[Attributes increased by 5%.]
[Current interpretation purity has reached 66%]
[Cellular regeneration rate increased to 66%]
At that moment, Tiberion was becoming stronger; the energy radiating from his body kept increasing.
The muscle fibers twisting across his entire body looked like countless worms squirming rapidly, repairing the areas filled with exposed bones and holes.
When Garp clenched his fist once again and launched the blow, aiming to crush that ugly smile before him—
He felt the change… This wasn't the same as a second ago.
A shiver shot up his spine like an electric current, and he leapt backward instantly.
Not out of caution.
But out of pure, damned survival.
And as he landed on the ground, he saw it clearly.
Tiberion still hadn't climbed out of the crater… but something about him was no longer fully human.
"What the hell… are you turning into?"
Is this bastard really a human being?
'Is it some kind of possession? A body taken over by one of those immortals…?'
'No… he's not like them…'
From the bottom of the crater, a faint tremor shook the surface… followed by the harsh sound of rocks crumbling.
And then, a hand emerged.
The fingers sank into the stone like claws, tearing the rock apart, and instantly, that same hand tensed, pulling the entire body from the crater's depths.
Boom
The impact of that force spread across several hundred meters. The ground trembled. Stone plates were flung into the air, and the air compressed before exploding, creating an unbearable pressure that forced the marines to cover their ears or drop to their knees by reflex.
And from within the thick cloud of dust, Tiberion burst forth like a blood-red lightning bolt.
In what was nothing more than a blink to the human eye, he was already there—right in front of Garp.
His entire body radiated violence. Every strand of hair stood on end as if electrified. His teeth were bared in an expression that was neither a smile nor a snarl, but the face of a ravenous beast.
And in that instant, he threw the punch.
A strike that couldn't be considered possible.
The speed at which that arm moved distorted the air around it.
It was a speed beyond comprehension: a direct discharge that surpassed even the speed of light.
And in that instant, Garp's heart stopped.
Only for a fraction of a second, but it was enough.
He didn't think too much about it.
Because in that moment, his body understood before his mind could accept it: that punch… could kill him.
'Too fast…'
Right then, he knew for certain: never in his entire life had he seen such overwhelming physical power...
Tiberion Hanma was an anomaly.
With his entire body covered by a thick layer of Armament Haki, he reinforced it even further by activating "Tekkai," making his bones even more solid.
An absolute defensive mode. But by doing so, he sealed himself.
He couldn't dodge, and he couldn't counterattack.
"Looked like you were having a lot of fun hitting me before, old man!!"
Tiberion's resentful voice carried a savage emotion.
Garp barely had a second to brace himself into a defensive stance, but it wasn't enough.
Tiberion's fist slammed straight into his abdomen with an indescribable force.
Boom
The blow launched Garp like a projectile, shot at a ridiculous speed, flying through the sky like an out-of-control missile. In mid-air, his back arched from the impact's pressure, and a cry of pain escaped his throat:
"ARGH…!"
Even with his reinforced defense, the impact felt as if an entire mountain had crashed down on him. The shockwave coursed through every one of his bones, cracking the rigidity of the Tekkai.
But before he could even catch his breath…
Tiberion vanished from the ground.
Like a blur, he reappeared in the sky, right behind Garp, who was still trapped midair — and without giving him a second to react, he delivered a punch straight to his back.
The explosion from that blow was heard before it was seen, and Garp's body bent in the air once more as another agonizing scream burst from his throat.
But that… was only the beginning.
Tiberion remained floating at his side, striking him without rest.
His speed completely surpassed any imaginable limit; he wasn't just faster than light—he seemed to move outside of time itself. His body was a red and black blur swirling around Garp.
And in that whirlwind of fury, every punch, every kick, landed with unrelenting precision and brutality.
In just a few seconds, he hit him more than a hundred times.
Garp couldn't do anything.
Every time he tried to gather energy or tense his muscles, another blow would intercept him. His ribs cracked, his blood stained the air, and his body was dragged aimlessly, like a leaf caught in the middle of a storm.
Finally…
Tiberion descended a few meters, gathered strength in his right fist, and with a monstrous roar, unleashed the final blow.
The punch struck the center of Garp's chest and sent him flying.
His body soared through the sky, spinning out of control, until it crashed into a nearby mountain.
BOOOOOOM
The mountain collapsed instantly, a cloud of dust covered the sky, and the entire structure of the mountain range was devastated by the impact.
"..."
And then—silence.
Nothing moved.
