One Piece: The Cryo Doctor on the Straw Hat Ship

"really!"

"No exercise can compare to the thrill of cheating!"

V grinned and left the control room.

……

……

As soon as I returned to the real world, the scorching, dry, and sandy air hit me instantly.

V looked around, searching for Luffy.

However, the next second, his expression suddenly froze.

Not far from the battlefield, Luffy was sitting cross-legged on a small patch of un-crystallized sand, with an unfamiliar figure beside him.

A campfire burned between the two, and a huge desert lizard sat on top of it.

It is nearly ten meters long from head to tail, with a golden-brown skin that is sizzling and dripping with oil as it is roasted, its aroma spreading with the hot wind.

"V, you're back!?"

Upon seeing V, Luffy burst into laughter and waved his arms.

Seeing this, V's eyes flickered, and he took a few steps closer, his gaze falling on the stranger.

He was a young man wearing an orange cowboy hat, with freckles on his cheeks, and a black short jacket draped over his shoulders, the open front revealing his muscular chest.

Fire Fist Ace!

V originally planned to wait until he had dealt with all the issues in Alabasta before asking Vivi to help him find Ace.

I never expected him to show up at this time.

Ace, who was adding fuel to the fire, looked up at the sound and revealed a hearty smile:

"Oh, you're back."

"You must be V, right? Luffy just told me a lot about you."

He waved to V as he conjured flames to roast the meat out of thin air:

"Hello, I am Luffy's older brother, my name is Portgas D. Ace."

"Thank you for taking care of my willful younger brother along the way."

"Luffy's brother..."

"I never expected to run into you here."

V feigned surprise and peered over, then his eyes narrowed slightly:

"Portgas D. Ace... If I'm not mistaken, you must be Fire Fist Ace, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, right!?"

"As expected of Luffy's crewmate!" Ace smiled brightly, then showed V and Luffy the tattoos on his back:

"That's right, I am indeed with the Whitebeard Pirates right now."

"Huh? You joined someone else's pirate crew?"

Upon hearing this, Luffy let out a surprised cry.

“That’s right.” Ace nodded, then grinned and invited:

"Speaking of which, Luffy, V, do you want to come with me to the Whitebeard Pirates?"

"Whitebeard... is the best pirate I've ever seen!"

"No!" Luffy said decisively and resolutely.

V shook his head and laughed, "Forget it, Ace~"

"Even Whitebeard, one of the Four Emperors, is far too weak for us."

"Oh?" Ace, who was grilling meat, suddenly stopped releasing the flames.

He slowly raised his head, his eyes thoughtfully scrutinizing V.

"Even if she's Luffy's crewmate, I can't pretend I didn't hear that!"

V, who had just gained his newfound power, had eyes that gleamed with excitement:

"Since that's the case, why don't you come and prove it for yourself and see if you can make me take back what I said?"

"Perfect timing, I'm also eager to see just how strong the new world's experts are."

"Let's fight, Ace!"

Chapter 82 VVS Ace (Please continue reading~)

In the scorching desert, the air is distorted by the high temperature.

Ace slowly stood up, his eyes sharp beneath his orange cowboy hat, yet a cheerful smile remained on his lips:

"This isn't quite right..."

"It's not very friendly to start a fight as soon as you meet."

What do you think, Luffy?

"It's okay!"

Luffy, who had somehow already torn a piece of meat from the roasted lizard, answered with great enthusiasm as he chewed.

He acted as if he didn't see the tension between Ace and V.

Because he knew very well that both Ace and V were very sensible people.

Therefore, there must be a reason why the two of them do anything.

This is a great wisdom unique to Luffy.

Upon hearing this, Estun sighed helplessly.

"You really haven't changed at all, Luffy."

Immediately, a fierce light flashed in his eyes, and some scorching sparks burst from his body.

"In that case, let me show you... the power of the New World pirates!"

bake!!!

The moment Ace finished speaking, the flames surrounding him suddenly surged, transforming into a blazing ring of fire that spread outwards.

The desert's high temperatures were further intensified, and the heat waves in the air distorted into visible ripples.

"Is this the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit?"

"It doesn't seem as useless as people online say."

Feeling the suffocating heat rushing towards him, V instantly tensed up.

Although the Sand-Sand Fruit's power, which I just acquired, far surpasses the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, which is only at level 7, both in terms of environmental amplification and control over the fruit's power.

But just as V used the high temperature of the explosion to subdue Crocodile before...

High temperatures and intense flames are both weaknesses of sand.

Ace's mastery of the Flame-Flame Fruit, if not surpassing Crocodile's, was certainly on par with it.

In a collision between fire and sand of the same level, sand will always be at a disadvantage.

"It's alright." V grinned. "I have more than one Logia-type ability!"

"Watch out, I'm coming!"

Ace gave a cool smile and reminded V.

The next second, he swung his right fist forward with lightning speed.

A massive fiery fist shadow, over three meters in diameter, tore through the heatwave and hurtled toward V.

The orange-red light illuminated the entire sandy area, turning it a deep crimson.

Even before the flames arrived, the high temperature had already caused the sand and gravel on the ground to begin melting and crystallizing.

V, however, neither dodged nor avoided.

Faced with the overwhelming force of the fire fist, his eyes flashed, and his right arm instantly rose high.

"A white world!"

call! ! !

His arm suddenly elementalized, turning into billowing white smoke, like a giant python opening its blood-red maw to swallow the blazing flames.

The white, smoky python clashed violently with the blazing orange-red fist!

There was no earth-shattering explosion as expected, nor any mutual annihilation due to energy clashes.

In the instant it enveloped the flames, the smoke released by V collapsed and condensed rapidly as if it had a life of its own, forming a white sphere that enveloped the flames.

"Huh? It's also a Logia type?" Ace exclaimed in surprise.

Sizzle—!

Enveloped in smoke, Ace's fiery fist was compressed and consumed to the extreme until it disappeared.

V laughed and said, "Let's skip the probing, Ace!"

"Don't think that just because Luffy has just set sail, we are inexperienced rookie pirates who have never seen the world."

V's voice echoed across the desert.

"Show me your full strength, Ace!"

"Otherwise, you'll be disgracing Whitebeard!"

V once again provoked him.

Although this battle was a spur-of-the-moment decision, he still harbored the idea of ​​defeating Ace head-on.

Only in this way would the proud captain of the second division of the Whitebeard Pirates obediently listen to his opinions.

Since fate has brought Ace to meet them here, he will naturally do everything in his power to prevent Ace from dying.