As the man approached, Blackbeard Teach turned his head and let out a booming laugh.
"Zehahahahaha!"
"How about it, Van Augur? Did you find out everything?"
Van Augur's expression remained unchanged as he calmly replied from the side, "Everything has been thoroughly investigated, Captain. First, 'Madman' Will—whose bounty has now reached 700 million berries—once came to this town with his crew. But after defeating a pirate named Bellamy with a single punch, he quickly left the place. Then, shortly before we arrived on the island, Donquixote Doflamingo—one of the current Seven Warlords of the Sea, known as the 'Heavenly Yaksha'—came to town with one of his subordinates. After easily dealing with Bellamy, who had already been defeated by that other guy with one punch, he left the island right away as well."
After hearing Van Augur's report, 'Blackbeard' Marshall D. Teach couldn't help but laugh heartily in relief. "Zehahahahaha! In that case, we're really lucky. Otherwise, if we had accidentally run into either of those two monsters, we might've actually gotten ourselves killed if we weren't careful. Zehahahahaha!"
However, as he threw his head back in laughter and continued striding forward with a few of his crew members, a young man wearing an orange cowboy hat, with black hair and a few freckles on his face, dressed in shorts and going bare-chested, with a distinctive tattoo on his back, a red bead necklace around his neck, and a dagger at his waist, suddenly appeared on the rooftop of a nearby house.
He slowly crouched down, a cold glint in his eyes, and shouted down toward the street: "Hey! Hold it right there, Teach! I've been looking for you for a long time."
"Huh?"
Hearing that all-too-familiar voice, Blackbeard Teach couldn't help but stop in his tracks. He turned his head in confusion toward the rooftop beside him. Squinting against the somewhat dazzling sunlight, he quickly made out the figure's appearance. His eyes widened instantly as he exclaimed: "Oh~! Ace! My Captain!"
Ace's expression, however, didn't change in the slightest, and his tone remained perfectly calm: "Give it a rest. Why are you still calling me 'Captain'? That's a title for people who actually know how to respect others. Someone like you—don't treat me like a fool anymore."
After speaking, he looked at the man he had tracked down after so much effort, and a complex feeling still lingered in his heart. Throughout his pursuit, he had always intended to capture the other party and bring him back. He had never planned to execute him directly upon finding him. In Ace's view, the one who should decide Blackbeard's fate was Whitebeard and the rest of the crew. That was why he wanted to bring him back for a proper judgment.
But after the events at Drum Kingdom, influenced by what that guy had said, Ace's original resolve had slowly begun to shift.
"Aren't you worried that Blackbeard's strength now surpasses yours?" "Ace, do you know why you lost so badly?" "Because your punch isn't fast enough—and it's not ruthless enough." "Ace, those hesitant flames of yours can't kill anyone."
Recalling those words, Ace's originally complex gaze gradually hardened with determination. Seeing that Teach below still seemed eager to chat, Ace, having just steeled his resolve, had no intention of wasting any more time. He seized the moment to suddenly raise his hands, rapidly building up power as he shouted loudly toward his opponent:
"Mirror Fire Flame!!"
In the next instant! Ace's arms erupted with massive waves of scorching flames, surging forward like a towering wall of fire straight toward the street ahead!
"What?!"
Blackbeard Teach and the others hadn't expected a surprise attack. Panicking, they quickly scattered to dodge.
—! The blazing wall of flames slammed directly into the houses across the street, instantly blasting the wooden structures to pieces.
Just as Blackbeard Teach was still evading the burning debris raining down from above, a shadow suddenly loomed over him. Sensing it instinctively, his heart skipped a beat: "Oh no!"
"Flame Commandment: Fire Pillar!!!"
Accompanied by a deep roar from the air, Ace unleashed a torrent of flames from his hands. He then spun the surrounding flames at high speed, transforming them into a massive fire pillar several meters wide that plummeted downward with terrifying force!