Garp had been buried under tons of rock and earth.
From a distance, no one could confirm whether he was alive… or if he had been annihilated.
But Tiberion's thirst still wasn't quenched. His chest heaved with ragged breaths, and his black pupils seemed to be searching for more.
He was just about to launch himself at Garp again when a voice suddenly cut through his motion.
"TIBERION, STOP RIGHT NOW!"
Gion had raised her voice. But even she was surprised to hear her own scream.
She stepped forward, forcing her body to move while everything inside her begged her to retreat.
The fear was real.
It felt as if every cell in her body was screaming at her to run, to get away from that thing… because she was no longer looking at a human.
Standing before her, Tiberion didn't seem human.
It was as if his body was being consumed by his own energy—unbalanced, overflowing, corrupted at a pace that couldn't be stopped. He hadn't just lost control: it looked like he was being devoured from within, and what remained… was a beast.
His eyes—black, empty, and without reflection—showed no trace of reason. Only an animal gaze, fixed on what stood before him.
But the most terrifying part… was that from his perspective, Tiberion didn't see her as a person.
He only perceived a shapeless silhouette of white and red energy… a new target.
An obstacle that had to be destroyed.
And then, without a word, without a hint of hesitation… he moved toward her.
Gion barely had time to blink before she felt the contact.
A hand wrapped around her neck with incredible pressure.
The air was gone in an instant. Everything happened so fast she didn't even have time to raise an arm in defense.
"Ngh—!"
She tried to make a sound, but her compressed trachea could only produce a desperate noise.
Tiberion lifted her off the ground effortlessly, as if she were just a piece of meat. Gion's feet dangled in the air, and for a moment, everything around her blurred.
The blood wasn't reaching her head, and she felt the agonizing throbbing in her temples.
Desperation… Absolute fear… Humiliation…
All of it overtook her in the same instant, and in the midst of that suffocating reality… she understood.
She now realized what kind of being Vice Admiral Garp had fought against.
He knew—and still, he threw himself at this creature without hesitation.
But she… she couldn't even move.
Tears streamed from her eyes, not from the physical pain, but from the humiliation, the helplessness, the crushing certainty that her life was slipping away in the hands of a monster.
"T-Tiberion… I'LL ALWAYS HATE YOU…!"
Somehow, her voice came out.
Not from courage. But from rage and pain.
She never imagined her end would be like this… Maybe she'd die right there, or maybe her body would be devoured like Vice Admiral Garp's arm… but the only thing she felt was a heartbreaking anguish.
And then… Tiberion let her go.
Not gently. He threw her aside as if he no longer had any interest.
Gion's body, much smaller compared to his gigantic frame, flew without resistance, like a rag doll.
Her shoulders hit the ground first, and then she rolled several times across the dusty terrain, leaving marks in the dirt until she lay face-up, gasping, breathless, powerless, her arms trembling from sheer exhaustion.
She had been thrown aside as if she didn't matter—and yet… she was still alive.
With blurry vision, her heart still pounding against her ribs, she tried to understand why.
And that's when it happened.
Tiberion froze.
His body, still bathed in that energy, suddenly tensed, as if something had struck him unexpectedly.
His sense of smell, sharper than any animal's, picked up a particular scent.
A familiar scent.
Light—almost imperceptible—but distinctive. A scent that reached him like a tactile and sensory memory at the same time.
It came from Gion's body.
And in a deep corner of his mind, an image flashed. It wasn't clear or precise, but it was burned into him:
A voluptuous female figure, with irresistible curves, soft skin, and an intoxicating scent… His woman.
A buried part of his consciousness, perhaps the only part that remained, whispered from the depths of his instinct:
"Don't touch her."
It was something more powerful than reason.
It wasn't a logical thought.
Gion, still on the ground, noticed it.
The murderous pressure that had wrapped around her until that moment… had vanished.
Stunned, she turned her face from the ground, barely lifting her head with effort.
Had he… spared her?
It was absurd.
Had Tiberion—the bloodthirsty monster who had just massacred Vice Admiral Garp without hesitation—mistaken her for one of his women…?
The very idea felt as implausible as it was humiliating.
'Heh… how ironic…'
She thought with a bitter mix of disgust.
Tiberion—the merciless demon, the monster who killed with his bare hands and was now even capable of devouring human bodies… had hesitated because of her.
…
From afar, Hancock watched everything.
And although she was a woman used to witnessing all sorts of madness in the Calm Belt… for the first time in a long while, she felt fear.
