NoviceAuthor
patreon
[TIOP] Chapter : 9
🕑 Added 2025-02-02 20:53:31 +0000 UTC"Huh? What's this?" Ace muttered, staring curiously at the spherical fruit in his hand. Its orange-yellow skin was adorned with a swirling pattern that seemed almost otherworldly.
Ace furrowed his brow, trying to piece together how he ended up with the fruit. He’d only been on the island for two days. On the first day, he’d visited the infamous execution platform where the Pirate King, Roger, met his end. Then, he’d spent the rest of his time resting—well, resting and dealing with that guy.
That guy, Jack. Ace's expression darkened slightly at the thought. In the middle of a restaurant meal, Jack had slapped handcuffs on him in some ridiculous bid to drag him to see the old man. No sense of camaraderie, no consideration for brotherhood—just pure stubbornness.
Grumbling, Ace bit into the fruit, his frustration getting the better of him.
"Ugh! What the—! Is this the taste of poop?" Ace gagged, grimacing at the foul taste. He glanced at the fruit, now half-eaten, his face twisted in disgust. "How the hell did I even end up with this thing?" He recalled colliding with someone during his escape, and somehow, the fruit had ended up in his arms.
From a short distance away, Jack, still chasing after Ace, saw everything unfold. He froze for a moment, watching as Ace devoured the fruit.
"You’ve got to be f*cking kidding me!" Jack growled under his breath, his face a mix of frustration and disbelief. "He just ate the Mera Mera no mi... Of course, he did. D family luck, huh? The fuckin protagonist's luck is already shining bright."
Earlier, Jack had caught sight of a man who appeared to be a merchant slipping out of an alley, looking suspiciously cautious. Moments later, Ace, still on the run, collided with the man. The result? The Mera Mera no mi—ended up in Ace's hands. The merchant, on the other hand, hit the ground hard, sprawled out in a pitiful heap.
Without a shred of hesitation, Jack stepped over the fallen man, planting his foot squarely on his face in the process.
Behind him, the chefs and waitstaff from the restaurant, still in hot pursuit, followed Jack’s example. One after another, they trampled over the unfortunate merchant. Jack didn’t even glance back, but he figured the man would be lucky to escape with just serious injuries.
"Can you stop chasing me already?" Ace yelled over his shoulder, a cheeky grin playing on his lips as he sprinted ahead.
"If you stop running, I'll stop chasing!" Jack barked back, his frustration bubbling over.
"On second thought, I think I'd rather keep running," Ace replied with a shrug, his tone dripping with nonchalance.
Ace knew he held the upper hand. While Jack's physical prowess was impressive, it was still no match for his own.
"You infuriating bastard!" Jack growled, watching as the gap between them widened. But he wasn’t about to give up so easily. Channeling his chakra into his legs, his speed surged as he closed the distance.
"You’re cheating!" Ace yelled, his eyes widening as Jack gained on him with alarming speed.
Jack wasted no time. Without hesitation, he swung a punch aimed squarely at the back of Ace's head.
"Eh?" Ace stopped abruptly, staring in surprise as Jack's fist passed harmlessly through his body.
"You clueless idiot. Don’t you realize you just ate a Devil Fruit?" Jack said, exasperation evident in his voice.
Ace blinked, his face puzzled for a moment before he asked, "You mean that fruit that tasted like... poop?"
Jack sighed deeply, realizing he had no choice but to explain. In as few words as possible, he gave Ace a crash course on Devil Fruits and their powers, emphasizing their critical drawback: falling into the sea would render the user helpless.
While Jack was explaining, Smoker’s warship was docking at the port. Smoker, with his ever-present cigars clenched between his teeth, caught sight of a raucous group of chefs and waiters chasing someone down.
"Find out what’s going on," Smoker ordered Tashigi, his voice calm but commanding.
"Yes, Captain!" Tashigi saluted and quickly approached the group to gather information.
Moments later, she returned to report. "According to their accounts, one of the individuals is likely the rookie pirate Portgas D. Ace. As for the other, their identity is unclear, but they assume he’s a companion of Ace."
"Portgas D. Ace?" Smoker muttered, a faint smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. "Interesting. Let’s go take a closer look."
With that, Smoker’s gaze locked onto the direction where Ace and Jack had disappeared, and he began striding purposefully in their wake.
—
"Does that mean I can’t swim anymore? Well, whatever. This ability is seriously cool!" Ace said with a grin, effortlessly transforming his body into pure fire and freeing himself from the handcuffs.
"Don’t get cocky," Jack warned, his tone firm. "You may have gained a rare and powerful logia ability, but there are plenty of things that can counter you—like seastone. And remember, strength doesn’t come from the fruit alone. True power lies in how you wield it. Devil Fruits are just tools."
"Relax, I get it! Anyway, weren’t you trying to take me to see the old man?" Ace replied with a carefree laugh.
"You’re a logia Devil Fruit user now. With my current abilities, I’m no match for you. That’s why people say logia Devil Fruit users are nearly unbeatable in the early stages of the Grand Line," Jack admitted, shaking his head.
"Haha! You’re a good brother, as always. Come on, let’s throw a party to celebrate our reunion!" Ace said, his smile wide and infectious.
"A banquet sounds great," Jack agreed, a sly smile forming on his lips. "But before that, let me test how powerful your new abilities really are. I’ve got a few theories I’d like to confirm."
Ace raised an eyebrow as Jack’s hand punched through his elemental body, but there was a slight resistance.
"What’s going on?" Ace asked, frowning. "It felt like your attack just now almost managed to hit me."
