"Able!"
Ace frowned slightly, and the flame in his palm flickered again. A creamy-white flame rose from the outer layer of the yellow flame, enveloping the yellow flame inside.
The flames Ace displayed this time had a very obvious layering effect, yellow inside and white outside, and the temperature rose to about a thousand degrees again, with white smoke already starting to rise from the small table next to him.
This was caused by the further evaporation of the residual moisture inside the wood. Vic didn't care since it didn't catch fire. After all, it was stuff on the warship and hadn't cost him any money, so he wouldn't be heartbroken if it burned. Vic was just worried that the high temperature would set the warship on fire.
As Ace's brow furrowed, the flame in his palm suddenly surged and rippled. Once the flame had calmed and shrunk back to its original size, the entire flame had turned off-white.
The surrounding air rippled from the intense heat of the flames, making even Ace and Vic's faces appear unreal. Vic slapped aside the wooden table, which had stopped smoking and was beginning to turn black.
"It's almost 6,000 degrees Celsius, is that your limit?"
Seeing Ace's furrowed brows, Vic knew that it was still very difficult for Ace to unleash flames of this intensity, which was why Ace couldn't use such high-temperature flames to fight against powerful opponents!
One problem is that it takes a long time to gather power, and before you can even use it, you'll be knocked to the ground by the enemy. Another problem is that it consumes a lot of energy and doesn't last long. Even if you spend time gathering power to unleash a move, it will consume a lot of stamina. If you can't defeat the enemy, you'll become more and more passive in the following battle. So it's not practical for Ace at all right now!
This isn't due to a lack of ability, but rather because the ability user's development is insufficient and their physique isn't strong enough. However, these are things that can be improved. In other words, given enough time, Ace will eventually be able to easily control such flames, or even flames with higher temperatures.
Ace didn't reply to Vic. His face was stiff, as if he was gritting his teeth and refusing to open his mouth, but his hands didn't stop moving. The off-white flames slowly shrank, while the surrounding temperature continued to rise.
When the flames shrank to a certain extent, the off-white flames turned pure white, as if their essence had been extracted. As Ace's forehead became sweaty and his face paled, the pure white flames slowly grew back to the same size as the previous off-white flames.
"Approaching 7,000 degrees! If you can't hold on, that's fine, you still have two years to cultivate!"
Seeing Ace's expression, Vic still felt a pang of pity. He could be ruthless to himself, but seeing the people around him like this, he couldn't bear it. So he always tried to make himself stronger first, and then protect those people.
But sometimes, for the sake of future hope, he has to suppress his kindness. He treats Ace and Luffy differently. Ace was originally going to die in the Paramount War and wouldn't have appeared in the future war. Now that he has saved him, he is naturally not as demanding of Luffy.
He has always been quite ruthless towards Luffy, tormenting the Luffy to the Vice Admiral death in the illusion, which is why Luffy fears him even more than Garp!
However, because of this, Luffy's willpower is even stronger than in the original work. In the battle with Rob Lucci, Luffy did not lie on the ground unable to move; he could still swing his fist!
During his battle with Moria, his body bore the brunt of the shadows, and he defeated both Oars and Moria with a single blow.
In Impel Down, he was like an unkillable cockroach, his tenacity was so strong that even Ivankov was speechless, exclaiming that like father, like son. Ace is just an extra for now, and how he grows in the future depends entirely on his own efforts. Vic will provide him with the best environment to grow!
Ace remained silent. He wanted to speak but couldn't. He dared not loosen his grip, fearing that if he did, the flame in his palm would go out!
He also has his own principles. After this major upheaval and Vic's insightful analysis, Ace now only wants to become stronger, strong enough that no one needs to worry about him, strong enough to help anyone who wants to help him!
Vic's words were very true: when strength reaches a certain level, any conspiracy or trickery is futile. Ace now firmly believes this, so he must show Vic his strongest flame and let Vic know his determination to become stronger!
The flame in his palm slowly shrank again, and Ace's face became ferocious, his teeth seemed about to grind to dust. The shrinking flame gradually mixed with a trace of blue, and when the flame shrank to the size of a mung bean, it finally turned completely blue!
