A deafening beastly roar shattered the stillness of the jungle night, sending a flurry of startled birds into the sky.
In the dense shadows of the forest, a young man with a golden ring hanging from his ear and a long coat billowing behind him gripped a thrashing black tiger in both hands.
With a guttural growl and a violent wrench of his arms, he tore the massive beast in half. Blood sprayed through the air, and fetid entrails splattered across the forest floor.
Aeridar spat and tossed aside the bisected corpse, his face a mask of blood-soaked ferocity.
The remote mountains of the rear island were just as deadly as the legends claimed, especially at night. Savage beasts prowled the darkness, and venomous insects and serpents lurked at every turn. It reminded Aeridar of the hellish jungles of Kukos Island.
Since setting foot here, he had already lost count of how many predator attacks he'd endured. If not for the overwhelming killing intent he emitted, enough to repel poisonous vermin and intimidate even the fiercest creatures, he'd have been swarmed and torn apart.
Suddenly, from the canopy above, a forest-green python lunged like lightning, fangs bared and jaws wide, ready to devour him whole.
But who was hunting whom?
Aeridar spun with brutal speed, his fist rocketing upward.
Air exploded as pale shockwaves erupted outward. The python was caught full-force and shredded midair, its blood and flesh scattering like rain.
The impact didn't stop there, waves of compressed air stormed through the jungle, ripping ancient trees from their roots and reducing them to splinters. Dust and debris surged like a cyclone.
When it finally settled, the jungle floor had been razed for over a hundred meters, flattened into a blackened strip of earth where not even grass remained.
Not far, less than a kilometer away, down a nearby ravine...
A man known only as "Lion" froze mid-step. He turned sharply, his face paling as he looked toward the source of the explosion. "That bastard's already this close?!"
Even with his body coated in his clan's secret elixir, which masked his scent and warded off wild beasts and venomous threats, he had expected far more distance.
That someone could charge through this perilous jungle unimpeded, relying on raw strength alone, and still close the gap so quickly, was terrifying.
But "Lion" was no coward. His will was steel. Knowing death was close behind, he grit his teeth and ran faster.
Thus, a relentless chase tore through the jungle: one fleeing, one pursuing.
While Lion slipped past dangers with ease, thanks to his elixir, Aeridar bulldozed forward with sheer power.
Trees snapped before him like twigs. Predators were crushed underfoot. The forest trembled with every step he took, a whirlwind of violence incarnate.
Time passed, no one knew how long.
Eventually, Lion reached the base of a towering mountain.
Its name was Mount Pyramid, shaped like the blade of a spear thrust into the sky. Soaring more than two thousand meters high, it was the highest mountain on Alvis Island.
Halfway up the slope, on a rocky outcrop, lay a camp.
Torches cast flickering light over a ring of tents. Pirates moved within, guards posted at the tomb entrance nestled somewhere beneath the mountain.
But the sudden thundering approach of the beast-form Lion sent the camp into alarm. Pirates poured from their tents, weapons at the ready, at least a dozen or two.
"Another wild animal?"
"Didn't the captain already clear the nearby ones out?"
"That shadow... it's huge! Is that a lion?!"
Lion barrelled through the camp like a living battering ram. One pirate barely had time to aim his rifle before being slammed aside, bones shattered, blood gushing, his body flung dozens of meters like a rag doll.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!"
Lion roared, leaping into the air mid-charge. In a flash, he transformed, half-human and half-beast, his body now that of a towering cave lion hybrid. His claws slashed through the air—
Two pirates were impaled on the spot. Steam rose from the blood spattering the stone.
"Damn it, he's a Devil Fruit user!" one shirtless pirate cried out in shock.
"You think I'm scared?! I'm worth fifty million berries, you mangy beast!"
A burly pirate with a katana lunged, shouting to psyche himself up. His blade flashed, a clean, fast cut. The technique showed real skill.
The sharp steel struck Lion's shoulder... and bounced off with a metallic ring.
"Haki...?!" the swordsman blanched, trying to retreat.
But he was already too late.
Slashed across the shoulder by a blade, the "Lion" didn't even glance at the attacker.
With a casual backhand—WHAM—the pirate was sent flying like a ragdoll.
He slammed into a cliffside dozens of meters away, his body embedding deep into the stone. Spiderweb cracks spread out from the impact point, and chunks of rock rained down like gravel.
The Lion had no intention of wasting time.
One kill. Two. Three. He tore through them with ease, carving a path straight through their ranks.
Charging forward another thirty meters, he came to a smooth cliff wall. Without hesitation, he tapped a few spots on its surface.
A doorway two meters wide split open, revealing a pitch-black tunnel behind it.
With a blur, he vanished into the darkness.
"Damn it! How the hell did he know about this place?!"
"Is he here for the treasure too?!"
"Someone warn the captain, an intruder with Devil Fruit powers just breached the gate!"
"He's covered in blood. He must be injured, everyone, take him down together!"
The moment the ancient gate to the mausoleum opened, the pirates knew retreat was no longer an option. Rallying what courage they had, they charged forward.
But just as the fastest of them reached the threshold—
A stone greatsword, carved like a cross, slashed out from the pitch-black tunnel.
The blow was so sudden, the pirate had no chance to react. His head flew clean off, and a torrent of blood sprayed across the cavern floor.
Then it stepped into the light.
A towering, two-meter-tall stone knight, gripping that cross-shaped sword in both hands.
Behind it, another one emerged, identical in size and form, but wielding a stone poleaxe instead.
"W-what the hell?! Those are the statues from the corridor!"
"I touched one earlier! It was just rock, how the hell are they moving?!"
More than a dozen pirates stood frozen.
Terror began to creep in as they stared down the once-lifeless statues that had not only come to life... but had already killed one of their own.
"So this is the underground sanctum, huh..."
A shadow flickered past their eyes.
A blood-soaked young man landed before them, his expression twisted with a feral, unhinged grin.
"Looks like that stupid lion already made it inside..."
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