One Piece: The Cryo Doctor on the Straw Hat Ship

Pull back the giant fist, gathering full power.

"Elephant gun!!!"

boom--!!!!

A burning giant fist collides head-on with a rubber giant fist hardened by Armament Haki!

A deafening explosion resounded through the sand valley, and flames and shockwaves exploded in a ring, blowing up the sand within a radius of 100 meters.

The scorching air currents mixed with sand and dust shot into the sky, forming a small sandstorm tornado.

At this moment, the moonlight seemed to be obscured by the scattered sparks and dust.

"As expected of you, Luffy!"

"but……"

Seeing his fiery fist easily defeated, Estun grinned.

Facing a blow that once left him utterly bewildered, he now appeared unusually nonchalant.

"Thank you, fate, for letting me meet you and V here!"

"I'm completely different now compared to a month ago!!!"

"Flame Demon - Liquid Wax Sprite!!!"

Chapter 97 Who says burning is worse than lava? (Seeking monthly votes~)

In an instant, a torrent of bright red viscous liquid burst forth from Ace's palm, like a blazing torrent of lava, rushing towards Luffy.

That's right.

After repeated discussions between V and Ace, Ace, who underwent cybernetic modifications, chose neither the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, which also allows for natural awakening, nor the Blast-Blast Fruit, which is more powerful and adaptable.

Ace's final choice was a Paramecia-type Wax Wax Fruit that wasn't particularly outstanding, and was even somewhat marginal!

And this is indeed the best result that both of them agree on.

Besides the fact that V's Devil Fruit ability pool is not yet full...

The Wax-Wax Fruit allows Ace to create matter out of thin air, greatly compensating for his lack of physical attack methods.

At the same time, the Flaming Fruit can also greatly stimulate the potential of the Wax Fruit.

In Mr. 3's hands, the Wax Wax Fruit only exists in two forms: liquid and solid.

However, wax actually has a third physical form.

That is the invisible, colorless, and transparent state that forms after the boiling point is exceeded—the gaseous state!

Perhaps Mr. 3 did not fully develop the Wax-Wax Fruit, or perhaps the Wax-Wax Fruit's ability simply does not possess this characteristic.

However, under the high temperature of the Flame-Flame Fruit, all the wax released by Ace can easily turn into tiny solid wax particles floating in the air.

This alone is enough to replace the power of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit.

Ace, who also possesses the abilities of two Devil Fruits, can store a large amount of flame energy in liquid wax and use the stickiness of the candle to adhere to the enemy's body surface for a long time, causing large-scale burns and scalds.

This form of burning, due to its long-lasting and sticky properties, can even cause penetrating damage to Armament Haki's defenses.

"Is this your new move?"

A glint flashed in Luffy's eyes.

Having overcome the three levels of side effects, his body instantly returned to normal.

Just then, molten wax surged towards Luffy like a tsunami.

Luffy instinctively used Armament Haki to defend himself.

The next moment, endless molten wax completely engulfed Luffy.

Upon seeing this, Ace revealed a smug, wicked smile.

"You were careless, Luffy!"

He chuckled softly.

Under Ace's control, the energy stored inside the wax melt suddenly exploded!

"Flame Wax - Sticky Burning!"

Ace gave a low shout, and the wax layer on Luffy's body suddenly burst out with a dazzling orange-red light. The high-temperature flames penetrated the wax layer and directly burned Luffy's rubber skin, making a "sizzling" scorching sound.

"It's so hot! It's so hot!" Luffy shouted and jumped up, his rubber body twisting violently as he tried to shake off the layers of wax clinging to him.

However, the wax was extremely sticky, and even if it was torn apart, it would quickly reform. The flames continued to burn, causing Luffy's skin to begin to show charred marks.

"It's not over yet!" Ace pressed his advantage, swinging his arms to send even more wax rising from the sand, condensing in the air into dozens of sharp wax spears, their tips wreathed in crimson flames.

"Flaming Wax - A Thousand Flaming Rains!"

Whoosh whoosh!

Burning wax spears rained down on Luffy, blocking all his space to dodge.

Each wax spear carries the dual threat of high temperature and physical penetration; even Luffy's rubber body would be injured if directly hit.

"Gear Second!" Luffy took a deep breath, and red steam instantly rose from his skin. The explosive force brought about by the accelerated flow of blood made him increase his speed dramatically.

"Rubber rubber - Jet machine gun!"

His arms transformed into countless afterimages, and his fists pounded out like a storm, shattering the incoming wax spears one by one.

