Chapter 53: The King Who Controls Fire

Sorbet Kingdom, Eastern Seas.

The black-red Haki that tore the sky finally ceased after lasting a full day, and Master Tenghu leaned against the mast, letting out a long sigh of relief.

With his eyes closed, Master Tenghu could eat and sleep like a normal person, relying entirely on his outstanding Observation Haki to perceive everything around him.

For many years, he had long grown accustomed to this.

Until yesterday... after Observation Haki was blocked, it was as if he were blind in both eyes.

Fortunately, it has finally recovered now.

Through Observation Haki, Master Tenghu gained a preliminary understanding of the captain's current condition: he was unharmed, and the blazing flames burning on his body had all gathered behind him—forming a pair of wings composed entirely of crimson fire.

Master Tenghu finally understood: why the Jolly Roger of the Morning Star Pirates was a ball of fire, and the ring surrounding the flames was clearly the wings behind the captain.

Jolly Roger emblem

Such a situation completely confirms: Captain Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen is of the Lunarian race.

Inside the captain's cabin.

Saint Saint Saiwen had a very, very long dream, in which he lit fires to cook food for primitive humans, keep them warm, and drive away wild beasts...

Primitive humans revered him as a god.

For primitive humans, fire was a fundamental survival revolution and a catalyst for civilization, completely reshaping human survival methods, social structures, and evolutionary paths.

Heated cooked food is easier to chew and digest, greatly improving nutritional absorption efficiency and accelerating brain development.

Fire provided a stable heat source, allowing humans to migrate and settle in cold regions, greatly expanding living space.

It was also the most effective defensive weapon in the night and in caves, driving away fierce beasts and ensuring the safety of the tribe.

The gears of human society henceforth accelerated with a boom.

Until one day, those once devout believers who knelt and kowtowed quietly turned their sharpened butcher knives against their god.

The Lunarian race, extinct.

After sleeping for a full twenty-four hours, Saint Saint Saiwen's eyes, filled with sorrow due to unfamiliar memories, finally opened.

After a moment of recovery, Saint Saint Saiwen rubbed his brow.

"Well, this is a sad story."

Almost in the next second, the sorrowful eyes instantly became clear and foolish.

Although his bloodline was modified into the Lunarian bloodline, Saint Saint Saiwen's essence remained a human soul, a high-and-mighty transmigrator.

A transmigrator who once viewed everything in the Pirate World as paper figures.

Naturally, he would not be affected by hatred.

If he encounters descendants of the Lunarian race in the future, Saint Saint Saiwen does not mind providing them shelter; even overthrowing the World Government could barely count as revenge.

As for restoring the glory of the Lunarian race?

Better to wait until everything settles down and just have many big, fat sons.

The matter of bloodline connection, Saint Saint Saiwen simply did not care; he didn't even know who his parents were in this life, so how could he care about a mere bloodline connection?

In the face of absolute strength, everything appears so insignificant.

The so-called glory is nothing but a pile of empty fame.

Without sufficient power, even the most brilliant past is just a fleeting cloud, and even the purest bloodline will become a laughingstock at the mercy of others.

Only with great strength can one stand firm on this sea of survival of the fittest and live as one pleases.

Taking clothes from the System Space and putting them on, the wings of fire behind Saint Saint Saiwen fluttered lightly, and the whole person shot through the sky like an arrow leaving the string.

Crimson flame light trailed a short and dazzling streak, and in the blink of an eye, he suddenly fell from the sky onto the deck.

The completion of the Lunarian bloodline modification made Saint Saint Saiwen the master of fire; generating and controlling fire seemed to be an instinct carved into his genetic code.

This made Saint Saint Saiwen feel compelled to say—

"No wonder the Mera Mera no Mi has such a bad reputation."

Think about it; after finally obtaining the rare Logia-type Mera Mera no Mi, you eat it and discover: damn it, everyone can play with fire.

Straw Hat Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Mi can even fire a Fire Fist Pistol; who can you complain to about this?

Not to mention those Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruits, which can not only play with fire, wind, and electricity... but also strengthen the body to gain a monstrous physique.

Even more excessive is that people like Xiao Shan Zhi, who have not eaten a Devil Fruit, are also extremely skilled at playing with fire.

Moreover, there are the Lunarians, the kings who naturally control fire.

It gives people the illusion that regardless of whether one eats the Mera Mera no Mi or not, playing with fire is as common as Armament Haki in the New World; everyone can do it.

At the moment the fiery wings behind him contracted and extinguished, Saint Saint Saiwen stumbled as soon as he took a step—the Lunarian bloodline trait: when the fire extinguishes, speed increases by one hundred percent.

"This boost is simply outrageous."

Even without using the power of the Goro Goro no Mi, relying solely on the bloodline boost, one could now move like a sword unsheathed, with the shadow following the blade.

The only regret is that the two boost states are inherently contradictory and cannot be possessed simultaneously.

In future battles, Saint Saint Saiwen must switch at the precise moment between the one hundred percent defense boost when the flames burn and the one hundred percent speed boost after the flames extinguish.

The flying cape, previously treasured by Saint Saint Saiwen, will now, besides saving stamina, serve more as a function to prevent the fiery wings from burning his clothes to ash.

Sensing Mihawk and Master Tenghu's gazes converging, Saint Saint Saiwen shrugged like a little bear.

"Remember to keep this secret for me, okay?"

Everyone has their own secrets; Saint Saint Saiwen was unwilling to reveal too much, and Mihawk and Master Tenghu chose to respect the captain's personal privacy.

"I'm starving," Saint Saint Saiwen complained loudly.

"I'm going to cook."

As if nothing had happened, the Donghai Dihuang raised its sails again and set sail, heading towards the Ducheng of the Sorbet Kingdom.

Only Little Robin and her mother seemed to have slept too long; by nightfall, they could not fall asleep no matter what.

West Sea, the ruins of Ohara.

After finalizing the cooperation terms with Vegapunk, Dragon watched his partner's figure vanish, and was just about to leave when his pocket phone suddenly vibrated.

"Dragon, come back quickly and join me in the Solbe Kingdom—I can't reach Big Bear or Jin Ni; they might be in trouble."

Dragon nodded and replied: "Let's meet in the South Sea."

Dragon knew Big Bear and Jin Ni.

Sixteen years ago, the two had escaped the Celestial Dragons' grasp alongside Ivankov, then returned to the Solbe Kingdom to live in seclusion.

According to Ivankov's earlier description, Big Bear was precisely the warrior the Self-Revolutionary Army most needed—a warrior who could win battles.

And Jin Ni was an expert in eavesdropping and communications, arguably the finest talent on the seas.

Sixteen years ago, the Celestial Dragons were about to hold a hunting competition in the Valley of the Gods, a secret unknown to the outside world.

It was Jin Ni, using a stolen telephone fish, who learned the competition's prize through eavesdropping, and two weeks before the event, leaked the location of the Valley of the Gods island to the outside.

Only then could the Roger Pirates and the Rocks Pirates reach the Valley of the Gods.

Thinking of this, Dragon's eyes burned with eagerness—he longed to rush to the South Sea and invite Big Bear and Jin Ni to join the Self-Revolutionary Army.

What is most scarce on the seas?

Talent, talent, damn it, talent.

"I must get there quickly!"