Chapter 14: One Man Destroys a Nation!?
"This… What kind of ability is this...?"
Tokikake stared blankly at the shell slowly shifting direction above his head, his voice trembling.
"Is it… the ability to manipulate metal?"
Gion was just as stunned.
Beside them, Momonga crossed his arms, chuckling as he lit a cigarette.
That Daren guy… his magnetic field control is getting sharper and sharper...
In the distance...
Aboard the Saint Germain, Vinsmoke Judge's pupils trembled violently as he watched the overwhelming display unfold before him. He grit his teeth instinctively.
But then came Daren's words—words that instantly reignited the fury burning in his chest.
This Marine brat… What arrogance!
Does he really think that just the power of a single Devil Fruit is enough to go up against the "Army of Evil" of the Germa Kingdom?
"Don't be ridiculous! If an old man like me can't even crush a punk like you, what's the point of Germa 66 ruling the North Blue?!"
With bloodshot eyes, Vinsmoke Judge roared:
"All units, attack!! Ram the ship head-on! Bring that warship down!!"
At his command, the Germa fleet surged once more. Pulled by giant snails, the ships kicked into full power, speeding madly toward Daren's warship.
Daren didn't speak.
Once again, he slowly raised his hand.
His movement, sluggish and deliberate, stood in stark contrast to the thundering charge of Germa 66's dozens of warships tearing across the sea, kicking up towering waves.
Even tens of thousands on the coastline of the Yadis Kingdom could clearly see his gesture.
His long, powerful fingers extended gently into the air—
Then clenched into a fist.
The next moment—
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
A piercing, thunderous sonic boom split the air.
Everyone's eyes widened in shock.
The dense barrage of shells suspended midair, enough to blot out the sky, suddenly began to shake violently.
It was as if a storm had erupted from the void itself.
The howling roar of air exploding followed.
That rain of suspended shells in the sky—
A deadly net capable of leveling half a mountain—
Suddenly shot toward the Germa 66 fleet at a speed twice as fast as before, launched with terrifying force at the moment the Marine admiral moved his hand.
Vinsmoke Judge's eyes immediately flooded with blood.
BOOM!!
Like a torrential downpour, the shells slammed into the fortress formed by dozens of Germa warships.
One after another, earth-shattering explosions erupted across the Germa Kingdom's fleet, sending crimson mushroom clouds rising into the sky.
Under such a brutal bombardment, the cloned soldier army didn't even have time to react. They could only watch as their cutting-edge weapons exploded around them—then were mercilessly consumed by fire and shockwaves.
Flames surged skyward. The Germa Kingdom, like an isolated island, trembled under the bombardment.
The massive explosions sent shockwaves sweeping horizontally across the sea in rippling waves, triggering roaring tsunamis in all directions.
Thick black smoke billowed into the sky. The vibrations and winds reaching the Yadis coastline drained the color from the faces of its soldiers.
On the swaying warship, caught in the storm, everyone in the Marines—including Gion and Tokikake—clung tightly to the masts and railings to keep from being thrown off.
Gion and the others couldn't help but look toward the figure standing at the bow—unshaken in the storm, like a stone outcrop amidst crashing waves.
With the inferno of Germa's destruction lighting up the distant sky,
The Admiral of the North Blue stood there, calmly puffing on his cigar, lips curled into his usual composed smile.
Behind him, his wide snow-white cloak blazed like blood under the fire's reflection.
In that moment of dazed awe,
They finally understood.
What allowed Daren to bring such ruthless order to the chaos of the North Blue wasn't just his sharp political skill...
But more importantly—A monstrous power capable of destroying a nation singlehandedly.
…
The relentless explosions lasted a full minute before gradually dying down.
As the cold sea breeze finally blew away the thick smoke, everyone gasped in shock at the devastation before them—the wreckage of the Germa Kingdom's fleet, made up of dozens of warships.
The land was scorched black, littered with embers and craters of varying depth. Towering turrets and fortresses lay in ruins, reduced to charred rubble. Scattered across the debris were the bodies of Clone soldiers, some blown apart so thoroughly that only vague remains of limbs were left.
On the flagship, the Saint Germain, the "Cross Falcon" flag that had once flown proudly at its peak slowly turned to ash in the flames.
...More than half of the Germa Kingdom had been flattened.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
A harsh cough suddenly echoed from within the ruins.
"Damn you Marine brat... how dare you..."
With scorched stone and rubble tumbling down, Vinsmoke Judge slowly rose from the wreckage. Gone was his former arrogance—his body was smeared with blood, and he looked utterly beaten.
The cape on his back, marked with the "66" emblem, unfurled from his body like a living creature.
"So you've completed the first generation of Raid Suits..."
Daren raised an eyebrow and muttered with interest.
Germa 66's Raid Suit was a high-tech invention crafted by Vinsmoke Judge. Built from custom shape-memory armor, it was incredibly durable. The cape functioned as a shield, resistant even to fire. It was this cape that had absorbed the brunt of the explosion.
"In that case... let me see what this Raid Suit can do..."
Daren whispered, a glint flashing in his eyes.
He turned and said to the Marines:
"Hold on tight."
Gion and Tokikake were both momentarily stunned.
Before they could react, they saw the other Marines—Momonga included—gripping the railings of the ship tightly.
They instinctively followed, grabbing onto the nearest fixed parts of the warship.
Then...
Daren took a deep breath.
Ssshh!
With that breath, the cigar in his mouth visibly burned down by a large chunk.
The Marine Captain locked his eyes on the Saint Germain, a hundred meters away, gaze sharp and disdainful.
His knees bent slightly.
His body sank.
The cape behind him flared out.
His muscles tensed, compressing like a coiled spring.
His stance was that of a leopard ready to strike!
"Wait, wait... no way..." Tokikake's eye twitched as if he'd realized what was coming.
And just as he feared—
Daren, tightly wound and crouched low, smirked.
Then, like a spring released at full tension—he launched!
Boom!!
A thunderous sound echoed from the hull. Tokikake and Gion felt their world flip as a powerful centrifugal force surged, nearly throwing them off their feet.
The massive warship actually tilted under Daren's kick.
The bow plunged into the sea, the stern lifted high, and the deck angled sharply—nearly 45 degrees!
Bang!!
Daren's feet exploded with overwhelming force, shifting the huge tilted ship sideways by several meters!
Using the recoil, Daren shot off from the bow like an arrow from a bowstring. In an instant, he broke the sound barrier, the air bursting with a sharp sonic boom.
His figure tore across the sea's surface, parallel to the waves—so fast that the air pressure carved a long, white trench into the ocean.
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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