The temperature in the great hall of Drum Kingdom's castle continued to rise.
Lin Yan withdrew the hand resting on Ace's head. Looking at his younger brother, whose eyes were red as he stubbornly held back his tears, he felt a surge of complicated emotions. In the original story, Ace had carried the guilt of being "Roger's son" to his death, searching for the meaning of his existence amid confusion and struggle.
But now, he had an older brother.
"Brother..." Ace repeated quietly, a little more smoothly this time. "You said Luffy... is our younger brother?"
"Not by blood, but Garp adopted me, and Luffy is Garp's biological grandson," Lin Yan explained. "That makes us his older brothers. Besides, that kid already calls Sabo his brother. Two more won't hurt."
Ace's gaze shifted slightly. "Luffy... what kind of guy is he?"
"A rubber idiot who dreams of becoming the Pirate King." Lin Yan smiled. "Just like you."
"I'm not an idiot!" Ace protested, but the corners of his mouth rose involuntarily. The Pirate King... Roger's title. If someone like Luffy wanted to become the Pirate King, it seemed... a little less hateful.
Rumble-!
The castle suddenly shook violently, sending icicles tumbling from the ceiling.
"What's going on?" Ace looked around warily.
Lin Yan opened his senses fully, spreading his Observation Haki across the entire mountain. He "saw" it-the ice beneath the castle was cracking, and some enormous mechanical device was starting up.
"That fat pig Wapol is awake. He's activating the castle's self-destruct mechanism," Lin Yan said calmly. "He wants to blow up the whole mountain and bury us."
"What?!" Ace snapped angrily. "What about the people of Drum? There's a town right below the mountain!"
"That's why we can't let him succeed."
Lin Yan walked to the center of the hall, raised his right foot, then stamped down hard!
"Flame Emperor Body: Core Transmission!"
Crimson-gold flames poured from the sole of his foot into the ground, spreading rapidly through the rock and ice. Wherever they passed, ice vaporized and rock melted, yet the structure became even more stable-the intense heat fused the rock into a single mass.
Three seconds later, Lin Yan withdrew the flames. "Done. The self-destruct mechanism's core has burned out. Now..."
He looked out the window. Through the wind and snow, he could see the lights of the town below.
"Ace, fire your Fire Fist into the sky."
"Huh? Why?"
"Just do it."
Though puzzled, Ace walked to the shattered window, drew back his right arm, and gathered his flames.
"Fire Fist-!"
A giant fist of flame ten meters across shot skyward, pierced the wind and snow, and burst into a brilliant bloom of fire in the night sky.
The residents of the town below looked up.
"What's that?"
"It's coming from the castle! Another fight?"
"Quick, hide!"
Lin Yan also walked to the window and stood beside Ace. He raised his right hand and spread his fingers.
"Watch closely, Ace. The true way to use the Flame-Flame Fruit isn't just releasing flames."
His palm began to glow, first orange-red, then golden yellow, and finally blazing white.
The temperature soared.
One thousand degrees, three thousand, five thousand, eight thousand...
"Flame is essentially high-temperature plasma, and plasma can be controlled."
The white light in Lin Yan's palm grew increasingly dazzling. The entire castle began to melt! It wasn't burning-it was vaporizing directly from a solid state! Rock, steel, and ice all broke down into fundamental particles under the intense heat!
"What you need to do isn't 'release' fire, but 'become' fire."
He clenched his fist.
Hum-!!!
A column of white light a hundred meters across erupted from his fist, but rather than attacking, it spread-washing over all of Drum Mountain like a gentle ripple.
A miracle occurred.
Wherever the wave of light passed, the snow evaporated instantly, revealing black soil beneath. Frozen plants regained their vitality, and withered branches sprouted new buds. Houses damaged during Wapol's rule repaired themselves, wood growing anew and stone fusing together as good as new.
The residents of the town below stared at the sight, dumbfounded:
Ice and snow melted, and spring arrived.
The castle melted and reshaped itself into a grander, warmer white palace.
"Is this... a miracle?!" An old man fell to his knees.
"My legs... my rheumatism doesn't hurt anymore!" a middle-aged woman discovered in delighted surprise.
"Mom, look! Flowers!" A child pointed at the wildflowers suddenly blooming all over the mountain.
Ace looked at his hands, then at Lin Yan, and murmured, "So this is... the power of fire?"
"Fire can destroy, but it can also create." Lin Yan lowered his hand, his face a little pale-the move had consumed an enormous amount of energy. "Warmth, light, vitality... that is the true essence of the 'sun.'"
[Ding-] [Host's profound understanding of the essence of flame detected] [Flame-Flame Fruit template completion +20%. Current: 50%] [New trait awakened: Flame of Life (flames can grant vitality, heal injuries, and promote growth)] [Advanced progression path unlocked: Sun God Fruit (1/5)]
The system's notifications lifted Lin Yan's spirits. As expected, exploring his powers in depth improved template completion more than combat alone.
Just then, Wapol's frenzied roar came from beneath the castle:
"I won't accept this! I'm the king! Everything in Drum belongs to me! Munch-Munch Factory: Maximum Output-!!!"
