Buildings crumbled. Beasts roared. Blades lit up the sky.

Even a thunderous, rain-soaked night in Marineford couldn't drown out the burning blood of justice.

...

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... what a surprise. The one sent to stop me is just a clueless brat who doesn't even appear in the intel files.

You must be a new recruit from the Marine Academy, huh?"

A mid-level CP0 officer stared mockingly at the tall figure standing stiffly in the rain. A sneer curled at the corner of his lips.

"A mere rookie dares stand in my way? Seems I've really been underestimated."

He scanned the pale-faced youth in front of him with critical eyes. The kid still wore a Marine training uniform. His appearance was fierce and strange—two horns sprouting from his head, black wings stretching from his back—like a demon from the depths of hell.

But with CP0's sharp perception, he'd already noticed the youth's trembling hands the moment he arrived.

This was a rookie.

A rookie among rookies.

"Do you even know who I am, brat?"

CP0's tone turned playful, his smile smug.

But before he could react—

The demonic-looking youth suddenly raised his hand, trembling.

"Hydra!"

Whoosh!!

A massive, over ten-meter-long purple venomous dragon exploded from his body, engulfing the CP0 officer in a blink with terrifying speed.

"This is... poison!?"

As the toxic purple mist flooded through him, the CP0 felt his strength drain away in an instant. He clawed at his throat, collapsing to his knees with a thud.

White smoke billowed from his body as his skin withered and rotted at a visible speed. Agonized screams burst from his lips.

Pure terror filled him as he realized the powerful physique he'd forged over decades of brutal training was being reduced to nothing—his cells torn apart like fragile paper by the venom's wrath.

His bloodshot eyes locked onto Magellan, all arrogance and smugness wiped away.

"You... damn brat..."

"You're a... Devil Fruit user..."

"And you started with... your strongest move..."

Magellan's hands still trembled. Clearly, he wasn't used to landing such a devastating, lethal blow.

He turned his face away, unable to watch, and muttered under his breath,

"I'm sorry. I don't have time to talk with you."

"Instructor Daren treated me well.

He was the only one who ever talked to me like a normal person, ate with me, never avoided me, never hated me for being a walking disaster."

"That's why—no matter who it is—I won't let anyone harm Instructor Daren's wife or child."

A faint glow appeared on Magellan's youthful face.

In his mind, Vice Admiral Rogers Daren's relaxed, smiling expression resurfaced, and the man's warm, encouraging voice echoed in his ears.

"Magellan, your power is strong—but that's not your fault."

"Use your power to protect others. Someday, with your Devil Fruit abilities, you'll be able to defend the things you truly cherish."

"I believe in you more than anyone else."

"And maybe... one day, even I'll need your help."

That voice lingered, and a light sparked in Magellan's eyes.

His hands were no longer trembling as badly.

He stepped over the collapsed CP0 agent—paralyzed and unable to rise—and walked toward his next target.

"Daren-sensei, I've made up my mind.

At least for tonight… I won't hold back anymore!"

Magellan strode forward, head high, shoulders back.

Behind him, the massive purple Hydra roared skyward, its body nearly blotting out the heavens.

Everywhere he passed, corpses of CP agents lay scattered across the ground—frozen in shock and horror.

"Kill!!"

"Don't let these bastards through!"

"This is Marine Headquarters!"

"This is Vice Admiral Rogers Daren's family compound!"

"I'm going first! Cover me!"

"Damn it, let me go first! Do you know how much Vice Admiral Daren has tipped me over the years!?"

"Bullshit! Vice Admiral Daren even had someone look after my sick mother!"

"Enough crap—move!

As long as we can repay Vice Admiral Daren and protect his family, it's worth dying here today!"

"At least my kid will never go hungry!"

"Charge!!"

The fighting intensified. More and more Marines gathered around the traditional courtyard, forming defensive lines.

They met the CP agents' ferocious assaults head-on—resolute, unyielding, ready to die.

The CP agents stared, dumbfounded, at the frenzy before them.

They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Did these Marines not understand who they were dealing with?

The curfew from the World Government should've already gone into effect.

There shouldn't be a single Marine here offering backup!

Yet the scene before them shattered all expectations.

What the hell was going on with these cowards from Marine Headquarters?

Had they all gone mad?

Were they really throwing their lives away for a doomed traitor of a Vice Admiral?!

…

North Blue.

Philseque Island.

"Damn you, Daren!"

The four Five Elders roared furiously, their overwhelming Haki and thunderous voices shaking the clouds apart, sending shockwaves across the skies. In the distance, every Marine was stunned, their expressions frozen in disbelief.

They watched, dumbfounded, as the black-haired giant stood alone, holding back all four of the Five Elders.

It was so absurd, so surreal, it felt like a hallucination.

"You're dead!"

"And so are your wife and children!"

"We are immortal!"

Transformed into towering monstrosities, the four Five Elders roared with voices dripping with hatred and bloodlust.

Daren stood firm—one foot stomping down on Gyūki, one hand clutching the Sandworm, and the other crashing a fist straight into Bakotsu's skull. His eyes locked onto Houki's gnashing fangs as he sneered,

"You might be immortal... but the rest of the Celestial Dragons aren't."

From far behind, a desperate roar echoed from Itsumade.

The Five Elders froze.

The blood-soaked corner of the Vice Admiral's mouth curled into a wild, defiant grin.

"Gentlemen... I have a question."

"If all five of you are here in the North Blue... then—"

Daren grinned savagely. His massive body surged with crackling black lightning until it engulfed him entirely.

Giant Devil Form!

"—who's left to protect the Holy Land?"

The moment those words dropped, the pupils of the Five Elders shrank into pinpoints.

It hit them all at once.

And for the first time in their long, ageless lives, an emotion surfaced that they had almost forgotten how to feel—

Fear.

A terrifying realization took hold, chilling them to their core like plunging into an icy abyss.

...

August, Year 1496 of the Sea Circle Calendar.

A sharp sea wind blew in from the endless blue, sweeping over the vast Red Line.

It passed the towering, ancient cityscape with its layered blue-tiled roofs and white stone walls, carrying winter's bite into the highest seat of power in the world.

In the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, tens of thousands of Celestial Dragons and hundreds of thousands of Holy Land soldiers lived in lazy comfort upon this seemingly peaceful land, indulging in their lives of decadence, just as they had for generations.

Far, far away—

A wide, bloodied red hand suddenly stretched out from beneath a cliff.

In the first light of dawn, it clamped firmly onto the jagged edge of the Red Line.

Not a hint of hesitation.

Not a single tremble.

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