Man-eating Giant Beast in Extreme Cold

For a hundred years, the Ganan Remnants watched their kings fall in battle, suffer agonizing deaths from illness on their deathbeds, and pass away miserably.

When one king died, the next immediately shouldered the heavy responsibility. They either guarded the border between the highlands and the plains or climbed down cliffs into the deep sea to procure food for the people.

When the responsibility fell to Yelena's generation, she was only five years old. Yet, she bore the royal burden day after day, year after year, without a hint of complaint.

Yelena, the youngest and afflicted with illness, did not burden her people with any negative emotions. Instead, she gently comforted them every day.

The Ganan Remnants were not heartless people; they knew how to be grateful. Even though they lacked powerful talents, the young men and women would guard the highlands alongside the royal family.

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However, they were truly incapable of climbing thousand-meter cliffs to obtain food from the deep sea like the royal family could.

Their ancestors might have resented the royal family for allowing the Jacobites to enter their land, causing them to lose their homes.

But they, who survived precariously under the royal family's protection, held absolutely no resentment.

No member of the Ganan Royal Family met a peaceful end. Those with talent died tragically in bloody battles or hunts, without exception.

Those without talent were helped by the royal family to leave and seek outside assistance. However, the Navy ignored them, as the Kingdom of Jacob was a member of the World Government.

Pirates, these extremely wicked creatures who lived by the law of the jungle, scoffed at their plight. Over the years, only the empathetic Roger Pirates offered any help.

Most other kingdoms remained indifferent. Only a great nation in the West Sea and a desert kingdom on the Grand Line offered meager assistance. Due to the distance, they could only condemn the Kingdom of Jacob during the World Conference.

Eventually, the royal family members responsible for running errands also gradually disappeared at sea. Among them was the previous princess—Yelena's mother.

She returned from the Grand Line and gave birth to Yelena, who had Oni Clan blood. A few years later, she set out again, attempting to rescue Yelena's father, who had been captured by the Navy, and seek his help. She too eventually disappeared on the journey.

"..."

Yelena met pairs of eyes filled with a gaze like that of a drowning person spotting a life raft. Her previously wavering heart gradually grew firm.

Louis watched everything unfold before him, remaining silent. He felt that the bond between the Ganan Remnants and the royal family was even closer than that between the Lunarian and Sky Islanders on Baal.

The probability of Yelena leaving them was infinitesimally close to zero.

Not far away, the Red-Haired Pirates also fell silent. Shanks, after a moment of daze, revealed a gratified smile.

Hongou, the doctor, hadn't even had time to react before the movement in his sleeve disrupted his thoughts.

He looked down, meeting a pair of teary purple eyes, and softly asked, "What's wrong? Uta."

Uta, with her two-colored long hair, stared intently into Hongou's eyes, her small face set in a serious expression. "You can cure Yelena, right?"

Hongou: "..."

Shanks patted Uta's head with great affection and smiled, "You have to believe in your nakama!"

Hongou took a deep breath and then said loudly to the crowd, "Everyone, rest assured, I will cure Yelena! We are friends, so of course, we won't stand by and do nothing!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd looked up in surprise, their eyes filled with gratitude as they gazed at Hongou.

Then, they quickly got up, leaving the space for Hongou to examine Yelena.

However, Hongou scratched his head and said, "There are no medical instruments here. We'll need to go back to the ship and use the equipment there."

He explained that he had prepared medicine for divers' disease according to Shanks' instructions. He never expected that Yelena's condition this generation would be far more severe than that of previous kings.

The fact that she could still fight was due to her powerful Oni Clan bloodline. The Oni Clan was one of the world's top human subspecies. Hongou even thought that if Yelena had taken on such a heavy responsibility when she was in her teens, she might not have contracted this disease at all.

Hearing this, Shanks suggested to Yelena again, "Yelena, eat that fruit first."

"Louis is right. Zoan Devil Fruits greatly enhance the physique and can significantly alleviate your pain."

"Perhaps it will also help with the subsequent treatment."

As soon as this was said, the eyes of the Ganan Remnants lit up. After the series of events that had occurred tonight, they had no reason to doubt Louis and Shanks. They all began to persuade her.

"Your Majesty Yelena, eat it!"

"..."

Yelena heard them and lowered her eyes, gazing at the Devil Fruit in her hand, which looked like a deer's skull.

Then, she gently picked it up, parted her dry lips, and took a small bite.

"Ugh..." The strong smell and the sticky, nauseating texture made Yelena's face contort, turning ashen. She then gasped for air.

The taste of the Devil Fruit made her almost unable to breathe, and she felt extremely sick.

Then, under everyone's worried gaze, she picked up the fruit again, preparing to continue eating it.

Seeing this, Louis recalled unpleasant memories, and a look of empathy appeared on his face. He stopped her.

"Eating just one bite will grant you the ability!"

Yelena froze upon hearing this and stared blankly at the fruit in her hand. After hesitating, she turned to Louis and replied, "This way, the flesh will be too much of a waste..."

In the end, she closed her eyes and ate the Devil Fruit in her hands, bite by bite.

This process made Louis, who had also eaten a Devil Fruit, feel immense admiration, and his teeth ached just watching.

"..."

A moment later, Yelena slowly opened her eyes, raised a hand to cover her chest, and felt the changes in her body. A joyful smile appeared on her face, "Breathing... it really doesn't hurt as much anymore!"

Yelena's words made the Ganan Remnants around her eyes turn red and their noses sting. Among the crowd, some emotional women and children were even sobbing.

For a hundred years, the illness that had shrouded the Ganan Royal Family was about to become history. The boulder that had weighed heavily on their hearts was finally showing cracks.

Louis slowly stepped forward, guiding Yelena to try and activate the ability she had just obtained.

"Concentrate, sense the other power within your body, and activate it with your will!"

Yelena closed her eyes and did as Louis instructed.

At the same time, Shanks and his crew began to have the approaching crowd spread out, creating a suitable distance.

The next moment, under everyone's gaze, Yelena's form underwent a drastic change.

Her body began to grow, expanding from its original height of about 2.2 meters to 3 meters. The skin on her face gradually disappeared, revealing a stark white skull, and fangs began to extend.

Louis was stunned for a moment, "Isn't it a deer?"

The Red-Haired Pirates also held their breath, observing and trying to recall what kind of animal this was.

Yelena's transformation did not stop due to Louis and the others' reactions.

Her body continued to expand, breaking through the 4-meter mark. Stark white fur sprouted from her skin, her feet turned into hooves, and her legs became backward-jointed.

Her originally slender arms became thick and elongated, and blade-like sharp claws grew from her fingers.

On the terrifying, exposed skull, a pair of massive, sharp antlers emerged from beside the demon horns.

Simultaneously, snow and ice, appearing from nowhere, extinguished the bonfire, and a terrifyingly low temperature began to spread.

A burly man with sharp serrations among the Red-Haired Pirates exclaimed, "Snow and ice, it's a Mythical Zoan!"

Looking up, darkness enveloped them, concealing the beast that stood 6 meters tall. Under the faint moonlight, Yelena's figure disappeared, replaced by a terrifying giant beast that dragged a long tail, stood upright, and possessed formidable antlers.

Its face was devoid of any skin, the skull exposed. Its massive antlers, illuminated by the moonlight, resembled branches. The eye sockets were completely hollow, with a faint, scarlet glow flickering within.

Finally, a strange emotion, seemingly directed at humans, began to spread among the crowd...

Louis's mouth twitched at that moment, and a question arose in his mind: was this the Hito Hito no Mi or the Deer-Deer Fruit?