"What... what is that?!"
"A monster?!"
"A dragon! It's a dragon!!"
Onscreen, an awe-inspiring creature soared through clouds, cloaked in thunder, flame, and stormwinds—a majestic, utterly fantastical dragonlike being that defied explanation.
The battleship's captain stared, mouth agape.
His face was filled with disbelief.
But a moment later—
He snapped out of it.
Eyes gleaming with both panic and excitement, he barked out an order:
"Quick! Contact the Minister of the Navy!"
"We've spotted what appears to be a divine dragon from the myths of Jiuzhou!"
"Requesting permission to capture it! I repeat—requesting authorization to capture!!"
At that exact moment — Bureau of Paranormal Security
"Director Zhou! We have a situation!"
Zhou Hongwei had just finished his latest report and hadn't even had time to rest when Li Yayun came rushing into the office.
"What's going on?" he asked, instantly serious.
"Director!"
"An emergency alert just came in from the Eastern Sea Fleet!"
"They've spotted an enormous unidentified flying object over the East China Sea!"
"According to satellite imagery—"
Li Yayun paused, out of breath from sprinting. Zhou Hongwei felt a wave of urgency but didn't rush her.
Thankfully, she quickly caught her breath and continued:
"According to the satellite visuals, the object... is a dragon!"
"A dragon?"
Zhou Hongwei blinked, as if not fully processing it.
"A dragon that matches the description of the Azure Dragon from ancient myths—capable of flying through clouds and summoning wind and rain!"
"Azure Dragon?!!"
Hearing this, Zhou Hongwei's pupils constricted in shock!
"You're certain this is accurate?!"
"I've checked the data multiple times—it came straight from the fleet, and the images are high-resolution!"
Li Yayun nodded firmly and projected the footage.
When Zhou Hongwei laid eyes on the magnificent blue dragon coiling through the heavens, his soul shuddered.
"Sea Kings… Devil Serpents…"
"And now mythical creatures have started appearing too..."
Though he had mentally prepared for such things, actually seeing a legend become reality still left him deeply shaken.
"What should we do now, Director?"
Li Yayun's question broke his trance.
She added quickly, "The Azure Dragon is heading toward the waters of the Sakura Nation. If they capture it…"
"…Sakura Nation?"
Zhou Hongwei frowned.
Whether this dragon was friend or foe didn't matter now. If the Sakura Nation got their hands on it…
No way could they let that happen.
"Mobilize the fleet!"
"Sakura Nation will not let this dragon go! We can't let it fall into their hands!"
"Oh—and notify Shen Lele and Xu Jia. We might need their help!"
Zhou made a rapid decision.
"Yes, sir!"
Li Yayun nodded and left to carry out the orders.
Meanwhile — White House, Lighthouse Nation
President Trumpett was pacing in his office, glancing anxiously at the door every few seconds.
Knock knock knock!
The sound made him light up with excitement. He rushed over and flung the door open.
It was Colonel Mike—holding a sleek silver briefcase.
"Quick! Put it on my desk!"
"I need to see it with my own eyes!"
Trumpett was nearly trembling with anticipation. Colonel Mike, though, didn't seem surprised.
Even he had been overwhelmed on the way here, because—
Inside this case was a legendary treasure.
He carefully set the case down.
Trumpett eagerly sat, took a deep breath, and slowly opened it—
Inside was a single, strange-looking fruit covered in intricate swirls and ridges.
"This… this is the legendary Devil Fruit?!"
Trumpett's eyes burned with fascination.
He picked it up gently, holding it close to examine.
A long moment passed before he reluctantly tore his gaze away, still gripping it tightly.
He looked at Colonel Mike.
"This is the first Devil Fruit our great Lighthouse Nation has recovered. So… what have our scientists learned about it?"
"…Regrettably, very little."
"With only limited tissue samples and no known reference data, our researchers couldn't determine its type or effects," Colonel Mike said, voice low with embarrassment.
"So you're telling me…"
"We still don't know what this fruit does?"
Mike nodded again, helpless.
"Then that leaves us with only one real option…"
Trumpett didn't finish the sentence—but Mike already knew what he meant.
