Ace

With a deafening roar, flames suddenly erupted on Onigashima.

"Who is it?! Which bastard is so reckless as to attack our Beasts Pirates?!"

A group of Beasts Pirates, who looked like demons and monsters, shouted loudly and rushed towards the area where the explosion had occurred.

These pirates all looked fierce and menacing. The leader even transformed into Orks- orc with a roar and arrived at the dock where the explosion had occurred.

The entire dock was engulfed in flames, and several pirates were burning and rolling around on the ground, roaring and revealing their half-beast, half-human forms.

Many more pirates had already turned into charred remains, and only those pirates with Devil Fruit User possessed the tenacity to survive in this sea of fire.

"Who the hell are you?! Show yourself right now!!"

The Beast Pirates who arrived at the port to provide support looked around but saw no one. The pirate who had been Half-Beast Transformation transformed into a giant Silverback Gorilla, pounding his chest and roaring loudly.

"Huh! As expected of the Beasts Pirates, they have so many Zoan Devil Fruit users! Could there really be 100 Zoan?!"

A questioning voice rang out from the sea of fire, and the endless flames gathered together, revealing a shirtless, handsome boy with a cowboy hat and a few freckles on his face.

"You are... that Logia Devil Fruit User, Fire Fist Ace? Why are you causing trouble for our Beasts Pirates!"

Upon seeing Ace appear, the Silverback Gorilla, a minor leader of the Beasts Pirates, showed a hint of apprehension and asked a question.

Although there are countless Haki users in the New World, and Logia Devil Fruit User have lost their former dominance, this does not mean that Logia Devil Fruit User are weak; it simply means that they are not as invincible as before.

Even the most ordinary Logia can become a mid-level officer in one of the Four Emperors Pirates. In a battle, if all other conditions are the same, Logia will still have an absolute advantage.

Not to mention a powerful Logia Devil Fruit User like Flame. Even an ordinary person who eats this Devil Fruit can become a core member of Four Emperors crew. It's not something a small leader like myself can easily mess with.

As the Silverback Gorilla spoke, he also gestured for his subordinates to quickly seek help. Although he also had a weak level of Haki, it was only enough to give him a slight chance to fight back against Ace, and he was no match for him at all.

However, this is the Beasts Pirates' headquarters. If we can stall for a little time, other powerful figures will naturally come and teach Ace a lesson.

"The Beasts Pirates? That's the Beasts Pirates I'm looking for! I'll take Kaido's head!"

"Pfft! Hahahaha!"

The Silverback Gorilla paused for a moment, then clutched his stomach and burst into laughter. The ordinary pirates behind him were also rolling on the ground laughing, which immediately darkened Ace's expression.

"They actually... they actually want our captain's head! Kid, you've successfully made me laugh!"

"It seems that eating a good Devil Fruit has made you so arrogant that you can't see yourself clearly! This is the New World, and the Logia who die here is no less than that of ordinary minions! Only by possessing unparalleled Haki can one truly become the king of the New World!"

With a thunderous boom, a fist carrying both Haki and flames slammed into the Silverback Gorilla's face, sending him flying. After knocking away the pirate minions behind him, the fist skipped across the ground twice like skipping stones before crashing into the final mountain wall with a thunderous roar.

"That makes a lot of sense,"

Watching the few teeth falling from the sky, Ace smiled and adjusted his cowboy hat.

"However, in terms of Haki, you seem to be no match for me at all! I really don't know what you're so proud of?"

Ace's talent surpasses Luffy's. Before eating Devil Fruit, he suppressed Luffy for over a decade. Although Ace was two years older than Luffy at the time, Luffy had also eaten the Nika Fruit, which provides Fantasy Species boost to his physique.

In the back and forth, Ace might have even suffered a slight loss. Under such circumstances, Ace's ability to suppress Luffy was entirely a result of his talent.

Although Ace didn't spend two years like Luffy before heading to the New World, he ate the Flame-Flame Fruit and honed his skills on the sea for almost a year, so his Haki level was already quite good.

"Damn it... these kids these days are really strong!"

