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

Chapter 120 The Float-Float Fruit Changes Hands, The Idea of ​​Dual Swords

Crimson flames erupted from the cracks in the rock sphere, and in the next moment, the tightly packed soil and rocks were shattered from the inside out.

Amidst the rain of pebbles, Ace emerged, unfurling his fiery wings. Leona, exhausted, was cradled in his arm, blood still flowing from her right shoulder wound. Ace sealed the injury with divine fire and then carried her to Sabo, who had rushed to the scene.

"Her bones are fine, take her back to the ship and give her to Chopper." Ace glanced at the unconscious Leona. "To severely injure Shiki in their first direct confrontation, she can be considered a great swordsman. I'll handle the rest."

Sabo caught Leona and used Moonwalk to retreat back to the Eclipse.

Golden Lion recognized the crimson-gold wings behind Ace's half-beast form: "The Breaker..."

“If you had stayed in the New World for the past twenty years, perhaps I could have had a serious fight.” Ace flapped his wings, and in a flash of fire, he was already in front of him. “But you hid in the skies above the East Sea, wasting twenty years on revenge and animal experiments. Shiki, you didn’t lose to us, you lost to yourself by throwing away your past.”

Golden Lion raised both of his leg blades simultaneously, and the wound on his chest reopened with the movement. He knew he had no room to delay, forcibly drawing all the remaining strength from his body, preparing to fight to the death in the next collision.

Ace pulled his right arm back. His fist was enveloped in high-level Armament Haki, and his Ryuo form created dark red ripples in the surrounding air.

Upon seeing this initial move, Marineford suddenly flashed before Shiki's eyes. More than twenty years ago, Garp had shattered his sword aura with his bare fists, sending him to Impel Down along with Sengoku. The person standing before him now was much younger, yet that unreasonable oppression brought back those memories.

"That kind of punch again..." Golden Lion gritted his teeth, Sakura Jutsu and Mukuro slashed down at the same time, "I will not lose a second time! Even if Garp comes in person, he won't stop me!"

Ace didn't engage with the two slashes; instead, he punched directly forward.

"Fist-Bone Impact!"

The compressed air exploded before the fist, the invisible impact shattering the golden sword energy before striking the golden lion's body. He didn't even have time to defend with his crossed leg blades before his sternum shattered in pieces from the impact. The flowing sword energy pierced through flesh and exploded within his internal organs, blood gushing from his mouth and nose simultaneously.

Sakura Jutsu and Kikuku slumped down. Golden Lion gazed at this young man of the new era before him, seemingly wanting to say something, but his body no longer obeyed his will. He plummeted from the sky, his long hair spreading in the wind, never to rise again.

The roar of the island then came from all directions.

"All the islands are falling!" Karina grabbed the ship's railing and shouted to the control room, "Eclipse, take off immediately!"

After Shiki's death, the power of the Float-Float Fruit, which had lasted for twenty years, was released. Dozens of floating islands were once again pulled by gravity, and forests, palaces, and town ruins plummeted into the East China Sea. If they were allowed to fall from a height of ten thousand meters, not only would the creatures on the islands perish, but the resulting tsunami would also engulf a large area of ​​the surrounding sea.

The ferocious beasts that once inhabited the island finally forgot their fighting and collapsed to the ground, howling in agony. The palace on the central main island cracked at its base, large chunks of brick rolling toward the edge. Indigo clung to a stone pillar, his legs lifted off the ground by the weightlessness of the fall, and the medicine box in his hands scattered. He desperately stretched out his arms, managing to grab back a few test tubes containing the original SIQ samples.

The Eclipse's jet engines revved, swerving to avoid a capsized island. Ace, however, dove downwards, grabbing the Golden Lion's collar before his corpse plunged into the clouds. Black mist surged from his left palm, seeping into the corpse's chest and forcibly pulling out the lingering essence of the Devil Fruit.

The dark force of gravity suppressed the fruit's essence, preventing it from being reborn among nearby fruits as it would normally do. This is also why Ace insisted on personally dealing with Shiki. Once the Float-Float Fruit randomly appears somewhere in the ocean, finding it again could take countless years, and right now Leona desperately needs power to compensate for her lack of aerial combat skills.

Leona had already received emergency treatment from Chopper. After regaining consciousness, she struggled back to the edge of the deck, just in time to see Ace flying back with the corpse of the Golden Lion.