"Professor John from the Devil Fruit research team has suggested a human test subject," he said. "After consumption, we may be able to observe the effects directly."
"Hmph!"
"They call that a solution? We fund them with taxpayer money, and this is what they come up with?!"
"What if someone eats it and nothing happens? Who takes responsibility?!"
Mike stayed silent, head lowered.
Trumpett's hand caressed the fruit.
Then—
A thought struck him.
If someone needs to eat it…
Why not me?
This was, after all, a fruit said to grant supernatural powers!
If he ate it… he'd become a superhuman!
Even as president of the Lighthouse Nation, Trumpett could not resist that temptation.
Mike saw the gleam in his eyes—but before he could intervene, Trumpett had already taken a big bite out of the Devil Fruit!
"Mr. President!!"
Mike's face went pale as he lunged forward—but it was too late.
Trumpett immediately gagged.
"URGH!"
The taste was… indescribably foul.
But more shocking—
His body began to change before Mike's eyes!
Fur—short, yellowish-brown—started growing rapidly on his neck, wrists, and face.
His ears elongated and drooped.
His nose turned black and shiny.
His bloated frame shrank drastically, falling forward onto all fours!
In just seconds—
President Trumpett had completely transformed into a dachshund.
A small, short-legged, balding wiener dog.
Mike stood frozen in disbelief.
"W-What's going on?!"
"What the hell happened to me?!"
Trumpett's doggy voice was filled with terror.
He looked down at his paws, then toward a nearby full-length mirror…
"AAAHHHHHHHH!!"
His scream echoed through the office.
"I—I turned into a dog?! A dog?!"
He barked, panicked, bounding in circles across the room.
Mike snapped out of it and rushed to pin down the frantic dachshund.
"Mr. President! Calm down!"
"This must be the ability of the Devil Fruit!"
"Think! Think back to what the Jiuzhou streamer Yuuto Kagami said—Devil Fruits grant powers!"
Mike held Trumpett firm on the table, speaking rapidly.
"I suspect this is a Zoan-type Devil Fruit—it grants the power to transform into an animal or beast!"
"If you concentrate and will it, you can change back to human form!"
"M-Mental command… okay!"
Trumpett squeezed his eyes shut, frantically imagining his human body.
Then—
BAM!
The door burst open.
An officer ran in, shouting:
"Mr. President! Colonel Mike! We've got an emergency—"
But when he entered—
He froze.
The room was a disaster—papers everywhere.
Colonel Mike was holding down a dachshund on the desk.
The dog had its eyes clenched shut, face contorted in some weirdly human expression of pain and focus.
The officer's mind jumped to one conclusion:
No way… Colonel Mike… likes dogs?!
Then—
WHOOSH!
In an instant, the dachshund began to swell and grow.
In seconds, it transformed—right in front of him—back into a very familiar face.
"P-President Trumpett?!"
The officer's jaw dropped.
Colonel Mike looked up, embarrassed but composed.
"Listen—what you saw just now was the President testing the power of a Devil Fruit. This is top secret. You saw nothing."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The officer frantically nodded, inwardly so relieved he wasn't about to be silenced.
Then he remembered—
"The emergency! Intelligence from our assets embedded in the Sakura Navy—"
"They've just reported a dragon over Sakura waters!"
"A dragon?!"
Mike's eyes widened as he stared at the image.
Onscreen was the Azure Dragon—majestic, divine, and awe-inspiring.
President Trumpett stared at it too.
He remembered his own recent transformation…
The wrinkly little dachshund…
And now, this celestial beast dancing through the clouds.
The contrast was like a slap to the face.
His hands shook. His lips trembled.
Why…?
Why did I turn into that ugly dog, while someone else gets to become THAT?!
His heart burned with rage and envy.
And finally—
He slammed his fist down and roared:
"Deploy our fleets stationed near Sakura waters!"
"No matter what it takes—we MUST capture that Azure Dragon!!"
As both Sakura Nation and Lighthouse Nation scrambled to mobilize their fleets—
Photos of the dragon began spreading online.
Within minutes, the entire internet exploded.
Countless netizens who were still awake instantly went wild.
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