C15

Ace weighed the Devil Fruit in his hand, looking at it with curiosity. He had known since childhood that Luffy ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, but he had never actually seen a Devil Fruit in person until now.

Nearby, a group of monkeys seemed to sense the shift in atmosphere. They stopped throwing stones and scurried back up the trees in panic.

Deuce stepped up behind Ace, watching the group of pirates gathering across from them with a wary gaze.

The enemy captain brushed off the pulp clinging to his clothes. Behind him, some crew members were aiming their guns while others were slowly approaching with blades in hand.

"You two brats! Toss over the Devil Fruit, and I'll let you live," the pirates squad captain demanded. He had already made up his mind—once he got the fruit, he'd eat it right away.

Then, he'd return, kill Captain Torre, and take control of the pirate ship. With a Devil Fruit in his possession, his destiny would change forever.

The squad captain had already begun imagining a future where he sailed the seas and ruled over the world.

"No can do," Ace replied, examining the fruit closely. "This thing dropped straight into my hands from the sky. I'm not just handing it over to anyone."

He was even considering eating it, though he remembered Luffy—who ate anything without hesitation—had once described Devil Fruits as utterly disgusting. If someone like Luffy said that, the taste must be truly awful.

"Then you can die!"

As soon as the words left the captain's mouth, he lunged with his blade. Behind him, pirates opened fire.

Ace and Deuce ducked behind a peach tree as bullets thudded into the bark with sharp bang bang sounds.

The squad captain knew he had to end this quickly. If the commotion grew too loud and attracted others, it would all be for nothing. Worse, if his own captain showed up, he'd lose the fruit entirely.

Seeing the enemies approaching, Ace made up his mind and bit into the Devil Fruit.

A bizarre and indescribably revolting taste flooded his mouth, crawling up his nose and searing into his brain.

Urgh!

Ace doubled over, clutching the peach tree as he gagged. But in that moment, he also felt something awaken within him.

Fire.

"Captain, watch out!" Deuce shouted as the enemy charged forward.

The large blade came slashing down at Ace—but he didn't dodge. At the moment the sword touched his body, a subconscious thought sparked within him. Flames suddenly burst from Ace's body.

The long blade only left a superficial scratch. The captain felt as though he had struck empty air. He stumbled forward, nearly crashing into the tree.

Looking up, he was stunned. Instead of seeing Ace cut in two, he saw him standing tall, engulfed in flame. His freckled face wore a calm smile.

"Fire Fist!"

A massive column of flame erupted from Ace's fist, engulfing the enemy pirate. The man screamed as he turned to charcoal and collapsed, lifeless.

The firestorm surged onward, swallowing more of the pirates behind him. Panic erupted. None of them had ever witnessed anything like it—no human should be able to emit fire.

Only demons from legends could do such things.

"Run! He's a demon—one of the sea devils!"

"Someone get the captain!"

"I want to go home!"

But no matter how fast they ran, they couldn't outrun the flames. The searing blaze overtook a dozen fleeing pirates, reducing them to ash.

When the fire finally died down, scorched corpses littered the ground, and the peach grove had caught fire, burning furiously. That one Fire Fist attack hadn't just killed—it had incinerated an entire orchard.

At that moment, the sky, heavy and dark all morning, finally opened up and began to pour rain.

"Deuce, grab some peaches—we need to get back to the ship before the downpour starts," Ace said excitedly. He couldn't wait to share the news with Weiss.

"Got it, Captain! There are water barrels outside—perfect for carrying peaches!" Deuce snapped out of his daze and rushed off, just as excited. Their captain had become even stronger.

Back on the pirate ship, Weiss extended his Observation Haki. He sensed the eruption of fire in the distance and muttered to himself:

"He's obtained it—the Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit."

"Fire Fist Ace."

Turning around, Weiss saw the deck strewn with pirate corpses. The surviving pirates were trembling in fear.

Just fifteen minutes ago, a boy had come aboard their ship and told them to surrender all supplies and treasure. They refused—and now, this was the result.

Remembering the boy's warning, the remaining pirates scrambled below deck, dragging all the loot out and transferring it to the Chris.

Once everything was offloaded, Weiss unsheathed his sword and slashed.

The already battered pirate ship was cleaved clean in two, sinking slowly into the sea.

"Follow me."

—The Chris—

The surviving pirates stood nervously on the beach, awaiting their fate.

On the deck of the Chris, piles of treasure glittered under the rain—most of it from inside the island's cave. The loot from the pirate ship itself was minimal. They'd clearly been broke.

Kadun stared, dumbfounded, at the mountain of gold and jewels. In ten years of sailing the East Blue, he'd never seen so much treasure.

Not on merchant ships. Not on pirate ships. Nowhere.

"Kadun, you've been sailing for ten years, haven't you?" Weiss asked, reclining in a chair beneath an umbrella.

"Yes, Captain Weiss," Kadun replied, unsure where this was going.

"Then give me a rough estimate. How much is the treasure on this deck worth?"

Kadun scanned the piles and thought for a moment.

"If we're only calculating the gold, I'd say around fifty million Berries. But there are also ancient artifacts in there—things that would fetch much more if sold to the right buyers."

"If we only consider base material value, it's less."

"Fifty million, huh? Not bad," Weiss mused, swirling a glass of red wine before taking a sip. "The Chris only cost around forty million to build."

He hadn't expected to recoup twelve years of savings in just one day at sea. But now he understood why so many were willing to risk it all and set sail. The speed of wealth accumulation was staggering.

Of course, it only worked if you had the strength to back it up.

Without strength, Weiss would've ended up like those dead pirates on the island—his life no longer his own, his fate dictated by others.

But there were no "what ifs." Everything had been decided twelve years ago, when he first resolved to become strong.

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Currently at chapter 90 on Ko-Fi

https:// ko-fi.com/sami27