Underground Basement.
Marcus's massive ring-blade clashed fiercely against Wolf's obsidian claws, locking the two in a deadlock. Behind Vito and Rock, a group of armed allies had just rushed in, guns and blades drawn, surrounding the remaining four enemies with tense vigilance.
"You sea-scum bastards... I'll make sure none of you leave here alive!"
The bellow that tore from Lion's throat was primal, ferocious.
Seeing the bloodied crewmates of the Triangle Pirates arrive only pushed him over the edge.
His roar erupted like a shockwave, echoing through the enclosed space of the basement, shaking the walls and rattling everyone's eardrums.
And then, his body surged.
But unlike Tiger, this transformation came with something more grotesque.
His skull elongated grotesquely, forcing the golden lion mask off his face. Coarse, ashen fur erupted from beneath his clothes, especially thick around his neck like a true mane. His gloves and shoes split apart as claws burst free, his limbs morphing into bestial paws.
Within moments, he towered nearly four meters tall, half-man, half-lion, an upright beast that radiated raw savagery.
"What the hell is that? A lion!?"
Eyes widened. For a moment, no one could believe what they were seeing.
"I knew it," hissed Snake grimly. "You ate that Devil Fruit after all, didn't you, Lion?"
"It's been twenty years since I've seen you go all out," said Eagle, voice trembling with a strange excitement.
With a roar that shook the very foundation of the room, Lion charged directly at Vito, a whirlwind of bloodlust in motion.
Vito's shout rang out just in time. The Triangle Pirates scattered instinctively to the sides.
In a blink, Lion was already upon Vito, a colossal paw lashing out.
The wall behind the crew caved in instantly, forming a deep crater as spiderweb-like cracks spread across the entire structure. Thick dust filled the room like smoke, choking visibility.
Elsewhere, Wolf was still locked in fierce combat with Marcus. Both their arms were coated in Armament Haki, colliding with the force of meteor strikes. Sparks burst from their impacts, lighting up the room with each deadly exchange.
Though the basement was large, the sudden influx of combatants made it feel cramped. Wolf couldn't dodge freely, he had no choice but to go blow-for-blow with Marcus.
"Try this on for size—BIG GUN!!"
Suddenly, Rock stepped forward, thrusting out his right arm as it began to twist and expand. In mere seconds, it transformed into a thick, black cannon barrel, massive and gleaming. The muzzle locked onto Lion.
A deafening blast followed the flash of a muzzle flare. (Light always outruns sound.) A black cannonball roared toward Lion at breakneck speed.
"ARE YOU CRAZY!?" Vito screamed, eyes wide with fury. "Firing a cannon in a damned basement!?"
This wasn't an open battlefield, it was a confined space underground. That blast could easily kill allies and enemies alike if it hit the wrong spot.
"Vice Captain! We're still in here too!!"
"We're gonna die, Rock's gone nuts again!!"
"GET DOWN! HIT THE FLOOR BEFORE WE GET HIT BY THE BLAST!!"
The sudden cannon fire sent the Triangle Pirates into a frenzy. Terrified crewmates scrambled toward the exit, diving for safety.
Just before the cannonball struck, Lion swiped his arm in a blur of motion, batting the projectile away like it was a toy. The impact produced a dull, bone-shaking boom as paw met cannonball.
A split second later, the wall to their side exploded, sending smoke, flame, and stone debris surging outward in a wave of destruction. The shockwave swept through the basement like a hurricane.
"Dammit... too cramped in here," Eagle muttered, sweeping his arm to disperse the smoke. As he did, he snatched a golden short spear from the weapon rack nearby. "Tiger! Smash the right wall. We need more space. Snake, come with me. Let's pin them down."
"Don't order me around, you ass!" Tiger growled, glaring at Eagle, but still moved toward the wall.
"I'm on it," replied Snake calmly, lowering his hands and stepping forward beside Hawk.
The entire basement trembled. Tiger's boulder-sized fist slammed into the wall. Cracks splintered from the impact point like a spiderweb, forming a massive crater.
Yet the surrounding structure remained intact.
"Sturdy place," Vito muttered with a twisted grin, facing off against Lion. "Gotta respect it."
"Hmph." Lion scoffed, his lion face creasing in a frown.
This place... it was built centuries ago by one of their ancestors, himself a Devil Fruit user. The old man had supposedly fused metal elements into the very stone of the walls. Unless the entire island was destroyed or hit by an earthquake, this place wouldn't budge.
Otherwise, for fighters of their caliber, breaking stone walls should've been trivial.
Tiger flexed. His right arm swelled even larger, then slammed down a second time. A shockwave of white force burst from the impact, blasting a massive section of the wall into rubble. Chunks of stone flew like shrapnel into the next room. chaos.
A sharp metallic clash rang out the next instant, piercing through the dust-filled air. Another wave of pressure pulsed outward, rocking the room again.
There stood Eagle, blocking a jewel-studded golden scimitar with his short golden spear. And the one wielding that ornate blade, was Snake.
"What the hell?" Tiger turned, dumbfounded.
"Snake, what are you doing?!" shouted Wolf, locked in his own fierce battle. His momentary distraction cost him as Marcus' blade sliced across his chest.
Though he managed to block it with Armament Haki, the impact still sent him stumbling backward, blood surging wildly within him. He barely kept from coughing up blood on the spot.
"Snake... it's you!" Lion's fur bristled in fury, his voice filled with rage.
Snake bore down with force, pressing his scimitar against Eagle's spear. "You blocked me... Eagle, you were ready for this from the start, weren't you?"
Eagle pushed back with equal strength, their weapons locked in a clash of will and steel. "To be precise, I was ready for any of you."
He met Snake's eyes, voice calm but firm. "The moment they stormed in, I knew something was wrong. There's no way they could've breached this place, past the hidden passages and the elite guards, without someone feeding them intel. Not even we received warning before they were in our midst."
He narrowed his eyes. "Only five people know the full layout of this facility. Only the five of us. So I suspected from the very beginning, one of us is a traitor. I just didn't know who. But out of all of us... you were the most suspicious."
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