Chapter 41: Awakening The Mera-Mera Fruit
"That, that's..." Gan Fall looked at the scene in the distance in disbelief. A huge ship was rising into the sky with the rotation of its propellers, a large part of its hull made of dazzling gold. "Enel!" he exclaimed, spotting the figure standing on the boat. His face tightened with worry.
"Gold! Lots of gold!" Nami exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Could it be that the golden land Noland mentioned, the legendary golden capital Sandora, really came here with Gaya?" Robin wondered aloud, pulling out Noland's diary. Her eyes widened as she read about the golden city of Sandora. Sky Island had no gold, which meant it must have followed Gaya and washed up with the rising current. The only place with such a large amount of gold could be Sandora, the golden capital mentioned in Noland's diary. Robin's excitement was palpable.
Robin's thoughts were interrupted when Ace gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "After the hunt, I'll accompany you to find Sandora," he promised with a warm smile. Robin stared at him, her eyes brimming with emotion, a warmth filling her heart that she hadn't felt since the Ohara incident. She smiled brightly and nodded. "Um!"
Nami, Kaya, Vivi, Nojiko, and Tashigi turned their attention to Robin's radiant smile. "Nami, do you like the gold on that ship?" Ace asked, still holding Robin's hand.
"Like? I love it!" Nami's eyes lit up, transforming into the shape of Bailey.
"Alright, then in addition to the Thunder Fruit, that gold also belongs to my navigator," Ace laughed and stepped forward.
Gan Fall sighed, marveling at Ace's confidence. Enel, whose possessions had once made all of Angel Island despair, seemed like a child in front of Ace.
Laki watched Ace's back, her eyes flickering with admiration. Ace, so powerful yet so gentle and supportive of the girls, was a stark contrast to Weber and the others, who would sacrifice their companions' lives for the Lantern of Sandora. Laki hoped to light the lamp of Sandora too, but she couldn't be indifferent to her companions' lives. Ace's attitude deeply affected her.
"I love you so much, Ace!" Nami exclaimed, waving her hands excitedly. She quickly realized the girls were looking at her oddly.
"You took the opportunity to say what was in your heart, right, Nami?" Nojiko teased, nudging her.
Nami's face turned red. She wanted to retort but couldn't find the words. Instead, she gritted her teeth and glared at Robin. "Hmph! You all went to Ace's room in Alabasta!"
Nokigao, Kaya, Vivi, and Tashigi blushed furiously. "I-I was just—" Tashigi stammered, waving her hands.
"Oh? And now?" Nami grinned mischievously.
Tashigi's face turned even redder, leaving her speechless. Robin, covering her red lips, watched the playful exchange with a smile. She felt a deep sense of warmth and belonging.
"Ahem, okay, the battle is about to begin," Nokigao said, trying to deflect attention from herself.
The women's attention shifted to the distance, where Enel, exuding astonishing thunder and lightning, was roaring from the Ark Maxim. He was creating a large thundercloud using the Thunder Fruit and the Ark's proverbs. "Damn Portgas D. Ace! Look, this is the true power of the Thunder Fruit!" Enel bellowed, his eyes blood-red with rage. He blamed Ace for forcibly opening the Ark Maxim before it was completed, causing significant delays in his plans.
As Enel's thundercloud enveloped the entire Angel Island, Ace stood calmly. Enel's thunderclouds crackled with energy, ready to unleash destruction. "Damn Portgas D. Ace, do you look down on me?" Enel shouted, his fear and anger mounting.
Ace raised his hand, effortlessly dispelling a thunderbolt. "Don't you think it's strange why I didn't stop you from releasing the thundercloud?" he asked, his body transforming into a blazing flame as he soared into the sky, appearing above Enel.
"What do you mean?" Enel's panic grew. The shadow of Ace's earlier control loomed over him. Ace continued, "Using the Ark's Maxim to simulate part of the Logia Devil Fruit's awakening, you still have some use for me, Enel."
Ace's body ignited with terrifying flames, causing the atmosphere to heat up rapidly. The violent thunder snakes retreated in the face of his intense heat. "It's really hard for you to create the Ark's Maxim. As a reward, I will let you appreciate the true power of a Devil Fruit."
Enel, confused and increasingly alarmed, demanded, "Devil Fruit Awakening? What are you talking about?"
"Your understanding is heaven-defying, and you have a great understanding of the formation of thunder clouds!""The Mera-mera Fruit has awakened!"
Ace's eyes seemed to ignite with flames, transforming into two stars as he readed the text in his mind. Terrifying waves erupted from Ace's body. The Mera-mera Fruit had awakened.
"Boom!"
