Queen's violent transformation after swallowing the gem genuinely startled both Kaido and King.
What they had originally expected from this "modification" was something akin to the Homies created by Big Mom—useful at the lower tiers, perhaps, but negligible when it came to top-level combat power.
They hadn't anticipated anything remotely this drastic.
"This kind of modification… It's practically like changing Devil Fruits altogether…"
King muttered under his breath. Beside him, Kaido straightened up from his relaxed slouch against the sofa, his expression turning serious.
Moments later, Queen's transformation was complete.
A colossal dragon roughly thirty meters long stood within the vast council hall—four-legged with a pair of wings, its entire body covered in metallic-colored scales. Its head and wings appeared half-rotted, like a corpse left to decay. Gray-white miasma coiled around it endlessly, giving it the appearance of a zombified dragon.
"WuLuWuuuu…"
A strange, corpse-like wail escaped Queen's mouth—completely different from the roar of a Brachiosaurus.
He panted heavily. The modification process had caused him immense pain; he needed a moment to recover.
"Queen…"
Kaido's tone was unusually solemn.
"How do you feel?"
"How do I feel?"
Queen's voice, at least, still sounded like his own.
He paused to sense his body carefully—then burst into wild laughter.
"Muahahahaha! I feel unbelievably strong!"
"Boss Kaido!"
Behind his tiny sunglasses, his eyes gleamed as he looked toward Kaido, who was now sitting upright.
"I want to test this new power in real combat!"
Kaido was momentarily taken aback—then a savage grin spread across his face.
"Worororo! I was thinking the same thing!"
He rose from the sofa.
"Let's go to the rooftop! No need to smash up the castle I built."
As he spoke, he glanced at the Queen's tattered wings.
"Can you fly now?"
The Queen twisted his neck to look at his half-rotten wings. His corpse-like maw curled upward.
"I think I can."
They left the chamber.
Kaido transformed into his azure dragon form and shot upward, exiting through the same opening in the skull dome.
King unfurled his black wings and followed like a fallen angel, though before entering the passage, he glanced back at Queen—his eyes carrying faint disdain and provocation.
"That bastard King! Just because he can fly—what's so impressive?! Now I can fly too!!"
Queen grumbled, but he extended one massive claw toward Bai Feng as a makeshift ladder.
"Brat! Get on! I'll take you up!"
Bai Feng said nothing. He climbed onto Queen's back, then along the jagged spines to stand atop his head.
The Queen didn't mind. He beat his tattered wings, slowly lifting off before successfully flying through the dome's opening.
Breaking through the thick rock ceiling, Queen landed steadily atop Onigashima.
High above, Kaido floated in dragon form, gazing down at him.
"Worororo! Let's test your new power!"
"Got it, Boss Kaido!!"
The thirty-meter dragon inhaled deeply and unleashed a blast of gray-white breath toward the azure dragon in the sky.
Kaido did not dodge. He allowed the breath to strike his body directly.
His massive form barely moved. In terms of impact and direct destructive force, it felt weaker than his own Bolo Breath.
But soon, Kaido sensed something wrong.
Where the breath had struck, a sizzling corrosion sound emerged.
"Mr. Kaido! Your scales!"
King hovered nearby, his gaze sharpening.
Kaido twisted his long neck to look.
The blue scales of his dragon body were indeed being corroded. He could even feel distinct pain.
Worse, the miasma clung to him like parasites, refusing to disperse.
Kaido accelerated, generating wind pressure to shake off most of the miasma—but a small cluster remained stubbornly attached.
Below, the Queen shouted again.
"Boss Kaido! Watch out!"
Now Vaal Hazak's true ability manifested—
Control over miasma.
The gray-white fog he had exhaled began flowing back toward him like rivers returning to the sea.
Including the portion attached to Kaido.
The lingering miasma not only retracted toward Queen—it also acted as a conduit, siphoning refined life energy directly from Kaido's body.
Visible to the naked eye, the flesh beneath the affected scales rapidly necrotized and withered.
When all the miasma had been reabsorbed, Kaido extended a dragon claw and lightly touched the afflicted area.
The dead flesh crumbled off like dirt.
Of course, given Kaido's monstrous vitality and the Azure Dragon Fruit's regeneration, the missing flesh regrew rapidly, new scales forming over it.
But Kaido's expression had turned grave.
He hadn't resisted during the test.
Yet even in such a short span, Queen had inflicted tangible damage.
If prolonged—and if he truly did not fight back—Queen might genuinely possess the ability to corrode him to death.
"Worororo…"
A cold chuckle rumbled from the dragon's throat.
His colossal form began shrinking, transforming into a dragon-man covered in blue scales.
Thud!
His massive kanabo dropped, cracking the ground.
Kaido picked it up. Threads of lightning began dancing across his body.
"Your new ability is impressive. Now, let's test whether your physique has been strengthened as well!"
"Muahaha! No problem!"
The Queen agreed eagerly.
He had felt firsthand the strength of his new power.
Ambition stirred within him.
Perhaps… he could become a ruler-class powerhouse like Boss Kaido!
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as his enormous dragon form shrank into a dragon-man as well.
Bai Feng quietly jumped down and retreated to a safe distance.
What was about to happen would likely be extremely violent. He had no intention of being caught in it.
Queen stood upright in dragon-man form—metallic scales covering his body, ragged wings and tail behind him.
He flexed his hands. Though unarmed, his scales filled him with defensive confidence.
"Muahaha! Boss Kaido! Come on!!"
"Worororo! Take this!!"
Kaido roared boldly.
He stomped forward, shattering the ground as his body shot out like a cannonball.
"Thunder—"
Purple lightning and crimson-black arcs of Conqueror's coating exploded from his body, wrapping around his swinging kanabo.
"Bagua!!"
The massive club struck Queen square in the face.
From his vantage point, Bai Feng observed closely.
The metallic scales twisted and deformed under the crushing force. Even Queen's skull visibly warped.
In less than half a second, Queen was sent flying like artillery.
His bulky body smashed through several hills atop Onigashima before finally stopping against the cliffside at the island's edge.
He was plastered against the rock face like a flattened pancake.
His dragon-man form automatically deactivated. His enormous body hung there motionless—clearly unconscious.
Bai Feng stepped out from behind a boulder and calmly explained to Kaido and King:
"This modification slightly reduced his resistance to blunt-force knockouts. So yes—he really did get knocked out by that one hit. He's not lying there questioning his life choices."