The Pirate World: I Can Copy Any Talent

Noil walked slowly toward the Great Shaman on the ground, a coat of black flame draped over his shoulders. With every step, a wisp of black fire spread beneath his feet.

He had absolutely nailed the dramatic entrance!

Noil pressed his palm against the Great Shaman's face. Held fast by Armament Haki and burned by Amaterasu Flame, the man shook violently as a sound like sizzling meat rose from him.

"No! Please... spare me!" the Great Shaman wailed. Noil remained unmoved.

The black fire spread across the Great Shaman's entire body. The pain of being burned alive shattered his mind, and he screamed a vicious curse. "You'll go to hell... you'll die a horrible death!"

Noil watched the Great Shaman thrash, his gaze cold. "Take those words to hell with you."

He drew the Qingxing Blade. Black flame and Haki wrapped around its edge, and he drove it into the Great Shaman with a backhand thrust. Black fire erupted from inside the man's body!

"No!!!" The Great Shaman's shriek rang across the island from within the roaring flames. At last, his voice faded. When Amaterasu Flame had finished its work, not even ashes remained on the ground.

Noil lowered his hand and turned his icy gaze back to the ignorant villagers.

The villagers watched in horror as the Great Shaman they had revered like a God burned to death. Several of them dropped straight to their knees and begged for mercy.

Ace looked at them with mixed feelings. He walked over to Noel and sighed. "There's no saving them..."

Noil withdrew the flames. His mood was hardly any better.

The island was beautiful, but the danger and horror hidden within it were far worse than anything outside.

And these people—had the entire village developed a taste for something so depraved just because of the Great Shaman?

Ignorance, hunger, and greed had stripped away their humanity, leaving them little more than walking corpses.

They could kill anyone who wandered into the mist without a second thought. The beasts in their hearts no longer had any restraints.

But Noel and Ace could not do the same.

They could not wipe out everyone on the island just to ensure their own safety. Neither of them had that right.

Noil did not believe he had the right to pass a death sentence on an entire island like some god, even though he believed these people deserved to die.

Perhaps Noel still had not adjusted to this cruel world...

"I'll find a way to get word of this place to the Marines," Noel said with a sigh, sheathing his blade.

Ace nodded. Leaving them to the Marines was far better than leaving them to a pirate like him.

Noil gave the villagers a cold look. "If you dare eat another person, you'll end up like that damned Great Shaman."

The villagers went pale and nodded furiously.

Ace said sternly, "Get us out of here!"

The villagers hurried off to find several Red-Spotted Porpoises and tethered them to the bow.

These local Red-Spotted Porpoises knew the way. The sea beasts could easily lead Noel and the others out.

None of them had any affection for the place, and they could not wait to leave. Once everyone was back aboard, the ship finally set sail.

In the thick fog, Noel looked toward Red Leaf Island and wondered whether his threat would do any good.

Once they were gone, Red Leaf Island might simply become an island of cannibals again...

The red mist gradually turned white, a sign that Noel and the others were returning to the familiar sea. The five of them slowly began to feel lighter.

"I'm starving, Noel..."

Ace lay on the deck, clutching his stomach as he groaned.

Noil shot back, "You're awfully demanding for someone riding on my ship!"

Ace had no shame at all. He grinned. "We're traveling together for now! Once we find an island where we can build a ship, we'll be fine!"

Noil had mentioned to Ace earlier that he was headed for the Grand Line too.

Ace had been delighted. He had insisted on tagging along aboard Noel's ship.

Noil brought a bag of apples out of the cabin and took out a big, bright-red one.

Then he drew the Qingxing Blade from his waist, rolled up his sleeves, and carefully peeled it.

After peeling several large apples, Noel handed them around. It was something to satisfy their appetites, at least.

Then Noel reached into the bag and pulled out another fruit.

But before he could cut into it, he realized it looked strangely familiar.

It was orange-red with spiral patterns across its surface, its skin covered in countless little flame-shaped swirls.

Could this... possibly be...

The Flame-Flame Fruit?!

The Birth of Fire Fist

Noil stared in shock at the Devil Fruit in his hand. Its appearance was unmistakable!

Why had the Flame-Flame Fruit appeared on his ship after the Great Shaman died?

Something like this had happened once in the Original Story, if he remembered correctly. When a Devil Fruit user died, a nearby fruit had a chance of becoming a new Devil Fruit.

But what were the odds?

Noil looked at the Flame-Flame Fruit in his hand, his expression odd.

Ace leaned over curiously. "Huh? What's with that strange-looking fruit?"

Noil tossed the Flame-Flame Fruit to Ace. "It's a Devil Fruit. It should be the Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit—the Great Shaman's ability."

Ace fumbled to catch it. "A Devil Fruit? Like that weird fruit Luffy ate when he was little?"

The spiraling patterns on its skin were like a black hole, drawing the eye in.

Ace could not take his eyes off it. "So if I eat this, I can turn into fire like the Great Shaman?"

