‘One Piece’: Explaining the Sulong Transformation!

The characters we’ve seen in Oda’s One Piece are truly amazing. They are diverse, intriguing, and – in most cases – loved by fans. On top of that, they are – generally – very well-written characters whose stories are always fun to explore. And that is what we are going to do in this article. This article will focus on a specific group of hybrid characters known as the Mink Tribe and one of their specific powers. The Mink Tribe played an important role in the series, but they are also very specific because of their appearance and powers. The Sulong Transformation is one of those specific powers, and in this article, we will tell you everything you need to know about it.

Sulong is a form Minks can transform into on full moon nights. It is considered to be the “true form” of the Minks. This is a phenomenon that has been seen after it had been mentioned in the story and is something that is seen very rarely. In this form, the Minks look like monstrous versions of themselves and become much more powerful, which is why this transformation is used more as a trump card than anything else.

The rest of this article will be about the Sulong Transformation of the Mink Tribe and its role in the world of Oda’s One Piece series. We will introduce you to the phenomenon and how it is manifested and tell you just how powerful the members of the Mink Tribe become when they are in this scary. This article will contain some spoilers, so if you’re not fully up-to-date with everything, you have been warned.

You wouldn’t really want to meet a Mink in their Sulong form

The Minks are a breed characterized by having humanoid and animalistic traits. They are humanoids, but unlike humans, they have distinct animalistic features such as tails, snouts, animal ears, and paws.

Everyone seems to have fur, as no mink with scales or feathers has appeared. Their type of animal influences their character: for example, Roddy, the bull type, if he sees a red cloth, gets angry and charges it, while Blackback and Keith, the gorilla and monkey type Minks, adore bananas.

Furthermore, it seems that males have many more traits in common with animals, unlike females with a body much more similar to humans. A newborn mink can take on the species of any of its ancestors, not necessarily just the parents, so the offspring often do not have the same species as the parents.

This is the same process that occurs for marine populations such as Fish-Men. They can procreate with animals.

All Minks are born fighters, much stronger than average humans, so much, in fact, that they can defend themselves even as children. Some also seem to be able to hide their presence, given that Luffy fails to notice that he is surrounded by the body of the musketeers even though he knows how to use Observation Haki. The Mokomo Dukedom, inhabited entirely by Minks, resisted for five days in a confrontation with Kaidou’s pirates, finally being defeated only thanks to the opponents’ use of a toxic gas weapon.

Their strength is also recognized by Capone Bege, who prefers to avoid a confrontation with them even though they are all seriously injured in the battle against Jack. They are also extremely agile, so much so that they can make incredible leaps or somersaults in mid-air. They can also recover their strength and heal from injuries sustained with uncommon speed. However, in warm environments, they struggle with their fur.

Now, alongside their basic powers and abilities, all Minks can also use two innate abilities, Elektro and Sulong. Elektro is a skill that enables the Minks to generate powerful electric shocks from their bodies, but this one is not particularly interesting to us.

Everything we’ve said so far was just an introduction so we can tell you about the Sulong Transformation, but we had to tell you a bit about the Minks and their powers so that you know how the Sulong Transformation provides them with an upgrade.

As we have already said to you, Sulong is the name of the transformation that members of the Mink tribe can undergo during full moon nights. The Mink’s hair and tail grow into a long, thick head of hair turning white, while its eyes turn red (the only exception here are Pekoms’ eyes which turn blue and not red).

In this form, the Mink’s primal instincts are awakened, their physical abilities, such as speed, agility, and strength, increase dramatically, and they are also seemingly able to use their Elektro ability without any restrictions. They also grow sharp claws with which they can hurt their enemies. For example, when she entered her Sulong mode, Carrot managed to get rid of Charlotte Daifuku’s men quickly and without much effort.

To control and master this form, a Mink must train a lot. Otherwise, it would become uncontrollable and attack anyone and everyone without distinction all night long until it succumbs to exhaustion. Even the trained can maintain this state for a short time before fatigue is felt. Staying conscious becomes more difficult with fatigue.

Furthermore, for its effects, the transformation must be complete without the Mink taking its eyes off the full moon. To transform, a Mink must gaze directly at a full moon with its eyes fully open, without blinking. The transformation can be prevented if direct eye contact is avoided by looking away, with sunglasses, or with the help of headdresses.

The transformation can also be undone if one loses eye contact with the moon for a while. The moon must always be full, as even a slight obstruction will be enough for the process to stop. Chopper has managed to produce a pill that allows the Mink that ingests it to transform even in the absence of the full moon, but only for a short time.

And this is what the Sulong Transformation looks like and why it is so powerful and dangerous.