"Crackling…"
A bonfire burned brightly.
A massive golden skeleton lay nearby, scattered with roasted meats that gave off an irresistible aroma.
On this island of rare beasts, high-quality meat was never in short supply.
"Are you leaving?"
Patting her flat belly, the satisfied Carina wiped the greasy corners of her mouth.
She turned her gaze to the side, where Ren stood staring into the distance, lost in thought.
Instinctively, she followed his line of sight.
There, looming in the horizon, was the mountain Ren had shattered the day before—when he had transformed into a colossal dragon and gone berserk.
Even now, the scars of collapse remained, jagged and chaotic, a reminder of his overwhelming power.
"Ren, what's wrong with you?" Carina came to his side, curiosity in her voice. "Didn't you crash through that mountain? Any questions?"
"No wonder I've felt so strange… now it all makes sense."
Ren's eyes lit up as his thoughts raced. Suddenly, realization struck, and he stood up abruptly.
"Any questions?" Carina asked again, confused.
"In truth, I didn't crash through it—I walked directly inside it…"
Ren pointed toward the mountain. "No wonder, since yesterday I've felt capable of things I never imagined!"
"At first, I thought it was just an illusion from swallowing the golden horns, a surge of strength. But now I understand."
He laughed aloud, the sound echoing strangely.
Carina frowned, rolling her eyes. "You're speaking in riddles again—don't pretend!"
Ren's smile widened. "If I guessed right… I merged with the mountain itself, passing through it as if the earth accepted me."
It was as though he had uncovered a hidden treasure.
Though the mountain was massive, Ren's beast form was no less colossal—especially after absorbing the golden horns, his size rivaled the giants of legend.
With such speed and force, it should have shattered the mountain entirely. Yet the damage was minimal.
The truth was clear: he had unknowingly awakened a hidden ability of his Ryu Ryu no mi Model Galmorath—a resonance with the land itself.
"Galmorath is the Equal dragon weapon… and with Shara Ishvalda's DNA flowing in my veins, it's no surprise I can command the power of the land itself."
Ren's eyes gleamed with revelation.
He strode toward a mountain over a hundred meters tall.
"Roar——"
With a low, resonant cry, his body shifted at a speed visible to the naked eye.
On his head, a golden horn emerged, gleaming like a crown of kings.
The colossal dragon-beast, greater even than giants, was wreathed in blazing flames.
Its claws were ferocious, its scales sharp and unyielding, its aura overwhelming.
Standing upon auspicious clouds, it radiated majesty.
"Brush…"
The flames suddenly receded, restrained by sheer will.
In Carina's shocked and disbelieving eyes, Ren now stood revealed—not merely a beast of fire, but Galmorath, the King of the Earth, resonating with the ancient song that made the land itself tremble.
The colossal beast moved at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Ren's form passed through and merged seamlessly into the body of the mountain—vanishing from Carina's sight.
"What…?"
Carina froze, stunned. "He… disappeared?"
"Rumble…"
Without warning, the entire mountain—hundreds of meters high—began to tremble.
It was as if an unimaginable earthquake had struck, nearly throwing Carina off her feet.
"That is…"
Her eyes widened in shock as the ground roared beneath her.
"Rumble…"
The earth shook violently. Sand and dust flew, rocks tumbled, and the whole island seemed to groan and roar.
Countless birds and beasts fled in terror.
The surrounding mountains and winding earth veins, like dragons and serpents, stirred as if alive—shifting at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Rumble——"
All of them converged toward the mountain Ren had melted into.
Moments later, in Carina's disbelieving gaze, a giant form emerged.
A dragon-beast of stone and fire, forged from countless mountains, rose to cover the sky and blot out the sun.
Hundreds of meters tall, stretching for kilometers, its colossal limbs were like pillars holding up the heavens.
Majestic. Dominating. Indescribably shocking.
"Carina, how are you?"
Suddenly, the mountain-born Galmorath spoke, its voice booming like a bell. "Are you afraid?"
Its bloody maw opened and closed, sharp teeth glinting, ferocity radiating.
"Brush…"
Its eyes ignited—vast, rotating beast-eyes that seemed to pierce her very soul.
