"You... you killed him..."
The woman, naked and covered in wounds, stared in horror at the corpse of the Celestial Dragon lying in a pool of blood. Her voice trembled as her face turned pale. The sight before her felt far too surreal—like a dream.
"You... killed a Celestial Dragon..."
She muttered the words again and again, touching the spreading pool of blood with her fingertips, feeling its warmth.
Slowly, the corners of her mouth curled into a smile.
"You killed him..."
The smile twisted into madness.
"Hahahaha!! You killed him!!"
"He's finally dead!!"
Her laughter rang out wildly as tears streaked down her bloodied cheeks.
"He's finally dead... sob..."
She broke down, weeping uncontrollably.
Darren watched the woman, laughing and crying in a frenzy, her face warped with pain and madness. He lowered his eyes.
"You're free now," he said.
"Free?"
A bitter smile tugged at her lips. She slowly turned around, letting Darren see her bare back.
Branded into her flesh was the unmistakable hoof of the Celestial Dragon—the blood-red Claw of the Heavenly Dragon.
"For someone like me... where does freedom even begin?"
She lifted her face and smiled faintly at Darren. It was a smile of resignation. A smile of release.
"Thank you, Marine officer."
She forced herself to her knees and gave Darren a deep, sincere bow.
"I have no reason to keep living. Everyone I ever cared about was killed by him."
"Please… go and do what you have to do."
Darren looked at her for a long moment.
In her eyes, he saw death. Not pain, not madness—just the will to die.
He didn't know what she had endured, how long she'd been tortured by Saint Shaldes.
But he'd always lived by one principle:
If you haven't walked their path, you have no right to judge their choices.
"I understand," Darren said quietly. "Then... go in peace."
Without another word, he turned and walked away.
Behind him, the woman wiped the tears from her bloodstained cheeks.
No longer hollow.
No longer broken.
A soft smile spread across her face. A smile that bloomed like a flower clinging to life on the edge of a cliff.
"Thank you. Truly, thank you... Marine officer."
"If I live, it'll only cause trouble for you anyway, won't it...?"
She picked up the golden pistol from the floor.
Bang! Bang!
She gritted her teeth and fired two bullets into the corpse of the Celestial Dragon.
"Papa... Mama... I'm coming to join you."
Smiling like a child again, she pressed the final bullet to her temple.
And pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The shot echoed behind him. Darren didn't stop walking.
He wasn't a saint.
He wouldn't force someone ready to die to live.
Once, she had no choice.
Now, at least... she chose her death freely.
Swallowing his feelings, Darren made his way toward the slave quarters of the ship.
The door exploded off its hinges with a blast of iron.
He stepped inside without hesitation.
The stench of damp and filth hit him. Dim oil lamps flickered in the stale air.
In the corner of a cage, curled into herself, sat Liya.
When she saw who it was, her fear vanished instantly—replaced by pure joy.
Darren waved his hand.
The steel cage collapsed in on itself, bars warping and breaking apart. The shackles on the girl's limbs fell away with a clatter.
"Marine big brother!!"
The moment the muzzle around her mouth came off, Leah threw herself into Darren's leg, hugging it tightly.
He patted her head gently and smiled.
"Let's go home."
Eyes brimming with tears, Liya nodded hard.
Darren took her hand and led her out of the cell.
But—
As they stepped onto the deck, Leah's eyes fell on the corpses strung up in the snow—impaled on rusted iron.
Her little face turned ghost white.
She let go of Darren's hand and instinctively turned back toward the ship's interior.
There he was—the terrifying, hideous Celestial Dragon—dead in a pool of his own blood.
She froze.
Then, clenching her teeth, she turned and ran at the mast, ready to smash her head into it.
Darren caught her midair like a kitten.
"What are you doing?" he asked, frowning.
Through sobs, the girl cried, "I'm not supposed to survive, right?"
"If I live... I'll bring you so much trouble…"
Darren stared at her, sighed, and shook his head.
He remembered her father throwing himself at a wall and sighed again.
Just like father, like daughter.
He picked her up in his arms.
"You're alive. So live well," he said firmly. "Your dad's waiting for you."
"I was paid to protect you, remember?"
Liya blinked and whispered, "But... but I didn't give you much money..."
Darren smiled.
"It's enough."
A metal board floated toward them.
He stepped on it, holding the muddy little girl tightly in his arms.
The board rose into the sky.
Hovering high above the sea, Darren looked down at the blood-soaked World Government ship.
He raised his hand and splayed his fingers.
Crack—BOOM—
The metal hull groaned.
In the grip of his magnetic powers, the entire ship began to compress, collapse, and twist like paper.
BOOM!!
The gunpowder and cannons aboard exploded.
A towering fireball engulfed the ship in flame.
A shockwave ripped across the sky. Leah buried her face in Darren's chest—the safest place in the world.
The ship sank.
The World Government flag, symbol of supreme authority, was reduced to ashes.
Black smoke coiled into the sky.
Above, dark thunderclouds boiled.
A storm was coming.
And in the flickering firelight, Darren saw faces.
Visions.
He saw Gion on the street, clutching a rose, dazed.
He saw Tokikake pounding the wall with his fists.
He saw the man kneeling before him, pouring out coins in desperation.
He saw the woman who smiled and pulled the trigger.
He saw the Celestial Dragon's hideous grin...
One by one, the images rose and vanished in the fire.
Darren exhaled deeply.
All the rage, the suffocating pressure in his chest—gone.
He felt something awaken.
A power. A conviction.
CRACK!!
A blinding bolt of lightning split the sky.
And then came the rain.
Thunder roared.
High in the air, the Marine captain hovered with his white cloak billowing like a dragon in the storm.
A crushing aura surged from his body—
Dominating.
Majestic.
Absolute.
The heavens trembled.
And in that moment—
A new line appeared in his perception.
Conqueror's Haki: 20
The spirit of a king... had awakened.
---
To be continued...