As soon as Mio returned to the ship, he immediately opened the gene panel and dragged the pre-selected genes into the culture frame below the tank.
Once again, Mio chose not to use the Ancient Lizard gene. He continued to keep it in reserve. Instead, he selected the Demon Gene, the Tyrannosaurus Gene, the Triceratops Gene, and several others. The reason for excluding the Ancient Lizard Gene was simple—its natural weakness to seawater due to the Devil Fruit traits it carried. And this time, Mio's goal was to cultivate a creature that could live and breathe freely underwater—a Sea King. Including the Ancient Lizard gene would only hinder its seawater adaptability.
"One Demon Gene is enough," Mio muttered, rubbing his hands together before firmly pressing the [Cultivate] button.
[Please select the cultivation direction: Beast-type? – Human-type?]
[Human-type!]
Just then, Robin approached him, her voice laced with curiosity.
"Captain, where's that Sea King? Why did it suddenly disappear?"
"You'll see it soon enough," Mio grinned, glancing at the blood-stained waters nearby. His smile quickly faded as his eyes sharpened with vigilance.
"Stay alert. The blood might attract other Sea Kings. If the ship gets destroyed, we're in serious trouble."
Though Mio wasn't too worried about dying here, losing the ship would delay everything—especially with the ten billion Berries stashed in his room. If the ship sank, he'd really lose his mind.
"We need to build a solid ship when we reach Water 7," Mio murmured to himself. But before that, aside from visiting Alabasta, Sky Island was another priority. There was a Poneglyph there, and he had no intention of missing out on the legendary Golden City. Not to mention the Thunder Fruit that originated from Enel's homeland.
Whether the Thunder Fruit was still up there remained uncertain. The timeline was still far from the start of the original story. Enel only obtained the Thunder Fruit about ten years before the main plot. For all Mio knew, a previous user might be sailing the seas now, or perhaps the fruit had already respawned on Sky Island after their death.
Regardless, the Thunder Fruit was undeniably among the most powerful Logia types. Thunder, after all, was one of nature's most terrifying elements. In terms of raw destructive power, perhaps only the Glint-Glint Fruit, the Flame-Flame Fruit, or the Dark-Dark Fruit could stand toe-to-toe with it.
Just as Mio was lost in thought, waves surged violently across the sea.
Mio's gaze snapped toward the ocean, his fingers wrapping tightly around Raikiri's hilt. "Looks like they're here."
A deep rumble echoed across the waters.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
Gigantic figures began to emerge from the depths.
They were Sea Kings—massive ones. There were at least twenty of them. The smallest was over 100 meters long, while the largest towered over a thousand meters. Visually, they were colossal monsters looming across the sea, a breathtaking and intimidating sight.
ROARRR!
The Sea Kings bellowed toward Mio's ship, circling it with piercing gazes full of menace.
Robin's face turned pale. It was her first time witnessing such a terrifying formation of Sea Kings.
"Tsk. That's a lot of them," Mio clicked his tongue, slightly annoyed. "If only I had Conqueror's Haki… I could just knock 'em out."
Sea Kings were naturally sensitive to that kind of Haki.
Although Erica possessed Conqueror's Haki, she was far from mastering it—heck, she didn't even know she had it.
Maybe Mio should drop by Sabaody Archipelago sometime and learn from Rayleigh. But that could wait.
For now, his new creature was still being cultivated.
While Mio weighed whether he should make the first move, Lilith approached him quietly and whispered, "Master, Lilith can help."
"Oh?" Mio raised an eyebrow in surprise before giving her a nod. "Alright, give it a try."
He had known Lilith had certain abilities, but he refrained from asking before, thinking it might cause too much of a commotion. After all, this was the Calm Belt—the Sea Kings' breeding ground. A dozen was manageable, but if they stirred up a hundred or more, things could spiral fast.
But since Lilith volunteered, she must've been confident.
With Mio's permission, Lilith stepped forward slowly.
With each step, her form subtly shifted. Cracks appeared along the back of her clothes, and a radiant color began to emerge behind her.
By the time she reached the ship's edge and stepped into the air, a pair of enormous, majestic wings burst from her back, sending her soaring into the sky.
The wings shimmered with a celestial glow, scattering bits of luminous energy in the air, as if she were a divine being.
They were several times her size, each beat of the wings generating a powerful wind that made the sails tremble.
But what was more surprising was the Sea Kings' reactions.
Those once-ferocious beasts suddenly froze. Their monstrous eyes sparkled with something akin to… affection? They stared at Lilith with hearts practically glowing in their pupils, utterly entranced.
Except for the largest Sea King.
It snapped out of its trance after just a few seconds. With a fierce glare, it locked onto Lilith.
"Get lost," Lilith said coldly, her voice devoid of emotion.
Her wings flared open, stirring a violent wind before flapping forward.
SWOOSH!
Two massive wind blades tore through the sky, slamming into the largest Sea King.
SLASH—SPLAT!
Two long, gruesome gashes split across its body as blood sprayed into the air.
ROARRR!!
The massive Sea King howled in pain, shaking the ocean.
Its roar snapped the other Sea Kings out of their daze. No longer mesmerized, they all let out blood-curdling cries and lunged toward the ship with open maws.
"Back off!" Lilith shouted, her expression turning frosty as she looked down at the threat below—her master was still on that ship.
With a mighty flap of her wings, the wind around her condensed and spiraled downward, forming a tornado that began to churn the sea.
The ship rocked wildly from the pressure as the tornado intensified, lifting seawater into the sky like a massive cyclone.
Lilith swung her wings again, sending the tornado barreling toward the oncoming Sea Kings.
CRASH!!
One of the Sea Kings was sucked into the vortex and shredded apart, instantly reduced to a mist of blood.
The ocean surface turned red, waves thrashing violently.
At that exact moment, a soft chime echoed in Mio's mind.
[Cultivation Complete.]
A grin slowly spread across Mio's face.
The birth of a new monster was just the beginning.