Chapter 11 — Flames and Steel
"Damn it! You actually know Shave! Why didn't you use it earlier? Why did you risk everything blocking with Iron Body?"
Yan Feng spun around, fury in his eyes.
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Behind them, the coastline had turned into a sea of fire.
The coconut grove burned violently, flames rising into the sky while waves of scorching heat rolled across the land.
The night wind carried sparks across the sea.
Yan Feng stood there with messy curly hair, wearing his pirate captain's coat and gripping a long sword decorated with gold.
His expression was savage.
"Marine… have you thought about how you're going to die?"
"I won't die."
Shinji Ikari smiled faintly.
In his hands were two muskets—the silver-decorated pistols that once belonged to the vice-captain, Jero.
He had taken them earlier.
"What's wrong?" Shinji said calmly."Not confident in your speed and strength anymore?"
Yan Feng sneered.
If escape wasn't possible—
Then he would make sure Shinji died with him.
"No," Shinji replied quietly."I'm just wondering…"
"Do you prefer feeding the fish, or how long you can swim?"
Before finishing the sentence—
Shinji pulled the triggers.
BANG!BANG!
Yan Feng suddenly felt a chill of fear.
For the first time, he sensed that this boy might actually be insane.
Behind him raged a sea of flames.
Molten lava was already creeping closer.
And yet—
Shinji fired directly at the boat.
Two gunshots blasted through the hull.
Two large holes appeared in the bottom of the vessel.
Shinji couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.
The boat had been the one he, Koby, and Helmeppo used earlier.
The good news was—
It worked.
The bad news was—
The boat's quality was terrible.
Still smiling, Shinji fired twice more before turning away.
"Shave!"
His body vanished.
The next instant—
He appeared on the cliff wall above.
"Shave!"
Another burst of speed.
Now he stood safely on the shore.
Behind him, the flames devoured everything like a monstrous beast.
"You demon! You madman!"
Yan Feng screamed in rage.
Water poured through the four holes in the boat.
It would sink soon.
Staying aboard meant certain death.
Jumping into the sea wasn't much better.
Even a strong swimmer couldn't reach another island from here.
Either way—
It was as if Shinji had sentenced him to die in the ocean.
"I'll kill you!"
Yan Feng vanished and reappeared in an instant.
He used the same movement twice in rapid succession, arriving directly in front of Shinji.
What he used was essentially the Navy's Shave technique.
But as a pirate, he would never call it by that name.
The temperature around them rose higher and higher.
Yan Feng gripped his sword with both hands.
His eyes burned with murderous intent.
"If I'm going to die anyway—"
"Then I'll drag you with me!"
Shinji shrugged lightly.
"Do you hate me?"
"I only destroyed my own boat, just like you destroyed your crew."
"And besides…"
"I learned that trick from you."
It was true.
Earlier, Yan Feng had destroyed his own escape route without hesitation.
Shinji had simply returned the favor.
The blazing heat made the air shimmer.
Yan Feng's figure blurred again.
"The heat will weaken you!" he shouted."Even with Shave and Iron Body, what can you do?"
He took one step—
And disappeared.
"Instant Kill!"
His sword slashed forward with terrifying speed, leaving afterimages in the air.
"Tempest Kick!"
This time—
Shinji finally unleashed the technique properly.
Previously, he lacked the speed needed for Tempest Kick.
He had only imitated it with bursts of acceleration.
But after being forced to his limit while chasing Yan Feng—
He had finally pushed his speed to the level required for Shave.
Now he could unleash the real thing.
Boom!
The invisible slash of Tempest Kick collided with Yan Feng's blade.
Yan Feng staggered backward several steps.
"Shave for speed.Iron Body for defense.Tempest Kick for attack."
Yan Feng wiped sweat from his forehead.
"At your age… mastering half of the Six Powers means you could have an incredible future."
"What a shame."
He glanced at the blazing inferno around them.
"Under a sky filled with fire like this… you'll only be wiped out."
"I told you already," Shinji said quietly.
"I won't die."
Behind him, the burns across his back—caused by the earlier explosion—began healing rapidly.
Scabs peeled away from his skin.
The corners of his mouth slowly lifted.
Shinji threw away his coat.
The muskets in his hands had become too hot to hold, so he tossed them aside as well.
Now—
There was only one small piece of ground left.
Whoever won this fight—
Would still be surrounded by flames.
Shinji suddenly shifted from defense to offense.
"Shave!"
He vanished.
The next instant he appeared directly in front of Yan Feng.
"Tempest Kick!"
Boom!
Yan Feng raised his sword to block.
The blade had grown so hot it nearly burned his hands.
Fortunately, Tempest Kick was an air slash.
The battle continued.
Both men fought at the edge of life and death.
Toxic smoke filled the air.
The heat climbed higher and higher.
Soon there wasn't a single living tree left nearby.
For more than an hour—
Shinji and Yan Feng fought inside the blazing inferno.
Their bodies lost water rapidly.
Their lives were hanging by a thread.
"You're finished…"
Yan Feng's lips were cracked and dry.
The sword in his hand glowed red with heat.
Clang.
The blade slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.
This pirate—who had terrorized the seas with a 50 million Berry bounty—had exhausted every trick he possessed.
He had never trusted anyone.
Not his vice-captain.
Not even his closest crew.
To him, they had always been disposable pieces.
Yan Feng was the perfect example of a pirate.
They killed.
They feared nothing.
They lived only for themselves.
He struggled to stand.
His skin had turned bright red from the heat.
"If I can't even hold a sword…"
He laughed bitterly.
"No wonder… this temperature would kill any normal person."
"Lasting this long is already my limit."
"Soon I'll probably burn into ashes."
Across from him—
Shinji also looked exhausted.
His lips were pale, and his skin was flushed.
But strangely—
He didn't seem to be weakening.
Instead, he looked like he was adapting.
"How…?"
Yan Feng's eyes widened.
He had fought for over an hour in extreme heat.
His strength was completely drained.
So why—
Did Shinji still look capable of fighting?
Step by step—
Shinji walked toward him.
The burnt skin across his body cracked and fell away.
Beneath it—
Fresh skin appeared.
Like a snake shedding its old shell.
"Why is your body changing…?"
Yan Feng's half-collapsed body trembled in disbelief.
It was the only thing keeping him alive for a few more seconds.
"I told you."
Shinji swallowed dryly.
"I won't die."
His Devil Fruit ability didn't only help him adapt to seawater slowly.
It could even adapt to extreme heat.
Every injury.
Every hardship.
Made him stronger.
Yan Feng's eyes widened in sudden realization.
He recalled the moment Shinji had blown up the boat without hesitation and forced him toward the burning shore.
"You… you're a Devil Fruit user."
"That's why you ran back to land…"
"And why you refused to fight me in the sea…"
Yan Feng laughed hoarsely.
"I understand now."
"I understand everything."