Pirate: I, Ace, am the King of Eclipse!

Sabo lunged forward and grabbed the burly man by the throat. Orange flames burst from his palm, instantly engulfing him.

"boom!"

Flames exploded, and the burly man was burned to a charred corpse before he could even let out a complete scream, crashing heavily to the roadside.

"The boss was taken down in just one round?!"

The remaining two poaching officials were so frightened that their legs trembled.

"Since you're blocking the way, we'll take you all out."

Sabo turned his head away, his voice calm.

"Bucky, hurry up."

"Are you kidding me?! Are you addicted to ordering me around?!"

Bucky cursed, but his body moved with practiced ease to meet him.

"A bunch of ignorant frogs in a well, today I'll test my knife on you!"

When the two cadres saw that the person walking up was red-nosed, they immediately wanted to take advantage of their numbers to attack him from both sides.

The officer wielding the meteor hammer immediately raised a heavy steel shield to protect his entire body, while the other held twin swords, ready to launch a surprise attack from the side at any moment.

Bucky sneered, and his body instantly tore into pieces.

His hands and forearm fragments flew out from different directions, while his shoulders and elbows changed angles in mid-air, crashing into the round shield one after another.

"Bang bang bang!"

A series of muffled thuds exploded on the shield.

"Idiot! You think you can break through my defenses with such weak force?"

Just as the broom-wielding officer, hiding behind his shield, began to mock, Bucky's head, hovering in mid-air, revealed a sinister smile.

"Who said I was going to break through your shield?"

The two fists that were slamming into the shield suddenly separated.

The next instant, several fingers fitted with folding blades circled around the edge of the shield, and the thin blades that popped out from the bottom of the clips viciously stabbed towards his eyes before he could react.

"Pfft!"

"Aaaaaah! My eyes!"

The cadre threw away his shield in a fit of rage, covered his face, and collapsed to the ground, rolling around in agony.

The dual-wielding officer on the other side was terrified. Just as he was about to retreat, the scattered pieces of Buggy's body quickly pieced together the outline of his upper body.

A powerful, heavy iron fist landed squarely on his chin.

Followed by.

"boom!"

A gunshot rang out in the forest.

Karina, who had been standing at the back observing, kept her wrist steady without the slightest wobbling.

The precise lead bullet pierced the knee of the double-sword officer, rendering him completely incapable of resistance. He screamed and collapsed to his knees.

With their key figures falling one after another, the remaining dozens of henchmen were terrified and turned to run away.

"late!"

Bucky landed quickly, assembled his body, and pulled out a specially made red glass bead while laughing.

"Specially made Pakistani bomb!"

The bomb was thrown at the most densely packed area of ​​the fleeing crowd.

"Boom!"

A blinding fireball exploded in the forest, the heatwave sweeping away debris and dirt. The elite poachers were engulfed in flames, their cries quickly drowned out by the explosion.

When the smoke cleared, the poaching team responsible for sealing off the perimeter had completely collapsed, leaving only broken branches, fallen trees, and scattered corpses on the ground.

"Easy to solve!"

Bucky straightened his collar, raised his chin, and struck a pose of an arrogant senior.

"If we had been any slower, the fight with the captain would have been over by now."

Sabo gave an unreserved affirmation and took the lead, striding across a patch of ravaged woodland.

"Tch, it was clearly my angle of cover that was better."

Karina deftly put away her musket and followed closely behind.

The three of them stopped and followed the cleared path, walking quickly toward the basin deepest in the forest.

When they pushed aside the last layer of bushes and stood at the edge of the basin, the sight that came into view made all three of them stop in their tracks.

The earth is cracked.

The basin, several hundred meters in diameter, looked as if it had just been hit by a devastating mini-meteor shower. Most of the once lush ancient trees had been flattened by the powerful shockwave, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of burnt fur and soil.

In the deepest part of the basin, in a huge pit, an ancient wild boar, as big as a small mountain, was lying on the ground foaming at the mouth.

Its proud, hard mane was burned to ashes, and its body twitched a few times, completely losing its ability to resist.

At the edge of the deep pit, their black-haired captain stood quietly with his back to them.

Opposite Ace, the tall, fiery-tempered red-haired female cook was holding two blood-stained cleavers, staring at him with a complex and shocked expression.

