"Cough, let's deal with these monsters first," Ace forcibly changed the subject, raising his fist towards the monsters landing in the distance.
"Flame Commandment: Flame Pillar!"
The sky was torn apart by flames. A pillar of blazing white fire descended like a sword of judgment.
The moment the flames exploded, the dozen or so monsters didn't even have time to scream before being instantly roasted into charred husks.
Instantly forgetting his pain, Luffy jumped up excitedly. "That was fire just now? You ate a Devil Fruit too?"
Ace snapped his fingers. A small flame danced on his fingertip, illuminating his eyes. "Yeah, it's the power of the Mera Mera no Mi."
"So cool!" Luffy's eyes instantly turned into stars, but then his mouth drooped in envy. "It seems way more powerful than my Gomu Gomu no Mi. I couldn't beat you before, and now I really can't."
Ace laughed, ruffling his hair. "Who spends all day thinking about how to beat up their big brother?"
Setsuna casually took a piece of the roasted monster meat. His eyes immediately lit up. "The meat of these monsters is quite good. What do you think, Don Slime?"
However, Don Slime called out with a fanatical tone, "Eat him, eat him!"
Setsuna found the noise a bit headache-inducing. "Who do you want to eat?"
Don Slime shouted, "That straw-hat-wearing brat."
Setsuna fell silent for a moment. "How did you pick up the bad habit of eating people?"
Don Slime calmed down somewhat. "To be precise, it's the devil inside him."
"A devil? You mean a Devil Fruit?" Setsuna asked in surprise.
Don Slime said in a greedy tone, "There's a devil similar to me inside him. According to the laws of Gourmet Cells, Appetite Demons cannot devour each other, or the body will explode."
"But the devil inside him obviously isn't an Appetite Demon. If I eat the devil inside him, my strength might become even greater."
Setsuna frowned. "When I met Ace earlier, and when I fought Golden Lion, why didn't you have this reaction?"
Don Slime replied without hesitation, "The devils inside them are quite different from me."
Setsuna pondered, 'The essence of an Appetite Demon was a food spirit, a heroic spirit, a top-tier powerhouse that once roamed the universe. And the Five Elders had said that Zoan-type Devil Fruits each had their own will.'
'Could it be that Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruits were actually the transformed remnants of certain top-tier powerhouses or mythical creatures after death?'
Setsuna glanced at the future [Sun God]. Luffy felt a chill from Setsuna's gaze and tugged at Ace. "Ace, is this your crewmate?"
"Haha, he's my Captain," Ace said with an awkward laugh.
"Huh? Captain?" Dadan couldn't believe it. She understood Ace's potential well.
Even without a Devil Fruit, Ace could easily defeat Luffy. Now, having eaten a Logia-type Devil Fruit, he should theoretically be able to roam the Grand Line freely. Yet he let someone his own age be his Captain?
Luffy clenched his fists. "Ace, is he really strong?"
Ace seriously recalled Setsuna's actions, took a deep breath, and said, "The Captain's strength is unbelievably powerful."
A blazing fire ignited in Luffy's eyes as he stared directly into Setsuna's. "Even with Ace helping you, I won't give up on being the Pirate King! I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!"
"Alright, alright, I have zero interest in being the Pirate King or anything like that," Setsuna said nonchalantly.
Seeing Setsuna not take the title of Pirate King seriously made Luffy even more frustrated.
Setsuna spoke in his consciousness space. "Although this kid is noisy, he's still my subordinate's brother. You better not set your sights on him."
"Eh? He's your subordinate's brother?" Don Slime was, after all, a righteous being. Hearing this, he decisively gave up. "Actually, I just wanted to try something new. Honestly, in terms of increasing strength, it probably wouldn't increase much anyway."
Setsuna kept it in mind. "Alright. I'll cooperate with this world's government later to see if I can get a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit for you."
Of course, this path was slim. Mythical Zoans were too rare. Even if the World Government obtained one, they might not be willing to trade it.
However, while Mythical Zoan fruits were rare, Mythical Zoan users weren't too few. Perhaps he could try hunting Mythical Zoan users like Blackbeard.
But the problem was, the rebirth of a Devil Fruit in a nearby fruit after killing its user was probably a low-probability event. If it failed, who knew how long it would take for that particular Mythical Zoan fruit to reappear.
'Maybe I should consider intercepting Blackbeard…' Setsuna thought with interest. Although he wasn't sure if the key to Blackbeard's hunting of users was the Yami Yami no Mi, intercepting him wouldn't hurt.
Only then did Don Slime respond to Setsuna's initial question. "The meat of these monsters really is quite good. I'm starting to wonder if they evolved in the wrong direction… towards being delicious?"
