boom--
His figure landed heavily, cracking the stone slabs beneath his feet. A wave of intense heat emanated from him, forcing the elite pirate captains in front of Ochoku to take a half-step back.
" The Devil Fruit ability?"
Ochoku narrowed his eyes slightly, "I didn't expect that a naval trainee would actually obtain this Devil Fruit. It seems your Marshal values you highly!"
As the smoke and sparks dissipated, the newcomer was none other than Portgas D. Ace.
"This is the fruit of my own labor!"
"However, you are right about one thing: the Lord Marshal does indeed value me highly!"
Ace extinguished his flames, glanced at Hawkins and Trafalgar Law beside him, and grinned, "I didn't expect you two to be faster than me."
"However, the real show is just beginning." Ace's eyes burned with fighting spirit as he glanced at Ochoku and the dozens of pirates behind him. "The title of strongest apprentice can only belong to me, and must belong to me!"
Trafalgar Law's lips twitched slightly. Marshal Akira's training ship was good in every way, except that there were a lot of arrogant people on it!
He thought to himself this, but didn't show it. He glanced at Ace and said calmly, "While you were still raiding bird nests in the back mountains of Foosha Village, I was already in the North Sea carrying grenades, facing Doflamingo alone."
"As you are now, you probably won't become the strongest intern!"
"Don't forget, I'm also Devil Fruit user."
"Heh." Ace sneered, not to be outdone. "Then let's see who defeats him first—"
Before Ace could finish speaking, Hawkins, who had been silent all along, interrupted them.
"Please calm down, both of you!"
As he spoke up to stop Ace and Law, Hawkins calmly pulled out several tarot cards from his pocket, his long, slender fingers tracing the surface of each card.
A moment later, he slowly raised his head, his perpetually expressionless face still displaying an eerily stable demeanor. "Morality rate: zero."
"Becoming the strongest intern is simple," Hawkins said calmly, his voice devoid of any emotion, after delivering the divination result. "Wipe out all the pirates here!"
The moment he finished speaking, the card in his hand spontaneously combusted without any fire.
Immediately afterwards--
" The Demon Subduing Form!"
Countless straws appeared out of thin air, like wildly growing vines, instantly enveloping Hawkins completely.
The next second, a giant scarecrow, over ten meters tall, with a ferocious face and fingers that turned into five-inch-long nails, took his place!
As a strange ripple spread out from beneath the giant scarecrow's feet, Hawkins' figure vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already standing directly above Ochoku, his huge shadow completely enveloping Ochoku and the captains beside him!
"You brat, you're not worthy to be Ochoku Zhi's opponent!"
Before Ochoku make a move, a slender pirate captain wielding a long sword flashed out from beside him.
He stomped on the ground and shot into the sky like an arrow, his long sword wreathed in dark Armament Haki, aimed directly at Hawkins ' heart.
Hawkins remained expressionless; his button-like eyes held no emotion.
He simply raised his massive arm, made of straw and nails, high above the captain and Ochoku below, and slammed it down...
boom!
The knife and the arm clashed violently!
A terrifying shockwave exploded, shattering the longsword in the pirate captain's hand. He coughed up blood and flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into a building in the distance. His fate was unknown.
Meanwhile, to everyone's surprise, Hawkins, who had been telling everyone to calm down, was the first to charge out. Ace couldn't help but curse, " Hawkins, you bastard, you cheated!"
While cursing loudly, Ace charged out, not wanting to be outdone.
" Fire Fist!"
He slammed his right arm out, and a huge burning fist flew out of his hand, carrying a rolling heat wave that instantly enveloped Ochoku and the area in front of him!
"Don't even think about it!"
Just as Ochoku and his companions were about to be engulfed by the Fire Fist, another captain, as burly as an iron tower, charged out from beside Ochoku.
He crossed his arms in front of him to protect himself, and his entire body was instantly covered by dark Armament Haki. He actually intended to use his physical body to withstand Ace's attack!
Boom!
Flames collided with flesh, producing a deafening roar.
A terrifying shockwave erupted once again, lifting a layer of dust from the plaza floor.
Ace and the towering captain both groaned and stumbled back several steps.
Almost simultaneously, three more figures emerged from behind Ochoku, forming a triangular shape, determined to take down Ace, who had just regained his footing!
The three moved with incredible speed and perfect coordination, their swordplay instantly sealing off all of Ace's escape routes.
"ROOM."
At this critical moment, a detached voice rang out.
A blue hemispherical domain instantly unfolded, enveloping Ace within it.
The next second, Ace's figure mysteriously vanished from his spot and reappeared beside Trafalgar Law.
Having successfully transferred Ace, Law's hands continued their movements without pause, silently drawing the two-meter-long Kikoku sword from its sheath.
However, the moment he drew his blade, a flash of cold light arrived with lightning speed!
bite--
A longsword precisely blocked his impending Kikoku, and the immense force transmitted through the blade made his arm go numb.
A pirate captain with a scar on his face appeared before him, grinning with a bloodthirsty smile. " The Op-Op Fruit... It's been a long time."
Before he finished speaking, he launched a fierce attack, forcing Trafalgar Law to temporarily abandon his offensive and retreat.
As soon as Law stepped back, Ace appeared before him.
A flash of madness appeared in Ace's eyes as he faced the three pirate captains who were pursuing him once again.
"Boom!"
A raging inferno erupted from his body once more, but this time, the flames were interspersed with chilling arcs of blackish-red electricity!
An aura of supreme dominance erupted along with the flames!
"What?!"
The pirate captain at the forefront paled. He felt a powerful pressure emanating from the flames that made his very soul tremble.
"How is this possible?! You actually infused Conqueror's Haki... into flames?!"
Ace grinned, his tone proud, "In your opinion, it might indeed be impossible to integrate Conqueror's Haki into flames."
"But in the Lord Marshal's eyes, this is the correct way to use Conqueror's Haki!"
As he spoke, Ace clenched his fists, which were crackling with black and red electricity, and strode forward with an imposing aura, "Pirates, taste the power of Conqueror's Haki coating flames!"
After saying that, Ace's flames suddenly contracted, and then suddenly erupted.
Within the orange-red flames, the Conqueror's Haki Inazuma surged wildly, instantly raising the temperature of the flames to an unprecedented level. The sheer heat from the flames caused the surrounding air to vibrate at a low frequency, creating ripples in the void that spread out in ever-growing circles.
" Great Flame Commandment - Overlord's Blaze!"
As Ace spoke, the flames, infused with Conqueror's Haki, instantly expanded, forming a miniature red sun that hurtled towards the two captains opposite them.
"Ugh--"
The captain closest to Ace instinctively tried to block him, but before he could even make a move, he was ignited by the oncoming heatwave. The moment the red sun enlarged in his pupils, his screams abruptly stopped, and his body turned to dust and was vaporized by the raging fire.
--