Chapter 88: The Taste of Grilled Poop
When Ian first saw the Flame-Flame Fruit in Ace’s hand, his immediate thought was whether he could get it from Ace.
Don’t blame Ian for having such scheming thoughts; it was only human nature. Aside from seeking medical treatment, Ian’s second goal in coming to the Grand Line was to find a Demon Fruit. Demon Fruit abilities were varied and bizarre, but Logia types were universally recognized as the strongest, and they were also the rarest. Obtaining one required pure luck.
If Ian hadn’t recognized the fruit, it would have been one thing, but he did recognize it as the Flame-Flame Fruit. With such a powerful Logia fruit right in front of him, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t tempted.
However, just as Ian was figuring out how to get the Flame-Flame Fruit from Ace, Ace’s actions made Ian’s face burn with shame.
Because it might be something delicious, he wanted to share half with his friend!
What a simple reason, yet it left Ian feeling embarrassed and ashamed. Ace probably had no idea what he was holding; he just thought it was an ordinary fruit. Ian wondered if Ace would still do the same if he knew it was a Demon Fruit, but in Ian’s mind, he probably would.
Because Ace genuinely considered Ian a friend!
Ian wasn’t stupid; he could feel the joy in Ace’s expression when they met. These feelings couldn’t be faked. The ridiculous part was that while Ace treated him as a friend, Ian was still thinking about scheming to get the Flame-Flame Fruit from him.
Ian’s emotions were complicated now. “Scheming” was too strong a word; he was conflicted himself. His earlier desire to take the Flame-Flame Fruit wasn’t just to get a Logia fruit for Kuina; he was also thinking about Ace’s well-being.
Because of the Flame-Flame Fruit, Ace would soar to new heights and become much stronger. It would bring him to the attention of the Marines and Whitebeard, expose the secrets of his lineage, and ultimately lead to his capture after failing to hunt down Blackbeard. He would then be publicly executed by the Marines, triggering the Summit War of Marineford, where he would die.
Sometimes Ian thought that the Flame-Flame Fruit was the turning point in Ace’s fate. If he hadn’t eaten it, even if he were strong, he would just be an ordinary person. The Marines wouldn’t pay much attention to him or discover his heritage.
Now, all these conflicting feelings vanished because of Ace’s simple words.
What turning point in fate? Nonsense! The Flame-Flame Fruit wasn’t the turning point in Ace’s fate. The real turning point was meeting me, Ian!
Only Ace deserved the title “Fire Fist.” The Flame-Flame Fruit could only belong to him!
Letting out a long sigh, Ian smiled and said to Ace, “Don’t bother trying to break it. It tastes terrible!”
“Really?” Ace was taken aback.
“Really!” Ian nodded. “Take a bite, and you’ll see!”
But Ace replied, “Alright, I believe you. If you say it’s bad, it must be bad! I won’t eat it!”
Ian nearly stumbled and fell. Hey, are you kidding me!? I was trying to trick you into eating it! Don’t trust me that much!
“Eat it!” Ian said bluntly. “It’s a Demon Fruit!”
This time, Ace was stunned. He stared blankly at the Flame-Flame Fruit in his hand and said, “So this is the same kind of thing Luffy ate?”
“Yes, eat it!” Ian urged. “Trust me!”
Ace glanced at Ian, saw the serious expression on his face, nodded, and opened his mouth to take a bite.
“Don’t eat it!” Pikes and the other pirates shouted in alarm. They had been arguing earlier about who should get the Demon Fruit. These pirates weren’t from the same crew; they were a motley collection from several groups. Relying on their numbers, they thought Ian and Ace had no way out, so they bickered for a moment. But that brief argument gave Ian and Ace time to talk.
When they saw Ace about to bite into the Demon Fruit, they couldn’t hold back anymore. They rushed forward in a swarm, their weapons aimed at Ace.
“Protect the captain!” The members of the Spade Pirates, though scared, gathered around Ace.
At that moment, a flash of gleaming blade light appeared. Ian stepped into the crowd with incredible speed, holding the sheath of the Enma sword in his left hand. With his right hand, he suddenly drew the blade, spinning it in a circle through the crowd before returning it to the sheath.
Forward Slash + Steel Tempest! Circular Sword Strike!
The pirates within the range of Ian’s blade light froze in their tracks. Suddenly, blood spurted from their waists, and they slowly collapsed.
Having instantly killed seven or eight people, the pirates’ charge momentum stalled. Seizing the opportunity, Ian unleashed a flaming sword slash. The fiery blade cut through the crowd, clearing a bloody path through the dense mass of pirates.
“Anyone who comes forward dies!” Ian roared.
The ones at the front were usually small fry. They were terrified by Ian’s display and stared at him fearfully, unsure of what to do.
But then, several needles suddenly flew toward Ian!
The attacker was Pikes. Seeing Ace already biting into the Demon Fruit, his rage was indescribable. The small fry might be intimidated by Ian, but he wasn’t. So he directly targeted Ian, the obstacle in his way.
To be honest, this so-called Porcupine Fruit user’s attack methods were far too limited against Ian.
They had clashed before on Reverse Mountain, so Ian knew what Pikes could do. Back then, on the ship, Ian had held back to avoid damaging the vessel, mainly blocking his needles. But now, on land, Ian didn’t need to protect any ship, so he could fight without too many reservations.
With a wave of his hand, Ian raised a Wind Barrier against the incoming needles, causing Pikes’ projectiles to fall harmlessly to the ground. Then, Ian vanished from his spot!
Pikes suddenly lost sight of his target. As he hesitated, a sharp, intense pain struck his chest.
When Ian reappeared, he was already behind Pikes. His left hand held the Enma sword’s sheath upright, while his right hand gripped the hilt, sliding the last bit of the blade into the sheath.
The sword guard struck the sheath with a ringing sound. As the ring echoed, under the gaze of all the pirates, a massive wound suddenly split open across Pikes’ chest. The gash nearly cut through his entire chest and was burning with red flames, as if the ringing had cracked the wound open. Blood gushed out wildly.
One-Sword Style Iai: Flame Flash!
This was a technique Ian had developed during his days on the ship. Now, equipped with two four-star speed cards, Ian’s speed was fast enough to execute an iai slash.
The principle of iai was simple: it was just a modification of his earlier One-Sword Seven Slashes, concentrating all his Nen, spirit, and energy into a single strike.
Pikes let out a scream and slowly fell to the ground. Even as a Zoan-type Demon Fruit user, he was powerless against Ian’s slash, which was imbued with a large amount of Nen. The Enma sword’s sharpness went without saying, and the Flame Slayer Sword technique increased its sharpness even further. Pikes’ Porcupine Fruit abilities were mostly concentrated on his back, but Ian had struck him from the front!
Killing “Porcupine Pikes,” a pirate with a 24 million Berry bounty, with a single slash left the surrounding pirates stunned. But Ian didn’t even glance at him. He turned to Ace and asked, “Did you eat it?”
“Yeah,” Ace said with a grimace. “It tastes awful, like grilled poop!”
Ian nearly stumbled again. Damn it! I was trying to look cool, and you have to ruin the mood like that!?
What does “like grilled poop” even mean? Do you actually know what poop tastes like!?
That description almost made Ian want to throw up…