I Can Copy Any Talent in the World of One Piece

Ace's bold declaration nearly moved his crewmates to tears.

The natives, on the other hand, looked ready to turn green!

We bullied your people?

Are you blind?

Can't you see our brothers lying all over the ground?

Their leader, Kasa, looked even grimmer. Through gritted teeth, he ordered, "Capture them and offer them to the Great Shaman!"

"Yes!" The natives charged again, but aboard the ship, Ace had room to fight at full strength. Noil was helping him now, too.

The tide turned at once. There were only five of them, but the attackers had poor weapons and ordinary physiques. They could not withstand the crew's assault and fell back step by step.

Left with no choice, Kasa shouted, "We can't beat them! Retreat!"

"Trying to run?" Noil's gaze sharpened. His still-unrefined Conqueror's Haki surged out, sending a strange ripple through the air before him. The fleeing natives began trembling as though they had seen a ghost.

Splash! Splash!

One figure after another plunged into the water in a frantic rush.

The ones who had jumped overboard lost consciousness and sank without a struggle. Even the man who had threatened to feed Noil to the fish fell in.

It looked like he might end up inside a fish instead.

The few who had not jumped collapsed on deck, foaming at the mouth. Only Kasa remained upright—or nearly so. Trembling all over and rolling his eyes, he stubbornly stayed on his knees.

Ace studied Noil thoughtfully. The power he had just felt seemed strangely familiar.

Noil gave Kasa a surprised look. Tough bastard, aren't you?

His Conqueror's Haki was still at a basic level, but it should have been enough to knock out this bunch.

Noil did not dwell on it. Having someone conscious to show them the way was convenient. He grabbed Kasa by the neck and snarled, "Lead the way! I want to meet this Great Shaman of yours."

Anger burned in Kasa's eyes. "You despicable wretch! What sorcery did you use?"

"The Great Shaman will bring down Heavenly Fire and burn you villains to death!"

Ace stepped forward, displeased. "You were the ones trying to kill me. Were we supposed to stand there and let you?"

Heavenly Fire?

Kasa's words stirred a thought in Noil's mind. Someone here can wield flames?

And Ace had appeared here too. Could this Great Shaman be the previous user of the Flame-Flame Fruit?

Now Noil had even more reason to go!

Noil slapped Kasa's painted face twice and said coldly, "Lead the way. No more nonsense, or I'll pull out your tongue!"

At the threat, the supposedly tough Kasa caved immediately and obediently showed them the way.

According to him, the sea beasts they raised were called Red-Spotted Porpoises. Their nest was supposedly beneath the island where Kasa lived, so they could find their way through the thick fog with ease.

At last, the ship found the right course, and everyone aboard breathed a sigh of relief. Ace eagerly thanked Noil, then introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Portgas D. Ace, captain of the Spade Pirates."

"The guy in the mask is Deuce. He's a doctor. The one covered in skull decorations is Skull. He's obsessed with pirates and collects skull merchandise."

"And this is Mihal, our sniper. Don't let his shyness and silence fool you—he's an incredible shot!"

Mihal rolled his eyes at his captain's introduction.

I'm aloof, not shy!

Noil nodded amiably. "I'm Noil, a pirate bounty hunter!"

"A bounty hunter?!" Ace and the others cried.

Deuce shook all over. "You're not here to catch us, are you?!"

Skull knew plenty about pirate circles, and his eyes widened in terror. "I remember now! He's Noil, the strongest Pirate Hunter—the one who strikes fear into East Blue pirates!"

Ace clutched his head in shock. "Does that mean we let the enemy aboard?!"

The taciturn Mihal watched the three of them clown around and sighed helplessly.

Noil watched the three of them desperately back away, then asked with a hint of mockery, "Do you have bounties?"

"Bounties?"

Ace scratched his head and thought for a moment. "I don't think we do... yet."

"Exactly," Noil said. "You're not worth a penny. Why would I catch you?"

Wouldn't it be better to wait until your bounty hits two hundred million?

And if that doesn't work out, I could always make a private deal and sell you to Garp.

Noil entertained the wicked thought.

Ace relaxed at his answer. None of the three took offense at Noil's jab; they laughed and threw their arms around his shoulders.

If Ace had known what Noil was really thinking, though, he would have punched him in the head.

"Host has met an important figure. Rewards issued: Gold Talent Copy Card ×1, White Talent Copy Card ×10, Physique +15, Amaterasu Flame (Modified Version)."

Noil's face lit up. Another gold copy card!

And Amaterasu Flame—wasn't that the eye technique used by Sasuke and Itachi in Naruto? The famously merciful flame that never seemed to kill anyone?

Noil hurried to read the system's description, then stared in disbelief.

Its basic property had not changed: it would not go out until whatever it burned was consumed. The way it was activated, however, was different.

It no longer relied on focusing his eyes on a target. Amaterasu Flame had become an ability of his own, one he could summon and sustain by expending stamina.

The worst part was that he could not project this version away from his body. It could only form on Noil's skin.

If Noil wanted to burn someone with it, he would have to touch them directly and let the Amaterasu Flame spread.

Put bluntly, he could turn himself into a human torch and slam into someone—or wait for someone to slam into him. Either way, the flames could burn them down to nothing.

In practice, it was basically Taro's Ultra Dynamite...

Noil wondered what in this world could stop Amaterasu.

There had been plenty of ways to deal with it in Naruto. Here, Armament Haki was probably about the only thing that could defend against it.

