On the deck of the Spade Pirates' ship, excitement and surprise rippled through the crew.
"That was incredible, Ace! You actually took down two Vice Admirals!" Deuce exclaimed, his face lit up with astonishment.
Ace, lying wounded and exhausted on the deck, managed a grin. "It wasn't all me. Shin took down one of them himself!"
Ace's expression betrayed mixed feelings—he was used to bearing the brunt of battles alone, but one of his crewmates had truly helped for the first time.
The other members of the Spade Pirates exchanged looks of disbelief. They hadn't expected their newest recruit to be so capable in combat. "Weren't we all supposed to be struggling together? Who knew you'd be a hidden powerhouse?" one of them muttered.
Shin, still bleeding from a head wound, approached Ace. "Let me treat those injuries for you."
Ace looked at him, slightly apprehensive. "Uh… I think I'll be fine without—"
But before Ace could refuse, Shin had already started his unusual treatment method, swallowing Ace whole in one gulp.
The rest of the crew paled. Though they knew this was Shin's unique fruit ability, seeing their captain swallowed whole was still an unnerving sight.
Several minutes passed, and finally, Shin spat Ace back onto the deck. Ace took a deep breath, somewhat dazed but fully healed, and shot up to his feet.
"My injuries are gone! That's amazing," Ace said with genuine admiration despite the bizarre method.
"But how will you handle your own wounds, Shin?"
Shin, concealing a glint of excitement in his eyes, chuckled. "You're about to see one of my unique techniques. I call it 'Eating Myself.'"
With that, he opened his mouth impossibly wide and began to swallow himself, starting with his head, then his shoulders, and continuing down until there was nothing left but his mouth on the deck, wriggling as if alive.
The crew of the Spade Pirates watched, dumbfounded and horrified.
"What do we do? Shin just ate himself!" one crewmember stammered, the panic evident in his voice.
But within seconds, Shin reappeared, fully restored and even more vigorous than before.
Deuce rubbed his eyes, looking over the unscathed Shin, who now appeared more robust than ever. "This has to be some kind of illusion…."
Ace, still wide-eyed, chuckled. "Incredible. How on earth did you do that? I had no idea a Devil Fruit could work like that!"
The difference was unmistakable, and Ace's sharp instincts picked up on Shin's subtle increase in strength after his peculiar self-healing.
Shin grinned. "The Munch-Munch Fruit isn't any less powerful than your Flame-Flame Fruit, Ace. You just have to use a little creativity."
Ace sighed wistfully, his mind racing with ideas. "If only I could swap fruits with you! I'd love to try eating myself!"
For him, the thrill of exploration was the true spirit of piracy.
Following this intense battle, the marines seemed to pull back from their chase of the Spade Pirates, and not long after, they sent an invitation for Ace to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Just like in the original story, Ace swiftly declined the invitation. In response, the marines upped the bounty on both Ace and Shin.
"Sixty million? Just for taking down a Vice Admiral?" Shin remarked with mild disappointment, examining the wanted poster.
"Hey, don't complain! The captain of the Spade Pirates got a bigger bounty, but even Deuce received a twenty-million increase for his position as our deputy," remarked a crewmember wearing a skull mask.
Shin internally rolled his eyes. 'These Spade Pirates... they're practically Ace's entourage,' he thought.
He remembered that during Ace's infamous capture and execution, the Spade Pirates didn't make a single appearance. Given their loyalty, he doubted it was because they didn't care to show up—more likely, their limited strength kept them sidelined in the Whitebeard Pirates' shadow.
In truth, Shin didn't care much about the bounty culture of this world. His instincts, shaped in the ninja world, valued caution over fame. The higher the profile of a ninja, the shorter their lifespan tended to be.
To Shin, staying out of the limelight was a wise strategy.
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Mass Release: [4/5]
For every power stones milestone: 50,100, 200, 300,400,500 I will release a bonus chapter.
I will also release a bonus chapter for every two reviews until it reaches ten reviews.
Review status: [4/10]