Chapter 39: Logia-type Ability Users
At this moment, a bonfire party was being held aboard the Night Fire Pirates' ship. Thanks to their captain's ability, the flames caused no damage to the vessel.
Because of this, they frequently held such bonfire celebrations, which was precisely how the Night Fire Pirates got their name.
"Hahahahaha! My lads, jump up!"
Horo Fry, the captain of the Night Fire Pirates, sat high in the main seat with 2 women—one cool, one fiery—cradled in his arms. He laughed loudly as he raised a glass of rum, a drink beloved by pirates.
They had been in the New World for half a month. Before entering, they had often heard how dangerous the New World was, but once they adapted to the sudden weather changes, things felt far less threatening.
As for those so-called great pirates, in their eyes, they were nothing special.
The reason for today's feast was to celebrate their first battle since entering the New World. Their opponent had been a pirate crew that entered the New World half a year earlier, yet they were still crushed by the Night Fire Pirates.
Horo Fry plundered all their valuables and seized the female crew members. As for the rest, he sank them all into the sea with a single burst of flame.
"Today is truly satisfying!"
Horo drained his glass in one gulp. The 2 women beside him immediately twisted their shapely hips and refilled his cup.
"The captain was amazing today! He wiped out those idiots in a single move!"
The pirates dancing around the bonfire laughed loudly. They also received shares of the loot, and once the captain grew tired of the captured women, they would get their turn.
But these things were secondary. After so many days at sea, they had long grown accustomed to such scenes.
What truly exhilarated them was the pleasure of crushing arrogant enemies.
"What New World seniors? What subordinates of Rocks? It's hilarious," someone shouted. "They act all high and mighty, but in the end, didn't they just go feed the fish?"
The remark sent the entire crew into roaring laughter.
Still, a few people felt uneasy.
"That group seemed to be from the legendary Rocks Pirates. Is it really okay to provoke them?"
"What's there to fear?" another pirate scoffed. "Rocks is probably just famous for nothing. There are plenty of people with empty reputations among the great pirates."
"Besides, they were the ones who provoked us first, trying to make the Night Fire Pirates their dogs. Dream on!"
"That's right! And our captain is an invincible Logia-type ability user. No one in this world can defeat him!"
High above, among the clouds, Ren heard every word through his Observation Haki.
"They actually provoked the Rocks Pirates," Ren muttered, rubbing his forehead. "These frogs at the bottom of a well. Even I'm debating whether to deal with them."
Rocks fought wars year-round, and the pirates under him were constantly expended. To maintain his power, fresh blood was always needed, and he often recruited famous pirate rookies from Paradise.
Kaido was a prime example.
Kaido was born in a kingdom called Wano. At the age of 10, he had already become the strongest soldier in his country. 7 years ago, the king of Wano sold Kaido to the Marines in exchange for the right to attend the World Council, but Kaido later escaped.
At that time, Kaido's bounty after escaping was exactly the same as Horo Fry's current bounty: 70 million Berries.
Later, Kaido caused chaos on Pirate Island, and Rocks had Whitebeard personally invite him. By now, Kaido had been an apprentice on Rocks' ship for 5 years.
Horo Fry's bounty was high enough, and he was a Logia-type ability user, so it made sense that Rocks would take an interest in him.
However, not everyone was worthy of being recruited by someone of Whitebeard's standing.
The pirate sent to recruit the Night Fire Pirates this time was merely a half-newcomer who had only been in the New World for half a year and had not even learned Haki.
As a result, not only did he fail to show Horo the cruelty of the New World, but his entire crew was sunk into the sea.
"After being humiliated like that, Rocks probably won't let it slide," Ren thought. "Then again, maybe he won't even care about such small fry. It's unlikely he'd go out of his way for a single pirate crew."
Logia-type abilities were indeed formidable in the first half of the Grand Line, but in the New World, their dominance faded.
Once Haki became widespread, elemental intangibility lost much of its absolute advantage. Among the future Four Emperors, only Blackbeard would be a Logia-type ability user.
And that Logia was not an ordinary one.
Thus, while Logia-type Devil Fruits had an extremely high baseline, reaching true top-tier strength depended entirely on the user.
Ren personally favored Paramecia-types or Mythical Zoan-types, but that did not mean he considered Logia-types weak.
The Glint-Glint Fruit, Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Mag-Mag Fruit, and Dark-Dark Fruit were all terrifyingly powerful.
The Night Fire Pirates provoking Rocks had little to do with Ren. He only wanted to requisition their pirate ship. What fault was there in that?
Moreover, while Ren had no desire to provoke a madman like Rocks, he was not afraid either. He was not charging into Rocks' base, so there was nothing to fear.
With that thought, Ren drew closer and closer to the Night Fire Pirates' ship.
At that moment, Jasmine and Yuriko also noticed the vessel.
"Is that a pirate ship?" Jasmine asked, leaning on a cloud and staring curiously at the glowing hull. "It looks like it's on fire…"
"Ren-sama, are you going to deal with them?" Yuriko asked.
Before Ren could respond, Jasmine was already rubbing her fists, clearly eager to fight.
Ren reached out and pressed her back down, stopping her from charging forward.
Jasmine's strength was still insufficient, and she had not yet mastered Haki. She had only been training for a short time.
This pirate crew had crossed the first half of the Grand Line and entered the New World. No matter what, they were not ordinary opponents.
"You 2 wait here for a bit," Ren said calmly. "It'll be over soon."
Leaving them suspended in the sky, Ren stepped onto a cloud and flew toward the Night Fire Pirates' ship.
It was already very late, and the drunken pirates failed to notice his approach.
Only when Ren stood openly at the bow did they suddenly react, shoving away the women in their arms and grabbing swords and firearms as they surrounded him.
"When did this guy get so close?"
Horo Fry frowned, staring warily at the man before him.
He had been seated high above, yet he had not seen how the other party appeared, as though Ren had been standing among them all along.
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