"What were you just—"
"Trying to do to her?"
Ace's voice was not loud.
But the moment the final word fell, the temperature in the room abruptly soared.
Tiny sparks appeared in the air around him and slowly drifted down. The two pirates froze for a moment, then flew into an embarrassed rage.
They had not recognized Ace at all.
To them, he was merely a young adventurer who had dared to barge in alone because he possessed Devil Fruit powers.
"Where did this little brat come from?!"
The pirate on the left abruptly drew his sword, grabbed the young wife by the hair, and pressed the sharp blade against her neck.
"Put out those flames!"
"Or I'll kill her first!"
The icy blade pressed against her skin.
The woman's body shuddered violently, and her face instantly went pale. Yet she still instinctively curled up, both hands tightly protecting her swollen belly.
Ace's gaze gradually turned cold.
At the same time, the other pirate had silently circled behind him.
Seeing that Ace's attention was entirely on his companion, the man grinned viciously and gripped his sword with both hands, stabbing fiercely toward Ace's back.
"Die!"
"Pfft!"
The sharp blade pierced straight through Ace's chest.
But no blood splashed out. The attacker's cruel grin had barely formed before it froze completely.
Where the blade had passed through, there was only roiling crimson fire.
Half of Ace's body turned into blazing flames, fire curling rapidly along the blade as a scorching wave of heat rushed into the pirate's face.
"A Logia?!"
The pirate's pupils shrank sharply as he looked up in terror.
Ace had already turned around.
A palm wreathed in flames rapidly filled his vision, five fingers clamping directly over his entire face.
"Boom!"
Flames erupted from Ace's palm.
The pirate