Boom—! The giant fire pillar smashed into the ground, triggering a violent explosion. Scorching flames spread wildly in all directions across the ground. The nearby houses and buildings were obliterated by the impact, and the entire area was soon engulfed in a raging inferno.
Ace descended from midair and landed firmly, his brow furrowed slightly as he scanned for Blackbeard's figure—but found nothing.
"Ah—!!" At that moment, a pained scream echoed from nearby. "So hot—! It's so hot—!"
Although Blackbeard Teach had miraculously escaped the center of the fire pillar using his own powers, the flames had still caught his front and back. After fleeing a short distance, he immediately dropped to the ground, rolling around in agony.
"Captain!" The other members of the Blackbeard Pirates, who had already dodged the initial blast, rushed over with anxious looks. They tried to help extinguish the flames on their captain's body.
"Everyone, stay back!" Blackbeard Teach roared as he saw them approach. A massive surge of black smoke erupted from his body, smothering the flames and extinguishing them rapidly.
"Hmm?!" Ace noticed the peculiar nature of the black smoke and immediately grew wary.
"Zehahahahaha!" Blackbeard Teach slowly rose to his feet after dousing the flames. His eyes were bloodshot as he laughed loudly. "I never expected this, Ace. You attacked me the second we met—aren't you even going to give me a chance to catch up and chat? It seems you really do want to kill me, Ace. But that's only fair, I suppose. After all, I did commit the heinous crime of killing a comrade."
As he spoke, the smile on his face suddenly vanished, as if he wanted to offer some explanation: "Fourth Division Commander Thatch was indeed killed by me, but I also…"
But before Blackbeard Teach could finish, Ace had already pulled back his fist, charging power once more and striking a combat stance.
"Fire Fist!!"
Then, with a low roar, he swung his fist forward with full force. His entire arm transformed into dazzling flames that surged ahead at blinding speed!
"Damn it…" Blackbeard Teach's pupils constricted sharply at the sight. Fortunately, he was prepared. He quickly released even more black smoke from his body, sending it surging forward. At the same time, he shouted grimly to his crew nearby: "All of you, get far away! You can't get involved in this fight right now!"
The Blackbeard Pirates showed no resentment; they immediately scattered and fled the town.
Boom—!! The scorching flames collided violently with the surging black smoke. The overwhelming force of the fire was instantly halted. As the black smoke churned and twisted, the flames gradually weakened before being completely devoured by the darkness.
"What kind of ability is this…?" Ace's eyes flickered with surprise and suspicion.
At that moment, the black smoke gradually receded, revealing Blackbeard Teach concealed behind it. Sensing the confusion in Ace's eyes, he couldn't help but laugh loudly and explain proactively:
"Zehahahahaha! See this, Captain Ace! This is why I killed Thatch—it's because he had obtained the Devil Fruit I desired! But luckily, this fruit ultimately chose me! With its power, I'm sure to become the strongest in the world! Look, this is the incredibly unique and powerful ability of the Dark-Dark Fruit—even among Logia-type Devil Fruits!"
As he spoke, he spread his hands wide. Thick black smoke began pouring from his palms. Soon, his entire hands were stained pitch black, and the darkness rapidly spread across his whole body. Then, Blackbeard Teach threw his arms open, and the black smoke from his body gathered swiftly behind him before shooting upward. It quickly formed a swirling, intertwining black smoke tornado.
"Ace, your body is made of fire, right?" Blackbeard Teach felt the power coursing through him, a defiant grin forming at the corner of his mouth: "Zehahahahaha! And my body represents darkness!"
"Darkness?" Ace began secretly gathering power within himself as he watched, frowning as he muttered.
"That's right, Captain Ace." Blackbeard Teach's aura was overwhelmingly arrogant at this moment. He declared with absolute confidence: "With your current strength, it's impossible to kill me. Because the Dark-Dark Fruit's ability is known as the most malicious power in the entire history of Devil Fruits."
