Flame-Flame Fruit

Marine Headquarters · Roy's residence · Night

Night lay still as water, and the warm yellow light inside filled the living room with warmth and peace.

Bellemere sat in the middle of the living room with a storybook open on her lap. Luffy and Nami squeezed in on either side of her, their eyes shining as they stared at the pages and let out occasional gasps of wonder.

Nojiko sat on the sofa, knitting a pale blue sweater. Every now and then, she looked up, a gentle smile on her lips.

Rosinante had taken Law away, apparently to show him around Marine Headquarters and give the two "family members," both rescued from Doflamingo, some more time together.

On the roof, the cool night breeze brushed against the tiles, making them rustle softly.

Ace lay with his hands behind his head, gazing up at the star-filled sky, a trace of complicated emotion in his eyes.

"Whoosh!"

A gentle breeze swept past, and Roy appeared silently beside him. He lay down on his back too, tucked his hands behind his head, and glanced casually at Ace. "What's wrong, kid? You look so gloomy. That's not like you."

Ace pursed his lips and said nothing, the tips of his ears turning slightly red.

Roy narrowed his eyes like a fox hiding a laugh and reached out to ruffle his hair. "What is it? Did that kid Law get you down?"

Ace was silent for a moment before he muttered, "Fruit powers are great... You eat one and get that strong, stronger than me after years of training."

There was a hint of frustration in his voice, as well as a longing for the unknown.

Roy chuckled softly and flicked Ace on the forehead. "Idiot."

"Ow!" Ace covered his forehead with one hand and glared fiercely at him, though there was a hint of playful affection in his eyes.

Roy withdrew his hand and looked up at the night sky, his tone unusually serious. "Fruit powers aren't all good."

The night breeze brushed past, carrying a faint scent of sea salt.

"Anyone who eats a Devil Fruit loses the ability to swim for life. If they fall into the sea, they're helpless. Not to mention they're vulnerable to seastone."

He slowly turned to look at Ace, his gaze deep and resolute. "Haki, on the other hand, is the only truth in this world!"

Ace fell silent, his eyes flickering. "But..."

Roy smiled slightly and changed tack. "That said, if someone develops a fruit's powers to their limits, it really can make them unbelievably strong."

He reached out and gestured at the night sky, his fingers gleaming faintly in the starlight. "Take Law's Op-Op Fruit. If he could really develop it fully, it could even let someone achieve immortality through the 'Perennial Youth Operation.'"

"The great pirate Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit can destroy a small island with one punch!"

Ace's eyes widened. "Destroy an island with one punch?! The Perennial Youth Operation?! Is that for real?!"

"Yeah."

Roy nodded gently, his gaze soft but deep. "But that's a matter for the future. Even if he has the potential, it'll take him a long time to develop it."

"There are no shortcuts, only progress one step at a time. Besides, I don't want him to ever have to use that."

Ace stared at the night sky in silence for a moment, a flash of understanding in his eyes.

He turned to Roy, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "Roy, I'll definitely be able to get stronger through my own power someday, right?"

Roy gazed at him quietly as the night breeze swept the loose strands of hair across his forehead. "Of course. I believe in you."

"And I've been watching over all of you all along..."

The night breeze swept past, and for a while, neither of them spoke.

After a moment, the night grew deeper. The sea breeze blew gently across the roof, and starlight fell on their shoulders.

Roy suddenly turned his head and called out casually, "Ace."

"Hm?"

Ace gazed up at the stars with his hands behind his head, still chewing the dried meat Roy had given him earlier. His voice was muffled.

Roy glanced sideways at him, his lips curling into a familiar, punchable grin. "Do you want to eat a Devil Fruit?"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Ace nearly choked on his mouthful of dried meat. He sat bolt upright and stared at Roy in shock. "What did you say?!"

Roy smiled mysteriously and unhurriedly held out his right hand, opening his palm.

A fruit lay quietly there, fiery red all over and covered in swirling flame patterns. It looked like a solidified flame and glimmered with a faint, eerie light.

"Th-this is...?" Ace's throat felt a little dry.

"A Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit."

Roy spoke calmly, his voice low and strong. "Eat it, and you'll gain the power to control fire."

Ace instinctively looked at Roy's face, only to see eyes full of laughter that couldn't hide their seriousness and tenderness.

Ace's hand shook. It really shook.

He was a Marine, a promising young talent personally trained by Roy, a genius kid who had grown up at Marine Headquarters.

He knew all too well what a Devil Fruit meant, let alone a Logia, widely recognized as being on the level of a "walking natural disaster in human form."

Many branch vice admirals might never have even seen a Paramecia. At his age, even a fruit user was a rare sight. Yet here... someone was offering him such a precious Devil Fruit without reservation.

Ace's hand trembled slightly. He slowly reached out, but stopped halfway, his expression complicated, as if afraid everything before him was an illusion.

"Can... can I really have it?"