The bright blue color obscured all other colors in the world, even the sun in the sky paled in comparison, and the surrounding temperature instantly rose significantly. However, in just a couple of breaths, the eye-catching, bean-sized flame dissipated into the air, leaving only the residual heat around it as proof that it had ever existed!
After the blue flames died down, Ace's body went limp. He leaned on the blackened deck, panting heavily, sweat dripping down his face as if he had been fighting an enemy for three days and three nights.
"The blue flames just now reached a temperature of over 10,000 degrees. If you can maintain your composure, reaching 20,000 degrees won't be a problem. This is a flame that can burn through Haki and harm even the Four Emperors!"
It seems you've taken my words to heart and have made considerable progress over the past few years. I already have a plan for the next stage of your practice; let's go back and begin!
Although Ace's blue flames hadn't been around for long, their high temperature was already affecting Vic, forcing him to release his Haki to block them.
However, the temperature of the blue flames rose too quickly, suddenly increasing from six or seven thousand degrees to more than ten thousand degrees. Even though Vic released his Haki in time, part of the deck beneath Ace's feet was still carbonized by the high temperature!
If Vic had reacted even a fraction slower, the entire warship would have instantly burst into flames. Even a ship made of steel would have melted into molten iron in an instant. Such blue flames could easily burn through the Haki defenses of the Four Emperors, causing them unimaginable damage!
In other words, it takes Ace a long time to use it now, and the duration is too short. Otherwise, if he used it on Akainu, he could vaporize his magma and see if he would still say that the Magma-Magma Fruit is a superior Devil Fruit.
If Ace's blue flames could become the norm, then Akainu's title as the most lethal fighter would have to change hands. Akainu can only carbonize enemies at most, but Ace can vaporize and evaporate enemies instantly, truly annihilating them without leaving a trace!
Moreover, fire is a wide-range attack, and its heat can radiate to a greater distance, so a fully grown Ace would be no less formidable than the Cataclysm.
Vic knew that the blue flames were definitely not the limit of the Flame-Flame Fruit, nor would they be the limit of Ace. A fire Fire God who had perfected the Law of Fire could not possibly release flames that were only a little over 10,000 degrees; otherwise, the Fire God's prestige would be too low.
While flames at this temperature might be considered divine in the mortal realm, they fall short of the standards of God of Law. Even the high temperatures created by Vic using lightning reach tens of thousands of degrees; the upper limit of flames cannot be limited to this.
Although Vic didn't know the limits of the Law of Fire, the temperature must be at least in the millions. Such high temperatures exist in the universe, so theoretically, as Laws that constitutes the world, it should be even higher.
Vic doesn't expect Ace to fully comprehend the Law of Fire and become the Fire God, but it would be good if he could get closer to the Fire God, and his strength would also make a qualitative leap. Therefore, he certainly cannot give up on his Devil Fruit abilities in his next training, and he cannot spend all his time on training in Haki!
When your abilities are strong enough, even using Haki to defend is useless. Few enemies possess Haki of the same level as Vic. Therefore, Ace can pursue both paths simultaneously. If he doesn't have enough time to train, he can use illusions to make up for it. In any case, developing abilities doesn't require the accumulation that Haki does. Once you understand it, you understand it. All that's needed is time!
"Eat it and get some rest. Your training will begin tomorrow!"
Seeing the flames Ace unleashed at the end, Vic changed his mind. He had originally planned to return to Titan Island to begin Ace's special training, but now his opinion had changed, and he could no longer abandon the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit.
Anyway, as long as you enter the illusion to cultivate, there are no requirements for the environment. It won't affect anything if you're on a warship, and it can even save some time.
Then Vic took out a Soul Fruit and put it in Ace's hand. Vic had many Soul Fruit, more than his own pirate crew could use up. Now that Ace needed to develop his flames, it was also very necessary for him to improve his mental strength and comprehension.
Therefore, Vic decided to start supplying Ace with Soul Fruit. If Ace could grow into a true Fire God in the future, then his investment would be incredibly profitable!