Chapter 84

With Augur at the helm, the Ashen Dragon sailed towards the rest of the ships that came from Espa Kingdom. Without looking back, the Royal Aces left the ship that Ace sunk alone. Their target wasn't there, after all.

With Tanya's assistance, the Ashen Dragon sailed at a great speed. Her winds pushed the ship forward, speeding towards the three ships in the horizon. In seemingly no time at all, the hulking figure of the Ashen Dragon arrived in front of its targets.

"Vash, take command!" Ace shouted towards his first mate. "Sink the two smaller ships for me!"

"Got it, Ace!" Vash said, acknowledging the captain's orders.

"Terzo and Doppol, with me!" Ace shouted. "Let's capture the bigwig in that big ship!"

"Captain, can I come with you?" a voice unfamiliar to Ace asked.

The unfamiliar voice prompted Ace to turn around. He was surprised to see a massive white tiger in front of him. It was his first time seeing him, but Ace instinctively knew who the white tiger was.

"What the-! Kotatsu?" Ace's eyes bulged out. "What did you eat?"

"I may have fed him a Devil Fruit," Hepha said with a small smirk. "He looks strong, doesn't he?"

"HAHAHAHA! He looks awesome!" Ace said. "What Devil Fruit was it?"

Kotatsu answered Ace's question.

"The Mythical Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Baihu!" Kotatsu raised his head in pride. "I'm strong now, Captain! Let me help!"

"I wanna see you in action, too!" Ace said before turning to Terzo and Doppol. "Let's go!"

Ace went ahead first followed by Terzo and Doppol. The three of them used a series of Air Jumps to get to the big ship in the middle of the three Espa ships. Kotatsu, however, only needed a single jump.

Kotatsu landed with a loud thud behind the trio of Ace, Terzo, and Doppol. With a low growl, Kotatsu made their entrance all the more intimidating for the Espa Kingdom soldiers on board the ship.

"Attack them!" shouted the commanding figure of the soldiers. Ace took a brief glance at the man and realized he was also just a small fry.

A few brave soldiers immediately acted on the orders they received. Around two dozen soldiers rushed forward towards Ace and his assault crew consisting of Terzo, Doppol, and Kotatsu.

"I'll handle them," Doppol said as he stepped forward. 

Then, a stream of Doubles rushed out from Doppol and met the soldiers charging towards them. Each one of the Doubles was stronger and faster than the soldiers despite being just a fraction of Doppol's strength. The Doubles were ruthless and aimed straight for incapacitating blows. After taking down one opponent, the Doubles instantly disintegrated into dust so they wouldn't be surrounded.

In just a few short moments, Doppol showed what he can do with his strength and Devil Fruit power. Ace whistled in appreciation of their shipwright's ability.

"Is it just me, or are you getting better with your Devil Fruit?" Ace asked.

"Tanya's book helped a lot," Doppol said as he picked up a sword off the ground. "Now, I can do this."

Ace watched in fascination as Doppol made another sword. He effectively doubled something he had in his hands, which was something he couldn't do before.

"Did you Awaken your Devil Fruit?" Ace asked.

"I don't think so," Doppol said, shaking his head. "I just… got better at using it."

Doppol turned his attention back to the soldiers of Espa Kingdom that were aboard the big ship. He was amused to see them slightly frozen in shock. Unlike marines, pirates, and sailors who were used to seeing seemingly unnatural phenomena from traveling at sea, the soldiers needed a few moments to collect themselves.

"Devil Fruit!"

"They're dangerous!"

"Bring the seastone!"

Doppol decided to initiate the attack first this time. It was his turn to show off and take control of the battle. With the two swords in his hands, Doppol created another continuous stream of Doubles. Unlike the last time where the Doubles created only used their fists, they had two swords in their hands this time. They charged forward recklessly and resolutely delivered killing blows before disintegrating to avoid being killed.

Seeing Doppol take care of the first wave of soldiers, Ace turned to Terzo.

"Got a job for me, Ace?" Terzo asked, his hand eagerly gripping his longsword.

"I do. Go and find whoever is the highest ranking guy here. Bring him back to our ship."

"Roger that, Captain," Terzo said with a little salute before going off to do the job Ace assigned to him. Some soldiers tried to get in his way, but he easily just cut them down.

"Captain!" Kotatsu called out to Ace. "What about me? How can I help?"

Ace looked up at Kotatsu. He grinned at the pressure that Kotatsu was giving off naturally. Ace knew at that moment how strong the Devil Fruit Kotatsu ate was. If Kotatsu manages to control it, Ace had no doubt that he would be a beast similar to Kaido's dragon form.

"Go wild, Kotatsu!" Ace said before pointing at the masts of the ship they were on. "Destroy their masts and go help Doppol!"

"Yes! I'll do that!" Kotatsu said before jumping away to do what he did.

Kotatsu landed on a few soldiers of the Espa Kingdom, crushing them with his weight. Doppol decided to disintegrate the Doubles he made to fight after seeing Kotatsu's rather reckless moves.

"I definitely don't want to have memories of being crushed to death," Doppol said with a grin before fighting without using his Doubles. Still, he made sure to stay a respectable distance away from Kotatsu's rampage.

"Now then, Terzo went there," Ace said, looking in the direction Terzo went. "I guess I'll go here."

Ace turned around to enter a different part of the ship. He was surrounded by soldiers, but he didn't care.

