Alabasta, Nanohana Harbor.
The Flame Emperor slowly docked. The wharf bustled with voices and merchant ships, but tension hung in the air.
"So hot..." Chopper panted, his tongue hanging out. "This is the desert kingdom?"
"Yes." Robin nodded. "Alabasta, one of the largest countries in the first half of the Grand Line. But now... it's on the brink of civil war."
The group disembarked and immediately felt the desert's dry heat. Most buildings in the port city were sandy yellow. Residents wore robes and covered themselves with headscarves against the windblown sand.
Lin Yan spread his Observation Haki, sensing the entire city.
Chaos, fear, anger... the negative emotions were almost tangible, shrouding the whole city. Deep within it, he sensed several powerful presences-they were probably senior agents of Baroque Works.
"Let's find somewhere to stay first," Lin Yan said. "Ace, take Chopper and Brook to buy some desert gear. Tashigi, gather information, especially on the movements of the rebels and the royal army. Robin, come meet someone with me."
"Who?"
"This country's princess, Nefertari Vivi."
The group split up.
Lin Yan and Robin walked down the street, drawing wary looks from those around them-in Alabasta as it was now, outsiders were always suspected of being spies or mercenaries.
"Crocodile is about to bleed this country dry," Robin said quietly. "He used Dance Powder to cause a drought and drive a wedge between the king and his people. Now the entire country thinks the king is the culprit."
"A schemer's typical methods," Lin Yan said. "But for us, it's an opportunity."
They reached the palace district in the city center. Security was tight, but Lin Yan created a simple illusion with flames and slipped into the palace with Robin.
They found Princess Vivi in the palace's rear garden.
Vivi sat beside a pool, staring blankly at its dried-up bottom. She was around sixteen or seventeen, with long blue hair and a simple dress, her face carrying sorrow beyond her years.
"Your Highness," Lin Yan called.
Vivi jumped. Turning to see two strangers, she instinctively tried to call the guards.
"Relax." Lin Yan displayed the Double D Flag emblem. "We're here to help you."
"Help... help me?" Vivi remained wary. "Who are you?"
"Monkey D. Yan, captain of the Flame Emperor Pirates. This is my historical adviser, Nico Robin."
"Nico Robin?!" Vivi's eyes widened. "The Devil Child of Ohara?! You... you're bad people!"
Robin gave a bitter smile. She was already used to this reaction.
But Lin Yan shook his head. "Princess Vivi, you can't judge people by labels alone. Robin is an archaeologist, not a devil. The devil in your country is the man they call a 'hero'-Crocodile."
Vivi trembled. "How did you know...?"
"I know everything." Lin Yan sat opposite her. "Crocodile is the president of Baroque Works. He used Dance Powder to cause a drought, framed your father, and instigated a civil war, all for one purpose-to obtain the Ancient Weapon Pluton."
"Pluton..."
"Yes. Pluton's blueprints are in Alabasta's royal tomb," Lin Yan said. "Crocodile wants them, so he intends to destroy this country and seize them in the chaos."
Vivi slumped in her chair, tears streaming down her face. "I... I suspected it long ago... but I have no evidence... Father is under house arrest, and the country is about to fall apart... What should I do...?"
"Work with us," Lin Yan said. "I'll take care of Crocodile for you, and you'll help me get the Sun Tablet."
"The Sun Tablet?"
"You know about the object in the royal tomb, don't you?"
Vivi nodded. "It's a sacred relic the royal family has guarded for generations, but no one knows how to use it..."
"I do," Lin Yan said. "It's one of the keys to opening the Nika Temple. I need it to fulfill my mother's last wish."
Vivi looked into Lin Yan's eyes. There were no lies in them, only resolve.
"I... I believe you." She wiped away her tears. "But Crocodile is a Shichibukai. He's powerful, and he has many ability users working for him..."
"Leave him to me." Lin Yan stood. "In three days, I'll publicly expose his plot in the capital, Alubarna, and then kill him."
"Three days? So soon?"
"Speed is everything in war," Lin Yan said. "Prepare the evidence-the Dance Powder purchase records, Baroque Works' financial transactions, and Crocodile's correspondence with the rebel leader. When the time comes, make it public before the whole nation."
"I... I'll have it ready!"
After they left the palace, Robin asked, "Are you really going to deal with Crocodile within three days? He's a Logia Sand-Sand Fruit user. In a desert, he's practically invincible."
"Practically invincible, not absolutely invincible." Lin Yan smiled. "Besides, Ace needs a real fight to the death to awaken the Flame-Flame Fruit's final form."
When they returned to their temporary lodgings, Ace and the others were already back.
"Brother! We found something out!" Ace said excitedly. "Crocodile is going to the rebels' main base tomorrow to personally command their operations!"
"A good opportunity." Lin Yan nodded. "Ace, you'll go alone tomorrow."
"I... alone?"
"Yes." Lin Yan looked at him. "You must defeat a Sand-Sand Fruit user in the desert. This is your trial, and your chance to awaken."