Noil nodded. "The only catch is that you won't be able to swim."

Then Noel added, "This ability suits you. Go ahead and eat it."

"Me?" Ace blinked. "You don't want it?"

Noil held out his hand, and a wisp of black fire rose from it. Ace understood at once.

So Noel had eaten a Devil Fruit too...

Wait a second!

Then how had he been able to swim with me earlier?

Ace could have racked his brains all day and never figured out the system.

His crewmates gave him encouraging looks, and Ace finally nodded. "All right. I'll try it."

Ace grabbed the Flame-Flame Fruit and took a huge bite, exposing its orange flesh.

It certainly looked appetizing. Noil asked curiously, "How does it taste?"

Ace's expression gradually froze.

Then his features twisted, his eyelids twitched, and his eyes rolled back hard.

He looked exactly like Teacher Zeng eating wasabi.

Just watching his face made Noel and the others' teeth ache.

Ace forced down the mouthful, then stuck out his tongue. "Ugh! That's disgusting!"

"Like grilled poop!"

Noil did not know whether to laugh or cry. What a bizarre comparison.

Ace opened his palm. A wisp of hot, orange-red flame burned at his fingertips.

"I really turned into fire!" Ace exclaimed. "And it doesn't hurt at all!"

"Let me try something!"

He kicked off the deck and leaped high into the air. In an instant, his body became a mass of blazing fire.

Ace drew the flames in and compressed them into his right arm. They formed a huge golden-red fist of fire, which he hurled at the sea ahead!

An enormous, fiercely powerful blast of flame shaped like a fist plunged into the deep water.

It drove hundreds of meters below the surface and kept going!

Deuce and the other two stared, dumbfounded. "That's... that's incredible!"

Ace landed back on the deck, pleased with himself. He toyed with the flame dancing at his fingertips. "This ability is great! I'm calling that move Fire Fist!"

Noil looked at Ace with a touch of wonder. With the Flame-Flame Fruit, he was finally the true "Fire Fist" Ace from the Original Story.

He had never expected to witness the birth of "Fire Fist" himself.

Ace was young and strong, with a monstrous physique. The power he could draw out was on another level from that of the Great Shaman, an old man at death's door.

That Fire Fist alone was stronger than the ultimate move the Great Shaman had strained himself purple to unleash!

Noil used the system to examine Ace. Sure enough, two talents had appeared: Demon Possession: Flame-Flame and Sea's Rejection.

The Flame-Flame Fruit's talent quality was red!

Noil quietly moved up to the excited Ace, pulled out a red copy card, and slapped it onto him hard enough to make him stagger.

The red-quality Flame-Flame Fruit ability was his!

While he was at it, Noel finally replaced the Kensuke Village Police Combat Technique he had picked up in his ignorant youth!

The Zoan-type Bear-Bear Fruit and the Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit! Noel was now a genuine two-fruit man!

If he could eventually copy a gold-quality Devil Fruit from each of the three types, who could stand in his way?!

"The system reminds the host that Demon Possession talents are restricted by the rules of this world. Only one person can possess an ability in full at a time, unless the host kills the original holder of the talent."

Noel snapped out of his elation. "What do you mean?" he asked nervously.

The system's cold voice continued:

"A copied Demon Possession talent grants the same ability, but its training speed is halved and its maximum potential is reduced. Once the original holder dies, the host gains the complete Demon Possession talent."

Now Noel understood. His face practically said, What the hell?

He had the Flame-Flame Fruit's power, but his training would be far less effective than Ace's. He might even hit a ceiling.

No wonder training the Bear-Bear Fruit had gone so smoothly. He had already killed its original holder, that poor sucker Kenbula.

To possess the Flame-Flame Fruit's full power, he would have to kill Ace...

Noil dismissed the thought immediately. For one thing, the two of them had become friends.

And if old man Garp found out, he would come over and punch Noel to death.

Forget it. I can always find someone else to kill later.

Noil soon put it out of his mind. Ace, Deuce, and the others celebrated until they finally wore themselves out.

"Noil, I'm hungry! Isn't there anything to eat on the ship?" Ace called, sprawled on the deck now that he had finished playing with his new power.

Noil glanced at him from his deck chair. "No. Can't you make something yourself? We've still got ingredients."

Ace slumped. "I can't cook. My pirate crew doesn't have a cook yet."

"And Deuce and the others are terrible at it."

The three crewmates rolled their eyes at him in unison. If our food's so bad, stop eating it.

Your cooking probably tastes about as good as a Devil Fruit.

"Hang on a little longer," Noel said. "Now that we're out of the fog, we're back on course. We'll reach my destination soon."

Ace looked puzzled. "Where are you going?"

Noil smiled. "The sea restaurant Baratie."

"Baratie?" Skull said excitedly. "I've heard all about it! I never thought we'd get to eat there."

Ace looked at Noel expectantly. "Is the food there good?"

"Better than anything you lot make."

As soon as Noel said it, he found himself looking forward to it too.