The Grand Line was divided into two halves.
The first half was known as Paradise.
The second half was called the New World.
And Paradise had another name as well—
The Graveyard of Pirates.
"AAAAH!"
A scream rang out across the deck.
Mohji the Beast Tamer lay sprawled on the planks, his body limp. The pain radiating from his back made his limbs twitch uncontrollably.
At the sound of that scream, Buggy—who was steering the ship—and Cabaji—who was "cleaning" while secretly watching—both jumped.
The two quickly pretended not to hear anything and continued their work with exaggerated seriousness.
Yuuki stood beside Mohji, examining the small magic language array freshly carved into his back.
"It looks acceptable. Barely a success."
Two days ago, they had crossed Reverse Mountain and entered the Grand Line. Since then, Yuuki had been studying the Runic Array dictionary in depth.
The array carved onto Mohji was a small-scale runic formula designed to store mana—one of Yuuki's recent research results.
"Get up. Try it."
Mohji pushed himself upright, tears still glistening in the corners of his eyes.
The scream earlier had not been entirely due to pain—though the carving process had indeed hurt. Part of it had been fear.
During the past two days, they had encountered several pirate crews. None had even managed to approach before being wiped out single-handedly by Conrad.
Seeing someone so powerful act as a subordinate had only deepened their fear of Yuuki.
Mohji stood awkwardly, unsure what he was supposed to demonstrate.
"Do you feel anything?" Yuuki prompted calmly.
Mohji hesitantly swung his arm.
His eyes suddenly widened.
He jumped in place—then jumped again.
His speed, strength, and explosiveness were noticeably beyond his usual limits.
Buggy stumbled at the helm. Cabaji dropped his broom.
"My strength's increased… and I'm faster too!"
Mohji's voice trembled with excitement.
Yuuki gave a faint nod.
The mana stored within Mohji was Beast Mana.
Mohji himself seemed unaware of its presence, but its inherent properties were clearly enhancing his physical abilities.
Yuuki then pointed toward the lion crouched near the entrance to the cabin—a muscular beast over two meters tall, pale green in fur with a mane of violet hair.
Richie.
Mohji's mount and battle partner.
As the former vice-captain of the Buggy Pirates, Mohji possessed a natural affinity for communicating with animals—hence his title, Beast Tamer.
Richie noticed Yuuki's gaze and immediately padded over, rolling onto his back and exposing his belly like an oversized housecat seeking approval.
Mohji's eye twitched.
Ordinarily, getting Richie to cooperate required negotiation—and even then, the lion often refused.
Now it was acting obedient in front of the new captain.
Yuuki casually kicked Richie toward Mohji.
"Place your hand on him."
Mohji swallowed, then pressed his palm against Richie's body.
The next instant—
"ROAR!"
Richie let out a startled cry.
Before Mohji's stunned eyes, the lion dissolved into a flow of energy and merged into his body.
Thud.
Thud.
Rip—
Muscles swelled. Cloth tore.
Mohji's once lanky frame expanded rapidly, muscles bulging as pale green fur spread across his body. His hair shifted to a vivid violet.
In mere seconds—
He had transformed into something resembling a Zoan-type hybrid form.
"What… is this…?"
Mohji stared at his clawed hands and feet in disbelief.
A surging strength coursed through his body.
Buggy tripped again at the helm.
Cabaji's jaw hung open.
"So, Beast Magic expresses control over animals like this," Yuuki observed thoughtfully. "Interesting."
He seemed satisfied.
Moments later—
Mohji stood beside Yuuki's reclining chair, eyes shining with fervent devotion, carefully pouring tea.
"Captain Yuuki, your tea," he said eagerly.
Yuuki did not look up from the magic language dictionary.
"The stored power within you is limited. Aside from just now, you can use it three more times. No more than ten minutes each."
Mohji paused, disappointment flickering briefly across his face.
But it was quickly replaced by something else—
Fanaticism.
"I will not waste the power Captain Yuuki has granted me!"
Yuuki offered only a faint acknowledgment and returned to his studies.
Mohji withdrew respectfully.
But the moment he moved away—
Buggy and Cabaji were already waiting.
They surrounded him, their expressions full of curiosity and suspicion.
Mohji lifted his chin.
Gone was his earlier timidity.
With the ability to fuse with Richie, he was certain his strength now surpassed both of them.
On the Graveyard of Pirates—
A new hierarchy was quietly taking shape.
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