Fear of the man she had before her eyes.
Her beloved Tiberion no longer seemed human.
He was now a creature wrapped in dark energy, with an empty gaze and a colossal body—something terrifying… and yet, she couldn't stop looking at him.
But then she saw him stop.
She saw how, after gripping Vice Admiral Momousagi by the neck with a murderous glare, he simply let her go.
He tossed her aside as if she no longer interested him… or maybe for some other reason.
And that completely unsettled Hancock.
"He… spared her?"
Her chest tightened and her brows furrowed. That unexpected action left her frozen for a few seconds, feeling her thoughts stir in confusion.
Why her?
What kind of connection did that woman have with Tiberion?
Had they… already had something?
And at the mere thought of it, something inside her stirred.
She blushed.
A hot emotion, like liquid fire flowing through her veins, surged from her chest down to her belly, piercing deep into her core.
That image of Tiberion sparing another woman, gripping her by the neck with such raw, masculine dominance, awakened something inside her.
And at the same time, rage began to swell.
'MOMOUSAGI GOT AHEAD OF ME?!'
The mere thought made her fingers twitch.
How dare that woman act so coldly after being spared by Tiberion?
How could she be so arrogant after being touched by him?!
And on top of that, she had the audacity to stand against him as if she were his equal!
'What a stupid… ungrateful woman…' she thought, pressing her lips together, a mix of jealousy and fury swirling in her chest.
She—Boa Hancock, the most beautiful woman in the world—had not yet had the chance to give herself to Tiberion, to melt into him, to entangle herself with his flesh… and she already desired it with burning desperation.
'I barely dream of us doing it… and that woman already…'
Her eyes locked on him again.
Even in that zombie-like state, to her, he was still the most charismatic and powerful man in the world.
The only one who could crush the World Government with his bare hands. The only one capable of staring a World Noble in the eye… and executing one without blinking.
And that drove her insane. Without realizing it, she crossed her legs with restless tension, while a faint, almost invisible smile curled on her lips.
She couldn't help it.
She liked him far too much.
And if that bitch Momousagi stood in her way… she wasn't going to forgive her.
…
Meanwhile, several hundred meters off the coast, across the vastness of the sea, a colossal figure moved gently beneath the waters.
A Sea King shaped like a horse emerged partially, offering its head as a platform.
And atop it, standing with some clumsiness due to the shaking of its tail, was Shirahoshi. Beside her, holding her tightly, was Jinbe, his face somber and eyes fixed on the land ahead.
From where they were, both could see Tiberion's figure in the distance.
"Jinbe-sama… I want to go to my husband's side…"
Shirahoshi's words were filled with conviction, and her eyes were fixed on Tiberion with a mixture of longing, faith, and sorrow.
Even from afar, she could feel it.
She felt him calling her.
But Jinbe shook his head, clenching his teeth:
"Princess… I'm sorry. I can't allow you to go near him."
Turning to face her, he stood between her and the coast, like a wall.
"Lord Tiberion just devoured Vice Admiral Garp's arm! Do you understand what that means!?"
Shirahoshi lowered her gaze for a moment, tears running down her cheeks, but still, she lifted her chin.
"I-It doesn't matter to me…"
"My husband told me he would always protect me."
There was pain in her voice.
"It doesn't matter what he's become now… he will protect me. He would never hurt me."
And with a desperate impulse, she tried to move toward the shore, but Jinbe immediately grabbed her.
His hands closed tightly around the base of her tail, stopping her in her tracks.
"Princess, please… don't make me do this!"
Shirahoshi struggled, but her strength was no match for Jinbe's.
He clenched his teeth—he didn't want to hurt her… but he couldn't let her go.
Not while he was still in that state…
Because… what if Tiberion Hanma was no longer the same?
What if he saw her as nothing more than a meal?
What if that ravenous instinct controlling him… made her his next victim?
…
Tiberion felt a burning void in his stomach.
A deep hunger, gnawing at him from the inside. It wasn't ordinary hunger—it was a primal need driving him to seek prey without thought.
And suddenly, he acted.
Without a sound, he launched himself toward the coast, leaving a crater behind.
His empty eyes locked onto the sea—and there, he found his prey.
Sea Kings.
Gigantic creatures with strange bodies and fearful eyes, stretching hundreds of meters beneath the water. Absolute lords of the deep ocean.
But to Tiberion, they were nothing but food.
And the instant the Sea Kings sensed his presence, terror overtook them.
