Upon hearing Ace's bold proclamation, his crew members were so moved that they almost wept.

But the faces of the natives turned green when they heard his words!

"We bullied your people? Are you blind? Can't you see that all those lying on the ground are our brothers?"

Their leader, Kasa, looked even more fierce and ordered through clenched teeth, "Capture these guys and offer them to the Great Shaman!"

"Yes!" The natives attacked again, but now that the battle was on the ship, Ace could fully unleash his abilities, especially with Noir's help.

The situation quickly turned in their favor. Despite being outnumbered, the poorly armed and averagely strong natives could not withstand their attacks and began to retreat.

With no other choice, Kasa shouted to his men, "We are no match for them! Retreat!"

"Trying to run?" Noir's eyes narrowed, and a not-yet-refined wave of Conqueror's Haki surged from him, causing a strange disturbance in the air. The fleeing natives shuddered as if they had seen a ghost.

Plop! Plop!

One by one, they fell into the water as if rushing to their deaths.

Without a struggle, those who jumped overboard fainted and sank into the sea. Those who had threatened to feed Noir to the fish also fell in. It seemed that they themselves would end up in the bellies of the fish.

A few who didn't jump foamed at the mouth and collapsed on the deck. Only Kasa, trembling and rolling his eyes, managed to stay on his knees without falling.

Ace looked at Noir with a sense of understanding, feeling that the power he had just seen was somehow familiar.

Surprised by Kasa's resilience, Noir thought to himself, "His luck is pretty strong.

Although his Conqueror's Haki was still at a basic level, it should have been enough to deal with these guys.

Not too worried, Noir grabbed Kasa by the neck and commanded harshly, "Lead the way! I want to meet your great shaman."

Kasa, eyes blazing with anger, cursed, "You despicable brat, what sorcery did you use? The Great Shaman will call down heavenly fire and burn you to ashes!"

Ace replied in disgust, "You tried to kill us first. Should we just stand there and let you do it?"

Heavenly fire? Noir's interest was piqued. A user of fire abilities? Considering that Ace was here, could the previous user of the Flame Fruit be that Great Shaman?

That made it all the more necessary to go.

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Noir slapped Kasa's graffiti-covered face twice and said coldly, "Lead the way! No more nonsense or I'll rip your tongue out!"

The once-tough Kasa immediately succumbed to the threat and obediently began to lead the way.

According to him, the sea beasts they were using, called red-spotted dolphins, nested under the island where Kasa's tribe lived, allowing them to easily navigate through the thick fog.

When they finally found the right direction, everyone on board breathed a sigh of relief. Ace thanked Noir enthusiastically and introduced himself: "Hi, I'm Portgas D. Ace, captain of the Spade Pirates.

"That masked guy over there is Deuce, a doctor. The one covered in skull decorations is Skull, a hardcore pirate fan and collector of skull-themed items."

"And that guy is Mihar, a sniper. Don't be fooled by his shyness, his marksmanship is top notch!"

Mihar rolled his eyes at his captain's introduction.

"I'm Noir, a pirate bounty hunter," Noir replied friendly.

"A bounty hunter?!" Ace and his crew shouted in unison.

Deuce, trembling, stammered, "You're not here to catch us, are you?"

Skull, familiar with the pirate world, exclaimed in horror, "Now I remember! He's the notorious pirate hunter Noir, feared throughout the East Blue!"

Ace, clutching his head in shock, exclaimed, "So we boarded a pirate hunter's ship?!"

The usually silent Mihar sighed helplessly at the antics of his crewmates.

Noir, unfazed, watched the three pirates retreat and asked mockingly, "Do you have bounties on your heads?"

"Bounties?" Ace scratched his head and thought. "I don't think so... not yet."

"Then it's settled," Noir said. "You're not worth a penny to me right now. Why should I bother to catch you?"

Better to let them grow until their bounties reach two hundred million. If not, selling them privately to Garp would also be a good option.

Enjoying his mischievous thoughts, Noir smiled inwardly.

Hearing this, Ace relaxed, and the three pirates didn't mind Noir's slight insult. They happily linked arms with him.

But if Ace knew Noir's real thoughts, he would definitely punch him in the head.

"Host has befriended an important character. Reward: 1 Gold Talent Copy Card, 10 White Talent Copy Cards, Constitution +15, and Amaterasu Flames (modified version)".

Noir was happy to get another Gold Copy Card! And Amaterasu Flames - weren't those the unquenchable flames from Naruto?

He quickly checked the system's description and was stunned.

While the basic characteristic remained - burning until the target was completely incinerated - the activation method had changed.

No longer dependent on eye contact, the Amaterasu Flames had become a physical ability. Noir could summon and control them by consuming a certain amount of stamina.

The downside was that these flames couldn't be projected; they could only form on his skin. To burn someone, Noir would have to make physical contact and transfer the flames.

In a brutal way, he could turn himself into a human torch and attack enemies or wait for them to attack him and burn them to ashes.

He wondered if there was any power in the pirate world that could stand up to Amaterasu. In Naruto, there were many ways to deal with it, but here, perhaps only the Armament Haki could defend against it.

Noir thought deeply. Although the Amaterasu's long-range ability was almost zero, its defense had increased, and it could cover its martial arts and swordsmanship with the flames, making it a powerful offensive tool.

Fortunately, the flames would only burn his chosen targets, sparing his clothes. Otherwise, he'd be fighting naked while burning.

Enjoying the power of the Amaterasu Flames within him, Noir turned his thoughts to Ace. Once Ace ate the Flame Fruit, Noir planned to copy his abilities.

Combining the fire of the Devil Fruit with the Amaterasu Flames would make him the undisputed King of Flames!