At the naval port of the central island, hundreds of Marines, led by a group of field-grade officers, stood in neat, orderly formations according to their respective units.
The recruit formation.
The East Blue First Combat Sequence.
The East Blue Second Combat Sequence.
The Fortress Defense Sequence.
The Pirate Guerilla Force Sequence.
The Logistics Support Sequence.
And so on...
The scene looked exactly like a military parade.
At that moment, an ironclad warship was passing through the fortress gates, slowly sailing toward the central island. Since an Admiral was arriving, Sean had arranged a proper welcoming ceremony.
However, this was only because it was Akainu. Had it been either of the other two, Sean likely wouldn't have bothered with such arrangements. To be honest, he held very little respect for the other two of the current Admirals.
Most importantly, back when Sean was purging the pirates of the East Blue, Akainu—who was stationed in the New World—had gone out of his way to call Headquarters and express his support for Sean to Sengoku. In several subsequent incidents, Akainu had also spoken in Sean's favor.
Sean had never forgotten those favors.
The warship slowly docked, and the gangplank was lowered. A group of over a dozen people, led by Akainu, stepped off. Among them was Gion and a collection of general-grade officers under Akainu's command.
It had to be said that an Admiral possessed an incredible amount of prestige. His direct subordinates alone included seven Commodores, three Rear Admirals, and one Vice Admiral.
In contrast, Gion had only one general-grade officer under her—and that officer was merely a Commodore.
The gap between an Admiral candidate and a full Admiral was only a single step, but that step represented an immense difference in power and influence. Once you crossed it, you became one of the strongest beings on the seas and a true core power player within the Marine.
If you couldn't make that leap, you were effectively nothing. After all, an Admiral possessed a high degree of operational autonomy and could mobilize the forces of any branch at will. Even a Vice Admiral—even one as special as an Admiral candidate—had very little autonomy and could only follow orders.
"Admiral Sakazuki, welcome to the 16th Branch!"
"Sean, you look even younger than I imagined. And the 16th Branch is far more magnificent than what I've seen in the newspapers. You... have done quite well!"
"The Admiral overpraises me!"
"There is no need for modesty. Among the younger generation of Marines, there are very few who catch my eye, but you are certainly one of them," Akainu said with a wave of his hand.
This wasn't mere pleasantry; Akainu wasn't the type of man to engage in empty flattery. Everything he said was his honest opinion. Otherwise, he wouldn't have repeatedly requested Sengoku to transfer Sean to his command.
"I heard from Gion that the elite nature of the Marines in the 16th Branch far surpasses that of Headquarters. Would you mind letting me see for myself?"
"Of course. Admiral Sakazuki, this way please!"
Sean didn't mind. The strength of the 16th Branch's Marines was no secret. With that, he led the group toward the training grounds.
"Admiral Sakazuki, is there a specific type of demonstration you wish to see?"
"Don't make it too complicated. I have seven Commodores with me. Just let your Marines challenge them. They can fight individually or in teams; that would be the most direct way to gauge their strength."
"Understood!"
'''
A few minutes later, at the branch's main training grounds.
Seven Commodores from Marine Headquarters stood in a line. Sean then announced the rules of the challenge to all the assembled Marines.
The announcement left the Marines feeling apprehensive.
What was the strength of a Commodore? That was the same rank as Lucci—and Lucci had only just been promoted. Forget about teaming up; even if a whole company charged in, they might not be able to win.
For a moment, everyone hesitated. Facing someone of Lucci's caliber felt like signing up for a beating.
From the viewing stand, Akainu looked down at the 16th Branch Marines, noting their visible hesitation. He was somewhat surprised.
According to Gion, every single one of these Marines had at least 300 Doriki. If ten of them teamed up, they might not be able to defeat his Commodores, but with good coordination, they should at least be able to hold them off for a significant amount of time.
Besides, he hadn't said there was a ten-person limit. They could have formed teams of twenty. Why were they all cowering before the fight had even begun?
'Did Gion greatly exaggerate the strength of Sean's men?' Akainu wondered, his brow furrowing.
However, in the next instant, someone from the 16th Branch ranks stepped forward.
"I'll do it!"
Hearing the voice, Akainu looked over. It was a Marine Lieutenant. But why was he alone?
"Lieutenant, you intend to challenge them alone?" Akainu asked, standing up.
"Yes, Admiral. I should be enough!"
"Very well. Pick your opponent."
Akainu was speechless. This guy was far too arrogant. A mere Lieutenant dared to claim he could take on a Headquarters Commodore in a one-on-one fight? None of the Commodores under Akainu's command were weaklings.
However, what Akainu didn't know was that the Lieutenant was about to say something even more absurd.
"I'm not sure how strong these seven are. How about this: just have the strongest among them step forward. Would that be alright?"