"It seems the mealtime here is just right."

Sabo adjusted his top hat, watching Ace stand unharmed at the edge of the pit, his eyes filled with the pride and satisfaction of the Eclipse Pirates.

Chapter 34 Divine Fire Blesses, Breaking the Shackles

"Good heavens, this fat pig is practically dripping with oil from roasting."

Bucky leaned closer for a look and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement, "But it's a little overcooked; it looks disgusting."

"Captain, the surrounding enemies have been cleared out."

Sabo walked over to Ace, glanced at the devastation around them that looked like it had been ravaged by a meteorite, and adjusted his top hat.

Ace nodded and turned around. There wasn't a single trace of blood on him, and even his breathing was steady and normal, as if defeating a powerful figure in Paradise was just a trivial warm-up.

He ignored Truff in the pit and looked into the distance.

There, the red-haired female chef Leona leaned weakly against the feet of the severely injured ancient giant.

This tribal guardian spirit, which had lived for hundreds of years, was riddled with heavy harpoons studded with barbs. High-concentration poison gas fired by Truf's men had seeped into its bloodstream through its gaping wounds. Its massive body gasped violently, each breath accompanied by a cough of black blood.

The surviving indigenous people around them knelt on the ground, watching their guardian spirit lose its life force, and uttered desperate and sorrowful cries.

Leona bit her lower lip hard, bracing herself with her hands on the ground, trying to stand up and pull the harpoon out for Kong. But she had just taken a hit from Truf's Armament Haki headbutt, and her arms were severely fractured. As soon as she exerted any force, she fell weakly back into the mud.

"It's over. But at a great cost."

Ace strode through the ruins and stood before Leona and the Ancient King Kong.

The ancient Vajra's enormous eyes, which were gradually losing focus, glanced warily at the dangerous-looking human. It let out a weak growl and tried to shield Leona behind it with its massive hands.

"Big monkey, don't be nervous."

Ace raised his head, meeting the gaze of the Ancient King Kong, and said calmly, "If I wanted to kill you, you would be lying in the pit like that wild boar right now."

Leona looked up at Ace, who was standing in the sunlight, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Thank you, Ace. The trouble on this island is over."

She managed a weak smile, a bitter one. "Unfortunately, the poisonous gas has already seeped into the mountain god's internal organs. It seems I won't have the chance to go to your ship and make you that roast meat."

"The chef I've chosen must be brought along."

Ace interrupted her.

He slowly squatted down and extended his right hand.

A cluster of crimson-gold flames quietly ignited in Ace's palm.

There was no scorching heat, nor the explosive sensation of burning everything. The moment this ball of crimson gold divine fire appeared, the poisonous fumes and the stench of blood permeating the surrounding air seemed to have encountered their natural enemy and were quickly dispelled. A vast, ancient, and warm life force swept across this ravaged basin.

Karina and Baji, standing behind, felt the strange warm current and involuntarily widened their eyes.

What kind of fire is that?

Leona was stunned.

Ace offered no explanation. He simply placed his hand, burning with crimson divine fire, on Leona's bloodied, broken arms.

"laugh--"

The divine fire instantly spread, enveloping Leona's entire upper body.

Leona instinctively closed her eyes, expecting excruciating pain as if she were being burned alive. But the next second, she suddenly opened her eyes.

There is no pain.

The crimson-gold flame seemed to possess a life of its own, permeating her flesh. She could clearly feel her broken bones rapidly mending themselves at an illogical speed, and her torn muscle fibers being rewoven under the nourishment of the divine fire, becoming even stronger than before.

In less than ten seconds.

When Ace withdrew his hand, the wounds on Leona's arms had completely disappeared, leaving no scars. If it weren't for the bloodstains still on her clothes, she might have even doubted that her serious injuries were just an illusion.

"How is this possible?"

Leona clenched her fists in disbelief, feeling an even greater surge of power within her than before.

Stop spacing out.

Ace stood up and turned his gaze to the dying ancient giant and the poisoned and injured natives around him.

"Now that I've seen what she's guarding, I won't let death take it away so easily."

Ace spread his arms wide.

With a cry of a divine bird piercing the clouds, two enormous crimson-gold wings suddenly unfurled behind him.

"Vermilion Bird - Nirvana".