Starting with Kengan beating up the Pirate King

Chapter 23 The Spade Pirates

"It spoke! That thing... is it human, or something else...?"

Upon hearing Guan Yi's invitation, Deus's mouth gaped open, and he stammered, "What do you mean?"

Ace gradually regained his composure, stroking his chin as he said, "I have a younger brother who is a Devil Fruit user. I see, is it a fire-based ability? It seems more suited for combat."

He surveyed the scorched earth within a hundred meters, and the dozens of bird carcasses emitting the smell of burning, and couldn't help but sigh, "That's quite an impressive ability... Hey! Can we really eat whatever we want? Then I won't hold back!"

As he spoke, he walked to the nearest bird carcass and began to tear at the charred parts with his hands.

"Wow, it's so hot!"

Tearing off the charred fur, the meat inside was cooked just right. Ace couldn't wait to take a bite, his eyes lighting up: "It smells delicious, Deus!"

To be honest, without seasonings or removing the feathers and bleeding, how could it possibly taste good? It's just that when people are extremely hungry, everything tastes delicious.

Ace only brought three days' worth of food and water with him when he went to sea, and he finished it in two days. For the remaining three days, just like Guan Yi, he would catch a fish in the sea to eat when he was hungry, and he was never full.

Seeing Ace's appearance, Deus, who had been starving for even longer, swallowed hard. He still kept a wary eye on Guan Yi, but the Fireman from before was nowhere to be seen.

What came into his view was a young man of similar age to him and Ace, shirtless, revealing well-defined muscle lines, clean and refreshing, and unremarkable in appearance.

Having just eaten the fruit, his control wasn't quite there yet. He managed to extinguish all the flames, and Guan Yi walked over and said, "Eat up, eat up, let's eat together!"

Three people, three birds.

Ace had an extraordinary appetite, and Guan Yi also ate quite a lot in one meal. The two of them could eat several times more than Ace.

As they ate, the three gradually became acquainted and introduced themselves to each other. Deus finally realized that Guan Yi was human and felt relieved.

Ace lay on the ground, patting his round belly contentedly, and said, "By the way, Ian, how long have you been on this island?"

"It's been over a month," Guan Yi said nonchalantly. "I've been dealing with these strange birds all day, and today I finally killed them all."

"More than a month? Has it been that long?" Diuss looked surprised. "How come I haven't seen you here... Oh right, you've been here on Rocky Mountain the whole time. I thought it was all bare here, so I didn't come over..."

Thank goodness he didn't come. He thought to himself with relief, otherwise I probably would have become bird food.

Thinking of this, he felt a little frustrated: "I thought there were no animals here, but I didn't expect there to be so many strange birds. But there are only a few dozen. If we store them properly and eat them sparingly, we should be able to survive for another month, but after a month... we're afraid we'll starve to death on this island."

"Why don't we just set sail?" Ace interrupted. "Use my ship, let's go to sea!"

“How could that be possible!” Deus’s voice became agitated. “Where is this? It’s a notorious anthill hell! Didn’t you see? So many ships have turned into rotten wood here. With your sampan? It will be washed away by the current in no time! Even someone as capable as Ian has been trapped on this island for more than a month.”

"How will you know if you don't try? Right, Ian?" Ace just laughed.

"Okay, let's give it a try," Guan Yi said with a smile.

Having eaten the fruit, leaving the island by moonwalking without a boat would be quite difficult and risky. He knew that the two of them must have a way to leave the island.

“You two…” Deus rubbed his forehead in exasperation, then sighed after a couple of seconds: “Alright, let’s give it a try. First, we need to reinforce your ship. Ace… Ace? Ace?! Why did he suddenly fall asleep?!”

……

An hour later, in the dense forest by the sea.

Deus looked at the tree, which was about three people tall, and measured it, saying, "Hmm...we need it to be about this long to this long. We don't have an axe or anything, but Ian, you should be able to knock it down, right?"

Guan Yi nodded, stretched out his right hand, and flames enveloped it, gradually shaping it into a flaming blade, which he then slashed down with a whoosh.

“Oh—” Ace called out softly from behind.

Whoosh—flames leaped, and the entire tree was instantly engulfed in raging flames!

"Whoa!" Ace and Deus jumped back.

“No way.” Guan Yi shook his head as he watched the trees in front of him burn to ashes in the fire. “I can’t control it with that much precision yet.”

He waved his hand in time, preventing the flames from spreading further, and looked to the side, saying, "That tree is about the same size, is it alright?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the flames on his arm dissipated, and he enhanced his arm with Armament Haki. He then flashed to the side, and with his eagle-shaped claws, he tore apart a piece of wood as tall as a person, which he then grabbed.

The upper part of the lush tree fell over, and Ace said thoughtfully, "That looks like..."

Deus's lips twitched: "If that's possible, why did we burn a tree earlier? We need at least ten pieces like this!"