Jack smirked, a gleam of determination in his eyes. "Let’s find out if I can break through your elemental defenses."
"This is exactly what I wanted to explain," Jack said, his tone serious. "While Logia Devil Fruit users are nearly invincible in the early stages, there’s a counter to their abilities—Haki."
His earlier attack had carried a hint of chakra. Though it didn’t fully land on Ace’s body, it was enough to demonstrate that chakra could affect logia-type users.
"Did you just use Haki?" Ace asked, intrigued.
Jack shook his head. "No, that wasn’t Haki. It’s a form of internal power passed down through my family. Your grandfather, Vice Admiral Garp, however, is a true master of Haki."
"That explains it!" Ace said with a sudden realization. "No wonder Luffy, even as a rubber man, always ends up rolling on the floor whenever the old man gets serious!"
Jack chuckled. "Let’s leave that for now. How about we finally grab that drink?"
Just as they turned to leave, a firm voice interrupted them.
"Going somewhere? I don’t think so."
Jack’s gaze shifted, and his expression hardened as he recognized the source.
"Smoker?" he muttered, turning to see a tall, silver-haired man with two cigars in his mouth, flanked by a unit of marines encircling them.
"Oh? You know who I am, pirate?" Smoker asked, his brows raising in slight surprise.
"I’m a pirate hunter, not a pirate! Everyone in the navy on this island knows that, so don’t lump me in with him!" Jack declared, rolling his eyes as he stepped away from Ace.
"Huh? What are you saying? Jack, aren’t we partners?" Ace exclaimed, looking genuinely shocked, his face a mix of betrayal and disbelief.
Jack coughed awkwardly and replied with a sly grin, "Ahem~ Ace, you do realize these are navy officers? They probably have seastone cells for Devil Fruit users. If I cooperate with Captain Smoker to catch you, a task that seemed impossible might just become... well, possible!"
"What? Betrayal right in front of me?" Ace exclaimed dramatically, but before he could say more, Tashigi stepped forward, her expression stern.
"Enough! Whether you're pirates or not, you’ve caused a huge commotion in town, and that’s unacceptable!" She said, adjusting her glasses as if punctuating her seriousness.
"Careful with your words, little girl. I already told you, I’m not a pirate," Jack shot back, giving Tashigi an unimpressed glance.
Ace, however, wasn’t fazed by the exchange. He threw an arm over Jack’s shoulders and said with a grin, "Ah, come on, Jack! The navy clearly thinks we’re partners. Why not make it official and join my crew? You’d be great!"
Jack’s face darkened as he shook Ace off. Ignoring him completely, he turned to Smoker and said, "For the record, I made an agreement with Vice Admiral Garp to capture Ace and bring him to see him."
"Vice Admiral Garp?" Smoker repeated, momentarily stunned by the name.
"That’s right. I met him while he was on vacation. He told me to meet him here in Loguetown and to bring Ace along," Jack explained, nodding confidently.
Smoker’s expression shifted slightly as he processed the information, though his grip on his jitte remained firm.
Smoker considered Jack's words for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I’ll help you take down Ace," he said decisively.
Smoker trusted Jack’s claim because he was well aware that Vice Admiral Garp frequently vacationed in the East Blue. While this wasn’t classified information at Navy Headquarters, few people in the East Blue knew about it, so Smoker chose to believe him.
"Ace just ate a Logia-type Devil Fruit. Do you have any Seastone restraints?" Jack asked, shifting into an offensive stance while keeping his eyes locked on Ace.
Smoker frowned and replied, "Unfortunately, no. We have seastone handcuffs at the base, but we just returned from a mission, so I’ll send someone to retrieve them immediately." He turned and ordered one of the sailors to head to the naval base to fetch the restraints.
Ace, noticing Jack’s combat stance, frowned and asked seriously, "Are you really going to go through with this, Jack?"
Jack smirked, a playful glint in his eye. "How about this: agree to come with me to meet Vice Admiral Garp, and I’ll team up with you to break out of here right now."
"I don’t want to see that old man!" Ace retorted with a scowl, his tone filled with defiance.
"Then I guess we’ll settle this the hard way," Jack replied with a grin. Without wasting another moment, he surged forward, launching himself directly at Ace, ready for a showdown.
“Haha! You’re no match for me!” Ace taunted with a cocky grin, effortlessly dodging Jack’s attack.
“Hmph! Tashigi, take some men and block all possible escape routes!” Smoker barked orders, his lower body transforming into smoke as he activated his Devil Fruit powers. As a user of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, Smoker was a formidable Logia-type ability wielder.
“White Snake!” Smoker’s arm elongated into a thick, smoky serpent that coiled tightly around Ace, immobilizing him.
“Not so tough now, are you?” Smoker sneered, confident in his successful maneuver.
“Really?” Ace replied with a smirk. His body gradually transformed into flames, easily slipping free from Smoker’s smoky grip.
“Are you serious? Didn’t I just tell you he’s a Logia user too?” Jack exclaimed in exasperation as he leaped back to avoid the chaos. Watching the clash of two Logia users, he realized his own involvement was becoming increasingly irrelevant.
“Don’t tell me how to do my job!” Smoker snapped, his frustration mounting as Ace’s fire abilities outmaneuvered his smoke.
“Fine, do it your way,” Jack retorted, stepping back with a shrug. He figured it was better to let the two drain their stamina in this drawn-out battle. After all, Logia powers relied heavily on physical strength, and exhaustion would level the playing field soon enough.
