The Greatest Disgrace in Marine History-Chapter 194 - 96: The Long-Lost Sunlight

Prison.

A deep, thunderous rumble echoed through the walls, and the flame of the oil lamp flickered violently.

Chunks of plaster and dust shook loose from the ceiling and walls. The prison itself seemed to tremble ever so slightly.

"It's started."

Bullet, who had been leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. A ferocious grin crept up the corners of his lips.

His pupils glowed red, like a wild beast awakening in the darkness.

"Looks like your plan worked."

He turned his gaze toward Darren.

Darren, too, opened his eyes slowly. A cold gleam shimmered in their depths.

"Not necessarily. But it's time we moved."

As he spoke, he slowly got to his feet, stretching his joints. A sharp crackling sound like dry beans being roasted echoed through the cell.

"Move? I thought we were waiting for that guy to bring back the key?"

Bullet blinked, puzzled.

"This isn't part of the original plan."

Darren's gaze settled on the rusted iron bars before him. He spoke quietly.

"We're going to meet him halfway."

He looked back at Bullet, a faint smile on his lips.

"You coming?"

Bullet scoffed.

"Who do you think you're talking to!?"

Without another word, the two stepped to the cell's bars, shoulders aligned, hands gripping the metal.

With a roar—

"AHHH!!!"

The two shouted like wild beasts. Blood-red veins filled their eyes, and muscle swelled grotesquely beneath their skin.

Veins bulged like writhing centipedes.

Boom!

Boom!

The ground beneath their feet began to crack, spiderweb fractures creeping outward under their sheer power.

"BREAK!!!"

Bullet roared.

Darren's eyes blazed as he let out a furious howl.

Clang! Clang!

Anyone witnessing this would be horrified—

Even with Seastone Cuffs suppressing their powers, the two Devil Fruit users were forcing the metal bars to twist and bend with raw strength.

Had they been unshackled, they wouldn't just break through these bars—they could punch straight through the prison's mountain walls.

But even now, drained of almost ninety percent of their strength, their resistance training and enhanced physiques gave them enough power to crush the prison's defenses.

They hadn't done this before because it had been pointless.

With the Seastone Cuffs still locked, even if they broke out, Queen would hunt them down. Their escape would be futile.

Worse, a failed breakout would only tighten security and strengthen the prison's defenses.

But now—they didn't have to wait anymore.

Crack! Crack!

The bars contorted and broke, a hole large enough for a man to squeeze through opening in the cell.

Just then—

BANG!

Beasts Pirates outside the cell, alerted by the noise, slammed the main prison doors open and rushed in.

But the sight that greeted them was two pairs of glowing, blood-hued eyes emerging from the shadows.

The prisoners were crawling out of the torn cell, their expressions twisted with killing intent, grinning with feral malice.

The pirates froze, faces turning pale.

"T-they escaped..."

"They ripped open the bars with their bare hands..."

"No way... this can't be happening..."

They couldn't react.

The next second—

Darren and Bullet pounced like untamed beasts, charging straight into the group!

In the flickering firelight of the gloomy prison, blood sprayed.

Roars and screams rang out in unison. Severed limbs and shattered bones flew. Shadows danced in a storm of blood and chaos.

Within ten seconds, the noise ceased.

The prison was silent again.

The flames died.

The only sound left was the steady drip of blood on stone. From the darkness, only two pairs of deadly eyes gleamed.

—

"Something's wrong..."

At the prison's main gate, Snook, a Beasts Pirates soldier wearing a horned helmet, tightened his grip on his battle axe.

Twenty-five years old, he was a real fighter—a ranked Headliner.

Though the Beasts Pirates only had three active Headliners at the moment—two of whom had already gone to the armory fires—he was the weakest. Still, he believed one day he'd become a lead performer like Boss Kaido's top men.

"You can do this, Snook... You've got this..."

"Even if those two escaped, Queen-sama's viruses must've drained them. They're probably weakened beyond belief."

"This is your shot, Snook... Stop their escape. When the chaos ends, you might earn Kaido-sama's reward. Maybe even become a All-Stars."

Snook muttered nervously, forehead damp with sweat. From the prison depths, the screams grew louder and more desperate.

Then, suddenly—silence.

"The sound... stopped?"

Snook swallowed hard. His eyes locked on the corridor door. His hands trembled.

BOOM!!

The steel door blasted open.

A bloodstained hand reached out from the darkness, gripping the frame. Chains clinked. Seastone Cuffs dripped with thick blood.

Seastone Cuffs!

Snook's eyes shrank. Then his face twisted into a cruel smile.

"Hahahaha!! You're still shackled in Seastone! You don't stand a chance against me!!"

Without hesitation, he lunged forward with his axe.

He knew the pain of Seastone. It would sap any Devil Fruit user's strength. He could win.

This time, he'd make a name for himself.

Ambition blazed in his eyes. His body was suddenly covered in gray scales. In seconds, he transformed into a giant bipedal lizard.

A Zoan-type Devil Fruit user—Lizard Form.

Tongue flickering, Snook raised his axe and slashed toward the dark silhouette.

"Too slow."

A calm voice cut through the air.

CLANG!!

The axe struck the doorframe, carving out a massive chunk.

He missed!?

"Impossible!!"

Debris flew. Snook screamed in frustration.

But then—that bloodstained hand lunged out again.

It clamped over the lizard's skull.

Under the touch of the Seastone Cuffs, Snook whimpered. His body shrank back into human form.

Then—

The hand drove his head into the wall.

BOOM!!

Stone shattered. Blood sprayed.

The hand dragged down—gouging a deep red trail.

Snook collapsed, his skull crushed beyond recognition. He was dead. Absolutely dead.

Only then did a young, blood-soaked face emerge from the corridor's shadows.

"Seastone Cuffs... If they're not a burden, they're a damn fine weapon against ability users."

Darren eyed the blood-dripping chains.

His body was drenched in blood—his or the enemy's, it wasn't clear.

Bullet followed, equally drenched.

He glanced down at Snook's mutilated corpse and chuckled darkly.

"That was brutal. Doesn't seem very Marine-like, Darren... Sure you don't want to ditch all that and come be a pirate with me?"

Darren didn't answer. He simply flicked the blood off his hand.

The blazing sun bathed them in light.

In the distance, armory buildings continued to collapse, devoured by roaring flames.

Black smoke towered into the heavens.

Darren tilted his head back, face to the sky, a smile playing on his lips.

"Sunlight... It's been too long."

---

To be continued...