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On the deck, Ace's entire body turned into a translucent, jelly-like state.
Seeing this, Luffy's eyes lit up with curiosity. He reached out, poked Ace's squishy form with a finger, and grinned. "Ace, I feel like you'd taste delicious..."
Ace: …
Sabo also stepped forward and pressed his hand against Ace's body.
"It's really cool and smooth," Sabo commented. "I bet it'd feel great to sleep while hugging you in summer!"
"Oi, Sabo… that's kinda dangerous thinking!"
The moment those words left his mouth, Ace immediately reverted to his normal form.
Even though he and Sabo were close, their bond was that of brothers—not whatever weird thing Sabo was implying.
Back in his original form, Ace sighed and muttered, "This fruit feels so useless."
Ikki patted him on the shoulder. "You're thinking about it the wrong way. Slime is an incredibly versatile thing!"
"In fact, even though it's classified as a Paramecia, your Slime-Slime Fruit honestly feels more like a Mythical Zoan!"
Ace shrugged helplessly. "No matter what type it is, if it doesn't help in battle, then it's still useless."
"Whether it has combat potential or not depends on how you develop it."
Ikki smirked. "Try merging your flames with your slime body."
Ace blinked, then nodded and gave it a shot.
His body turned into slime again, but this time, it shifted into a deep red hue.
"Wait… what the hell?"
Ace stared at his own body in disbelief. He could feel it—his very being had taken on the properties of fire. And judging by the sensation, fire wouldn't be able to harm him anymore.
Ikki grinned. "Alright, Nami, hit him with some elemental attacks."
Although Nami wasn't sure what Ikki was getting at, she complied. She conjured three elemental orbs—one of fire, one of water, and one of lightning.
The fireball hit Ace's body and was absorbed instantly.
The water ball, however, exploded into a burst of steam. While Ace couldn't absorb it—probably due to the Devil Fruit's natural weakness to water—the sheer heat of his body had evaporated it.
Then came the thunderball. The moment it struck, Ace went completely still, closing his eyes as if processing something. For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then, when he finally opened his eyes, wisps of electricity crackled across his slime-like body.
"Just as I thought," Ikki said with a smirk. "Lightning got absorbed too, becoming part of his own power."
The realization hit Ace.
With this ability, he was practically the worst nightmare for Logia users. Any Logia attack that hit him could be absorbed, making him immune to their abilities.
He was starting to see the true potential of the Slime-Slime Fruit.
From there, Ikki began explaining his thoughts on the fruit's abilities and possible ways to develop it.
Ace listened carefully, growing more and more convinced that this Devil Fruit was far more powerful than he initially believed.
By the end of the discussion, Ikki patted Ace's shoulder and declared, "Train the hell out of this fruit! It's a hundred times better than that lame-ass Flame-Flame Fruit that even a dog wouldn't eat!"
Ace was left speechless.
"I mean… c'mon, Ikki… the Flame-Flame Fruit is a Logia, after all…"
Hearing Ace's response, Ikki shrugged and asked, "Alright, then let me ask you—what's the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit?"
Ace replied without hesitation, "Obviously, it's fire!"
"Right," Ikki continued. "Now, let me ask you this—how many people on the Grand Line can use fire in battle without the Flame-Flame Fruit?"
Ace opened his mouth but quickly found himself unable to argue.
While only a handful of fire users had appeared in the past, after spending time in the New World, Ace had encountered many powerful fighters who could wield or generate flames without a Devil Fruit.
When it came to pure skill with fire, he wasn't even the best among them.
Seeing Ace's silence, Ikki smirked. "And on top of that, flames have a natural temperature limit unless they're enhanced by a catalyst. No matter how much you develop your ability, all you can really do is change the shape or size of the flames—you can't keep raising their heat indefinitely."
Ace suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.
For the first time, he realized just how limited the Flame-Flame Fruit truly was…
"Ugh..." With a sigh, he handed the Tiger Talisman back to Ikki.
Ikki, however, shook his head. "You should hold onto it for now. You still need time to get used to controlling two Devil Fruits. Once you've fully adjusted, then you can return it to me."
"Just be careful with it. Try not to grip it too hard."
Ace raised an eyebrow. "Why? You think I'll break it?"
"I'm not worried about the talisman breaking," Ikki said with a smirk. "I'm worried that if you do break it… you'll split yourself in half."
Ace had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but he nodded seriously, making a mental note to be careful.
As Ace focused on figuring out how to develop his Slime-Slime Fruit, the Straw Hats returned to their usual routines—until a new island appeared on the horizon.
"Is that Ruluka Island?"
Hearing Ikki mention the name, Vivi turned to him curiously. "Ikki, have you been there before?"
"Yeah," Ikki nodded. "I think this'll be an interesting adventure."
Soon, the Going Merry docked at the port of Ruluka Island.
Just as everyone was about to disembark, an armored soldier approached them.
"Hey! Here on Ruluka Island, you have to pay a port tax to dock your ship."
His tone wasn't arrogant—just businesslike. It was clear that collecting taxes was standard procedure on this island.
Nami, who cherished money like her own life, immediately scowled. "Wait… we have to pay just for stopping here?"
The soldier shrugged. "It's not up to me. The mayor set this rule. If you don't pay, I'll have to arrest you for illegally entering the island."
As he finished speaking, his grip tightened on the spear resting on his shoulder.
Just then, a familiar voice shouted, "FOOD! FOOD! FOOD!"
A blur shot past them—Luffy, of course—who had already leaped off the ship and was sprinting toward the town.
The soldier instinctively tried to raise his weapon, but before he could react, Luffy barreled straight through him, knocking him aside like a ragdoll.
"Oi! Luffy, don't eat everything! Leave some for the locals!"
Ikki dashed after him, but as he passed the fallen soldier, his eyes flashed—and in the next moment, the man collapsed, unconscious.
This island was currently ruled by a pirate.
Of course, as the mayor, he couldn't openly plunder the people. So instead, he found a more convenient way to exploit them—through endless taxation.
You had to pay taxes to have a child.
You had to pay taxes to eat.
You had to pay taxes to buy anything.
You even had to pay taxes just to walk down the street.
The sheer number of taxes had made life on Ruluka Island unbearable for its residents.