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"Sigh, I just hope Ace doesn't end up getting crushed by this." Whitey Bay raised one hand to her forehead and let out a long sigh.
"Sh… shouldn't happen, right?" Makino asked from behind Whitey Bay, her face full of puzzlement. "After all, Ace isn't a little kid anymore. Even if he can't beat Arton, it shouldn't hit him that hard, should it?"
"Sure, that's how it should be." Whitey Bay said. "But Arton is using ice, after all."
"Ice?" Makino tilted her head, feeling even more confused inside.
Whitey Bay turned around, patted Makino on the shoulder, and said, "Makino, come on, think about it properly. Ace is the user of the Flame-Flame Fruit, and he's been living with fire for a long time."
"Wouldn't he have absolute faith in his own flames and just not take things like cold seriously at all?"
Makino thought it over for a moment, then nodded again. "Y… yeah, probably."
"That's exactly the problem." Whitey Bay straightened up a little and said, "Ace is very confident in his own flames and assumes that no kind of cold can really trouble him."
"If Arton ends up freezing those full-power flames of his in a moment… He's definitely going to take a hit from that."
Hearing this, Makino's face also showed a worried expression.
"Miss Whitey, do you really think Arton will use ice to freeze Ace's flames?" Makino asked.
"I'd say that's pretty much a given. Robin already froze Ace's flames once earlier and now that Arton's openly getting ready to use ice as well, he'll probably do the same thing."
"I… Is that so." Makino turned back to look at the massive flames wreathed around Ace's body inside the diary copy.
"Even for Arton, he might not be able to freeze flames on that level, right?" Makino muttered. "Besides, Robin already burned through quite a bit of stamina."
…
"What is this?!" Ace stared, eyes going wide, at the cold air continuously spreading out from Arton's side toward where he stood.
As a flame user, he was especially sensitive when it came to this sort of thing. Not to mention, Ace was practically one with his flames at this point.
He could feel the terrifying power contained in the cold air Arton was releasing. If an ordinary person got close, they'd probably be frozen solid by that chill in an instant.
"Guess this really is Arton we're talking about."
"Well then, let me see just what kind of power Supernova Captain has, the same man who gives the Marines such a massive headache."
Ace laughed loudly, suddenly ramping up his energy as he controlled the surrounding pillars of fire to wrap completely around him.
The massive flames spun rapidly around Ace as their center, continuously compressing inward.
Gradually, an enormous fireball several meters in diameter quietly formed and came to rest on Ace's hand.
"Flame Emperor."
The corners of Ace's mouth curled upward as he smiled and called out toward Arton's direction, almost like he was showing off his power.
"Nice move. It really does look like a sun."
After feeling out the temperature of the fireball in Ace's hand, Arton nodded and spoke.
"Just 'nice,' huh? Hearing you say it like that doesn't exactly make me feel good, you know."
"By the way, don't you need to get ready at all?" Ace asked.
"Get ready?" Arton shook his head. "No, I don't need to. Because I've been ready for a while now."
"Already ready?" Ace asked in confusion.
Arton gave a slight nod and opened his hand toward Ace. In the center of his palm, a crystal-clear ice orb appeared before everyone's eyes.
Chapter 446 – Ace: I'm Not Dreaming… Right?!
"A tiny ice bead?" Ace frowned in confusion.
But before he could think too much about it, Arton tossed the little bead of ice in his hand toward where Ace was standing.
At first, Ace didn't feel anything about it but as the ice bead Arton had thrown drew closer and closer to him, he suddenly felt all the hairs on his body stand on end.
That bead which had looked completely harmless at first now seemed like some monster that could swallow a person whole.
"No, that's not right!"
Ace's eyes went wide. He immediately hurled the massive fireball in his hand straight at the ice bead.
Weirdly enough, when the fireball and the ice bead met, there was no explosion. All that happened was a billowing cloud of steam that wrapped around the entire fireball, making it impossible to see what was happening inside with the naked eye.
Even so, just from the changes in temperature, Ace, Arton, Nami, Morgans, Kaya, and the others present could all tell which side the situation was leaning toward.
"N… no way…" Ace swallowed hard, staring tensely at the scene in front of him.
Not far away, Morgans also had his eyes locked on the point where flame and ice had collided.
After a short while, once the mist had thinned out a bit, the result of Arton and Ace's clash finally appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Ace's Flame Emperor actually got frozen?!"
"Hey, hey, hey, just how low is the temperature of the ice Arton's using?"
Morgans' eyes bulged. He was so shocked that the pen in his hand slipped and clattered to the floor.
Only when he heard the pen hit the deck did Morgans snap out of it. He scrambled to snatch it up and frantically started scribbling in his diary notebook.
"As expected of Arton! He's just on another level." Nami wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled.
Good thing Arton had directly frozen Ace's Flame Emperor with ice. Otherwise, Nami felt she might not have been able to keep the Plane of Euthymia up any longer.
"So this is your power, Captain." Robin looked at Arton, who was supporting her, as she spoke. "If you have time, could you give me some training?"
After that strike Arton had just unleashed, Robin's stamina had already been completely exhausted. Naturally, she could no longer maintain use of the template.
Even if Arton still had endless stamina, it wasn't like he could just hand some directly over to Robin.
"No problem. If you need it, of course I'll guide you. After all, you're my crewmate." Arton smiled and nodded at Robin as he spoke. "I'll make sure to push you properly and turn you into a powerhouse."
As captain of the Flameblade Pirates, Arton naturally wanted every single one of his crewmates to become strong, to become someone who could stand on their own.
Only then would it be easier on him when he faced enemies in the future. Even though he had the diary system, he still wasn't truly invincible yet. With more strong comrades at his side, why would Arton ever complain?
"Mm, I'll do my best." Robin said.
Still, even though that was what she said… what Robin thought of first wasn't pure training.
It was that feeling from earlier, when she'd been crouched beneath him. Back then, Arton hadn't taken any photos of her but afterward, he had clearly brought her up again and again in the diary.
That had earned her a lot more points.
'Compared to regular training, getting stronger through earning points really does save more time.'
'I'll have to find another chance to properly serve him later.'
'Come to think of it, so that's what it tastes like to suck Arton the way it's shown in those doujins.'
'It was actually better than I imagined, both the initial taste and the taste at the very end.'
Thinking this, Robin unconsciously licked her lips.
…
"I… I'm not dreaming, am I?"
At that moment, Ace finally snapped out of it. He rubbed his eyes and stared in disbelief at his now-frozen Flame Emperor.
"If you don't believe it, you can just punch yourself." Arton turned his head and looked at Ace. "That way you'll know whether you're dreaming or not."
Hearing that, Ace really did slam a fist into his own face.
"S… so much pain…" Ace said, wearing a look of utter misery. "This is actually real?!"
It was hard to tell whether the pain was from his own punch or from the reality that his fireball had been frozen solid.
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