Chapter 89: The Hard-to-Control Fire Fist
Ian glanced at the remaining Demon Fruit still in Ace's hand. It was probably because it tasted so terrible that Ace had only taken a single bite.
With Demon Fruits, only the person who takes the first bite can obtain the power contained within. That meant the remaining portion of this Demon Fruit was technically something Ian could try as well.
Everyone said Demon Fruits tasted awful, but since Ian had never actually tasted one himself, he was naturally a bit curious.
However, Ace's description had completely turned him off. Ian wasn't sure if the Flame-Flame Fruit really tasted like that, or if it was because Ace had eaten too much barbecue on Bebop Island that everything now tasted like grilled meat to him. Either way, after hearing that description, Ian's desire to try it vanished.
Watching Ace continue to grimly gnaw on the remaining Flame-Flame Fruit, Ian initially wanted to tell him to stop, but after thinking it over, he kept his mouth shut.
*I know you only need to eat one bite, but... I'm just not going to say it!*
Bebop Island was one of the starting islands, so the pirates staying here naturally weren't any big shots. Pix, the Porcupine Fruit user, had actually been one of the higher-bounty pirates on the island. But a pirate captain with a bounty of over twenty million had been cut down by Ian with a single slash, leaving the remaining pirates unsure of what to do.
One man, one sword, had intimidated all the pirates present, keeping them from daring to move. The members of the Spade Pirates, watching Ian's back, were filled with admiration for him.
It was under this watchful gaze that Ace finally finished eating the entire Flame-Flame Fruit.
For him, this was the most painful experience of his life. Knowing something was terrible but having to finish it anyway—for someone with Ace's gluttonous tendencies, it was pure torture.
"How is it?" Ian asked him.
Ace tried clenching his fists, a look of curiosity on his face. "Strange feeling... some kind of unknown power is surging up!"
The surrounding pirates, though afraid to move in front of Ian, a ruthless man, also had no intention of leaving. Partly out of unwillingness, and partly because they wanted to see what kind of fruit this Demon Fruit actually was.
Although they had lost the chance to snatch the Demon Fruit, the pirates still harbored a glimmer of hope that it might be one of those more useless types. That would be amusing.
This was the dark side of human nature—sour grapes. If you can't get the fruit, you tell yourself it must be a garbage ability.
So all these pirates stayed, wanting to witness what ability the guy who ate the fruit had gained. If it turned out to be bad, they would find some psychological comfort.
Ian could read their thoughts from their eyes and smiled faintly.
He thrust his Enma sword into the ground, the sound of the scabbard drawing the attention of the pirates who were staring at Ace. Then Ian pointed at the crowd and said, "I'm not targeting anyone in particular. I just want to say that every single one of you here is trash!"
Without giving the furious pirates a chance to retort, he said without looking back, "Ace, show them your ability!"
Ace didn't need Ian to tell him. He was already eager. He could feel the powerful energy suddenly surging within his body, but it was still vague. Even he didn't know exactly what ability he had gained. Only by testing it would he understand.
So upon hearing Ian's words, Ace did a backflip, landing beside Ian, and punched out at the pirates across from him.
Ace himself didn't know why he had the urge to throw a punch into the air like that. He simply felt that the power welling up inside him seemed like it could be released, so he did it.
The next moment, a massive ball of flame erupted from Ace's fist!
Not just the pirates, but even Ace himself was startled. He never expected flames to burst from his fist.
Startled, Ace instinctively raised his fist a little higher.
The massive fireball detached from his fist, grazing the tops of the heads of the front-line pirates and flying diagonally upward like a reverse shooting star.
Although the pirates weren't burned by the flames, every single one of them felt the heat contained within. Stunned, they watched the huge fireball streak across the sky above the street, flying into the distance before crashing into a taller building.
*Boom!* Ace's "Fire Fist" slammed into the wall of that building with a roar. Most of the flames extinguished, but some flammable parts caught fire.
The scene fell silent. No one spoke. Apart from Ian, everyone else was dumbstruck. After a long moment, a voice from somewhere in the crowd suddenly screamed, "Logia! It's a Logia-type Demon Fruit!!"
The pirates immediately erupted into chaos. They had been hoping to see Ace make a fool of himself, but instead, he had eaten a Logia-type Demon Fruit!
