Once a mink stares directly at the full moon, their transformation immediately begins, and after a few seconds, they will have achieved their new form.[1]
In order to initiate the transformation, a mink must have a clear, unobstructed view of the moon, being unable to undergo Sulong should the moon be covered by clouds, a roof, or whatever else.[3] A mink can also shroud their eyes from the moon's light to avert their transformation; even tinted glasses will effectively shield them.[5] The Big Mom Pirates attempted to forcibly stop Pekoms from transforming by gouging out his eyes, although it is unknown what the end result of this was.[6]
Chopper developed a special drug that allows a mink to transform into Sulong without needing to look at the full moon, allowing them to tap into the Sulong's power at any time, even during the day.[7]
Transformation
A mink's transformation begins with their pupils shrinking to an extremely small size as their eyes turn blood-red. Their fur and hair turn pure-white as their bodies grow in size. Particularly hairy and furry areas, like manes and tails, have been shown to grow tremendously and take on a wilder appearance. Overall, their bodies look even more animalistic than they do normally. Once transformed, their body is constantly surrounded by sparks of Electro.[1][6]
Said to be the "true form" of the minks, a race whose members are born with natural fighting ability, the Sulong transformation exponentially enhances the existing skills of a mink. When Carrot, a rabbit mink with tremendous jumping skills and agility, activated Sulong, she was able to glide through the air as though she could fly and gracefully jump and spin around from ship to ship in a way that none of her opponents could keep up with. A mink's base physical strength appears to increase with Sulong as well, as Carrot was able to easily rip the helm off of one of Daifuku's ships without anyone noticing until later. While attacking, Carrot constantly emitted Electro and gave each of her victims a debilitating shock with just a simple touch from any part of her body, including a bite from her mouth.[1]
Referred to by Inuarashi as the minks' "trump card", Sulong is the biggest known combat asset to the Mink Tribe. While the Inuarashi Musketeer Squad and Guardians on Zou were ultimately defeated by a small army of the Beasts Pirates led by Jack after a five-day battle, Inuarashi was confident that the Sulong form would aid the minks in the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance's upcoming battle against the entire Beasts Pirates crew.[4] Ultimately, Inuarashi's expectations came to pass as the Musketeers and Guardians took down a platoon of the Beasts Pirates on Onigashima with Sulong, with Inuarashi and Nekomamushi easily defeating Jack.[8]
The effectiveness of Sulong was quickly shown when Carrot activated it on the seas of Totto Land and near-singlehandedly debilitated an entire fleet of Tarteships.[1] Pekoms was also confident that he could use Sulong to take on an entire army of the Big Mom Pirates and successfully distract them, although his attempt was much more easily neutralized.[6]
While normally mindless while in the Sulong state, with sufficient training, a mink can keep control over themselves and maintain their original intelligence and personality, making them even more dangerous.
Weaknesses
Due to the fact that Sulong nominally can only be activated when a full moon appears, being roughly every 30 days, usage of it is extremely limited. Additionally, since a mink must have an unobscured view of the moon to trigger Sulong, conditions and circumstances may prevent activation even when there is a full moon in the sky.[3][9] These can be bypassed by an experimental drug developed by Chopper.
This transformation is very dangerous for minks, as unless they are sufficiently trained they will lose their minds completely and attack anyone near them, even friends and allies.[5] Achieving control over the Sulong transformation is extremely difficult, as seen with Pekoms, who is unable to restore his normal mental state without the intervention of Pedro.[6]
In addition to its dangerous effects mentally, the Sulong state is generally known to have a short lifespan[10] due to being extremely taxing on a mink's physical body, as the mink will expend all their energy and die after just a single night of usage. After employing Sulong in a span of mere minutes, Carrot grew tired to the point of starting to lose consciousness and had to rest on the Thousand Sunny for a while afterward. This makes it even more important for minks to train to control Sulong, as if they are unable to deactivate the transformation they will run wild until they soon die.[5]
It takes several seconds for a mink to fully transform into their Sulong form, so if an opponent is able to act quickly enough, they may be able to overwhelm the mink and halt the transformation. A mink's transformed body has not been shown to have increased durability; when the gun Pekoms was holding caught on fire while he was transforming, his hand was quickly burned, and forced to let go of it.[6]
Techniques
Carrot
Moon Rabbit (月兎,pronunciation unknown?): Carrot charges at full speed at her opponents using her claws to scratch and electrocute everything in her path. It was first seen used against Daifuku's fleet. It was named in the game Pirate Warriors 4.
