Chapter 107: Volume 2 – Chapter 9: The Origin of Ryusoken

The moment Daren lunged forward with astonishing speed, Dragon's eyes lit up, and he moved at once.

Bang!

The two charged simultaneously, their wrists colliding with a heavy impact that sent shockwaves rippling through the air.

A perfect draw!

Without pausing, both men shifted their stances mid-air.

Fists clashed, elbows struck, a series of sharp blows echoing across the deck.

The Marines watching stood wide-eyed, holding their breath as the intense clash unfolded before them.

"Nice!!"

Dragon's eyes gleamed. He slipped past Daren's heavy punch and, gliding forward, unleashed a strike surging with force.

Boom!

A white ripple burst across Daren's sharply defined abs, sending him skidding back several meters. But his face twisted into a fierce grin.

With a crack, the deck splintered beneath his feet, and the ship dipped half a meter from the impact.

Using the recoil, the Marine commodore shot forward like a cannonball, eyes gleaming with ferocity as he launched himself at Dragon.

Daren covered the distance in an instant, his movements ghostlike. He dropped his waist, raised his left leg, and whipped it toward Dragon's face like a bolt of thunder.

Dragon leaned back, the military boot grazing his cheek as the gust lifted his long black hair.

He reached out, grabbing Daren's leg tightly. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to slam him into the deck.

But mid-air, Daren used Dragon's grip as a pivot, bringing his right leg down like a battle axe!

Bang!!

An arm intercepted the strike.

Taking the opening, Daren broke free from Dragon's hold, landed, and leapt again like a pouncing tiger.

His fists flew at blinding speed, forming a blur of dark afterimages that rained down toward Dragon.

"Hahahaha!! That's what I'm talking about!"

Dragon laughed heartily, meeting the blows head-on.

Bang bang bang bang!!

A barrage of heavy thuds rang out as their strikes exploded across each other's bodies.

Tokikake and Gion stood nearby, dumbfounded, their mouths twitching at the sight.

Those two… weren't dodging at all.

Every punch… landed squarely on the body!

...

Half an hour later.

Daren and Dragon lay sprawled on the battered deck, gasping for air.

The surface was riddled with craters, and one of the ship's heavy cannons had been caved in by a punch.

Sweat streamed from their bodies, blood trailing from the corners of their mouths.

The surrounding Marines were still frozen in shock.

They had never seen a fight like this before.

More accurately, they had never seen a fight this stupid.

No defense, no evasion—just straight-up pounding each other in the face and body like lunatics. It was pure madness.

"Your body's like steel... damn."

Dragon chuckled, wiping blood from his mouth and sitting up with zero composure.

Though he was faster and stronger, Daren's durability outclassed him.

By the end, Dragon was shocked to find that without using Armament Haki, he couldn't break through Daren's defenses at all.

The rare feeling of defeat only got him more fired up.

"Those punches of yours are no joke either…"

Daren sat up and smiled.

Sparring with Dragon—trained under both Zephyr and Garp—was a valuable experience. His physical stats had clearly improved.

Looking at Daren's smile, Dragon suddenly felt that this mission to the North Blue had been well worth it.

This guy... might just be his kind of person.

"Still, fists spread the impact too much. Hard to break through defenses..."

Dragon frowned, studying his hands.

Thick knuckles, radiating strength.

Daren casually wiped sweat from his face and said,

"If you want a more focused impact, maybe finger strikes would work better…"

That was the principle behind Shigan, one of the Rokushiki.

"Finger strikes, huh..."

Dragon muttered as if a thought had clicked.

"That's it!! Hahaha!! Daren, you're a genius!"

He suddenly slapped his thigh and burst out laughing.

Daren could swear he actually saw a lightbulb flash above Dragon's head.

Dragon raised his right hand.

He awkwardly formed a strange hand gesture—index and middle fingers together, ring and pinky fingers together, knuckles slightly bent, forming what looked like a claw.

The moment Daren saw it, his pupils shrank. A wave of shock surged through his chest.

That gesture… could it be…?

"Using the fingers… Yeah. The thumb alone has power. Combine index and middle fingers, ring and pinky—this reinforces the joints and makes it easier to channel Armament Haki…"

Dragon muttered in a trance, then suddenly slashed his clawed hand toward the deck.

"Wait!!"

Daren's face changed. He swiftly grabbed Dragon's wrist, shifting the force to the side.

Caught off guard, Dragon's claw landed squarely on Daren's upper arm.

In that instant—

It felt like something in the air snapped.

A line of blood arced through the air.

Dragon stared in disbelief at the shallow wound on Daren's arm.

"Did… did I break through?"

He had only been testing the motion, not even using full strength—and yet, he'd pierced Daren's defenses?

That... didn't seem possible...

Daren rolled his eyes.

"If you'd hit the deck with that, the whole ship might've been torn apart."

Dragon blinked, then scratched his head with an embarrassed grin.

"Uh… sorry, Daren."

Daren waved it off. It was just a scratch—it'd scab over in minutes.

But in his mind, chaos reigned.

That technique...

That claw strike...

No doubt about it—that was Ryusoken!

The powerful technique he'd pass on to Sabo one day—the one that would shake the arena in Dressrosa—Ryusoken!!

Sure, it was crude right now, but unmistakable.

In under half an hour of sparring... Dragon had already created this move?!

Truly... the protagonist's father.

Daren rubbed his temples, exasperated.

Wait a second.

He glanced at Dragon's dumb grin—and a terrifying thought hit him.

Had he... just become Kaidou-sensei!?

"Hahahaha! Daren, seriously, thank you. I never expected to come up with a brand-new technique just from sparring with you!"

Dragon laughed loudly.

"When I've refined it more, I'll teach it to you as thanks."

"So... what do you think I should call it?"

Daren resisted the urge to retort and muttered,

"Let's just go with Ryusoken."

"Ryusoken... Ryusoken! Hahaha! That's a perfect name!"

Dragon threw an arm around Daren's shoulders, still grinning.

"Brrrr… brrrr…"

Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi buzzed to life.

Dragon quickly picked it up and answered.

"This is Dragon."

A deep, cold voice came through, carrying a weight of authority.

"This is Kong."

"Marshal Kong!"

Dragon instantly sat up straight, expression turning serious.

"Report your current sea location," Kong ordered, sharp and direct.

Dragon scratched his head and instinctively looked at Daren.

Daren twitched slightly and whispered,

"We're just about to leave the North Blue and enter the Grand Line."

Dragon repeated the same to the Den Den Mushi.

Kong paused.

"Good. I'm assigning you an urgent mission."

"First, drop off the North Blue officers nearby. Then proceed to the Grand Line at top speed."

"You'll receive coordinates for the island shortly."

Dragon glanced at Daren and asked,

"Marshal Kong, what's the mission?"

There was another moment of silence.

"Coordinate with Vice Admiral Garp of Marine Headquarters to seal off the target area… and arrest Gol D. Roger."

(40 Chapters Ahead)

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