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After hearing Ikki's words, the Straw Hats all looked shocked.
"Hey... are you kidding me? You'll die if you eat two Devil Fruits!"
The one who spoke was Bon Clay. After eating the Clone-Clone Fruit, he realized it didn't enhance his combat power much. At one point, he even considered eating another fruit—until he learned the deadly consequence. It was said that a person could only eat one Devil Fruit in their lifetime. Eating a second one would result in instant death. That warning alone kept him from ever trying it.
Rumors claimed that Devil Fruits contained demons. If two demons clashed within the same body, the result would be an instant explosion…
Ace didn't speak immediately after hearing Ikki's words. Instead, he waited silently, observing. He knew Ikki wouldn't say something like this without a reason.
If it was truly possible to eat two Devil Fruits, Ace would definitely consider it.
Why? Because of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Whitebeard still proclaimed himself the strongest in the world, but all the division commanders knew the truth—his health was worsening by the day. If he fell, the Whitebeard Pirates would crumble. And with Big Mom and the Beast Pirates watching closely, waiting for an opportunity, they wouldn't stand a chance.
There was no one in the crew strong enough to take Whitebeard's place.
Ace couldn't bear to see that happen. The only thing he could do was grow stronger—to protect the people who had become his family.
As everyone focused their attention on Ikki, he pulled out the Tiger Talisman.
The Straw Hats were familiar with talismans. After all, Ikki had used them more than once before.
"Huh? This isn't the monkey one..."
Before Luffy could finish his sentence, he noticed something different. Unlike the Monkey Talisman, which had a monkey design, this one had two tigers on it.
"This is the Tiger Talisman," Ikki explained. "Its ability is to regulate yin and yang. As long as you hold it, you can eat multiple Devil Fruits."
A heavy silence fell over the group.
Being able to eat two Devil Fruits was already unheard of… but multiple? That was beyond shocking.
Still, despite their disbelief, no one in the Straw Hats doubted Ikki. He had already performed too many miracles. His talismans had shown powers beyond imagination. If the Monkey Talisman could transform people into animals, then it wasn't impossible for the Tiger Talisman to break the Devil Fruit limit.
"Ikki... are you serious?"
The first to snap out of his shock was Sabo.
Eating multiple Devil Fruits… the potential for increased strength was unimaginable.
"Really!" Ikki nodded, then turned his gaze to Ace.
Seeing this, Ace grinned, picked up the Devil Fruit, and said, "Then I'll try it! If I can eat multiple Devil Fruits, it doesn't matter if this one turns out to be useless!"
Ikki handed the Tiger Talisman to Ace and reminded him, "Don't grip it too tightly."
Although Ace didn't understand why, he followed Ikki's instructions and held the Tiger Talisman gently.
The moment Ace touched the talisman, a white light flashed and sank into his body.
Everyone saw it happen, but Ace felt it the most. A new energy spread through him, and he could sense that his Devil Fruit powers and Haki were merging in a way they never had before.
Curious, he snapped his fingers. A small flame flickered to life at his fingertips—but it was different. The fire was a deeper, darker red than usual.
That was because his flames were now infused with Haki.
Feeling the power of the Tiger Talisman for himself, Ace no longer doubted Ikki's words. Without hesitation, he bit into the Devil Fruit.
The moment he swallowed, he felt two auras clashing inside him, expanding so violently that it felt like his body was going to burst.
But before the pressure became unbearable, the Tiger Talisman worked its magic, balancing the two forces and stabilizing his body.
—
Everyone watched Ace closely. When they saw the smile forming on his lips, they knew—he had succeeded.
Ace opened his eyes and handed the Tiger Talisman back to Ikki.
Ikki took it and said, "Without the talisman's assistance, you can only use one Devil Fruit ability at a time—not both at once."
Ace nodded in understanding. Then, with a single thought, his body began to change—it became somewhat transparent.
Sanji immediately jumped forward in excitement. "Wait... is this the legendary Clear-Clear Fruit?!"
If it really was, he'd regret it for the rest of his life. After all… invisibility was his second greatest dream.
And as for why? Everyone already knew the answer. (Peeking into the women's bathhouse...)
"It's not invisibility," Ikki corrected, shaking his head. "We can still see Ace."
Ace confirmed it himself. "Yeah, it's not the Clear-Clear Fruit. It's the Slime-Slime Fruit."
"A weird Paramecia-type fruit."
"Slime-Slime Fruit?!" Sanji looked dumbfounded. "There's a slime-type Devil Fruit?!"
Ace nodded. "This is the first time I've heard of it too. But... it's honestly a pretty weak fruit. The attack power is low, and its only real advantage might be that it's immortal."
Everyone went silent.
Immortal… and that's supposed to be weak?!
Ikki, however, didn't think the fruit was weak at all. When he heard "slime," the first thing that came to his mind was the legendary king of slimes.
Even though this Devil Fruit didn't grant something like Great Sage, slime-based abilities had plenty of potential.
After all, a Devil Fruit's strength depended on how the user developed it.
Slime had a lot of useful properties: it was immortal, elementally adaptive, could absorb attacks, and even split into clones.
With enough creativity, the Slime-Slime Fruit could be incredibly powerful.
Compared to some Devil Fruits that barely had any use (looking at you, Jacket-Jacket Fruit), this one had massive potential.
And honestly, in the later stages of One Piece, practically everyone could use fire in some way. Even back in the early days, Sanji had already unlocked Diable Jambe all on his own.
So, compared to the Flame-Flame Fruit, the Slime-Slime Fruit had way more room for growth.