The island suddenly shuddered. The spot where Kaidou landed erupted first, then cracks rippled out like shockwaves in every direction, spreading far into the distance.

Under Daren's unchecked, titanic strength, the land within a kilometer collapsed in an instant, sinking neatly into a massive crater. Countless stones leapt skyward, only to be shattered into dust midair by the violent shockwaves.

Kaidou's entire head was embedded in the ground from the impact, making painfully intimate contact with the earth. His pupils trembled wildly.

The sheer devastation stunned the Beasts Pirates into silence—they gasped and stood frozen in place.

"Yes! That's the feeling!!"

Queen suddenly leapt to his feet, startling everyone around him.

The chubby man in suspenders pumped his fists with excitement, a wide, uncontrollable grin spreading across his face.

"It's fine, I'm just... shocked."

Realizing the awkward stares from the others, he quickly tried to explain, putting on a face of righteous indignation.

"That bastard Daren... He's way too much!"

Everyone: "..."

It actually worked...

Daren looked at Kaidou, completely flattened by his strike, and for a moment, he couldn't quite believe it himself.

The "strongest creature on land, sea, and air," Kaidou of the Beasts... actually had a "weak point"?

A trace of amusement flickered in his eyes.

Of course, Daren understood well that the "weak points" Yamato mentioned weren't truly weaknesses.

If it were anyone else, even with Kaidou standing still, they wouldn't have made a dent.

And these so-called "weaknesses" weren't nearly enough to sway the outcome of a real battle.

"Damn it... Yamato, what do you think you're doing!?"

Kaidou propped himself up on the shattered ground, yanked his head out, and panted with rage.

"I'm your father!"

Still clinging tightly to Daren's neck, Yamato stuck out her tongue and teased,

"But Daren-san is my future husband!"

"..."

Kaidou's eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He launched himself forward like a mad beast, his furious roar splitting the sky.

"Daren, you're dead!"

He gripped his kanabō with both hands, swinging it from a distance as countless shadows filled the air. Black and red lightning wove through the storm of attacks, sealing off the space around Daren entirely.

"Gundari Ryuseigun!!"

That move...

"Perfect!"

Faced with the suffocating assault, Daren didn't panic—in fact, he lit up with excitement.

"Hold on tight, don't let go, Yamato."

"Got it!"

After giving a quick warning, a strange, scarlet gleam surged in Daren's eyes.

In that moment, his Observation Haki surged to its peak.

Lightning Armor blazed with intensity, wrapping around his entire body.

With his senses pushed to the absolute limit, Daren charged headfirst into the barrage of strikes!

And then...

Before Queen and the others' stunned eyes, a streak of blue lightning darted and danced through Kaidou's frenzied attacks—agile and precise, dodging every blow like an electric spark!

"He's using Kaidou-sama's attacks to train his Observation Haki!"

Queen's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He trembled all over in shock.

"That lunatic!"

"He's insane!"

"That's terrifying!"

...

Amid the pirates' cries of disbelief, Daren's figure tore through the storm like a bolt of light, closing in on Kaidou in an instant.

The gap between them vanished.

"Die!!"

Kaidou's eyes were blood-red, massive arcs of purple lightning forming a net as they surged into his kanabō.

Daren let out a wild grin, streaks of blue lightning crackling around him like a storm of silver blossoms, compressing into his right fist.

Kaidou raised his weapon, dragging a torrent of lightning, and brought it down with all his might!

Daren's fist, like a blazing blue meteor, smashed forward with explosive force!

"Daiitoku Raimei Hakke!!"

"Genkotsu: Raimei Surprise Attack!!"

In the blink of an eye—Iron fist and kanabō collided.

The world went silent for an instant.

Then—

Two intensely compressed forces of lightning exploded like a nuclear blast, wrapped in a roaring storm of Haki that surged outward in a shockwave that obliterated everything in its path.

RIIIP!!

The ground between them couldn't withstand the monstrous impact. With a deafening roar, it split wide open, forming a bottomless chasm.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!

The rock layers crumbled and shattered in rapid succession, a massive rift tearing through the land!

Under the horrified stares of everyone watching, the very earth beneath their feet trembled uncontrollably.

Then...

The entire Onigashima—

Was torn in half by their clash!

The island's structure split down the middle, and between Daren and Kaidou, a massive ravine opened up, arcs of lightning crackling within its depths, forbidding and ominous.

Ssshh!

Ssshh!

Blood burst across both of their chests. Their faces went pale.

Yet their eyes burned bright, and uncontrollable, exhilarated grins tugged at their lips.

"Daren-san! Aim for his armpit! There's no dragon scale covering it!"

Yamato poked her head out from behind Daren, eyes gleaming with excitement as she shouted.

"..."

Kaidou instinctively clamped his arms shut.

Daren chuckled and let his arms fall naturally to his sides.

"That's enough."

He murmured softly.

"Hey, what, you're done fighting?"

Kaidou glared at Daren, grinding his teeth.

Daren shook his head.

"If we keep going, we might end up sinking all of Onigashima into the sea."

Kaidou's fury and drunkenness had both faded. He glanced at the devastated battlefield—the shattered land, the floating island now split clean in two—and after a moment of silence, said nothing.

Seeing this, Daren knew he had agreed. He raised a hand, grabbed the back of Yamato's collar, and gently set her down.

He ruffled her hair with a smile.

"Let's call it a day. It was nice meeting you, Yamato."

Yamato's cheeks turned pink.

"D-Daren-san, aren't you going to take me with you?"

Daren let out a soft laugh.

"I really don't want your old man chasing me all across the sea."

He had no interest in being hunted by that lunatic Kaidou—North Blue wasn't nearly big enough to run around in if that happened.

Yamato said matter-of-factly,

"Then just beat him so badly he can't chase you!"

Kaidou's face darkened again, clearly about to explode.

But Daren only laughed and shook his head.

"Honestly, I'm still not strong enough to beat your dad that badly."

"And besides, you're too young to marry me."

Yamato looked at Daren, then at Kaidou. She bit her little finger, thought for a second, then nodded seriously.

"Okay then, I'll stay here and help Daren-san keep an eye on my dad!"

Kaidou: "..."

"But Daren-san has to promise me…"

Yamato tilted her head up, stood on tiptoe, and reached out her soft little pinky finger.

"...that you'll come back and visit Yamato often!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Queen and the others collapsed backward in agony, clutching their chests, tears streaming down their faces.

"It's over…"

As they stared at Kaidou with nearly hopeless expressions...

Daren smiled and reached out his hand.

"Alright. I promise."

Pinky swear.

...

For more chapters, feel free to follow me on P@treon.

(100 Chapters Ahead)

[email protected]/PinkSnake

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.