Carina staggered, overwhelmed by the impact. Words failed her.
"Gulp!!"
She swallowed hard, staring up at the towering Galmorath statue.
"Can you… really do this?" she whispered, unable to close her mouth.
What kind of monster had she encountered?
It felt omnipotent.
"Roar——"
A thunderous cry split the heavens.
From the massive stone colossus, a fiery dragon-beast with crimson scales burst forth, covering the sky.
It stepped upon auspicious clouds, descending before Carina.
In an instant, Ren transformed back into human form.
Carina's voice trembled with awe: "Is this your new ability? You reshaped the entire island in an instant…"
She looked up at the colossal Galmorath statue, hundreds of meters tall, now motionless like a relic of gods.
It was as if the scene had been an illusion.
"It's incredible!" she gasped.
Ren shook his head with a smile. "This is one of the special abilities of the Ryu Ryu no mi Model: Galmorath. I've only just begun to manifest it since awakening…"
He pointed toward the towering statue that blotted out the sky. "Though I can command the earth, my control is still crude. I can barely hold it together… too large, too unstable. Impressive, but not yet useful."
The scene was overwhelming—an island reshaped by the will of a single man.
For now, Ren's ability was at best comparable to the "God of Destruction" Pica, the Donquixote executive who wielded the Stone-Stone Fruit.
Though his body could become massive, its movements were sluggish, its attacks too slow.
Against the current Straw Hats, such power would be overwhelming.
But to the truly strong, it posed little threat—easily restrained, wasting energy in vain.
His level of Haki was still far from sufficient.
It was simply impossible to cover such a colossal form with his own Conqueror's aura.
Compared to the future "Devil's Descendant" Douglas Bullet—who could fuse matter with the Fusion Fruit to create a Godzilla-like titan thousands of meters tall, and cloak it entirely in his own Haki—Ren's current state was not even close.
But Ren believed this was only temporary.
In time, he would surpass even Barrett, covering his earth-born colossus with overwhelming Haki, becoming something greater than any monster.
And that thought filled him with satisfaction.
The power of the earth, granted by the Mythical Zoan, was unlike anything else.
Though it did not replenish stamina endlessly as myths claimed, its potential was staggering.
Used skillfully, it was nearly equivalent to a fusion of the Float-Float Fruit, the Stone-Stone Fruit, and the Island-Island Fruit.
More importantly, Ren could generate vast amounts of molten magma, burning with terrifying heat.
Unlike seawater, magma was part of the earth itself—subject to his dominion as the King of the Earth.
With perseverance and relentless training, he knew he could refine this phantom beast ability.
One day, he would command not just mountains, but entire islands.
Though he could not make them soar through the skies like the Float-Float Fruit, he would bend them to his will, reshaping the world beneath his feet.
"But maybe… it really can make the island move directly."
In human form, Ren could barely channel fragments of the earth's power—just as he normally controlled fire.
He clenched his fists, focusing.
After carefully sensing the resonance of his fruit ability, he shrugged with a grin: "Although the range is limited, if the target is smaller, I can manipulate it far more flexibly. Just like this!"
He tapped his foot lightly.
"Rumble…"
Dozens of meters away, a patch of ground ten meters wide suddenly convulsed.
The soil surged violently, twisting into a living mudslide, rotating and rolling as if possessed.
"Rumble…"
In an instant, a massive whirlpool of earth formed, visible to the naked eye, threatening to swallow everything nearby.
Ren clenched his right fist.
"Boom, boom…"
The ground itself responded, rolling upward as though alive.
Before Carina's stunned gaze, the earth soared into the sky.
"Woo-ho-ho——"
A fierce wind swept across the place, scattering sand and stone.
In the blink of an eye, a towering peak tens of meters high rose, twisted like a living vine, its shape unnatural and terrifying.
It stood there, pulsing with raw power.
Carina's scalp tingled, her body frozen.
"…"
Watching Ren reshape the land so effortlessly, she was completely numb.
Her composure shattered, and for once she couldn't maintain her grace.
A rare expletive escaped her lips: "Abnormal!!"