Chapter 65

"Got it!" Hepha said, acknowledging Ace's command.

Hearing that Ace planned to destroy and sink a whole island, Soma reminded him of what he found.

"But Ace, there are locals here!"

"How many are there?" Ace asked as he kept up his assault on the creatures.

"Not a lot," Soma said. "But I'm not sure. Maybe I haven't seen all of them!"

"Our ship is big!" Ace said. "They can take refuge there."

"Young man, young man, did I hear right? They're fighting creatures of the night?" an old voice that Ace didn't recognize said.

"Is that one of the locals?" Vash asked.

"Yeah," Soma said. "What creatures are you talking about, old man?"

"This is bad, this is terrible! Wendigos are a great trouble!" the old man sounded like he was panicking.

"Wendigos?" Ace asked. "Is that the name of the monsters?"

"No, Wendigos are not monsters! They are men, same as the others!"

"Men? You've gotta be shitting us, old man!" Teach said. "I've seen them with my own eyes! These… Wendigos aren't men!"

"Oh, but they are! Once, yes they were!" the old man said. "The Curse has changed them forever!"

"Curse? What are you talking about?" Ace asked. He was mostly distracted by the fact that he stopped hearing screams from outside the wall of fire.

Still, he didn't stop firing his indiscriminate shots.

"'Tis the Curse of Blackwood Island! Doom to those who eat man, this land!"

"So these Wendigos were cannibals?" Ace asked. "Great. All the more reason for this place to sink!"

"Let's go back to your village!" Soma's voice was heard. "Let's get you out of here!"

"No, we must stay! Fortune, we pray!" the old man said, disagreeing with Soma. "Our du-"

There was an audible gasp from Soma's side. It didn't come from Soma, though.

"What's happening, Soma?" Ace asked.

"Ace, are you using your Devil Fruit right now?"

"I am."

"Well, we're seeing smoke rising up from within the forest," Soma said. "The locals are… praying."

"Huh?"

Then, Ace felt multiple presences approach their position. They came from above. Ace looked up to see Augur, Terzo, and Enel. With a popping sound, the three of them warped beside Ace.

"Glad you made it!" Ace said to his crew, relieved that they made it so quickly. "You're not exhausted are you, Augur?"

"Not at all, Captain," Augur said.

"Good. Carry Teach and warp out of here!" Ace said.

Augur quickly obeyed his captain's orders. He put one of Teach's arms over his shoulder and helped him stand up.

"Sorry for the trouble," Teach said to Augur.

"Don't mention it."

With a pop, Augur and Teach disappeared. Ace turned to Terzo and Enel.

"Terzo, I need you to help me and Hepha by cutting down as many trees as you can," Ace said. "Right now, we're probably surrounded by dozens of Wendigos. Watch his back, Enel. Haki doesn't have much effect on these monsters."

"Seriously?" Terzo looked disturbed. "No wonder Teach got hurt. Leave it to us, Ace!"

"Roger that, Captain!" Enel said with a salute to Ace, acknowledging his orders.

"Let me make a move first," Ace said. Then, he called to the flames around him.

The flames obeyed Ace. They gathered above him. Ace condensed them into a big ball he held up with his hand.

"Sunny Day!"

Ace threw the great ball of fire in front of him. Before his attack impacted, he summoned flames to protect Terzo and Enel.

Ace's technique exploded in a bright and fiery light that engulfed a wide area. It blew and burned away the snow and the wood along with the unfortunate Wendigos who were near enough to the explosion.

Some Wendigos were smart and started running away immediately after seeing Ace gather the great ball of fire above him. They felt the threat of his move.

Still, Ace's attack had a great effect. Dozens of Wendigos were killed in an instant. The remaining were forced to retreat and wait out the worst of the explosion.

When the explosion started dying down, Ace put down the wall of flame that protected Terzo and Enel.

"Go, go, go!" Ace urged them to move quickly.

Terzo and Enel immediately sprung into action. Their immediate surroundings were made barren because of Ace's previous attack. So, they went off to wreak havoc on an undamaged part of the forest.

"Shit, Hepha's out there alone!" Ace suddenly realized something vital.

…

"I'm here!" Doppol announced the moment he got on board the ship. He let his Doubles get on first to place their loot in the ship's treasure room.

Before he left to go off on his own, he used his Devil Fruit and strength to push the ship back into the water. The Ashen Dragon was no longer beached.

Then, moments after getting onboard, Doppol's face went sickly green. He hunched over the railing on the edge of the ship and barfed. As that happened, he used his power and created Second to act in place of him as well as the necessary amount of Doubles to sail the ship.

"What happened, Doppol?" Tanya asked.

The Royal Aces who remained on the ship all gathered around Doppol and Second who immediately explained what's going on.

"Ace encountered some monsters in the forest," Second said. "He ordered us to sail around this island at a distance and bombard it with our cannons."

"He wants to sink this island?" Mihar asked, seemingly doubting what he heard.

"Let's go! Explosions! Pirate stuff!" In contrast, Eri looked excited as well as Kotatsu.

"His orders were clear," Second said before turning to the other Doubles. "Let's do it! Cast off the sails!"

"Wait, Doppol!" Mihar said, as he looked up and held up a finger he licked with his tongue. "The winds are against us! We'll only crash on the island if we let our sails loose!"

"Did you forget about me?" Tanya spoke up and captured everyone's attention. "You won't need to worry about the wind with me on board."

