The island loomed before them, wreathed in unnatural black clouds that crackled with violet lightning. The air smelled of ozone and something metallic—like blood on the wind.
Lale tightened the straps of her gloves, her Sharingan already active. "This place is wrong."
Ace grinned, flames flickering at his fingertips. "Wrong means interesting."
Their small fire-powered ship creaked as it neared the jagged shore. The sand was black, glittering like crushed obsidian. The trees were twisted, gnarled things with bark that pulsed faintly—like they had veins.
Lale stepped onto the beach and immediately recoiled. "The ground is warm."
Ace crouched, pressing his palm to the sand. "Huh. Feels like a heartbeat."
A distant boom echoed from deeper within the island. The trees shuddered.
Lale's eyes narrowed. "We're not alone."
They followed a crumbling stone path to a village—or what was left of one. The houses stood intact, but empty. No people. No animals. Just silence.
Ace kicked open a door. "Hello? Free food?"
Lale smacked his arm. "Stop announcing us to the murder island."
A creak from above made them freeze.
They looked up.
Dozens of bodies hung from the rooftops, swaying gently in the wind. Not corpses—husks. Hollowed-out shells, skin stretched tight over bone, mouths frozen in silent screams.
Ace's fire dimmed. "Okay. Now it's creepy."
Lale's Sharingan spun wildly. "They're drained. Not just dead—emptied."
A whisper slithered through the air.
"Hungry..."
The shadows at their feet twisted, rising like liquid.
The thing that emerged was a nightmare—a shifting mass of darkness with too many teeth and eyes that reflected nothing.
Ace launched a Hiken at it. The fire passed through, doing nothing.
Lale's breath hitched. "It's not solid!"
The shadow lunged. Lale barely dodged, but it grazed her arm—and a wave of dizziness hit her. Her chakra dipped, like something had taken a piece of her energy.
Ace's eyes widened. "It eats energy?!"
The shadow hissed. "More..."
Lale's mind raced. If it eats energy...
She grabbed Ace's wrist. "Give me your fire!"
"What?!"
"Just do it!"
Ace, without hesitation, let his flames surge into her palm. Lale's Sharingan blazed as she wove hand signs at blinding speed.
"Katon: Karyū Endan!"
The fire twisted into a dragon—not to attack, but to circle the shadow, trapping it in a vortex of heat. The creature screeched as the flames burned its stolen energy away.
Ace whooped. "Nice trick!"
Lale panted. "Temporary fix. We need to find the source."
Another boom—closer this time. The ground trembled.
Something big was coming.
Deep within the island, they found it—a pulsating black orb suspended in the heart of a ruined temple. Shadows writhed around it like worshippers.
Lale's Sharingan revealed the truth. "It's a Devil Fruit... but corrupted."
Ace cracked his knuckles. "So we smash it?"
Before she could answer, the orb split open—and a figure stepped out.
Tall. Pale. Smiling with too many teeth.
"Visitors," it crooned. "How... generous."
Ace's flames flared. "Yeah, we brought fireworks."
Lale whispered, "Ace... that's not a person."
The thing tilted its head. "No. I am what happens when a Logia eats its user."
Silence.
Then—
Ace grinned. "Cool story. Still punching you."
The fight that followed was chaos.
Ace's flames clashed against shadow tendrils that drained his energy.
Lale's speed was matched by a creature that mimicked her every move.
The temple began to collapse around them.
In the end, Lale stabbed the orb with a chakra-charged dagger while Ace unleashed a Dai Enkai: Entei—a fire so intense it turned the shadows to ash.
The island screamed as the corruption died.
Dawn broke over the now-calm land. The black sand had faded to gray. The trees still stood—but they no longer pulsed with life.
Ace flopped onto the beach, exhausted. "That was awesome."
Lale sat beside him, bandaging a cut on her arm. "You have a problem."
He laughed. "Yeah, but you like it."
She didn't deny it.
Ace suddenly sat up. "Wait. If that thing was a corrupted Devil Fruit... does that mean there are more?"
Lale's Sharingan gleamed. "Probably."
Ace's grin turned feral. "Then let's find them."
Lale sighed. "God help me."
But she was smiling.
To be continued...