The Calm Belt — the absolute forbidden zone on both sides of the Grand Line.
Beneath its deceptively tranquil surface lurked the greatest terror of this world: colossal Sea Kings.
On the shore of a desolate, lonely island.
A small snake with jet-black scales that gleamed with a cold metallic luster under the sunlight was coiled atop a reef.
Its golden vertical pupils stared lifelessly at the endless sea before it.
“Even though I’ve read countless transmigration novels… actually becoming a snake myself still sucks.”
Zane flicked his forked tongue, letting the salty, humid air pass through his Jacobson’s organ and translate into chemical signals in his brain.
This unique snake sensory experience felt both novel and deeply frustrating.
He used to be an overworked corporate slave on Blue Star.
While staying up late reading a certain tomato novel titled One Piece: Starting With…, his heart suddenly seized.
When he opened his eyes again, the world had changed.
No hands.
No legs.
Only cold scales and a slippery body.
Right after waking up, he nearly became a textbook example of “respawning in a bad spot” — a bizarre crab with rabbit-like ears had clamped onto his tail.
If he hadn’t twisted desperately and slipped into a rock crevice, he would’ve already become crab shit.
Fortunately, as a member of the transmigrator army, his cheat arrived — albeit a little late.
[Ding!
Host vital signs confirmed stable.] [Infinite Devouring Evolution System activated!] [Host: Zane] [Race: Black Scale Juvenile Snake (Mortal Grade)] [Talent: None] [Skills: Venomous Fangs (LV1), Coiling (LV1)] [Evolution Points: 0/100] [Current Evaluation: Bottom of the One Piece world’s food chain.
Even a passing seagull could treat you like a spicy snack.]
Looking at the system’s mocking panel, Zane didn’t get angry.
Instead, an overwhelming wave of hunger surged from his stomach.
Snake instinct screamed in his mind: Eat!
Only by eating could he survive.
Only by devouring could he become stronger!
“Since this is the Calm Belt, there should be plenty of food.”
“Fine, spicy snack it is.
One day, I’ll become the giant python that swallows the heavens and earth!”
Zane slithered forward with his roughly one-meter-long body, quietly slipping into the shallow waters.
He wasn’t stupid.
Going into the deep sea right now would be suicide.
Suddenly, the sand in front of him shifted.
A hard-shelled hermit crab the size of a millstone dug its way out, waving two massive pincers and stirring up cloudy sediment.
It was the same creature that had nearly killed him earlier!
“Enemies on a narrow road.
Looks like you’re my first meal!”
A fierce glint flashed in Zane’s eyes.
But he didn’t charge forward mindlessly like a wild beast.
Using his human intelligence and small size to his advantage, he blended his black body perfectly into the shadow of the dark brown seaweed.
He held his breath, even deliberately slowing his heartbeat, patiently waiting for the prey to expose a weakness.
Closer… even closer…
The moment the hermit crab turned, revealing the soft, vulnerable flesh connecting its shell —
Whoosh!
A black streak shot through the water.
Zane sank his fangs precisely into the soft underbelly, activating Venomous Fangs!
Icy venom shot through the hollow fangs and flooded the crab’s body.
The hermit crab went berserk, swinging its giant pincers wildly, but Zane had already released his bite and retreated to a safe distance, coldly watching his prey struggle.
Three seconds later, the crab’s movements slowed.
Ten seconds later, it went completely rigid, foamed at the mouth, and sank to the bottom.
“Done.”
Zane swam over and opened his jaws wide.
A snake’s jaw structure was incredibly sophisticated, capable of dislocating to nearly 180 degrees.
Even though his body was small, he tore and swallowed chunks of crab meat several times larger than his head.
[Devoured Hard-Shell Hermit Crab.
Gained 5 Evolution Points!] [Absorbed shell essence.
Scale hardness slightly increased!]
A warm current spread throughout his body.
“Feels good!
So this is what evolution feels like?”
Zane clearly felt his strength increase.
His previously shriveled belly had become noticeably fuller.
Once the killing started, it couldn’t be stopped.
Over the next few hours, the shallow beach turned into a slaughterhouse for small sea creatures.
[Devoured Sawtooth Fish.
Gained 8 Evolution Points!] [Devoured Sea Snake (same species).
Gained 10 Evolution Points!
Obtained Skill Fragment: Underwater Breathing Enhancement!] …
[Ding!
Evolution Points have reached 100/100.
Begin first evolution?]
“Evolve!” Zane chose without hesitation.
A burst of intense pain mixed with pleasure washed over him.
His old skin shed away, and the newly grown scales became even darker and deeper, as if they could absorb light.
His body length exploded from one meter to nearly three meters, resembling a thick black iron whip.
[Congratulations, Host has evolved into: Black-Gold Python (Low-grade Sea Beast)] [Awakened Talent: Basic Intimidation (Instinctive suppression on lower creatures)] [Awakened Passive: Steel Scales (Ordinary blades can barely harm you)]
Zane raised the upper half of his body above the water, looked at his reflection, and nodded in satisfaction.
