"Heh, no problem! I'll go ask Pops for a drop of his blood right away," Jozu exclaimed excitedly, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm as he turned, eager to seek out Whitebeard for the blood.
But just as he took a step, Ron gently stopped him.
"Don't rush. I still have some of the captain's blood in stock," Ron said in a steady voice.
"Hehe." Jozu chuckled sheepishly, scratching his head with an embarrassed expression, and quickly nodded.
"Then I'll follow your arrangements."
Sunlight filtered through the mottled leaves, casting patches of light and shadow.
Ron lifted his gaze slightly, shifting it from Jozu before calmly turning to Ace.
"Ace, what do you want?"
To his surprise, instead of immediately stating his desire, Ace furrowed his brow slightly as a trace of worry flashing in his eyes.
"Ron, how is my little brother Luffy doing now? Is he in any danger?" Ace's voice carried a note of urgency.
"Oh?" Ron was taken aback with a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
He hadn't expected Ace's first words to be about his own request, but rather his concern for Luffy.
Seems like Ace truly cared deeply for his brother Luffy.
Then, Ron slowly said, "It's fine. Luffy was taken away by his grandfather Garp. With him around, Luffy's safety isn't much of an issue. However, it'll be difficult for Luffy to sail out again in the future."
Based on his understanding of Garp, after nearly losing his grandson, Garp had become more cautious and careful.
Before Luffy developed sufficient self-protection abilities, Garp would absolutely not feel at ease letting Luffy out again.
After all, that pain of nearly losing his grandson was something he never wanted to experience again.
"That's good, that's good." Upon hearing Ron's words, Ace's eyes immediately filled with joy.
The corners of his mouth unconsciously lifted into a relieved smile.
That smile was full of affection and concern for his younger brother.
Only at this moment did his anxious heart finally settle down.
Then, it was Ace's turn to say what he wanted.
However, he fell into deep thought, his brows tightly knitted together.
After quite a while, he slowly raised his head, his eyes revealing a trace of confusion and bewilderment.
"Ron, actually... I don't even know what I want." Ace slowly spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse, carrying a hint of self-mockery.
"My ability... seems worthless."
Then, Ace slowly recounted his experiences from this journey.
It turned out this trip to Dressrosa had been a heavy blow to him.
The Mera Mera Fruit ability he had always been proud of had become so ordinary in the New World.
In this world filled with powerful individuals, the ability of the Mera Mera Fruit seemed to be everywhere.
Whether it was street thugs fighting or real battles between powerful fighters, almost anyone could conjure flames with their hands.
This left him utterly shocked and disappointed - it was simply unbelievable!
And one particular sentence had deeply wounded his heart.
He had once asked that guy who could conjure flames whether he would eat a Logia-type Mera Mera Fruit if given one.
The man disdainfully replied, "Eat shit, I can already conjure flames with my hands. Why would I need to eat the Mera Mera Fruit?"
As he was leaving, he added one more sentence: "Even dogs wouldn't eat the Mera Mera Fruit!"
These words were like a sharp knife, brutally stabbing into Ace's heart.
After finishing his story, Ace looked at Ron with a face full of dejection, his eyes filled with helplessness and disappointment.
"Ron, is my Devil Fruit ability trash? Even dogs wouldn't eat the Mera Mera Fruit they said."
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.
Bullett walked over and heavily slapped Ace on the back with his big hand, nearly knocking him off balance.
"Kid, don't take it so seriously!" Bullett grinned widely while opening his other palm.
The originally empty palm now appeared to be ignited, with scorching magma beginning to roll and surge within it.
The magma was bright red, emitting suffocating high temperatures that seemed capable of burning up the surrounding air.
Suddenly, accompanied by a deafening "BOOM," raging flames instantly erupted.
The flames roared like a ferocious Dragon, clawing and charging toward the sky, with blistering heat washing over everyone.
"See, I can conjure fireballs with my hands too!"
"..."
Ace widened his eyes, his gaze filled with shock and embarrassment, his face instantly turning crimson as if he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
However, when his eyes fell once again on the churning magma in Bullett's palm, his jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
A trace of disbelief flickered in his eyes—that flame... it was unmistakably Akainu's Magma Fruit ability!
He was certain Bullett had also been enchanted.
Beside him, Marco's eyes lit up, the calm in his gaze instantly replaced by a blazing intensity.
His breathing gradually quickened, his chest heaving violently as he struggled to suppress the joy and excitement within him.
Because this was precisely the ability he had always dreamed of—the Logia Devil Fruit with the highest single-target offensive power, the Magma Fruit!
In his heart, he had always yearned for such immense power. Now, seeing Bullett display such an astonishing ability, how could he not be moved?
Moreover, according to Ron's habits, he would surely have preserved a large amount of the original ability user's blood.
After all, only the original members like them knew that creating a Devil Fruit required just a single drop of blood!
However, Marco did not rush to reveal his thoughts.
He understood deeply that Ace's issue had yet to be resolved, and everything would have to wait for the right moment.
Thus, suppressing his inner excitement, he stood quietly by, waiting to see how things would unfold.
Watching Ace's dejection, a flicker of amusement crossed Ron's eyes. He slowly walked up to Ace, carefully considering his words.
"Perhaps... you need a little... change?" Ron's voice seemed to carry a magical quality, compelling Ace to lift his head, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Change? What kind of change?" Ace's voice was tinged with bewilderment.
Ron spoke slowly, "Ace, the Flame-Flame Fruit belongs to the Logia type. It can be strong or weak, depending on the user's development. But if you want to advance further, I think... the Heat-Heat Fruit might suit you."
The others were clearly intrigued as well.
Vista, standing among the crowd, frowned deeply and asked, "Ron, are you talking about that guy from the Big Mom Pirates?"
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