Ace stood at the center of the thundercloud, his entire body ignited with astonishing flames. The intense heat distorted the atmosphere, causing the thunder snakes that had been slithering through the air to retreat.
"Let me show you the true power of a Logia Devil Fruit as a reward, Enel," Ace laughed, his eyes suddenly freezing with focus.
Strange fluctuations emanated from Ace, rapidly spreading outward. Under Enel's disbelieving gaze and the horror of Wyper and Gan Fall below, amidst the surprised and curious voices of the women, the thundercloud began to change.
The thunderclouds, previously filled with roaring thunder snakes, suddenly fell silent. The unique roar of the Thunder Fruit vanished, leaving only the sight of thunder snakes without any sound or fluctuation.
In the next moment, the black thunderclouds turned into flames. The sky filled with fire clouds, igniting the ground below, giant trees, and rocks with terrifying flames. Streams of raging fire descended from the fire cloud, transforming the earth into a fiery purgatory with flames spurting from the ground. The high temperature distorted the entire space.
With Ace at the center, the entire world turned into a realm of flames.
"Mera-Mera Fruit, awaken!" Ace's voice rang out, the climate around him changing dramatically into a world of fire.
"Is this a miracle?" Gan Fall muttered, his face filled with horror. The sky, the earth, the forest, and the rocks—everything was ignited with terrifying flames. The entire space had turned into a world of fire, something that seemed only possible for a god. Compared to Enel, Ace appeared far more omniscient and omnipotent.
Wyper cried out in horror, unable to comprehend the transformation. The world of flames before him seemed like an act of a deity, not something a human could achieve. His fists, once tightly clenched in determination, loosened in the face of such a miracle. Even as a descendant of the great warrior Kalgara, Wyper felt no desire to challenge such god-like power.
"This is, Mera-Mera Fruit awakening?" Vivi's eyes flickered as she felt the rising heat. Ace had explained the concept of Devil Fruit awakening to them before. Paramecia Devil Fruits, when awakened, could assimilate objects into parts of the user's body. Zoan Devil Fruits, when awakened, granted extraordinary vitality and resilience. And Logia Devil Fruits, once awakened, could transform the natural environment and change the climate to their corresponding element, turning the entire nature into their power source.
For a Logia user, awakening meant that the entire world would become their support and home ground, drastically enhancing their attack power and endurance.
"Can I develop the Sand-Sand Fruit to this point?" Vivi wondered, gazing at the world of flames. Determined, she smiled brightly. "Yes, I can definitely Awaken!" she declared, believing in herself because she had Ace.
"It's incredibly empowering," Robin observed, her eyes continuously flashing. Since the Ohara incident, she had been haunted by two extreme shadows: Buster Call and Aokiji's Frozen Fruit ability. The power that could destroy and freeze everything had made her feel utterly desperate, forcing her to survive cautiously in the shadows for years. Until she met Ace.
"Help me decipher the ancient history and be my historian, Robin."
"The pressure from the World Government? I can bear it," Ace had said when they first met.
"Didn't you find the history you wanted? The sea is still vast. Come with me and continue to explore, Robin," he had told her in Alabasta when she hadn't found the true history she sought in the historical texts.
Robin's lips curved into a moving arc. Saul, I seem to have found my place...
"Is this Ace's true power?" Robin whispered, her eyes filled with admiration and hope.
Conis's beautiful eyes flashed as she murmured, her shock hardening into determination. The vastness of the Blue Sea dwarfed the Sky, where Enel had driven Angel Island to despair. But in the Blue Sea, powerful individuals like Ace existed. Following Ace, she believed, would empower her, enabling her to help Angel Island overcome its weakness.
"Be my musician, Conis," Ace's gentle smile and bright expression filled her mind.
"Even the land is burning," Laki said in disbelief, staring at the fiery landscape that seemed like purgatory. Earth symbolized vitality and hope for Laki, yet here it was aflame. The Blue Sea not only held endless land but also incredible powers.
Laki's red lips pursed with yearning. She longed to see the Blue Sea and its vast lands. "Be my chef, Laki," Ace had said, promising adventures and a search for meaning in the Blue Sea. Laki's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"No, it's impossible!" Enel screamed, watching the thunderclouds he painstakingly created with the Ark Maxim transform into fire clouds. The entire space had turned into a world of flames. His eyes bloodshot, Enel's expression was manic. The true power of a Logia Devil Fruit could control nature, making his thunderclouds seem trivial in comparison.
Enel, feeling like a frog in a well, was consumed by rage and grief. His body, already strained, began to collapse, but he felt no physical pain, only inner torment. "I am God!" he roared, his body swelling with electrical energy. Transforming into a massive entity of thunder and lightning, he prepared a final attack.
