Darren awoke on a soft, luxurious bed.
With a high-bridged nose, eyes deep as starlight, brows sharp as blades, and tousled black hair, his whole look radiated unruly charisma.
He slowly rose. His bare upper body was covered in gruesome scars, wild muscle contours enhancing his feral appeal.
In short—he was devastatingly handsome.
"Lord Darren, you're awake?" came a sweet, sultry voice from beneath the sheets.
A mature, alluring face peeked out, followed by curves that defied censorship.
The woman's dewy eyes gazed longingly at the tall man by the window, her expression full of satisfaction—thoroughly conquered.
She had never met such a man—feral, domineering, untamed.
Though it had been her first time, due to her husband's preference for men, this wild stranger had given her pleasure beyond imagination.
Darren stepped to the window, picked up a premium cigar from a crystal table, lit it with practiced ease, and exhaled slowly.
"Mm. Go back to sleep, darling."
Though he called her "darling," she was just another fleeting conquest in his hunt for beauty.
He'd forget her soon enough.
Though, admittedly, this noblewoman had been quite enjoyable.
He casually threw on a loose white shirt, chest still bare, poured himself a glass of whiskey, and picked up the morning paper.
"Infamous pirate 'World Destroyer' Byrnndi World sinks World Government ship. Celestial Dragons outraged. 200 million bounty placed! Wald Pirates now deemed top threat!"
"Gol D. Roger sails again! Last sighted in the weakest of the Four Seas—East Blue!"
"Golden Lion Shiki recruits in the New World, aiming to build the largest pirate fleet ever!"
"Kaido and Charlotte Linlin clash in the New World. A small island is wiped off the map!"
"..."
Headline after headline flashed before Darren's eyes, each more explosive than the last. He narrowed his gaze.
"What a wild era..."
He folded the paper, took a sip of whiskey, and lit another gold-embossed cigar.
The rich smoke stirred his senses as he sank into thought.
Yes—Darren was a transmigrator.
But unlike others, he had no system, no cheat codes. His only advantage was a strange merger of souls, granting him uncanny control over his body—far beyond normal human limits.
He had crossed into this pirate-filled world five years ago, starting as a bottom-ranked Marine. Climbing to his current position hadn't been easy.
The North Blue—though outside the Grand Line—was the most chaotic and violent of the Four Blues. No peace like East Blue, no wealth like West Blue, no stability like South Blue.
It was full of mafia wars, underground strife, endless conflicts between kingdoms, and rampant pirates.
A nightmare for any Marine.
From a nameless recruit to commander of Branch 321 and now awaiting official commendation from HQ, Darren had survived countless trials, betrayals, and bloodshed—most of which he couldn't even remember.
But the scars on his body told the story.
It was precisely because he knew how hard-fought his path was that Darren lived so indulgently.
After all, this was the year 1492 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
The Valley of the Gods Incident had ended just a few years ago, and global order was in chaos—
Roger hadn't yet completed his grand journey.
Shiki was still dreaming of ocean domination.
Whitebeard was still out collecting "sons."
Kaido hadn't become "that suicidal dragon."
Big Mom still had a figure and was hunting stallions.
Shanks was just a trainee, Buggy hadn't risen, and Luffy wasn't even born.
This was an age without Yonko, without the Warlords, full of chaos and bloodshed.
Even the Marines—a favorite class for transmigrators—was still a job where your life dangled by a thread.
Darren never knew if today might be his last. So he lived fully.
He'd crossed worlds—why live miserably?
Even as a Marine, he refused to be some poor dog of justice.
Drink the best liquor. Smoke the strongest cigars. Sleep with the most beautiful women.
That was his philosophy.
Degeneracy? Corruption? Reputation?
He wasn't a pirate. What use was reputation?
In the North Blue Marines, good reputation didn't get you promoted.
Look at his former bosses—Borsalino and Sakazuki—both from the North Blue too.
Not exactly saints.
Yet now they were HQ elites, graduates of the officer training camp, and future Admirals in the making.
Of course, fun aside, Darren was deadly serious about improving his strength. He applied the same strict standards to training as he did to women.
He adjusted his breathing, sharpening his focus inward.
The soul fusion had granted him a special ability—hyper-precise bodily perception.
After years of experimentation, he developed a way to quantify his condition—personal stats—comparing himself to real-world examples like Sengoku and other Admirals.
Unbelievable as it sounded, if he could transmigrate, this wasn't too far-fetched.
Personal Attributes:
Physique: 58.103
Strength: 53.831
Speed: 57.539
Fruit Mastery: 71.345
Physique measured durability, vitality, endurance.
Strength was raw power and explosive force.
Speed was movement and short-distance bursts.
Fruit Mastery measured his control over his Devil Fruit.
The reference scale was out of 100.
For instance, Kaido—"the world's strongest creature"—was likely 90 in Physique, given how only advanced Haki could even hurt him.
"Hmph, physique improved by 0.03," Darren muttered, smiling.
His hunch was right.
After a two-hour conquest the previous night and a refreshing sleep, his body had clearly grown stronger.
It made sense.
Back on Earth, moderate physical "activity" raised testosterone and dopamine, boosting muscle growth.
0.03 might seem small, but every bit added up. Even a mosquito has meat.
This was how Darren had discovered the optimal ways to train and grow stronger—through precise feedback from his own body.
Just then—
Swish!
The door was suddenly sliced open by a flash of swordlight.
A tall woman with flowing black hair stormed in, her expression cold as ice, eyes blazing with fury.
"Captain Darren! You command Branch 321 of the North Blue—how dare you do this inside a Marine base?! Have you no shame?!"
In her hand gleamed a golden katana.
Gion glanced at the trembling woman hiding beneath the sheets. Her gaze burned with outrage.
Then she spat out a line that left the man behind her, Tokikake, staring in stunned silence:
"That woman is the governor's wife—of the Kingdom of Yadis!!"
---
To be continued…