Nekomamushi and Inuarashi were top-tier fighters among pirates, but against a powerhouse of Bege's caliber, they were completely outmatched. Bege could defeat them without even using his ultimate techniques.
Expressionless, Nekomamushi leaped into the crater and pulled his trident from the earth. Inuarashi emerged from the distant forest. The two of them stood in silence, exchanging a look.
From the innermost layer of his clothing, Inuarashi took out a pitted, fluorescent stone. Nekomamushi's eyes were fixed on it.
"We may not be your match," Inuarashi said gravely, "but Lord Kozuki Oden entrusted this Road Poneglyph to us, to the entire Mink Tribe, for safekeeping here in Zou. We will protect it with our lives."
Inuarashi looked at the glowing stone in his hand with a hint of reluctance. "This is called a Moon Stone," he said softly. "It is a great treasure of our people. This is the last one that has been passed down to this day. It is our trump card against powerful invaders. By crushing it, we can create a miniature full moon. And because of that moon, we can transform into our most powerful form: Sulong."
Bege's expression immediately darkened. Sulong. He was all too familiar with that word.
The Sulong form was the Mink Tribe's ultimate state.
The minks were a unique warrior race. When they gazed upon the full moon, they could awaken the deepest, most primal wildness sleeping within them. Their bodies would undergo a startling transformation, similar to the awakened state of a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user.
Upon transforming into a Sulong, a mink warrior's power would multiply. Bege remembered the cute mink girl from the original story, Carrot, and the incredible power she displayed after transforming under the full moon.
Of course, the Sulong form had a fatal flaw. After transforming, a mink warrior would go berserk. Without special training, they would lose consciousness and be unable to distinguish friend from foe, attacking indiscriminately until they died of exhaustion.
Even with special training, they could only retain their consciousness. The berserker rage would persist, and if no one stopped them, they would still fight until they collapsed from fatigue.
But that flaw wasn't the main issue; as long as someone was there to intervene at the right time, the transformation could be reversed.
In the original story, Carrot wasn't particularly strong, but her power had increased at least tenfold after becoming a Sulong.
Bege didn't dare to imagine how terrifyingly powerful Nekomamushi and Inuarashi would become after their transformation.
"Let's end this before things get out of control," Bege said, his face a mask. He unleashed his Devil Fruit ability, and the space around the two minks began to compress rapidly. An invisible force reached for the glowing stone in Inuarashi's hand.
"Too late to stop us now." Inuarashi didn't hesitate. He clenched his fist, his raw strength shattering the compressing space as he crushed the Moon Stone. A brilliant silver light erupted from the stone, forming a glowing orb in front of them.
The orb radiated a powerful light, like a full moon shrunk down countless times.
Nekomamushi and Inuarashi stared at it. In an instant, their pupils changed. A hint of blood-red seeped out from the bottom of their eyes, spreading until their entire irises were crimson. Silver electricity crackled across their bodies as they began to grow, and a terrifyingly primal aura exploded from within them.
Bege appeared in front of them in a flash. He slashed the miniature moon in half with his sword and kicked both of them. They were sent flying into the distant forest, crashing through trees for over a hundred meters.
Then, two ferocious roars echoed from the woods, shaking the entire island of Zou.
In the forest, two groups of minks were rushing toward Bege's location. They were Nekomamushi's Guardians and Inuarashi's Musketeers.
Both groups skidded to a halt, their faces filled with shock. The captain of the Guardians, Pedro, recognized the meaning behind the roars, and his expression changed dramatically.
"That's the Master and Duke Inuarashi! That's the wild roar of the Sulong form!"
"Dammit! The intruder forced them to use Sulong! Hurry, everyone, faster!" Pedro broke into a frantic sprint through the trees.
"Was I too late?" Bege's brow furrowed. He could feel two terrifying auras approaching from the forest at an astonishing speed.
In the blink of an eye, two massive figures leaped from the trees and landed in front of him.
Nekomamushi and Inuarashi were completely transformed. Their bodies had at least doubled in size.
Nekomamushi was even larger, his golden fur now a flowing, silver-grey mane that crackled with arcs of electricity. His black-and-white striped tail was also silver-grey, but it had grown to be twelve or thirteen meters long, whipping about like a giant serpent and lashing the ground, causing it to explode.
Inuarashi's form was leaner and more muscular, his body packed with solid power. A long mane of curly white hair flowed down his back. His tail seemed to have vanished, replaced by a massive plume of long white fur that swayed in the wind.
Both of them were wreathed in dense arcs of electricity, radiating an aura of savage, untamed power.
Their blood-red eyes were locked on Bege, burning with intense killing intent. They were struggling to suppress the rampaging wildness surging within them, fighting to maintain their sanity.
Nekomamushi glanced at the trident in his hand. Compared to his new size, it was no longer a suitable weapon. He tossed it aside.
"Capone Bege," he growled, his voice now a beastly roar. "Let's have another round." He took a single step, and with a flash of lightning, his massive form appeared in front of Bege. He swiped with one paw, his long, sharp claws tearing through the air, bringing with them a colossal wave of force.
Bege flashed away, dodging the attack.
The claws swept past, instantly carving four deep trenches, each over ten meters long, into the ground. The power of that single strike was terrifying.
Nekomamushi's blood-red eyes instantly found where Bege had landed. He swung both paws, unleashing a countless number of claw-like afterimages that completely engulfed Bege. The entire landscape was instantly diced into countless pieces.
Bege dodged continuously, his Fire Cloud Sword a blur as he sliced the claw attacks to pieces.
With a loud clang, one of Nekomamushi's claws struck his sword. In an instant, Bege was sent flying by the ferocious power, shooting like a meteor into the forest.
Bege quickly softened the space behind him, creating a swamp-like cushion to absorb the force of the impact.
Nekomamushi leaped high into the air, then came crashing down like a falling meteorite.
Bege kicked off a platform of hardened space, shattering it as he used Soru to evade at top speed.
A thunderous boom shook the earth. The forest within a hundred-meter radius was obliterated, torn apart by the raw power. The shockwave carried shattered rocks and splintered trees for hundreds of meters, clearing everything in its path.
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