Splash!
The finger pierced through his tough skin and drew blood.
The moment this happened, Tyler panicked.
He truly panicked.
Because he had a strong confidence in his Devil Fruit, so much so that he believed he could sail into the Grandline without much training.
That confidence stemmed from the power of a Mythical Zoan.
But now, a Marine Captain, someone who should be equal to Axe Hand Morgan in ranks, managed to pierce his skin in a hybrid transformation.
Then again, Morgan did manage to slash Vice Admiral Garp with his axe.
(So in hindsight, Morgan equals Vice Admiral, but Morgan is also equal to Marine Captain, so Soro is equal to Vice Admiral.)
Because of this panic, Tyler no longer held back the power of his Devil Fruit, transforming into the true dragon.
His body size increased several times. His body grew darker blue with several large red scales and two large red wings on his back.
His arms and legs turned massive, with sharp claws and flaming marks over his red scales.
Unlike Kaido's fruit, he looked more western, similar to Niddhoggr but with red scales.
At this moment, Tyler felt a powerful breath gathering on his throat. He wanted to release it.
Without even thinking about the level of destructiveness it could cause, he opened his mouth and roared.
[Wind Breath]
A massive vortex of air gushed out of his throat. It tore apart the ground and created a huge spiraling vortex that engulfed nearly a quarter of the base.
Boom!
Before anybody could react, Tyler, in his dragon form, grabbed Miya and Frank with his tail.
As he wrapped them and threw them on his back, he instinctively flapped his large wings, creating a massive hurricane that shot him towards the sky.
Nearly half of the base was destroyed by the sheer hurricane, and almost every single marine soldier was either injured or dead.
Despite all of this, Soro managed to survive despite being closest to Tyler. His body was covered in bruises and cuts from the wind.
But he managed to stand tall as he watched the destruction of his base.
"Noooooo!"
He roared.
His voice resounded throughout the town, a cry of helplessness and confusion as he watched his soldiers die.
At this moment, Tyler truly proved that he was a pirate.
Overnight, the marine base was destroyed.
At this moment, Tyler's body floated near the shores of the island before he reverted to his human form.
Thud!
As soon as he returned to his human form, all three of them fell to the ground.
Tyler gritted his teeth and said.
"Hurry up and leave! That's my boat!"
Frank and Miya were still in shock until they heard him. They quickly came to their senses.
Miya picked up Tyler like a bag and ran towards the boat. After placing him on the boat, they started rowing.
But Frank shouted.
"Damn it! We forgot to get the key."
"Are you underestimating me? What do you think I was doing while Captain was fighting that marine?"
Miya rolled her eyes and took out a key from her pocket.
"Frank lost it during his transformation. That's why you should never lose sight of your surroundings."
While she was saying this, she didn't forget to unlock the Seastone.
As soon as the Seastone chain hit the boat, Frank stood up.
"Finally, I am free."
He roared.
Seeing his body's reaction, Miya frowned. Her eyes drifted towards Tyler, who was panting heavily as she said.
"Hey, you are not trying to bail after Captain did so much for you, are you?"
Miya fell in love with Frank because of his looks, but that's it. Since she joined Tyler's crew, she would only be loyal to her Captain.
This was her pride as a Pirate and the previous Pirate Captain.
If Frank was truly going to leave, she would rather fight him and kill him here. After all, Tyler did risk his life to save him.
He wasn't coming for her. She was just a byproduct.
Frank paused. His eyes also drifted towards Tyler before he sat down.
"Humph! I am not an ungrateful man. Since I chose to join this crew, I will not betray you."
"I was just excited about being free."
He replied as he lay down on the deck with his hands below his head.
Hearing that, a smile formed on Tyler's face before he slowly closed his eyes.
He was tired.
That transformation was truly heavy. He was beginning to understand just how stupid the original Tyler was.
With such weak strength and no control over his Devil Fruit, he dared to leave the island and become a pirate.
Then again, considering how people considered Devil Fruit powers myths and legends, it made sense that he wouldn't know the power gap.
Full Zoan Transformation consumed a lot of stamina. With his weak body, he was able to hold his transformation until he reached the shore.
If it were three days ago, he wouldn't have been able to do it for more than a minute.
"Captain, I didn't expect you to have such a powerful Devil Fruit. But with such power, why did you run away instead of fighting that man?"
"After all, he is the only threat in that base. As long as you defeat him, we could've handled other marines."
Miya turned her eyes towards him and asked.
Tyler's face turned red, but he still answered.
"When his finger pierced my hybrid transformation, I panicked."
Miya blinked twice before she burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! Captain, so you ran away because you panicked??? That's absurd! Didn't you get injured before?"
Tyler opened his eyes and rolled them.
"Idiot Miya, didn't you see the move he used? That was Finger Gun, one of the Six Styles of Marine."
"Since he has mastered it, he must've mastered other styles as well, including Shave."
"Fighting an opponent like that without any combat experience is just waiting to be slaughtered."
Hearing that, Frank gave him a surprised look and asked.
"Aren't you a new Pirate? How do you know about Marine?"
Tyler proudly smiled and said.
"Your Captain knows a little bit of everything."
"Bragging!"
Miya and Frank replied at the same time.
Tyler snorted and asked.
"By the way, what is your Devil Fruit power?"
Frank paused. His expression changed drastically as he clenched his fist. But after taking some deep breaths, he overcame his mental barrier.
During this entire time, neither Tyler nor Miya said anything. They understood that Frank had gone through some tragic experience.
"It's called Vibration Fruit."
His expression turned blank before he continued.
"I can vibrate any part of my body at a certain frequency. I was able to pass through walls and ground using this power."
"That's why I was able to escape for a long time until that Hawk caught up to me. No matter where I ran, he would immediately find me."
Hearing that, both Miya and Tyler tried to control their faces. They definitely didn't want to laugh.
It was nothing to laugh at. Tyler understood that the female Celestial Dragon must have forced Frank to eat this fruit.
But despite knowing this, despite knowing his tragic experience, Tyler couldn't control his facial expression.
"Laugh if you want to!"
Frank blankly spoke.
"Pfft! Hahahaha! Captain, did you hear that? Frank is a Vibrational Man. Hahahaha!"
Miya burst into laughter as she slammed her fist on the deck. She shook her head as she wiped away her tears from laughter and said.
"But if I were in her condition, I would've done the same. Tsk! Tsk! You've got such a good face. What if you are not good enough in bed?"
"Wouldn't that waste of such a good face?"
Tyler slowly stood up and walked up to his first mate. He sat in front of him and patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry! Once we get strong enough to handle an Emperor, your Captain will bring that Celestial Dragon for you."
"Didn't she turn you into a vibrational man for her pleasure? Then, use it on her! Let her taste that pleasure before taking your revenge."
Frank slapped his hand and said.
"Captain, stop calling me vibrational man! I don't need you to make empty promises."
Tyler's gaze sharpened as he looked at Frank and said.
"I am not kidding with you. You are my first mate. If you can't even take the revenge for your humiliation, how can I be your captain?"
"Once we get stronger, at least as strong as we need to be, we will find a way to get that Celestial Dragon for you."
"That's my promise as a Captain!"
He said before standing up.
Suddenly, he slapped himself on the forehead and shouted.
"Damn it! I forgot to get the supplies."
"Don't worry, Captain! We can just loot any merchant ship that moves around this place. After all, this is one of the safest routes in the West Blue."