The Oro Jackson sailed into a strange stretch of sea.
The water turned a deep indigo, sharply divided from the bright green of the surrounding ocean.
A faint fishy sweetness hung in the air, the mark of an area where giant Sea Kings were common.
"All hands, on guard!"
Rayleigh stood at the bow, golden hair streaming in the wind.
"This is a Sea King nesting zone. The small ones are the size of ships. The big ones can swallow half an island."
Shanks' hand tightened around the hilt at his waist, excitement flashing in his eyes.
"So it is finally happening?"
Buggy, on the other hand, had gone pale and was hiding behind a stack of barrels.
"I... I said we should go around this place..."
Bullet stood by the rail, both hands resting on it as he drew in a deep breath of the briny air.
He could feel it. The core inside him was trembling slightly, as if responding to something.
"Hungry..."
He murmured.
Since receiving Nidhogg's inheritance, this was the first time the devouring instinct had sent such a clear signal.
There was prey nearby. Prey worth devouring.
Just then, the surface of the sea bulged.
Boom.
About fifty meters off the starboard side, a column of water surged upward more than twenty meters into the air.
Spray exploded outward as a massive shadow surfaced from below.
"They are here!"
The shout came from the lookout.
It was a Sea King shaped like an enormous serpent. The part above the water alone stretched forty meters.
Dark green scales covered its body, each one the size of a shield.
Its triangular head bore three pairs of blood red eyes, all six fixed unblinkingly on the Oro Jackson.
"Small class Sea King. Estimated full length, one hundred to one hundred twenty meters."
Rayleigh made a quick assessment.
"Shanks, take a team and man the cannons."
"Buggy, take the helm and be ready to change course at..."
"I will handle it."
A calm voice cut through his orders.
Everyone turned toward the source of the sound.
Bullet had already swung himself over the rail and was standing on the outer ledge of the hull.
"Bullet, you..."
Rayleigh frowned.
"I want to try fighting in the sea."
Bullet looked back, a nearly feral smile tugging at his lips.
"And I am hungry."
Before anyone could react, he leaped.
His body traced an arc through the air, dropping straight toward the ocean.
In the moment before he hit the water, everything changed.
Ink black scales surged from beneath his skin, racing to cover his entire body.
Bones creaked and popped as his frame swelled rapidly in midair.
His arms became forelimbs, his legs turned into hind limbs, his spine stretched out into a long tail, and his shoulder blades bulged as the beginnings of wings pushed their way free.
Thoom.
Bullet slammed into the sea, throwing up a towering splash.
The water around him turned black in an instant.
That darkness spread through the sea, forming a black domain over eighty meters across.
"What is... that?"
Shanks stared, eyes wide.
Beneath the waves, a vast shadow was shifting, changing, expanding.
Five seconds later...
Roar.
A deep, ancient bellow rolled up from the depths, making the entire stretch of ocean shudder.
The Oro Jackson's hull groaned. Some of the crew clutched their ears, faces twisted in pain.
The sea exploded upward.
A colossal black dragon burst from the water, wings unfurling to blot out the sun.
Full beast form... Nidhogg.
Eighty meters from snout to tail. Smaller than the Sea King, but radiating a suffocating pressure.
Pitch black scales armored every inch of its body, each etched with fine, dark golden patterns.
Its head was a classic western dragon's shape, only more savage.
Six twisted horns jutted back from its skull, and its crimson slit pupils held no emotion at all, only pure predatory hunger.
"M... monster..."
Buggy collapsed onto the deck, a dark stain spreading in his pants.
Even Rayleigh drew in a sharp breath.
He had known Bullet was a Mythical Zoan, but seeing the full beast form with his own eyes, feeling that raw pressure from the level of life itself, still surpassed his expectations.
The Sea King was clearly provoked.
It let out a piercing screech, all six red eyes locked on the black dragon, then suddenly dove back beneath the surface.
Bullet, in his dragon form, did not hesitate.
He plunged after it in one smooth motion.
The underwater world fell silent in an instant.
Sunlight filtered down from the surface, scattering into shifting patches of light in the deep blue.
Visibility stretched to about thirty meters. Below that, there was only darkness.
Bullet felt the ocean around him.
His dragon body adapted shockingly well to the pressure. The scales seemed to adjust on their own, spreading the crushing force evenly across him.
With a sweep of his tail, his body shot forward like a spear.
Faster than he had expected.
Dragons were born to rule both the sky and the abyss.
Even underwater, the Nidhogg form moved with exceptional agility.
Ahead, the Sea King was coiling as it waited.
Here, it moved with absolute comfort. Its long body twisted through the water at incredible speed, leaving swirling vortices in its wake.
The fight erupted in an instant.
The Sea King struck first.
It opened its massive jaws to reveal three rows of backward hooked teeth and lunged straight for Bullet's neck.
The current churned with the force of the attack, forming violent underflows.
Bullet did not dodge.
He raised his right forelimb. In this form, his dragon claw was even more terrifying.
All five digits had become blade like talons, each one five meters long.
He met the attack head on.
Squelch.
His claws punched deep into the Sea King's upper jaw.
Dark green blood gushed out in torrents, clouding the surrounding water.