"Hmm... there's someone here."
Ace said in a low voice, sitting atop the ship's mast, his legs dangling in the air, his eyes staring in astonishment at the young man sleeping on the worn-out chair in the middle of the ship's deck.
The young man's body moved slowly, then he opened his eyes with a groan and a scowl.
"Man... it's rude to barge into someone else's place without permission."
He said in a heavy tone as he sat upright, stretched his arms, and yawned before lifting his head to look at the unknown visitor.
Seth stared at the strange-looking young man, his face covered in freckles, a wide cowboy hat being slapped by the wind side to side, and a confident gaze unlike that of ordinary pirates.
He whispered in amazement as he examined him closely.
"You're kidding me, right?"
He cast a quick glance around him, as if something in his memory had been triggered.
Above, Ace watched him curiously from his high position.
"Is he looking for a weapon?"
He muttered while observing Seth, who bent down to flip through some papers in his hands until he finally pulled something out.
"There it is..."
Seth grabbed the poster, held it up before his eyes, then looked again at the young man sitting on the mast.
He compared the printed image to that face whose strands of hair fluttered with the breeze, then the poster crumpled in his trembling grip.
His eyes glowed with something like excitement.
"No doubt... this man is... Fire Fist, Portgas D. Ace!"
Ace landed lightly from the mast, landing directly in front of Seth,
His feet touched the deck with a faint sound as his hat drooped slightly over his eyes, and he brushed the dust off his trousers while smiling confidently.
"Hello!! Sorry for waking you up..." He bowed slightly in apology then looked around until his gaze settled on Seth's severed right wrist and said,
"Are you the owner of this ship? It looks like it came out of a battle. Anyway, do you have food!? I haven't eaten in a while..."
Seth stared at him and listened to his rambling for a few seconds before slowly smiling, a smile that slightly unnerved Ace, as he clenched the poster tightly until its edge tore.
"Rude, arrogant, and sitting like you own the ship... no wonder, you're the infamous Fire Fist."
Ace laughed lightly and reached up to adjust his hat.
"Ah, looks like you're a fan... or are you here for the bounty?"
Seth tossed the bounty poster, now a bit crumpled.
"Fifty million Berries..."
He said it in a low voice, as if the number itself had weight.
Ace picked up the poster and looked at it. His smile froze for a moment, then he pointed at the paper with excitement.
"Ah, this is a new one... I think they reassessed my talent." He added with a laugh, "It's good to be famous."
"Indeed..."
Seth muttered, then lifted his eyes toward Ace.
"Actually... 50 million Berries is a very tempting amount, and recently I've seriously started thinking about changing my career path."
"Huh?"
Ace raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
Seth answered as he pointed again to the poster.
"Pirate hunter... full-time, guaranteed income, constant adventure... and it looks like today I'm standing before fifty million reasons to start now."
A brief silence fell, then Ace chuckled lightly, shaking his head.
"Wait... are you telling me this wasn't just a coincidence? You were actually after my bounty?"
"Huh!? Are you an idiot or what!?"
"No! I was just enjoying some peace and quiet... until you came falling out of the sky."
Seth shrugged with a sigh, then added with a mock-threatening tone:
"And since you're already here... how about we take a little trip to the nearest Marine base?"
He smirked faintly, eyes narrowing with irony.
"I'm sure they'll be thrilled to meet a celebrity like you."
Ace's gaze hardened, his voice carrying a sharper edge.
"Careful what you say... I don't take kindly to empty threats."
But Seth paid no mind to the warning.
A faint grin crept onto his face as he shifted his stance, while preparing to transform
"Let's find out if your reputation is actually earned, Fire Fist."
Ace smiled, and light tongues of flame began to rise from his body.
"Good. I enjoy proving I'm not just talk."
Seth's eyes narrowed, studying the rising fire with intrigued focus.
"Hmm... flames. So, you're a Devil Fruit user. That explains the nickname ,Fire Fist."
Grrrr!!
Just as things were getting tense, Ace's stomach growled in protest of hunger.
Ace canceled his flames and scratched the back of his head, laughing.
"How about we postpone the fight until after lunch?"
Seth sighed helplessly.
"Man, you're really something!! I'm literally targeting your head for the bounty and you're asking me for food..."
Ace laughed a little awkwardly.
"You know, I'm really hungry..."
Seth ignored his words and focused on the voice in his mind that appeared when Ace came a little closer.
[New DNA signature detected...]
[Scanning DNA in progress...]
"What!!?" Seth screamed in his mind, shocked.
"Wait, wait! Are you saying you can copy the DNA of Devil Fruit users too!?"
he asked quickly and excitedly. When he previously transformed into that dwarf-like creature, the intelligence boost gave him a superficial understanding of how the watch worked and its functions.
[Affirmative. I can automatically copy any powerful DNA as long as it is within scanning range...]
If Ace hadn't been present, Seth would've jumped from joy at the watch's reply.
"Damn! That means I can copy others' abilities..."
[Scan complete...]
[Estimated time to stabilize DNA: 47 minutes and 12 seconds...]
[Access to full transformation mode: temporarily restricted]
[Access to hybrid transformation mode: temporarily restricted]
[Access to Custom Transformation Mode has been denied: temporarily restricted ]
"Wait, what!!?" Seth suddenly shouted, startling Ace, who had walked away at some point and was now helping his friend up onto the ship.
"Oh! That's Deiss, a member of my crew. Hope you don't mind..." Ace said, thinking Seth was angry about someone else boarding his ship.
Seth waved his hand and said impatiently,
"Do whatever you want..."
Then refocused on the watch.
"Hey watch!? Why is transformation access blocked!?" he asked with frustration and anger.
[Access to transformation mode is temporarily restricted.]
He cursed angrily and kicked the chair.
"What's wrong with him!?" asked Deiss, who had just climbed onto the ship, frowning as he stared at Seth, who looked like a madman, kicking and cursing.
Ace shrugged and replied cheerfully,
"I don't know. I think he's... a bit eccentric."
Deiss glanced sideways at him.
"Really?! You're the one saying that?"
Ace laughed heartily but quickly fell silent when he saw Seth breathing deeply, then slowly sitting at the edge of the chair.
Far from them, Seth calmed down a little after venting his anger.
"How am I supposed to take the head of this so-called Ace..."
He sighed in frustration. "Anyway, it's better not to engage in a fight with them, not until the watch finishes stabilizing the new DNA..."