OP: My Aircraft Carrier Evolves#98+99: Ace's Challenge, the Fist of Love, and a Plan to Purge the East Blue!

Jin didn't linger in Loguetown.

After cleaning house at the Barto Club, he was gone before the sun rose. The trade deal he'd struck with the local merchants had been finalized in a single afternoon, right after the midday battle.

As for the fallout in Loguetown—the evidence Jin had left for Smoker was far more than just a single stack of papers. It was more than enough to keep the Marine Captain busy for a long, long time.

And when Mr. 3 eventually arrived, he would know exactly what to do. Jin didn't need to hold his hand.

Besides, Crocodile was still in the game.

—————————

A few days later. A deserted island.

Explosions rocked the beach, blasting crater after crater into the sand.

On the deck of the demonic carrier, Law, Robin, Maya, and Reiju watched the spectacle with a relaxed air.

Nearby, the Spade Pirates—Skull, Mihal, and a heavily bandaged Deuce—stared in stunned, utter disbelief.

Deuce, wincing against the pull of his stitches, leaned over the rail, determined not to miss a second.

Down on the beach, Ace was in a frenzy, launching every attack he could think of—his Flare-Flare Fruit, his raw physical strength—all of it crashing uselessly against Jin.

Flames and heat erupted from his entire body. He became fire itself.

On the surface, his power seemed unbeatable. Against any other pirate in the East Blue, it would have been. It was this very power that had allowed him and Deuce to escape their first island and make the Spade Pirates infamous across the sea—famous enough to destroy two Marine warships.

Even without his Devil Fruit, Ace's own strength and skill were formidable.

But none of it—not even a sea of fire stretching for hundreds of meters—could touch the man before him.

No matter how Ace chased, how he moved, the man would always vanish just a heartbeat before the flames could connect—effortless.

Ace’s relentless barrage of punches always found nothing but air.

It reminded Deuce of being a child, charging at his father in a fit of anger, only to be held at bay with a casual hand, completely dismissed.

That's what this was.

This wasn't a fight. It was a man toying with a boy.

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Shortly after leaving port, Deuce had survived, thanks to Law's surgery.

Ace, immensely relieved, had immediately resolved to challenge the "stronger man" Law had spoken of.

Jin had accepted.

The terms were simple.

If Ace could so much as lay a single hand on him, he would win. They would be free to go.

If he failed, he would lose.

And the price of his loss?

Jin would grant him a "position."

It was a deal entirely in Ace's favor.

Failure meant nothing more than a "position"—what was that?

Ace was brimming with confidence.

"I'm not just going to catch you," he had declared, "I'm going to beat you!"

"Fire Fence!" Ace roared now.

Walls of fire shot up around them, forming a net, shrinking the battlefield. And the net was closing in.

"A little stronger than before," Jin noted with a casual smile.

Ace had a talent for growing in the heat of battle.

Jin closed his eyes. He listened. To Ace’s breathing, to the whisper of the wind, to the roar of the flames...

Observation Haki develops in different directions.

Pinpoint tracking, wide-area sensing, even glimpses into the future.

Beyond simple listening, some forms of Observation Haki came with special abilities. There was the kind Roger and Maya had—the ability to hear the Voice of All Things. There was Queen Otohime's power to connect with the hearts and minds of others. And there was telepathy—mind-reading.

Jin’s own Observation Haki had come with the ability to read minds from the moment he'd awakened it.

The "flow" he'd mastered was a technique of Armament.

But this—the breathing, the listening, the connection to the world around him—was the way of Observation.

Of course, a technique is just a technique. Turning it into a true ability requires practice.

He'd experienced "future sight" firsthand from Dragon of the Revolutionary Army. He'd also sought advice from Crocus at the Twin Capes. The old man was just a doctor, but he had sailed with Roger. His insights had been invaluable.

Just as everyone thought Ace's net of fire had him trapped, Jin's body seemed to go limp, becoming like a sheet of paper.

He simply "floated" through a gap in the flames.

The Six Powers technique—Paper Art.

No technique was useless, not even Iron Body, which was often joked about as a surefire way to get hurt. It was all about how and when you used it.

When a person could use every technique, every move, with perfect, flawless execution—without a single wasted motion—even a simple punch could become a work of art.

"I'm already waiting for you!"

As the paper-like Jin floated out, Ace was already there, his flames converging, his burning fist swinging.

Had he seen the future?

No.

Ace had deliberately left that opening.

"He's got him!" Deuce shouted, his heart leaping.

But the wind from Ace's punch simply blew Jin farther back.

It was like trying to blow on a piece of paper—the harder you blow, the farther away it goes.

He was so close.

But he just couldn't reach him.

The flames surged.

