"So, in short, O great hero of justice~"
"If your 'justice' prevents you from stopping the terrorist acts of Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, then don't you dare interfere with our actions."
"Of course, you're free to believe everything I just said was a lie and try to stop me here."
"That is, if you have the power to do so~"
As Eden spoke, he also rose from his seat. He walked past the stunned, brain-frozen Smoker and said to Nami and Happy behind him, "Nami, Happy, we're leaving~"
"Aye~!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Nami and Happy followed Eden, leaving the volatile tavern behind.
"Tsk~"
For a moment, Smoker was left standing alone in the tavern, his fists clenched tight. His heart burned with rage at the hollow justice of the World Government.
"Captain Smoker."
"I think I just saw the Eden crew outside."
Just as Smoker was agonizing over what to do, Tashigi pushed open the tavern doors and reported to him.
"I know."
"Keep a close eye on their movements."
"And send a request for backup to Marine HQ."
"The Eden crew... they're not someone we can handle on our own."
Seeing Tashigi, Smoker finally regained his usual composure, issuing his orders with methodical calm.
"Yes, sir!"
Tashigi nodded forcefully, her eyes filled with complete trust in Smoker.
"Let's go."
With that, Smoker led Tashigi out of the tavern without a single glance back.
"Phew~"
Only after everyone had left did the drunkards in the tavern finally let out gasps of breath, looking as if they had just survived a disaster. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! That was no joke back there!" one of them laughed.
"For a second, I really thought that the famous Ace, 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, and the renowned Natsu of the East Blue were about to throw down right in front of us!"
"And especially that 'Sea Emperor' Eden! Just what you'd expect from a great pirate with a bounty over 100 million! The killing intent he released... I almost pissed my pants!" a more knowledgeable man in the tavern commented.
"What do you mean 'almost'?"
"Didn't you already wet yourself?"
"Ahahahahaha..."
With the teasing, the tavern soon returned to its usual boisterous cheer.
Only the tavern owner was left alone. He stared at the tavern door, which had been smashed to bits by an enraged Smoker, and then at the empty tables where Eden, Ace, and the others had sat. He whispered to himself, "Wait a minute... did any of them actually pay?"
Not far away.
In a vast, empty desert of endless yellow sand!
Ace and Natsu stood about a hundred meters apart, facing each other.
After leaving the town, the two had walked for about half an hour to find this uninhabited area, a perfect battleground.
Here, they could finally go all out without worrying about harming any innocent civilians.
Perhaps this was the one good thing about Alabasta, a superpower nation in Paradise: it was big enough for two monsters like Ace and Natsu to wreak havoc.
"Hey, kid."
"I'm about to show you the power of a 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Are you ready?"
Ace stood with his left hand on his hip, his right hand lightly touching the brim of his sun hat. His face was hidden in the shadow of the hat, his expression unreadable. Before making a move, he issued one final warning to Natsu.
"Bring it on!"
"I'm all fired up!"
As Natsu spoke, his right hand burst into flames. He used the flame to write the words "Come on" in the air, beckoning Ace to bring his best.
"Haha, interesting."
At this moment, it had never even crossed Ace's mind that he could lose to Natsu. As such, he didn't go all out from the start. With a tentative wave of his hand, he unleashed a column of fire as thick as his palm. "Take this! Heat Haze!"
"Ooh!"
"Here it comes, here it comes..."
When Ace unleashed his flames, Natsu seemed even more excited than Ace himself. He watched the fire streak across the sky with eager anticipation.
"Kid, after all that big talk, don't tell me you can't even block my first move!"
Beneath his hat, the corners of Ace's mouth were already curling into a smirk. He was seemingly cautioning Natsu, but his every word radiated absolute confidence in his own strength.
"Sluuurp~"
In response, as the column of fire descended upon him, Natsu made no move to block or defend. He just stood there, completely still, as if he were scared stiff...
At the same time, Natsu tilted his head to the sky and opened his mouth wide, looking like a baby bird waiting for its mother to drop food into its mouth.
'So he really is just a little brat who talks big, huh?'
'In that case, I'll just have the flames land in front of him. Give him a little scare, teach him that there are always bigger fish in the sea. That should be enough.'
To the distant Ace, Natsu's bizarre action looked like he was completely petrified by his power and had given up all resistance...
This made Ace's smirk widen. He decided a small punishment would suffice; there was no need to truly fight Natsu to a finish.
Then, Ace realized that the flames he was controlling had suddenly gone haywire. Before his shocked eyes, they lost their trajectory and shot directly toward Natsu...
"Not good!"
"A flame of this level... that Natsu kid will die!"
Seeing this, Ace's expression changed drastically. He had no idea why his flames had suddenly lost control, as if they were being pulled by a powerful suction force that compelled them to strike Natsu.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp~"
Just as Ace was certain Natsu was done for, he watched with wide eyes as the endless flames were completely swallowed into the gaping maw of Natsu.
"Eh?!"
Ace stared at the scene before him. First, his pupils went slack. Then, his eyes bulged wide and his jaw dropped, creating the same iconic shocked face as Enel.
"My... My fire was EATEN?!"
"Are you kidding me?!"
"How can a Devil Fruit user like that even exist in this world?!"
Ace looked like he had just seen a ghost. He stared at Natsu in the distance and demanded, "Hey! You! What kind of Devil Fruit user are you?!"
"Why can you eat my flames?!"
As he spoke, Ace's face was a mask of utter confusion. The enemy is a fire-type user, but he can devour fire? How the hell am I supposed to fight that?!
"I'm not a Devil Fruit user."
"I'm a Dragon Slayer," Natsu replied, correcting Ace's mistake.
"What the hell is a 'Dragon Slayer'?!"
Ace was completely lost. He still had no idea what kind of nonsense this guy was spouting.
"Aye~!"
"He uses fire as his food, and fire as his weapon!"
Just as Ace was lost in confusion...
Happy suddenly swooped down from the sky and explained, "The lungs of a dragon can breathe fire, its claws can grasp any flame, and its scales can melt and repel all flames!"
"It's an ancient magic that transforms one's own body into that of a dragon. It was originally created to fight against actual dragons."
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about!"
"Whatever! Even if you can eat fire, there must be a limit, right?"
"Then let me see just where that limit is!"
As Ace spoke, his body erupted in an infinite inferno, looking like he wouldn't stop until he'd stuffed Natsu to death.
Hmm, the last person who tried to stuff a Dragon Slayer to death was Enel up on Skypiea.