"Splash!"
Water splattered over the enormous serpent.
"Orochi-sama, please forgive me!!"
The half-clothed maid prostrated herself on the ground, trembling in terror.
"..."
Ignoring the frightened maid, Kurozumi Orochi narrowed his eyes and stared toward the source of the disturbance, deep in thought.
"Kaido... what the hell is he up to this time?"
...
"Hold on!!!"
A mechanical arm extended from the crater, revealing a small red pill at its center.
"Hold on! This thing is important!!"
Seeing that the fight had paused, Queen cautiously poked his head out, eyeing his elder brother's darkened expression as he spoke carefully.
"This thing grants a fraction of the power of an awakened Zoan."
"Oh?"
Kaido's lips curled into a cruel grin as he spoke coldly.
"Eat it."
Even if this was an emergency, nothing justified an interruption.
'Damn that bull-headed bastard!'
Realizing he had no way out, Queen tilted his head back and swallowed his prize.
For the first time, despite his mechanical enhancements, Queen could feel the flesh-and-blood part of his body react violently.
It was like being reborn—an instinctual thrill surged through him.
"ROAR!!!"
With a deafening bellow, Queen's body swelled at an alarming rate. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a towering, 15-meter-tall brachiosaurus!
His sheer size alone was enough to strike fear into the hearts of onlookers.
But the changes didn't stop there. Queen could feel the secret medicine still coursing through him.
His body continued to expand. His strength surged—no, it exploded.
The sheer power coursing through him filled Queen with overwhelming confidence.
"Damn you! I told you it was important! Fine! Watch and witness the fusion of science and Devil Fruit abilities!!!"
Queen launched into action.
With a series of mechanical clicks and whirs, his head and tail detached from his body and connected, forming a snake-like construct.
The torso left behind emitted a powerful energy surge.
"QUEEN: BRACHIOSAURUS LAUNCHER!!!"
A high-powered explosive shot toward Kaido, engulfing him in flames and deafening explosions.
Queen dived into the smoke, his entire body covered in Armament Haki. Like a massive python strangling its prey, he coiled tightly around Kaido, who hadn't even tried to dodge.
"Mwahaha! This is my latest invention! How do you like it now?! How does it feel?!"
The sounds of bones cracking and muscles straining filled the air.
"Worororo... Not bad. You actually made me feel something."
Rather than anger, Kaido seemed pleased with the force Queen was exerting.
However—
That was all it was. Just a bit of pain.
More importantly, Kaido noticed something in Queen's eyes.
A blood-red gleam.
His intelligence had dropped. The old Queen would never have dared to shove his head so close.
"Pain?"
Queen's expression twisted in rage. What kind of joke was this?! He was invincible now!
"Black Flame!"
A searing laser began charging in Queen's mouth.
"Zzzzt! Zzzzt!"
A nerve-wracking screech filled the air.
Kaido flexed, gradually prying Queen's coils apart.
With one powerful motion, he seized the small tuft of hair on Queen's head.
His other hand slammed into Queen's jaw with crushing force.
"BOOM!"
"AARRRGH!!!"
The impact sent Queen's head snapping backward, a painful howl escaping his lips.
Half of his steel fangs shattered instantly, his lower jaw warping grotesquely.
"Show me your awakened form!!!"
Kaido tightened his grip on Queen's hair, mustering all his strength before slamming Queen's massive body into the ground.
"BOOM!"
The beautifully decorated floor of the pleasure district cracked apart as Queen's head was buried in the rubble.
Before he could react, Kaido swung him around like a ragdoll, repeatedly smashing him against the ground.
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
The relentless impacts echoed throughout the Flower Capital, as if a god of the forge was hammering a divine weapon into shape.
The spectators, who had been roused by the shockwaves, paled in horror.
At this rate, even a modified brachiosaurus like Queen wouldn't last!
"As expected, Kaido-sama is the strongest!"
"What did Queen-sama do to deserve this?"
"Who cares! I'm calling King!"
"Kaido-sama, please have mercy on Queen-sama!!!"
"..."
But neither combatant paid them any mind.
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
Without its head, Queen's body suddenly bolted in the opposite direction, running away at full speed.
The sight left the onlookers dumbfounded.
"Q-Queen?! Queen-sama's body is running away!!!"
"..."
Before they could process what was happening, the sound of rapid movement approached again—
And it was getting faster.
Queen's headless body had built up speed, its massive limbs pounding the earth as it charged straight for Kaido. Each step sent tremors through the ground, kicking up a storm of dust.
"BRACHIOSAURUS BOMB!"
Like a cannonball, the enormous brachiosaurus launched itself at Kaido.
It was like a tank crashing straight into his chest.
"Ugh!"
"BOOM!"
Kaido let out a grunt as the sheer force sent him flying backward, slamming through the wall behind him. Smoke and debris scattered in all directions.
"Mwahaha! Merge!"
Queen's head and tail reattached to his body, forming a colossal, 25-meter-tall brachiosaurus standing proudly.
Gazing at the dust-shrouded silhouette of Kaido, Queen let out a triumphant laugh.
"This is the power of science and Devil Fruit combined!!!"
"Then show me... have you actually grown? Or is this your limit?"
Kaido emerged from the rubble, a slight scratch on his chest the only visible damage.
He picked up his kanabo, its surface gleaming as it became coated in flowing, pulsating Haki.
"If this is all you've got..."
Kaido grinned menacingly, his beast-man form revealing scaled dragon features.
"Say goodbye to red bean soup for the next month."
Queen's bloodshot eyes widened in disbelief. His crude, brutish big captain—was resorting to such a dirty trick?!
His rationality burned away instantly.
"ROAR!!!"
His bestial instincts and human mind aligned under one singular purpose.
He reared onto his hind legs—not the usual hybrid form, but something new.
A fusion—beast and machine in perfect harmony.
His shattered steel fangs regenerated at an accelerated pace.
Muscles intertwined with steel, his body forming a series of powerful, interlocking segments.
His mechanical claws bristled with raw, organic strength.
Driven by instinct, he lunged at Kaido.
"Worororo! Now that's more like it."
Kaido laughed heartily. There were some flaws, but he could see Queen's potential.
He bent his knees and launched himself skyward.
The pleasure district's ruined rooftops shattered beneath him.
"THUNDEROUS IMPACT!"
Electricity crackled around his kanabo, forming an orb of blinding light.
To the onlookers, it seemed as though their leader held a ball of pure energy.
Kaido roared, swinging his club with full force.
"EIGHT TRIGRAMS!!!"
"CRACK!"
Queen's mechanical arm snapped in two. His skull took the full brunt of the strike.
In an instant of clarity, he remembered—he was just here to deliver a pill.
His massive form crashed into the ground like a falling meteor.
From above, a black-winged figure silently observed.
"Worororo!" Kaido grinned in satisfaction.
Thud! King landed beside him.
"What stupid thing did Queen do this time?"
Kaido sighed.
"He was testing something. When he wakes up, bring him to me."
-----------
+220 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg