CHAPTER 406: CHAPTER 49: THE MADMAN WHO LIKES GETTING BEATEN UP

The storm above didn’t just howl—it crushed.

It twisted into a tangible pressure, a suffocating weight that fell from the sky even before Kaido’s kanabo made contact.

Lightning screamed through the heavens. The ground beneath Darren’s feet shattered. Stone turned to gravel, dirt exploded into dust. A thousand tons of force pressed down from above.

Kaido’s strikes might’ve seemed simple—just swings of a club—but Darren had learned. There was nothing simple about them.

Each one was devastation in motion. And this one—

Trisamsara: Guide to Naraka.

A technique of overwhelming brutality, forged in the image of the Four Great Vidyarajas—a strike meant not just to crush the body, but the spirit.

"Hahahaha! This is what I came for!" Darren roared, eyes wild with bloodlust. "This is the slaughter I live for!"

He planted his feet into the earth like anchors. No retreat. No defense.

Just the Iron Fist of Garp, raised to meet a god’s wrath.

Fist Bone: Indestructible.

His body locked into place—muscle, mind, and spirit converging.

A cold light pulsed across his arm. Armament Haki, dense and sharp, fused with flesh and blood. The impact zone glowed with a killing calm.

And then—

CLASH!!

For a moment, the world fell utterly silent.

Darren’s knees buckled. His heels sank deep into the cracked earth. A corona of shattered stone exploded outward like a reverse volcano.

BOOOOOOM!!

The heavens detonated.

A blast wave screamed in every direction, carving canyons and upheaving the terrain for miles. Mud, rock, and ruin tore through the sky.

Even the outer seas of Wano surged with unnatural waves as the impact rippled across the region.

Above, the clouds split. The sky flickered. For one terrifying instant, it seemed like day and night were fighting for control of the heavens.

"RAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

Two voices—Kaido’s and Darren’s—twisted together in a blood-red roar that tore through the mountains.

Kaido leaned in, pressing down with both hands, his club grinding against Darren’s Iron Fist. Crimson eyes glared inches from his opponent’s, pupils wild with rage and disbelief.

"Darren, you little bastard..."

"I’ll admit it—your strength is now equal to mine!"

Lightning flashed across his dragon-scarred face, contorted in berserk glee.

"But..."

Kaido’s teeth gleamed in the dark, jagged and cruel.

"Haki reigns above all!"

He roared—and the skies answered.

Every muscle in his monstrous form clenched as he triggered a full-body Haki eruption.

Second-Stage Haki Burst!

BOOM!!!

The ground beneath Darren disintegrated.

The shockwave drove him downward like a meteor falling to earth. The surrounding land dropped by meters, caving into itself. Craters spiderwebbed outward, stretching past the horizon.

King and Queen, still watching from afar, instinctively raised their arms against the oncoming blast.

A howl of wind and dust slammed into them. Even at that distance, the air felt like a collapsing wall.

Queen’s voice trembled. "He has to go down after that, right?"

King said nothing.

But a second later, Queen tried to speak again—

And King slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes blazing.

"One more word like that, and I’ll end you myself."

Queen’s pupils quivered behind the hand, fat cheeks puffing with fear and frustration.

But before either of them could react—

The earth burst.

A blood-drenched figure exploded from the crater, laughing like a lunatic.

Black hair clung to his face. Mud and blood streamed from his wounds.

But his grin... it shined.

"Haha! That’s it!! Again!!"

King: ...

Queen: ...

BOOM!!

They clashed again.

Club to fist. Storm to storm.

"You’re weak!" Kaido snarled. "Speed, strength, Haki—you’re lacking everything!"

"You’ll never defeat me!!"

Lightning crackled as Kaido rained down blows faster than the eye could track.

Each one a cannon. A hurricane. A planet-killer.

Darren was engulfed in kanabo shadows, every escape sealed by sheer force alone.

"Kundali: Dragon’s Ascending Army!!"

Each blow landed like the fist of a wrathful god.

Conqueror’s Haki infused every strike. The earth cracked beneath each impact. The air twisted and howled.

Darren’s body blurred, blood flying in every direction.

He staggered.

Step by step.

Blocked. Retreated. Blocked again.

He couldn’t match Kaido’s overwhelming tempo.

But he didn’t fall.

His Indestructible Body—the body that now rivaled Kaido’s—refused to give in.

He could be beaten. Bloodied. Broken.

But not broken enough.

This was a clash between beasts.

Between kings.

Those born with bodies that defied human limits—capable of fighting not for minutes, but for days.

Darren wasn’t quite there yet.

But he was close.

Close enough to endure.

Bang!

Another impact sent him flying—skidding across the ruined land, carving a trench deep into the broken earth.

His boots finally gave out—torn to shreds.

But he didn’t stop.

He dug his bare feet into the ground, stood tall, and screamed back into the storm.

"That’s why I challenged you!!"

Another clash. Blasted back.

Another. Again!

Again!

Darren had become a creature of instinct—pure, relentless defiance.

He no longer needed reason or logic.

Only resistance.

Over and over, he launched himself at the strongest creature on land, sea, and air.

His blood soaked the earth.

His laughter filled the sky.

And slowly—ever so slowly—Kaido’s rage gave way to something else.

Bewilderment.

Because despite his every blow landing true—

Despite all the blood and broken bones—

That Marine brat kept smiling.

Not just smiling.

Laughing.

Like the pain itself was fuel.

Kaido stared at the blood-drenched figure still rising, his brows furrowing.

He’d fought gods. Legends. Admirals.

But he’d never seen a madman like this.

And for the first time...

A chill traced its way down his spine.

To be continued...