Just as Daren was about to shoot out at full speed, his body suddenly halted.

The air around him thickened, as if he'd plunged into sticky glue. The pressure binding him kept intensifying.

He immediately felt as though some invisible force had locked him in place, making it impossible to move!

It was as if he was being forcefully suppressed!

"I can't let you run wild any longer, slaughtering my kin."

A hoarse, chilling voice drifted through the icy winds of the North Blue, cold enough to pierce bone.

A towering shadow suddenly rose from the snow, climbing higher and higher.

The monster, shrouded in black smoke, crushed the ground beneath it with creaking groans and toppled the surrounding coniferous trees.

An eerie, malevolent aura spread out, like a demon from hell descending upon the world—so overwhelming, it felt suffocating.

Daren raised an eyebrow and turned to look. What met his gaze was a colossal black beast, dozens of meters tall—like a skyscraper.

Saturn's appearance had transformed dramatically.

He now had spider-like black segmented legs and massive, sharp horns—no longer resembling anything that belonged to this world!

He looked strikingly similar to the mythical creature known as the "Gyūki"!

"A Mythical Zoan?"

Even as the immense, wicked aura from the beast made his body tremble, Daren's eyes glinted with anticipation.

"Feels way too strong... and it's highly likely the fruit has awakened."

Transformed into a towering Gyūki, Saturn looked down coldly and contemptuously at the Vice Admiral standing below, no bigger than an insect.

"Daren, you little pest... you have no idea what kind of terrifying power you're up against."

Suddenly, he raised one of his sharp spider legs and thrust it forward like a spear, aiming straight for Daren's chest!

The force was so great, white shockwaves exploded around the leg as it sliced through the air!

"The World Government's rule over these seas for the past eight hundred years... is far beyond your comprehension!"

The next instant—

Boom!!

A thunderous explosion rang out.

At the point of impact, the ground within a hundred-meter radius shattered, as if countless earthen dragons were twisting beneath the surface, turning the whole area into a hellish landscape.

Saturn's pupils suddenly shrank.

Amid the swirling dust and howling winds, the Marine Vice Admiral—small as a bug—was still standing exactly where he had been, unshaken like solid rock.

His defined knuckles were clamped tightly around the tip of the ox-demon's spider leg, and the muscles on his arms bulged so fiercely they looked ready to tear through his uniform.

His blood-speckled cape whipped violently in the wind and snow. The spider leg had only managed to pierce his skin, unable to move any further under the crushing force.

A thin trail of blood slowly spread.

"A mysterious suppression force... and the power of a Mythical Zoan…"

Daren's black hair fluttered over his eyes, but Saturn could clearly see the wild smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Not a bad combo."

He casually ripped open his uniform, wiped the blood from his pierced chest, then brought his hand to his mouth and gave it a light lick.

Then, under Saturn's stunned gaze, the Vice Admiral's eyes flared with a terrifying, predatory gleam.

"This heart-pounding tension… now this is a fight worth looking forward to!"

Saturn was momentarily stunned.

A ridiculous and unfamiliar thought suddenly surged into his mind.

Could it be… this brat didn't dodge on purpose… just to test my strength!?

For some reason, the look in Daren's unrestrained eyes stirred a sense of unease deep in Saturn's chest.

He instinctively tried to pull back his spider leg—only to be shocked when he couldn't.

The strength radiating from that ant-like arm...

Before he could react, black lightning burst across Daren's body.

With a violent surge of Armament Haki, the Vice Admiral instantly broke free from Saturn's mysterious suppression.

Gripping the spider leg tightly with his left hand, Daren stepped forward—and in the blink of an eye, his right hand transformed into a fierce three-fingered dragon claw.

The black Armament Haki surged around it like flowing water, coating the claw in darkness...

"This move is just right for you!"

Daren grinned and thrust out his dragon claw.

"This is the tyrannical claw that crushes all oppressive power!!"

Ryusoken: Dragon Claw!

He grabbed onto one of Saturn's spider leg joints and gave it a brutal yank!

Crack—Rip!!

Amid Saturn's muffled groan, the giant spider leg of Gyūki was violently torn in half by the Vice Admiral!

A torrent of green blood sprayed out like a burst dam. Gyūki staggered back, triggering a series of heavy tremors across the ground.

As green blood splattered everywhere, Daren laughed wildly. His body dropped low as an overwhelming, inhuman power exploded from his legs.

"Eight hundred years of legacy... What a joke."

"You have any idea how long I've trained?"

Boom!

The terrifying shockwave caused the ground for hundreds of meters behind him to collapse, massive pillars of mud and water erupting skyward.

"Real training... only two and a half years!!"

The instant his words dropped, Daren stomped the ground with a savage grin.

Boom!!

His figure blasted out like a meteor, like a streaking star.

His pitch-black claws tore through the sky.

The fleeing Celestial Dragons turned to look—eyes widening in horror.

A dragon's roar echoed through the void.

The Marine Vice Admiral shot high into the air, laughing boldly as he dove down.

His speed instantly reached its peak.

The black dragon claws even ignited roaring flames from sheer friction.

Saturn's expression shifted. Two sharp spider legs swept in again with a sharp whistle.

Clang!

Clang!

The dragon claws struck fiercely, deflecting every leg cleanly.

Sparks burst through the air, illuminating the devilishly handsome face of the Vice Admiral, wild and unruly.

He accelerated his descent.

One claw, wrapped in immense power, came crashing down!

Saturn lunged forward, ramming with his sharp horns!

Boom!!

The explosive shockwave erupted, laced with bolts of lightning.

But in the next moment, Saturn froze.

Daren vanished in a flash, slipping past Gyūki's sluggish horns.

That hand, with its sharp, defined knuckles, slammed down directly onto Gyūki's massive head.

Saturn's pupils shrank.

Time seemed to freeze in that instant.

Then—

The Vice Admiral's mocking voice boomed out:

"Eight hundred years to reach this level? You're not even embarrassed to say that?!"

A furious shout followed.

"Ryusoken: Dragon's Breath!!"

Boom!!

A surge of force burst from the dragon claw, slamming Gyūki's enormous head down into the earth!

The Vice Admiral leapt up fluidly, every move showcasing perfect combat technique. His right leg, coated in Haki, lifted high above his head.

Like a battle axe—

"After all this time, even a dog would've turned out stronger than you!"

Smash!!

BOOM—!!

An unimaginable force exploded downward. His black boot stomped straight onto Gyūki's head, crushing it just as it tried to rise again!

Rumble...

The ground let out a tortured wail under the impact. Lightning tore across the sky, and the winds howled like a storm from hell.

Gyūki was swallowed by humiliation and agony like never before. It let out a deafening screech, thrashing madly.

Compared to its towering, hundred-meter frame, the Vice Admiral, covered in splashes of red and green blood, looked like nothing more than a bug.

Yet he stood tall atop its head,

Like a mountain no force could ever surpass...

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

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