"He's the captain!" one of the soldiers said.

"We capture him, they'll stop attacking!"

Ace was amused at how they genuinely believed that they stood a chance. So, he lit himself on fire in some places just to see how they would react. They didn't disappoint him as they retreated a few steps like cowards.

"Capture me?" Ace asked. "Let's see you try!"

Ace jumped into the fray himself and joined the fight that erupted on the deck of the main ship of the Espa Kingdom voyage fleet. He fought with his Devil Fruit only, still trying to improve it and Awaken it. 

Ace's encounter with Aokiji spurred him to prioritize Awakening his Devil Fruit to have an edge. Although Ace knew his Haki was abnormally strong, he knew he shouldn't rely on it alone. From what he could sense with his Observation Haki combined with the ability to hear the Voice of All Things, Aokiji's Haki was weaker than his but it was more… refined. Age, experience, and training allowed Aokiji to have greater control of his Haki than Ace.

'Admirals are strong! I'm glad I didn't underestimate them, thinking that they're weaker than the Four Emperors. They're definitely not!'

Meanwhile, the Royal Aces aboard the Ashen Dragon were also fighting a battle of their own. Ace trusted them to deal with the other two ships, and that was exactly what they were trying to do.

"Encircle them!" Vash shouted his orders. "Doubles! Prepare the broadside cannons!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Tanya!" Vash turned to Tanya. "Keep pushing the Ashen Dragon with your winds! We need speed!"

"You got it!" Tanya said, acknowledging Vash's orders. She closed her eyes and focused. The wind pushing the Ashen Dragon along visibly got stronger.

"They're firing on us!" Hepha shouted over the noise, seeing cannonballs flying towards them.

Hepha and Soma acted quickly after seeing cannonballs flying at them. With her hammer, Hepha swatted away most of the cannonballs with one strong swing that made the winds surge at her sheer force. Soma dealt with the remaining cannonballs by kicking them away.

"Fire back!" Vash shouted over the noise of the battle. "Fire the cannons, Doubles!"

The Doubles on the deck did as they were told and lit the cannons. The cannons on the deck fired. The broadside cannons below deck followed their example and fired as well. Soon, flaming cannonballs shot out from the Ashen Dragon and flew towards the escort ships of Espa Kingdom.

Unlike the Royal Aces, the Espa Kingdom's ships were unable to deal with the flaming cannonballs flying towards them. They could only brace themselves and watch helplessly as they were pelted down by the cannons of the Ashen Dragon.

"Critical hit!" Augur announced from the crow's nest as he sniped down important looking figures on the enemy ship. He was assisted by Mihar who also boasted impressive marksmanship.

"We don't stop!" Vash shouted. "Keep firing! Sink them!"

The Doubles were like cogs in a well-oiled machine. They worked as efficiently as possible. The cannons were loaded and shot at an impressive speed and consistency. It was obviously a winning battle at this point for the Royal Aces.

However, props must be given to the Espa Kingdom escort ships. Despite the terrible situation they were facing, they didn't stop trying to fight back. They kept shooting back at the Ashen Dragon. Unfortunately, Hepha and Soma were there to prevent their efforts from bearing fruit.

Along with Hepha and Soma, another one from the Royal Aces was trying her best to be of assistance. That someone was Eri.

"Eri, what are you doing up here?" Mihar asked Eri, taking a short break from sniping down his targets after seeing Eri up on the deck where it was the most dangerous. "It's not safe here!"

"I'm not useless!" Eri said. "I can help, too!"

As if trying to prove her point, Eri tried to help using her powers on the cannonballs flying towards them. She threw an energy ball that was a manifestation of her Devil Fruit power, trying to hit a cannonball. But, it wasn't a cannonball she hit.

Eri unknowingly threw the energy ball in Hepha's trajectory. Hepha was about to swing Clear Sky to swat away the cannonballs when Eri's power hit her. Out of nowhere, Hepha turned into a teenage girl around sixteen years old.

"What the-?"

Hepha had no time to try and counteract the effects of Eri's Devil Fruit power. One of the cannonballs shot by the enemy was quickly flying towards her. Even with her younger but weaker body, Hepha was able to swat away the cannonball flying towards her as well as a few others.

Soma dealt with the remaining cannonballs that Hepha couldn't swat away. Thankfully, the speed Tanya was boosting the Ashen Dragon allowed many of the cannonballs to miss.

Hepha landed on the deck and circulated her Haki within her body, trying to eliminate the effects of Eri's Devil Fruit power. It took a few moments for it to work. At that time, Eri ran towards Hepha.

"I'm sorry!" Eri said with a bow to Hepha. "I… I was only trying to help!"

Now that her body was back to normal, Hepha looked at the slightly sobbing Eri. She smiled a little and patted Eri's head.

"It's alright, Eri. No harm done," Hepha said. "But, try not to do that next time. Okay?"

"Okay. I understand," Eri said, still looking down at her feet.

"No one here thinks you're useless, Eri," Hepha said, comforting the little girl. "Try not to push yourself too much. As long as you're doing what you can, you'll be alright."

Hepha returned to the battle, leaving Eri to mull over the words she left behind. The Ashen Dragon moved in a circle around the three ships. As Ace ordered, they focused their attacks on the two smaller ships. They left the big ship alone for Ace, Terzo, Doppol, and Kotatsu to deal with.