Dog-Dog Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Nine-Tailed Fox Model

"The captain... the captain was..."

"One move?! Captain Angelica, whose bounty exceeded a hundred million, was taken down in one move..."

"The ship... the ship's sinking! Save us!"

"Spare us! Please, sir, spare us! We have money! We'll give it all to you! Please let us go!"

The surviving pirates with lighter injuries looked at the demonic figure aboard the steamship, so terrified that their wits fled as they wailed and begged for mercy.

Dawn remained expressionless, his gaze icy cold. Step by step, he crossed the gangplank and boarded the pirate ship, which was slowly listing. He had no pity whatsoever for these uninvited guests who had interrupted his "good time" and witnessed his abilities.

"Sorry, but I've never had a habit of sparing people who come and ruin my mood when I'm feeling good."

Dawn turned into a streak of golden lightning and charged into the surviving pirates. His fists carried terrifying power; every swing was accompanied by the dreadful sound of shattering bones and the end of a pirate's life.

These pirates, who were vicious fiends before ordinary people, were like paper toys before Dawn, unable to withstand a single blow.

Chests collapsed, blood sprayed from mouths, and bodies fell dead to the deck. Dawn's movements were clean and efficient, without the slightest hesitation. Like the Grim Reaper descending, he harvested lives with ruthless efficiency.

Like the Grim Reaper, he efficiently and coldly cleared every life from the deck. Whether they were still howling, trying to resist, or hiding in corners and trembling in fear, none escaped. He precisely and swiftly dealt each of them another blow, ending their lives completely.

Even the long-nosed little girl crouching in the shadow of the mast, secretly watching him with venomous eyes, received no mercy from him because of her young age.

In his eyes, enemies were not divided by gender or age. There were only living threats and dead corpses. With one punch, the future Crescent Moon Hunter with countless sins to her name withered before she could bloom.

He even casually found a wooden box of unknown contents in a barrel beside Devon's hiding place.

Without even looking at the wooden box, Dawn tossed it aside. He quickly looted the sinking ship, stuffing every Beli he could find, gold and silver jewelry, some decent-looking food and liquor, as well as the wooden box, into a large sack he had found.

Then, hoisting the heavy sack over his shoulder, he made several nimble leaps and returned to the steamship before seawater completely flooded the deck.

Behind him, the pirate ship laden with sin and death let out one final groan before slowly sinking into the cold sea, leaving behind only broken planks and whirlpools to prove it had ever existed.

More than ten minutes later, in the steamship's dining room.

Dawn sat at the table, silently eating to replenish the energy he had expended in the fight. Stella stood nearby, quietly sorting through the spoils in the bulging sack Dawn had brought back.

The two of them tacitly avoided mentioning what had happened before the battle began.

Still, as Stella sorted the items, her gaze would involuntarily drift toward Dawn. Her eyes were complicated, carrying a trace of curiosity, a trace of fear, and perhaps an indescribable emotion.

Clatter.

She accidentally knocked over the wooden box taken from the long-nosed little girl. It fell to the floor, its lid popping open, and a strangely shaped fruit rolled out.

The fruit's skin was brown, and it lacked the stem ordinary fruits should have. Instead, nine green stalks and leaves resembling fox tails grew from its top.

The peel was covered in mysterious spiral patterns, and the entire fruit emitted an indescribably eerie aura.

The commotion drew Dawn's attention. When he saw the fruit clearly, his eating motion paused slightly. He bent down, picked it up, and examined it closely before his eyes. That unique shape, those strange patterns... there was no doubt about it. This was a Devil Fruit!

No stem... nine leaves at the top...

Dawn's mind raced as he recalled the knowledge from the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia in his memories from his past life. He remembered that most Devil Fruits had stems, though their shapes varied wildly. As for fruits without stems, the only one he could recall seemed to be...

Zoan: Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Yamata no Orochi Model.

Then, judging from the color of this fruit and the obvious fox-tail-shaped leaves on top...

It was most likely a Mythical Zoan related to foxes.

His expression grew solemn as he sank into thought. Seeing Dawn's serious expression, Stella thought she had caused trouble. Like a startled deer, she lowered her head and did not dare speak, looking as though she had done something wrong.

Then, a flash of inspiration struck Dawn! He remembered the long-nosed little girl he had casually killed earlier!

The situation had been urgent, so he had not thought much about it then. But now that he recalled it carefully, that little girl's traits—her prominent long nose, her being female...

There seemed to be very few long-nosed female characters in the original story. Other than Usopp's mother Banchina, there was only... the future Crescent Moon Hunter of the Blackbeard Pirates—Catarina Devon!

And Catarina Devon's Devil Fruit ability was...

At that thought, Dawn had already made his decision. He called out to Stella, who looked somewhat at a loss after knocking over the box.

"Stella."

"Ah? Yes!"

Stella hurriedly answered, like a startled little rabbit.

Dawn straightened up and held the strange fruit out before Stella. His tone allowed no refusal.

"This. Eat it."

Stella's beautiful eyes instantly widened. She hurriedly waved her hands and backed away.

"N-No! This is too precious! A Devil Fruit... this is..."

