One Piece: Rayquaza of the Beasts Pirates

But these guests only dared to grumble in their hearts, and dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction on their faces.

The only one qualified and capable of causing trouble is in VIP room number two.

"Brother Perospero! Why won't you let me raise the price?!"

Owen's hand was already grabbing the Den Den Mushi, but Perospero held it down firmly. "Even if you can't capture it, wouldn't it be better to make that bastard Kane bleed a little more?!"

Perospero remained calm, lowering his voice to rebuke, "Foolish! Putting aside whether your plan will succeed, Kane not causing us any trouble just now was already giving us face!"

Even pirates have to follow the rules.

"Now, calm your anger."

Looking at his brother's extremely serious expression, Irving's chest heaved violently a few times, but he finally reluctantly and slowly let go of his hand.

"I see."

Below, the auctioneer, understanding the unspoken message, swiftly completed the final procedures.

"Congratulations to the VIP in Box 1! You have successfully acquired the Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit for 100 million Berries!"

"I now declare this auction a complete success!"

Soon, a finely crafted, golden-glowing small box was solemnly escorted into Box Number One by Bakala and a group of burly men in white suits.

"Lord Kane."

Baccarat bowed respectfully. "Lord Tesoro has settled all your payments. Now, this precious Devil Fruit is entirely yours, and you can use it as you see fit."

"Please thank your boss for me; I appreciate the sentiment."

Kane smiled, casually opened the box, revealing a strange fruit with flame-like spiral patterns inside.

He picked up the Flame-Flame Fruit and examined it for a moment, then flicked his wrist and casually tossed it toward Ace.

"Here, it's yours now."

A hint of surprise flashed in Bakara's eyes.

This is the Flame-Flame Fruit! If it were auctioned fairly on the market, it would be worth at least a billion Berries. Are you just going to give it away to some kid?

She didn't dare say anything more. After delivering the fruit, she led her subordinates away on their own.

On the other side, Ace caught the fruit in a flurry of activity, momentarily incredulous.

"Is it... really that simple?"

"A mere scorching fruit is not worth my trouble."

Kane laughed heartily, his tone suddenly turning sharp, carrying an undeniable air of dominance: "Even if someone manages to intercept it halfway, then we'll eliminate them and let this fruit be reborn on the sea."

"Thank you, Brother Kane!" Ace bowed deeply.

After straightening up, he didn't hesitate any longer and opened his mouth to take a big bite of the Flaming Fruit.

"Ugh! Ugh—it tastes awful!"

The next second, Ace's eyes widened suddenly, and an indescribable nausea from the depths of his soul rushed straight to the top of his head.

He couldn't stop gagging, his whole face scrunched up.

Sanji, standing nearby, frowned deeply, his face filled with disgust: "I will never eat any Devil Fruit again. Letting such a thing enter my stomach is an insult to my tongue and stomach."

He knew exactly how unpicky Ace was; even Ace was making that face, so you could imagine how bad it tasted.

Kane chuckled mischievously at Ace's predicament: "Haha, Ace, you'd better finish it all~ If you don't, the power you gain might be flawed."

"really?"

Ace believed it to be true, made a face, pursed his lips, closed his eyes, opened his mouth as wide as he could, and swallowed the Flame-Flame Fruit whole in a few bites.

After finally swallowing it all, Ace dared to open his eyes, looking as if he had just survived a disaster.

Then Kane slowly added, "I guessed."

"Huh?! Brother Kane, you've gone too far!" Ace's eyes widened instantly, and he protested loudly.

"Pfft..."

"Hahaha!"

Seeing Ace's tearful expression, the entire private room erupted in a burst of cheerful laughter.

Just then.

Bonnie gasped, covering her mouth in surprise. Pointing at Ace's head, she exclaimed, "Ace! On your head..."

"Huh? What happened to my head?"

Ace looked bewildered and subconsciously reached up to touch the top of his head, but he didn't feel anything. He only felt that area was warm.

"Here, take a look for yourself."

Kane suppressed a laugh and pointed to the ornate mirrors used for decoration on the walls of the private room.