Ace pushed the invisible energy in front of her: "Open your mouth."

Leona didn't ask and simply did as she was told. The moment the power entered her body, an indescribable, strange taste exploded in her mouth, almost making her vomit. Immediately afterward, the weight from the deck beneath her feet suddenly weakened, as if she could detach herself from the ship with just a thought.

Chopper tried to stop her, but Leona first moved her bandaged shoulder. The Divine Fire had stopped the bleeding, and her bones weren't broken; what truly weakened her was the drain from awakening both Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki simultaneously. She bit off a recovery pill Chopper offered, leaving Byakuya on the deck to avoid distracting her from controlling her weapons while she was still recovering.

Ace released the golden lion's corpse, letting it fall into the sea of ​​clouds: "Now that we have the new ability, let's go and protect those islands. Touch them with your hands to restore their buoyancy, then slowly send them back to the surface."

Leona stepped off the ship's railing, and sure enough, she didn't fall. She tried to change direction and quickly accelerated through the air, chasing after the central main island, which was falling the fastest.

The main island was the largest and moved at the most astonishing speed. Leona circled around to the base of the rock wall and slammed her palms down. The power she had just gained spread from the point of contact, covering every layer of rock on the island. The giant island's descent slowed at first, then abruptly stopped above the sea of ​​clouds.

Controlling such a massive target for the first time made her sweat, but after confirming her ability was working, she immediately moved on to the next island. Two, three... all the floating islands that might have crashed into the sea were touched by her one by one, hovering in the air again. The remaining task was simply to slowly lower them down and place them back on the surface of the sea.

Unable to precisely control dozens of islands at once like the Golden Lion, she could only keep them stationary for now. Eclipse planned the placement order based on the islands' size and the depth of the sea below, while Karina consulted the East China Sea chart, avoiding shipping lanes and inhabited islands. Once she had mastered her abilities, Leona would return two of the islands originally belonging to the East China Sea to their original locations, while the remaining Vermeu islands would be placed in an uninhabited area.

The Eclipse landed on the edge of the main island. After dealing with the other islands, Leona returned to the ruins of Shiki's palace and retrieved Sakura and Koki from the spot where their bodies had fallen. The two fine swords, originally attached to Shiki's severed leg, were perfectly preserved.

She brought the knives to Jeno's workbench: "Melt these two knives, and with the hardest and heaviest alloy in the ship, forge a greatsword for me."

Geno stopped adjusting the exoskeleton armor and picked up Sakura Ten to examine the blade: "Didn't you choose White Night because you thought heavy swords would affect your speed? How come you want to switch back to a heavy sword after getting the Float-Float Fruit?"

“It’s not a change, it’s a dual-wielding style.” Leona placed her hand on Sakura Jū, activating her Devil Fruit ability. The originally heavy sword felt as light as a piece of paper between her fingers. “I can make the greatsword lose its weight and swing it at the same speed as Byakuya. The moment the blade touches the enemy, I will deactivate the ability.”

Geno understood her plan. Accelerating at its lightest speed, restoring the original weight of the material before impact, the swing speed wouldn't be hindered, and what would actually collide with the enemy was a deadly weapon made of two fine, sharp swords fused with heavy alloy.

Sabo looked at her newly bandaged shoulder: "With Armament Haki added, anyone who takes this head-on attack won't be in good shape."

“This is interesting.” Geno put the two knives into the synthesis factory. “Leave the center of gravity and blade structure to me. I’ll also add the best lunar alloy on the ship to ensure it’s heavy enough and won’t break when it instantly regains its weight.”

He then eyed the White Night sword on Leona's waist: "How about we modify this one too? Put a miniature thruster in the hilt, or replace the back of the blade with a layer of lunar material, so it can be swung even faster."

Leona drew White Night and flicked the blade with her finger: "No need. White Night is one of the twenty-one Great Swords, and its inherent characteristic is low resistance, making it almost silent when drawn. Mechanical modification would disrupt its original balance."

The jet-black Armament Haki flowed from her palm to the tip of the blade. The coverage was not yet stable, but it was already enough to turn the entire blade black.

"This sword needs no addition. I will temper it with my own domineering aura until it truly becomes a black sword."

