"Human. You have offended me!"
The sea dragon's voice boomed across the ocean, majestic and wrathful. With his anger came motion—the previously calm sea erupted into towering waves, rocking both massive ships violently from side to side.
Panic spread across the decks.
"A dragon?!"
"It can speak?!"
"There's a monster like this hiding in the Calm Belt?!"
Qin Yang felt slightly irritated.
Being called a monster didn't sit well with him.
Though… given his current appearance, he couldn't exactly argue the point.
When the magma fist had struck the sea earlier, the blazing heat had touched his body. To him, it felt like being splashed with boiling water—painful by instinct, but hardly threatening. His anger had flared more from insult than injury, and in that moment, he had instinctively released his dragon's might.
Now, he fixed his gaze on the man who had attacked him.
White cap. Justice coat draped over his shoulders. A stern face and a powerfully built frame.
Recognition struck.
"You… Marine Admiral Akainu. Sakazuki."
His deep voice rolled across the water before shifting toward the other vessel.
On its deck stood a woman of peerless beauty, as if stepped out of a painting. Unlike the others, she remained composed.
Boa Hancock.
A flicker of memory surged through Qin Yang's mind.
"You possess intelligence," Sakazuki said with visible surprise. "Not the mind of a beast—but higher reasoning. What exactly are you? You're no ordinary Sea King."
I'm human, Qin Yang grumbled inwardly.
Outwardly, however, he replied evenly, "Sea King? I see. To a Marine Admiral, even Sea Kings are beneath notice."
Sakazuki snorted coldly.
"It doesn't matter what you are. Since you've shown yourself here, I'll eliminate you as well."
His arm rose once more.
The air temperature soared.
His right arm transformed into churning magma, forming a colossal crimson hand that lunged toward Qin Yang.
"So quick to fight… This truly is a lawless sea," Qin Yang thought with a faint click of his tongue.
Yet he did not panic.
A thunderous dragon's roar burst forth. His twin horns glowed with deep azure light.
In the next instant, the sea answered his will.
Four massive water spouts surged upward from both sides, twisting like living serpents as they crashed toward the incoming magma fist.
BOOM—!
Water and fire collided.
The clash of forces detonated with deafening force. Steam exploded outward, blanketing the ocean in thick mist.
Hiss—!
Visibility vanished as swirling vapor engulfed everything in a surreal haze.
"What?!" Sakazuki's expression darkened in shock. "It can control seawater?!"
Even Boa Hancock's calm façade cracked slightly.
Sea Kings were not rare. For individuals of their strength, even creatures dozens of meters long were little more than nuisances to be struck down in a single blow.
But this sea dragon defied common sense.
"Is that… the power of a Devil Fruit?" a Marine captain murmured from the warship, stunned.
"Devil Fruit…"
Within the mist, Qin Yang felt a sudden clarity.
This was the world of pirates.
A world where supernatural abilities existed—like Sakazuki's magma power, born from a Logia-type Devil Fruit.
And the "mysterious energy" required to unlock new transformations…
Perhaps it lay in that very direction.
He immediately questioned the voice within.
"If I absorb a Devil Fruit, would that count as mysterious energy?"
Several seconds passed before the mechanical reply came.
"Affirmative."
A brief pause followed.
"And for the record, I am not 'that thing.' I am the Fantasy Gene."
"Good."
Qin Yang felt a surge of satisfaction.
Compared to vague "mysterious energy," Devil Fruits were tangible. Defined. Obtainable.
They were rare, yes—but not unattainable. With enough Berries, even a weaker Devil Fruit could be purchased. Perhaps not a powerful Logia, but strength was not the point.
He had no intention of eating it himself.
Just then, a voice rang out from the deck of the Kuja Pirates' ship.
"Is it… the Guardian Deity? Our Guardian Deity of Amazon Lily?!"
The sudden declaration drew Boa Hancock's gaze.
The speaker was Amanda—a scholar deeply versed in history who had once served as an assistant to the previous empress.
Seeing Hancock's eyes upon her, Amanda spoke urgently.
"Lady Hancock, there has always been a legend on Amazon Lily. Long ago, a Guardian Deity protected our island. The Calm Belt surrounding us was not formed by nature—it was said to be the power of the Guardian!"
Amazon Lily lay within the Calm Belt.
A sea without wind. Without currents.
Sailing ships could not pass through it freely. The island's isolation was both its protection and its prison.
Amanda continued, her voice growing more certain.
"Perhaps the creation of the Calm Belt is exaggerated… but the Guardian is real. Ancient records describe it clearly—even include illustrations. Look carefully—hidden within the mist, you can barely see its silhouette. It matches the ancient drawings exactly!"
When Qin Yang had controlled the sea moments earlier, Amanda had immediately thought of the legend. And upon glimpsing his shadow through the fog, she became convinced.
Her knowledge of history surpassed most.
Boa Hancock fell silent.
"That is only a legend…" she said quietly.
"No, Lady Hancock," Amanda pressed on. "Our historical archives record the existence of the Guardian. I can retrieve the documents once we return. And one year ago—you defeated the great monster 'Gorgon' in the Central Sea, did you not? The same 'Gorgon' described in those ancient texts! It was real. Therefore, the Guardian must also be real!"
Her voice rose with excitement.
"We must protect the Guardian! We cannot allow the Marines to harm it!"
Murmurs rippled across the deck.
Most of the Kuja women had heard the legend. And one year ago, their Empress had indeed claimed to have slain the monstrous "Gorgon."
Proof, to them, that the myths were true.
"Protect the Guardian!"
"Is it truly ours?"
"Lady Hancock?"
Countless gazes turned toward Boa Hancock.
Her breathing tightened.
The so-called "Gorgon"… was something she had publicly claimed to defeat.
In truth, it had been nothing more than a fabricated story—an excuse to conceal a certain secret.
The Gorgon had never existed.
But that secret could never be revealed.
And if she acknowledged the Gorgon's existence…
Then she had no choice but to acknowledge the Guardian as well.
Taking a steady breath, Boa Hancock's expression turned cold. Her beautiful eyes shifted toward Sakazuki.
"Marine. That being is the Guardian of Amazon Lily. By attacking it… you challenge me."
Her voice carried both authority and unmistakable warning.