Vermilion Bird and Flame

On an unnamed deserted island, deep within the primeval jungle.

"BOOM--!!"

An incredibly thick pillar of orange-red fire roared out like an enraged dragon, tearing through the dense jungle with unstoppable force and blasting a black rock hill dozens of meters high directly into a sky full of rubble and scorched earth.

Heat waves billowed, and the surrounding vegetation turned to ash in an instant.

"What terrifying destructive power!"

Sabo stood on the charred ground, looking at his right arm, which had transformed into flames. His blue eyes flickered with unconcealable shock. He had only been experimenting with integrating Haki techniques into his flames, yet the explosive lethality displayed by this Mera Mera no Mi already surpassed all the physical attacks he had painstakingly honed over the past seven years.

On a flat boulder not far from Sabo, Ace sat cross-legged in silence.

In front of him lay the thigh meat of an ancient giant lizard that had just been roasted. This deserted island was not lacking in anything else, but it was teeming with massive, firm-fleshed beasts, enough for them to expend their immense stamina here without any restraint.

Ace was in no hurry to destroy the terrain. He extended his broad right hand, and a cluster of pure, crimson-gold flames danced quietly in his palm.

There was no scorching black smoke, nor the explosive crackling sound usually associated with burning. This cluster of divine fire was like a perfect work of art—quiet, noble, yet radiating a profundity that made one's heart tremble.

Ace stared at the divine fire in his palm, his mind naturally drifting to another top-tier Mythical Zoan fruit that had shaken the upper echelons of the sea in his past life's memories.

The Whitebeard Pirates' First Division Commander, Marco's Zoan, Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Phoenix.

"Both are mythical creatures of the avian variety, and both possess the trait of rebirth through fire."

A hint of contemplation flashed in Ace's eyes, followed by a confident curve at the corner of his mouth.

He understood the fundamental difference between these two fruits very clearly.

The Phoenix's flames of regeneration were cyan-blue; while they granted the user an incredibly abnormal recovery rate, the nature of those flames leaned more toward healing and lacked the high temperature and destructive power inherent to normal fire. This was why, in the original story, although Marco was extremely difficult to kill, he always lacked a definitive, finishing blow in terms of offensive power.

But his Zhuque Fruit was different.

The Zhuque represented the Li Fire of the South, the true master of all flames.

Ace flicked his finger, sending the crimson-gold flame from his palm onto a piece of hard black rock beside him.

"Sss--"

There was no violent explosion. The moment that seemingly gentle crimson-gold flame touched the black rock, the hard stone didn't even last a second. It didn't even go through a red-hot phase; it was vaporized into a wisp of white smoke under the terrifyingly high temperature!

Ultimate destructive heat, combined with endless, absolute healing.

This was the true terror of the Zhuque Fruit. It not only compensated for the Phoenix's lack of lethal damage but also pushed the concept of fire—destruction and rebirth—to the very pinnacle of the pirate world's mythological system.

"Ace!"

In the distance, Sabo finished a round of firepower discharge, deactivated his elemental state, and walked over, looking quite satisfied. Although it was a Logia ability he had just acquired, being able to use it so fluidly on his first attempt left him quite pleased.

"How does it feel?" Ace picked up the massive piece of roasted meat and handed it over.

"Strong, but it still needs a bit of time to adapt." Sabo took the meat, took a large bite, and stretched his slightly sore shoulders. "Although elementalization can passively negate physical attacks, I still need to practice active elementalization when encountering Haki."

Sabo subconsciously rubbed his right shoulder blade.

Ace's gaze landed calmly on Sabo's shoulder. He knew those were chronic injuries left behind from the past seven years of Sabo's insane training, all in an effort to keep up with his own monstrous physical growth.

Although they had the herbal treatments from the Dadan Family, those minute, bone-deep strains were impossible to eradicate completely through ordinary medical means. Once Sabo developed his Haki to a higher level in the future, these hidden injuries could become a bottleneck that limited his breakthroughs.

"Take off your shirt and turn around." Ace stood up, his tall frame casting a shadow under the sunlight.

"Huh? What for?" Although Sabo was puzzled, his absolute trust in Ace led him to obediently take off his tailcoat and turn his back to him.

