"Monster——!!!"
Everyone was dumbfounded. That was fire, extremely high-temperature fire. A normal person couldn't even stand touching it, yet this guy ate it all. Is he even human?
Ace was also scared silly.
As a Logia-type Mera Mera no Mi user, he could turn his body into fire and create fire, but even he couldn't eat fire.
Lucas wiped the residual flames from the corner of his mouth and smiled.
"Thanks for the meal!"
The faces of the chat group members showed mischievous smiles. When they first saw Lucas eat fire in the live stream, their expressions weren't much different from these people's.
They couldn't be the only ones shocked; it was best to let everyone see this kind of thing together.
"..."
Ace stuttered a bit now.
"I don't believe it!"
"Fire Fist!!!"
Ace's arm formed a giant flame fist again and shot towards Lucas.
This time, Lucas didn't dodge or activate his shield.
Boom————!!
The Fire Fist hit Lucas head-on.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh————!
But in the blink of an eye, all the flames were devoured by Lucas.
This time Ace was completely dumbfounded. The opponent really swallowed all his fire.
The Mera Mera no Mi actually had no effect on him.
How to fight this?
But soon, Ace thought of a way. Since the fruit ability didn't work on Lucas, he would use his fists. He didn't have a Devil Fruit when he set out to sea, yet he still made his way through.
Bang!
Ace propelled himself with fire from his feet, rushing towards Lucas quickly, his fists striking rapidly.
Lucas easily dodged all of Ace's attacks.
"...Observation Haki?"
Then Lucas punched at Ace. Ace didn't dodge, because as a Logia user, physical attacks were ineffective against him.
But immediately after.
Thud!!
"Arghhhhhhh!"
Ace screamed and was sent flying directly by Lucas's punch.
Lucas shouted to Whitebeard, "Pops Whitebeard, is this enough?"
"Wait... wait! I haven't lost!"
Ace struggled to stand up. He wouldn't admit defeat so easily.
Whitebeard laughed. "Alright, Ace, you lost. Lucas didn't use his true skills at all. Otherwise, do you think you could still be standing now?"
"..."
Ace wasn't stupid. It was obvious that Lucas didn't use his true skills in the fight just now.
That feeling made him as powerless as when he fought not against someone else, but against the World's Strongest Man, Whitebeard.
"Ace... was defeated just like that?!"
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates were very surprised. Ace was the Second Division Commander.
"Wow!! The fight was so exciting!"
Rin clapped her hands excitedly.
"Ace-nii is very strong, but Ace-nii, don't be discouraged. Lucas-nii is just different."
Erica and Kanae agreed. Actually, they were very surprised by Ace's strength.
Those raging flames—even from such a distance, they could clearly feel how terrifying the power within was.
In the Campione! world, Ace's strength would be enough to become a Godslayer.
If Ace was this strong, how strong was Pops Whitebeard?
No wonder Pops didn't even care about Heretic Gods.
And those flames—was that the power of the Devil Fruit Pops mentioned?
Whitebeard looked at Ace and said in a booming voice, "Brat, now you know there's always someone better, right?"
"You guys are usually so arrogant. This time, I let you know what a real expert looks like."
"And Ace, I told you long ago not to rely too much on the Mera Mera no Mi's power. See what happened? You were helpless when you met someone who completely countered you, right?"
Ace could only lower his head obediently and listen to the lecture.
The Mera Mera no Mi was very versatile, so Ace spent most of his energy developing the fruit's abilities.
He practiced Haki less. Pops Whitebeard told him more than once not to rely excessively on the Devil Fruit, but his rebellious nature naturally didn't listen...
The result was that when the Mera Mera no Mi proved ineffective against Lucas, he panicked.
Hearing Whitebeard scold Ace, Lucas understood. No wonder Whitebeard let him duel Ace even knowing fire had no effect on him.
The old man was using him to educate Ace.
He couldn't help but roll his eyes.
But Whitebeard was right. Devil Fruit abilities were powerful, but no one could become a top-tier powerhouse relying solely on fruit abilities.
As Kaido said, in this world, Haki reigns supreme.
Ace relied too much on his Devil Fruit ability, which was why he was eventually captured by Blackbeard.
Hm? Blackbeard?
Lucas suddenly remembered that Blackbeard seemed to be on the Whitebeard Pirates' ship right now.
Quickly, Lucas scanned the area and saw Blackbeard.
Should he tell Whitebeard that Blackbeard would betray him later?
Forget it. Not to mention it hadn't happened yet, even if he said it, Whitebeard might still be soft-hearted in the end.
Why be the bad guy?
Soon, the banquet started again. This time not on the ship, but on the island. The island was more spacious, allowing for campfires and barbecues, offering more freedom.
"Vice-Captain, I toast to you."
Ace raised his glass in front of Lucas. Although he lost the fight, he was convinced by the loss.
"Don't, that was just Pops joking. I can't be the Vice-Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates. Who knows when I'll be here next?"
"Brat, what are you saying? I, Whitebeard, keep my word. When have I ever joked? If I say you are the Vice-Captain, you are the Vice-Captain. No matter where you are, you remain the Vice-Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates. Are you looking down on my crew?"
Whitebeard glared, looking like he would be offended if Lucas refused.
Marco smiled from the side. "Today is Pops' 70th birthday. Just agree."
Lucas sighed helplessly. "Sigh! Alright then!"
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