On the deck.
Yake felt a little uneasy under Robin's gaze. Robin-chan wasn't jealous, was she? Sigh, having too much charm was troublesome too, Yake thought narcissistically.
"You enjoyed that just now, didn't you?" Robin suddenly asked.
"Of course... not. Reiju was just helping me suck out the poison. Robin-chan, you're not jealous, are you? Come here, I'm willing to give you a passionate kiss! Ah, ow, ow, ow!"
Robin irritably stomped hard on Yake's foot with her high heel, then turned and left.
"Yake-sama, if you want a kiss, Anna can do it too, meow!" Anna closed her eyes and puckered her lips just like the others, asking Yake for a kiss.
"Haha, Anna, you're so cute! Uh... let's talk about it when you're grown up!" Yake vigorously ruffled Anna's head. Anna immediately began enjoying Yake's caresses; after all, his cat-petting skills were excellent.
"Perona, do you want one too?"
"Ahhh, no! Pervert Captain!!!"
Yake strode proudly into the captain's quarters, set the ship in motion, and left Punk Hazard. Their next stop would be Gold City for some fun.
That night, when all was quiet.
Yake took out the Artificial Devil Fruit he had obtained on Punk Hazard and placed it in his palm.
"System, use the Devil Fruit Enhancement Card!"
"Ding. A defective Devil Fruit has been detected. This enhancement will repair the Devil Fruit."
"Repair it!"
Yake stared tensely at the fruit in his hand.
"Repair successful. Congratulations, you have obtained a complete Devil Fruit: Fish-Fish Fruit—Mythical Zoan: Azure Dragon Form."
The fruit in his hand changed shape, becoming no different from a normal Devil Fruit. Yake took a deep breath.
"Use... the Devil Fruit Fusion Card."
"No valid Devil Fruit detected. Would you like to fuse it with the Devil Fruit energy within your body?"
"Confirm!!"
"Fusion in progress!"
The fruit in his hand began merging into Yake's body. He immediately felt changes taking place within him. Scales began growing over his body, his nails became sharp, and the top of his head itched as though something were growing out.
"This is bad, I'm transforming directly into dragon form. Damn it!"
Yake hurriedly teleported outside the ship and arrived above the sea.
Yake's body continuously writhed and expanded. After several breaths, he transformed into a colossal dragon a thousand meters long. His body was like a long serpent's, with a qilin's head, a carp's tail, long whiskers on his face, deer-like antlers, and five claws. He was entirely azure-blue, a standard Chinese dragon.
Yake felt invincible now. His physical strength had risen by several levels, and his body brimmed with explosive power and inexhaustible stamina.
"What happened?"
"What's going on?!"
"Th-th-that's a dragon!!!"
"Where is Yake-sama?"
The commotion caused by Yake's dragon form woke everyone aboard the ship. They rushed onto the deck and witnessed a sight they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
Above the sea, a giant dragon blotted out the sky. Before it, Robin and the others seemed as tiny as grains of sand. Suddenly, the dragon noticed them, opened its bloodthirsty maw, roared, and charged toward them, seemingly intending to swallow the Eternal Truth whole.
"Where's the Captain? If he doesn't come soon, we're all dead! Waaaaah!" Perona was so frightened that she burst into tears.
"I-I don't know..."
Just as the dragon's head was about to touch the ship, the giant dragon vanished in an instant. Yake landed steadily on the deck in a Terminator-style landing pose.
"Well? Was that cool or what?"
When no one responded for a long time, Yake looked around and realized Perona and Anna had already fainted from fright. Robin pointed at Yake, unable to say anything for a long while, while Reiju covered her mouth in shock.
"Captain, you're not wearing pants..."
"Nani?!"
Yake hurriedly elementalized his lower body, easing the awkward atmosphere somewhat. Damn it, why did Zoan users in anime still have their pants when they transformed, but his disappeared?
Yake: Looking online for a pair of Chopper's or Hulk's pants. Urgent.
"Captain, that giant dragon... was that you? Aren't you a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user?"
Robin had countless questions she wanted Yake to answer, but he merely waved his hand.
"Tomorrow. It's already late, so get Perona and Anna settled down."
"I'm going to sleep first."
Yake vanished from where he stood in an instant.
"Captain..."
"Forget it, Robin. The Captain will tell us tomorrow. Let's get some rest first!"
Reiju carried Anna back to their room. Robin had no choice but to give up and pick up Perona.
Captain's quarters.
Yake was studying his abilities.
"Fusion successful. Current Devil Fruit ability: Zoan: Fish-Fish Fruit—Mythical Zoan: Azure Dragon (Lightning Element) Form."
After the Devil Fruits fused, the two different types of Devil Fruit merged perfectly. Not only did he possess the Zoan's terrifying vitality and regenerative ability, but he could also freely use the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's powers in any form. Even as a giant dragon, he could still elementalize himself and render ordinary physical attacks useless. There was simply no need to do so.
It also seemed that he had awakened directly and could freely switch between three forms. Yake was not surprised, though. He had already developed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to the point of awakening, so it merely saved him some time.
Yake had everything Kaido had, and things Kaido did not have as well. Though his size had not changed much, the energy contained within his body could not be underestimated. Yake unilaterally declared that the title of strongest creature on land, sea, and air was changing hands.
Yake tried out his dragon-man form in the room. Sure enough, it differed from Kaido's. The scales, horns, claws, and other features that grew in dragon-man form looked like... solidified lightning? It was somewhat similar to the Susanoo Form he had developed before. Fortunately, he had not turned into that ugly Kaido look.
In dragon-man form, he was at his strongest. It balanced speed and power while also allowing him to combine all kinds of abilities developed from the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. He could be called a top-tier all-round fighter.
"The plan can change. I can directly take Robin and the others to Skypiea, hahaha!" Yake realized he could simply store the Eternal Truth in his inventory, then transform into an Azure Dragon and carry Robin and the others directly to Skypiea.
If he encountered Whitebeard again, Yake was confident he could wear Whitebeard to death. What he wanted more now was a one-on-one endurance battle between real men with Kaido, so Teacher Kaido could teach him more skills. Some things could not be learned just by watching anime, like Conqueror's Haki Infusion. He would go find Teacher Kaido for a fight someday. Yake immediately made up his mind.
The next day.
Yake had been rather excited the previous night, so he went to sleep late.
"Good morning, ladies!"
When he arrived in the dining room, he found that breakfast was already prepared, with food piled everywhere. Yake happened to be hungry, so he dug in without restraint.
"Captain, don't you have something to say?"
Robin, Reiju, and the others looked at Yake expectantly.
"Burp~"
Yake let out a full burp before slowly saying,
"I ate the fruit I found on Punk Hazard and gained the ability to transform into a giant dragon."
Robin frowned. "Can't a person only eat one Devil Fruit?"
"Normally, yes. But my constitution is special. After I ate that fruit, the energy of the two Devil Fruits somehow fused together. That was why I transformed into a giant dragon, just as you saw."
"What a monster, Captain. Doesn't that mean you're even stronger now?"
"That's right. It's the same ability as one of the Four Emperors, Beast Kaido, but my ability will only be stronger than his! Hahaha!"
Yake did not tell the truth. The system absolutely could not be exposed, and besides, anything could happen out at sea.
Without realizing it, the Captain had already become this strong. I have to keep up with Yake instead of remaining sheltered beneath his wings.
Those were the thoughts in Robin and Reiju's hearts at that moment.