Chapter 194: Volume 2 – Chapter 96: The Long-Lost Sunlight

Prison.

A thunderous rumble echoed through the air, and the flame of the oil lamp on the wall suddenly flickered violently. Dust and debris rained down from the walls, as if the entire prison was trembling.

"It's starting."

Bullet, who had been leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. A twisted, eager grin crept across his face. His eyes glowed faintly red, like a beast awakening in the dark.

"Looks like you pulled it off."

He glanced at Daren.

Daren slowly opened his eyes as well, a cold gleam flashing in their depths.

"Not yet—but it's time to move."

As he spoke, he rose to his feet, stretching his limbs and joints with a series of loud cracks, like beans popping in a hot pan.

"Move? Weren't we waiting for that guy to come back with the key?"

Bullet was caught off guard and asked, frowning, "That's not the plan."

Daren stared intently at the rusted prison bars ahead and said calmly, "We're going to meet him halfway."

He turned to Bullet with a slight smile.

"You in?"

Bullet scoffed.

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"

With that, both of them stepped up to the bars, shoulder to shoulder, reaching out at the same time.

They pulled with brute force!

"AAAHHH!!"

Both let out beastlike roars, bloodshot eyes filled with savage intensity. Their muscles swelled massively, veins bulging like writhing centipedes.

Bang!

Bang!

Cracks spiderwebbed across the floor beneath them, unable to bear the force they unleashed.

"OPEN, DAMN YOU!!"

Bullet bellowed.

Daren roared alongside him, eyes blazing.

Clang... clang...

If anyone had been watching, they'd have witnessed a chilling sight—two Devil Fruit users, shackled in Seastone cuffs, tearing at solid metal bars with their bare hands and warping them out of shape!

Without the suppression of Seastone, the strength of Daren and Bullet wouldn't just bend the bars—they could punch straight through the mountain walls themselves.

But even now, weakened as they were, their bodies had grown stronger. And after weeks of building resistance to Seastone's effects, their combined might was enough to crush the prison's defenses.

They hadn't done this before simply because there had been no point.

As long as the Seastone shackles remained, even if they escaped the cell, Queen would catch up with them in no time. It would've been a pointless risk.

Worse still, a failed breakout would've tipped off the Beasts Pirates, tightening surveillance and reinforcing the cells.

But now... there was no need to wait any longer!

Crack! Crack!

The bars twisted violently, tearing open a hole just wide enough for a person to squeeze through.

And just then—

Bang!

Hearing the noise, members of the Beasts Pirates burst through the prison doors and charged in.

But as they stepped inside, what they saw froze them in place—two pairs of glowing red eyes glaring at them from the darkness.

The prisoners were already crouching, stepping through the gap in the bars, grinning with murderous intent.

The pirates went pale in an instant.

"They—they've escaped…"

"The cage... they tore it apart…"

"How is this... even possible…"

...

Before they could react—

Daren and Bullet exploded into the group like tigers unleashed from a cage!

In the dark, flickering prison, candlelight danced wildly as blood sprayed through the air.

Roars and screams echoed together, limbs flying, shadows twisting in a bloody storm of violence.

In less than ten seconds, silence fell.

The firelight died.

Only the sound of blood dripping echoed in the pitch-black stillness, where two murderous eyes still glowed.

…

"Something's happened..."

At the prison's main gate, Snoke—wearing a horned helmet—stood tense, gripping his battle axe tightly as the anguished wails from deep within the prison echoed toward him.

At 25, Snook was no weakling—he'd already become one of the "Shinuchi" of the Beasts Pirates.

Well, technically, there were only three Shinuchi left for now. Two had already rushed to the arsenal to handle the fire, leaving him—the weakest of the three—behind.

Still, he firmly believed that one day he'd rise to become a true All-Star, just like Queen-sama.

"You've got this, Snoke... you can do this..."

"Even if those two really broke out, after being locked up so long and tortured by Queen-sama's viruses, their bodies must be completely worn down. How strong could they possibly be now?"

"This is your shot, Snoke... Stop their escape, and when the chaos settles, you'll earn Kaidou-sama's reward. Maybe even a spot as an All-Star."

Snoke kept murmuring to himself, trying to drown out the screams still echoing from below. At some point, a cold sweat had formed on his forehead.

Then suddenly, everything went silent.

"The screaming... stopped?"

Swallowing hard, Snoke stared unblinking at the gate ahead. His hands trembled slightly around the axe.

BOOM!!

The steel gate was kicked open and sent flying.

A blood-soaked hand reached out from the darkness, grabbing the doorframe. The clinking Seastone shackles on the wrist were dripping thick blood.

Seastone shackles!?

Snoke's pupils shrank. Then a twisted grin spread across his pale face.

"Hahahaha!! You're still wearing Seastone shackles!? How the hell are you supposed to beat me!?"

He didn't hesitate for a second—he charged in, axe raised high.

He knew firsthand how devastating Seastone's suppression was for Devil Fruit users. He'd felt it himself once.

I can win!

This time, I'll finally make a name for myself!

Eyes burning with ambition, his body suddenly sprouted a dense layer of gray scales. In a flash, he transformed into a towering, bipedal lizard.

A Zoan-type, lizard form!

His long tongue flicked wildly as he charged the figure emerging from the dark passage, swinging his axe down with full force.

"Too slow."

A cold voice rang out.

CLANG!!

The axe missed and slammed into the doorframe, carving out a huge gash.

He dodged!?

"No way!!"

Rubble flew as Snoke let out a furious roar, trying to launch a desperate counterattack.

But the bloodstained hand suddenly reached out toward him.

It grabbed the lizard's head. At the touch of the Seastone shackles, Snoke let out a weak cry, instantly reverting from his hybrid form back to human.

Then...

That hand, brimming with raw power, shoved his roar back down his throat—and slammed his head into the wall.

BOOM!!

Stone shattered, blood splattered.

The hand holding Snoke's head dragged downward across the wall, gouging out a long, bloody trench.

With a dull thud, Snoke—the weakest of the Shinuchi—collapsed to the ground, his face a mangled mess. Dead beyond any doubt.

Only then did a wild, unrestrained young face emerge from the shadows of the passage.

"If they're not in the way, Seastone shackles make damn good weapons against Devil Fruit users,"

Daren said quietly, glancing at the blood-soaked shackles.

His entire body was drenched in blood—whether his own or someone else's, it was impossible to tell.

Bullet stepped out behind him, just as soaked in blood.

He looked down at the brutally disfigured corpse and chuckled coldly.

"Brutal as hell... Not very Marine-like of you. You sure you don't want to ditch all that and come be a free pirate with me, Daren?"

Daren said nothing—just flicked the blood off his hands.

Bathed in blazing sunlight, the distant arsenal burned with towering flames as it collapsed.

Thick black smoke filled the sky.

He tilted his head back and smiled.

"The long-lost... sunlight."

...

(70 Chapters Ahead)

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