Dimon vs. Ace / I Thought We Had a Pure Friendship

Ace readily agreed. When it came to fighting, he had never been afraid of anyone!

"Are you two really going to fight?"

Deuce stared blankly. These two really had no sense of danger. Wasting their strength as they pleased on an island like this was too much of a luxury.

Ace got up and walked several dozen meters away from the campfire, then turned and beckoned to Dimon.

"Come at me with everything you've got!"

"Heh, don't worry, I'll definitely..."

As Dimon said the words "go easy on you," he threw a punch. Scorching flames shot out like a cannonball, forming a fist of fire.

Ace's eyes widened. Faced with the fiercely advancing fire fist, he immediately rolled to the side.

"Damn it, a sneak attack!"

"That's not how you spar! We should exchange a few threats, then make sure we're both ready before we start!"

Even as he dodged, Ace's mouth never stopped moving. He narrowly avoided the fire fist.

"And you're a Devil Fruit User!"

"I never said I wasn't."

Completely at ease, Dimon pointed behind him. "Watch out. My fist can turn corners."

Turn corners?!

Ace's heart skipped a beat. He looked back to see that the fire fist he had dodged had made two right-angle turns in midair and locked onto him again.

"What the hell! It can do that?"

Ace kept his eyes fixed on the fire fist and rolled to the side again as it approached.

Having lost its target, the fire fist ended up heading straight for Dimon himself.

Without panicking, Dimon reached out with his right hand and caught the scorching flames in his palm.

"Ever played beach dodgeball? Here it comes."

Ace wasn't an enemy, so naturally Dimon wasn't trying to kill him. He casually tossed the fireball in his hand a few times, then hurled it at Ace.

"If I don't get close, I'll just be toyed with!"

Rather than retreat, Ace advanced, charging straight at the fireball.

Just before it hit him, he slid beneath it, the scorching flames nearly setting his hair alight.

At the same time, Ace slapped one hand against the ground and used the force to spring up. Once he was close, he spun three hundred and sixty degrees in midair, transferring the force of his twisting waist to his left leg and multiplying the power of his kick several times over.

"Take this!"

Whoosh! Ace's kick missed. Dimon, who should have been standing there, had abruptly vanished.

"He disappeared?" Ace froze for an instant.

The next moment, a large hand seized the back of his head and slammed him into the ground, filling his mouth with sand.

"Game over, Ace."

Deuce had watched the whole thing from beside the campfire. Seeing the fight end so quickly, he couldn't help dropping his jaw.

Dimon released Ace. Ace sprang to his feet and put some distance between them, all while continuing to talk.

"Just now... ptoo, ptoo, ptoo!"

He spat out the sand in his mouth and shouted indignantly, "What was that just now? You stepped on the ground dozens of times in an instant?"

"You could see that? Impressive." Dimon wasn't too surprised. The first time Luffy saw it, he had also quickly seen through the technique.

"Heh heh, I learned a new move! Thanks! What's it called?"

"Soru."

Dimon waved a hand and said, "Save your strength. You're no match for me right now."

He had already held back a great deal. The Flame-Flame Fruit in his hands was worlds apart from the one in Ace's.

Take Fire Fist, for example.

Once Ace launched his Fire Fist, he couldn't control it, but Dimon could. He could control it at will, as easily as moving his own arm.

That was the difference in proficiency!

Ace gave up on continuing the spar and asked curiously, "What kind of power is that? You can make fire."

"Don't ask so many questions, kid. You can't handle it."

The two returned to the campfire as they talked.

Ace pursed his lips. "I'm seventeen!"

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Oh, right, Zoro, why don't you join my pirate crew? We can team up and look for the One Piece. I'll give you half the treasure when we find it!"

Hearing that, Dimon wore a complicated expression.

What good stuff could Roger, a travel blogger, have left behind? The so-called One Piece probably wasn't anything serious.

"Thanks, but I refuse."

"Don't be so quick to refuse. Someone as strong as you can't be planning to stay in the East Blue forever, can you? Don't you want to come with me to the Grand Line and see more of the world?"

Ace refused to give up. He even turned his attention to Deuce. "Deuce, come along too. Once we leave here, we'll form the Spade Pirates. I'll be the captain, and you two will be the vice captains."

"If we can get out of here..."

Deuce neither outright refused nor agreed.

The three sat around the campfire, eating roast meat and talking about everything under the sun.

A night passed.

Around noon the next day, the Wave-Breaking Warrior entered the waters near Sixis Island. Caught in the strange currents there, it soon appeared off the coast.

"Mr. Zoro, you have such a big ship! That's amazing!"

The group boarded the deck, and Ace soon noticed something was wrong. Dumbfounded, he walked around the deck.

