Chapter 45: Learning to Control the Flames
Marine Headquarters - Roy's Quarters - The Next Morning
"BOOM!"
The morning quiet was shattered by a massive explosion. Thick black smoke poured out of the kitchen, followed by shrapnel from the window.
"F-F-FIRE!!!"
Nami screamed, her toothbrush still in her mouth. Nojiko instinctively dove behind Belle-mère, covering her ears. "What did you do, Belle-mère?! You blew up the kitchen!!"
"This wasn't my breakfast!" Belle-mère yelled back, dodging.
Roy, who had been drinking tea in the yard, vanished in a fwoosh and reappeared in the smoking wreckage. He immediately yanked the culprit out by his collar—it was Ace, his face covered in soot, his hair standing on end.
"Kaff-koff... I didn't mean to!" Ace waved his smoking hands, trying to explain. "I... I just wanted to toast some bread!"
"You 'toast bread' by turning the kitchen into a volcano?" Roy asked, his voice dangerously calm as he glanced at the melted ceiling.
"I can't control it!" Ace yelled, grabbing his head in frustration. "The fire... sometimes it listens too well, and sometimes it doesn't listen at all!"
Roy's eye twitched. He sighed. "It looks like we need to add 'control' to your training."
Marine Headquarters - Training Ground - Morning
"Fire Fist!"
Ace roared, and a massive column of fire erupted from his fist, forming a giant, burning mountain that shot toward Zephyr.
Zephyr didn't move. He just raised his right arm, coating it in a layer of obsidian-black Armament Haki.
"Hmph."
He swung his arm.
"BAM!!"
The Fire Fist shattered. It dissipated like smoke, the shockwave itself echoing like thunder.
Ace gritted his teeth and charged again, leaping into the air. "Flame Whip!"
He snapped his leg in a fiery arc, sending a burning whip of flame lashing down!
"Just flashy tricks," Zephyr grunted, and met the whip with a straight punch.
The fire exploded. The shockwave sent Ace flying backward, and he tumbled hard across the ground.
"Gah...!" He pushed himself up, hissing, his forehead beaded with sweat.
Zephyr walked over, his voice cold. "Your range is wide, and your spirit is good. But your flames... they lack temperature, they lack density, and your focus is pathetic."
He pointed to his arm, which was barely even scorched. "This couldn't even burn my skin. Who do you expect to hurt with this?"
Ace's face turned red. "I... I'm still getting used to the fruit!"
"That's no excuse!" Zephyr barked. "Your control is like a three-year-old playing with dynamite! If you don't learn to 'refine' your fire, and just keep focusing on 'range' and 'looking cool,' you'll never be stronger than Law."
Ace looked down, his fists clenching, the small flame in his palm flickering. He felt a frustrating, helpless anger.
"...What do I do?" he finally asked, his voice low.
Roy walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. "You start by learning how to light a fire."
"Flames aren't meant to just be thrown around," Roy said, his voice calm. "It's a scalpel, Ace, not a firework."
Zephyr nodded. "Control your temperature. Control your output. Control your trajectory. We'll start by having you light a flame on your fingertip that's cool enough not to burn your own skin."
Ace stared. "Huh?"
Roy picked up a thin, dry twig and tossed it to him. "Here. Char this. Don't let it catch fire."
Ace looked at the tiny twig, then at them. "You guys... you're just messing with me..."
"Wrong!" Roy and Zephyr said in unison. "We're teaching you control!"
On the sidelines, Drake watched Ace intently, his own fists clenching. Law just narrowed his eyes. "So... that's Rear Admiral Roy's method..."
As Ace struggled with the twig, Roy spoke again. "Ace, come here."
Roy sat down on the sand, patting the spot next to him. He drew a small diagram in the dirt.
"Ace, who do you think is the strongest offensive Devil Fruit user in the Marines?"
"That's easy," Ace said. "Vice Admiral Sakazuki's (Akainu's) Magma-Magma Fruit!"
"Correct." Roy held up three fingers. "But his strength isn't just from the fruit."
"One, his Armament Haki is monstrous."
"Two, his Observation Haki is so precise he can hit an opponent's weak spots through their defense."
"And three..."
Roy wrote a number in the sand: Lava Temperature: ~1200°C.
Ace's eyes went wide. "That's it? Only 1200 degrees?"
Roy smiled. "The theoretical maximum temperature of fire... is closer to five thousand degrees."
"Do you know what that means?"
Ace held his breath.
"It means," Roy continued, "if you can focus a 4000°C flame onto the tip of a needle, you could melt the keel of a warship in one second. At 5000°C, you could vaporize armor plating, boil the moisture in an enemy's lungs, and instantly defeat a master of Haki."
He pointed to Ace's hand. "Like a needle."
"You could turn your enemies to ash before they even have time to scream."
Ace stared at his hand, the flame in his palm wavering.
"So," Roy said, his voice firm, "stop treating the Mera Mera no Mi like a giant lighter."
"You hold the power of absolute destruction. You just have to learn to wield it."
Zephyr spoke up. "From today on, you'll also report to the Science Division every afternoon. The pyrotechnics lieutenant will drill you on thermodynamics and energy control. Don't even think about fighting again until you've learned it."
They both expected Ace to complain. Instead, his eyes lit up.
"Whoa..." he breathed, as if he'd just been handed a holy text. "So... you're saying... I can learn to vaporize an entire pirate fleet with one finger?!"
Roy put his head in his hand. "That... was not the main takeaway."
Zephyr just laughed. "Let him be. He gets the point."
Ace shot to his feet, pounding his chest. "I'm ready! Let's start now!"
Roy just smiled. "...What a battle-maniac."
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