She had seen too many World Nobles at Red Port use Devil Fruits to amuse themselves by feeding them to slaves, or make absurd wagers with them. She knew full well that they were worth a fortune.

"Eat it."

Dawn gave her no room to refuse. He had long intended to have Stella consume a Devil Fruit to improve her ability to protect herself, but he had never found a suitable one.

Now, this top-tier fruit, very likely a Mythical Zoan, had fallen right into his hands. It was a heaven-sent opportunity. Without another word, he stepped forward, pinched Stella's chin with one hand and forced her small mouth open, then directly stuffed the fruit inside with the other!

"Mmph! Mmph—!"

Stella struggled futilely, crying out in broken fragments,

"Stop... don't...!"

Dawn remained unmoved. He applied more force, making her chew and swallow. Only after confirming that Stella had swallowed the entire fruit did he release her.

"Urgh..."

The moment Stella regained her freedom, she bent over and gagged, but the fruit was already in her stomach, and she could not spit anything out.

She raised her head and glared at Dawn furiously, her cheeks flushed from her struggle and anger.

"What are you doing?! I wasn't mentally prepared yet! It tasted awful!"

Dawn looked into her eyes. His tone was calm, yet his concern was impossible to deny.

"I just want you to have the strength to protect yourself. The sea is dangerous, and I can't be by your side every moment. I don't want to see you hurt in any way."

This sudden concern instantly choked off all of Stella's resentment. She stared blankly at Dawn, the blush on her cheeks seeming to deepen as her heart skipped a beat.

Dawn suddenly grabbed Stella's hand and pressed it against his firm chest.

"Now, focus and feel your ability. Try... imagining yourself becoming me."

He needed to confirm whether this was truly the fruit he suspected. The difference between an ordinary Zoan transformation and the special ability of a Mythical Zoan was enormous.

The warmth of Dawn's chest and his powerful heartbeat seeped into her palm. Stella tried to pull her hand back as though burned, but Dawn held it firmly in place.

Though she found the request strange, she still obediently closed her eyes, focused with all her strength, and imagined Dawn's appearance.

With a soft pop, a cloud of pink smoke abruptly burst from Stella's body and enveloped her entirely. The smoke quickly dispersed, and where Stella had been standing, another "Dawn" had appeared.

The same long golden hair, the same aqua-blue eyes, the same handsome face and tall build—even the clothing was exactly identical!

"Th-This is?!"

Stella, transformed into Dawn, instinctively spoke. Even her voice was identical to Dawn's. Shocked, she stared at her hands, touched her own face, and could not help crying out.

"This is incredible! I really turned into you!"

The corners of Dawn's lips rose uncontrollably. In his heart, he was already certain.

Just as expected! This fruit was the Zoan: Dog-Dog Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Nine-Tailed Fox Model!

The ability to perfectly imitate another person's appearance, physique, clothes, and even voice was precisely the signature ability of the Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit.

"Change back."

Upon receiving the command, Stella willed it to happen, and the pink smoke around her flashed and vanished once more. But this time, she did not completely return to normal.

A pair of fluffy fox ears quietly emerged from within her cascading hair, twitching slightly.

Behind her shapely rear, nine fox tails unfurled and swayed gently, adding endless allure and charm to her figure.

A beast-eared girl! A living, breathing beast-eared girl!

Dawn's eyes instantly lit up. Almost instinctively, he reached out and gently stroked the nearest of Stella's fox tails.

"Ah!"

Stella let out a startled cry. Her tail shrank back sensitively, and her entire face instantly turned crimson, even the tips of her ears dyed scarlet. She shyly took a small step back, her voice as soft as a mosquito's.

"D-Don't... don't do that... it tickles..."

That soft, silky, warm, fluffy sensation made Dawn reluctant to let go. But seeing Stella look so embarrassed that she seemed about to steam, he restrained himself and withdrew his hand. He gave a light cough, hiding the turmoil in his heart as he spoke with feigned calm.

"Ahem... You've got a basic grasp of the ability. Tonight, familiarize yourself with this power properly, especially controlling your transformations, tails, and ears."

Dawn turned around and walked toward the dining room entrance with apparent composure, never mentioning the "good time" that had been interrupted earlier.

It was not that he had suddenly become some unshakable paragon of virtue. Rather, a thought stopped him—what if, while they were getting intimate, Stella got emotionally excited or failed to control her ability and suddenly transformed into his appearance...

The image was too beautiful. He simply did not dare imagine it! Better wait until she could completely control her ability.

Stella watched Dawn's departing back vanish through the doorway. She unconsciously touched her burning cheeks, then lowered her head to look at the nine fluffy tails swaying restlessly behind her. Her beautiful eyes shimmered with complicated, indecipherable emotions.

There was shyness, confusion, and uncertainty about the future, but more than anything, there was a warmth quietly taking root within her, one she had not even noticed herself, along with a tiny glimmer of hope. She gently clenched the hem of her clothes and murmured in a voice only she could hear.

"Thank you..."

TO BE CONTINUED

(PS: I know some people will probably question whether Stella's potential makes her unworthy of a Mythical Zoan, but is it possible that potential can be improved through technological means, such as through a certain Curly Brow?)