On the other side of the palace, Indigo, clutching a box of potions, hid behind a collapsed stone pillar. As Ace approached, he lifted the box and knelt on the ground: "Don't kill me! I'm only doing research! These are the latest SIQ potions, capable of pushing animal muscles and berserk genes to their limits. You can have them all!"

Ace took the box and casually handed it to Chopper, who had followed him.

Chopper put on his goggles, opened a vial of medicine, smelled it, and then took out a small sample to examine it. Soon after, he frowned: "The idea of ​​enhancing cells is brilliant, but it contains a very strong neurotoxin. Animals that take it will lose their minds, their lifespan will be rapidly shortened, and their genes may collapse within a few years. If used directly on humans, they might go insane on the spot."

Indigo shrank back: "The admiral only requests the creation of a sufficiently powerful animal to destroy the East Sea..."

"So you spent twenty years researching a batch of mad beasts destined to die young." Ace pointed at Chopper. "The technological foundation remains, but the entire research direction is overturned. From now on, you are a prisoner of the Eclipse Pirates. Work with the ship's doctor to remove the toxins from the potion, and then combine that with his medical skills to develop a truly powerful enhancement potion that can unlock the body's potential without shortening your lifespan. Until you complete it, you are not allowed to leave this island."

Indigo glanced at Ace, then at Leona who had just hovered the island in the air, and immediately hugged Chopper's leg: "Dr. Chopper, please feel free to give us your orders from now on! We will definitely be able to solve this great medical problem!"

"Dr. Chopper?" Chopper's face broke out in a wavy pattern, and he twisted his body. "Even if you call me that, I won't be happy, you bastard!"

Ace decides to stay in Vermeer for the time being. The mutated beasts on the island can serve as training subjects, and Indigo's laboratory and existing samples can allow Chopper to start improving SIQ as soon as possible.

The beasts modified by the drug couldn't be taken away directly. Chopper planned to examine them one by one to confirm which changes could still be reversed. Geno also moved all of Indigo's experimental records into the Eclipse, including the reactions caused by different concentrations of SIQ over the past twenty years. This data on failures wasn't exactly honorable, but it would save Chopper a lot of trouble.

Leona needs to familiarize herself with the Float-Float Fruit and develop a dual-wielding style using the White Night and the new greatsword; Geno, in addition to forging swords, also needs to continue improving the artificial intelligence and automated weapon systems; while Buggy, Shaq, and others need to explore Armament Haki and Observation Haki amidst the siege of ferocious beasts.

Sabo and Enel plan to hone their Ryuo and Observation Haki through practical combat, while Brook will focus on the Netherworld power of the Yomi Yomi no Mi (Revive-Revive Fruit). In addition to self-defense training, Carina will expand her intelligence network using contracted items scattered throughout various locations, continuously monitoring the movements of the Navy and the New World.

This rest also gave Chopper the opportunity to familiarize himself with the crew's physical condition. There were too many Devil Fruit users on the Eclipse, each with a different physique and fighting style. He planned to rebuild their medical records, prescribing medications for common injuries and those resulting from excessive Devil Fruit power consumption, to avoid having to make hasty judgments for the next major battle.

Ace didn't stop either. He had just touched the threshold of precognition and still needed to transform that fleeting perception into a stable ability. As for Conqueror's Haki Entanglement, which only those truly at the top could master, he already had a direction; what he needed to do next was to grasp it through repeated training.

After the skies over Vermeer returned to calm, the Eclipse temporarily anchored at the central main island. Several distant islands continued to adjust their altitude under Leona's control, while the clanging sounds of Zeno smelting metal echoed from the palace ruins. The lair that Golden Lion had cultivated for twenty years had not disappeared with its master, but instead became the training ground for the Eclipse Pirates' next phase of training.

Chapter 121 Special Training Routine

The main island of Vermeeru no longer bears much resemblance to its former glory under the rule of the Golden Lion.

Most of the collapsed palace has been cleared, and the still intact stone walls serve as the outer barrier for the temporary base. The plaza is riddled with craters left from training, and several distant mountains have even had sections sheared off. The mutated beasts on the floating islands, which used to roam the vicinity, now only dare to observe from a distance, retreating back into the woods at the slightest disturbance.

Early that morning, a strange metallic scraping sound suddenly came from the center of the square.

