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Chapter 89: Challenge The Limit
In this sea, mastering Haki is the most obvious dividing line between the strong and the weak. Armament Haki can greatly increase the user's defense and destructive power. It also gives Haki users the only means other than seastone to resist the power of the Logia Demon Fruit. Observation Haki allows the user to obtain a powerful breath perception ability and accurately predict the opponent's movements and attacks in battle.
With Darren's strength, he is indeed "invincible" in North Blue. However, on the vast and endless sea, Darren, who has not yet mastered Haki, still looks weak when facing a legendary pirate like Byrnndi Waldo. This is true even if he has reached a non-human level in his fruit development and physical training.
Darren stood up unsteadily from the ground, his body hunched like a cheetah ready to pounce. Pain surged through his arms, but his eyes were brighter than ever.
Thick smoke rose from the ground in the distance, and a black boot slowly stepped out of it. Darren's eyes moved up, and he saw the burly figure of Byrnndi Waldo break free from the smoke.
There were traces of skin burns all over Waldo's body. In the face of the fierce bombardment from the North Blue fleet, even the hardening of Armament Haki couldn't make him completely immune.
"Marine kid... can you feel it? The gap between you and me!!" Byrnndi Waldo shouted, panting lightly, with a fierce tone.
He had never been so angry in his life. He is "World Destroyer" Byrnndi Waldo, a great pirate as famous as Whitebeard and Roger. But he was struggling in a small place like North Blue.
It's simply ridiculous, ridiculous, and totally unacceptable!
"Don't think you're guaranteed to win. Even if that bastard Sengoku is on his way to support, I still have enough time to kill you, connect to the phone bug communication, and leave," Waldo said.
"Then try. Your time is running out," Darren replied with a wild grin.
"You wanna die!" boomed Waldo.
The ground within a radius of ten meters suddenly collapsed by one meter as snowdrifts poured up under the impact. Byrnndi Waldo's figure disappeared instantly.
"More-More·50 times speed!"
The world suddenly became silent. Darren's spirit entered a state of high concentration, and faint blue arcs jumped between his fingers.
An invisible and strange magnetic field spread from his body, covering an area within a radius of more than 100 meters. The falling snow seemed to slow down.
In his mind, all biological magnetic field fluctuations within the scope were clearly presented.
Suddenly, a trace of blue light flashed in Darren's deep eyes. He caught it.
The location was in the sky.
The moment this thought came, a sharp blast of strong wind exploded above his head. A boot wrapped in black Armament Haki, like a steel tomahawk, fell with great force.
Darren moved sideways, and the boot grazed the tip of his hair and sank heavily into the ground.
A deafening roar sounded, and dust mixed with snow roared like a dragon.
A huge crack, hundreds of meters long, spread from the point where the boot landed into the distant jungle. The trees on both sides of the crack collapsed and were swallowed up.
Rocks flew up, and Byrnndi Waldo's pupils shrank.
"This Marine brat predicted my actions again!?"
It wasn't luck this time! While he was stunned, the Marine colonel's figure quickly approached. The distance between the two, who are similar in height, closed instantly. Darren pressed Byrnndi Waldo's face with one hand, a sinister smile on his lips.
"Let me see your defense."
Then, he slammed Waldo's head heavily to the ground.
Crack! Boom!
A huge crater, tens of meters in diameter, formed instantly, filled with dense cracks. The violent wind and debris tore at the white cloak on the Marine colonel's back, making the blood-stained figure look extremely tough.
"Is that useful?"
Byrnndi Waldo, deeply embedded in the pit, looked at Darren with a sarcastic smile, as if his body was covered with extremely hard Armament Haki armor. He grabbed Darren's arm and swung it like a whip to his side.
Boom!
Darren's body hit the ground hard. Blood gushed from his lips, but his smile grew even crazier. He turned swiftly, and with a horizontal kick, aimed for Byrnndi Waldo's neck.
Boom!
The air wave spread, and Byrnndi Waldo's body shook. The heavy blow to his neck left his vision blurry. Even Armament Haki couldn't fully resist Darren's monstrous power.
A surge of anger overcame him. Byrnndi Waldo stepped forward and punched Darren in the stomach.
Boom!
As the fist landed, Darren's kicked bashed Waldo's nose. They went back and forth, and with each exchange, blood mist exploded from the Marine colonel's body.
Fists collided, bodies clashed, and snow swirled around them. The fighting style was brutally intense.
"You crazy person!!" Byrnndi Waldo roared, looking at the bloody Marine brat with a deep unease. He hadn't mastered Haki, yet with his strange perception and strong physique, he withstood Waldo's fierce attacks!
"Hahahaha!! Come on!! Keep going!!"
Blood flew everywhere. Darren's body was pushed back several meters by Waldo's punch, his face stained with blood.
But he was laughing, extremely enjoying himself.
Facing Waldo's overwhelming strength, Darren felt this was his peak moment. The thrill of dancing between life and death, the constant dangers, the feeling of his fist hitting flesh, and the salty smell of blood in his mouth and nose—all of these, like a charming lover, teased Darren's fighting impulse and aroused his deepest rage.
That real, strong, clear feeling of being alive! Challenging the limit!
An intense impulse surged within him. He wanted to know—without mastering Haki, how long could he hold his own against a big pirate like Byrnndi Waldo? Even holding on for one more minute, or even one second, meant breaking his own limits!