In Ochoku's mind, he could already see the child of his former rival surrendering at his feet, and he smiled triumphantly.
A flicker of anger appeared in Ace's eyes, and Ochoku's next words directly ignited his fury.
"Since you could recognize Whitebeard as your father anyway, what's the big deal about recognizing me, Whitebeard's former companion, as your father too?"
Hearing Ochoku dare to insult his Captain, Whitebeard, Ace could no longer suppress his rage. Flames erupted from his hands, and a massive sheet of fire burst from his single arm, forming a wall of flame.
'Mirror Fire Flame' flew towards Ochoku. Ochoku's head, which already looked very much like a lizard's, transformed into a real lizard's head, and he spat out a mouthful of venom, neutralizing Ace's flames.
Hera's expression was somewhat solemn. None of these powerhouses from the older generation were easy to deal with; the 'Mirror Fire Flame', which had once been on par with Aokiji's 'Ice Block: Pheasant Peck', was actually blocked so easily by Ochoku.
As expected of a character who, in the original work, could contend with Blackbeard after he had already obtained two devil fruit powers.
Ochoku drew the greatsword from his back. His right hand holding the sword turned into a lizard's claw, and he infused Armament Haki into the greatsword, unleashing a massive slash.
"Kid, try my move: 'Founder's Tyrant Blade: Sea Severer'."
The massive slash flew towards Ace. Ace's legs turned into flames, erupting upwards and propelling him into the sky, dodging Ochoku's slash.
Watching the slash fly towards the mountains on Sphinx Island, it seemed as if it would cut the mountain behind them in half.
A wave of fluctuations came from Hera's shadow; it was Whitebeard, hidden within the City of Devouring Time, who had sensed what was happening outside and wanted to come out.
Hera moved in an instant, and saikū in her hand caught the incoming slash, intercepting it.
"Alright, alright, I'll block it for you, okay? Stay put. Honestly, if you cause any more commotion, I'll have to seal off that area of yours."
The shadow immediately stopped fluctuating. The Whitebeard awakened by Hera obediently crouched in the City of Devouring Time, observing the fight outside through a window Hera had opened.
Kaido and Big Mom did not stop Hera's actions; in their hearts, they also did not want to disturb the peace of Whitebeard's hometown.
"Is dodging all you can do, Ace?"
With his legs elementalized, Ace flew in the air, gathering flames in his hands to form massive fireballs, which he threw at Ochoku on the ground. "Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor!"
Ochoku could only channel his Armament Haki into the greatsword in his hand to withstand Ace's attack.
The flames scattered by the explosion did not dissipate but floated in the air. After several rounds of bombardment, the smoke gradually cleared, revealing Ochoku inside.
"Brat who only knows how to hide and bombard from a distance, why aren't you continuing? Are you out of strength?"
Ace shook his head and said, "Observe the environment, old man. This heat is only just beginning. 'Great Flame Commandment: Dragon Flame'!"
The flames scattered in the air gradually gathered. Under Ace's continuous bombardment, the temperature of this battlefield had already soared, and the nearby sea seemed to be boiling from the heat.
Ace's Logia-type Mera Mera no Mi was different from Akainu's Logia-type Magu Magu no Mi. When it came to fireballs, his Flame Emperor naturally couldn't compare to Akainu's Meteor Volcano.
But the Mera Mera no Mi had its own advantages, and that was the temperature capable of incinerating everything when developed to the extreme.
The flames in the air converged into a massive dragon head, staring down at Ochoku below, as if a giant dragon flying in the sky was looking disdainfully at a lizard on the ground.
The dragon's mouth spat out flames, and under this extreme temperature, even space was burned into ripples.
Under this flame, Ochoku even felt the threat of death.
He suddenly realized that because his greatsword had been kept on Hachinosu for a long time without seeing battle, and hadn't been imbued with Armament Haki for a long time, it was actually showing signs of melting.
Without time for much thought, he threw the greatsword into the sky and fully activated his devil fruit. The Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Model: Lizard Form was fully pushed to its limits as he transformed into a giant lizard.
'Ancient Model: Scaled Armor Hardening'. While his back armor was reinforced by the devil fruit, Armament Haki poured out of his body like it was free, further strengthening his defense.
On his already lizard-like head, the black flames representing the awakening of a Zoan-type devil fruit formed a black ring behind his head.
With a massive boom, a circular crater centered on Ochoku appeared on the ground. As the smoke cleared, a charred figure rushed out of the crater.
"Tsk, tsk, why do I smell a fragrance?"
Hera looked Ochoku up and down as he rushed out. There was a scorch mark on his back, and the faint scent of roasted lizard wafted through the air.
Ochoku ignored Hera's mockery. His eyes were filled with bloodthirsty light as he charged towards Ace in the sky, flipping in mid-air and whipping his thick tail at Ace.
Unable to elementalize in time, Ace could only gather Armament Haki on his arms, blocking the blow with some difficulty, but he was knocked out of the sky by Ochoku.
Landing on the ground, Ace flipped and stood up again. Ochoku's strike in anger just now had caused him some injury; the blood from his nose evaporated from the high temperature of the battlefield before it could even flow out.
Ace watched as the damaged scales on Ochoku's body even began to gradually heal, and he remarked, "As expected of the most resilient Ancient Model among the Zoan-types. Your skin is really thick."
Ochoku snorted coldly, "Come then, I'll see how long your stamina can last. I can fight you all day."
Ace shook his head and drew his sword 'Ace' from his waist. "I don't want to fight you slowly, old man. I'll use this one move to decide your life and death."
Ace's Haoshoku, along with the flames on the battlefield, spread outwards. The scorching heatwaves and the aura of Haoshoku pressed down on Ochoku in the center of the battlefield simultaneously.
Garp felt Ace's Haoshoku, and a nostalgic expression appeared on his face. "Roger, your child has already become this strong."
Whitebeard in the City of Devouring Time laughed, "Gurarara, this kid's Conqueror's Haki is already no less than that of his Pirate King father."
Ace's Conqueror's Haki gradually flowed into his sword 'Ace', and black-red Haki entwined around the blade.
That wasn't all. As flames erupted from Ace's hand, the black-red Conqueror's Haki seemed to turn into fuel, burning fiercely.
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