8 8. Flash Steps learned. First view of Flare-Flare Fruit’s destructive capability.
│3rd Person POV│
[Grand Line, New World, Whitebeard Pirates' Fourth Division main ship…]
Time passed by swiftly, and a week slipped away in the blink of an eye.
"Flash Steps!"
On the deck, Ron's form swayed and materialized more than ten meters away in an instant.
With each successful execution of the technique, he traversed various areas of the deck, showcasing his familiarity with it.
After three minutes of continuous practice, Ron stopped, leaning against the ship's railing and gasping for breath.
"Huhuhu~ I'm exhausted. Flash Steps do consume a lot of energy. Right now, I can only use it for three minutes straight before fatigue sets in. But fortunately, within a week, at least I successfully trained Flash Steps to the Entry-level. I've now got a life-saving technique in my arsenal!" A satisfied smile graced Ron's face.
For seven days straight, he dedicated almost all his time to learning Flash Steps.
Practicing Flash Steps for just three minutes required more effort than a half-a-day of intense workout.
And after every time his physical strength was exhausted by training the technique, Ron would deliberately push his limits, squeezing out one or two more Flash Steps to forcefully squeeze his potential.
Although this way of over-exerting his body may lead to some hidden problems in the future, he had confidence in the healing power of the Phoenix Fruit.
No matter how much agony his body experiences, a single night's rest rejuvenates him completely by the following morning.
This also ensured his body's overall development day by day.
In just a week, Ron estimated that he had grown from being just as strong as an average Marine Ensign to being able to defeat a freshly promoted Marine Lieutenant.
With continued practice, he was confident about being able to fight Lieutenant Commander-ranked Marine officers in a short period, marking a substantial leap in strength.
Furthermore, the enhancement of his physical abilities had a positive impact on the development of his Devil Fruit powers. The original development level of 10% of his Copy-Copy Fruit had now increased to 15%.
This improvement was reflected in the Phoenix Fruit's regenerative ability, increasing his healing capacity by a small but significant margin.
Ron was also successful in using the fruit's second ability for the first time.
Although resembling Healing Fire, the Blue Flame served as both an attacking power and a true flame. However, due to insufficient development, its current temperature of just over 200℃ posed no threat to truly powerful people of this world, though it could harm ordinary individuals.
The more important thing was that the Blue Flame ability originated from a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit.
Whenever Ron deployed Blue Flame, he could feel that with some practice, he could increase the density of the flames.
This hinted to its greater potential development in the future by opening the possibility of assimilating the characteristics of different flames of various Devil Fruits.
"I wonder if I can merge the flames of Flare-Flare Fruit into my Blue Flame. Although the maximum temperature of pre-awakening Flare-Flare Fruit is not that high, it is at least much higher than my current Blue Flames' temperature.
"If I could perhaps let my Blue Flames inherit Flare-Flare Fruit's power, its temperature could easily reach up to 800℃."
Ron pondered out loud while enjoying the sea breeze with a smile on his face.
To be honest, Ron disagreed with the settings of the One Piece world.
The Flare-Flare Fruit's maximum temperature was lower than that of Magma-Magma Fruit, with the minimum temperature of Akainu's Magma was 900℃ and the maximum was 1,300℃.
This resulted in Flare-Flare Fruit's flames not reaching the temperature that he knew it should reach.
On the contrary, there are unconventional Devil Fruits like the Hot-Hot Fruit and Heat-Heat Fruit eaten by Don Accino and Charlotte Oven respectively. Their maximum temperature even surpasses the Magma-Magma Fruit, even while unawakened.
Ron didn't know just what to think about such an absurd concept.
"Forget about it. It's better not to overthink things that don't make sense now. Maybe they will in the future.
"Instead, I should ask for Ace's help once we finish the task of eliminating the troublemaker pirates.
"If it is really possible to increase the temperature and destructive power of my Blue Flames through the assimilation of the flames of Flare-Flare Fruit, then it's not impossible to also assimilate Magma-Magma Fruit, Hot-Hot Fruit, and Heat-Heat Fruit."
