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Chapter 10: The Elegant Magneto Fruit
"Don Quixote Doflamingo?"
Upon hearing the name, Darren was momentarily surprised, and then a curious expression crossed his face.
As a traveler, he was more than familiar with the name. Doflamingo would be one of the future Seven Warlords of the Sea, known as "Flamingo." He would become the largest broker in the underground world, the "JOKER", controlling more than half of the world's illicit trade routes.
On the surface, he's the ruler of Dressrosa, and behind the scenes, he conspires with Kaido of the Beasts to become a notorious villain of the world.
However, at this time, the Seven Warlords of the Sea hadn't been established yet. Kaido of the Beasts had not become one of the Four Emperors of the New World, and Doflamingo was just a young man with blonde hair, newly arrived in the North Blue, gathering a small group of followers to build his power.
"That's right, this kid's background..."
Flying Squirrel spoke hesitantly, with a hint of fear in his voice.
Darren offered a cutting observation.
"He's nothing but a disowned Celestial Dragon, now in the North Blue like a stray dog, causing trouble wherever he goes."
Flying Squirrel cast a glance at Darren. Despite their years of working together and knowing that Darren enjoyed stirring up trouble, the latter's disdainful tone towards Doflamingo, a so-called world noble Celestial Dragon, still rendered Flying Squirrel helpless.
"You seem quite unfazed," he said with a sigh.
"Although Doflamingo lost his privileges to live in the Holy Land of Mariejois, he still has Celestial Dragon blood flowing through his veins. He's waving the flag of the Don Quixote Pirates now, likely aiming to expand his influence in the North Blue and establish a stronghold here. Our plans could be ruined."
His face showed concern.
"Darren, should we report this to headquarters?"
As members of the North Blue Marine, they should take action against Doflamingo since he has raised a pirate flag. But his status as a Celestial Dragon complicates matters.
Darren thought for a moment. Doflamingo was indeed problematic. In the original plot, this man was bold enough to challenge the government with his Celestial Dragon status and secure the title of Warlord of the Sea. The Marines feared to confront him because of his lineage, barely daring to touch him. Even the formidable Marine officer Staff Crane had trouble with him, which was telling—Doflamingo remained at large despite her efforts.
"No, I'll handle this kid; you don't need to worry about it for now," Darren said. "As for headquarters, old man Sengoku will probably take action soon enough."
Flying Squirrel nodded, then left the mansion.
Darren lay back in the cold water, deep in thought. Suddenly, he gestured with his hand.
It appeared as though a faint electrical arc sparked between his fingers, and an invisible, odd force field spread. In the next moment, an unbelievable scene unfolded. A coin flew from the pocket of military trousers hanging nearby, hovered steadily over Darren's palm, and quietly remained there, as if held by some mysterious force.
If anyone were to witness this, they would be astonished. The coin, controlled by the movements of Darren's fingers, flipped and flew around his palm like a nimble butterfly.
This was the Paramecia-type Magnetic Fruit ability. In the original storyline, it belonged to the supernova Eustass Kid, capable of creating magnetic fields, magnetizing metals, and manipulating any metallic object through magnetic and electrical forces.
Darren had acquired the loot in a mafia clean-up operation. Upon confirming that it was Eustass Kid's Magnetic Fruit, he consumed it without a second thought.
The Magnetic Fruit has the potential to be very powerful and has no limits to its growth. However, Kid had failed to develop its true capabilities. While Kid could have been an elegant "Magneto" figure, he preferred playing with Lego and acting like a Gundam. A fruit with god-like abilities had been squandered.
Darren believed that with proper development, the Magnetic Fruit's power could rival the top-tier Logia abilities. It quickly became his ace in the hole.
With this in mind, he closed his eyes. He lay in the icy water, enveloped by an invisible magnetic field, which made the metal coins nearby move with precision. Occasionally, faint purple sparks could be seen dancing and flickering.
The biomagnetic field accelerated the healing of his wounds and caused his muscles to pulse and flex rhythmically. This was his newly developed ability with the Magnetic Fruit—exposure to a biomagnetic field could expedite injury recovery and enhance physical condition.
Even with his current resilience, Darren could only endure this biomagnetic environment for about three hours. The longer he stayed, the more pressure and pain he had to bear. If his body's limits were exceeded, he could suffer irreversible damage to his internal organs.
Time ticked away...
With the action of the biomagnetic field, Darren noticed every ten minutes, his physical data improved incrementally:
Physical fitness: +0.01
Strength: +0.01
Speed: +0.01
...
The next day, Darren donned a new military uniform and a large cloak. Upon reaching the base director's office, he saw Kake slumped in a chair with dark circles under his eyes, yawning continuously. Kake looked like he had spent the whole night training.
Seeing this, Darren smiled. It seemed he had successfully provoked Kake.
"Major Kake, good morning," Darren greeted.
"Morning..." Kake replied groggily, then suddenly recognized Darren's voice. He jolted upright on the sofa and exclaimed, "Don't hit me in the face!"
He defensively held his hands in front of his face.
Darren chuckled and reassured him, "Don't worry, I know you make your livelihood on being a pretty face."
Kake looked at Darren suspiciously but eventually lowered his hands. Trying to save face, he straightened up and huffed, "You understand the situation."
He continued, "During yesterday's sparring session, you know I didn't use all my strength. After all, you are the leader of North Blue. Beating you in front of your men would not have been appropriate."
Darren replied with a knowing smile, "Of course, Major Kake. You are talented, and I could not possibly be a match for you."
He then offered Kake a cigar, "Here, have one."
"Indeed!" Kake accepted the compliment. Taking the cigar with a proud look on his face, he asked, "But Darren, where did you get this cigar? These are hard to come by even at headquarters."
By this time, Kake was already smoking and seemed very pleased. Darren sat down, crossed his legs, and lit a cigar too.
"I have more. If you want, Major Kake, I can have someone deliver a box to you later."
"One box?" Kake's eyebrows shot up as he was visibly shocked.
Kake was no stranger to luxury. Such cigars were exclusive to the nobility from the tobacco plantations of the Bellman Islands in the West Blue. Each cigar was worth over 50,000 beli, with ten in a box and twenty boxes in a case. A full box was valued at over 10 million beli!
And here he was, a major with an annual salary of less than 2 million beli, contemplating where Darren could have possibly gotten the money to afford such extravagance.