Ace clenched his fists. "Understood!"
The next day, at the rebels' main base, Katorea.
Ace walked alone into the city shrouded in a sandstorm.
Crocodile sat on a makeshift platform, looking down at the tens of thousands of assembled rebels, a cold smile curling his lips.
"Tomorrow, we attack Alubarna. Overthrow the foolish king and establish a new order!"
"YEAH!!!"
The rebels cheered fervently.
Just then, a voice came from above:
"Establish a new order? A schemer like you?"
Treading on flames, Ace landed before the platform.
Crocodile narrowed his eyes. "Fire Fist Ace... a rookie with a bounty of 120 million. Have you come to die?"
"I've come to expose you," Ace said. "Crocodile, president of Baroque Works, the real mastermind behind this civil war!"
A commotion spread through the rebels.
"What? Baroque Works?"
"Lord Crocodile is a hero! Stop talking nonsense!"
"Where's your proof?"
Ace looked at Crocodile. "Do you dare show your ability in front of everyone?"
Crocodile smiled. "Interesting."
He raised his right hand, a swirling sandstorm forming in his palm:
"The Sand-Sand Fruit's power, genuine as can be. But what does that prove?"
"That you can control sandstorms, and that you can cause droughts," Ace said. "You caused this city's three-year drought with Dance Powder!"
"Absurd!" Crocodile waved his hand. "Seize this slanderer!"
Several Baroque Works agents charged forward.
But flames ignited in Ace's hands:
"Fire Fist: Great Flame Commandment!"
A massive ring of fire expanded outward, blasting all the agents away. The heat began turning the surrounding sand into glass.
Crocodile finally grew serious. "Looks like... I'll have to handle this myself."
He leaped off the platform, his body transforming into a sandstorm:
"Desert Spada!"
A blade of sand slashed toward Ace.
Ace dodged, but the sand blade pursued him and severed his flaming arm. In a clash between Logia users, elemental matchups mattered-sand could absorb the moisture in flames and extinguish them.
"In the desert, I'm invincible," Crocodile sneered. "Your flames won't burn."
"Is that so?" Ace re-formed his arm. "Then I'll... burn through the desert!"
Flames surged all over his body, their temperature soaring from three thousand degrees to five thousand, eight thousand, ten thousand!
The surrounding sand began melting into crimson magma!
"What... what temperature is this?!" Crocodile was stunned.
"Flame-Flame Fruit Awakening: Blue Flame!"
Ace's flames turned from orange-red to blue, a sign that their temperature had surpassed ten thousand degrees! Wherever the blue flames passed, sand ceased to be sand-it vaporized outright!
"Impossible! The Flame-Flame Fruit can't reach temperatures that high!"
"Because I'm not just 'burning.'" Ace clasped his hands together. "I'm 'creating a sun'!"
He raised both hands high, a small blue sun condensing in his palms:
"Blue Flame: Sunfall!"
The blue fireball hurtled toward Crocodile.
Crocodile tried to block it with a sandstorm, but the sand vaporized the moment it touched the blue flames. He tried to turn into his element and escape, but the blue flames' heat warped even space, rendering his elemental transformation ineffective!
"NO!!!"
BOOM!!!
The blue sun exploded, lighting all of Katorea as brightly as day. The sandstorm evaporated, the drought ended, and long-absent rain began to fall-it was water vapor that had evaporated in the heat and then condensed again.
When the light faded, Crocodile lay in a deep crater, his entire body charred black, barely alive.
Ace landed, panting heavily, but his eyes shone:
"I... awakened."
[Ding-] [Ace's Flame-Flame Fruit fully awakened] [Obtained: Sunfire (Blue Flame)] [Maximum temperature: solar surface (5,500°C) → solar core (15 million°C, attainable briefly)] [Unlocked: Flame Creation (can create flame matter out of thin air)]
Lin Yan approached from a distance, clapping:
"Well done, Ace."
"Brother! I did it!"
"Yes." Lin Yan walked over to Crocodile and looked down at him. "Any last words?"
Crocodile gave a wretched smile. "I... lost fair and square... but you... can't beat the World Government..."
"That's our business." Lin Yan raised a hand, flames condensing into a blade. "Goodbye, Crocodile."
The blade fell.
The Shichibukai, Crocodile, was dead.
[Obtained: Sand-Sand Fruit template fragment ×1] [Can fuse with the Flame-Flame Fruit to form: Furnace-Furnace Fruit] [Fuse?]
"Fuse."
[Fusion successful] [Obtained: Furnace-Furnace Fruit template (50%)] [Effect: can control "high temperatures" and "iron sand" to create substances such as magma, metal, and glass. Maximum temperature: 30 million°C]
Lin Yan felt his new ability, the corners of his mouth lifting.
"Ace, clean things up. We're heading back to Alubarna."
"What's next?"
"Next..." Lin Yan looked toward the capital. "It's time to end this farce."
Alabasta's civil war would come to a complete end tomorrow.
Before you continue