Jeno clutched his stomach and bent over, a few wisps of black smoke rising from his mouth. Then, with two loud clangs, the two weapons fell to the ground one after the other. The black greatsword, which struck first, embedded itself in the rock, and a ring of fine cracks immediately appeared around it.

"Big Sister, Karina, come here!" Geno wiped the soot from his mouth, pointed at his accomplishment and laughed, "I swallowed the two fine swords left by the Golden Lion, the lunar alloy, and all the unknown ores I dug out of the island. After trying more than a dozen ratios, I finally synthesized a new material. I named it Geno Super Star Gold, and its hardness and density surpass any metal I've ever seen."

Leona walked to the greatsword first. The blade was about thirty centimeters wide, with a thick back and a curved tip. The weapon had no extra decorations, and its black surface couldn't even reflect the morning light.

Jeno grabbed the hilt and pulled upwards, his feet sinking into the ground, barely managing to lift the sword tip off the rock: "This is for you. The blade is already at its limit, but the most troublesome thing is its weight, which is tens of thousands of pounds. Ordinary people can't even move it, let alone swing it. When it hits a target, the blade cuts through the outer layer, and the remaining weight continues to press inwards, with an effect similar to a meteorite hitting it."

Leona reached out and took it, and the Float-Float Fruit activated. Geno immediately released his hands; the heavy sword that had been weighing him down was as light as a twig in Leona's hands.

She flicked her wrist twice. The black blade skimmed across the ground, and before it even truly landed, the swirling wind left a shallow mark on the rock.

“The weight and length are just right.” Leona held the greatsword upright beside her, her hand resting on the hilt. “From now on, we’ll call it Meteor.”

"It's not over yet." Geno squatted down beside the sword and tapped the spine of the blade with his finger. "I analyzed the structure of the Sky Island Shock Shell and fused the shock storage part into the alloy. When a meteorite blocks a physical attack, it can intercept a portion of the impact, which you can then release with your next swing. We still need to test how much it can store in actual combat, but at least it won't let your opponent hit you for nothing."

Leona's right hand wields the White Night for speed, while her left hand uses Meteorite to shift weight and impact in the opposite direction. The Golden Lion's twin blades have vanished; her own dual-wielding style is being rebuilt from these two weapons.

Geno then ran to another piece of work. It was a slender blue firearm, with much simpler lines than a greatsword, and the grip, scope, and power bar had all been readjusted to Karina's preferences.

“This is your Eye of God.” Geno handed the gun to Karina. “The material is a different kind of lightweight alloy, incorporating laser technology. In sniper mode, it can fire highly concentrated beyond-visual-range lasers. Its advantages are speed and strong penetration. You can use the Message-Message Fruit to lock onto targets and attack them directly from a great distance.”

He flipped a switch on the side of the gun, and the two sides of the barrel immediately opened: "After switching to cannon mode, the laser will produce a high-explosive reaction when it comes into contact with the target. The principle is similar to Kizaru's laser, but it consumes more energy and cannot be fired continuously."

Karina took the gun, tested its weight, and turned to walk towards the cliff: "I'm going to calibrate the sights. There are a few useless hills on the other side of the island."

"Remember to tell me the data when you're done!" Geno shouted after them, then turned to the others, "Once I find a suitable new alloy, Sabo and the others' weapons will be replaced too. Not a single one will be missing!"

High above the ruins, Ace finished reviewing the testing of the two weapons, then clapped his hands twice: "The equipment review is over, let's continue training. The few who just awakened Conqueror's Haki, come over here first."

Sabo, Enel, and the other two walked to the front of the plaza. In recent days, they had been able to unleash their Conqueror's Haki willingly, and their power had grown increasingly formidable. The problem was that once the power was released, it made no distinction between friend and foe, and ordinary people nearby would also be affected.

“You’ve already experienced what Conqueror’s Haki represents.” Ace pointed to the horde of beasts a hundred meters away. “It only blasts outwards, at most clearing out the grunts. When you’re really fighting, your comrades will be right next to you. You can’t take down your own people too. Today, let’s practice control. Each of you pick a beast and make sure the target loses consciousness.”

In the midst of the herd, a mutated Tyrannosaurus Rex was tearing at its prey. Ace glanced at it, and a concentrated, powerful aura swept across a hundred meters, landing precisely on the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Its body stiffened abruptly, its eyes rolled back as it collapsed, the chunks of meat rolling several meters from its mouth. Several other beasts nearby pawed at the ground uneasily, but remained conscious.

