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"Eeya…"
Dan whispered softly.
The sound was barely audible—but everyone present felt an inexplicable chill crawl up their spines.
And then—
BOOM!!!
An indescribable, violent surge of power exploded from Dan's small body!
That aura—domineering, wild, and filled with an intent to annihilate everything in its path!
Even the sky seemed to darken at that moment.The ocean roared like a billion tons of explosives had been dropped into it, waves heaving and crashing madly.
The Moby Dick and the Red Force shook violently under the impact, their hulls groaning as if about to split apart.
"What… what is this?!"
"What a terrifying aura!"
"That brat—what did he just do?!"
Everyone's faces changed—even Whitebeard and Shanks looked stunned.
From Dan's body came a pressure so suffocating it felt like the air itself was collapsing.
Crimson steam began to rise around him, wrapping his small frame like living fire.His skin flushed blood-red before their eyes, veins bulging like coiled dragons beneath the surface.
A primal, brutal, destructive aura radiated outward in waves.
"Eight… Gates… Released!"
The words came from that childish voice—but carried an authority that allowed no question.
The crimson steam thickened until it was almost tangible,warping the very air around him.
"What… what kind of ability is that?!"
For the first time ever, Ben Beckman's usually calm face twisted in shock.
"Eighth Gate—Gate of Death… OPEN!!!"
The moment the final word fell—
BOOOOOOM!!!!
A wave of blood-red energy erupted from Dan,pure destruction unleashed.
The red steam became a raging storm that tore through the sky itself.Clouds split apart.The sea bellowed and rose in hundred-meter waves.
"Wororororo…"
Kaido's massive dragon eyes went wide,a mix of disbelief and manic delight burning in them.
He could feel it—Dan's power now… was beginning to surpass even his own!
Then—VMMMM!!!
From within that crimson tempest, a colossal figure took shape—a completely new Susanoo, utterly different from before.
No longer blue bones—but a blood-red demon, terrifying and alive, radiating a killing intent that shook heaven and earth.
The crimson demon towered above all, its body solid and massive,eyes burning like red fire,armor engraved with eerie, ancient runes.
The aura it emitted was so overwhelming that souls themselves seemed to shudder beneath it.
"W–What the hell is that thing?!"
Lucky Roux's chicken leg slipped from his hand and hit the deck—he didn't even notice.
Yasopp, Jozu, Marco—every top-ranked commander from both crews—felt their scalps go numb and their bodies turn cold.
That thing's power… could crush them without effort.
Beckman's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
He raised his rifle without hesitation, channeling every ounce of Haki and ghostly energy into the barrel.
"World… Requiem… Limit!!!"
He pulled the trigger.
BANG!!!
A bullet darker than night shot forth,a black dragon roaring through the air, tearing reality itself as it flew toward the crimson demon.
This was Beckman's ultimate attack—his life's worth of strength condensed into one shot.Powerful enough to obliterate an island.
But—
When the bullet struck the demon's massive arm—
BOOM!!!
A flash of fire and a thunderous crack split the air.
And then—as the smoke cleared—only a shallow dent remained on the demon's arm.No more. No less.
"What… what?!"
Beckman's eyes widened in disbelief.That bullet—his strongest ever—hadn't even broken the thing's defense?!
Impossible!
The world fell utterly silent.Not a sound. Not a whisper.
You could've heard a pin drop.
Whitebeard's huge frame trembled, his hawk-like eyes locked on the blood-red giant, heavy with dread.Shanks, too, stared in disbelief, one hand resting on Gryphon's hilt, ready to draw at any moment.
"Demon… Child…"
Beckman rasped the words, voice hoarse.
At last, he understood.
He finally knew why the world called this boy "The Demon Child."
That towering, hellish figure before them—that was the true meaning of the name.
And then—
Whrrr…
The giant blood-red demon flickered—and vanished.
Dan's small form reappeared in midair, sweat beading on his forehead, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
"Huff… huff…"
His faint breathing echoed across the silent sea.
"Wh–What happened?"
"That monster… it's gone?!"
"Could it be… he can't hold it anymore?!"
The Red-Hair Pirates froze for a second—then grins spread across their faces.
"Yes! I knew it! No way a move that strong lasts forever!"
"He's spent! He's got nothing left!"
"Beckman, sir—now's your chance!"
Yasopp's shout broke the tension, his earlier fear replaced by giddy relief.
Across the sea, the Whitebeard crew exchanged uncertain looks.
"Was it just for show?" Jozu muttered.
Even Whitebeard frowned.Could all that apocalyptic power really have been… just bluff?
"Dan…"Kaido's massive dragon eyes flickered with concern.He knew all too well the cost of opening the Eight Gates.But he hadn't expected the backlash to hit this quickly.
"Your tricks end here, brat!"
Beckman's eyes flashed cold light.He wouldn't waste this chance.
No matter why the crimson monster disappeared—this was the boy's weakest moment.
With a blur, Beckman vanished, reappearing high in the air beside Dan's flank.
BANG!
He didn't hesitate.
The rifle came up again—a single bullet wrapped in Armament Haki and ghostly energy screamed through the air, aimed straight for Dan's thigh.
He wasn't trying to kill—just to cripple the kid completely.
The bullet sliced through the air with a sharp whistle.
Everyone held their breath as it closed in on Dan's small leg.
But—
At that exact instant,Dan's black eyes flicked downward, calm and cold.
He clenched his tiny fist.
Then—threw a punch straight toward the incoming bullet.
"First Step!"
The childlike voice echoed once more.
And then—
BOOOOOOM!!!
A shockwave erupted from his fist, solid as a cannon blast!
The bullet—strong enough to pierce steel and carrying Beckman's full might—shattered the moment it met that shockwave, bursting into glittering fragments midair.
The blast didn't stop there.
It roared forward—straight at Beckman.
He dodged just in time—but behind him, the ocean exploded.
A cylindrical hole opened in the sea, water blasted aside so violently that the seabed, a hundred meters deep, was laid bare for all to see.
"..."
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