Chapter 53: The King Who Commands Fire

The Kingdom of Solbe, eastern seas.

The black-red Haki that tore across the sky finally ceased after an entire day; Tenghu passed a long breath, leaning back against the mast.

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

For years, he had long grown accustomed to it.

Until yesterday… when his Observation Haki was blocked, it was like being utterly blind.

Fortunately, it has now been restored.

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

Tenghu finally understood: why the Straw Hat Pirates’ Jolly Roger was a flame, and why the circular ring surrounding it was clearly the captain’s wings.

Pirate flag emblem

This situation fully confirmed: Captain Barzab Seven is a Lunaria.

Inside the captain’s cabin.

Seven had a long, long dream: in it, he ignited fire to cook food, provide warmth, and drive away beasts for primitive humans…

The primitive humans revered him as a god.

Fire was a fundamental survival revolution and a catalyst for civilization, utterly reshaping human ways of life, social structures, and evolutionary paths.

Cooked food, heated by fire, was easier to chew and digest, greatly improving nutrient absorption and accelerating brain development.

Fire provided a stable heat source, enabling humans to migrate and settle in cold regions, vastly expanding their living space.

It was also the most effective defense against predators at night and in caves, ensuring the safety of the tribe.

The gears of human society began to accelerate violently from that moment.

Until one day, those once-kneeling, devout worshippers quietly turned their sharpened knives against their god.

The Lunaria perished.

After sleeping for twenty-four hours straight, Seven finally opened his eyes—his gaze, filled with sorrow from these alien memories.

After a moment’s pause, Seven rubbed his temples.

“Alright, it’s a sad story.”

Almost instantly, the sorrowful eyes became clear—and foolish.

Though his bloodline had been transformed into that of the Lunaria, Seven’s essence remained a human soul, a transcendent outsider.

He was the one who had once viewed everything in the Pirate World as paper-thin characters.

Naturally, he was unaffected by hatred.

If he ever encountered Lunaria descendants in the future, he wouldn’t mind offering them protection—even toppling the World Government could barely count as revenge.

As for restoring the Lunaria’s glory?

Let’s wait until everything settles down—then just have plenty of fat little boys.

Bloodline inheritance meant nothing to Seven; he didn’t even know who his parents were in this life, so why care about some bloodline inheritance?

Before absolute power, everything seemed insignificant.

So-called glory was merely piled-up empty titles.

Without sufficient strength, even the most glorious past was but a fleeting shadow; even the purest bloodline would become a laughingstock for others to slaughter.

Only with overwhelming power could one stand firm on this lawless sea, and live exactly as one pleased.

Taking out clothes from his system space and putting them on, Seven gently flapped the flame-formed wings behind him, and shot into the sky like an arrow released from a bow.

Crimson flame left a brief, dazzling trail, then instantly crashed down onto the deck.

The completion of the Lunaria bloodline transformation made Seven the master of fire—generating and controlling flame as if it were an instinct carved into his genetic code.

This gave Seven a realization—

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

Think about it: you finally get the rare Logia Mera Mera no Mi, only to find out: damn, everyone can play with fire.

Even Luffy’s Gomu Gomu no Mi can fire Fire Fist Cannons—where do you even complain about that?

Not to mention the Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits, which let you play with fire, wind, electricity… and also enhance your body into monster-like strength.

Even worse, Sanji, who never ate a Devil Fruit, wields fire extremely well.

Then there’s the Lunaria, born kings who command fire.

It gives the illusion that whether or not you eat the Mera Mera no Mi, playing with fire is as common as Armament Haki in the New World.

The instant the flame wings behind him faded and vanished, Seven stumbled forward as he took a step—the Lunaria bloodline trait: when fire extinguishes, speed increases by one hundred percent.

“This boost is insane.”

Even without using the Goro Goro no Mi’s power, just with this bloodline boost alone, he could now move like a sword drawn from its sheath—blade arrives, shadow follows.

The only regret: the two boosts were inherently incompatible and couldn’t be active simultaneously.

In future battles, Seven would have to time his switches precisely between the hundred-percent defense boost while flames burned, and the hundred-percent speed boost after they extinguished.

The flight cloak he once treasured would now serve little purpose beyond conserving stamina—its main new function: preventing the flame wings from burning his clothes to ash.

Sensing Mihawk and Tenghu’s gazes converge on him, Seven spread his hands like a little bear.

“Keep this under wraps, okay?”

Everyone has secrets; Seven didn’t want to reveal too much, and Mihawk and Tenghu chose to respect the captain’s privacy.

“I’m starving.” Seven complained loudly.

“I’m going to cook.”

As if nothing had happened, the East Sea Emperor set sail again, heading toward the capital of the Kingdom of Solbe.

Only Robin and her mother seemed to have slept too long—they couldn’t fall asleep even at night.

…

West Blue, Ohara ruins.

After finalizing cooperation terms with Vegapunk, Dragon watched his partner vanish, then prepared to leave—when his pocket phone suddenly vibrated.

“Dragon, come back quickly and join me in the Kingdom of Solbe—I can’t reach Big Mom or Jin Ni. They might be in trouble.”

Dragon nodded: “We’ll meet in the South Blue.”

Dragon knew Big Mom and Jin Ni.

Sixteen years ago, they had escaped the Celestial Dragons’ grasp alongside Ivankov, then settled in hiding in the Kingdom of Solbe.

According to Ivankov’s earlier description, Big Mom was precisely the kind of 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 entire sea.

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

It was Jin Ni who, using a stolen Den Den Mushi, overheard the competition’s prize and leaked the location of the Valley of the Gods to the outside world two weeks before the event began.

That allowed the Roger Pirates and the Rocks Pirates to reach the Valley of the Gods.

Thinking of this, Dragon’s eyes burned hotter—he longed to rush to the South Blue and invite Big Mom and Jin Ni to join the Self-Revolutionary Army.

What is most scarce on the sea?

Talent, talent, and damn more talent.

“We need to get there fast!”