"You talk too much, Teach." Ace's expression remained unchanged. He replied in a deep voice: "That reminds me of a terrifyingly strong guy. It's just a shame that, compared to him, most of what you're saying is nothing but nonsense."
With that, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and his hands once again transformed into blazing flames.
"A terrifyingly strong guy?!" Blackbeard Teach caught the key phrase, his gaze narrowing sharply.
However, Ace had no intention of elaborating further to Teach right now. After preparing himself, he raised his eyes and said coldly: "That's right. And it's thanks to that guy that I've come to realize I must never underestimate any opponent!"
The moment his words ended, he dropped into a half-crouch, crossed his hands in front of his chest, and unleashed a fierce roar:
"Great Flame Commandment!!!"
As the roar echoed, several rings of flames appeared on the ground around Ace, spiraling outward rapidly. Immediately after, the scorching flames on the ground surged upward at high speed, completely enveloping Ace within their fiery embrace.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa… Are you serious?!" Blackbeard Teach was momentarily stunned by the sight. He immediately began releasing even more black smoke from his body. He hadn't expected the opponent to skip any testing phase entirely and unleash such a powerful technique right away.
Originally, he had planned to show off his abilities to Ace first, then catch him off guard with a Dark Water ambush while the other was relaxed. But Ace clearly wasn't about to give him that chance, putting him on the defensive immediately. After all, summoning enough 'Darkness' also took time. If the amount was too small, he wouldn't be able to fully withstand such an enormous blaze.
Just as Blackbeard Teach was frantically releasing more black smoke,
"Flame Emperor!!"
With a deep roar, the massive flames that had enveloped Ace began to spin inward rapidly and furiously. They converged completely, transforming into a scorching fireball over twenty meters in diameter that radiated blinding light.
Ace stood beneath the blazing inferno, his right hand supporting the giant fireball overhead. With a commanding roar full of power, he declared coldly: "Prepare to face judgment, Teach!"
"Wait—!!" Blackbeard Teach raised his hand in panic, desperately trying to halt him. A strained smile forced itself onto his face: "Captain Ace, I don't think we really need to fight to the death here."
However, Ace was utterly unmoved. He charged forward directly, carrying the massive fireball with him!
"How regrettable, Ace." Seeing the other party's unrelenting resolve, Blackbeard Teach's eyes turned cold and sinister: "In that case, I have no choice but to go all out. Be buried in the darkness!"
The moment his words fell, the black smoke on his body surged outward explosively. He charged forward as well, refusing to back down.
"Haaah—!!!" With a furious roar poured from the depths of his being, Ace pulled the enormous fireball with his right hand and thrust it forward with explosive force!
"Zeh—!!!" Blackbeard Teach roared back at the same time, gathering all the black smoke he had released in front of him before blasting it forward with everything he had!
Ace and Teach—one wreathed in dazzling flames, the other in gloomy black smoke—collided head-on from left and right!
Boom—!!! A deafening, earth-shattering boom rang out as flames and black smoke shot skyward. Following the impact, the two forces spread rapidly outward, growing larger and larger. The terrifying blaze and pitch-black smoke nearly swallowed the entire island. Even from the sea beyond the island, the spectacle was clearly visible.
After the battle, the few pirates who had miraculously survived on Jaya Island were all severely wounded, so no one knew who ultimately won or lost between the two. They only knew that the entire Mock Town had been completely destroyed by the battle between those two. There were no houses or buildings left standing, not even a single piece of charred wood remaining.
When Cricket, who lived on the other side of Jaya Island and had coincidentally gone out to sea with his companions, returned from the ocean, he looked at the spot where his original house had once stood—now nothing but scorched earth— and couldn't help but clutch his head in his hands, exclaiming loudly: "What in the world happened?!"
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my patreon:
pat reon .com/yuuwand