“I’m still not a Sea King yet, but at least I’m no longer a spicy snack.”
Just as Zane prepared to continue hunting, the calm sea suddenly shook violently.
Splash——!
The distant water boiled as a massive shadow the size of a mountain burst out!
It was a gigantic tiger-striped Sea King.
Its enormous size made Zane feel like a toothpick even after his evolution.
“Holy shit, a monster of this level…” Zane immediately retreated into a rock crevice and held his breath.
But then he saw a ship.
A large red ship pulled by two massive red-and-blue sea serpents, bearing the “Nine Snakes” emblem, was sailing straight toward them.
“Nine Snakes Pirates?
Amazon Lily?”
Zane’s eyes lit up instantly.
If it was this ship, then the people on board were…
Roar——!
The massive tiger-striped Sea King clearly saw the Nine Snakes ship as food and lunged with its bloody maw.
On the bow of the ship, a tall, graceful figure stood proudly.
The sea wind whipped her long black hair, revealing a face of unparalleled beauty that could make the entire world fall in love.
She wore a high-slit qipao, her long, fair legs dazzling in the sunlight.
One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea — the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock!
“How dare you block my path, you insolent beast.”
Hancock’s voice was ice-cold.
She didn’t even bother taking a proper fighting stance — she simply lifted her slender, beautiful leg slightly.
“Fragrant Kick!”
Boom!
With just one kick, half of the gigantic Sea King’s head instantly turned to stone before being completely shattered!
The massive corpse plummeted toward the sea like a meteor, creating a towering wave.
Coincidentally, the corpse landed right on the shallow beach of the island where Zane was hiding.
“That woman… is terrifyingly strong,” Zane admitted.
Right now, she could probably kill ten thousand of him with one kick.
But the next second, his system went into a frenzy.
[Extremely high-grade flesh energy detected!
Devouring it will grant massive Evolution Points and greatly strengthen your physique!]
Most of the Sea King’s corpse had landed on the beach, its blood dyeing the seawater red.
To Zane, this was a free feast dropped from the heavens!
“High risk, high reward!”
Zane glanced at the distant Nine Snakes ship.
They didn’t seem to care about the Sea King’s corpse and were preparing to leave.
He shot forward, opened his mouth wide, and began frantically devouring the energy-rich flesh.
[Devouring Mid-grade Sea King flesh… +50 Evolution Points… +50… +50…]
The system notifications were practically spamming.
While Zane was eating with wild abandon, back on the Nine Snakes ship—
“Sister, look over there,” Boa Sandersonia (the second Gorgon sister) pointed toward the shore.
“Something seems to be… eating the Sea King’s corpse?”
Hancock glanced over casually, but her arrogant eyes suddenly froze.
She saw a black python.
It wasn’t very large, but its feeding was extremely ferocious.
Its black scales gleamed with a faint metallic sheen under the sunlight.
Most importantly, there was a slight bulge on its head, as if something was about to grow.
“What a beautiful snake…” Hancock actually said those words.
The people of Amazon Lily worshipped snakes.
The more ferocious and special the snake, the more they loved it.
At that moment, the large red-and-black patterned snake with a skull pattern — Salome — who was always coiled behind Hancock, suddenly reared up and hissed uneasily toward Zane on the shore.
“Hiss—!”
“Salome?” Hancock’s beautiful eyes widened in surprise as she looked at her beloved pet.
“You’re… afraid?”
Salome, who could fight sea beasts in the ocean as the Empress’s weapon, was actually afraid of a small black snake only a fraction of its size?
What did this mean?
Bloodline suppression!
That little black snake possessed a far nobler bloodline than Salome!
The corner of Hancock’s lips curled upward into a playful yet domineering smile — the look of a hunter who had discovered a rare treasure.
“To think it can make Salome feel fear… What an interesting little fellow.”
“Sandersonia, bring the ship closer.”
Hancock extended a slender finger and pointed at Zane, who was still ravenously eating with blood all over his mouth.
With an unquestionable, domineering tone, she declared:
“That snake… belongs to me.”
Zane, who was in the middle of swallowing a large chunk of meat, suddenly froze.
A chilling sensation of being locked onto by an apex predator made him whip his head around.
His golden vertical pupils met Hancock’s deep blue eyes — eyes as profound as the sea and as proud as an empress — across hundreds of meters of water.
Their gazes locked.
Zane licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, watching the massive ship approaching.
His mind raced.
Run?
Impossible.
Fight?
Even more suicidal.
In that case…
Zane raised the upper half of his body, trying to look as majestic and elegant as possible.
Zane’s inner thought at the end:
“As long as I don’t get turned into snake soup, I’m definitely eating this world’s strongest soft rice!”