Boom!
Blackbeard had never imagined that Ace could stand up after such an onslaught as if nothing had happened. Not only was he standing, but he had launched a counterattack of such ferocity!
"Ace!" In mid-air, Blackbeard's face contorted into a mask of rage. He roared at the sky and brought a massive fist down.
Vrumm!
As the pillar of fire slowly dissipated, the crowd finally noticed the change in Ace. His entire being was a brilliant, searing crimson. Not just his eyes and eyebrows, but even his hair seemed to flicker like living flames—he had become the very incarnation of fire. This was different from his previous elemental state; these flames seemed fused to his soul.
Devil Fruit Awakening!The Flame Emperor Form!
"Flame Spear, Condense!"
Ace's hands moved through the void, drawing the surrounding fire together. In moments, a long spear—its head and shaft glowing with an incandescent heat—solidified in his grip. With fire erupting from his feet, he shot into the air, thrusting the spear toward Blackbeard's mountain-sized fist. Dark red lightning coiled around the spearhead; Ace had infused this strike with a massive surge of Conqueror's Haki!
BOOM!
The moment they collided, the spearhead pierced through, shattering two layers of armor instantly! Ace showed no sign of satisfaction, his lips parting to whisper a single word:
"Burn."
BOOM! The tip of the spear exploded with a force that shot straight into the clouds!
Crack!
The final layer of armor shattered without resistance. The spearhead plunged directly into the massive flesh of the hidden fist.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed out, but before a single drop could touch Ace's face, it was instantly vaporized by the heat.
"Agh...!" Blackbeard shrieked in pain, his eyes filled with shock and doubt. His defense... had actually been breached?
Boom!
Blackbeard slammed back into the ground to steady his body. Before he could make another move, Ace dived from the sky.
"How is this possible!?" Blackbeard's eyes went wide. He wasn't seeing things—Ace was truly flying!
"Spear Lock: Nameless Flame Spear!"
The thrust hit Blackbeard square in the chest with surgical precision. All three layers of armor disintegrated upon impact!
"Gah... pfft..."
Taking the full brunt of the blow, Blackbeard spat out a huge cloud of blood, his face paling instantly.
Rumble...
The earth shook as Blackbeard collapsed heavily.
"Is that..." Drake watched Ace standing proudly in the air, spear in hand, and a thought popped into his head. Nezha? He quickly shook his head. No... that was Ace! The Flame Emperor!
Is this the power of an Awakened Fruit...? It's terrifying!
Drake was most shocked by Ace's mobility in this state. Beneath Ace's feet, twin swirls of fire rotated like wheels. Drake realized Ace was using the constant thrust to move freely through the air. By modulating the output, he could achieve a "rocket-boost" effect for instantaneous acceleration. Using the Flame-Flame Fruit to this degree went far beyond simple mastery. Other Logias like Smoker or Caesar could achieve slow flight, but none could match Ace's explosive, directional speed. It required not just power, but a near-inhuman level of control.
Vrumm...
"Flame Meteor!" Ace's body erupted in fire as he pulled back for a punch.
In this state, his speed and power had moved up an entire tier; the destructive potential of this strike was on a different level. A pillar of crimson fire poured down toward Blackbeard, leaving no room for escape.
BOOM!
The entire island of Alteila shuddered. Ace held nothing back; houses could be rebuilt, but if his family was lost, it was over. The fact that he had to use this form spoke volumes of Blackbeard's strength. At this stage, worrying about the landscape was sheer stupidity. Today, Blackbeard had to be eliminated!
Boom! Ace's body blurred through the air, causing sonic booms to echo as his aura reached an unprecedented peak. Man and spear as one, a force that could seemingly extinguish the world.
"Teach!" Ace's voice arrived before he did. "For the murder of our comrade and your desertion from the Whitebeard Pirates, I execute you today in the name of the new Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates!"
The smoke cleared, and Blackbeard's figure emerged, but he had returned to his original human size. The Perfect Form was too taxing on his stamina; every time Ace shattered his armor, it cost him a fortune in energy to restore it. In that state, his massive body had become nothing more than an immobile target.
"Back to human form, are we...?" Ace's eyes flickered as he charged with the spear. The glowing red tip brought with it a chill of absolute lethality—a shiver of the soul.
"Ace! You think this is enough to beat me!?" Blackbeard panted heavily, his hands glowing with gold. With a smaller body, his consumption was lower. Though his raw physical strength was less than that of the Great Ape, he could concentrate the hardness of his armor. For a close-quarters duel, this was his best option.
Clang! Fist met spear, creating a violent ripple of energy. This time, Blackbeard didn't just defend—he attacked! His Vajra ability could be used for offense much like Armament Haki.
The clash between the two was so intense that Drake realized both had reached the level of a Yonko. Otherwise, the battle wouldn't be generating such catastrophic shockwaves. Any ordinary person even approaching the perimeter would be in mortal danger.
Ace's spear work was fluid and heavy, unleashing a relentless barrage of linked strikes. Before long, Blackbeard began to struggle. Beyond the shock of the onlookers, Blackbeard was the most frustrated of all. What happened to this guy in two years? How is he this terrifying?
He had thought this would be the final step toward his legendary throne. Everything had been foolproof, yet Ace had come back as a monster. A seed of retreat began to sprout in Blackbeard's mind. This fight was becoming unwinnable—Ace alone was a mountain of pressure, and he hadn't forgotten there was another one!
He remembered the pressure Drake had exerted when he appeared; he was certain Drake was no weaker than Ace. How could he possibly win?
BOOM!
Amidst Blackbeard's growing doubt, an explosion rocked the wider battlefield.
"Captain Wolf!"
Blackbeard's peripheral vision caught the sight, and his pupils shrank. On the ice, the gargantuan form of Sanjuan Wolf had collapsed, his eyes rolled back, covered in blood. It wasn't just him; almost all of the Blackbeard Captains had fallen.
With the combined force of the Whitebeard Pirates and the Dragon Flag Pirates, the fact that they had held out this long was a miracle in itself.
The tide has turned completely! With his captains defeated and Ace dominating the duel, Blackbeard is cornered. Will you let Ace take the final strike, or will you step in to ensure the "traitor" never sees another sunrise?