Chapter 21: Physical Transformation
On the Spade Pirates' ship.
"Great, Ace, you actually defeated two Vice Admirals!" Deuce said, his face full of surprise.
At that moment, Ace, who was lying on the deck, his body covered in wounds, smiled and said, "It wasn't just me. The other Vice Admiral was defeated by Ayaan!"
Ace's feelings were complicated. After all, among all the freeloaders in the Spade Pirates, there was finally one who could actually help him.
The other members of the Spade Pirates were equally shocked. They hadn't expected that Ace's newest crewmate would be this capable. It was common belief that everyone sinks together, but now they were seeing a real outlier.
At that moment, Ayaan, still bleeding from a head wound, walked over and said, "Ace, let me heal your injuries first."
"Ah… that…" Thinking of Ayaan's healing method, Ace looked hesitant. "I think I'll just—"
But Ayaan had long been itching to try it again. He didn't let Ace finish. He opened his mouth wide and swallowed him whole.
"Ugh! That's terrifying!" Several Spade Pirates paled. Even though they knew it was the ability of Ayaan's Baku Baku no Mi, watching him devour a living person was still overwhelming.
This time, Ace seemed to be seriously injured. It took several minutes before Ayaan finally spat him back out.
"It's such a strange feeling to be eaten by someone," Ace said, panting on the deck. Then he sat up with an excited look and stood up straight.
"My wounds are completely gone! The method is weird, but Ayaan, your healing is seriously effective!"
"But Ayaan, what about your own injuries?"
Ayaan opened his previously closed eyes, hiding the excitement within.
"Haha. You'll find out soon enough how I handle them. Behold my secret technique—'I Eat Myself!' Never seen that before, right?"
As he spoke, he stretched his jaw wide—grotesquely wide—and began swallowing himself from the top down. First the head, then the neck, then the upper torso...
Soon, his entire body was gone, leaving behind only a squirming mouth on the deck.
Silence.
The Spade Pirates all froze, wide-eyed.
Then chaos erupted.
"What do we do?! Ayaan just ate himself!"
"A monster! A monster! A monster!!"
But before panic could spread further, the mouth on the deck stretched open again, and Ayaan stepped out, perfectly fine.
"This must be a hallucination..." Deuce muttered, rubbing his eyes as he looked at Ayaan—completely healed, and now even more toned and muscular than before.
The crew was still shaken, but Ace, after the initial shock, grew curious.
"Amazing! How'd you do that? Can a Devil Fruit even do something like this?"
Not only had Ayaan healed, but Ace could sense it—his presence had subtly changed. His aura, his energy... even his strength had grown sharper.
Ace wasn't wrong. Using precise data and Ace's physical standards as a reference, Ayaan had completed the first round of self-reconstruction. Although it hadn't unlocked Ace-level strength outright, it gave Ayaan about 80% of Ace's latent potential.
And since what Ayaan boosted was potential, the resulting strength gain was subtle—at least for now. If fully realized, it would've been impossible to miss.
Mentally, Ayaan also felt reborn. With energy coursing through his body and purpose guiding his mind, it was clear—his evolution was no illusion.
"The Baku Baku no Mi is no weaker than your Mera Mera no Mi. You just need a little imagination." Ayaan smiled confidently.
"Damn, I wish we could switch fruits. I really want to try eating myself with the Baku Baku no Mi!" Ace pouted, eyes gleaming with mischief.
For Ace, power was secondary. The experience was everything—a true pirate at heart.
After that battle, the Marines unexpectedly stopped their pursuit of the Spade Pirates. Instead, they sent a letter offering Ace the position of Shichibukai ( Warlord of the Sea).
Naturally, as in the original timeline, Ace refused it without hesitation.
The Marines responded by increasing Ace's bounty—and adding Ayaan to the wanted list.
"For defeating a Vice Admiral, the bounty's only 60 million?" Ayaan frowned as he stared at the wanted poster in his hands.
"Don't say that. In the Spade Pirates, aside from you and the captain, only Vice-Captain Deuce has a bounty of 20 million. So 60 million is already huge!" said a masked crewmate.
That's because you guys are too weak! Ayaan thought bitterly. What is the Spade Pirates anyway? Just Ace and a bunch of baggage!
Think about it—when Ace was executed, not a single member of the Spade Pirates showed up. Even though they had supposedly joined the Whitebeard Pirates by then. Saying they didn't come out of fear is nonsense.
That leaves two possibilities:
First, they were too weak, and Whitebeard didn't even bring them along.
Second, they were so insignificant during the war, no one noticed them at all—not even enough for a single panel in the story.
After glancing one last time at the wanted poster, Ayaan tossed it aside. He didn't care about bounties. His values were different. Raised in the world of ninjas, he still remembered how fame often meant a quick death.
In the shinobi world, few survived after stepping into the spotlight.
With his current strength, Ayaan had no intention of drawing attention.
Let the seas believe what they want—he'd rise in the shadows, quietly becoming unstoppable.
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