"...Under normal circumstances, Zoan awakenings don't reach the level of an 'Immortal Body.'"

Dragon crossed his arms and spoke flatly.

Queen scoffed, retorting with a sneer,

"You're not a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user. You haven't even awakened. What would you know?"

Dragon's face stiffened. Gritting his teeth, he snapped,

"Sure, I haven't awakened—but have you, you tight-pantsed lardball?"

"And just because I don't have a Zoan-type doesn't mean I don't know how they work!"

Queen curled his lip and said with mocking exaggeration,

"Oh, right... I forgot. You're the son of a Marine hero. Of course you'd have access to top-secret intel the rest of us don't. Wow, so impressive…"

He drew out the last sentence deliberately, lips pursed, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Dragon flushed red, so furious that steam practically puffed out of his ears.

"You damn porkball! I've long since cut ties with the Marines and founded the Freedom Fighters! Everything I've achieved has nothing to do with that irresponsible old man of mine!"

He gritted out each word, his jaw tight.

Queen raised a brow and smirked coldly.

"Is that so?"

"Of course!" Dragon puffed up his chest proudly.

"My success is thanks to my own efforts... and the great, selfless contributions of Rogers Daren-san!"

Queen rolled his eyes.

He thought his own shamelessness was unmatched—turns out this guy had him beat.

"Hmm…"

Just then, a low, pained groan echoed nearby.

Dragon's face lit up. He quickly turned and beamed.

"Daren, you're awake!"

Queen: "..."

Daren opened his eyes with difficulty. His face was pale, drained of all energy.

He gave Dragon a tired, annoyed glance and croaked,

"...Doesn't matter what you say. You still owe me money."

Dragon's smile froze, but he quickly recovered with a sheepish grin.

"Come on, we're way past talking money. Don't ruin the vibe."

Daren just shook his head, too exhausted to deal with how thick-skinned Dragon had become since founding the Freedom Fighters. He glanced toward the scorched, devastated wasteland in the distance.

"Where's Kaidou?"

Dragon clenched a fist, his tone rising with excitement.

"You won! Kaidou admitted defeat!"

"You're now the strongest creature on land, sea, and in the air!"

Daren blinked, stunned. Just as he was about to speak, a face full of blubber suddenly shoved itself into his field of vision.

"..."

The fat man in suspenders squatted in front of him, squinting and inspecting him suspiciously, eyes darting like a scanner.

It wasn't until Daren started getting creeped out, curling his fist to slug him, that Queen suddenly broke into a grin, flashing a toady smile full of anticipation.

"How about... you beat me up sometime?"

Daren: "???"

His eyes widened slightly as he stared blankly at the overly enthusiastic fat man, unable to process what he just heard.

Dragon looked equally bewildered.

What the hell got into this guy?

Had he lost his mind?

"...You serious?" Daren asked, still dazed.

"Uh-huh!" Queen nodded eagerly, eyes sparkling.

"Go all out. Beat me to death."

Daren: "..."

"Hold up!"

Dragon suddenly snapped to his senses, staring at Queen like he was insane.

"Don't tell me—you think if Daren beats you up, you'll awaken your Devil Fruit like Kaidou did!?"

Daren nodded solemnly.

"Yeah, if I go all out, you'll die... Wait—Kaidou awakened!?"

He stared at Dragon in disbelief as the meaning of the words sank in.

"If I'm not mistaken... yeah."

Dragon gave a wry nod.

Daren: "..."

He sat there, motionless, eyes blank as he stared at the sky.

It all felt like a dream.

He'd spent years of his life fighting deathmatches, chasing masters across the sea, narrowly surviving battle after brutal battle. And only after being "mentored" by the Commander of the Holy Knights had he finally awakened his Devil Fruit.

And Kaidou?

He awakened... just by fighting him?

Was that even fair?

…

"That actually makes a lot of sense!"

In the makeshift lab, Queen stood in front of a whiteboard covered in dense diagrams and annotations, dressed in a white lab coat and holding a pointer. He beamed as he explained,

"Devil Fruit awakening is never something that happens in an instant. Outsiders might think it's just a final push at the edge, but in truth, it requires the user to go through intense tempering, long-term accumulation, and a solid foundation."

"You had already pushed the Jiki Jiki no Mi to its absolute limit. All that was missing was a spark of inspiration."

"So when you were up against someone stronger than you—someone who also happened to be the leader of the Holy Knights, with an exceptional understanding of Devil Fruits—you managed to grasp that flash of insight. That's what let you break through and awaken your power. It's completely logical."

Daren, wrapped head to toe in bandages, leaned back against the hospital bed, puffing on a cigar as he listened attentively.

It had to be said—while this suspender-wearing fat man wasn't particularly diligent in his own training and often slacked off, his knowledge base was undeniably vast. He even had experience in Devil Fruit research and development.

Then again, Daren recalled that before joining the Beasts Pirates, Queen had worked on the same research team as Vegapunk.

And Vegapunk was the world's foremost expert in Devil Fruit research—he had even uncovered the Lineage Factor that lay within them.

Given that background, Queen having this level of insight wasn't so surprising after all.

"What about Kaidou?" Dragon suddenly interjected.

Queen gave him a dismissive look and grumbled,

"You really think Kaidou-sama wandered around trying to kill himself just because he wanted to die?"

"Or do you honestly believe that with Kaidou-sama's Devil Fruit, your Marine HQ could capture him that easily?"

Dragon was immediately speechless.

It was true—Kaidou, with his Mythical Zoan power, could transform into a massive azure dragon and fly through the skies. No matter how strong the Marines were, it would be nearly impossible to catch him more than once.

So all those years of Kaidou trying to kill himself and recklessly clashing with the Marines...

Was he actually just challenging strong opponents over and over, using those battles to find the breakthrough he needed to awaken his Devil Fruit?

This guy... was completely insane.

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