The entire mountain shook again. This time, however, it wasn't self-destruction. Wapol had used the Munch-Munch Fruit's power to fuse himself with every weapon and machine in the castle, and even part of the mountain, becoming a metal giant fifty meters tall!
"What... what kind of monster is that?!" The residents below fled in terror.
Wapol's face emerged from the metal giant's chest, twisted into a vicious grin. "I'll stomp you into pulp! I'll eat this whole country! Munch-Munch: Destruction Form-!"
The giant raised its right foot, its shadow engulfing half the town. If that foot came down, at least several hundred people would die.
Ace's expression changed drastically. "No! We have to stop-"
Before he could finish, Lin Yan had vanished.
The next instant, he appeared above the metal giant's head, his right foot raised high. Armament Haki coated his entire leg, while flames compressed into blazing-white plasma beneath his sole.
"You're disturbing my little brother."
He stamped down.
"Flame Emperor Stomp: Heavenfall!"
Boom-!!!!!!!!!!
A terrifying shock wave expanded in a sphere, scattering the clouds overhead and bringing the wind and snow to a complete halt.
A massive hole twenty meters across pierced the metal giant from the crown of its head down to its chest! All the metal around the wound melted into red-hot molten iron, pouring down in torrents.
Wapol's screams came from inside the giant, then quickly faded-he had passed out.
But the giant lost control, and its enormous body began to topple straight toward the town!
"Oh no!" Ace tried to rush out, but he was too far away.
Lin Yan's expression remained unchanged. He extended both hands toward the falling giant:
"Flame Emperor Body: Flame Binding."
Hundreds of flaming chains shot from his palms, each as thick as a thigh, instantly wrapping around the giant's limbs, torso, and neck. The chains pulled taut, forcibly halting the fifty-meter metal giant in midair!
Below the mountain, the residents watched a scene fit for gods and demons: a black-haired young man hovered in the air, holding hundreds of flaming chains in one hand, their other ends binding the toppling metal giant.
"Get... up!"
The muscles in Lin Yan's arms bulged, and the flaming chains abruptly contracted!
Rumble-!
He forcibly hauled the fifty-meter metal giant upright again, then slowly lowered it to the ground, raising clouds of dust.
With everything done, Lin Yan slowly landed, his breathing steady.
Ace jumped down from the castle and ran to his side. "Brother! Are you all right?"
"Nothing to worry about." Lin Yan patted his shoulder. "Now, there's one last problem to deal with."
He looked inside the metal giant-besides the unconscious Wapol, another presence was hiding there.
"Come out, true guardian of Drum Kingdom."
A few seconds later, a concealed door opened in the metal giant's chest, and a small figure wearing a white coat and a reindeer hat stepped out.
Tony Tony Chopper.
But his condition was strange-his eyes glowed red, and he held an enormous syringe filled with boiling blue liquid.
"Chopper? What happened to you..." Ace froze. He knew this reindeer; they had met earlier when he was searching the castle for a doctor.
Chopper's voice was low and pained. "Wapol... injected me with a 'Berserk Drug'... I can't control myself... run..."
His body began to swell, his muscles bulged, and his fur turned blood-red.
"A degraded version of the Energy Steroids E." Lin Yan recognized it at a glance. "Chopper, look at me."
He walked up to Chopper, ignored his raging aura, and placed a hand on his head.
"Calm down."
He infused him with the Flame of Life.
Warm, peaceful flame energy spread from the top of Chopper's head throughout his body. Wherever it passed, the Berserk Drug's toxins were burned away and purified, his blood-red fur returned to its original pink, and his swollen body shrank back to normal.
The red glow faded from Chopper's eyes, leaving them clear blue again. He blinked and looked at Lin Yan. "Who... are you?"
"Your future captain." Lin Yan smiled. "But before that..."
He turned toward the people of Drum gathering below the mountain, as well as the doctors who had escaped from the castle-Drum Kingdom had once been a great medical nation, until Wapol drove out all its doctors.
Lin Yan drew a deep breath. His voice vibrated the air through his flames, carrying across the entire island:
"People of Drum Kingdom!"
Everyone looked up at him.
"Wapol's tyranny is over! From this day forward, Drum will reclaim its glory as a nation of medicine!"
"I, Monkey D. Yan, declare in the name of the 'Flame Emperor': this island is under my protection! Any pirate, nation, or force that dares invade must be prepared to burn to ashes!"
"Now, doctors-"
He looked at the white-haired old doctors:
"Rebuild the hospitals and treat the wounded. I will cover all medical expenses."
An old doctor asked tremulously, "Why... why would you help us?"
Lin Yan looked at Ace and smiled:
"Because my little brother once said-fire isn't for destruction. It's for protecting what matters."
Ace froze, then lowered his head, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from rising.
"Brother..."
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
"There's no need for thanks between brothers."
Lin Yan draped an arm around Ace's shoulders and looked toward the distant horizon:
"Next, we'll pick up your crew, then head to the East Blue."
"Our adventure has only just begun."
In the night sky over Drum Kingdom, two stars like flames slowly rose.
They were the bond between brothers, and the prelude to a new era.
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