Daren accepted the title of "strongest creature on land, sea, and air" without hesitation.

Even he couldn't fully grasp the extent of his power while in Magnetic Field Rotation, but when it came to sheer dominance in close combat, he had undoubtedly surpassed Kaidou.

Still, after awakening Kaidou with a single punch and suddenly being elevated to a "top-level master," the outcome of another battle between them was no longer certain.

Awakened Zoan-type Devil Fruit powers were already notoriously difficult for opponents to handle, and Kaidou's wasn't just any Zoan—it was a Mythical Zoan, the most mysterious and rare, and even within that category, the "Azure Dragon" sat atop the food chain.

Kaidou's overwhelming physical prowess, combined with an awakened dragon form... just imagining it was enough to make one's skin crawl.

He had singlehandedly pushed Kaidou to the top...

A trace of helplessness filled Daren's heart, and his lips twitched slightly.

And Kaidou, at his current age, was still growing stronger. Given time to fully master his awakened powers, he would definitely reach legendary levels—possibly even rivaling Roger and Whitebeard.

"What a disaster..."

Daren rubbed his forehead, feeling a dull ache coming on.

But after thinking it over, there wasn't really anything to regret.

He had grown stronger by learning techniques and abilities in battle, sharpening himself through combat—there was no reason others couldn't do the same.

Kaido's innate talent wasn't any less than that of someone like Sakazuki. He had fought in countless wars from a young age. While other kids were still wetting their pants, Kaidou was already wielding a kanabō and rolling through piles of corpses.

By the age of ten, he was known as the strongest warrior of the war-torn Vodka Kingdom. His monstrous physique caught the attention of the World Government, and in the end, the very country he bled for betrayed him.

With such natural talent, plus his time as an apprentice on the legendary Rocks Pirates, it was likely he had already pushed his Devil Fruit to its limit. In the life-or-death clash with Daren, it wasn't surprising that he found that breakthrough and awakened.

Fighting goes both ways—it wouldn't be fair if only one side got stronger, right?

He and Dragon had both taken plenty from Kaidou. Letting Kaidou collect a bit of interest was only fair.

Still, after so many previous encounters with no sign of progress, he hadn't expected Kaidou to bottle everything up and unleash a full-blown awakening like this all at once.

"But that aside..."

Just then, the fat man in suspenders suddenly shifted the topic, his expression growing serious as he looked at Daren.

"While your awakened state has definitely given you immense combat power, I've also noticed some issues with it."

"If I'm not mistaken, your personality and emotions change while you're in that state, don't they?"

At those words, Dragon's expression stiffened.

Daren paused for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"Yeah."

"When I activate Magnetic Field Rotation, my emotions stay in a constant state of excitement. I can feel an endless surge of power pouring from every corner of my body—I just want to find something to unleash it on."

"Exactly."

The fat man bit down on a cigar, lit it, took a long drag, and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"That rush of excitement and aggression is a natural response. It's your body reacting physically, which then feeds back into your emotions, triggering an intense subconscious urge to destroy."

Dragon's eyes widened in shock.

"Wait—does that mean Daren can't tell friend from foe in that state? He might even attack his allies?"

Queen nodded, then shook his head.

"In normal cases, that could definitely happen. The destructive impulse comes from the subconscious overflow of physical power, combined with a chaotic, violent magnetic field inside the body. That messes with the bioelectrical signals in the brain."

"At its core... Magnetic Field Rotation is squeezing out power that far exceeds what Daren can currently control."

"But from what we've seen so far, it looks like Daren still has some degree of control when in that state."

He clicked his tongue in admiration as he looked at Daren.

"I'm curious—when you were in that kind of excruciating pain, when it felt like every cell in your body was being torn apart, how did you even manage to stay conscious?"

Daren shrugged and grinned, his face slightly pale.

"You get used to it. When pain becomes constant, the sensation starts to dull... In combat, it actually ends up being pretty useful."

Queen and Dragon were both stunned.

Even though they were already familiar with Daren's madman tendencies, hearing him say that still sent a chill down their spines.

What kind of monstrous willpower does it take to stay lucid through that level of agony?

"So, did you reach any conclusions from the data you collected this time?"

Daren ignored their shocked expressions and got straight to the point.

The moment he spoke, Queen's lips curled into an excited grin. His eyes lit up, and even his eyebrows looked like they were ready to dance.

"I did find something!"

He tapped a button, and the whiteboard screen began to change. A second curve gradually appeared over the original magnetic field strength graph.

"This here is the blood composition analysis taken from your body over the same timeframe!"

Queen had fully slipped into scientist mode. If you ignored his occasional hip wiggling and his sleazy-looking face, his serious expression was almost convincing.

"When your body's cells divide or undergo apoptosis, they generate a large amount of waste and toxins. These flow into the bloodstream and are filtered out by the kidneys and liver."

"...Which means, by monitoring the concentration of these toxins, we can track the rate of cellular apoptosis in your body—"

"—In other words, how fast my lifespan is being drained," Daren said, exhaling a puff of smoke.

"Exactly!"

Queen pointed to a specific point on the graph, his eyes gleaming with manic enthusiasm.

"Based on my calculations and analysis, here's what I've concluded..."

"If you want to use low-frequency Magnetic Field Rotation to apply controlled stress to your body and boost your physical conditioning during daily training... I recommend keeping your magnetic field strength around 230."

"That's the critical threshold."

"When your body's magnetic field stays between 200 and 230, the toxin levels caused by cell apoptosis remain relatively safe—at least they won't noticeably shorten your lifespan."

"But once it goes above 230, toxin concentration in the blood starts rising exponentially. That puts immense metabolic pressure on your vital organs—especially your heart."

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