Pocket Monsters typically undergo three growth stages. For example, the first-generation Starter Trio includes Charmander, Charmeleon, and Charizard, representing the juvenile, adolescent, and adult phases respectively.
Inside Gurd's body, Little Groudon, having consumed ten Artificial Devil Fruits, had completed its first metamorphosis. Its size had dramatically increased, and its entire body was now covered in gleaming, hardened armor.
Juvenile Phase·Groudon!
"Waa waa! (Fight fight)!"
Little Groudon spread its arms and roared triumphantly, gradually exuding the aura of the Overlord of the Land.
Oni Island, rear mountain battlefield.
"Ooooh!!!"
Gurd clenched his fists and growled as an endless surge of power erupted from within him. His skin gradually crystallized—his head, torso, limbs—
By the time the transformation was complete, Gurd looked as though he had donned a set of crimson armor, his wild appearance leaving onlookers stunned.
Transformation·Lightweight Form!
Masked Rider·Gurd, reporting for duty!
In the distance, Page One's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull in shock.
"Such a cool transformation!"
"Wait… is that Gurd?"
"Gurd is a Devil Fruit user?"
After knowing each other for so many years, he had no idea Gurd was also a Devil Fruit user. He couldn't help but feel betrayed by his best friend.
Wait… could it be SMILE?
Considering how many Artificial Devil Fruits Gurd had eaten, it was highly likely that he had awakened his abilities. Page One couldn't help but scream internally—Holy shit!
This luck was just too damn good!
"Even if you awakened your powers, so what? I possess the strongest Ancient Zoan among the Animal types! There's no way I'd lose to a fake!"
"ROAR!"
The Spinosaurus threw its head back and roared, its muscular legs propelling it forward like a battle tank as it charged at Gurd with terrifying force.
"Here he comes."
Gurd's gaze shifted slightly, locking onto the Spinosaurus charging from a hundred meters away. Instead of avoiding its momentum, he laughed and rushed straight toward it!
From walking to sprinting!
Man and beast closed the distance rapidly!
When they were less than ten meters apart, Gurd suddenly leaped into the air. His explosive strength launched him skyward, and his raised arms came crashing down like warhammers!
"So fast!"
Page One's eyes flicked upward, but before he could react, his head was suddenly slammed downward—his chin smashing hard into the ground!
"BOOM!!!"
The earth within a several dozen-meter radius around the Spinosaurus shattered completely, sending countless rock fragments flying into the sky.
A massive plume of dust erupted upward!
"Such overwhelming power—who is responsible?!"
Inside Skull Castle, the resting executives' expressions shifted as they turned their attention toward the disturbance. Though they didn't know what had happened, they could sense the immense shockwave from earlier.
Strong!
Whoosh!
The sound of flapping wings echoed as a flaming pterosaur took flight, heading straight for the battlefield!
Rear mountain, center of the massive crater.
Page One had reverted to his human form, his trembling arms struggling to push himself up from the ground—but he failed repeatedly.
Drip… drip…
Blood continuously splattered onto the earth.
"Don't push yourself."
A familiar voice rang in his ears.
Bastard!
Page One clawed at the ground in frustration.
As an Ancient Zoan user, his greatest strength was his unbelievable endurance—even with severe injuries, he should have been able to stand back up.
Yet he had been defeated in a single strike!
A similar situation had occurred just over a month ago, and for someone as proud as him, it was hard to accept.
"Listen here—"
Gurd crouched down and poked Page One, who still seemed to be struggling, chuckling as he spoke: "You're only 14 and already this strong!"
"I'm 15!"
Page One gritted his teeth to correct him.
In most parts of the world, 15 was considered adulthood, so he didn't need Gurd's pity.
"..."
Gurd didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
What difference did one year make?
After resting for a while, Page One finally recovered somewhat. His injuries weren't too severe—the main issue had been the heavy blow to his head, which temporarily left him unable to control his body.
"Next time, I'll definitely win!"
"Not a chance."
Gurd grinned.
Go easy on him? As if!
The Beasts Pirates weren't some warm, loving family. Pirates fought and killed each other all the time to climb the ranks.