'Boom...'
The entire training ground erupted in shock.
The men under Akainu looked upon the Lieutenant with contempt for his delusions of grandeur. Meanwhile, the Marines of the 16th Branch began whispering among themselves, wondering if the guy had suffered a head injury.
Had he forgotten how Lucci routinely crushed them? These people were all Commodores, just like Lucci!
Up on the stand, Akainu was almost laughing from sheer irritation. A branch Lieutenant was this oblivious to the heavens and earth. Forget 300 Doriki—even if he had 600, he wouldn't stand a chance against a Headquarters Commodore.
"Fine. Let's see if you actually have the strength. Doan, you go!"
Having said that, Akainu sat back down. He even leaned over to Sean and asked, "Are all the Marines in the 16th Branch this delusional?"
What could Sean possibly say? He could only give a strained smile.
Delusional? No. Ace really could take down a Marine Commodore.
After all, his Doriki had surpassed a thousand, and he possessed a Logia-type Devil Fruit. Not only that, but with Sean's guidance, the development of his fruit abilities had undergone a complete transformation compared to the original timeline.
Forget a Commodore; even a Rear Admiral might stumble against him. Only those Vice Admirals with high mastery of Haki could truly suppress the current Ace.
Soon, the first man among the seven Commodores walked to the center of the field, stopping ten meters away from Ace.
On the stand, Sean raised his right hand. He glanced at Ace, then at Doan, and then swept his hand down.
"Begin!"
'Swoosh!'
The moment the signal was given, Ace activated Soru, lunging forward with explosive speed.
"Oh, his Soru is quite proficient. His speed is impressive!"
Despite his earlier claims that Ace was overestimating himself, Akainu couldn't help but voice his admiration after witnessing the scene. Much of the annoyance he felt toward the young man had vanished.
As the two combatants continued to clash in a blur of movement, a look of genuine shock finally crossed Akainu's face. He could tell that Doan was already fighting at seventy percent of his full strength, yet Ace was still holding his own without falling behind.
Who was Doan? He was a Commodore under Akainu's command.
And he was far more than just a typical Commodore. In terms of raw power, he was not inferior to any Rear Admiral at Headquarters. However, much like Akainu himself, Doan pursued victory at any cost during combat, never hesitating to strike even if it meant endangering his own allies.
According to the records, more than ten Marines had died and hundreds more had been injured as collateral damage from his attacks. Because of this, even with Akainu protecting him, Doan had received several disciplinary marks from Headquarters. This was precisely why he had not been promoted to Rear Admiral, despite having both the strength and the military merit.
He was undoubtedly the strongest Commodore under Akainu. Yet, even at seventy percent capacity, he was locked in a stalemate with a mere Lieutenant.
How could Akainu not be shocked?
"Sean, is he really just a Lieutenant?"
"He is. Because branches cannot directly appoint field-grade officers, and the current number of field-grade officers already exceeds the quota for a second-class branch, we are temporarily unable to promote him."
At that moment, Akainu remembered. Although the 16th Branch had been upgraded, it was still only a second-class branch.
What was the standard quota for a second-class branch? One Commodore as the branch head, one Captain, two Commander, and four Lieutenant Commanders.
The current officer roster of the 16th Branch, however, consisted of one Vice Admiral, one Commodore, two Captains, three Commander, and six Lieutenant Commanders.
It was completely over capacity. Even if they reported the promotion of a single Lieutenant Commander, Headquarters would almost certainly reject it, let alone a higher rank.
"In that case, we should implement survival of the fittest. Those who lack strength should vacate their positions!"
"That is..."
"Why? Is there a problem with that?"
"Admiral Sakazuki, five of the field-grade officers at the 16th Branch are instructors from the Elite Training Camp. They are only stationed here temporarily, so they cannot be moved."
"I am aware of that. What about the others? Aren't there still six other field-grade officers?"
"As for the remaining six, the weakest among them is currently around the same level as Ace."
'''
Good grief.
If this guy named Ace hadn't reached the level of a Rear Admiral, he was certainly at the top tier of Commodores. And now Sean was telling him that the 'worst' of the other six field-grade officers was of that same caliber?
If this was true, the reality was far more exaggerated than what Gion had reported!
"Sean, I didn't realize you had so many hidden dragons and crouching tigers under your command. I underestimated him. Even if this Ace loses to Doan, his strength is still staggering."
"Admiral Sakazuki, actually, Ace is an ability user—a Logia user, at that!"
"What?"
Akainu had thought Ace's performance was impressive enough, but he assumed Ace would eventually lose since Doan was only using seventy percent of his power. But what had he just heard from Sean?
The kid was a Devil Fruit user, and a Logia?
'Damn. Can Doan even win now?'
