"Damn it! It's such a serious topic—why does he always have to talk about it like he doesn't care at all?!"

Watching Daren bite down on his cigar and stroll toward Queen with his hands in his pockets, Dragon climbed to his feet, fuming with frustration.

When it came to Daren's irreverent attitude, Dragon had never known what to do. In his eyes, Daren was a bastard—one who clearly had a heart that longed for justice, yet always carried himself like some rogue lowlife.

You could call him greedy...

But he never hesitated to give generously, pouring huge sums of money into funding the Freedom Fighters from scratch. Building a powerful and elite army from nothing required an unimaginable amount of resources. Still, no matter how much Dragon shamelessly asked for, Daren always agreed without a second thought.

And Dragon had never seen him live in luxury. No tailored suits—just the standard military uniform. He wasn't picky about food either. As long as it filled his stomach, anything would do.

You could call him power-hungry...

But for the sake of fleeting freedom, he gave up everything he had painstakingly earned in the Marines. Instead of rising to become a high-ranking Admiral with status and influence, he chose to become a wanted "criminal," constantly on the run from the World Government.

Even with the strongest fleet in the world under his command, he practically disappeared from the front lines, handing over full military control of the North Blue Fleet to his deputy...

You could say he was a womanizer...

Maybe that was the case during his North Blue days—but as far as Dragon knew, Daren only had one known relationship: Amatsuki Toki. And if there was anyone he had a more ambiguous connection with in secret, it was probably Gion.

He smokes and drinks?

So what?

What kind of Marine doesn't smoke or drink? That's nothing.

Putting all that aside...

Daren had just about every quality a great Marine—no, a great revolutionary—should have. Calm in strategy, decisive in action, immensely strong, protective of his men, and respectful toward his peers...

Merciless to his enemies, unwaveringly loyal to his comrades.

Watching Daren's back, Dragon fell silent for a long moment before letting out a sigh.

"Still, when you think about it... being a scoundrel really is a lot easier than being a hero."

In the face of the World Government's tyranny and oppression, scoundrels and heroes made very different choices—and walked very different paths. The hero's path was noble, sure... but it was also unbearably lonely, painfully hard.

"So, Zephyr-sensei... was it in Daren that you saw the courage you yourself once lacked?"

Dragon whispered the words under his breath, then shook his head.

"Wait up!"

He shouted, chasing after him.

…

An open field outside the temporary laboratory.

This was a makeshift training ground. The stone targets and bloodstained walls made it clear—it was used to test and demonstrate the combat capabilities of experimental subjects.

"So you're saying this device can monitor the changes in the magnetic field inside my body?"

Daren bit down on his cigar and squinted as he toyed with a miniature electronic device in his hand, asking with genuine interest.

The chubby man in overalls, goggles on his face, nodded excitedly.

"Exactly!"

"It's not perfectly accurate, but it's more than precise enough."

"I developed it specifically based on your physical condition. The readings will be transmitted in real-time to this gauge and logged."

He pointed to a softly glowing panel nearby. A fluctuating line danced across the display.

"What's this data showing?" Daren asked, pointing at the screen with curiosity.

Queen explained,

"Every region in this sea has a unique magnetic field. Most islands have relatively stable fields. So when the Log Pose is saturated with an island's magnetic signature, it naturally points to the next one in the route."

"The same principle is used to store magnetic signatures and craft an Eternal Pose."

"If a name is the symbol of a nation, then to meteorologists and geographers, a magnetic field is the identity of an island."

"Of course, a lot of areas in the New World have completely chaotic magnetic fields. These regions are plagued by extreme environments—storms, radiation, intense heat, freezing cold..."

"To this day, meteorologists and geographers still haven't figured out whether the chaotic magnetic fields cause the hostile conditions, or the other way around."

"I'm getting off track here. Probably too much for you to follow... What? You're asking, 'Why would I know all this if I'm not a meteorologist or geographer?' Hah! I'm the greatest scientist in this entire sea!"

Queen proudly put his hands on his hips.

Dragon: "..."

Daren: "..."

Still, they had to admit—even if this fat guy was full of himself, he did know his stuff.

"So, the magnetic field strength data on the gauge right now...?"

Daren shook his head slightly and asked again.

"That's because the device hasn't been implanted into your body yet. Right now, it's just detecting the ambient magnetic field of our current location."

Queen responded proudly.

"Onigashima isn't a naturally formed island. Kaidou-san used his Devil Fruit ability to rip it from a continental shelf and dragged it through the sky on a cloud of flames, planting it above Wano."

"Separated from the ocean—its original 'carrier'—Onigashima's magnetic field shifted from what it once was."

"And because it's floating, the magnetic field is influenced by altitude, temperature, air currents, and other variables, making it unstable."

"That's why the data you see now isn't a straight, steady line, but an uneven, fluctuating curve."

Daren's eyes lit with understanding. Then he fell into thought and asked,

"So what you're saying is, if an island is separated from the sea, its magnetic field becomes unpredictable?"

Queen nodded, then shook his head.

"Maybe. That's just a rough hypothesis based on my observations of Onigashima."

"We don't have enough data to confirm it yet."

Daren shook his head.

"No, I mean—could an island's magnetic field be inherently tied to the sea or currents where it originally resided?"

Queen paused, taken aback. He thought for a few seconds before speaking slowly.

"That does seem to be the case... but why does that matter to you?"

Daren suddenly grinned.

"No reason. Just curious."

"Let's start the experiment. We don't have much time."

With that, he lifted his hand and dragged a fingernail across his chest, slicing the skin open.

Bright red blood welled from the wound, but Daren's expression didn't change. He casually shoved the small device into the gash.

In under five seconds, the bleeding stopped.

Then, Daren slowly closed his eyes.

Queen stepped back instinctively, holding his breath as he stared at Daren, eyes wide with excitement.

Dragon's expression turned uncertain, tense.

He had witnessed Daren's "madness" firsthand—and knew just how terrifying it could be.

...

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