Queen, holding a large iron barrel, said to Kaidou, that whether Kaidou could leave the institute on his own was a test by Queen for the captain he had chosen, and the bucket he held was filled with mochi red bean soup, the sweet aroma wafting from a distance.
"But Brother Kaidou, you seem to have found some good subordinates... Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing!"
Before Queen could finish speaking, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, its right leg blazing with flames and violently kicking towards his face. The iron barrel blocked the attack but was deformed as a result, spilling the remaining mochi red bean soup all over the ground.
"You madman, you're part of that institute too, right! I can never forget that face of yours!"
The one who attacked was Shaina. Previously, Queen had been affiliated with that research institute and naturally participated in some of their activities. Shaina had burned those faces into her memory.
Neither she nor King followed a pure style; they learned techniques merely for better combat. However, each had their areas of expertise: King was more skilled with bladed weapons, while Shaina preferred hand-to-hand combat and had impressive kicking skills.
"Damn it.. I wasn't the one in charge! And my mochi red bean soup, I only just had one bite of it!"
His mechanical left arm blocked the kick from Shaina, the hot breath causing his mustache to curl slightly. The spilt mochi red bean soup was the real reason for his anger.
Arceus didn't stop Shaina, understanding how much anger she had built up these days, with everyone at the research institute being a target for her venting. However, it appeared that Queen was also a target Kaidou hoped to recruit.
"Aren't you going to intervene?"
"It's just a fight, why intervene? You'll be working together in the future, better to let her release it than to be scheming every day."
"She hasn't agreed to join you yet."
"But she greatly respects you. Aren't you considering fully joining my pirate crew? I could appoint you as the deputy governor."
"Not interested...." Before the words even left his mouth, he felt something wet on his head. Looking up, he saw Kaidou inexplicably crying again and holding a sake jar to pour drinks from who knows where.
"What a pity... such a pity, King, do whatever you want; after today it won't be possible." He could feel that King also harbored resentment towards Queen, though not as impulsively as Shaina.
Kaidou's words seemed to act as a switch for King. Queen had already been disadvantaged in the fight with Shaina, and despite being larger in size, he couldn't land a hit on her as she exploited her aerial advantage to the fullest.
The next moment, he was suddenly flanked by King's pincer, rolling away like a ball. King and Shaina's teamwork was quite exquisite, having fought together in their past lives with exceptional coordination.
And watching Kaidou cry and drink on the sidelines, Queen understood Kaidou had no intention of stopping this.
He wanted to see if Kaidou's abilities would truly allow him to leave the research institute, and it seemed Kaidou shared the same thought.
"You two bastards, I'm angry now!" Queen's skin began to grow coarse, a brownish-yellow hue spreading, and his already plump body grew taller, transforming into a massive Brachiosaurus in front of the two.
Dragon Fruit—Ancient—Brachiosaurus form, a rather rare Zoan-type ancient species.
Unlike ordinary Zoan-type ability users, Queen's body bore obvious signs of modification, not only the left hand— even the whip ends on his tail and head had mechanical claws.
Although the earlier attack inflicted considerable damage, Zoan-type ability users typically possess strong stamina and recovery rates, and he was far from his limits at this point.
He had somehow equipped his body to extend two gun barrels from his mouth, spraying a dense barrage of bullets at Shaina.
However, Shaina merely used her wings to shield herself, flames heavily attached to the wings, deflecting all of Queen's attacks.
The more fiercely Lunarian flames burn, the stronger their defense becomes, but their speed slows as a trade-off. Flexibly switching forms is a critical part of their combat strategy.
Subsequently, King took Shaina's place, and once again, Shaina's fiery legs kicked towards Queen. Lacking weapons under these circumstances, Shaina's combat power was superior.
"You flame-wielder, try this move, New Feast Hot Fist!" Mechanized claws at the end of his whip burst into flames, clawing towards Shaina under Queen's control.
But as the flames behind Shaina extinguished, her speed abruptly skyrocketed, landing yet another kick on Queen's face. However, she was still relatively weak and, with the size difference, couldn't achieve much result.
Her growth potential was high, but for now, she remained youthful against the amplifications brought by the Devil Fruit and mechanical modifications wasn't enough.
Nonetheless, in a two-on-one scenario, King and Shaina gave him a severe beating.
Watching Shaina and King venting their pent-up grievances, Kaidou called for a stop to the fight. The past grudges were hereby deemed resolved as they would now be together on the same crew, though Queen still wasn't reconciled out loud.
"Why don't you duel me one-on-one! You two just try, my greatness will show you what true strength is!"
"Counting on that jelly you call fat?"
"You little girl, don't talk nonsense, my body is all muscle and I'm just worried if I slimmed down and became too handsome, people would irresistibly fall in love with me. If you saw me slimmed down you'd be enchanted in a glance!"
"Stop dreaming, you narcissistic fool, even slimming down won't make you much stronger, but Zoan-type ability users really are troublesome, just battered you and now you're lively again."
"Shaina, do you seek similar strength?" Arceus inquired of Shaina, and upon receiving a positive response, the Flame Plate surfaced.
This was the culmination of an understanding Arceus had with his abilities over the years. Arceus created the world, the world gave birth to Pokemon, and Arceus inherently possessed the power to create Pokemon using the Plates' strength.
Now, with some modification, using the power of creation, many things could be achieved, though this had yet to be put into practice, and so it was a test of his strength.
A special force merged into Shaina's body; a scalding sensation coursed through her veins as the flames behind her increased uncontrollably.
"Divine Beast Lord, what is this?"
"Try it. It should be akin to those so-called Devil Fruits."
According to Arceus' guidance, Shaina channeled the inner power, transforming her hands into claws, a red mask appearing on her face. Seeing this transformation, Kaidou instantly sobered, as if he had seen the love of his dreams.
Shaina, as the subject, felt the change within her.
Whether it was she or King, as an observer, both of their eyes kindled with a flame of hope.
A Devil Fruit user's powers come from a Devil Fruit, a common knowledge in The Sea. Anyone with some understanding would know this.
If this ability emerged elsewhere, they would be puzzled. However, since this power came from Arceus, the divine beast they worshiped, everything suddenly made sense.
Why carry a giant egg during their escape? Every new tribe member asked this question.
And that's when parents would recount ancient stories passed down through the ages.
Back when the sacred object they worshiped bestowed them greater flame power and those blessed with divine grace bathed in fire became the bravest warriors of the tribe.
Once, this was an ethereal legend, but today he witnessed the power of Arceus.
The sacred object venerated for generations had awoken, and in the light of this power, the glory of the Lunarians would surely flourish once again.