Chapter 32: Strengthen Again
"I never thought that you, Yamato, are actually a user of a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit."
On the Spade Pirates' ship, a group of hairy-legged crew members stared at Yamato—now transformed into a massive, white-furred wolf—with envy and awe.
A Mythical Zoan Fruit—rarer even than Logia-types—possessed incredible power.
Especially Yamato's fruit, the Ōguchi no Makami no Mi, not only granted a divine beast form but also had the power of ice. Even the sea—the natural enemy of all Devil Fruit users—was no longer a threat to her.
Hearing the admiration from the crew, Yamato puffed her chest with pride and leaped into the sea, taking a few laps for fun.
Where her feet touched the water, frost rapidly formed, turning the surface into an icy road that expanded as she ran—like she was skating across a frozen sea.
Ace, sitting cross-legged on the deck like a salted fish, sighed enviously.
"It's amazing… both you and Ayaan can move freely across the sea. But me, with the Mera Mera no Mi, I'd be done for if I fell in."
Ayaan, arms folded and eyes closed in thought, replied casually,
"What's there to envy? Your flames can let you fly. Yamato and I can't do that with our fruits."
Indeed, no matter how Yamato developed her Ōguchi no Makami no Mi, flight wasn't one of its powers. But for Ayaan, flying wasn't impossible.
He could just swallow a jet or rocket boots, or even modify himself into a set of Iron Man armor if he wanted.
However, Ayaan specialized in biological enhancement, not mechanical. Still, that didn't matter—if he ever found a brilliant scientist and swallowed their creation, he could directly gain the ability to recreate or modify machines.
But when it came to modifying his own body, only biological enhancement worked. That's why Ayaan focused on human body transformation rather than tech.
Most importantly, it was the power of the Baku Baku no Mi—a fruit whose modification abilities bordered on wish-granting—that made all this possible. It dramatically lowered the difficulty of transforming the body.
Ayaan turned his gaze to Ace and said,
"Captain, you'd better train hard. You're no match for Yamato right now. After removing her seastone handcuffs, she's entering a rapid growth phase. If you slack off, you'll fall even further behind."
"Ahhh! I know, I know! I'll give it my all!" Ace groaned bitterly. He had just sparred with Yamato—and got thoroughly thrashed.
While restrained with seastone cuffs, Yamato could only rely on raw physical strength. Now, with full access to her Mythical Zoan abilities, she completely overwhelmed Ace.
The Mera Mera no Mi's flames were simply countered by Yamato's icy powers. The battle was lopsided.
Ace's Logia intangibility offered less advantage against Yamato's Armament Haki, while her superhuman physique gave her a constant edge.
So, Ace put on low-purity seastone cuffs to train under pressure, gritting his teeth with renewed resolve.
> Train hard, Ace. I don't want to relive the war at Marineford, where I was helpless to save you, Ayaan thought silently, a rare seriousness on his face.
As Ace began intense training, Ayaan sat quietly, reflecting on his recent gains.
The greatest prize wasn't the treasure he stole from the Beasts Pirates—but Yamato's body structure.
Her potential rivaled Ace's. As a member of the Oni race, her unique biology offered Ayaan new insight into perfecting his own transformation.
When he first modified himself, he was like a blank canvas. With Ace's genetic structure, he could easily copy 80% of his potential.
Now, after analyzing Yamato's body, things were trickier. The Oni were sub-human—still compatible with humans, but different enough to complicate integration.
Combining both Ace and Yamato's genetic advantages was like trying to blend two masterpieces into one perfect painting.
Fortunately, the Baku Baku no Mi allowed endless trial and error. Ayaan could reset his body as many times as needed—until he found the ideal fusion.
After pondering for a while, Ayaan felt confident. He opened his mouth and swallowed himself with a snort.
The Spade Pirates no longer found this strange. They were used to Ayaan's eccentric behavior by now.
Moments later, he spat himself back out. Flexing his fingers, Ayaan felt power coursing through his body and smiled.
"Yes... with this transformation, my potential is now equal to—if not greater than—Ace and Yamato's. This body is nearly perfect."
"From here on, the only ones who could help me improve further… are Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom."
"...And of course, there's Blackbeard's strange body too."
With Ayaan's transformation complete, Yamato entering a growth spurt, and Ace undergoing harsh training, the entire Spade Pirates entered a period of intensive development.
They no longer sought out the Whitebeard or Red-Haired Pirates as before. They focused entirely on getting stronger.
Ace, having witnessed Yamato's strength firsthand, had a better understanding of what it meant to face a Four Emperor. If he went now, he'd just be sending himself to the slaughter.
This training period was his way of preparing seriously—of making sure that if he faced Whitebeard, it would be as an equal, not a fool.
However, as the saying goes, "The tree may wish to stay still, but the wind never stops."
The Spade Pirates had veered far from the original course.
They didn't just go to the Kingdom of Hope anymore.
They stole Kaido's treasure.
They rescued Yamato.
Their conflict with the Beasts Pirates was now irreversible.