"By the way, I heard you had a run-in with Big Mom?"
Momonga suddenly remembered something and asked with a curious look.
Daren gave a helpless smile.
"Kind of. I killed two of her sons right in front of her."
Momonga: "..."
What do you mean 'kind of'... With Big Mom's insane personality, you kill two of her sons and she'll hunt you down across the seas, no questions asked!
Wait...
He suddenly narrowed his eyes at Daren, his face full of suspicion.
"You said 'kind of'... What's that supposed to mean?"
"You didn't do anything weird, did you?"
As the Admiral of the North Blue—and someone naturally cautious and steady—Momonga knew the bounty posters of the major pirates on the sea like the back of his hand.
Even though Charlotte Linlin, Big Mom, was nearing 40, she still had her charm.
And considering Daren's reputation as a notorious womanizer...
"What the hell are you imagining..."
Daren's face twitched, and he snapped irritably,
"I didn't do anything, damn it! I still have some damn morals!"
He practically ground his teeth.
"Is that so..." Momonga muttered, clearly unconvinced.
He eyed Daren skeptically.
"That reaction's a bit too much, don't you think...?"
Momonga knew Daren far too well.
Usually, when it came to women, the guy had skin thicker than a battleship's hull.
But this over-the-top reaction... made things look even more suspicious.
Daren: "..."
"So what actually happened?"
Momonga asked, half-grinning.
Daren's eye twitched as he turned away, pretending to casually stare out at the distant sea.
"That lunatic wanted me to be her husband."
He mumbled under his breath.
"What?"
Momonga's eyes flew wide open. He looked like he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
Daren barked,
"I said, that crazy woman wanted to have my child!"
"You bastard, you heard me the first time!"
For a moment, the surroundings went dead silent.
"Pffft—!"
Momonga suddenly burst out laughing, clutching his stomach, face flushed red, eyes tearing up.
"Bwahahahahaha!!"
Daren stood there, deadpan, watching Momonga double over in laughter, his own face twitching with growing irritation.
"Hahaha... You... Why didn't you just go for it?!"
Momonga could barely get the words out, trembling with laughter.
"Charlotte Linlin—she's one of the top beauties among pirates... Hahahaha!"
"And that seductive, mature style of hers? Wasn't that exactly your type back in North Blue... Hahahaha!!"
"Plus, you both have insanely hard bodies... You're literally made for each other! Hahaha!"
"With your charm, maybe you could've tamed her! She might've turned over a new leaf—and hell, maybe the Headquarters would've given you a medal... Hahahahaha!!"
Momonga laughed uncontrollably, completely oblivious to Daren beside him, whose face was now as dark as the bottom of a pot.
"You should've just gone along with it. It's not even a bad deal... Huh?"
Click!
The laughter stopped cold.
Momonga looked down, confused, only to see both his hands suddenly clamped in black shackles.
A wave of weakness hit him like a truck. His legs nearly gave out as his whole body turned limp.
That overwhelming strength vanished like a receding tide.
"Seastone shackles!?"
Momonga cried out in shock.
This guy... Daren actually carries those around with him?
But isn't he a Devil Fruit user?
Then why is he acting like it's nothing?
He instinctively looked up, only to meet Daren's half-smiling, half-menacing gaze.
A chill shot up from the soles of his feet, racing along his spine straight to the top of his head. His scalp prickled.
"Not laughing anymore?"
Daren stood there, face clouded, cracking his neck with a grin as he flexed his fingers. Each pop sounded like exploding beans.
"You sweating yet?"
Momonga forced a strained smile.
"H-Hey, Daren... don't be rash, I was just messing around..."
His legs felt like jelly. Whether it was the Seastone's natural suppression on Devil Fruit users or just Daren's terrifying stare, he couldn't tell.
"Of course I know you were joking," Daren said with a grin that didn't reach his eyes.
Momonga took a cautious step back, eyes warily scanning Daren.
"So... you're not mad, right?"
"Me? Angry? Why would I be angry?" Daren smiled calmly. "Nothing worth getting mad over."
Oh, you're not mad? Then I'm relieved... yeah, right!!
Momonga's eye twitched uncontrollably as he stammered,
"S-So what are you planning to do then...?"
Daren clenched his fist—and with that simple motion, an audible airburst cracked out. Momonga's heart skipped a beat.
"This?" Daren said seriously. "This is Seastone resistance training."
He looked completely sincere.
"It's a method I learned in Wano Country. It works fast, and the results are great."
"Only downside is... it's a bit painful."
"So hang in there."
Momonga: ???
The next second—
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!"
Agonized screams echoed through the dense forest of the uninhabited island...
...
New World — Somewhere at Sea
Aboard the main ship of the Whitebeard Pirates, the Moby Dick.
Dark storm clouds loomed on the horizon, seeping across the sky like black ink.
The once clear skies were swallowed in an instant, and a violent gale churned the sea into towering waves. Thunder rolled in the thick darkness above, flickering with bursts of red-black lightning.
"Man, the weather turns fast out here..."
A young division commander frowned, glancing at the sky.
"No... this isn't just a weather change!"
Marco leapt down from the mast, his face grim and voice cold.
"Something terrifying is coming."
"What?" The rest of the crew began to sense the unease too.
Near the mast, Kozuki Oden had been drinking alone. The momentary buzz in his eyes vanished. He stood up abruptly.
His gaze locked on the distant sky. His remaining arm instinctively pressed against the hilt of Ame no Habakiri at his waist.
As a master swordsman, he could feel a fierce, unrestrained Haki—sharp and wild—roaring toward them from afar like a blade through the wind.
"This is bad! It's him!!"
Marco's expression shifted sharply. He turned to the crew, shouting,
"All members below division commander, get below deck!"
But even as the words left his mouth, he knew—it was already too late.
BOOM!!
A vast surge of black-and-red lightning suddenly tore across the heavens. The flickering light illuminated the stunned, pale faces of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Gale-force winds battered the sea, and monstrous waves roared to life.
An overwhelming pressure slammed down like a tidal wave, shattering the clouds in its wake.
Younger crew members were overwhelmed by the shockwave, dropping like flies. Some of the weaker ones passed out on the spot.
The world before them now... was a living hell.
"That troublesome bastard... has arrived."
Whitebeard, who had been resting with his eyes closed in the captain's seat, slowly opened them.
With a tired sigh, he reached out and grabbed the massive naginata Murakumogiri beside him. His towering figure rose, golden hair whipping wildly in the storm winds.
"Jihahahahaha!!"
A savage, wild laugh echoed from the distant sky.
Then—
From the churning storm clouds above,
A brutal silhouette burst forth, wrapped in a storm of black and red lightning, dual blades in hand, hurtling toward the Moby Dick like a falling meteor!
His long golden mane whipped like a raging lion in flight!
Shiki, the Golden Lion!!
"Newgate... long time no see!!"