One Piece: Honey Badger Speedruns the World

Contemplating grand plans for the future, drowsiness gradually crept in. Goss sank into the soft sofa and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning.

As the first rays of sunlight streamed into the living room through the crystal window, Goss slowly opened his eyes.

I slept exceptionally soundly that night, and all the tension and fatigue I had been feeling these past few days finally eased.

Just as he was about to get up, he felt a warm sensation on his body. A thick wool blanket was covering him, with the edges tucked in tightly.

Goss ran his fingers over the soft wool, a warm feeling welling up inside him.

He sat up straight, stretched, and his joints cracked like popping beans.

Birds chirped outside the window, and the air was filled with the unique fragrance of morning dew; everything looked so peaceful and beautiful.

hum...

Just then, the glass on the coffee table, which was half-filled with water, suddenly trembled without warning, and a fine ripple spread across the surface.

Immediately afterwards, the floor began to tremble slightly. The once bright living room quickly dimmed, as if a huge dark cloud had suddenly blocked out the sun.

Goss raised an eyebrow and turned to look out the window. There, a massive, overwhelming shadow was slowly enveloping the entire center of Klaudu.

"Are you here...?"

next second.

"Boom—!!!"

The deafening roar finally exploded, as if the sky had cracked open!

It was a natural phenomenon unique to Zou—fire-breathing rain had begun.

That's the giant elephant's twice-daily routine shower; it sucks seawater into its nostrils and then sprays it onto its back.

The massive flow of water, like a celestial river pouring down, instantly submerged the entire city of Klaudu.

But this ancient city has a perfect drainage system. A huge filtration device in the city center filters fish and shrimp from the seawater, while clean water flows down the streets, bringing life to the entire island.

"Brother! Come out quickly! The yard is flooded!"

Mia's excited voice came from outside.

Goss walked into the yard and saw that the sunken courtyard, which was originally filled with fluorescent flowers, had now been transformed into a natural light blue swimming pool.

Clear seawater poured in, reaching just up to my chest.

"Phew...it feels so cool!" Mia splashed around in the water like a happy little fish, and even tried to splash Goss with water.

Goss smiled and stepped into the water.

"thump."

As soon as I entered the water, that familiar yet unpleasant feeling of powerlessness instantly swept over my entire body.

For a Devil Fruit user, seawater is an absolute no-go zone.

Goss felt as if all his strength had been drained away; his limbs were weak, and he even had difficulty standing.

But he didn't go up; instead, he leaned lazily against the steps by the pool, enjoying the rare coolness and watching Mia play.

"Brother! Look at that!" Not far away, Mia pointed at the water, as if she had discovered some new and interesting toy: "It looks like a piece of rotten wood has floated in from the drain... and it's quite big."

Goss casually looked in the direction she was pointing.

indeed.

In the azure sea, a long, dark, bumpy shadow drifted silently toward Mia with the current.

Goss didn't take it seriously at first.

But the next second, his previously languid pupils suddenly contracted.

wrong!

The drain outlet is experiencing a backflow.

How could a log float upstream? It's swimming!

Before he could even warn her, the "dead tree" floating behind Mia suddenly stopped moving.

Immediately afterwards, a pair of cloudy, yellowish vertical pupils suddenly opened on the previously dry skin!

This is not wood at all!

It was clearly a deep-sea crocodile over five meters long that had been washed ashore by the fire-breathing rain!

"Splash!!!"

The water surface instantly shattered, and the calm was torn to shreds!

The crocodile suddenly lunged forward, opening its gaping maw covered in barbs and a nauseating stench as it pounced on the unsuspecting Mia!

"Mia!!!"

Goss's fur stood on end instantly, and he instinctively wanted to rush over.

But with his body still submerged in seawater, the fatal weakness made his legs buckle, and he collapsed directly into the water, unable to exert any strength at all!

Damn it! Move!

Move!

It looked as the sharp fangs were about to bite Mia's slender waist.

In despair, the red light in Goss's eyes suddenly exploded.

"Get the hell out of here!!!"

Although his body was powerless, his soul and will were not bound by the sea!

boom--!!!

A dark red Conqueror's Haki aura, centered on Goss, instantly swept across the entire courtyard like a tangible shockwave!

The seawater was violently turbulent, and the crocodile that was leaping in the air seemed to have been hit hard in the brain by an invisible hammer. Its eyes rolled back, and with a "bang," it slammed stiffly onto the water in front of Mia, and immediately passed out.

Mia screamed in fright and fainted as well.

As the dark red, domineering aura was unleashed in a frenzied manner, Goss felt a sudden jolt deep within his brain, as if a crisp "crack" sound had been heard.

Like a torch thrown into a dried-up oil well, Goss clearly felt a brand new power spreading rapidly from the depths of his soul throughout his body, flowing through his boiling blood.

[The Fruits of the Six Realms - Animal Realm]

With the might of a tyrant, he seized the wonders of creation.