Comet Rabbit (彗星兎,pronunciation unknown?): Carrot jumps and falls landing with a double front kick electrocuting her opponents. It was first seen used against Daifuku's fleet. It was named in the game Pirate Warriors 4.
Nekomamushi
Aka Byobu (赤猫踊,Aka Byōbu?, literally meaning "Red Cat Dance"): Nekomamushi charges at full speed while spinning at his opponent and then heavily strikes the target with his claw, which manages to both electrocute and knock them back at once. It was first seen used against Kaidou.[11] This is called Crimson Cat Dance in the English adaptations.
Oden One Sword Style: Neko Niko Ban (おでん一刀流 猫笑衝突,Oden Ittōryū: Neko Niko Bān?, literally meaning "Oden One Sword/Blade Style: Cat Laugh Collision"): Nekomamushi strikes with his right arm, causing a piercing shockwave. This was first used to defeat Charlotte Perospero.[12] The name of the technique may be a pun on the expression neko ni koban (猫に小判?, "a gold coin to a cat") which is roughly equivalent to "pearls before swine". This is called Oden One-Sword Style: Feline Frenzy in the english adaptations.
Inuarashi
Inu Odoshi (犬大門風,Inu Odoshi?, literally meaning "Dog Large Gate Wind"): Inuarashi charges at full speed towards his opponent and kicks his target with his sword leg, which pierces and electrocutes them. It was first seen used against Kaidou.[13] This is called Canine Scourge in the english adaptations.
Oden One Sword Style: Inu Spire (おでん一刀流 犬斬威矢,Oden Ittōryū: Inu Supaiyā?, literally meaning "Oden One Sword/Blade Style: Dog Slash Power Arrow"): Inuarashi stabs with his sword leg, causing a piercing shockwave. This was first used to defeat Jack.[12] The name of the technique may be a pun on "inspire" (インスパイヤ ,insupaiya?). This is called Oden One-Sword Style: Canine Cleaver in the English adaptations.
Combination Attacks
Moon Raid (月襲,Mūn Reido?): A combination technique that Carrot performs alongside Wanda while both are in Sulong form, Carrot scratches and electrocutes her opponent with her claw while Wanda slashes them with her electrified cutlass at the same time. It was first used against Charlotte Perospero at Onigashima, heavily wounding his face in the process.[14]
Trivia
Jinbe had heard that the Sulong transformation is an awakening of a mink's deep feral memories.[5]
The Sulong transformation is similar to the myth about werewolves, who would transform from humans into ferocious bipedal animals (wolves) under the light of a full moon.
The minks being a race of natural-born fighters who can undergo a powerful transformation under a full moon and rampage if they had no training is also similar to the Saiyans and their Great Ape transformations from the Dragon Ball franchise.
Sulong is extremely similar to Tony Tony Chopper's Monster Point form, as both abilities give their users tremendous power boosts, but without sufficient training turns them into mindless and violent beasts, and are also dangerously taxing against the user's energy and strength within minutes of activation.
In the anime, when Carrot transforms to fight the Big Mom Piratesfleet, her voice changes, sounding silkier and more refined.
↑ 4.04.1One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 82Chapter 819 (p. 6) and Episode 771, Inuarashi says the minks will unveil their "true strength" the next time they fight the Beasts Pirates.
