9 Semi awakening

Dalton was sweating while standing before Ace; it was quite rare for him to sweat considering his Bison powers.

"Stop, don't go near him!"

Dalton forcibly ignored his nervousness and shouted loudly. His soldiers were still moving towards Ace, trying to arrest him for trespassing.

But Dalton knew better; his zoan body was refusing to move. Ace was a scary man—a dangerous one.

"Huh, captain Dalton? Why should we let him go? He is trespassing in King Wapol's territory."

The soldiers stopped after Dalton's command, but they were not too happy. Ace was right there and had no weapons in his hand.

"Just shoot him, captain Dalton is probably confused."

One soldier suddenly shouted from the back. This particular soldier never liked Dalton, and this seemed like a good chance to ignore his authority and undermine him.

The remaining soldiers were moved, and some of them seemed to agree with this soldier in their hearts. But Dalton was getting more and more nervous.

His Bison senses were scanning Ace all this time. And Ace was grinning at them; he didn't seem to care at all that they were about to shoot him!

'Is he not scared of getting shot at? This sounds crazy, but it's the only conclusion that makes sense.'

'Who is he? Even I am scared of so many bullets. My hybrid Bison form can take 20 to 30 bullets at max before I die. And there are hundreds of soldiers here.'

Dalton clenched his fist. He was trying to think of a way to break the game. But the one soldier who didn't like Dalton thought this was another great opportunity.

"What are you scared of, Captain Dalton? Or do you want to save this man?"

The soldier grinned and accused Dalton, which shook the hearts of some soldiers. None of them had senses as good as Dalton, so they didn't realize that Dalton wasn't saving Ace, but them.

"Captain Dalton, let's catch this man alive first; we can interrogate him later."

Another soldier asked Dalton tentatively, but there were more opposing voices supporting Dalton.

The soldiers had now begun debating amongst themselves; they had left Ace alone and were more interested in shutting down the opposition.

"Your soldiers are not very efficient."

Dalton, who was trying to calm down his soldiers, suddenly heard this sentence in his ear.

His hair stood on end, and he immediately stepped back. Turning into his human Bison hybrid.

"You? How did you get here?"

Dalton picked up his weapon and pointed towards Ace, who was currently standing behind him, with his hands in his pocket.

"I walked."

Ace laughed lightly. Dalton was about to reply, but Ace swiftly grabbed his shoulder as if they were friends.

"Keep your voice down, man. You don't want your soldiers to die, right?"

Ace muttered slowly; his head was down, and he had a smile on his face as he said these words.

Dalton immediately felt silent; he considered this a clear threat.

"What do you want? Just let my men go."

Dalton compromised; normally he would fight Ace, but he had his men with him, whom he wanted to protect.

"You gave up so easily? I swear I thought you would fight me until you collapse."

"Well, that's fine. I want one thing from you. Work for me, Dalton. I am Ace by the way, Portgas D Ace."

Ace held down his hat and smiled widely. Dalton was shocked at this invitation; he thought Ace would ask for the kingdom's secrets, not this.

"I am sorry; the previous king told me to protect this kingdom. I can't go with you."

Dalton shook his head and refused. Ace hummed and gazed at Dalton. 

"Wrong choice; did you forget your men's lives are still in my hands? Well whatever."

"Then do another thing for me; I will stay in this kingdom for a while; give me a legitimate citizenship."

"I didn't know this place was a restricted area. I came here by mistake. I don't want your soliders hunting me down constantly because of this."

Ace let go of Dalton and shrugged. Dalton couldn't believe his ears. Ace actually let them go so easily?

"I will get it done. Don't worry, you are a free citizen of Drum Island from today."

Dalton assured Ace, and Ace patted his shoulder. He liked this simple and loyal man. Too bad he didn't want to join his crew of misfits.

"Great, I heard there is an old witch living here. I will go visit her now. You can convince your soldiers at your pace."

"And my invitation is still open. Your devil fruit has potential, but you are wasting its powers. I can make you much stronger."

Ace once again sent out an invitation, but Dalton stood straight and firmly refused. Ace just rolled his eyes and ignored the man.

He waved and walked forward. This was when Ace's body twisted a little and somehow vanished into thin air.

Dalton's eyes bulged, he rubbed his eyes, and Ace was really gone.

"What was that? It looked like he merged with the island for a second. But he also seemed to release heat, like he was a fireball."

Dalton was confused, although he was glad he hadn't fought Ace after seeing this display of power.

Looking back at his men, Dalton rubbed his forehead. They were still arguing with each other and had no idea that Ace had left.

Meanwhile, at a place 1 kilometer from here, Ace suddenly popped out of thin air, as if he had manifested in this spot.

"Huff huff, what was that?? I accidentally merged with the island for second? Did I trigger my awakening by mistake..!"

"I was curious and allowed myself to soak into the snow logia's awakening, and it triggered my own awakening for a brief moment."

"Shame, I don't think I can do this at will. This one trick consumed almost all my strength."

Ace was currently holding and panting against a tree; he was still tasting the semi-awakening he had just now. He felt as if the whole island was his territory at that time. 

"Huff huff, I cannot trigger this again for some reason. I am yet to master this ability."

Ace felt his low stamina and concluded his situation. He then stopped trying to trigger his awakening and decided to think about it later.

He would stay here for a while. He will get the hang of this power eventually. Anyway, he had a ready-made example of snow awakening all around him.

"Huff, Let's see where the mountain Chopper lives. Maybe it's that one; it seems tall enough."

Ace looked up and grabbed his hat. He then chuckled, took a deep breath and began walking through the snow.

Chopper and his rumble balls were Ace's next target. Chopper had made something truly special with his rumble balls.

And Ace was going to steal that formula for himself.