Ace stepped forward, raised his right hand, and a cluster of bright crimson-gold flames instantly enveloped his entire palm.

"Don't move."

Ace's tone was steady as he pressed his palm, burning with divine fire, directly onto Sabo's right shoulder.

"Hiss--!"

Sabo instinctively gasped, his body tensing up instantly, expecting to be burned by the terrifying heat.

However, the next second, he froze.

There was no expected pain of searing flesh. The moment the crimson-gold flame touched his body, it transformed into an incredibly pure, gentle, and surging warm current. Like a hot spring, it seeped through his pores and directly into the depths of his shoulder blade!

"This is?!"

Sabo's eyes widened in shock. He could feel the warm current moving through his body with extreme clarity. Those minute tears and bone abrasions hidden deep within his muscle fibers—things he usually couldn't even detect himself—were being healed and reorganized at an incredible speed under the shroud of the crimson-gold flames!

In just over ten seconds, when Ace withdrew his hand, Sabo felt his entire right side feeling unprecedentedly light and clear. The heavy, sluggish sensation that had accompanied him for years had been completely wiped away!

"Your flames can actually heal?!" Sabo turned around, looking at Ace as if he were a monster. He was a Mera Mera no Mi user himself; he knew the properties of fire all too well. Fire could only bring destruction—how could it possibly bring rebirth?!

"This is the authority of the Zhuque."

Ace's expression remained calm; he didn't offer much explanation. He hadn't just healed Sabo's shoulder; he had also smoothed out several other tiny, lingering strains within Sabo's body while he was at it.

"As the Vice-Captain of the Eclipse, if your body retains such low-level flaws, you'll end up embarrassing me in the future."

Ace picked up the large machete nearby and slung it over his shoulder, a calm, sharp glint flickering in his black eyes.

"For the next two months, we stay on this island."

Ace's gaze swept across the endless primeval jungle, as if looking at a perfect testing ground. "There is plenty of food, and no eyes from the Navy. Until we have completely integrated our fruit abilities with our Haki, the Eclipse does not need to set sail."

"That suits me perfectly."

Feeling his peak physique fully restored to a perfect state within his body, Sabo gripped the alloy staff in his hand, his blue eyes likewise igniting with a scorching will to fight.

Two months of time, for this isolated and desolate island, had felt like an incredibly long and cataclysmic disaster.

The Eclipse Twins had unleashed an incredibly frantic campaign of destruction and development here.

Deep within the jungle, deafening roars and soaring flames erupted every single day. Those ancient exotic beasts that once reigned supreme on this island had been reduced to nothing more than living targets and emergency rations for the two brothers to practice their ability control.

Sabo's Fire Fist had already begun to take on the terrifying scale seen in the original work, capable of destroying several warships in a single blow;

As for Ace, he was constantly familiarizing himself with the transitions between his half-beast and full-beast forms. With his terrifying physique combined with the high temperatures of the Vermilion Bird and his Haki, he could easily melt a cliffside into a flowing sea of magma with a mere gesture.

This continued until the day the island's entire ecosystem was nearly leveled by the pair.

On the shore, upon the deck of the Eclipse.

"Two months of closed-off testing—the integration of martial arts, Haki, and Devil Fruit abilities has been completely polished."

Ace draped a brand-new dark red trench coat over his shoulders and stood at the bow. His tall, upright frame appeared even more profound and imposing in the sea breeze; the pressure he exuded with every movement was more restrained than it had been two months ago, yet far more suffocating.

"It's time to set sail, Sabo. Go weigh the anchor."

Ace looked toward Sabo, who stood at the helm, and issued the command in a calm tone.

"Understood, Captain."

Sabo tipped his top hat, a confident smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

The heavy refined-steel anchor was slowly hauled up, and the pitch-black mainsail billowed open with a roar in the sea breeze.

The Eclipse, like a black behemoth that had been dormant for far too long, finally tore through the thick fog of this southwestern sea, leaving the ravaged and scarred nameless desert island far behind in its wake.

Ace stood at the bow, calmly gazing at the faint outline of a town emerging at the edge of the horizon.

"First stop, Orange Town."