Akainu thought about it and realized... it seemed unlikely, unless Ace had eaten a particularly garbage Logia fruit.
"Which Logia did he eat?"
"The Flame-Flame Fruit!"
"Hmm? That fruit? If I recall correctly, that is an inferior version of my Magma-Magma Fruit, isn't it?"
'Inferior?' Sean scoffed internally. 'Maybe the Magma-Magma Fruit is the inferior one!'
In the original story, Ace's Flame-Flame Fruit could only reach temperatures of around 1,000 degrees, which was completely countered by the Magma-Magma Fruit's 1,400 degrees.
But... could fire really only reach a thousand degrees? Obviously not.
So, what was the maximum temperature fire could reach? The answer was: there was no limit.
Because of this, Sean had provided Ace with numerous suggestions for developing his fruit abilities. He had ordered Ace to spend two hours every day studying at the underground research lab—specifically, learning everything related to the science of fire.
Sean had once told Ace that there were two keys to determining the development speed and the ceiling of a Devil Fruit: knowledge and imagination.
Knowledge was the most critical. Take Enel, for example; because he lacked the necessary scientific knowledge, his application of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was limited to increasing voltage. He didn't realize that electricity could generate heat or magnetism. If Enel had possessed a vast reserve of knowledge, he could have used the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to fire electromagnetic railguns.
Even Whitebeard was the same. If he had mastered advanced physics, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit could have had far more terrifying applications. Unfortunately, they lacked the necessary academic foundation.
This was why studying was so important.
On the training grounds, after another clash, the two fighters leaped back, returning to their original positions about ten meters apart.
Doan's expression had shifted from initial disdain to solemnity. During this exchange, Ace had utilized all five of the Six Powers except for Moonwalk. Every move was executed with such proficiency that he was barely inferior to Doan himself. As for Moonwalk, although he hadn't seen it yet, Doan was certain Ace had mastered it.
Still, Doan believed he held the advantage. His basic physique was stronger, and his application of the Six Powers was more seasoned. Furthermore, he still hadn't used his full power.
"Not bad. I acknowledge you. I'm going to go all out now—be careful!"
"Perfect. It's about time the warm-up ended!"
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"I mean... I haven't been using my full power either!"
In the next instant, terrifying flames erupted, engulfing Ace until he became a man of fire. The dark red flames were approximately 600 degrees, and the temperature of the entire training ground began to soar. Wave after wave of heat rolled out, making everyone's faces flush.
"A Logia Devil Fruit... impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible!"
'This is just the beginning,' Ace thought with a smirk. In the next second, the color of the flames surrounding his body began to change.
They shifted from dark red to orange-red, and the temperature surged from 600 degrees to around 1,000 degrees. Even Akainu, watching from the stands, looked surprised. To his knowledge, 1,000 degrees was the maximum temperature the Flame-Flame Fruit could reach.
This was the primary reason he considered the Flame-Flame Fruit to be inferior to his own.
'Has this Ace already developed his fruit ability to its peak?'
Then, a second later, Akainu's eyes widened in shock.
The color of the flames on Ace's body changed once more. The orange-red shifted into a brilliant yellow-white.
Chapter: The True Power of the Flame-Flame Fruit
For Ace, this was the third stage.
At this level, the flames could theoretically reach temperatures of around 4,000 degrees. While Ace hadn't quite reached that peak yet, he was already capable of unleashing heat approaching 3,000 degrees.
Was the Flame-Flame Fruit actually inferior to the Magma-Magma Fruit?
No—it should be the other way around! The Magma-Magma Fruit was the inferior one!
Witnessing this, not only was Doan stunned, but even Akainu began to question everything he knew. If his instincts were correct, the yellow flames erupting from Ace were already nearing 3,000 degrees.
"How is this possible?"
"In reality, there is no upper limit to the temperature of fire. It depends entirely on the user's knowledge and whether they understand how to trigger more powerful flames."
"No upper limit?"
"That's right, Admiral Sakazuki. Do you know how hot the sun's flames are?"
"How hot?"
"The core temperature can reach 15 to 20 million degrees!"
...
Akainu was completely speechless.
If that was true, just what kind of god-tier fruit was the Flame-Flame Fruit? Suddenly, his own Magma-Magma Fruit didn't seem so impressive anymore.
Meanwhile, on the training grounds, Doan gave a bitter smile. With Ace erupting flames of nearly 3,000 degrees just ten meters away, the pressure was immense.
Forget about fighting—even just getting closer felt dangerous.
Although he could use Armament Haki, he had only just awakened it; he couldn't even manage the second stage of external projection. Unless he could directly grab Ace's physical body...
But as it stood, getting within striking distance was not going to be an easy task.
"I... I surrender!!"