On the far side—
Atop the mountain behind Raven Harbor.
The jagged terrain stretched outward in every direction. From the summit, the vast sea came into view, its waves crashing rhythmically against the rocky shore, sending up sprays of pure white foam.
"Ha!"
Nami swung the bamboo sword in her hands, her stance and gaze showing faint traces of a trained swordsman.
Gawain, watching from a distance, nodded to himself in silent approval.
Her talent exceeded his expectations.
Though she had yet to break through the bottleneck of the Black Iron tier, if she maintained this pace, there was a real chance she might regain her former strength.
For self-defense alone—especially as a navigator usually stationed at the rear—this level of ability was more than sufficient.
After all—
If an enemy had already breached the formation enough to target the navigator and other support members, then the battle was already as good as lost.
Satisfied with Nami's progress, Gawain turned to leave, planning to find a place to practice his Armament Haki.
He had just taken a step when he froze—his attention drawn by the sight of a beautiful figure approaching swiftly in the distance.
"Captain Gawain! I've discovered the true identity of that Devil Fruit!"
Grayza's voice reached him with urgency and excitement.
The corners of Gawain's lips curled into a faint smile.
This was the moment he had been anticipating—the revelation of the mysterious Devil Fruit's true power.
Without hesitation, he quickened his pace, meeting Grayza halfway. She immediately handed him an old, worn picture book.
Its pages were yellowed with age, but one was opened to a hand-drawn illustration of a Devil Fruit.
Though faded, the sketch of the thorny, horned fruit was instantly recognizable. It was the very one in Gawain's possession.
He read the name aloud, his voice steady but tinged with awe:
"Zoan-type—Dragon Dragon Fruit—Mythical Beast Class—Red Dragon Form."
"Dragon?" he murmured, then paused.
There was more.
His eyes landed on a note scrawled in the margins—clearly added by a later owner. While Grayza and the others might have dismissed it as a prank, Gawain felt an instinctive chill run down his spine.
It wasn't a joke.
It was a warning.
"The Immortal Evil God…"
How could a dragon be called a god?
Unlike the Sun God Nika, this fruit didn't represent a divine symbol in and of itself. It earned that fearsome title purely through the overwhelming violence of its power.
In an instant, Gawain reached a conclusion that resonated deep within his soul.
This fruit—this power—was meant for him.
The fruit chooses its wielder, and now it had fallen into his hands. This was fate.
It's you.
With that thought, he completely abandoned his training plans.
In a flash, Gawain vanished from the mountaintop, leaving Grayza and Nami behind.
Just minutes later—
He returned to his room.
From the treasure chest beneath the table, he carefully retrieved the thorny, horned fruit.
One last comparison with the picture book confirmed the match.
Then, without hesitation, he sank his teeth into it.
—Hot!
The moment the pulp touched his tongue, Gawain's face flushed deep red. A searing pain exploded in his mouth, as if magma had poured straight into his stomach.
He grabbed a jug of water and drank desperately, managing to suppress the burning sensation.
But that pain was merely the beginning.
Before he could even catch his breath, his body began to expand—rapidly.
In seconds, the room he stood in was obliterated as his form ballooned in size.
And then it happened—
Crimson scales spread across his skin. His brown eyes turned a pale, radiant gold. Two curved horns sprouted from his forehead.
Wings burst from his back, wide enough to block out the sun.
When the transformation ended, a colossal red dragon stood where the room once was—nearly 30 meters tall at the shoulder, and over 100 meters long from snout to tail.
The buildings beneath him lay crushed into rubble.
"!!!???"
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then—
Screams erupted throughout the harbor. Civilians scattered in every direction, terrified by the monstrous figure that loomed before them.
Cargo ships that had just docked instantly reversed course, their engines roaring at full throttle as they fled out to sea.
They didn't dare delay.
One moment of hesitation could mean being swallowed whole.
The port guards arrived in a panic. But upon seeing the red dragon, they froze in place.
Only one word escaped their lips:
"Dragon!"
No other explanation could express the overwhelming terror they felt. Their trembling legs and the spreading wetness around their waists told the rest.
Boom!
From the rubble, Kuro struggled to stand, coughing up dust. He glanced at the claw blade in his hand, then at the towering red dragon in the distance.
Already, he was calculating the best escape route to minimize losses.
Then, a familiar voice echoed through the air:
"It's me."
"Gawain?!"
Kuro stared at the massive creature, stunned. The sheer absurdity of the scene robbed him of speech.
Even his glasses had slipped off, dangling crookedly on his nose.
"Gawain…? That form..."
Suddenly, realization struck.
His pupils shrank.
"Devil Fruit?"
"This is the one Grayza gave you?!"
He turned to the cat brothers, who had also risen from the debris and entered their hybrid forms.
But compared to the red dragon before them, their four-meter-tall bodies seemed laughable.
No.
Not even close.
Compared to Gawain's form, they were smaller than house cats.
And if the legends were true—flames, lightning, frost—the red dragon likely wielded far more destructive powers.
The cats? They were just cats.
"You're telling me you ate the same thing?!"
"Are you kidding me?!"
Kuro was completely defeated.
He hadn't been able to win before. Now, with a mythical beast towering over him?
What was he supposed to do?!
Gawain, still struggling to fully control his new power, remained in his beast form. His glowing golden eyes shimmered with amusement.
"Even among humans, talent differs. The same is true for Devil Fruits."
"Besides," he added, "Mythical beasts come with special abilities…"
He looked around, recalling the destructive powers attributed to the Red Dragon.
But this wasn't the place.
If he released that energy here, the entire port would become a barren wasteland.
Instead, he turned to Kuro and smiled.
"How about it? Want to reconsider?"
"One bite is all it takes."
"It'll give you true power."
Kuro's face twisted in exasperation.
"I told you—who in their right mind would eat something like that?!"
Just then, Gin, who had rushed over from the training ground, caught the last bit of their conversation.
He shot a sideways glance at Kuro, clearly wanting to say something—but held back.
Gawain looked at the two men and said calmly:
"I'm heading out to test this new power. Handle things here at the port."
"Yeah, yeah," Kuro grumbled, waving him off.
But even as he spoke, his gaze drifted to a tattered devil fruit encyclopedia lying in a corner.
Just a peek wouldn't count as breaking my word… right?