The world fell into momentary silence.
Blinding white light consumed everything—
And then came the shockwave.
A torrent of force surged outward from the explosion's epicenter, rippling across the island like a tidal wave of destruction. Entire forests were uprooted and hurled through the air, swept away by the shock front. A massive fireball tore into the sky, and in the freezing air, it birthed a swirling red inferno—a tornado of flame that devoured everything in its path.
Only after a full second did the sound catch up.
A deafening, eardrum-shattering boom.
On the coast, Marines flung themselves behind cover. The moment they saw that blinding fireball erupt, a primal terror seized their hearts.
Even in the skies above, the North Blue fleet trembled under the pressure wave. The air rocked them violently. The decks groaned, and thin cracks began to splinter across their hulls.
On the observation deck, Gion, Tokikake, and the others clung to railings, eyes wide in disbelief.
Sengoku raised his arm to shield himself from the wave of scorching heat, his expression frozen in stunned silence.
Finally, he understood.
He finally understood why Darren had allowed Byrnndi World to touch that massive cannon.
RUMBLE…
The entire island quaked as if hit by a magnitude ten earthquake.
Waves the size of buildings rose from the sea, roaring like dragons.
"…So that was part of your plan too?"
Borsalino stood in front of Darren, arms outstretched in a protective stance, projecting his Armament Haki to shield the younger officer from the lingering shockwave.
Darren's blood-soaked black hair was whipped wildly by the wind. The blood on his lips had long dried.
He licked his cracked lips and grinned.
"He wanted a cannon… so I gave him one."
Then he paused. His smile twisted slyly, like a fox about to spring a trap.
"Of course… that wasn't all I gave him."
"Oh?" Borsalino blinked. Then a weird grin slowly crept across his face.
—
The flames receded.
The black smoke writhed across the sky, mixing with the drifting snowfall.
Everyone, shaking off the aftershock, turned their eyes toward the heart of the blast.
The island had changed completely.
Barren. Charred. Cratered. A burning, ruined landscape.
Within a kilometer radius, all snow, boulders, trees, and vegetation had been obliterated—scorched to ash.
At the center of it all, the cannon's twisted remains still belched black smoke. The barrel, once immense, now warped and split open, bled molten metal like black-red lava dripping across the scorched ground.
And standing there…
A figure.
Not a man—barely a shadow of one.
Byrnndi World.
Or what was left of him.
His flesh dripped in molten globs.
Charred wounds marred every inch of his body.
His neck and chest were especially horrific—raw muscle exposed beneath blackened skin, with his trachea and tendons twitching visibly under pale fascia.
His entire chest had been flayed open.
Where skin and muscle once were, now lay exposed ribs—through which his heartbeat and lungs were plainly visible.
It was grotesque. Inhuman.
"D… damn…"
World lifted his head slowly. Blood poured from every inch of him.
His bull-horned helmet was gone. What remained of his face looked like a flayed skull, an eyeless membrane pulsing behind exposed sockets.
One of those slick eyes rolled, then locked onto Darren.
Filled with hatred.
"You… planned this… from the start…"
Darren slowly rose from the rock wall, swaying, breath ragged, and laughed.
"Something like that. Honestly, I didn't expect you to survive that blast."
World clenched his teeth—what was left of them—his cracked jaw exposing bloody gums.
"No… No way…"
"How… could I lose to a brat from the North Blue!!?"
Murderous fury flared in his eyes.
Even if it cost him his life, he would take this brat with him.
Sengoku and Borsalino instantly tensed, prepared to intercept—
But World staggered.
He stumbled two steps, then dropped to one knee, blood vomiting from his mouth.
"My… my body… What is this…?"
He clawed at his face, panting madly. Blood dripped between his fingers.
His body… was going numb.
"Seastone…"
"…When…?"
World's eyes darted down. On his thigh, his abdomen, his arm—
He saw it.
Tiny black fragments. Embedded in the wounds.
"The cannon shells," Darren said quietly, wiping blood from his cheek.
"I laced them with a small amount of seastone."
"I wanted to use more, but… after combing the entire North Blue, that's all I could find."
His words made not just World freeze—
But Sengoku, too. The Admiral's head whipped around to stare at Darren, expression stunned.
Borsalino, meanwhile, just smiled like always.
"My, my… how wicked of you…"
"Right back at you, Rear Admiral Borsalino."
Sengoku snapped back to reality and roared, veins bulging:
"You insane brat! What the hell were you thinking!? What if that blast had hit my battleship?!"
That shell had been loaded with seastone, no less!
If he'd been struck—even with Haki defenses—he wouldn't have fared much better than World.
"Then I guess… I would've had to pray for your safety," Darren replied, far too calmly.
Sengoku nearly choked on his own rage.
This lunatic. This absolute lunatic.
"I'm sure Rear Admiral Borsalino would be thrilled to take over your post."
Darren grinned.
Sengoku's face darkened.
Borsalino's smile faltered.
Darren laughed softly and shook his head, then turned his gaze back to Byrnndi World.
"Well then…"
"It's over."
"Byrnndi World… do you have any last words?"
---
— To be continued...