To earn respect, you had to be bold. Keeping a low profile and enduring would only make others look down on you—and make you an easier target for bullying.
Besides, he was only going to get stronger!
Groudon was a true divine beast. In its Primal Form, it could even create continents barehanded, surpassing even the strongest Mythical Zoans. The only downside was the massive amount of natural energy it required.
What was an Ancient Zoan compared to that?
"Still not enough!"
Gurd reflected on his earlier transformation.
Though it looked cool—like he was clad in crimson armor—most of his body remained human, equivalent to the hybrid form of a Devil Fruit user.
He preferred being armed to the teeth!
Unfortunately, Groudon was still too small, lacking the power to let him transform into its complete form. He'd probably need another evolution to achieve the true Groudon form.
The problem was the little guy's appetite.
"Where am I supposed to find Devil Fruits?"
Gurd rubbed his temples in frustration.
From what the little one had told him, the fastest way to speed up its evolution was by absorbing natural energy.
The best scenario would be something like a meteor tearing open the earth, causing natural energy to erupt—that would let it evolve rapidly into its strongest Primal Form, where creating continents barehanded wouldn't even be an issue.
But a disaster of that scale would likely destroy the world.
Ordinary food contained natural energy too, but the amounts were minuscule. If he relied on eating to evolve, it'd take years at the very least.
In this world, if there was anything that contained vast amounts of natural energy, it had to be the miraculous Devil Fruits.
The SMILE he'd eaten before had condensed natural energy, but as a counterfeit, its quality was too poor—only useful for Groudon in its infant stage.
After all, as a true divine beast, the energy required for its evolution wasn't comparable to that of ordinary Pocket Monsters. But each evolution would bring tenfold or hundredfold improvements, so there were pros and cons.
"I'll take it slow."
Gurd stretched lazily, deciding not to dwell on these messy thoughts.
In just three or four months, he'd gone from a nobody to someone who could go toe-to-toe with the Flying Six. Complaining now would just be ungrateful.
"Someone's coming. Let's go."
Figures were emerging from the direction of Skull Castle.
Gurd took a few steps before turning back to look at Ulti, who was still standing frozen in place. Raising an eyebrow, he said, "Ulti, we should head back."
"Ah—oh!"
Ulti snapped out of it and hurried to catch up, falling into step beside Gurd. Her eyes were wide with shock as she stared at him.
[Is this really Gurd?]
[No way! Absolutely no way!]
[My little brother Gurd can't possibly be this strong!]
Her thoughts were written all over her face.
For a long while as they walked, Ulti kept darting to Gurd's left, then his right, sneaking glances at him. Her mind was in turmoil, itching with curiosity.
She even forgot about her injured brother.
Finally, the girl couldn't help but ask casually, "Gurd, you seem to have gotten much stronger, huh?"
"I've been training hard recently. I have indeed improved a lot."
Gurd admitted calmly.
Ulti's heart skipped a beat.
Though she didn't know why, her little brother had suddenly become much stronger. What if he surpassed her in the future? How could she keep bullying Gurd then!
No, she needed to intensify her training too!
The girl's words didn't match her thoughts.
"Oh, well, keep up the good work then!"
"Thanks, I'll definitely redouble my efforts."
Gurd nodded with a smile.
Heh, now she knew how capable he was.
"Hmm?"
Gurd's eyes shifted as he noticed Page One secretly poking him nearby.
The two exchanged a knowing glance.
"Brother-in-law, I approve of you!"
"Brother-in-law?"
"Yeah, brother-in-law!"
"..."
Gurd stole a glance at Ulti, took a deep breath, then glared fiercely at Page One.
"I treat you like my own brother, and this is how you repay me?"
"..."
Page One guiltily averted his gaze, but thinking about the wonderful future free from his sister's torment, he immediately met the glare with determination.
"Stop pretending. Everyone knows you've had a crush on my sister for years! From now on, you're my brother-in-law!"
"..."
The so-called "President of the Ulti Fan Club" fell silent.
Ulti leaned in, watching Gurd and her brother exchanging strange looks, a question mark popping up above her head.
"What are you two doing?"
"None of your business!"
They spoke in unison.
Men's talk, women stay out!
(End of chapter)