Under Darren's infuriatingly smug gaze, Stussy wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and vanish. Heat flooded her face, dyeing her skin a captivating crimson.
Even her toes—painted a vivid red—curled and flexed against the floor, each one betraying her in its own way.
She didn't know why she'd blurted it out.
In that fleeting instant, seeing Darren's back as he walked away, panic had surged up out of nowhere.
Guilt, embarrassment, and his maddening, effortless confidence—especially when he spoke of his new power—had turned her thoughts into mush.
The words had escaped before she could catch them.
And now…
Stussy dug her toes into the ground, desperate to turn and flee.
"Relax," Darren chuckled, settling back with his cigar. "You don't need to feel so pressured. Half the sea wants to meet me. It's perfectly natural you'd feel the same."
Then, as if he were tossing her a lifeline, he continued, "If the Gorosei sent you to spy on me, just tell them. No need to hide it."
Stussy let out a quiet breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Relief washed through her, warm and immediate.
He noticed. He saw me squirming and changed the subject on purpose…
Her composure returned quickly. She lit a slim cigarette, her brows knitting as she asked, "But if you reveal your ability like this, aren't you afraid the World Government will come after you?"
Darren waved it off. "It won't stay secret anyway. Even if I kept my mouth shut, those five scheming old fossils would dig it up sooner or later."
"Better to tell them directly and satisfy their curiosity than let them uncover it while sniffing around."
Magnetic Field Rotation—his awakened state—wasn't something he could hide forever. And he had no intention of pretending it didn't exist.
When fully unleashed, it granted him a level of combat power that bordered on the absurd.
Overwhelming physique and force—enough to rip apart the berserk form of the Knights of God Commander with his bare hands. That alone would make the World Government, even the Gorosei, wary.
The real problem was the price.
Every high-frequency burst devoured his life force. Shaved off years. He could only use it with extreme caution.
In a sense, Magnetic Field Rotation was a nuclear weapon—its greatest value wasn't detonation, but deterrence.
What kind of nuclear weapon is the most powerful?
The one that hasn't been fired yet.
Killing Saint Michael should have rattled the World Government to the bone.
And now, with Low-Frequency Magnetic Field Rotation showing real promise, he could weave it into daily training and raise his strength steadily, consistently.
All he needed was time—time to cultivate power with patience. Slowly, inevitably, the balance in this long stalemate between him and the World Government would begin to tilt.
Once his Physique, Strength, and Speed reached their absolute limits, even in a normal state he would be able to approach the terrifying output he currently touched only through Magnetic Field Rotation.
That would be the moment the stalemate broke—the moment he marched on Mary Geoise, on the Holy Land itself.
Of course, the most important thing is—
Darren lifted his head and met the gaze of the golden-haired beauty in the black nightgown. He smiled, simple and sure.
"I won't let my woman be put in danger."
"Tch!" Stussy scoffed, turning her face away with a cold huff. "Who's your woman? Everything about this is you using my secrets to blackmail me, you bastard!"
Still stubborn, Darren thought, amused.
"Really? You weren't exactly complaining on the bed just now—"
"You damned bastard!" Stussy hissed through clenched teeth, cheeks burning scarlet as she glared at him. She looked ready to leap at his throat if he said one more word.
"All right, all right." Darren raised both hands in mock surrender. "My fault. I'm the one who clung to you. I apologize."
Then, wisely, he changed the subject with a wry smile.
"But this can't go on. If you're constantly being forced into a corner, you'll never be free."
"We need a way to get Dr. Vegapunk out from under the World Government's control."
"At least then you'd have the leverage to flip the table on the Gorosei—instead of letting them hold your leash every time."
Stussy's expression cooled. Her brows drew together, her eyes dimming. She shook her head.
"I don't know where Dr. Vegapunk is. All I know is that over a year ago, his laboratory on Punk Hazard was destroyed in a massive explosion."
"By the time I got there—after my sources tipped me off—the island was already ashes. There wasn't a trace of the facility or its contents left."
"As for him and his experimental team… they vanished in that explosion. No trail. Nothing."
She watched the cigarette between her fingers burn down, her voice roughening.
"But I know he's still alive. A man whose intellect is five hundred years ahead of this world doesn't die that easily."
"The more likely answer is that the Government realized someone was watching him. So the Gorosei erased everything and relocated him—along with the entire team."
Darren exhaled smoke, his tone calm. "I've done some digging myself."
"Vegapunk's work requires massive equipment and a fully independent environment. The World Government wouldn't keep him in any Member State."
"And if it's that classified, it has to be somewhere sparsely populated."
"The main routes in the first half of the Grand Line have already been combed through. So the lab is far more likely to be in the New World."
As he spoke, Darren rose and crossed to the desk. He unfurled a world map.
"A completely isolated island… a sea route no one knows… far from both Member States and Non-Member States…"
He put on an exaggerated air of contemplation, scattering hints like breadcrumbs, letting Stussy chase them.
"Wait… I remember!" Stussy's eyes snapped bright with sudden recognition.
She hurried to his side and jabbed a finger at a spot on the map.
"This island—I've seen it in CP0's internal records at least once. But then, for some reason, everything related to it vanished overnight."
"At the time, I assumed it was routine file destruction. But now…" Her voice tightened. "Now it feels wrong."
"Because the person responsible for managing those files disappeared too. Just like the records."
Stussy stared at the island's eggshell-shaped outline, her breath shallow.
"Could this… be where Dr. Vegapunk is hiding?"
To be continued...