Ace's voice was slightly hoarse, and his Adam's apple bobbed. His hand hovered in midair, but he couldn't bring himself to reach any farther.

Roy didn't answer. He simply smiled and gently placed the fruit in Ace's hand, his gaze tender and firm.

At that moment, many things flashed through Ace's mind: Luffy's carefree smiling face, the comforting sight of Bellemere's back as she cooked, Teacher Zephyr roaring at him for "not training his Haki properly," and Roy's ever-tolerant, steadfast gaze.

He looked down at the fruit. The flame patterns pulsed in his palm like a heartbeat, illuminating his trembling fingertips.

"This is... the power to protect them."

Thank you, Roy. He didn't say it aloud, but the clear light in his eyes was more sincere than any words.

"I won't let you down!" Ace grinned, his familiar confidence finally returning.

Roy smiled and reached out to ruffle his hair. "Go on, eat it. From now on, I'll be counting on you."

Ace's lips curled up, and he clenched his fist. "Yeah!"

But just as he opened his mouth to take a bite—

Roy suddenly turned around, quietly pulled a Den Den Mushi from his sleeve, and pressed the recording button. A mischievous smile flashed in his eyes. "Hehe... Gotta preserve the memory of his first fruit experience."

Ace didn't notice and bit down without hesitation—

"Bleurgh!!!"

The fruit tasted like the sole of a foot stewed with fishy fish, mixed with cabbage cooked in water used to wash socks.

Ace's face instantly contorted, veins bulging on his forehead as tears welled up in his eyes. "Wh-what kind of hellish food is this?!"

In the Den Den Mushi's lens, Roy could no longer hold back his laughter. His shoulders shook like reeds in the wind, laughter nearly rolling out of his belly. "Hahahaha~ I forgot to tell you, Devil Fruits are some of the worst-tasting things in the world!"

"You bastard!! You knew all along, didn't you?!" Ace roared between dry heaves, tears clinging to the corners of his eyes.

Roy was beside himself, laughing and rolling around on the roof, nearly tumbling the Den Den Mushi's lens over. "Of course I knew~ But you were eating it so seriously. It would've been a shame to miss it."

"Y-you just wait! I'll get you back for this someday!!"

Ace stamped his feet in anger, tears and snot threatening to spill, but he still gritted his teeth and swallowed the fruit bite by bite.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. One bite is enough~"

Hearing that, Ace was just about to curse him out when suddenly—

"Boom!"

A burst of scorching energy exploded from his chest, searing heat surging through every part of his body.

He froze. The next second, a dazzling flame burst to life in his palm with a "whoosh," its heat blazing and its light bright enough to illuminate half the roof.

The wind stirred the flame, and the boy's shocked face looked like a sculpture in the firelight.

Roy steadily put away the Den Den Mushi, flashed a victory sign at the lens, then looked away and spoke softly to Ace:

"Welcome to... the world of 'fire.'"

On the roof, the two youths looked at each other and smiled, surrounded by firelight and starlight.

This was a mark of growth, the trust of family, and the starting point for Ace, the flame of the sun.

Meanwhile, in the Meeting Hall of the Donquixote Family's territory

Candles flickered in the dim hall, illuminating the towering figure on the throne.

Doflamingo sat with his legs crossed, fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, his pink feather coat trailing on the floor. His gaze behind his sunglasses was chillingly cold.

In the middle of the hall, Bellamy knelt prostrate on the floor, covered in wounds and dressed in ragged clothes. The blood on his forehead had dried, and he looked as wretched as a stray dog.

"Fufufu..."

Doflamingo's low, dangerous laughter echoed through the silent hall.

"Bellamy..."

He slowly rose to his feet and looked down at the man kneeling on the floor, his voice laced with undisguised mockery.

"How could you possibly... have the nerve to come back alive?"

Bellamy shuddered and snapped his head up, his eyes full of disbelief.

"L-Lord Doflamingo! I..."

He was desperate to explain, but just as the words reached his lips, he suddenly remembered what the young Marine had said before leaving three days ago—

"A scapegoat..."

"So... that really was it..."

Bellamy's face turned deathly pale, his lips trembling, as if he still wanted to argue.

But Doflamingo had already lost patience.

"Trash."

He lifted a fingertip, and nearly transparent strings instantly wrapped around Bellamy's neck!

"No... Doffy... I..."

Bellamy struggled in terror, but the strings had already cut deep into his flesh, blood seeping from the marks.

Doflamingo's gaze was cold and merciless. He crooked a finger—

"Swoosh!"

Blood sprayed as Bellamy's head rolled to the floor, his eyes still wide open in death.

Deathly silence filled the hall. The family officers stood silently on either side, none daring to make a sound.

Doflamingo slowly sat back down on the throne. Blood dripped from the strings at his fingertips, and his expression was frighteningly dark.

"Roy..."

He murmured the name, his voice full of suppressed fury.