These enormous Sea Kings, who would normally never flee, dove instantly, trying to escape the figure that had marked them as prey.
But it was useless.
Tiberion leapt straight into the sea like a spear from the shoreline.
And the moment he touched the surface, he unleashed a brutal punch into the water with such violence that the entire sea trembled.
Boom
It was a low-frequency boom that traveled through the water.
Beneath the surface, the strike was even more powerful.
The Sea Kings, still diving deeper, were struck by that explosion of force. The pressure of the impact stunned several of them on the spot, causing their massive bodies to go limp for a few seconds—and some began to float slowly toward the surface, uncontrollably, as if unconscious.
And Tiberion didn't hesitate for even a second.
He partially submerged and plunged his entire arm into the body of one of them, tearing through the thick flesh with ease.
And with one motion, he lifted a thousand-meter-long whale-like Sea King into the air, hurling it as if it weighed no more than an empty sack.
The whale flew through the sky like a comet and crashed onto solid ground with a thunderous impact, raising a wall of dust.
Tiberion walked out of the water slowly, completely naked, soaked, and with his eyes locked onto his prey.
He sat right in front of the whale and began to devour it.
He didn't eat like a human.
He tore off gigantic chunks of flesh with his bare hands, grinding them with his teeth as if they were butter.
The Sea King's blood ran down his arms, his chest, his face… but he didn't stop.
His body devoured like a pig.
The sound of his jaws chewing echoed through the area in a disturbing resonance.
Two hours passed.
Just two—and by the end of that time, nothing remained of the Sea King's body.
Not even bones.
He had eaten it all!
His digestive capacity was simply monstrous.
Every piece that entered his stomach was broken down, absorbed, and converted into energy within seconds.
The amount of energy extracted was so absurd, so efficient, that it left barely any waste inside him.
His body was a perfect system of conversion.
And throughout the entire feeding process, no one dared to approach.
The sea and the land remained silent.
Even the waves seemed to avoid crashing against the shore.
No one!
They only watched from a distance, swallowing hard, hearts pounding.
But amidst that reverent silence, something brought deep relief to two very different women—united by the same man.
Hancock and Shirahoshi.
As Tiberion devoured the colossal body of the Sea King without pause, his great wounds began to fully heal.
The cracks in his skin, the charred sections, the exposed bones… all of it rebuilt within minutes. The regenerated flesh throbbed with power, and his skin regained its natural tone with terrifying speed.
It was clear: if he consumed enough food—or more precisely, enough vital energy—he could regenerate at a rapid pace.
And when he finished… he had already regained his lucidity.
Something inside him had changed.
The recovery process had triggered a transformation.
As if his body had reached a breaking point—a limit that, once surpassed, led him to a new stage of evolution.
His height increased slowly, his bones creaking to support the new mass.
He grew from 2.7 to nearly 3 meters tall.
And with that, his muscles deformed even more—not from excess, but from perfection: denser, harder, etched with thick veins that pulsed constantly.
The ground beneath his feet kept cracking with every small movement.
And then came the inevitable.
As his body reached its peak power, a wave of wild desire began to take over him.
Not hunger, not fury… but something more animal.
An uncontrollable reproductive impulse.
The concentration of pheromones he released was so overwhelming, so thick and dominant, that the air within a thousand-meter radius became saturated with his essence.
A masculine and violent essence.
Hancock was right within that radius, and the effect was immediate.
Her breathing turned erratic, her heart raced as if she had run a marathon.
Her cheeks turned red, and a warm, wet sensation ran down her back.
Her body trembled—not from fear.
But from arousal.
Her mind tried to resist, to maintain composure, but her body reacted on its own; every cell knew it had been invaded by the most primal call of nature.
And Tiberion sensed her.
He caught her feminine scent… sweet—and he desired it.
A fragrance he would recognize among millions, always.
Without thinking, with just a slight twist of his right leg, every muscle fiber in his body contracted tens of thousands of times in a single instant.
As his foot struck the ground, the earth shattered, splitting in cracks that stretched for hundreds of meters, as if an earthquake had erupted beneath him.
In the blink of an eye… he was already in front of Hancock.
And she didn't have time to react.
The last thing she saw was that colossal body moving like a flash, and then she felt herself wrapped by a strong, warm arm that gripped her waist tightly, as if claiming her.
Her fragile, curvaceous body trembled completely within his embrace.
And within seconds, with a pair of movements too fast to see, both of them vanished from the place.
They reappeared on the deck of a ship anchored at sea.
________
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