skin, writhing like tiny snakes, as raw, wild strength surged through him — a strength no child his age should ever possess!
"Huh?!"
Kumadori and Onigumo, who had been watching him closely, froze, pupils shrinking.
"What… what is this?!" Onigumo muttered, his voice cracking, his calm facade finally breaking.
He could feel it — the energy inside that baby's body was skyrocketing at a completely unnatural pace!
This wasn't Haki.
This wasn't a Devil Fruit power either.
This was something else — pure, primal, explosive strength unlike anything they'd ever seen!
"Quit with the tricks!" Onigumo snarled, his eight blade-like spider legs snapping open. "Don't let him scare you! Get him! Take him alive!"
But before they could move—
Suspended in midair, Dan's tiny face hardened, and he shouted again, his voice still tender but filled with resolve.
"Second Gate — Gate of Rest… open!"
VMMM—!!
Another surge of power exploded outward, flooding from his body like a bursting dam!
The green glow around him suddenly deepened, burning brighter.
Sweat beaded on his little forehead — only to hiss into steam before it could fall.
His small body was turning into a living fountain of energy!
"This brat… he's still getting stronger?!"
Sasaki, locked in combat with Doberman, risked a quick glance skyward, shock flashing across his face.
The aura Dan was putting out now was even more intense — more dangerous — than when he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki moments ago!
"Third Gate — Gate of Life… open!"
Pain laced Dan's tiny voice, but it was drowned by the sheer determination burning in it.
BOOM!
It was as though invisible chains had just shattered.
His energy spiked again, erupting like a volcano, reaching a completely new level!
The green glow around him thickened into something almost solid, forming a thin, shimmering layer over his body.
"No way! That's impossible!"
Onigumo's cruel grin froze on his face, replaced by raw shock.
That pressure pouring off the child was so intense it made even him — a Vice Admiral — feel a twinge of fear!
He's barely a year old!
How could a baby unleash power like this?!
"Can his body even handle this?!" Kumadori's face had gone grim, his eyes locked on Dan.
Techniques that forcefully amplify power like this… he'd seen them before — and they always tore the user apart from the inside.
Was this child… burning away his own life?
"Fourth Gate — Gate of Pain… open!"
Dan clenched his tiny teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.
HISSSSS—
The green energy poured from every pore, steaming off him like a boiling kettle!
His little figure was now wrapped in a dense shroud of emerald mist, only a vague outline visible inside.
Gulp.
Doberman swallowed hard, his duel with Sasaki momentarily forgotten as his hands stiffened around his sword.
"Wh-what the hell is this kid?!" a marine shouted, unable to hold back his fear.
"Fifth Gate — Gate of Limit… open!"
Dan's voice was rough now, a hoarse shout that tore from his throat.
With a deafening roar, the mist around him expanded violently, growing darker and heavier.
"His aura… it's already on par with a Vice Admiral!"
Cold sweat streamed down Onigumo's face. A terrible realization clawed at his gut.
If they let this little monster go any further — something catastrophic was going to happen.
He roared, all eight blades lashing forward as he lunged to stop him.
But—
"Sixth Gate — Gate of View… open!!"
SHRRAA—!!
The green mist exploded outward, torn apart by the violent surge of power!
In its place came a roaring storm of pure, blistering energy.
Dan's glowing green eyes turned a stark, burning white — like twin flames.
His presence flooded the battlefield, suffocating, impossible to ignore.
"Damn it! He's still not done?!"
Kumadori's face had gone ashen.
This power… it was far beyond anything a baby should be capable of.
In sheer aura alone —
He was already equal to a Vice Admiral.
Even Sasaki stared, stunned, his spiral sword slipping in his grip.
Barely a year old…
And this was the kind of power he could wield?!
He'd known Young Master Dan was a monster — but this was something else entirely!
Just as everyone thought this must be the limit—
Dan's tiny frame convulsed once, then he threw his head back and let out a raw, primal roar that didn't sound human — let alone like a baby's cry.
"Seventh Gate — Gate of Shock… open!!!"
KRA-BOOOOM—!!!
In an instant, a power far greater than anything before detonated from his small body!
The energy spilling from him was no longer green.
It had turned—
Into a blazing, spectral blue flame!
Blue sweat flew off him in droplets, sizzling into steam before it could hit the ground.
The air around him cracked and popped as the heat twisted it.
Half a meter tall, floating in the sky, Dan's pure white eyes glowed with an emotionless, almost divine brilliance — piercing through everything.
To everyone watching, he no longer looked like a child.
He looked like a tiny, terrifying blue war god.
"B-blue steam?!" Onigumo's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
"No… this is impossible — absolutely impossible!"
Kumadori could smell death in that blue mist.
"The pressure coming off him… it's on par with Gion and Tokikake!"
Doberman was drenched in sweat, face grave.
Which meant—
This little brat floating in front of them now had the power of a Vice Admiral candidate.
"..."
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