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Accompanied by the layered fragmentation of space, magma sputtered and scattered in all directions.
As long as Akainu cannot be elementalized, he may be killed directly.
"Frozen Time Capsule!"
The coldness in Aokiji's hand condensed, and he threw it out with a palm.
Wherever it passed, it left a long frozen trail.
The last cloud of cold air exploded around Whitebeard, causing the temperature around him to drop rapidly, and he was frozen into an ice sculpture in the blink of an eye.
Whitebeard inside the ice sculpture had a smile on his lips, as if he didn't care about the sudden attack at all.
The scattered magma on the other side spread over the entire area, gradually converging, turning back into Akainu. As soon as he appeared, Akainu cursed in a low voice,
"Damn Whitebeard, I must kill you!"
"Puff!"
A cluster of golden flames suddenly appeared at Whitebeard's feet.
Ace's shot.
Whitebeard could break free from the ice by himself, but Ace hoped his intervention would help him conserve energy.
The flames rose with the storm, burning with a fierce golden hue.
The ice surrounding Whitebeard melted quickly, and in the next moment, Whitebeard broke free.
"Boom—"
"It's you again, Kuzan, kid."
After reappearing, Whitebeard laughed and said, and Murakumagari clenched in his hands suddenly. "Ace, your flame temperature is really impressive."
Whitebeard's keen insight had already noticed the change in Ace's flame, and he praised it.
Ace scratched his head and smiled without explaining.
"Ace, is this your flame? Why did it turn golden?" Jinbei's eyes widened in disbelief.
Isn't flame supposed to be red?
How did Ace's flame turn golden?
After what Jinbei said, everyone in the Marines also reacted.
Otherwise, Ace's flame did feel strange; there seemed to be a significant change, or else the color wouldn't have shifted!
"What's going on?" Akainu frowned and whispered to himself.
He kept thinking about what had happened to Ace since his imprisonment, trying to find clues to uncover Ace's secret.
But no matter how much he pondered, he couldn't figure out when Ace had changed!
Or, was it this change that made him immune to seastone?
Aokiji raised his eyebrows and looked at Ace curiously, "Golden flames..."
He, too, had sensed that strange feeling.
...
As the argument between them continued, Sengoku personally tested Ace's seastone shackles on the scaffold.
If the shackles were fake, then it would make sense: someone had deliberately helped Ace escape.
But if they were real, the implications would be completely different!
The moment Sengoku touched the shackles, his face changed drastically!
The seastone shackles were intact!
It was real!
So… how did Ace escape?
And how could he use his Devil Fruit powers?
"Attention all Marines! It's suspected that Ace is no longer restrained by seastone! Be cautious!"
There was panic in Sengoku's voice.
Yes, this discovery finally shook Sengoku to his core, making it impossible for him to remain calm!
On the sea, there's a Devil Fruit power that isn't restrained by seastone??
What is going on!?
Aokiji opened his mouth, but held back what he wanted to say, likely because he felt it was important to maintain his composure in front of others.
"What!? Not afraid of seastone! How is this possible!!"
Akainu's eyes widened in disbelief.
Since ancient times, it's been known that Devil Fruit users are landlocked, bound by both seawater and seastone.
Now, you're telling me this rule is broken?
Who could accept that!
"Unrestrained... what the hell is going on!" Doflamingo lost his composure for the first time after hearing the news, breaking from his usual image.
Hawkeye paused, frowning, his expression full of confusion.
How could something this bizarre happen?
"Ah—Ace has completely become a monster." Garp held his head frantically, clearly shaken.
Even if marine heroes found it unbelievable, ordinary people would have even more trouble accepting it!
"Wow~ Ace isn't afraid of seawater? Then he can swim. I still remember that Ace swam faster than Sabo when we were kids." Luffy said while picking his nose, completely happy and unaware of the bigger issue.
So... you can swim??
The corners of Garp's mouth twitched as he stared blankly at Luffy.
What's going on in this kid's head!?
"Are you really... unrestrained?" Momonga couldn't help but ask.
Undoubtedly, it was the question everyone wanted answered.
All eyes turned to Ace, waiting for his response.
If it's true, then... the times are about to change!
Faced with so many curious, skeptical, surprised, and shocked eyes, Ace wasn't about to admit it outright.
"I didn't say it, Sengoku said it."
Bang, bang, bang—
Everyone fell to the ground.
This was the answer they'd been waiting for?
It's not a joke!
"Gu ra ra ra ~~"
Whitebeard laughed at Ace's response.
He understood now—Ace could use his Devil Fruit power without being restrained by seawater or seastone.
On the sea, the first real monster was born!