[They have cleansed themselves of their fur and horns, and rebuilt themselves into upright, walking beings.]

[Break through ignorance and stubbornness, and open the mind to wisdom.]

[Once the soul imprint is formed, life and death are determined by fate; though countless tribulations may pass, one shall never waver.]

[Animal Path: By using a large amount of Conqueror's Haki, one can forcibly rewrite the genes of wild beasts, giving them human form and intelligence.]

Animals modified with Conqueror's Haki will be unconditionally loyal to the user of that Haki.

Goss leaned against the wet poolside, panting heavily.

Although his body was limp and weak from being soaked in seawater, his spirit was in an unprecedented state of excitement.

Without needing anyone's guidance, he instinctively understood the underlying logic the moment his abilities awakened.

It's like turning one's own will into "ink" and forcibly injecting it into the empty soul of a beast, using it as the core to reshape its flesh and blood.

"This ability... came just in time."

As a Devil Fruit user, seawater is his only weakness.

The sense of powerlessness he felt earlier made him very unhappy. If he were to encounter a shipwreck and loss of life at sea, his survival rate would be even lower than that of an ordinary crew member.

But this creature in front of us is different. It's the apex predator of the water, capable of holding its breath, with hard scales and an astonishing bite force.

"If the animal realm could truly grant it human form and intelligence, and absolute loyalty..."

Goss stroked his chin, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes: "That would be like having a loyal crew member who is available 24/7 and can go to sea to fight."

From now on, whether it's underwater salvage, ship hull repair, or underwater raids, this weakness will be completely addressed.

This was a godsend for our subsequent plans to go to sea.

Moreover, he was also very curious.

To what extent can the so-called "gene rewriting" actually achieve?

Is it a crocodile that walks upright? Or a human with crocodile skin? How much of its strength can it retain?

"Although it's a bit ugly, as the first experimental subject for transformation, this tough and thick material is simply perfect."

With that thought in mind, Goss no longer hesitated and raised his hand to aim at the crocodile in front of him.

"Let's give it a try."

"Transform!"

The Conqueror's Haki leaked out, transforming into a jet-black lightning bolt that struck the Deinosuchus directly.

A bizarre scene unfolded. The enormous crocodile began to convulse violently, its bones making a cracking, reassembling sound.

Its short, stubby limbs began to lengthen and become strong and powerful.

The scales covering its entire body became finer and harder.

While its long snout still retains the characteristics of a crocodile, it has become more similar to the contours of a human face.

In just a few seconds, the once crouching behemoth completely shed its beastly form.

Instead, there was a terrifying humanoid creature nearly three meters tall.

Behind it, a thick, massive tail covered in serrated bone spurs dragged on the ground like an iron whip, each swing scraping against the stone slab with a piercing screeching sound.

What is most chilling is the enormous head that still retains its primitive features.

Its slender snout parted slightly, revealing crisscrossing, gleaming white teeth like the blades of a meat grinder; its vertical pupils, located on either side of its head, were no longer cloudy, but instead radiated the emotionlessness characteristic of a cold-blooded animal.

This is like a half-dragon man who has stepped out of a myth, every inch of his skin roaring with absolute bloodlust and power.

The terrifying humanoid monster did not attack, but instead turned to face Goss, who was leaning against the pool.

"Splash." The crocodile man knelt on one knee, splashing water everywhere.

It lowered its massive head, revealing absolute loyalty.

Goss closed his eyes, trying to sense whether he could continue to create more zombies in this way.

But the next second, a sharp, stinging pain pierced his temple, as if a string in his brain had been stretched to its limit.

"No, it's already full."

Goss rubbed his throbbing temples and immediately understood the limitation.

This transformation is not without cost.

Each transformed member needs to continuously consume his Conqueror's Haki to maintain their intelligence and form.

Although it won't deplete his Haki, the upper limit of Conqueror's Haki determines the limitation of its transformation.

With his newly awakened and still rudimentary Conqueror's Haki, the ability to support this deep-sea crocodile through its evolution has already reached its limit.

If he is forced to switch to the second one, his mind will collapse due to overexertion.

"With my current energy, I can only transform this one thing..."

Goss exhaled a long breath, trying to ease the dizziness deep within his brain.

But this also means that the stronger his Conqueror's Haki is, the more positions of his Dead Fleet members he can hold, and the higher his overall strength will be!

If one day, his domineering aura could reach the level of Shanks, who could shatter the heavens...

At that time, he would no longer be commanding a crocodile, but very likely an army of hundreds of powerful and incredibly loyal giant beasts!

This gave him an even stronger motivation to improve his Conqueror's Haki.

He raised his head, looked at the crocodile man who was respectfully awaiting orders, and gave his first command:

"From now on, your name will be Thornton. Clean up the water in the yard, so you don't scare my sister. Also, call me Captain from now on."