Akainu's face completely darkened. Of course, he didn't truly intend to fight Ron to the death here. His real goal was to tie down this variable, allowing Kaido and Red Hair to continue wearing each other down.
But the strength Ron displayed clearly exceeded his expectations.
"Sakazuki! Stand down!" Sengoku roared sternly from the execution platform. "Now is not the time for infighting!"
"Infighting?" But Akainu paid him no mind, sneering inwardly. His fists were fully elementalized, and billowing black smoke rose from his body: "Great Eruption!!!"
This time, he directly used his killing move!
A giant lava fist with a diameter exceeding ten meters blasted towards Ron like a volcanic eruption, the terrifying high temperature causing the nearby seawater to boil!
Ron, however, suddenly smiled.
That smile made even Whitebeard, who was watching the battle, frown—because twenty years ago, whenever that young Marine Vice Admiral showed this kind of smile, it meant someone was about to have terrible luck...
"Perfect..." Ron's purple markings instantly covered his entire body. "Let me try out my new ability on you!"
The moment the Devil Fruit markings appeared just now, an unprecedented realization flooded his mind: these mysterious markings could actually absorb Devil Fruit abilities!
The lava power from Akainu's previous attack was currently flowing within him in some mysterious form. Ron could clearly feel that with just a thought, the absorbed power could be released by reversing the markings!
"This is... Devil Body?" Ron lowered his head, looking at his fist glowing with purple light, a storm raging in his heart. Although he wasn't sure if this was the full extent of this physique's abilities, this single discovery alone was enough to make his blood boil.
Absorb, release, it's simply too powerful!
Just at this critical moment, Aokiji's figure suddenly flashed between the two, with a look in his eyes that suggested mediation.
"Ice Age!"
The biting cold instantly swept across the battlefield. Aokiji originally intended to use his freezing ability to stop this conflict, but he never expected that he would happen to become Ron's best experimental subject!
"Perfect timing!"
The purple light in Ron's eyes flared brightly, and the markings on his right fist suddenly flowed in reverse. The originally purple markings instantly turned crimson, precisely Akainu's lava power!
Boom!
His fist also turned into scorching lava, smashing hard against the ice wall. The collision of ice and fire erupted in a deafening blast, and the sky-filled steam instantly obscured the entire battlefield.
When the mist dispersed, everyone saw a scene that would be unforgettable for the rest of their lives.
Aokiji's meticulously constructed ice wall had a giant hole two meters in diameter blasted through it, with melted ice water still dripping from the edges.
And the crimson lava on Ron's right fist slowly receded, returning to its original state, while the purple markings also retreated beneath his skin, as if they had never appeared.
The entire Marineford fell into a deathly silence.
The telescope in Sengoku's hand dropped to the ground with a "clatter", his eyes filled with shock, unable to believe what he had just seen.
"Since when did Ron become a Devil Fruit ability user? And that crimson color... is that lava...?"
Garp's wide-open mouth was clearly just as shocked, and he muttered, "Didn't Ron have a fixation on not eating Devil Fruits? How did he eat a Devil Fruit too?"
Aokiji also looked at Ron in shock.
"This... this is impossible..." Akainu's face was terrifyingly grim. He stared intently at Ron's fist. "That's my ability!"
Kaido's dragon eyes narrowed to pinpricks. "What kind of joke is this... this guy..."
Even the usually composed Whitebeard put down Murakumogiri, his expression solemn. "Gurararara... It seems this old man still underestimated you, Ron. I didn't expect even you to have eaten a Devil Fruit."
Red-Haired Shanks rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Interesting... Is this your new ability? No wonder you said you had a way to stop Kaido."
Aokiji slowly retracted his frozen arm, his eyes full of shock. "You... just what..."
Ron shook his still slightly hot right hand, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "It seems today's surprises aren't limited to just these."
As his words fell, the purple markings suddenly began to flow rapidly all over his body, flashing with the icy blue of freezing. Aokiji's remaining ice wall instantly shattered, dissipating like steam.
In reality, it was all absorbed by Ron's Devil Body!
Everyone looked at him in shock. At this moment, everyone realized a terrifying truth.
Standing before them was very likely a monster capable of replicating multiple Devil Fruit abilities!
The landscape of this Marineford War was undergoing earth-shattering changes in a way no one could have predicted!
Ron looked around at the shocked crowd, the smile in his eyes growing deeper.
"This Devil Body is truly abnormal, it can actually absorb Devil Fruit power!"
He muttered softly, gently clenching and unclenching his right hand, feeling the power of the Ice-Ice Fruit flowing within him. Although it wasn't much, it was genuine Ice-Ice Fruit power!
With the Devil Body, he could control these powers as easily as his own limbs.
He just didn't know if there was a limit, and if he could absorb multiple abilities?
And whether he could absorb directly from the ability user? If so, that would be too abnormal. Just draining the opponent dry, how could they even fight?!
So all of this needed to be verified one by one.
And the last possibility made Ron's pupils contract slightly.
If he could truly absorb abilities directly from opponents... that would simply be the natural enemy of all ability users!
Just draining the opponent's power, how could they even fight?
His gaze slowly swept across the battlefield, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turning up. With so many Devil Fruit ability users before him, weren't they just little white mice? It was simply the best testing ground to verify these conjectures!
Akainu's Mag-Mag Fruit, Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit, Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit...
Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Marco's Phoenix Fruit, Jozu's Diamond Fruit...
And even Kaido's Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Azure Dragon form...
He wondered what would happen after absorbing Paramecia or Zoan types. Would he perhaps turn into the corresponding animal, but only for a limited time...?
These were all his deductions.
Try it?
Then try it!
Ron chuckled softly, suddenly spread his arms wide, and looked at everyone eagerly. "Who else wants to fight?" His voice held unconcealed excitement. "I can... have a good time playing with you all."
These words were like a giant boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand waves!
Akainu's face was terrifyingly grim, lava surging violently on his fists. What kind of ability did this guy Ron have, that he could actually mimic his lava!
"Hmph!"
Aokiji's brows were tightly furrowed, cold air overflowing around him. After seeing Ron's bizarre ability, he didn't want to engage in combat with the opponent for the time being.
"Ara~ Brother Ron is still the same as always, he always has trump cards no matter when, making it impossible to see through him."
...
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