Cover Story – East Blue Arc, Part 3: "Terrible Tangerine"
"Water… I need water…"
Bell-mère jolted awake in the middle of the night, parched and groggy. She fumbled around her bedroom, but found nothing, so she reached for an tangerine instead. Still half-asleep, she peeled it, stuffed a slice into her mouth—
—and nearly puked.
"What the hell? This tastes awful! Spoiled? Rotten?!"
Frowning, she tossed the bitter tangerine into the trash and went to grab another. She didn't notice that the trash can, and even the floor beneath it, where her fingertips had touched, were rapidly corroding and rusting...
...
BOOM!
A brilliant arc of sword light lit up half the street. Even someone as monstrously tough as Dugalio couldn't shake it off—
a deep gash tore across his chest, and blood sprayed violently into the air.
"You little shit!!"
Caught off guard and now in pain, Dugalio flew into a rage. He swung his massive hammer upward with brutal force, bellowing:
"You think that counts as making me pay?! You're nowhere near it!"
SWOOSH!
But before the hammer could even descend, Nao had already sensed it with Observation Haki. He shifted like a phantom, vanishing just before impact—
and reappeared behind Dugalio.
The next second—
Taking advantage of the opening while Dugalio still hadn't recovered from his missed swing, Nao slashed downward at his neck with one sword, while the other stabbed straight for the spine—aimed precisely at the heart's blind spot.
This time, Dugallio was ready.
CLANG!
Black Armament Haki instantly coated his neck, stopping the downward sword just before it reached flesh.
But Nao's other sword—Azakana—suddenly twisted mid-thrust, switching from a stab to a cross-cut. The dark red blade sliced into Dugalio's shoulder from the side—
another burst of blood followed.
But Nao wasn't finished.
He pivoted sharply, shifting his angle once more—pressing in close along Dugalio's right flank—and launched a twin slash aimed at his ribs and waist.
This time, however—
Before the blades could even connect, a massive wall of striped muscle surged into view.
BAM!!
Nao was slammed backward like a ragdoll, sent flying by a force that felt like being hit by a runaway train.
CRASH!
He tumbled nearly 30 meters before crashing into a stack of wine barrels in the corner of the street. Booze exploded, wood chips flew. But he abruptly twisted his waist, performed a graceful backflip, and instantly landed on his feet, steadying himself.
His gaze sharpened as he looked towards where he had just been.
The ground there had completely collapsed.
And Dugalio—was gone.
In his place stood a creature straight out of legend:
A towering saber-toothed tiger, over six stories tall, with jagged stripes of black and gold fur.
The "wall" that had struck him… had been this beast's massive foreleg.
"Damn… no wonder he's one of the Three Calamities…"
Nao licked his dry lips and muttered to himself:
"Just like Kaido… they all turn into giant monsters. This guy's transformation is absurd."
The last time he'd fought something even remotely this big was nearly a year ago—during the recruit assessment, when he clashed with the Giant Bear, Sano.
But compared to this ancient saber-toothed tiger form of Dugalio…
Even that terrifying black bear now felt like a cub.
There was no comparison—neither in size nor in pressure.
Still—
For Dugalio to resort to using his Devil Fruit transformation this early in the fight…
It meant he was taking Nao seriously. He finally realized that his human form wasn't enough.
THUD!
Suddenly, the massive beast moved.
With a thunderous roar, it charged, each of its four limbs pounding the ground.
In an instant, it was right in front of Nao.
The colossal foreleg lifted high, casting a deep shadow over Nao as it came crashing down.
From a distance, it looked like a human casually squashing an ant.
But Nao was no ant.
The beast was terrifyingly fast—
but Nao was faster.
In that flash of a second, he had already gathered his strength.
He raised both swords—and slashed upward toward the incoming claw.
BOOM!!
Sword and flesh collided in a thunderous clash that shook the entire street.
They held for a few seconds—then Nao was thrown backward again, skidding along the ground. His feet carved deep trenches nearly twenty meters long before he managed to stop.
And as for the tiger...
Its massive paw had only a few faint scratches. Not even a proper wound.
THUD!
The colossal saber-tooth landed heavily on all fours, towering above Nao like a living fortress. Its dull-yellow eyes gleamed with bloodlust.
"Well, kid…"
The saber-toothed tiger glared down at him and spoke with a voice cold as winter steel.
"Do you still think you have the ability to avenge that Marine woman named Gion?!"
His physical strength and defense have greatly increased after transforming, huh.
Nao looked up, his eyes flickering slightly.
But, now this is getting interesting.
"No ability? Big guy, to say something like that now…"
Meeting that lofty, chilling gaze.
Nao's face showed not the slightest hint of fear or retreat. Instead, he grinned, his battle spirit soaring even higher, gripping his Yone twin swords even tighter!
Hum! With a whooshing sound, he suddenly blurred into an afterimage, charging towards the giant saber-toothed tiger like a mayfly trying to shake a tree!
"—Isn't it a bit too early?!"
RUMBLE!!
Their fight escalated rapidly.
The surrounding buildings crumbled.
Dust billowed across the plaza.
The shockwaves expanded outward, tearing up the ground and widening the battlefield.
The enormous commotion spread almost throughout all of Rhodes Island.
Marines from across the island began converging on the scene.
"Holy shit…"
"Wh-What the hell is that?!"
From across the street, gazing at the terrifying giant tiger that almost obscured the moonlight, these Marines, belonging to the West Blue First Branch, felt their hearts tremble, their eyes filled with fear.
"Is… is Rear Admiral Nao fighting that thing?!"
"But even the Rear Admiral looks like he's getting overpowered…"
"What the hell is that monster doing on Rhodes Island?!"
Murmurs spread like wildfire through the troops.
Many of them had never even left the West Blue.
They didn't know who Dugalio was.
They'd never heard of the "Three Calamities" of the Beasts Pirates.
But they knew Nao.
They knew just how strong their Rear Admiral was.
He had swept through the West Blue alone, leaving no pirate crew untouched.
He had no equal here.
And yet—
Now he was struggling.
Pushed back.
Barely holding his ground.
This was bad. Really bad.
Several high-ranking Marine officers from the warships exchanged grim looks.
They knew—they were out of their league.
They couldn't interfere in this fight. Couldn't help.
There was only one thing left to do:
Report this to the Branch, and even Headquarters to request backup. Immediately.
...
West Blue First Marine Branch Base.
The top floor office of the fortress building was still lit. Gion, draped in her coat, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, was processing a batch of newly submitted documents.
Suddenly, a rapid series of footsteps echoed from outside the corridor, and then a figure burst in frantically without even knocking on the door.
"It's bad, Rear Admiral!"