"Don't let your spirit blow wildly in all directions like a gust of wind." Ace withdrew his gaze. "First, identify the target, then concentrate your power into a single point. I'll demonstrate how to exert that power once, and you'll remember the changes within your own bodies."

"Don't just focus on suppressing your Conqueror's Haki," Ace added after the group's first attempt. "Locking in isn't about staring at the target constantly. There will be smoke and dust on the battlefield, and people will block your view. You need to use Observation Haki to confirm the presence first, and then let your Conqueror's Haki follow that sense."

Sabo was the first to target a small beast at the edge of the herd. The moment he unleashed his pressure, two wild animals beside his target collapsed simultaneously. Enel's attack was even more powerful; his thundercloud-like pressure swept across half the herd, accurately stunning the chosen Tyrannosaurus Rex, but causing a dozen or so nearby beasts to scatter and flee.

“Let’s start over.” Ace didn’t comment on who was stronger or weaker. “Today’s competition isn’t about range. If we accidentally injure one, we’ll start from the beginning.”

The four had no choice but to scatter. In the first few rounds, groups of wild beasts fell outside the plaza; by the afternoon, the affected area began to shrink. Controlling Conqueror's Haki was more mentally taxing than simply releasing it, and sweat beaded on their foreheads as they had to find their targets again before the next attempt.

After a brief explanation, the entire main island was quickly filled with roars from different directions.

Sabo and Enel occupied the eastern valley. Flames erupted from Sabo's boot heels, propelling him to break the sound barrier. His dragon claws, adorned with high-level Flowing Sakura, tore through the air, aiming straight for Enel's chest.

"Firestorm - Fire Dragon King!"

Enel did not use his elemental powers to dodge. He gripped the Thunder Knife with both hands, and two hundred million volts of lightning gathered along its shaft, along with his newly acquired Armament Haki.

"Thor's Hammer!"

The Thunder Cudgel and the Dragon Claw collided head-on, blue and white lightning crackling and surging with the flames, sending large shards of rock crashing down from both sides of the valley. Sabo constantly changed his attack route, using high pressure to force Enel to maintain his Armament Haki; Enel, in turn, used his Observation Haki to pinpoint Sabo's landing point, forcing Sabo to hone his Observation Haki amidst the lightning strikes. Neither of them held back; they would seek treatment from Ace after they were injured.

Enel's Armament Haki coverage was still unstable; after each collision, a piece of black would be missing from the Regin Shard. Sabo would then specifically target that gap, forcing Enel to replenish it before the next attack arrived. Sabo wasn't faring much better; Enel's Mantra covered the entire valley, and lightning often sealed off landing points before he could strike. Sabo had to judge the next attack from changes in the current and air.

The scene in the open space to the west was even more chaotic.

Urouge activated his Karma Fruit, his body swelling into a muscular giant over five meters tall, his torso simultaneously covered in iron and Armament Haki. He stood there enduring the attacks, the ground beneath his feet sinking with each impact.

Shaq pressed close to his abdomen, water gathering at his fist, and unleashed a series of five-thousand-watt straight punches. He had only recently awakened Armament Haki and was attempting to integrate this power into Fish-Man Karate, imbuing the water rushing into his enemy's body with Haki as well.

On the other side, just as Bucky split his waist, Urki's iron rod swept across.

"Don't dodge!" Urouge laughed as he took the brunt of Shak's punch. "Armament Haki is like armor you wear. When you're hit, grab that force and drive it to your vitals!"

"Put down that iron rod first!" Bucky's upper body darted around in the air, his hands and feet scattering in several directions. "I'm a man of four pieces, why should I have to practice these head-on collision techniques!"

The iron rod suddenly changed direction, blocking his chance to dodge. Bucky let out a strange cry and had no choice but to force the faint Armament Haki within him to his arms, crossing them to block the incoming rod. The next moment, he was sent flying, along with the severed parts of his body.

In mid-air, Leona also began to familiarize herself with the Float Fruit.

She herself floats with almost no energy expenditure; the challenge lies in controlling a large number of external objects simultaneously. As she raises her hand, broken knives, shattered swords, and stones in the ruins rise into the air one by one, and even the water in the pool splits into dozens of streams, condensing into sharp cones around her.

"Sword Control Technique: Flying Blade Domain".