Ace remembered.
Rock had once told him about Devil Fruits, treasures of the sea.
Those who ate them would be rejected by the sea, yet gain unimaginable powers.
And—
Only the person who took the first bite could gain the ability. Anyone who ate it afterward would get nothing.
Ace lowered his head and looked at his burning palm, flames dancing in his hand.
Scorching, bright, like a heart that had just awakened.
Deuce looked down at himself as well.
He waited for a moment.
No fire, no lightning, and he had not turned into some strange monster.
There was no reaction at all.
He slowly raised his head, his voice stiff.
"In other words..."
"Only you got the power?"
Ace fell silent for a moment.
"Looks like it."
Deuce suddenly covered his face.
"I ate something that tasted like shit, and it ended up being completely useless???"
Hearing that, Ace's mouth twitched as he seriously considered it.
"At least you survived..."
Deuce: "..."
That was worse than no consolation at all.
Outside the cave.
A shrill bird cry tore through the night once again. The giant monster bird had circled back.
It seemed unwilling to give up on the two prey, and even less willing to abandon the treasure chest in the cave.
Its enormous shadow swept past the entrance, and the pressure from its wings nearly blew out the campfire. Deuce's expression changed.
"That bird bastard is back!"
Ace slowly rose to his feet. Hunger and weakness still lingered, and the exhaustion left behind by the shipwreck had yet to fade completely.
But the flames inside his body were boiling without end. That power was unfamiliar and violent, like a wild beast that had just burst free from its cage.
But Ace was no ordinary boy.
He had