After thinking it over, Noil decided that although its long-range offensive power was effectively zero, it improved his defense. He could also coat his strikes and swordsmanship in Amaterasu Flame, giving him a decent way to attack.

Fortunately, the Amaterasu Flame burned only what Noil chose as its target. He could keep it from burning his clothes.

Otherwise, whenever flames covered his whole body, his clothes would burn off too...

Am I supposed to fight people naked?

Noil happily felt the power of Amaterasu Flame within him, then turned his thoughts back to Ace.

Once Ace ate the Flame-Flame Fruit, Noil could copy his ability.

With Devil Fruit flames and Amaterasu Flame together, he would be the undisputed king of fire!

A Terrifying Village

On a whim, Noil used an appraisal skill on Ace.

Name: Ace

Most Evil Bloodline: Gold quality. Possesses the genes of Pirate King Roger and has inherited his talent for training combat skills such as Haki. Will inevitably face one life-or-death calamity. Most people connected to him will meet tragic ends or suffer misfortune. If he survives the calamity, however, his overall strength will double in a short time, and his luck will be extraordinary.

Brotherhood Pact: Red quality. Three brothers share a great amount of good fortune. Each time one brother dies, the remaining two split the resulting increase in luck and each gain a substantial boost to aptitude and strength.

Demon Descendant: Purple quality. Increases the efficiency of Haki training and halves the time needed to train any ability. Also grants exceptional speed in training Devil Fruit powers.

Noil hesitated as he looked over Ace's three talents. Their qualities were impressive: one gold, one red, and one purple.

But Noil had only one gold and one red copy card worth using, and Ace's talents came with some frightening risks.

Copying Most Evil Bloodline might give him the talent inherited from Pirate King Roger, but that unavoidable life-or-death calamity was terrifying!

In the Original Story, Ace had apparently failed to survive it. He had died, and the Whitebeard Pirates had suffered a tragic fate as well.

Brotherhood Pact, meanwhile, explained why Luffy kept surviving one disaster after another.

Even so, Noil decided not to copy any of Ace's talents. They probably would not help him much.

He would save his copy cards until he reached the Grand Line. Copying Hawk-Eyes' swordsmanship talent would be the better choice.

Ace fixed Noil with an earnest look. "Noil! Will you join our crew?"

Noil paused, then smiled and declined. "I'll pass. I don't want to be a pirate right now!"

Ace pressed him. "Why not? What's wrong with being a pirate? You get to have adventures everywhere!"

Noil shook his head, smiling without a word.

Ace lowered his head, discouraged. "If you ever change your mind, the Spade Pirates will always have a place for you. I think you're going to be great!"

Noil was a little touched. "We'll see. Just make sure nobody beats you and absorbs your crew before then."

Ace thumped his chest confidently. "Like that could ever happen!"

Oh, it absolutely could...

Noil kept the thought to himself.

Whitebeard will land a few punches, call you his son, and you'll start bawling on the spot.

With Kasa and the Red-Spotted Porpoises leading the way, the ship soon reached its destination. The thick fog around them gradually changed color.

Standing at the rail, Ace stared at the mist in wonder. "That's strange. The fog's turning pale red."

Deuce, wearing his black mask, shuddered. "It looks like a fog of blood!"

Noil frowned and activated his Climate Super-Sense, but the deeper they went into the red mist, the weaker the skill became.

Then an island covered in red maple trees appeared through the haze.

Its leaves made the whole island look as though it had been stained with red dye. Even the paths on the ground were carpeted with scarlet foliage.

Kasa looked at the island. "This is where our village is. Red Leaf Island."

"The leaves on these trees give off a special mist. Ordinary ships have no chance of finding their way once they enter it."

"The red mist also makes the waters around the island ideal for Red-Spotted Porpoises. Only they know the routes, so we rely on them to guide us."

Noil nodded in understanding. The world was full of wonders. Even someone with Nami's extraordinary gift for navigation had been stumped.

Ace held down his hat excitedly. "Let's go ashore!"

Mihal approached Noil with his gun in hand. "Mr. Noil, I'll stay and guard the ship."

Ace and the others looked used to the arrangement. Mihal clearly watched the ship often.

Noil trusted Ace's crew, so he nodded. "All right."

Noil and three others took Kasa ashore. As soon as Ace stepped onto the island, he exclaimed, "What a strange place. The ground's covered in red leaves. It's really soft."

Noil cautiously spread his Observation Haki. "There are plenty of venomous insects and snakes, too. Can people really live on an island like this?"

A trace of disdain appeared in Kasa's eyes.

These foolish outsiders understand nothing about the island's sacred nature.

Once the fearsome Great Shaman arrives, you'll all be reduced to ashes!

A sly look crept across Kasa's face.

Ace spotted it at once. Oh, so you're still feeling cocky?

He shoved Kasa to the ground and gave him a sound beating, leaving him utterly bewildered.

What did I do to you? Why are you hitting me?!

Bruised and obedient, Kasa led the four of them to a village that looked painfully primitive.

The moment they entered, people rushed out from every direction. All carried weapons, and all wore the same strange patterns painted on their faces.

Men and women, young and old—even the children—wore vicious expressions. They stared at the newcomers like cooked prey.

A few of the children were even drooling!

Ace looked around, then his face went ashen. He tapped Noil on the shoulder and pointed toward a corner of the village. "Look!"