Jin's foot touched the ground, and with a boom, he vanished, reappearing a dozen meters away.

—————————

From morning to night, and from night to morning again, the chase continued.

Ace was relentless, tireless.

But Deuce and the others were exhausted just from watching.

Ace finally stopped, his hands on his knees, his legs feeling heavier than lead. The flames had all but died out, and sweat poured from his body.

"Is that all you've got?"

Jin stood a short distance away, sipping a cup of tea Robin had brought him. Not a single speck of dirt had touched his clothes.

'A trip to the West Blue really does something to a man,' Jin thought.

Elegance and style... they're a lifelong pursuit.

"Wait... it's not over," Ace growled, looking up, his eyes burning with stubborn pride. "I'm not down yet!"

Flames erupted from his arms again. He channeled them into a propulsive force, launching his fist forward like a rocket.

Ace's fist became a meteor, trailing a long wake of fire, its red glow mirroring the dawn sun.

It was blindingly beautiful.

This time, Jin didn't move. He didn't dodge. He just watched Ace approach. "I suppose that's enough," he said. "I have other things to do. I don't have time to play with you anymore."

They passed each other in a blur.

Ace's fist swung through empty air.

From the side, Jin's fist had slammed squarely into Ace's stomach—a stomach that should have turned to fire.

The impact sent a shockwave through his system. It felt as if his organs had been torn from their moorings.

Ace's face went white. A cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He pitched forward, clutching his stomach, the pain so intense he couldn't even make a sound.

The punch reminded him of his "gramps"—Marine Vice Admiral Garp.

His self-proclaimed "Fist of Love."

Every time he and Luffy had stepped out of line, that fist had found them, bringing with it a world of pain.

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"Was that... Haki...?" Ace asked, his face twisted in agony.

He struggled, trying to get back to his feet. But a full day and night of chasing had drained his stamina. And now, with a punch that had bypassed his defenses entirely, his body was giving out.

All he could do was writhe on the ground.

Haki.

That was what Law had told him about—the power that could counter a Devil Fruit. He'd said it was a latent power within all humans, one that could only be brought out through long, arduous training.

A powerful Haki could even overcome a Devil Fruit user, allowing someone to grab fire with their bare hands, to ignore their elemental form.

"ACE!"

"Are you okay?!"

The moment Ace had gone down, Deuce and the others had rushed over in a small boat. They helped him up, checking him for injuries.

But even though he had lost, Ace was not defeated. The moment he could move, he tried to surge toward Jin again, bull-headed as ever.

It was his nature—act first, think later. And the "demon" of the Flare-Flare Fruit only amplified it.

He was a fire, burning anything that got too close.

Jin clenched his fist.

As Ace approached, he threw a single punch. Ace, unconsciously, unleashed his own awakened Conqueror's Haki, and the two forces collided, the resulting shockwave knocking Deuce and the others unconscious.

But...

THUD!

Ace hit the ground hard, cracking it, and lay there, embedded in the sand, bloody and unconscious.

Jin pulled his fist back. "Kids these days," he sighed. "So much energy."

Robin, Law, and the others, who had just arrived, were speechless. Like you're one to talk.

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Even though he was just one Devil Fruit away from his next evolution, Jin didn't kill Ace.

He was the fuse for the Summit War.

And the Summit War was a conflict that would change the world.

It would shift the balance of power in the New World and, in its own way, shake the very foundations of the World Government and the Marines.

Whether Ace lived or died was of no concern to him. He just didn't want that war to disappear.

A world of One Piece without the Summit War... it was an unforgivable future.

To be safe, he would place a "mark" on Ace. It would make collecting the Flare-Flare Fruit easier, should the need arise.

Besides, he had already locked on to the final Devil Fruit for this upgrade.

On the deck of the carrier, Jin pulled out a wanted poster.

"The Eldoraggo Pirates! Eldoraggo, Bounty: 10,000,000 Berries!"

He had swiped a number of East Blue wanted posters, along with some general intelligence, from Smoker's desk.

He remembered this "sound-man" from the movie, Adventure on the Clockwork Island. He'd been impressed by the scene where he'd destroyed the port facilities with a massive sonic blast from his mouth.

And Eldoraggo was obsessed with gold. He was searching for the treasure left behind by the Great Gold Pirate, Woonan.

Capturing him would be killing two birds with one stone.

But he was a slippery one. He'd been operating in the East Blue for years and had only recently been sighted in the waters south of Loguetown.

"The sea is a big place," Jin mused, looking at the Marine chart. "It's hard to find someone if you don't know where to look. I can't just search every island."

He stroked his chin.

"Maybe... I can lure him out."

His eyes fell on a specific location on the map.