"You heard the lady!" Second shouted to the Doubles. "Move, move, move!"

The Doubles quickly did their job like a well-oiled machine. Soon, the Ashen Dragon's sails were cast off.

Mihar's initial assessment was correct. The headwind wasn't helping them sail away. Tanya then used her power.

Wind surged around Tanya. Soon, the winds around the ship changed. In a matter of seconds, the winds were at their back to push the Ashen Dragon in the direction they needed.

Second then stood on the helm. Doppol was leaning against the mast of the ship hugging his metal bucket. Tanya focused on using her power to help steer the ship. Mihar and Eri helped the Doubles in loading the cannons. Kotatsu was just being a good boy, sitting in one corner to watch everyone busy themselves.

It didn't take long for the Ashen Dragon to reach the optimal distance from the island. Tanya's power helped greatly. The ship moved at a speed impossible for its size. 

Despite being the size of a galleon ship, the Ashen Dragon moved at a speed that only smaller ships like caravels can boast.

"Cannons at the ready!" Second shouted over the cacophony of winds, waves, and heaves.

"Aye!" the Doubles shouted back, signaling that the cannons were loaded.

"Fire on my mark!"

The Doubles got ready for the command to fire. In the meantime, Mihar assisted with aiming the cannons at the distant forest. He was a marksman, after all. His aim was to be trusted.

"Fire!" Second shouted.

The Doubles lit the fuse of the cannons. The Ashen Dragon roared. Fiery cannonballs flew at an arc on the forest of Blackwood Island.

The Ashen Wood formula of Doppol made the Ashen Dragon highly resistant to fire. It made it possible for the ship's offensive measures to be fire related, something that was usually a hazard. The Royal Aces need not fear fire. Their captain was a fire human, after all.

Mihar watched the cannonballs sail through the air to see if they needed to adjust their aim. Thankfully, there was no need. The cannonballs landed on where they were supposed to.

"Keep firing! Keep up the barrage!" Second shouted.

The Doubles, Mihar, and Eri continuously reloaded the cannons. Shot after shot, they didn't stop. They watched the forest of Blackwood Island explode and burn, just as Ace ordered them to do so.

They weren't worried for the safety of their crew. They were capable enough to not mind cannonballs raining down on them. Hepha and Terzo's jobs were made easier with the assistance of the Ashen Dragon.

"Tanya, ease up the wind!" Second shouted to Tanya who was standing on the deck. "Our shots are too spread out! We need focused fire!"

"I hear you!" Tanya said.

The winds slightly died down. Tanya listened to Second's orders. He was relieved to see that Ace didn't recruit a hard-headed crewmate. Lack of cooperation can be deadly when out in the sea.

"Keep up the pace!" Second shouted to the Doubles. "Don't worry about ammo! We can stock up easily!"

…

With his heels spurting jets of fire, Ace rushed through hordes of Wendigos with great speed as he tried to look for Hepha. He couldn't contact her because he forgot to take back the Transponder Snail he gave Teach.

Now, Ace rampaged with his power. His flames roared out of him, burning everything around him. He didn't let the Wendigos close.

"Hepha! Where are you?"

Ace shouted as he blazed through the dead forest. He joined Hepha, Terzo, and the Ashen Dragon in assaulting the island itself. The trees were uprooted and the land itself burned. 

Ace was deeply disturbed by the sight of the Wendigos. He wanted to make sure none of them were left alive.

Eventually, he sensed her presence. He quickly hurried to where Hepha was. His rampage made the Wendigos scatter. He wouldn't be surprised if she already encountered a few of them.

When Ace reached her, his guess was proved correct. Hepha was holding off a couple of Wendigos as she smashed apart the forest. Much to Ace's relief, Hepha didn't seem injured.

"Hepha!" Ace called out to Hepha after seeing her send the Wendigos flying.

Hepha turned her head to Ace. Her face lit up in joy and relief at seeing him. She waved to him. Ace landed beside her.

"Yo, Ace! Were those the monsters you were talking about?" Hepha asked.

"Yeah. They almost got Teach," Ace answered. "I'm glad you're fine."

"Well, they were running out in the open," Hepha said. "Pretty hard to miss seeing them."

Ace looked around to see the destruction Hepha caused. She carried out her task effectively. There were no trees in sight. Hepha literally smashed everything apart. Even the ground wasn't safe, judging by the huge craters all around them.

"HAHAHAHA! You smashed everything apart! Great job, Hepha!"

"Of course, Captain!"

"RAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

A cacophony of shrill screams jolted Ace and Hepha back to their current situation. They stood back to back as they swept their surroundings with their gaze. They were quickly surrounded by dozens of Wendigos.

"How many of them are there?" Ace asked out of exasperation.

"This looks bad," Hepha said. "I couldn't even kill one of them!"

"Yeah. They're resistant to Haki," Ace said. "Teach told me. Can't believe it's true."

"Well, I hope your Devil Fruit works on them," Hepha said, hoping that Ace can get them out of their pinch.

Ace didn't answer at first. Then, a couple of Wendigos charged at him. He grinned and set his hand ablaze.

"Heat Haze!"

A stream of fire shot out from his palm and engulfed the two Wendigos. They died screaming as they burned. Hepha watched it happen over her shoulder. Seeing the monsters burn to death greatly relieved her.

"Actually, it's very effective on them," Ace said with a smirk. "I'll watch your back. Focus on smashing this island apart."

"Got it, Captain!"