Dismissing these thoughts, Ron turned around and walked toward the Kitchen, having recovered a little of his physical strength.
Once he had eaten and replenished his energy, he heard a shout from the deck.
"Land ho!!"
Shortly after Thatch's voice rang out throughout the ships belonging to the Second and Fourth Division, "Attention everyone! We have arrived at the waters of Partridge Island and the ships are about to dock.
"The crew members of the Poisonous Wolf Pirates are still on the island. Be careful of possible ambushes."
Immediately after the announcement, almost all the pirates from the Second and Fourth Divisions let out a war cry.
Ron also walked out of the kitchen and immediately saw Thatch standing in the bow area.
"Commander Thatch!" Ron called out, approaching Sachi.
"Ron, you are here." Thatch grinned, and inquired, "How is your training going? You have been training like a madman on the deck these last few days.
"You know, I had to transfer most of the people to other ships to ensure that your training of Enhanced Marine Six Styles remains a secret."
Ron grinned, and shared his progress without any reservation, "I started with Flash Steps. I can keep using it with high intensity for three minutes straight."
"Hmm… Then, according to my estimation, you could outrun anyone with strength comparable to a Marine Commodore once you execute Flash Steps." Thatch replied.
"I see."
Satisfied with Ron's progress, Thatch's smile became more prominent.
After all, it was a bit dangerous for Ron to follow them during this time.
Anything can happen in the sea and it would be a huge loss for the Whitebeard Pirates if something unexpected happened resulting in Ron being unable to reach his full potential in the future.
Even if Thatch and Ace vowed to protect him, they couldn't guarantee that nothing bad would happen.
Moreover, the specific situation of Poisonous Wolf Pirates was not clear.
Now that Ron could use Flash Steps, he could at least run away if the situation took a turn for the worse.
Suddenly, a cry interrupted their conversation. "Look out!! Incoming Poisonous mist!"
Looking over, they witnessed a large purple mist spreading towards their ships from Partridge Island.
As the mist made contact with the sea, the fishes at or just below the sea surface began dying out quickly with even their bodies getting corroded.
"Damn the Poisonous Wolf Pirates!"
Witnessing the situation, Thatch's smiling face instantly darkened.
They were getting attacked even before landing. If the mist was not dealt with quickly, the Fourth Division ships would likely suffer some undesirable casualties.
Not to mention the ships belonging to the Second Division, which are situated just behind them.
"HIKEN!!"
At this moment, a roar suddenly reverberated throughout the area.
The next second, the color red illuminated heaven and earth.
A huge fist condensed from the fire could be seen approaching the poisonous mist at a rapid pace.
*BOOM!*
*Whoosh~*
The fire fist exploded just before making contact with the poisonous mist, creating a huge explosion.
The intense heat from the explosion caused the poisoned seawater to turn into vapor, while the shockwave resulting from the blast dispersed the mist.
A path opened up in front of the Second and Fourth Division ships leading toward Partridge Island.
Ron was completely in awe after witnessing the destructive power of a Logia Devil Fruit with his own eyes for the very first time.
"It's Fire Fist Ace!"
"Vice-Commander Ace is mighty!"
"He really lives up to his reputation of being the strongest rookie of recent years!"
"The power of a Logia fruit is too damn awesome!"
"The Poisonous Wolf Pirates don't stand a chance against us!"
"..."
For a moment, the crew onboard the ships belonging to the Fourth and Second Division of Whitebeard Pirates cheered continuously.
'Logia's power is truly extraordinary. The destructive power of that fire fist is stronger than most of the RPG's of my previous world.'
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A/N: "Fire Fist!!" or "Hiken!!"...
Which one do you guys prefer? (Just a '+1' comment in response to your prefer version will do.)
Fire Fist
Hiken
Personally, I like the Japanese version more as I had watched One Piece in Sub. For me, the japanese version had a different impact as everytime I read "Hiken!!", I also hear Ace calling out his attack in my mind.
Anyway,
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