The Conomi Islands.

And a single notation: Arlong.

The Arlong from the Arlong Pirates? So Cocoyasi Village is nearby?

A plan began to form in Jin's mind.

A plan that would not only draw out Eldoraggo... But every pirate in the East Blue.

"How do I contact Smoker again? I forgot to get his number. Maya, go get me that Tashigi woman."

The clumsy, bespectacled Tashigi was brought before him, her cheeks puffed out in a pout. "My sword! Give me back my sword!"

"Ai," Jin said. He raised a hand, and a rift opened in the space above him. A sword fell into his hand, and he tossed it to Tashigi.

She caught it, her eyes wide with surprise. What was that?

"Alright. Give me Smoker's Den Den Mushi number. I have some business with him."

"What kind of business?"

"Catching pirates."

Tashigi hesitated, then glanced at her sword, Shigure, and recited the number.

Jin called Smoker.

The moment he heard Jin's voice, Smoker felt a headache coming on. "Where's Tashigi?!"

"Captain Smoker! I'm here!" Tashigi quickly said.

Smoker's anger subsided slightly. "That guy... he hasn't done anything to you, has he?"

"Eh? N-no."

Tashigi had been locked in a room ever since she'd been brought on board. She had no idea what was going on.

"Alright, that's enough catching up," Jin said. "Listen, Smokey, I need your help with something. I need you to spread a rumor for me."

"And why would I do that?"

"We have a common goal: eliminating pirates. Is that not enough?"

Smoker was suspicious. "You're a king from the Grand Line. What are you doing in the East Blue, eliminating pirates?"

"Because I've had a dream since I was a child," Jin said. "I want to be a good person, to punish evil and reward good wherever I go."

Smoker was silent. "...What do you want me to do?"

"Cocoyasi Village, on the Conomi Islands," Jin said. "It's where the Great Gold Pirate, Woonan, lived out his final days. He hid a massive amount of gold there. The Arlong Pirates are squatting there right now, searching for that gold."

"Is that true?" Smoker asked, surprised.

"What do you think?" Jin replied. "You've marked Arlong on your chart. You already know. But because of his connection to the Warlord Jinbe and the World Government... I'll take care of them for you."

"What's your angle in all this?" Smoker asked, still suspicious.

"I told you, I'm a good person. You don't believe me? Fine. I just think it'll be fun. You believe that?"

Fun?

"I believe it," Smoker said. "A man like you would do anything for a bit of fun. By the way, the commander of the Marine base on the Conomi Islands, Captain Nezumi... I think he's dirty."

"You know, and you haven't done anything?" Jin asked.

Smoker sighed. "He's a Captain, I'm a Captain. We're the same rank. Besides, I have no concrete evidence. I'm from Headquarters, he's a branch commander. One wrong move, and it could cause a rift between the two. The internal politics of the Marines are more complicated than you think."

"Got it," Jin said. "You take care of your end, and I'll twist his head off and give it to you to use as a soccer ball."

Smoker's hands were tied by his position. He needed evidence.

Jin didn't. He just needed a name.

Worst case scenario, he'd just have to give the Celestial Dragons a few more "Dream" mushrooms.

—————————

Dusk. Cocoyasi Village, Arlong Park.

Arlong and his officers were drinking and celebrating.

Suddenly, a deep roar echoed from the sea, and a strange chill ran down the spines of all the Fish-Men.

"What was that?"

"Momoo?"

"Idiot! Momoo doesn't sound like that!"

Arlong set his drink down. "Kuroobi, go check it out."

Kuroobi dived into the pool and swam out into the sea.

Soon, a warship with a black dragon flag came into view. It was "flying" across the surface of the sea at an incredible speed, heading straight for Arlong Park.

'So fast!' Kuroobi thought, amazed.

The ship was moving at least forty or fifty knots. By the time he realized how close it was, it was too late to warn the others.

He swam toward the bottom of the ship, intending to scuttle it, when a harpoon, attached to an iron chain, shot out from the hull and pierced him through.

He was too close. He had no time to defend. Who would have expected a harpoon, imbued with Armament Haki, to shoot out from the bottom of a ship?

Blood stained the water. The harpoon was retracted, pulling the body into the ship.

A little contact with seawater wouldn't negate a Devil Fruit user's powers.

CRASH!

The demonic carrier slammed into the entrance of Arlong Park. A massive fire erupted, and the sounds of battle filled the air.

"Fire Fist!"

"ROOM!"

It wasn't even a fight.

Before Jin even had to move, it was over. Ace, Law, Maya, Robin, Reiju, and Tashigi had taken care of everything.

As he lay dying, Arlong's last thought was: Who did I piss off? Where did these monsters come from?