Ace leaned closer, puzzled, and after just one glance, his jaw nearly dropped: "Whoa! My head's on fire?!"

He immediately panicked, frantically slapping his head with both hands in an attempt to extinguish the cluster of orange-red flames.

But instead of waning, the flames, driven by his panic, shot up even higher and burned even more fiercely.

"Alright, Ace, stop wasting your energy, it's useless."

Kane shook his head and offered guidance: "This is the Mera Mera no Mi's power being unconsciously activated. You need to calm down, concentrate, and slowly feel and control it."

"Is that right?"

Ace obediently did as instructed, and sure enough, through a mysterious and innate connection, the flames above his head gradually subsided and eventually disappeared completely.

"Hehe, this is really interesting."

The embarrassment he had just felt was instantly forgotten. Ace excitedly raised his hands and eagerly began to try to control the flames.

Kane smiled and then announced, "Alright, there'll be plenty of time to get used to your abilities later. Get some rest tonight, and we'll set off for home early tomorrow morning."

The next day.

Liekong's seat number.

"Brother Kane, I challenge you!" Ace shouted loudly, full of energy and high spirits.

"You're still a long way from challenging me."

Kane, lounging on the sun lounger, waved lazily without even taking off his sunglasses. "Let's get past Yamato first. Yamato, it's yours now."

"Okay."

Yamato didn't mind that Ace was weak, and readily agreed, grabbing his spiked club and charging in.

Kane thoughtfully released his Armament Haki, applying a tempered glass film to the deck to prevent the ship from being damaged by the aftershocks of their battle.

"Come on, Yamato-neechan!"

Ace grinned, his fighting spirit soaring.

"fire punch!"

Ace launched the first attack, his right fist slamming out, and surging flames instantly detached from his fist, transforming into a huge and solid fist of fire, which rushed menacingly towards Yamato.

To be fair, Ace was indeed talented; after just one night, he was able to use the Flame-Flame Fruit in such a respectable way.

"Unservant Ice Fang!"

Yamato remained calm and opened his mouth, releasing an extremely cold, bone-chilling stream of air like a white torrent.

The next second, the blazing fist of fire collided violently with the freezing air.

To Ace's surprise, his seemingly powerful fiery fist was almost unable to provide any effective resistance. It was directly crushed and annihilated by Yamato's even more powerful freezing air the moment it made contact.

boom!

The torrent of freezing air that had shattered the flames continued its relentless charge, rushing towards Ace's original location like an avalanche.

In an instant, a huge, crystal-clear ice pillar, radiating a chilling aura, appeared out of thin air where Ace had just been standing.

However, Ace himself was not frozen inside.

"That was close!"

Ace, who appeared a few meters away, patted his chest and breathed heavily, still shaken.

Fortunately, he is no longer the ignorant frog in the well he was back in Windmill Village. Knowing he was no match for Yamato, he anticipated the attack and dodged in advance.

"It's not over yet, Crossfire!"

Ace steadied himself, his eyes narrowed, and he quickly crossed his index fingers to form a cross. A blazing cross-shaped beam of light burst forth from his fingertips, precisely aiming at Yamato.

The next second, the raging flames were guided by the light and shot out.

boom!

A massive pillar of fire suddenly rose up, instantly engulfing the spot where Yamato had just been standing.

The scorching heat even made the faces of those watching from afar feel hot.

This is the terrifying aspect of top-tier Logia-type Devil Fruits; even the most basic applications are enough to generate astonishing power.

"Did it succeed?" Ace squinted, trying to see the situation in the flames.

"It's still a long way off."

Yamato's energetic and clear voice rang out close to Ace's ear.

At the same time, a pure white spiked club rapidly enlarged in Ace's pupils.

Ace almost instinctively elementalized his body, transforming into flames in an attempt to evade the heavy blow.

however.

boom!

The spiked club, imbued with Armament Haki, struck Ace squarely.

Ace screamed and flew backward uncontrollably like a baseball hit at home base, crashing heavily onto the ship's side, which Kane had reinforced with his Haki.

"It hurts!"

Ace slumped onto the deck, feeling like stars were flashing before his eyes.