Chapter 373: Let's Fuse, Ian!
"How wondrous!" Jinbe said, gazing almost mesmerized at the flames in the two men's palms. "Ace, Ian... you two are truly alike!"
Indeed, they were very similar, especially under this contrast of flame colors.
Even Ian was somewhat surprised. When he first brought up training flame temperature with Ace, he never imagined Ace's flames would gradually turn white.
Now, with both flames placed together, the air on the entire ship felt scorched, radiating heat intensely. Yet everyone could sense that Ian's black flames were still hotter than Ace's pale flames.
Especially since Ace's flames hadn't fully transformed into white yet, no matter how you looked at it, Ian's flame ability was superior.
As everyone compared them, Ace's hand involuntarily moved closer to Ian's, and a strange phenomenon occurred.
Ace's white flames began to converge toward Ian's black flames!
The sign was so obvious that both of them froze in shock when they saw it.
"W-What's going on?" Ian asked, startled, and couldn't help moving his hand a little closer.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the white and black flames started intertwining, yet they remained distinctly separate. It seemed the difference in flame temperature created varying air heat levels, forming a spiral airflow.
The formation principle was similar to a tornado—collisions between cold and hot air create vortices that generate whirlwinds. Now, with Ace and Ian's flames at different temperatures, a vortex formed, tangling their flames together.
The two stared blankly at the entangled flames. After a long moment, Ace suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "Ian, let's fuse!"
Pfft! Ian nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. What the hell is "fuse" supposed to mean!?
Ace, what are you saying!?
Damn it, "fuse"!? It's a combo move, alright!?
Although Ace's words were misleading, Ian understood his meaning. Amid the jingling of bells, he unwrapped the bandage on his right wrist.
The moment it came off, even more terrifying heat radiated outward. The deck beneath Ian's feet emitted a series of cracking sounds—the wood was scorching and beginning to split.
The crew playing mahjong on deck immediately stopped and scrambled away.
The only one unafraid of Ian's flames was, naturally, Ace. As Ian revealed the black dragon tattoo on his arm, Ace's entire body began to emit flames, his body elementalizing!
With their flame powers combined together, the entire ship seemed at risk of being incinerated. At that moment, Ace and Ian felt like a white sun and a black sun—approaching them could be fatal.
Aokiji frowned. As a user of the Ice-Ice Fruit, he was probably the most uncomfortable person present. He could sense the threat this heat posed to him, reminding him of when Ian's Black Dragon Wave had injured his leg at Holy Land Mary Geoise.
"These two will be the Marines' biggest trouble in the future..." Aokiji suddenly thought. As the thought arose, he couldn't help releasing a trace of killing intent.
But the moment that killing intent emerged, Ian and Ace immediately turned and stared at him. Even Fujitora, Jinbe, and Boa Hancock assumed defensive stances.
Seeing this, Aokiji snapped back to reality, remembering he was on Ian's ship. Helpless, he suppressed his killing intent and waved his hand, saying, "Don't mind me—just couldn't help it!"
With that explanation, the others said nothing. Aokiji then activated his own ability, releasing cold air to help everyone withstand Ian and Ace's heat—a gesture of goodwill.
Ian and Ace turned back and looked at the sea ahead. Directly opposite their ship, there was a coral reef island—small, fragmented, and uninhabited. They exchanged glances, deciding to use it as their target.
Ian's right hand and Ace's left hand were positioned at the same height, fingers spread like claws, with roaring flames blazing in their palms.
Ace said, "Just release the flames in one burst!"
Ian nodded, then suddenly shouted, "Evil King Flame Slayer: Black Dragon Wave!"
Ace shouted simultaneously, "Pale Flame Fist!"
As they yelled, Ian's right hand and Ace's left hand pushed forward together. A massive stream of white and black flames shot out from their palms.
The moment the flames left their hands, Ian's black flames and Ace's pale flames began to intertwine. For some reason, Ian's Black Dragon Wave couldn't maintain its dragon form, and similarly, Ace's Fire Fist couldn't keep its fist shape. Their flames, upon being released, became as sharp as a spear tip!
The two streams of flame twisted together like a spinning drill, with black and pale flames alternately leading the way as they bored forward. They flew straight ahead, feeling no different from a javelin.
Under everyone's gaze, the black-and-white flame spear crossed over a kilometer in an instant, striking the location of the uninhabited island.
Then, in the next second, the immense flame power exploded!
A semicircular orb of light suddenly appeared on the sea surface, enveloping the island's position. The powerful heat directly vaporized the surrounding seawater, distorting everyone's vision.
What a sight it was—it was as if the entire island had been twisted out of shape!
This distortion didn't last long. Before their eyes, the island vanished! The rampaging black-and-white flames had directly melted it away!
But that wasn't the end. A massive explosion occurred at the island's location, its range spanning at least three kilometers. The vaporized seawater formed a mushroom cloud of steam, surging skyward!
The fish-men of the Fish-Man Pirates and the warrior women of the Kuja Pirates clung to the ship's rails, staring blankly at this apocalyptic scene.
Not just them—even Jinbe, Crocodile, and Boa Hancock were stunned. None of them had expected that Ian and Ace's combined attack would directly destroy an island!
"So terrifying!" On another ship, Koala stood by the rail, watching the scene. She turned to Sabo and said, "Sabo, your two big brothers are really scary! Are they monsters?"
Sabo laughed heartily. Ian was indeed a bit older than Sabo, the same age as Ace, so for him, Ian was indeed a big brother...
"Is this... our combo move?" Ace also stared in shock at the rising steam mushroom cloud, then looked down at his own hand.
But the most astonished of all was Ian!
Because when he and Ace launched that combined attack, a prompt from the card system in his mind told him he had obtained a special bond attribute!
As mentioned before, Ian himself was also a card character in the system, with levels, attributes, and the ability to increase his card's star rating through special methods. Now, his protagonist card had gained an additional bond slot—exclusive to him!
And this bond was with Ace! When Ace was nearby, Ian could gain a special effect of 50% increased flame power!
Damn! Was this the special effect of unlocking a combo move!?
Ian felt another urge to curse his luck. He glanced at Ace, feeling that he would never be able to wash himself clean of this, even if he jumped into the Calm Belt...
The most shocked person was Ian, but the one with the most complicated feelings was Aokiji, who had witnessed the entire flame explosion. To him, he had personally seen the birth of two powerful enemies, yet he was surrounded by foes and unable to eliminate them.
He could only hope that the Marines wouldn't directly clash with these two in the future. If they did, it would be the most terrifying nightmare for ordinary Marine soldiers...
When he came back to his senses, Ace's grin couldn't close for a long time. He reached out and patted Ian's shoulder, saying, "That was amazing, Ian! We need to give this move an equally awesome name! What do you think of 'Scorching City Flames of Karma'?"
Ian thought it over and found it quite good. Ace was pretty skilled at naming moves—his techniques like "Flame Emperor" and "Solar Radiance" sounded grand and lofty.
Yeah, "Scorching City Flames of Karma"! That was settled!