"Two hundred million volts? Thor!" Enel bellowed, pushing his power to its limits. His last reserves of thunder and lightning poured into the Ark Maxim, causing it to disintegrate. Enel, driven to madness, cared only about making Ace pay, even if it cost his life.
"Raigo!" Enel shouted, summoning a massive black thundercloud, a sphere of concentrated thunder. Nami, sensing its immense power, looked solemn. Gan Fall and the Shandians, witnessing the destructive potential, felt powerless.
Ace's laughter, louder than the thunder, broke through. "I can't let you destroy my chef and musician's homeland, and my historian wants to uncover this place's history," Ace said. Conis and Laki's eyes sparkled with hope, while Robin's eyes glinted with admiration.
With a sudden stillness, Ace crossed his arms. "Stop joking! Portgas D. Ace!" Enel screamed, his eyes blood-red. His ultimate attack was dismissed as nonsense. Unforgivable! Enel's rage boiled over as he thrust his arms into the thundercloud.
"Great Flame Ring!" Ace shouted. Flames from the transformed world converged towards him, enveloping him in a massive fireball, larger and hotter than Enel's Raigo. "Flame Emperor!" Ace declared, holding the scorching fireball aloft.
Enel, shocked by the fireball's power, felt fear—a signal from his Thunder Fruit that he was close to death. "Your game of pretending to be a god is over, Enel," Ace said calmly.
Enel's body trembled violently. "Portgas D. Ace!" he roared, launching his thundercloud. "Die, Enel," Ace replied, hurling the sun-like fireball.
"Boom!" The clash of thunder and fire sent shockwaves through the air, shattering the atmosphere like glass. Enel pushed with all his might, but cracks appeared in the thundercloud. With a final explosion, the thundercloud shattered, and the fireball, like a rising sun, consumed Enel.
In the aftermath, Enel was swallowed by the heat, his final scream echoing as he was engulfed by flames that burned him to his very core.
"Boom!"
The spherical black cloud, brimming with endless thunder as if poised to shatter the world, fragmented instantaneously. Thunder, exposed to the open atmosphere, was swiftly consumed by a rising sun-like fireball. Enel, in despair, was instantly engulfed by this inferno.
On Angel Island, a child innocently pointed to the sky, exclaiming, "Mom, there are two suns in the sky." The child's mother, along with all the islanders, stood in stunned silence, beholding the spectacle of dual suns above.
McKinley, horrified, observed as a tremendous thundercloud suddenly emanated from the direction of Holy Land Apayado, with bolts striking perilously close to Angel Island. This was Enel's power—unleashed against Conis and the native of the Blue Sea known as Ace. Witnessing the apocalyptic thunderclouds, McKinley felt a despairing question arise: could mere mortals contend with such force?
But then, McKinley witnessed a miraculous transformation—the thunderclouds morphed into blazing fire clouds, turning Apayado's direction into a world ablaze. Soon after, a colossal jet-black spherical cloud loomed ominously, flashing with occasional thunder, instilling fear even from a distance.
Yet, before McKinley could fully comprehend, a second sun rose slowly in the sky. With its ascent, the thunderous sphere that threatened destruction shattered into nothingness. McKinley's eyes reflected hope and disbelief—had Ace truly triumphed over Enel?
"Conis," Paigeya, Conis's father, gazed at the ascending sun with a smile. Victory—hope had returned to Angel Island.
The Great Fireball, radiating intense heat that distorted the atmosphere, ceased its ascent at a certain height, its blaze resonating with Ace's determination. His eyes flashed with the red of flames, reflecting a profound understanding.
"With your heaven-defying understanding, You command the awakened power of the Mera-mera Fruit flawlessly and are capable of reverting the transformed natural elements."
Ace viewed the Lovely Text in his mind.
Ace gestured powerfully, the sun-like fireball dissipating into wisps. The skies, the earth, the forests, the scorched rock walls of purgatory gradually returned to their original state, marked only by residual high temperatures as evidence of the extraordinary events that has transpired between heaven and earth.
The flame in Ace's eyes settled, a testament to his unparalleled command of the Mera-mera Fruit's awakened power. With celestial guidance, he could reshape climates at will—turning places into permanent realms of flame, then effortlessly restoring them.
"Boom!"
From the heavens above, a charred body plummeted.
Stepping forward, Ace approached the smoldering remains.
"You did leave something behind, Enel," Ace remarked, gazing upon Enel's completely charred form. In his state as the Thunder God, composed of thunder and lightning elements, Enel had not instantly vaporized before the Flame Emperor. Nevertheless, the electrical vitality of the Thunder Fruit could no longer sustain him—Enel had met his end.