Covering its mouth, the Silverback Gorilla stood up again, surprising Ace.

As Zoan Devil Fruit user, even though this Silverback Gorilla ate Artificial Devil Fruit, his Zoan's unique physique, super regeneration, and his own domineering Haki allowed him to withstand Ace's attack.

"Masira, you're such a disgrace! Hahahahahaha!"

As an unpleasant laugh echoed from the sky, Ace looked up in surprise and saw a man with a bald head, wings on his back, and a beak like a bird's, flying down from the sky.

"Be careful, Vulture, this guy is not to be trifled with! He's not one of those arrogant brats!"

The Masira rubbed his face. In such a short time, the swelling on his face had subsided somewhat, and even his broken teeth had begun to grow back.

"I know, he's this year's Supernova! The few of us are no match for him!"

"Fortunately though... it's not just the few of us dealing with him!"

As the Vulture in the sky opened their mouths, the flames that had been burning the pirates and causing them to scream in agony gradually died down, replaced by a faint chill and frost.

"Ouch, that damn fire brat! It almost burned me to death!"

The remaining pirates from the three docks emerged, baring their teeth; they were undoubtedly also Zoan Devil Fruit users.

"Huh, that's strange. Shouldn't Devil Fruit be unique? Why are you three so similar?"

Ace turned his head and looked at it, and said with some surprise. When he first made his move, he used a wide-range fire attack that covered the entire dock. At that time, the three Devil Fruit User were caught off guard and hadn't even started changing their voices yet.

However, upon closer inspection, although the three were burned black or bald by the flames, they all exhibited a werewolf-like appearance. Clearly, all three should be Devil Fruit User.

While similar animals do exist, the degree of resemblance still surprised Ace.

"Kid, you've never even heard of Artificial Devil Fruit?"

A cold voice rang out, and Ace's expression instantly turned serious, his eyes fixed intently on the very center of what had been the port fire.

Frost gradually covered the entire dock, and a strange winged figure dressed in black leather, with Monsters burning on his back and ice and cold air emanating from his feet, emerged. His tall body cast a shadow that enveloped Fire Fist Ace.

"Kid, let me ask you something before we fight: have you been keeping an eye on Kaido all this time?"

"Monitor Kaido?"

Ace scratched his head, a look of confusion on his face:

"Although I've wanted to take the head of one of the Four Emperors for a long time, I only found out a few days ago that Kaido was here!"

A few days ago, Ace's Spades Pirates were stranded in Amigasa Village, Wano Country, due to a storm and other reasons. After learning about the oppression in Wano Country, Ace, at Tama's request, did not hesitate to head to Onigashima.

Before that, Ace had never seen Kaido except on wanted posters!

Upon hearing this, the tall, black-clad, winged Monsters, King, the second-in-command of the Beasts Pirates, nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, with your abilities, you brat, you couldn't possibly make Kaido feel threatened!"

"Hey, what do you mean by that?! Are you looking down on me?"

Ace frowned, a look of displeasure on his face. Eighteen or nineteen-year-old youths are fearless and arrogant, otherwise they wouldn't dare to say they want to take the heads of the Four Emperors.

Young people at this stage hate being looked down upon the most, and Jin's attitude of treating Ace as nothing undoubtedly greatly hurt Ace's self-esteem.

"It's not about underestimating..."

Jin slowly drew his longsword, the two opposing forces of fire and ice intertwining on it, faintly revealing a terrifying aura:

"It's just stating a fact!!"

"The Icefire Twin Dragon Takeover!"

Flames and ice transformed into two giant spiral Giant Dragon, which, amidst the changing temperatures of the air, even created terrifying storms that blasted directly towards Ace!

Ace's expression changed slightly. Ordinary flames wouldn't harm him much, and might even restore his strength. However, the flames wielded by Jin gave him a sense of danger, not to mention the power of ice.

In addition, the Haki mixed with the flames and ice made Ace dare not underestimate Ace. Without hesitation, he raised his Devil Fruit power to its maximum and stretched his hand towards the sky:

"Flame Emperor, Great Flame Ring!"

