Grand Line — Winter Island, Flag Archipelago.
"Captain, is that guy really that strong? Can he really defeat pirates with bounties over a hundred million?"
Bonney's eyes blazed with eagerness. After defeating Silver Fox Foxy with his 24-million bounty, she was desperate to prove herself further by taking down even stronger opponents.
"You're not ready to face him yet. Law, Bege—you two will test him first."
Souta Kiryuu's calm voice cut through the crisp winter air. Their target: Don Achino, wielder of the Heat-Heat Fruit. His Paramecia powers allowed him to manipulate his own temperature anywhere between one degree and ten thousand degrees. Against pirates of Paradise, such a power was nearly invincible.
Even notorious pirates once worth over a hundred million, who had retreated from the New World, had fallen under the suffocating blaze of Don Achino's heat.
Could Law and Bege—Supernovas who had left the North Blue and West Blue one or two years ahead of the others—stand against a veteran of the Grand Line like him?
"Understood."
Both men's faces hardened as they saw the terrifying sight: the ground beneath Achino's feet was melting into magma.
To be able to establish his family's reign in this part of Paradise's later seas—the Achino clan clearly carried real power.
As the golden Ark Maxim descended, the Achino family stood in grim formation, staring up at the sudden aerial invaders.
Don Achino had three sons, two daughters, and a son-in-law—each possessing considerable fighting ability. Together, they had earned renown as the Flag Hunters, carving out their reputation by defeating pirate crews year after year and collecting their flags as trophies.
"I'll take care of those ones!"
Bonney swallowed hard at the sight of Achino radiating waves of shimmering heat. Her fiery spirit did not waver—she turned her gaze to the rest of the family instead. They looked formidable too, perhaps at the level of pirates worth thirty to fifty million. Perfect opponents for her.
Lafitte slipped forward, arranging himself to face the Achino children.
"Tch… I'd rather just blast them all with a single thunderbolt."
Enel muttered bitterly, perched arrogantly on the ship's railing. Yet he didn't move. He and the other two "gods" of the crew—Souta Kiryuu and Kuma—did not need to sully themselves with such prey. Their presence alone was overwhelming.
"The criminal who slaughtered Celestial Dragons, bounty of one billion—Souta Kiryuu. The Tyrant, Bartholomew Kuma. And the rumored Thunder God of the Underworld, Enel…"
Don Achino's face grew grave as he muttered their names.
And yet these monsters weren't even moving—they were letting mere newcomers handle him?
It was an insult to the "Scorching Don Achino."
But the truth was undeniable. They had the right to look down on him.
"Liru, Arubelu—you two must run!"
Achino barked at his daughters. He and his three sons, along with his son-in-law, would hold the line to buy them time.
"Father!"
The girls cried out, unwilling to leave their family behind.
"ROOM… Slash!"
Law gave no time for sentiment. With a cold voice, his blade swept in a clean arc, slicing toward Achino.
The veteran roared, cranking his heat to maximum, desperate to melt Law's cursed sword before it could cut him down.
"Castle—Fire!"
From beside him, Capone Bege transformed, unleashing waves of mafiosi from his fortress-body. Machine gun fire and cannon blasts thundered into Achino's position, tearing the ground apart in a storm of fire and smoke.
On the other side, Bonney sent Achino's son-in-law Sarugo flying with a massive punch, before clashing with the third son, Don Hockru, a fiery duel that left her grinning with adrenaline.
Lafitte engaged the twins—Don Kambachino and Don Brandy—who wielded uncanny magnetic powers in tandem.
"Enel, you see that? Those twins' magnetism—they're using attraction. Electricity and magnetism are one and the same. You should learn from this. If Vegapunk has studied it, you can too. Imagine the new techniques you could develop."
Souta Kiryuu's voice carried across the battlefield, calm yet sharp.
Even Eustass Kid had honed the Magnet-Magnet Fruit into devastating railguns. Enel's Rumble-Rumble powers carried far more potential—if he could understand electromagnetic force.
"Electro… magnetism?"
Enel frowned, puzzled. He had never even heard of such a concept back in Birka. But Souta's words struck a chord. If his captain could master multiple forces—lightning, fire, poison—then so could he.
He would return to Skypiea, seek out knowledge, and wield electromagnetism as his own.
"Yes. Learn it well, and you'll become far stronger."
Souta smiled faintly, turning his attention back to Lafitte's elegant battle. Even without showing his Zoan form, with only his white wings and aristocratic blade, Lafitte toyed with the twins like a predator savoring its prey.
"This guy… he's hiding his true power even now," Souta chuckled. "I still don't even know what his Devil Fruit is."
Lafitte had never said. Souta had never asked. That was their unspoken agreement.
Before long, Bonney triumphed, flooring both Sarugo and Hockru. Her strength was already leagues beyond what her childish appearance suggested.
Lafitte soon followed, carving the twins bloody with non-lethal but sadistic cuts, like a cat playing with cornered mice.
Boom!!
Suddenly, a tidal wave of magma surged forth. Law and Bege were forced back as Don Achino, enraged beyond control, unleashed his strongest technique.
"This is my domain! Get out!!"
He roared from atop the seething lava, his body radiating heat so intense the air itself rippled. The waves of magma surged toward Law and Bege, forcing sweat to bead down their foreheads.
Before Law could even analyze a counter, lightning tore the sky apart.
A colossal thunderbolt smashed into Achino, blackening his skin in an instant.
"One Hundred Million Volt—Discharge!"
Enel appeared above his charred body, transforming fully into lightning. With merciless arrogance, he unleashed a devastating surge point-blank, frying Achino into unconsciousness.
Szzzt!
Enel's golden spear pierced through Achino's shoulder, hoisting his broken body from the magma before tossing him unceremoniously at Law and Bege's feet.
Then, with a mocking smirk, Enel turned back into lightning, reappearing casually on the Ark Maxim's deck.
From his lofty perch, he sneered down at his comrades.
"This… is the difference between gods and mortals."
His dead-fish eyes narrowed, lips curling smugly.
Law's hand twitched on his sword hilt. For a brief moment, he nearly drew Ghost Cry to slice the arrogant "god" in two.