"…execute on sight!"
The cold voice of Marine Commodore Rogers Darren thundered in the minds of Perospero and Daifuku, jolting them violently.
"Damn Marines!! How did you find us!?" Daifuku suddenly stepped forward, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Darren overhead, his voice gritted.
The New World Ocean was vast—and even the World Government and Marine headquarters couldn't fully track every movement. So how had this Marine found them—so fast!?
"Our escape route was clearly—"
He didn't even finish when their pupils constricted.
With no visible motion from Darren, the twin swords—black and white—shot out again like silver and ebony lightning bolts, aimed straight at them.
Before they could react, Darren struck—giving them no chance to breathe or evade.
In truth, tracking them was simple.
Though the New World was vast and chaotic, there were only three navigable sea lanes from Coin Island to Whole Cake Island. Injured and fleeing, Perospero and Daifuku would inevitably take the fastest one.
Darren simply followed that route—and used his magnetism to sense them.
"That bastard!!" Perospero cursed under his breath, awed by the Marine's precision and ruthlessness.
But as the eldest Charlotte, he had more experience than Daifuku. The moment Darren struck, he slid sideways in an instant, his remaining arm tracing a half-circle in the air and materializing a candy battleship wall to shield them.
"Candy Wall!"
Clang! Clang!
The twin blades slammed into the massive candy barrier, embedding with a violent jolt. Fragments of candy bright as starlight showered around them—beautifully shimmering in the sky.
"They held!" Daifuku exhaled lightly, relief sparking in his eyes.
"That's because he didn't coat his blades in Haki… don't underestimate him!" Perospero's forehead beaded with sweat as he warned coolly.
Even though they'd blocked Darren's attack, Perospero's gaze didn't relax—it grew sharper. He understood the incredible durability of candy he forged. Not even cannon volleys could easily shatter it.
Yet this Marine had nearly splintered the wall using only the swords' chemistry and momentum—no Haki involved.
Glancing down at his still-bleeding stump, Perospero bit his lip hard.
He couldn't get hit.
They had to strike back.
In one decisive moment, Perospero used his Devil Fruit power to regrow his candy arm. With arrow-like precision, he launched a sweeping barrage of candy arrows skyward.
"Rain of Demise!"
"Let's see how you dodge this!" The cruel smirk on his lip twisted maliciously.
But in the next instant, his smile froze.
Darren hadn't even moved. He just stood there, letting the candy arrows rain down—and they all bounced off harmlessly.
They rattled off, tearing his clothes slightly—but not so much as a scratch on his skin.
Darren's eyes narrowed as he smirked in mockery.
"No Haki even used. Seems you are underestimating me." With that, he vanished instantly.
Perospero and Daifuku's pupils shrank simultaneously.
The speed—unreal.
A palpable fear coursed down their spines as their Observation Haki flared to full.
"Your reflexes have slowed." came a low voice from behind as a dark shadow cast over both of them.
"No…it's your injuries that slow you." A gust of overpowering wind exploded from behind them—Muscle-shredding power beyond measure.
They could hardly process it.
His Devil Fruit ability alone covered the island—but his strength, speed, and explosive force overwhelmed them both!?
When they'd been on Coin Island, they'd been focused on Admiral Sengoku, barely noticing Darren—only noting his Devil Fruit. They assumed Golden Lion hadn't used full power.
But now—they realized that this Marine Commodore who single-handedly annihilated Golden Lion's fleet was terrifyingly dominant in all aspects of raw power.
"Damn it!!" Perospero roared, eyes blood-red. He pulled Daifuku behind him and transformed the candy around him into living armor.
"Candy Armor!"
In his vision, a three-fingered black dragon claw materialized—ripping toward Darren!
"Dragon Claw Fist—Claw of the Dragon!"
Crack!
But the candy armor shattered in a second under the blow. The claw smashed into Perospero's throat, unrelenting.
He jerked back as blood spurted from his mouth, his body contorted violently in pain.
"Damn it!! Let go of him!!!" Daifuku screamed, rage building inside.
He activated his Steam Fruit power, summoning a giant blue Lamp Demon—towering like a mountain.
"Genie: Fine Slice!!"
The demon roared in rage and swung its blade across Darren's broad chest with thunderous resonance.
The swing should have sliced a Marine ship in half—but only sparks erupted against Darren's torso.
"Impossible…." Daifuku turned pale, disbelief flooding his features.
Even in his injured state—he couldn't believe the attack didn't penetrate.
As he watched the Marine who stood unmoving, Daifuku felt terror like never before—intense enough to evoke traces of Mom.
"Daifuku…run…" Perospero wheezed, blood raining from his mouth as Darren held his throat. But he slumped, too terrified to cry out.
In desperation, Perospero's candy tendrils surged from his hands, wrapping around Darren's forearm in a final attempt to restrain him.
"Run…ah…"
"It ends now," Darren said, eyes narrowing as he slammed Perospero down with brutal force.
BOOM!!
The ground collapsed once more within a hundred-meter radius, forming a crater riddled with cracks.
Perospero's eyes stirred for a moment—then lifelessly went blank.
Big Mom Pirate Officer Perospero, bounty 210 million Berries… dead.
"You…you killed my brother…?" Daifuku cried, spatting blood at Darren.
He staggered backward as he watched his brother's lifeless body.
"Mom will never forgive you…she will never forgive you…"
Darren's grip tightened. His Haki-coated hand dripped with blood as he advanced toward him.
"It's troublesome dealing with Big Mom—but you nearly killed my subordinate."
One step at a time, his footsteps sounded like bells tolling for death.
"I come from the North Blue. You may not know—but there, if you can't even protect your men, you're weak."
"I abided by North Blue's code—you kill me or I kill you."
"There is no law in this ocean that says 'only you Big Mom Pirates can kill—we can't kill you.'"
Daifuku pressed backward—Darren beckoned with a finger.
Enma and Kariumi shot through the air—piercing both legs and anchoring him to the ground.
"Aaah!!!"
Frenzied agony seized him like a demon's grip as pain surged.
"You're done!! Mom will never forgive you!!" he shrieked.
"Mm. I'll be waiting." Darren continued forward.
At that moment, a husky female voice suddenly emerged from the ground's edge.
"Mamamama… amusing little Marine—you're really not afraid of me?"
Darren froze and turned—spotting a Den Den Mushi at his feet.
He picked it up, frowning: "Big Mom?"
"Mamamama… that's right— I'm Charlotte Linlin."
An eerie parody of laughter escaped the device.
"You're the Marine who toppled Byrnndi World, sent Roger and Whitebeard packing, destroyed the Flying Fleet?"
Darren looked down at the pinned Daifuku with cold calm.
"Indeed."
"Mamamama!! How interesting!! I'm very interested in you!! I have a proposal…"
Darren shook his head.
"But I'm not interested in you."
Before the last words fell, he raised his right boot and squashed Daifuku's head like a watermelon.
Blood sprayed.
Daifuku, Big Mom Pirate Officer—bounty 180 million Berries… dead.
Silence ripped across the world for a heartbeat.
"But you never even heard my proposal…"
Big Mom's voice echoed again—not from the Den Den Mushi but from behind him.
Darren crushed the device in his hand and turned slowly.
High above, a tall, mature silhouette hovered atop a swirl of black thunderclouds. Over her shoulder rested a massive cursed sword—curved into a menacing grin.
A pink polka-dot ribbon adorned her hat; her pink hair streamed wildly in the wind that tasted of blood.
Her ruby lips curled as she licked them, eyes filled with hungry greed as she stared down at the Marine commodore.
"Mamamama… I think you should be my husband."
---
To be continued…