In an instant, the pirates were in disarray. Even as their eyes turned red with jealousy, a wave of panic washed over them.
A Logia-type Devil Fruit user—what did that mean to these pirates? It meant that even if all of them joined forces, they couldn't do anything to Ace!
The most prominent trait of a Logia was the ability to turn one's body into its element. Without Haki, very few people could harm such an elemental body.
You couldn't expect the low-level pirates gathered here to know what Haki was. These pirates might never have actually encountered a Logia user before, but in the gossip they shared among themselves, the only word they had for Logia users was "invincible!"
For one thing, the pirates all had some understanding of the Marines. They knew that the three Marine Admirals were all Logia users. These ignorant pirates attributed the Admirals' strength entirely to their Devil Fruit abilities, which naturally created an impression of Logia's invincibility.
Now, suddenly witnessing the birth of a Logia user, the pirates' mood was indescribably sour. The swordsman who had blocked their path was already formidable enough, and now there was an even more powerful Logia user... Forget it, just run!
Snapping out of it, the pirates screamed and fled the scene. They had lost all will to fight.
Let them run. Neither Ian nor Ace had any interest in dealing with them at the moment.
Seeing the flame ability Ace had displayed, Ian finally felt relieved. It seemed the fruit really was the Flame-Flame Fruit. No mistake.
Ace, on the other hand, was still dumbfounded. The fireball he had just launched was something even he couldn't believe. He stared blankly at his raised fist, then turned to Ian and asked, "What just happened to me? What's going on?"
Ian explained to him, "You now have a Devil Fruit ability. It's the power of fire."
"Really?" Ace laughed heartily, hands on his hips. "Then that means I'm like Luffy now. I can't swim anymore!"
Ian looked at him speechlessly. "What's so funny about not being able to swim? Aren't you worried about falling into the water?"
"As long as I get stronger, that's all that matters!" Ace grinned. "I never thought a Demon Fruit would be this powerful. This was a real score! Thanks, Ian. If you hadn't made me eat that fruit, I wouldn't have gotten such an amazing ability."
Ian shook his head. "Don't thank me. That fruit was always meant to be yours."
Then he changed the subject, asking Ace, "That Fire Fist you just threw—it seemed hard to control?"
"Fire Fist? That's a good name!" Ace was momentarily surprised, then laughed. "Yeah, it's a bit hard to control. The power is greater than I imagined. I'll need to practice more."
Since Demon Fruits directly grant humans special abilities rather than being a gradual process, most people who first obtain a fruit's power find it difficult to use those abilities accurately. It takes constant training to gain full control.
Ian knew this, but he still felt a bit envious of Ace. Demon Fruits were like the thousand-year-old ginseng or ten-thousand-year-old spirit fruits in martial arts novels—eat one and you gain decades of power. Any ordinary person could instantly become a top-tier expert.
Such a thing was practically a shortcut for lazy people, a golden finger for underdogs. Ian was even starting to think about finding a Demon Fruit to eat himself.
The surrounding pirates had already fled in panic. With the threat gone, the members of the Spade Pirates gathered around, stars in their eyes.
Needless to say, the Fire Fist Ace had just unleashed had completely won them over. With such a powerful captain, the time for the Spade Pirates to make a name for themselves had finally arrived!
Surrounded by his subordinates flattering him, Ace looked a bit embarrassed. He introduced Ian to them, saying, "This is my good friend Ian. He's a famous pirate hunter!"
The Spade Pirates members froze. Wha... what?! A pirate hunter!?
Was there some mistake? Captain Ace, you're a pirate! How can you be friends with a pirate hunter!?
They weren't the only ones who found it strange. Ian himself thought it was odd. *Yeah, I'm a pirate hunter, so how did I end up becoming friends with a pirate like Ace?*
Just as he was thinking this, a series of shouts rang out.
Earlier, when Ian and the others had clashed with the pirates, the local residents had already hidden away. But now, these locals were running out of their shops and homes.
They pointed in the distance in panic. "Fire! The storage warehouse is on fire!"
"This is terrible! The warehouse is storing the honey-glazed barbecue meant to be offered to Big Mom!"
"Hurry! We need to put out the fire!"
Ian and the others looked up in the direction the residents were pointing, and immediately fell silent.
Because the place on fire was the very building Ace's Fire Fist had hit...