One Piece: So What If I Sin, Lie, and Lust? I'm Still a Good Marine Chapter 144: Volume 2 – - 46: That Move

The earth let out a heavy, strained rumble as clouds of smoke and dust billowed outward, pushed by the shockwave.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the collapsed teaching building, their mouths twitching.

That kick... it hurts just watching.

Wait!

Daren landed a hit on Kuzan!

His attack... actually worked!?

Could it be that Daren...

The delayed realization hit everyone at once. They all turned toward Daren, their pupils shrinking.

The Commodore still held the posture of a follow-through kick. On his heavy, polished black military boots, a swirling, invisible pressure coiled around like a spiraling hurricane.

"Armant Haki!!!"

"Daren has mastered Armant Haki!"

"That kind of talent... he's a complete monster!"

"Unbelievable..."

"..."

The Marines stood in disbelief, struggling to trust their own eyes.

Just then—

"Daren, you little brat! An abandoned military fortress is one thing, but that was the teaching building! Couldn't you have kicked in a different direction?!"

Zephyr roared through gritted teeth, his heart practically bleeding with pain. His face was full of anguish.

Thankfully, the training camp hadn't officially started yet, so no staff had moved into the building. Otherwise, this could've turned into a disaster.

Even so, rebuilding the structure would cost a fortune!

And Sengoku would definitely give him another cold look.

"How much is this gonna cost!?"

The Marines: ...

Zephyr-sensei, is this really the ti to worry about that?

"Apologies, Zephyr-sensei. I'll pay double the original cost for all damages caused during the duel," Daren said with a smile as he slowly lowered his hovering boot.

Zephyr froze.

"Alright, then. Carry on."

Everyone: ...

Their mouths twitched again, but then another question struck them.

Wait, is the fight over?

Was that monster Kuzan... finished?

They widened their eyes and looked toward the ruins of the teaching building.

Thick smoke curled and lingered, and from the cracks in the collapsed walls, a glimr of icy white began to erge.

Bit by bit, crystalline frost spread from deep within the rubble, blooming into dazzling ice flowers as it moved forward, eventually forming a humanoid shape in front of the ruins.

"Cough, cough..."

A bright streak of blood dripped from the corner of Kuzan's mouth. Half of his face was visibly swollen.

But his gaze toward Daren blazed with excitent.

"Haki... Armant Haki... You really are worthy of being my opponent!"

What a ridiculous physique... Daren couldn't help but marvel silently as he looked at Kuzan's battle-ready expression.

If it had been anyone else here, they wouldn't have been able to take that hit head-on.

Even Tokikake—toughened from Daren's own "special training," with his hardened body and hand-to-hand combat skills—would've been seriously injured or knocked out cold by that kick, which had been infused with Armant Haki.

But Kuzan stood there like nothing had happened.

"Monster-level physical endurance?"

A sudden image flashed through Daren's mind—Sakazuki taking multiple direct hits from Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi during the war at the summit.

No, it wasn't just that.

He glanced at the collapsed building and quickly pieced it together.

Normally, his attack delivered damage in three stages.

First was the pure brute strength and explosive force of the kick.

Second was the burst from the Armant Haki.

The third was from Kuzan crashing into the building and getting buried in the rubble.

But it was clear Kuzan had nullified the third impact through elentalization.

No wonder that in the later stages, battles between Admirals and Yonkō-level fighters were asured in days.

Every single one had trained their bodies to inhuman levels. Even in the most savage close-quarters combat, there was no way to settle it quickly.

"Still want to go on, Kuzan?"

Daren smiled.

Kuzan grinned.

"Of course!!"

"But since you've mastered Armant Haki... I've got no choice but to use that move."

He took a deep breath, stepped forward with his right foot, and raised his hand. His gaze turned sharp.

A stream of frost slowly spilled from his mouth, crystallizing in the air.

Crackle... crackle...

Countless ice crystals rapidly spread along Kuzan's arm, and the temperature in the training ground plumted.

Hot and cold currents clashed, stirring up a biting wind that swept across the field, making the spectators shiver from the sudden chill.

The ice crystals swelled in an instant.

With a fierce shout, Kuzan released a dazzling surge of snow and ice from his hands. It stretched outward, forming a pair of enormous ice wings.

A sharp, piercing cry echoed across the empty grounds.

A massive ice bird erupted from Kuzan's arms, spreading its wings wide as it charged straight toward the Commodore a hundred ters away with unstoppable force!

The extre cold froze over everything in its path, coating the ground in thick frost and blanketing the entire area in blinding white.

"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!!"

In that mont, Daren felt an overwhelming pressure surge toward him.

The ten-ter-tall ice bird barreled forward like a collapsing glacier.

He was about to move—then realized his right foot had gone numb and stiff.

Looking down, he saw a thin layer of frost had ford on his military boot at so point.

That kick just now?

"Kuzan's incredible! Even after taking a major hit, he still managed to freeze Daren's foot!"

"At the very least, he can't dodge this move now!"

"His reflexes in battle are terrifying!"

"..."

The Marines gasped in awe, eyes locked on Daren.

At that mont, facing the imnse ice bird, the Commodore's figure seed impossibly small, as if he might be swallowed up by the snowstorm at any second.

But then—

They saw the corners of Daren's mouth curl into a smirk.

A coin appeared in his hand.

Just a simple coin, cold and tallic.

Buzz—

With a flick of his thumb, the coin spun into the air.

Ti seed to slow.

As it flipped, it reflected the cry of the ice bird, the shocked faces of the crowd, Kuzan's excitent... and the defiant smile on the Commodore's face.

Arcs of blue electricity crackled at his fingertips.

Coin Flick!

"Magnetic Overload: Railgun!"

In the distance, Zephyr's pupils shrank.

The world seed to fall still for a heartbeat.

Then—

BOOM!!

A colossal orange-red beam, wrapped in crackling electricity, exploded upward from the training ground.

The intense, blinding light cast the entire world into a montary night.

Amidst the crowd's stunned expressions,

the roaring magnetic beam tore through the giant ice bird without resistance, lting it to slush as it raced toward Kuzan at blinding speed.

"No!!"

"Kuzan!!"

"Get out of there!!"

Shouts of alarm rang out.

Kuzan stood frozen, staring wide-eyed as the devastating Railgun surged toward him, the light engulfing everything in his vision.

BOOM!!!

The beam swallowed his silhouette. A violent shockwave exploded outward, and searing heat turned into a wild, roaring blast that scorched the battlefield.

Kuzan's eyes widened.

Within the engulfing light, a towering figure suddenly appeared before him.

Purple hair whipped in the wind. A snow-white cloak billowed behind him, the word "Justice" boldly emblazoned across it.

He stood like a dragon in mid-flight.

...

(60 Chapters Ahead)

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