Rings of flames surged forth, coalescing into a massive fireball. Even though Ace was not yet at his peak for the battle against Blackbeard a year later, he was already a force to be reckoned with. The enormous fireball, like the sun, hurtled towards the Ice and Fire Dragons.

A blinding white light instantly filled the entire battlefield, followed by a terrifying explosion and shockwave. Moments later, the smoke from the battlefield gradually dissipated, revealing a fan-shaped crater in the ground and Ace slowly coalescing into a human form from flames.

"Cough cough, ooh!"

Wiping away the blood he coughed up from the corner of his mouth, Ace's face was somewhat pale, and he gave a bitter smile:

"This seems a bit difficult... Is this what the Four Emperors Pirates is like? We haven't even seen Kaido, the main character, yet!"

"You are Kaido, the leader of King the Wildfire's the Disasters?"

"What? You want to beg for mercy now?"

"What a joke! I just wanted to know your identity and gauge the difference between me and Kaido!"

A smile appeared on Ace's lips. Despite being at a significant disadvantage in the battle just now, he remained calm and composed, showing no signs of discouragement.

Jhin looked Ace up and down and nodded:

"I'm starting to believe in your potential now... but potential is just potential. With your current strength, challenging Captain Kaido is way too early."

"At your current age, you have no chance of defeating Captain Kaido! How about joining the Beasts Pirates? Within the Beasts Pirates, you can fully transform your potential into strength!"

Ace smiled, his body engulfed in flames:

"Sorry! I have no interest in you bunch of scum pirates. Tama and my crew back in Amigasa Village are waiting for me to come back!"

Jin was silent for a moment, then finally spoke coldly:

"I see... another childish pirate crew, and those naive, foolish pirates with such naive ideas?!"

"Since we're not on the same path, then I have no choice but to send you on your way!"

"Hehe, Leather-Clad Monster, anyone can talk big, but don't lie on the ground crying when I defeat you!"

Ace roared, unleashing a punch that transformed into a raging inferno:

"Fire Fist!"

Wrapped in leather, Jin exuded a cold and aloof aura as he slowly raised the longsword in his hand, his entire appearance changing as he did so.

Silvery-white fur extended from the gaps in his leather jacket. The powerful cold air clashed with the flames behind him, forming Uzumaki around him. In an instant, the leather jacket wrapped around him began to deform, and he transformed into a werewolf-like form.

But this is certainly not an ordinary Devil Fruit. Given King's talent and status in the Beasts Pirates, Kaido would never use an ordinary Devil Fruit to appease him; that would be a waste of his potential.

That was originally meant for Yamato, but was left behind because of the Artificial Azure Dragon Fruit – the Mythical Zoan – the Mythical Zoan: Great Serpent Wolf Fruit!

Compared to the original Pterodactyl Fruit, the Mythical Zoan: Great Serpent Wolf Fruit is undoubtedly much more powerful. The only advantage of the Pterodactyl Fruit is its high-speed flight ability, and King, being a rare race, already has wings and the ability to fly.

Although King's flight speed is inferior to the original Pterodactyl Fruit, it has a negligible impact on combat. His flight ability far surpasses that of most people in the Pirate World.

On the contrary, the physical enhancement brought by the Mythical Zoan: Great Serpent Wolf Fruit, which is superior to that of the Pterodactyl Fruit, and most importantly, the ability to manipulate cold air, have greatly improved King's strength and potential.

At least for now, Ace is definitely no match for Jhin!

"Icefire Guardian Dragon Emperor!"

The Giant Dragon, formed from flames and ice, easily shattered Ace's Fire Fist, sending Ace flying once again into the building behind him, dragging him through a rubble passage dozens of meters long.

Half an hour later, the battle was completely over.

"Go and arrest him!"

Sheathing his sword, Jin, whose leather coat was slightly torn, looked at the surrounding Beasts Pirates soldiers and gave the order:

"Also... this brat seems to have mentioned his companions and Amigasa Village... send a few men to arrest them all!"