Dragon's mouth twitched as he looked at the smug fat man in suspenders, chest puffed out and belly sticking forward in exaggerated pride.

Is this guy an idiot?

He shook his head in frustration, something just didn't sit right.

Then he turned to look at Daren—and that's when it hit him.

They were on Onigashima!

Right above Wano Country!

The heart of the Beasts Pirates' stronghold!

And yet that bastard Daren was lying there, calmly receiving an injection from "The Plague" Queen. Judging by his half-closed eyes, he was already so relaxed he was on the verge of dozing off!

Are you kidding me?! This is the enemy's headquarters!

Dragon looked like he was going to lose his mind. He scratched his head anxiously, yanking out a few strands of hair and making his already receding hairline even worse.

"Don't get so worked up. After seeing us in this half-dead state, Kaidou doesn't have the heart to kill us."

Daren, sensing Dragon's frustration, cracked one eye open and smiled.

Dragon: "..."

That kind of reassurance just makes me more nervous, damn it!

...

Time ticked by.

The fat man in suspenders—who was supposedly "not at all happy" about Daren's compliment—was now sweating buckets as he bustled around, sparing no expense as he used the best medications and nutrients available.

By the time he finished injecting the final vial of pale green reagent into Daren's vein, Queen glanced at the monitor, saw the stabilizing vitals, and finally let out a long sigh of relief.

He wiped the sweat from his pudgy face, casually pulled out a cigar, lit it, and grinned with mock disdain.

"Don't get the wrong idea—I didn't use any good stuff on you."

He gestured toward a trash can filled with empty medicine bottles and snorted.

"All of it's practically expired garbage. But with your freakish body, you'd survive expired meds anyway."

Daren smiled.

"I already feel a lot better. Thanks, fatty."

His tone was sincere.

Because he meant it.

Thanks to Queen's treatment, he could feel his body kicking into high gear. His injuries were already healing at an impressive rate.

Sure, it didn't do anything to fix the underlying aftereffects of Magnetic Field Rotation—but it was definitely accelerating his recovery to peak condition.

And credit where it was due: Queen, with his mastery of biotech and cybernetics, was undeniably a pro when it came to doctoring.

He dared to use drugs that most doctors wouldn't even touch. And with Daren's monstrous body, Queen didn't have to hold back on dosage at all.

"Tch. Hypocrite."

Queen turned away, acting indifferent as he walked toward the door.

Just before stepping out, he stopped in his tracks.

Without turning around, he muttered in a low voice,

"Don't go dying just because you burned through your lifespan... I'm gonna develop the strongest virus in the world—and kill you with it, fair and square."

Daren: "..."

Dragon: "..."

What the hell... why does this fat guy sound so fired up all of a sudden?

Dragon watched as Queen's oversized figure squeezed out through the door—and then the guy even reached back to close it behind him. Dragon rolled his eyes in disbelief.

He turned to Daren and finally couldn't hold back.

"That fat guy… is there something wrong with his head?"

Daren chuckled.

"Scientists are like that. All that pressure... kind of understandable, isn't it?"

Dragon thought about it, and the image of Borsalino popped into his mind. He accepted the explanation pretty quickly.

Of course, Borsalino was more of a science corps commander than someone like Queen, who was a frontline researcher.

"But are you really okay?"

After a brief pause, Dragon looked at Daren—now sitting up on the medical bed, smoking calmly—and couldn't help asking.

There was genuine concern in his eyes.

Dragon had considered Daren a close friend for a long time, even before leaving the Marines.

He had always sensed that, unlike others, Daren—this so-called "scoundrel"—was born with a deep-rooted defiance toward authority. More precisely, he held open contempt for the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.

No one else in the Navy truly understood what Dragon wrestled with. Only Daren had seen it.

And now, Daren had taken on such horrific injuries just to answer his call for help and rescue Kuma. Naturally, Dragon felt guilty.

"Stop nagging."

Daren exhaled smoke and gave a faint smile.

"You wouldn't understand the feeling—power so overwhelming it can tear everything apart, destroy everything... something you can't control at all."

A flicker of reckless excitement danced in his deep-set eyes.

"Yeah, it's risky. But I believe I made the right call this time."

"If I'd followed the conventional path and developed the Jiki Jiki no Mi like everyone else, maybe one day I would've reached awakening—pushing its effects outward into the environment. But that kind of awakening would've never given me the power to kill the 'strongest Celestial Dragon.'"

Dragon fell silent.

He knew Daren was right.

Devil Fruit powers were formidable, but ultimately limited. Someone like Saint Michael, a combatant standing at the very summit of the seas, could nullify any ability with sheer Haki alone.

Even a fully awakened Jiki Jiki no Mi wouldn't have been enough to take that monster down.

"I'll deal with the life-drain problem eventually," Daren said casually. "Besides, I've got a hunch—maybe as my control over the fruit deepens, the side effects of Magnetic Field Rotation will start to weaken."

Hearing that, Dragon no longer pressed the issue.

"Alright then. Get some rest."

Daren smiled, said nothing more, and closed his eyes as if to nap—but inside, his focus turned sharply inward.

His perception talent activated instinctively, and before him appeared the full overview of the powers he'd mastered:

Physique: 99.295 (Indestructible Body)

Strength: 96.377 (Giant's Body)

Speed: 91.827 (Lightning Armor)

Fruit Ability Development: 91.888 (Magnetic Field Rotation)

Armament Haki: 88.952 (Emission Burst)

Observation Haki: 88.982 (Magnetic Field Induction)

Conqueror's Haki: 89.999 (Matter Influence)

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