Setsuna agreed. "It's a pity that doctor under Golden Lion probably died in the crash. Should we capture a batch of these monsters and domesticate them?"
Slime praised, "As expected, great minds think alike. Get a few more pirate ships, then do that 'chain the boats together' thing you mentioned. Combine those pirate ships, and you'll have a place to raise the monsters."
Setsuna nodded slightly. His real idea was to obtain Moria's Thriller Bark and turn it into a massive gourmet restaurant.
As for the problem of Thriller Bark's massive size possibly preventing it from being coated to cross into the New World, he could simply have a subordinate eat the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi and have them pilot the ship over the Red Line from the sky.
After easily suppressing the loudly protesting Luffy who wanted to go to sea with them, Setsuna took Ace back to the battleship, where they were met with looks of reverence from the Marines as if they were gods.
They had seen from afar how Ace destroyed all those enormous monsters with a single punch.
Commander Kain asked, "Setsuna-sama, where are we going next?"
He had now completely adjusted his position, treating Setsuna as a high-ranking figure from Marine Headquarters.
Setsuna said, "Look up the location of the Krieg Pirates. Plan a route that allows for disaster relief while conveniently finding them along the way."
…
Monk Sea.
The Krieg Pirate Fleet's thirty warships fanned out, their cannons aimed at the Black Cat Pirates' fleet.
"Become my right arm, Kuro! With my strength and your intellect, once we enter the Grand Line, we can conquer the world!" The man covered head-to-toe in gleaming gold stood on the main deck, laughing loudly.
Jango excitedly said to the man beside him, "Captain, I read in the papers! Golden Lion said something similar to Roger back in the day, and Golden Lion also had the numerical advantage then. This means you, Captain, can become the Pirate King too!"
The subordinates behind Jango also cheered loudly. "Pirate King! Pirate King!"
Kuro felt quite exhausted. He wondered if he should retire from the pirate life. Continuing like this, he felt he might be infected by their stupidity.
Boom!
A flaming meteor suddenly fell from the sky, crashing heavily into the sea between the two pirate fleets.
The terrifying shockwave raised towering waves. The warships of both sides rocked violently, many pirates thrown overboard by the impact.
"What happened?!"
"Not good, it's a Marine battleship!"
Ace stood beside Setsuna and asked, "Captain, should I use Conqueror's Haki to knock them out?"
Setsuna shook his head. "Although these people are expendable, they still have some use. Knocking them out would require explanations later. Too troublesome."
After speaking, he stepped onto the sea surface.
Krieg's eyes widened. "Wh-what kind of sorcery is this?!"
Kuro's pupils contracted sharply. Cold sweat instantly soaked his back, 'Someone who could walk on water? How could such a person appear in the East Blue?'
Setsuna ignored their shock. He simply raised his right hand and hammered it down towards the sea surface.
"Vast Knocking!"
An invisible shockwave spread out. The sea surface instantly depressed. Then, a terrifying impact swept across all the ships.
"My body… I can't move!"
"What's going on?"
Everyone in the Krieg Pirates and Black Cat Pirates froze in place, screaming in terror.
Ace also widened his eyes, inwardly shocked, 'Captain has too many hidden techniques.'
"From now on, you are all my subordinates," Setsuna's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
Most of the pirates looked happy. Being a pirate meant following the right Captain. Following a boss like this was undoubtedly more promising than following Krieg or Kuro.
Krieg struggled and shouted, "Who wants to be your damn subordinate?! Have the guts to undo your sorcery and fight me fair and square! I have the strength to wield a one-ton weapon!"
Hearing his shout, even Ace felt speechless, 'He's actually bragging about wielding a one-ton weapon?'
Kuro inwardly cursed the fool and immediately shouted, "I am willing to submit!"
Krieg glared at Kuro with contempt. "Spineless trash."
The moment the words left his mouth, a Dodonpa beam instantly pierced through Krieg's forehead.
Setsuna naturally wouldn't waste time on such trash. He looked at Kuro. "From today, you are the leader of these pirates. Your job is simple: help me feed my pets."
Hearing this, the pirates all sighed in relief.
'So it's just feeding pets? That's way too easy.'
However, Kuro noticed that the Marines' eyes seemed to hold sympathy and silent mourning. A sense of foreboding crept into his heart.
Setsuna's gaze was indifferent. He only saw these pirates as expendable materials.
He and Ace didn't have time to feed monsters, so he'll just let these pirates handle the feeding.
As for whether these pirates themselves might become 'takeout' for the monsters, that wasn't his concern.