The Vice Admiral's uniform was shredded by the blast of yellow sand, revealing a scar-covered, muscular frame beneath.
A cold, almost imperceptible gleam shimmered across his skin.
Crocodile's eyes widened in disbelief.
His attack… hadn't even left a scratch!
"This... how is that possible?!"
Crocodile's voice was hoarse, his expression stunned.
Tokikake stared at Daren, jaw practically hitting the floor.
He'd already experienced Daren's "hardness" firsthand back in the North Blue, but back then, his durability was at best on par with Tekkai from the Rokushiki.
Even if Daren's physique had improved over the past half-year, it shouldn't be strong enough to tank an attack from Crocodile without a mark!
This wasn't just "steel-hard" anymore!!
"Hey, that actually hurt, you know."
Daren seemed to snap back to attention only now, speaking with a hint of exasperation.
He casually ripped off the remnants of his torn uniform, revealing a torso packed with knotted muscle.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Crocodile's forehead. He suddenly clenched his teeth.
His arm once again expanded and turned to sand, forming a massive blade of yellow grit that roared toward Daren.
The ground split open as it tore through, streaks of violet lightning faintly flickering within.
"Desert Spada!"
As the razor-sharp blast closed in, Daren's expression didn't change. Smirking coldly, he raised his arm—and reached straight for the incoming Desert Spada.
A deafening crash followed. In Tokikake's bulging eyes, Daren actually caught the seemingly unstoppable sand blade with one hand—then...
He clenched.
Boom!!
The blade shattered, yellow sand erupting skyward.
The next moment...
Behind the swirling storm of sand, Daren's body dipped low, knees bending—and as he launched forward, half the island trembled from the impact!
Rip!!
Within a hundred-meter radius, the earth cracked apart. Towering columns of dust shot into the sky, and fissures spread out across the town like shattered glass.
"Just sand…"
Daren lifted his head, a savage grin curling his lips.
Boom!
Like a tiger unleashed, his figure tore through the yellow sandstorm, vanishing from sight in a blink.
Crocodile's pupils shrank to pinpricks, a shudder gripping his core.
Too fast!
Far too fast!
With his level of Observation Haki, he couldn't even track the Marine's terrifying speed!
How could this be?!
Could such a monster really exist in this sea?!
"Not even close."
A cold laugh echoed in his ear.
Crocodile's eyes flew open.
Before he could react, the Marine Vice Admiral's imposing figure had already appeared at his side.
A fist cloaked in Armament Haki...
Struck.
It crashed into Crocodile's gut like a meteor from the heavens!
Boom!!
A muffled impact rang out. Crocodile's body folded in half like a shrimp, as if hit head-on by a speeding warship.
Blood vessels burst in his eyes, his pupils bulged outward, and the cigar shot from his mouth.
"With power like yours, you want to take on Whitebeard? You're a few centuries too early."
Daren sneered.
His fist pulsed, and Armament Haki erupted a second time!
Bang!!
A blast of white shockwave exploded from Crocodile's back, obliterating his vest and black fur coat into tatters.
Crocodile spewed a mouthful of blood, his eyeballs trembling.
The sheer, overwhelming force launched him like a cannonball, as if struck by a giant's club.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
He crashed through building after building, flying so fast that white shockwaves rippled through the air in his wake.
"Damn... he's strong..."
Tokikake stared in shock, instinctively pulling his head back as he swallowed hard.
But just as Crocodile began to fall, Daren's figure vanished again.
In the next instant, he reappeared directly in Crocodile's path.
Tokikake's eye twitched.
"No way... right?"
He watched as the Marine Vice Admiral calmly lit a cigar, shoved his hands into his pockets, then bent his knee and launched a brutal kick straight into the oncoming Crocodile!
Bang!!
Crocodile coughed up blood again as if struck by lightning. Daren's kick sent him hurtling skyward.
His pupils began to lose focus, blood flooding his mouth and nostrils.
But Daren wasn't finished.
He leapt from the ground.
Another kick!
Then...
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!!
One heavy thud after another echoed from above, and Tokikake—along with the battered Marines still barely conscious—witnessed a nightmarish scene that made their scalps tingle.
Thirty meters in the air, the once-arrogant pirate who had boldly claimed he'd "use Daren to hone his skills" was now being kicked around like a ball... completely at Daren's mercy.
The Vice Admiral's movements were so fast they couldn't even follow them. To the spectators below, all they could see was Crocodile's body being flung around midair, a bloodied mess that refused to hit the ground.
He was kicked up, stunned, fell, slammed, struck again, launched once more...
Tokikake and the others were dumbfounded, cold sweat trickling down their backs, eyelids twitching uncontrollably.
Was this... really necessary?
A full minute.
Crocodile remained suspended midair, twitching under the relentless assault for a whole minute before finally crashing down, carving a massive crater into the earth.
As the dust settled, Daren appeared once more. The cigar in his mouth was already more than half burned.
"D... damn it..."
Crocodile lay bloodied in the cracked crater, eyes wide with fear as he watched the Marine approach him step by step.
This guy... was terrifying.
That relentless, savage, beast-like way of fighting—once he found an opening, he didn't stop until the enemy was utterly crushed. Crocodile had never faced anything like it.
He tried to move, but the Marine had clearly shattered the bones in all four limbs. Coupled with the internal injuries, Crocodile didn't even have the strength to lift a finger.
"Get it now?"
Daren stood beside him, looking down from above.
"This is the New World... not some playground in Paradise."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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