Sharn lashed his dragon tail and immediately swung it back in a brutal side strike. The speed was savage — even the fellow Mythical Zoan user Kaido blinked in surprise.
"He's picking up Devil Fruit control fast," Kaido muttered. "Is Black Dragon form somehow superior to Blue Dragon?"
"Devil Fruits are all about personal development. Zoans too," replied someone nearby. "Don't be dazzled by someone who just happens to fit their fruit perfectly. If Sharn fully awakens his fruit, the demon will fight him back all the harder."
Reiju understood that better than most. Many fruit users never reach true awakening — or fail during it and become husks driven by the fruit. Some succeed but are no longer themselves: angrier, crazed, or colder. There were rumors that powerful fruits seek out the 'right' host. Reiju didn't buy that — personalities change for many reasons: childhood, battles, the passage of time. The sea changes people.
Sharn still had a long way before any genuine fruit awakening; Black Dragon hadn't even been fully explored. But Buckin and Reiju were already making plans.
"Reiju — Sharn will grow into something monstrous, like you or Kaido," Buckin said, licking her lips. "You want a kingdom of nations, right? A grand 'House of the Lambs'? Sharn would be perfect." She didn't really mean mentorship; she meant labs, experiments, and bloodlines to study.
Kaido, riding a thunder cloud, didn't count Sharn among the top threats. Before he ate his fruit, Kaido's natural strength and Haki already made him a terror. Sharn had only just started awakening Armament Haki; his martial skill was raw. Kaido figured Sharn ranked below Kaido himself among Rocks' apprentices. Still, now that Sharn was moving the way he was, Kaido had to reconsider.
On the beach, Zephyr's body looked like forged steel. Compared to him, Sharn's fists seemed like wooden clubs — sturdy but wood nonetheless. No matter how sharp the wood, it doesn't pierce steel. Zephyr was a man who, in two years' time, would be a full admiral; his presence alone was crushing. Even with Moon-Lion enhancements, Sharn was tiring — the drug stimulant was burning out and the side effects were kicking in. Zephyr stayed composed.
"Punch — Horizontal Break!" Zephyr exploded forward and slammed Sharn's abdomen with a bone-rattling blow. "Armament — Heavy Iron!"
There was nowhere to dodge. Sharn tried Rokushiki evasions and softening techniques, but Zephyr's speed had closed the gap. The punch struck solidly, radiating through Sharn's organs like a mortar. It was a masterful use of advanced Armament Haki: penetrating dragon scales to hurt the innards themselves. Even Sharn's tough hide had to yield.
"You repent in pain yet?" Zephyr barked. "You're a pirate; you've killed innocents!" Zephyr followed with a flurry — left, right, left — the strikes forming an invisible membrane of Haki that resonated through Sharn's chest. The drug's boost was fading; Moon-Lion overstressed his body; life-returning recovery could only do so much. Sharn coughed blood and staggered back, clutching his gut. He had nothing left but white steam puffing from his mouth — the sign of overload.
"Buckin's behind this, isn't she?" Zephyr guessed, eyes narrowing. Buckin had been punished before for experimenting on a Marine commander. Zephyr launched forward like a purple bolt. "Black-Arm Rapid Assault — Z-Arc!" The attack hurtled in a Z-shaped blur. This was a killer combo—too fast for most rookies.
Reiju accelerated overhead on Zeus; Reiju wanted Sharn secured. Zephyr's strike carved a path of violet lightning. Sharn braced. He had been counted out, but then countered: eyes bright, Haki flaring, white hair and purple lightning augmenting his form. He hardened his limbs in Armament Haki and roared, "Dragon Armor — Heat-Breath Storm!"
Using defense as a prelude to offense, he exploded outward. "Attack is the best defense!" Sharn believed — he always had. Zephyr pressed on with blazing righteous resolve. Reiju and Tsuru (Hawk?) joined the collision and Zephyr found himself blocked by a blade — Reiju's blade — just in time.
Sharn rolled back, breath white and ragged. He hissed between teeth: "I'll eat anything." He meant it — food, medicine, anything to stave off death. Buckin popped a black pill and offered it. Reiju pointed to the trembling homiz rations — biscuits and cakes — "Eat those if you must."
Sharn, burning with pain and hunger, snarled through the smoke: "I'll eat anything!" and surged forward again.
◇ I'll drop one bonus chapter for every 10 reviews (leave a review/comment!)
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon: patreon.com/KageNaruto