His charred, smoking body knelt a short distance in front of River, his head hanging low.
Looking at him, it was hard to tell whether he was still alive.
The terrifying heat River had unleashed moments earlier was even more astonishing. It could incinerate almost anything, and had even vaporized the surrounding seawater, sending great clouds of mist into the air.
"Is temperature the key to the Flame-Flame Fruit?"
Ace stood there in a daze. It felt as though something inside him had shattered, giving him a new understanding of his Devil Fruit powers.
"As long as the temperature is high enough, I can burn through anything and defeat any enemy!"
"Is that the key to becoming stronger?"
But he soon rejected that idea.
A person's strength, their ability to stand at the top of the world, could never depend solely on mastering a Devil Fruit power.
Pops and his uncle River, for instance, were unbelievably strong in every other respect as well.
"You shouldn't abandon your childhood dreams!"
"Tesoro!"
"And you certainly shouldn't forget the girl you've kept in your heart."
"Deep down, you're a sensitive, kindhearted young man with dreams and ideals, aren't you?"
River stepped up to the charred Tesoro and spoke softly.
"Do you truly want to kill the Celestial Dragons?"
"River!!"
Suddenly, the charred Tesoro spoke. His voice squeezed out between his teeth, thick with hatred and resentment.
The agony of defeat merged with one painful memory after another. At that moment, Gild Tesoro, who had stood high above others and controlled twenty percent of the world's wealth, finally broke.
The man before him possessed immense power and terrifying ambition. Perhaps the dream he had harbored when he lost the woman he loved-to destroy everything belonging to the Celestial Dragons-could truly come to pass.
Besides,