Fierce Beast

Fruits have an inherent hierarchy. Even if there's no such thing as a "strongest fruit," it still proves one thing.

That is, fruits also have potential.

A powerful fruit naturally has greater potential than those that are relatively useless.

The fruit Dawn consumed was formed by the fusion of two Paramecia fruits.

Looking at the abilities of these two fruits separately, they weren't actually that weak—especially for a transmigrator with imagination like Dawn.

Dawn had an incredibly bold idea.

So before deciding to eat the fruit, he hesitated a bit.

But Dawn still gambled!

For that, he risked the possibility that his "bold idea" might never come true.

He also prepared for the worst—that he might only gain one of the two fruit abilities, or even end up with a weakened, garbage-tier power due to some negative effect!

But thankfully, he won the bet!

And now, the most important thing was to focus on developing the fruit and bringing to life the ability he envisioned—one that could only be described as insane.

A month later, Dawn was constantly weaving through the forest, with a ferocious carnivorous Sea King hot on his heels.

"ROAR!!"

A domineering roar shattered the peace of this food-filled island, startling countless birds into flight.

Though it interrupted their meal, these noticeably plumper birds might actually benefit from the life-threatening danger—choosing to flee the island and escape with their lives, turning misfortune into fortune.

In the forest, all kinds of creatures—except for those confident in their own strength, like other Fierce Beasts that kept eating without a care—had hidden themselves away.

The owner of this roar made them tremble in fear. As they hid, they couldn't help but wonder: who was so bored that, in a place full of delicious food, they'd rather provoke this kind of Fierce Beast than eat and drink?

Meanwhile, Dawn, surrounded by a blue ring of light, easily dodged the Fierce Beast's swinging claws and snapping jaws, evading the frenzied attacks with ease.

After all, compared to this massive carnivore, even though he'd grown quite a bit, Dawn was still just a six- or seven-year-old—far too small. So small that even when he passed right by its side, the beast couldn't be bothered to eat him, given the abundance of food on this island.

But judging by the unnatural state of a certain indescribable part of the giant beast's lower body...

One could guess what Dawn had done with the "Red Ring" to provoke such heaven-and-earth-offending wrath, making this Fierce Beast abandon its food to chase him.

Right, the "Red Ring" was what Dawn called the "Power Aura," because it was red when activated. The "Speed Aura," being blue, was called the "Blue Ring."

He named them this way for two reasons: first, for convenience; second, to conceal the abilities' effects, preventing enemies from quickly figuring out his powers in battle.

After all, during a fight, the bizarre abilities of Devil Fruits were something you had to watch out for.

And the first step was to keep your opponent guessing about your ability.

Enough digression—right now, the pain-crazed Fierce Beast was relentlessly chasing Dawn.

But its thick limbs, once covered in brutal muscle lines, were gone. In their place were chubby, almost bloated legs.

Only the expression on its ferocious head showed that it had once been a violent "rage monster." Unfortunately, it was now just a round, slightly adorable meatball.

"ROAR!!" The giant beast kept attacking, but never landed a single hit, constantly being led around by Dawn.

Over time, it grew even more irritable, slamming its fat forelegs down at Dawn's location.

"Power Snatch!"

Taking advantage of the beast's attack, Dawn easily activated the "Blue Ring," quickly ran beneath the giant beast, and punched its lower limb.

Though the punch looked soft and dealt no damage, it actually carried a special attack.

"Power Snatch"—an ability Dawn developed from the "Snatch-Snatch Fruit."

Even though the punch caused no harm, a portion of the giant beast's stamina was drained upon contact.

Part of that stolen stamina was fed back to Dawn, replenishing the energy he'd spent sprinting.

But seeing the beast barely change, Dawn felt a bit helpless.

In truth, teasing this giant beast and leading it around was a last resort.

If the animals on the island weren't so fat that they couldn't even muster the strength to walk—completely useless—Dawn wouldn't be courting death like this.

This giant beast had probably arrived later than those round balls. Though fat, it could still move somewhat.

And its size-induced slowness ensured Dawn's safety.

To test his newly developed ability, Dawn had no choice but to provoke this Fierce Beast.

Otherwise, he would've preferred to pick a smaller Sea Beast or something to test his power on!

Right now, Dawn was beneath the fat beast, constantly dodging its stomping limbs and occasionally landing a punch on its body.

Shrouded in the Speed Aura, Dawn led the fat beast on another lap through the forest. In the process of dodging attacks, he grew more familiar with controlling his speed, and each "Power Snatch" drained more of the beast's stamina.

As the fat Fierce Beast's strength waned, its attack frequency began to drop, while Dawn's attack frequency steadily rose. With this shift in momentum, Dawn gradually gained the upper hand.

"Roar..."

With a weak roar, under the relentless assault of Dawn's developed Devil Fruit ability, the giant Fierce Beast finally lost most of its strength, collapsed unwillingly, and lay on the ground panting heavily.

Dawn leaped onto the head of this fat beast and landed a few more punches, completely draining its stamina.

Then Dawn activated Red Ring to empower himself, drew the sword he'd picked up from the pirates, and with explosive force, drove it deep through the Fierce Beast's eye and into its skull.

"ROAR!!"

Blood splattered across Dawn's body. The searing pain sent the Fierce Beast into violent convulsions.

At that moment, on the outermost edge of the halo surrounding Dawn, a blurry serpentine shape appeared. Looking closely, one could see this snake biting its own tail.

And now, this snake—so faint it was nearly invisible—came to life, coiling toward the giant beast.

As if sensing what was coming, the powerless giant beast began to thrash wildly once more, kicking up clouds of dust.