"It's fine, it's enough."

Guan Yi moved swiftly, and amidst the continuous sounds of trees falling to the ground, he quickly piled up ten logs of roughly the same size.

Dios was speechless: "Amazing..."

Ace couldn't help but ask, "Ian, what power did you just use...?"

"That's called Haki, Armament Haki." Guan Yi laughed, "Want to learn? I'll teach you."

"Is it the ability that Grandpa can use to hurt Luffy?" Ace's eyes lit up and he said, "Then I'll leave it to you!" Intercepting the Flame-Flame Fruit only increased Guan Yi's life points by 170, which was far too little for a key figure like Ace.

Would Ace have been unremarkable without a Devil Fruit? Impossible. Ace's strength lay in his talent, inherited from the Pirate King Roger. He was born with the potential to stand at the top.

At this point, he had already awakened Conqueror's Haki. Under Guan Yi's guidance, he soon understood what Armament Haki was and quickly mastered its most basic application. What followed was daily training and practice.

Watching the two of them teaching and learning, only Deus, with a dark face, was roasting the wood Guan Yi had chopped over a charcoal fire, carbonizing it to increase its waterproofness and durability.

"Honestly, you two were so sure you could set sail... Forget it, I can't really trust you with this job."

All main characters receive a beginner's gift pack when they set sail.

Luffy picked up Zoro.

Ace's gift pack is Deuce.

As a medical student from a family with a long tradition of medical education, Deus learned a great deal in order to become an outstanding adventure novelist. He was able to serve as a ship's doctor, shipwright, and navigator all at the same time, making him a true all-rounder.

A few days later, Ace's ship had changed its appearance.

"Amazing..." Ace walked around the ship twice, completely unable to recognize it.

Diuss stood proudly to the side: "I've named it 'The Stormer,' hoping we can break through the hellish currents off this island!"

As he spoke, his expression grew even more grim: "In two hours, the ocean currents around this anthill hell will be at their weakest. Whether we live or die will depend on this one battle!"

"Two hours left? Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Ace and Guan Yi exchanged a glance, and the two quickly ran towards the giant ship.

A short while later, Guan Yi ran back carrying two boxes of jewelry, while Ace carried two roasted birds.

"Hey...you two, the Stormtrooper's carrying capacity is limited. Are these things more important than our lives?!" Deus said speechlessly.

"Huh?" Ace was taken aback. "Oh, you're not bringing the roasted bird? We should at least have a meal before we set sail!"

"We must take these two boxes of jewelry." Guan Yi placed them on the bow of the boat: "To weigh down the bow."

Shipwrecked? Deus had a bad feeling.

More than an hour later, the three boarded the Stormtrooper. Guan Yi sat at the stern, while Ace and Deuce sat at the bow, tightly clutching two large boxes.

"Are you ready?"

“Hey, you don’t have to do that, do you?” Deus said, his face pale. “The ship will fall apart.”

"Haha, otherwise, we can't break through this current by just using the oars." Guan Yi laughed and said, "Hold on tight... Flame Jet!"

boom--

Two pillars of fire shot into the seawater from his outstretched palms, the powerful force acting as a propulsive force that propelled the ship forward.

Like a speedboat, the Stormtrooper plunged into the devilish current in an instant, clashing with its power and increasing its fire output.

With a whoosh, after a brief stalemate, the Charger roared and soared through the waves, scattering seawater everywhere!
"Whoa—it's capsized! The boat's going to capsize!"

Amidst the turbulent waters, Deus screamed in terror. Amidst wave after wave, Ace laughed heartily and put his arm around Deus's shoulder.

"Don't be afraid, Deus, isn't this the adventure you've always wanted?!"

"I just write adventure novels!!"

"That's not important," Ace said. "I've made up my mind. Join my ship and be my doctor. Let's write the best adventure story together, Deuce! And Ian, be my first mate! I hereby declare the 'Spade Pirates' officially formed!"

"Don't announce that kind of thing unilaterally!"

Guan Yi turned around and asked, "Why is it called the 'Spade Pirates'?"

Ace was taken aback: "Ah, why? Because spades are the highest of the four suits. Since I'm going to set sail, I want to be the freest pirate!"

“But spades also symbolize misfortune and death, don’t they?” Guan Yi added, “That’s unlucky. I think it would be better to call it hearts.”

"Ah, this..."

“I won’t get on the ship.” Guan Yi smiled and stopped nitpicking about the name. “But if I ever hear that you’re in trouble, Ace, I might help you if I can and don’t have to risk my life. Well, just maybe.”

"...You've got so many qualifiers, it's really hard to get excited about this," Ace couldn't help but complain, then laughed, "Then it's a promise, you have to come, Ian!"

A large wave crashed in, splashing water onto the boy's spirited face.

"The Spade Pirates! They've set sail!!"

(End of this chapter)