"Where is everyone? Where are the sailors? How does this ship move without anyone aboard? Is it a ghost ship?!"

"How rude!"

Suddenly, an eerie mouth appeared on the mast and scolded him unhappily. "You're the ghost! I'm the great ship spirit. Please call me Lord Ship Zuizui!"

Then Ship Zuizui changed its tone and said ingratiatingly to Dimon, "Boo-hoo-hoo, great master, it's only been a day, but Ship Zuizui missed you so much~"

"All right, let's set sail. First, get us out of here and head for the nearest island. Here's a chart for you."

Dimon tossed Ship Zuizui a chart of the nearby waters, then took his two guests inside the ship.

Ace and Deuce were astonished by Ship Zuizui's existence.

"I heard the old folks back home say that a ship spirit comes into being when a crew cares for their ship over a long time. They often appear in thick fog, taking human form, wearing a raincoat and carrying a wooden mallet..."

Deuce's voice was full of astonishment, but also tinged with doubt. "I always thought they were a legend. I never expected them to really exist, but why is it a mouth?"

It only has a mouth so it can speak conveniently... Dimon thought, promptly leading the two to the dining room.

There, Ace and Deuce witnessed an even more startling sight.

The pots, bowls, and utensils in the kitchen were all preparing food. The refrigerator opened on its own and brought out ingredients, the kitchen knife cut and prepared them, and the stove lit itself and cooked. Everything was orderly, as though an invisible chef were controlling it all.

Seeing the two staring blankly, Dimon smiled and said:

"Ship Zuizui is controlling it all. It's the ship itself."

It was the ship, as well as the sailor, navigator, and cook... Ship Zuizui was quite diligent in daily life.

"I really want a pirate ship like this too!" Ace said enviously.

"Sit down. Lunch will be ready soon."

The group sat down, and after lunch, Dimon had Mammon arrange rooms for the two. There were plenty of empty rooms on the ship; with some squeezing, it could accommodate over a hundred people.

The following afternoon.

They reached the nearest town. Dimon saw Ace and Deuce off the ship and said goodbye.

"Goodbye, Ace, Deuce."

"Goodbye, Mr. Zoro. Thank you for your help. I'll always remember what you did for us."

Ace stood on the shore, waving repeatedly, while Deuce nodded in gratitude.

Dimon smiled and had Ship Zuizui sail away from the shore.

"Let's go. Back to the Grand Line!"

Chapter 17: I Thought We Had a Pure Friendship

For the return journey, they again chose to cross the Calm Belt. Going there was like going home. The Sea Kings were treasures from head to tail, and Dimon loved the place.

Unfortunately, Sea King corpses were too large. Otherwise, he could probably make a lot of money by dragging them back to sell.

"Zuizui."

"Master, I'm here!"

"Can you sing?"

"Huh?"

"A ship that can't sing isn't a good ship. I'll teach you." Sitting on the figurehead, Dimon looked out at the sea, where the wind and clouds were gathering, and smiled. "The song is called... 'Wellerman,' a pirate song."

[There once was a ship that put to sea]

[And the name of the ship was the Billy of Tea]

[The winds blew hard, her bow dipped down]

[Oh, blow, my bully boys, blow!]

[Soon may the Wellerman come]

[To bring us sugar and tea and rum]

[One day, when our food is done]

[We'll take our bags and go]

[...]

The Wave-Breaking Warrior sailed back toward the Grand Line. The outward journey had taken four days, and the return took a little longer.

By the time the ship broke through the Calm Belt and returned to the Grand Line, another pile of Longevity Wine had accumulated in the cabin.

At Dimon's rate of consumption, he had enough wine to last him the coming year.

On deck, Dimon hadn't neglected his daily training. He had already mastered three of the Six Powers, and he was close to mastering the fourth, Shigan.

With the help of the Longevity Wine, he expected to be able to use the remaining three techniques proficiently in a month at most.

It was easy to lose track of time at sea. Another two days passed.

During those two days, Dimon didn't encounter a single ship. On the vast ocean, it was very difficult to come across another vessel when they were off the usual routes.

The Log Pose in his hand pointed to the island after Farn Island. No one knew exactly how long it would take to reach it.

At noon that day, in the ship's gym.

Ship Zuizui suddenly appeared on the floor, interrupting Dimon's daily training.

"Master, master, there's a wrecked warship about five kilometers ahead!"

"A Marine warship?"

Dimon paused, then immediately stopped exercising. He released Ain, and a gentle breeze left through the window, traveling almost against the surface of the sea.

Judging from the images Ain sent back, it was indeed a medium-sized Marine warship. A seagull flag symbolizing peace hung from its mast.