However, the wax that splattered after the wax spear shattered still clung to his fist, and the flames continued to burn, causing Luffy's attack to falter.

"Damn it, this sticky stuff is so annoying!"

Luffy swung his hand, his brows furrowed.

Ace's combination of abilities is indeed troublesome; the stickiness of the wax and the continuous damage from the flames perfectly counter the rubber's weakness to high temperatures.

On the viewing platform, V stood with his arms crossed, his brain rapidly analyzing the battle: "Ace's development of his two Devil Fruits is faster than expected, and he can already achieve the combined attack of 'Flame Wax'."

"However, Luffy should still have a backup plan..."

Sure enough, Luffy suddenly stopped dodging and slammed his hands hard on the sand.

"Third Gear - Bone Balloon - Giant's Fist!"

His arms swelled into giant fists once again, but this time, the pitch-black Armament Haki not only covered his fists, but also spread across his entire arms like armor.

Armament Haki: Hardening!

As the domineering aura completely covered the area, the wax layer attached to the arm was directly shattered and peeled off by the hardened aura!

The flames, having lost their medium, quickly went out.

"Oh? Using Armament Haki to defend and peel off the wax layer?" Ace's eyes lit up. "A clever response! But my attacks don't stop there!"

He clasped his hands together, and a huge amount of wax gushed out from the sand beneath his feet, instantly condensing into a giant wax figure ten meters tall—the very form of Ace himself!

The wax figure's surface is covered with lava-like patterns, while its interior is filled with compressed fiery energy.

"Flame Demon - Giant Soldier Charge!"

The wax giant strode forward, each step causing the sand to tremble, and its burning giant fist slammed down towards Luffy!

Luffy grinned and advanced instead of retreating.

"Rubber rubber—shooting wildly like a gun!"

He unleashed both fists simultaneously, his Armament Haki-hardened giant fists colliding head-on with the wax giant's fiery fists!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amidst a series of explosions, Luffy forcefully shattered the wax giant's fist, but the broken pieces of wax reformed in mid-air, transforming into countless burning wax birds that attacked Luffy from all directions.

"It's not over yet!" Ace himself also soared into the air, flames erupting all over his body, "Fire Fist: Flame Up Tsuna!"

He unleashed two intersecting walls of fire with his fists, forming a three-dimensional encirclement with the wax birds in the air, completely trapping Luffy in the center.

"Luffy, how do you counter this move?!" Ace shouted.

Luffy stood surrounded by a sea of ​​fire and wax birds, yet his eyes beneath his straw hat shone brightly.

"Ace, you've gotten so much stronger... but I won't lose!"

He took a deep breath, his chest bulging, and the Armament Haki in his body contracted and condensed inward like a tide, finally focusing on his right fist.

The fist did not swell, but it emitted a chilling black luster, as if it could devour even light.

"This is...?" Ace's pupils contracted.

"The prototype of Gear Fourth... I'm still testing it." Luffy grinned, slowly pulling his right fist back. "But that's enough to shatter your wax figure!"

"Rubber, rubber—"

His figure vanished suddenly!

It's not the speed of second gear, but the ultimate burst of power!

"Jet Orochi Cannon!!!"

The jet-black fist shot out like a cannonball, tracing a zigzag path through the air before piercing through the wax giant's chest in an instant!

Boom! ...

The wax giant shattered with a crash, and the compressed flame energy inside exploded out of control, turning into a huge fireball that shot into the sky.

Luffy's punch continued, the aftershocks shattering all the wax birds around him, and the wall of fire was also torn apart by the force of his punch!

Ace landed back on the sand, looked at the dissipating flames and wax residue, and laughed loudly: "Amazing! As expected of my little brother!"

He dissipated the flames around him and clapped his hands: "That's enough, that's enough. This move is too taxing; I'll collapse if I keep going."

Luffy also deactivated his rubber body, which returned to normal. He had some scorch marks on his body, but he laughed heartily: "Ace, you really are amazing!"

On the viewing platform, V nodded slightly.

In this battle between Ace and Luffy, neither of them went all out, but they still demonstrated destructive power that surpassed that of a regular Shichibukai.

Ace, in particular, possessed a more comprehensive set of tactical skills through the combined use of two Devil Fruits, while Luffy's nascent Gear Fourth foreshadowed his entry into a new realm.

"Then, this ranking battle within the crew is now over," V announced through the megaphone. "The winner... is Luffy."