"System…"
KING called silently.
His last hope.
A translucent blue interface unfolded across his vision.
It was the extra reward he had received after "accidentally" frightening Colonel Jimmy into mental collapse at the branch base — something he had tossed aside and forgotten.
Now it was his only option.
[Item: Dragon-Level Monster — Pochi's Cell]
[Threat Classification: Dragon (City-Level Calamitous Entity)]
[Description: Core tissue from an extradimensional organism. It devours flesh, rejects life, and generates extreme thermal energy. Hosts gain regenerative vitality and destructive breath.]
[Warning: Extremely unstable. Weak wills will be consumed.]
KING's eyelid twitched.
(Dragon-level? That lazy giant dog that only eats and sleeps? City-destroying? System, are you sure you're not exaggerating Saitama's pet? …Whatever. It's just a lump of meat. Worth a try.)
He flipped his palm.
A dark-red piece of pulsating flesh appeared.
Magma-like veins glowed beneath its surface.
Each pulse released scorching heat that distorted the air.
KING squatted down, expressionless.
He pinched the puppy's jaw gently.
Snap.
The stiff mouth opened.
He pushed the ominous cell inside.
As casually as feeding leftovers to a stray cat.
Then he stood, hands in pockets.
Waiting.
(Why isn't anything happening? Fake product? Expired?)
To distant observers — especially Marine Sergeant Tashigi — the scene was anything but ordinary.
Her palms were slick with sweat as she gripped Shigure.
Even dozens of meters away, she could feel the suffocating malice radiating from that fragment of flesh.
It was not haki.
It was not a Devil Fruit aura.
It was something more primal — hostile to life itself.
"What… is he doing?" a marine whispered.
"Is that… a Devil Fruit?"
"No," Tashigi said hoarsely. "Devil Fruits don't feel like this. That thing… makes your instincts scream to run."
Then it happened.
THUMP—
A violent shock reverberated through the alley.
Not KING's heartbeat.
The ground.
The puppy's body arched violently.
CRACK! CRACK!
Bone-splitting sounds erupted.
Black fur split apart as magma-red patterns ignited beneath the skin, spreading like molten veins.
A guttural roar tore from its throat.
The shockwave shattered nearby windows.
Glass rained down.
Onlookers collapsed, ears bleeding from the pressure wave.
This was not sound.
It was a biological dominance shock.
"Monster!"
"It's coming back to life!"
The mass of flesh expanded.
One meter.
Three.
Five.
Walls burst outward.
A colossal beast emerged — engulfed in dark crimson heat, six burning eyes opening in sequence, corrosive saliva dripping from serrated fangs.
Nearby trash ignited instantly.
A sphere of destructive energy gathered in its jaws.
A true Dragon-level calamity.
Despair froze the alley.
No human could stop such a creature.
Except—
KING.
Standing beneath it.
Tiny.
Unmoving.
Firelight illuminated his cold, rigid expression.
He didn't blink.
(Holy crap?! It got huge! System, you scammed me! The wall collapsed… I'm doomed. Compensation alone will ruin me! I have to stop it!)
Terror locked his face into a ferocious mask.
He looked up.
His bloodshot eyes met the beast's gaze.
Utter disdain.
"Sit."
Two words.
Quiet.
Casual.
As if disciplining a disobedient house pet.
But combined with the low thunder of the Emperor Engine, the words struck like divine judgment.
The impossible occurred.
The blazing energy sphere flickered.
The monster stiffened.
The destructive charge collapsed inward.
Hic—
A puff of smoke escaped its nostrils.
Its massive body shrank.
Molten lines faded.
Claws withdrew.
Six eyes closed.
Pfft.
White vapor dispersed.
A palm-sized black puppy remained.
Trembling.
Tail wagging wildly.
"Woof! Woof!"
Silence crushed the alley.
Tashigi's sword slipped from her hand.
Collapsed walls.
Burning trash.
Shattered glass.
This was no illusion.
She swallowed hard.
This was absolute suppression.
To compress a city-destroying entity into a harmless pet with a single command…
This surpassed intimidation.
This resembled authority.
KING exhaled in relief.
(That scared me… Good thing it shrank back. Raising pets these days is dangerous.)
He crouched.
"Moo-moo-moo…"
No puppy could resist that sound.
The tiny creature sprinted to him, flipped onto its back, and exposed its belly.
KING picked it up.
Warm.
Heavy.
Comfortable in his palm.
"If it's Pochi's cells… then you're Pochi."
He spoke calmly.
Since the wall was destroyed, lingering here would only bring trouble.
He turned and walked away.
The crowd parted instinctively.
No one dared breathe loudly.
As he passed Tashigi, she stepped back involuntarily, muscles taut.
She watched his retreating silhouette stretch across the setting sun.
The puppy perched on his shoulder turned its head.
Its dark eyes scanned the crowd with cold alertness.
A silent warning.
Do not disturb him.
Only after he disappeared did the crowd exhale.
"Was that… a god?"
"No… a demon king."
Tashigi trembled as she retrieved her sword.
She pulled out a Den Den Mushi.
Her fingers shook.
"Moshi moshi… this is Tashigi."
"Colonel Smoker…"
"He… just created and suppressed a catastrophic creature with his bare hands."
"…because he wanted a dog."