The Giant Bird Returns, Burning!

Dunn was doing something no one else could imitate.

The flames on his body had completely set the nest beneath his feet ablaze.

Deadwood, dry grass, and feathers made the perfect kindling.

In just a moment, the flames had spread throughout the entire nest. Perched atop the giant tree, the burning nest looked like a gigantic torch.

Surrounded by flames, Dunn didn't feel hot at all. In fact, he felt incredibly comfortable.

It was like soaking in a hot spring, his whole body warm and cozy.

Having just acquired this extraordinary power, Dunn genuinely wanted to study the Flame-Flame Fruit's abilities.

But this definitely wasn't the right time.

He'd have to wait until he got back down to the ground before examining it.

Still, Dunn could imagine that if he relied solely on the Flame-Flame Fruit's power, he'd probably end up like Ace.

Ace had become a renowned powerhouse of the sea through his Devil Fruit abilities, but his reliance on the Flame-Flame Fruit and neglect of Haki had made him seem weak.

Of course, maybe the version he ate was to blame.

Devil Fruit abilities, Haki, swordsmanship, and physical conditioning—all of them needed to be improved if he got the chance.

Standing amid the blazing flames, Dunn pondered.

Haki in particular. You didn't have to be the best, but you couldn't go without it.

He just didn't know whether a transmigrator like him could learn this skill.

After all, he wasn't a native of this world.

If he couldn't learn it, maybe he'd have to find somewhere in the Four Blues to lie low.

For a while, Dunn's thoughts grew tangled.

Then a cracking sound rang out. Dunn caught an incredibly tempting aroma, unmistakable among the smell of burning material.

Without thinking, Dunn took a step forward. The raging flames drew back and converged around him.

His gaze fell on the three eggs in the middle of the nest.

The blue eggshells had charred. One had cracked open from the heat, revealing egg white roasted to a golden brown.

The mouthwatering scent lingered beneath his nose. Dunn couldn't help swallowing as he walked over.

He'd been in this world for some time, and aside from a Devil Fruit, he hadn't eaten a thing. And even though he'd eaten the entire fruit, it had melted away as soon as it entered his stomach.

In short, it hadn't filled him up.

So Dunn went over to the giant egg with its charred shell split open. He broke off a piece of the blackened shell, then dug out some of the egg white, golden on the outside and tender within.

After just one bite, Dunn felt that nothing he'd ever eaten before could compare.

And he'd just eaten a Devil Fruit, too.

An indescribable sense of bliss welled up inside him.

When you were hungry, getting to eat something delicious was just about the happiest feeling in the world.

But Dunn had only managed a few bites when he heard a piercing bird cry from the distance. His body jolted, and he whipped around toward the sound.

A huge bird with brilliantly colored feathers was flying this way, its wings spread wide.

Its piercing cries rang out again and again.

Crap!

He'd burned down someone's home and eaten their children. What was going to happen now?

Almost instinctively, Dunn looked for somewhere to hide.

But the giant bird was moving too fast. In just a few breaths, it was above the nest, like a supersonic fighter jet accompanied by a terrifying roar of wind.

Dunn spotted the approaching giant bird.

Its feathers were dazzling, and its wings spread over the nest, blotting out the sky.

Its head looked like a dinosaur's, except it had a bird's beak.

Boom!

The giant bird landed right on the nest, seemingly not caring that it had been burned.

Anger filled its enormous eyes as it glared at Dunn, who still held a piece of egg white in his hand.

I'm done!

That was Dunn's first thought when he saw the giant bird.

What the hell is that thing?

That was his second thought.

The bird's appearance really challenged his understanding of the world. But then he remembered that this was the world of pirates.

Oh. Never mind, then.

Even with the giant bird's hateful gaze fixed on him, Dunn couldn't help letting his thoughts wander.

Humans really did wait until the coffin was in sight before they shed a tear.

Roar!

The giant bird suddenly opened its beak and bellowed at Dunn.

In an instant, a gale carrying the stench of fish slammed into him.

Before Dunn could even react to the stink, the nest—which still had a few flames burning—burst into flames again in the gale.

The giant bird, standing in the nest, was startled by the sudden blaze.

But then it grew even angrier. Its long neck and head swung down like a gigantic meteor hammer, smashing into the nest.

"Aw, shit—!"

Dunn hadn't expected the bird to be so reckless. Didn't it care about its three chicks?

Even if they were already cooked.

Dunn and the entire nest were sent flying. The nest broke apart in midair, sending countless glittering golden objects scattering in every direction.

Boom!

Flames surged around Dunn, setting the dead branches and other debris falling alongside him alight.

In an instant, a gigantic fireball more than ten meters across appeared in the sky.

The giant bird, having smashed apart its own nest, spread its wings and charged at the fireball, bringing a gale with it.

The giant bird slammed into the fireball, which burst apart in a shower of sparks.

Behind the giant bird's burning back, Dunn's body re-formed. Floating in the air, he felt his strength draining away.

As expected, reconstituting his body after turning into an element consumed stamina.

When the giant bird had smashed apart the fireball he'd formed from the burning debris, he'd felt it clearly.

How could he kill this bird?

Now they were locked in a fight to the death. One of them had to die before it would end.

But killing a monster this huge wouldn't be easy.

Dunn had only just had the thought when a gigantic mouth lined with countless teeth lunged at him.

Oh, right.

Birds could turn their necks all the way around.

That was the only thought Dunn had after he was swallowed.

Boom!

The moment it swallowed Dunn, flames spewed from the bird's beak like a blast from a flamethrower.

The giant bird, still in midair, let out a mournful cry and crashed to the ground, thrashing and rolling desperately.

As it rolled, the flames on its body set everything around it ablaze.

"Boys, see that? There's gotta be treasure over there!"

Not far from the burning island, a pirate ship was speeding toward it. The speaker was a pirate holding a cutlass, standing at the bow and shouting excitedly.

"Yeah!"

The pirates on board immediately cheered.

They'd seen the huge torch blazing on the island from far away, then the sea of flames. And in the sunlight, they'd spotted countless golden glimmers falling in the distance.

It had to be treasure.

Wasn't that why people went to sea and became pirates?

So the fearless pirates charged toward the island.

As for the enraged giant bird that had just flown back, no one had seen it.

Then the pirate ship drew close to the island, and the pirates aboard were immediately drawn to the countless golden glimmers scattered across the beach.

Treasure!