*Swish!*
From amidst the explosive fireworks of mixed blue and red, Allen's figure shot out. Wreathed in roaring flames, he looked like a crimson comet.
Marco's eyes darkened. He manipulated his blue flames, quickly forming a disc-shaped barrier.
"Immortal Thistle!!"
"Sonic Soul: Flare Burst Punch!!"
Allen roared. The violent flames attached to his fist continuously compressed as he arrived in front of Marco and unleashed a ferocious punch!
*Bang!!*
The punch broke the sound barrier, violently slamming into the materialized blue flame barrier. A powerful gale erupted, kicking up rolling clouds of dust and debris from the ground.
The blue flames on the barrier flickered. Allen's fist just barely broke through the defense, appearing right in front of Marco as the flames attached to it surged and erupted!
*Boom!!*
Caught off guard by the secondary attack, Marco's expression shifted in shock. A burst of explosive flames slammed into his chest, sending his entire body flying backward.
*Screech—!*
Marco gritted his teeth and twisted his body, flipping once in the air before his feet hit the ground. He skidded back over a dozen meters before finally coming to a halt.
"You're pretty strong. For a rookie, your strength has really exceeded my expectations."
A cluster of blue flames appeared over the burn on his chest. Marco looked at Allen with interest, a hint of seriousness entering his eyes.
To be chosen by the World Government as a Warlord of the Sea—that title alone was enough to prove Allen's strength and potential.
He had given Allen some level of importance from the start, but he hadn't taken him too seriously. After all, he was just a rookie who had yet to step into the New World and witness the broader horizons.
In a place like the first half of the Grand Line, no matter how much potential someone had, their growth would ultimately be limited.
However, after exchanging a few blows, Allen's performance had genuinely surprised him.
Thinking back to those days, even Ace, who had forcefully entered the New World with a massive bounty of 550,000,000 Berries, probably didn't possess the strength Allen had now.
'This is getting a bit troublesome. I probably won't be able to shake him off anytime soon,' Marco couldn't help but think solemnly.
Allen's flight speed was not the least bit slower than his own. Coupled with the power he had just displayed, defeating him quickly was likely unrealistic.
If they fought one-on-one, it would probably take three to five days to determine a victor. Continuing this battle would only result in both of them being pinned down.
'I need to find a way to get someone to break this stalemate...'
Having made up his mind, a glint flashed in Marco's eyes. He leaped up, flapping his wings of blue flames, and dashed forward. Three ring-shaped tail feathers trailed behind him as he coated his talons in Armament Haki.
Seeing him flying head-on, Allen bent his knees into a half-crouch and leaned forward. With a powerful stomp that cratered the ground into rubble, he shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring!
Marco let out a low shout. Using the momentum of his high-speed flight, he spun his body and unleashed a swift, fierce talon strike!
"Crane Talon!"
*Bang!!*
A fierce light gleamed in Allen's eyes as he smashed his tense fist outward, colliding heavily with Marco's talons.
A shockwave rippled outward, sweeping across the ground and kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Unlike before, Allen's expression suddenly changed this time. He felt an incredibly aggressive Haki on his fist.
That Haki quickly pierced through his Armament Haki defense, rampaging wildly up his arm and into his body!
*Bang!!*
Marco exerted force with his leg, easily kicking Allen's arm aside. He then planted another kick squarely on Allen's chest, sending him flying backward!
Allen gritted his teeth and endured the blow. His feet plowed two trenches dozens of meters long into the hard ground. With a flap of the wings on his back that kicked up a fierce gust of wind, he finally halted his backward momentum.
Inside his body, his internal organs were churning violently. A trace of blood trickled from the corner of Allen's mouth.
Emission had two manifestations in combat. The first was condensing Haki on the surface of the body to form an invisible armor for defense.
This technique could also be applied to weapons to enhance attacks, providing a much stronger effect than simple Armament Haki hardening.
This would cause a situation in battle where the combatants' bodies or weapons appeared not to touch, yet still clashed with intense impact.
The other manifestation was Internal Destruction, which allowed Haki to bypass the surface of an object and directly destroy it from the inside.
Clearly, Marco had used this exact technique with his kick.
Allen stared intently at Marco, a cold, savage smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
As the undisputed second-in-command of the Whitebeard Pirates—one of the overlords of the sea—Marco's mastery of Haki was naturally top-tier.
Although his Phoenix abilities were more troublesome by comparison, Marco's offensive power was far from as weak as it appeared on the surface.
Allen raised a hand to wipe the blood from his mouth. He was just about to charge forward again when, suddenly...
"Ahhhhhh!!"
"We're doomed!!"
"We're gonna die, we're gonna die!!"
Several terrified screams suddenly echoed from the sky above the plaza. The voices rapidly approached, instantly drawing the attention of everyone on the battlefield.
Allen instinctively looked up toward the sound, only to see a massive Marine warship falling from the sky!
Surrounding the warship, countless figures were plummeting alongside it, almost all of them wearing black-and-white striped prisoner uniforms.
"Hey! What's going on?!"
"That's...! Jinbe the Knight of the Sea, and the Former Warlord of the Sea Crocodile!!"
"They're prisoners from Impel Down!!"
"Why are they here?!"
Down in the plaza, many Marine officers immediately recognized the identities of the prisoners.
Some were even criminals they had personally escorted to Impel Down, yet now they were inexplicably falling from the sky.
On the execution platform, Sengoku watched the falling figures. Beyond his astonishment, he was consumed by fury.
"Straw Hat kid...!"
Spotting one particular figure among them, Sengoku gritted his teeth in anger.
"Luffy... why is he..."
Ace also noticed Luffy, his face filled with bewilderment and shock.
*Crash!!*
The warship smashed into the frozen bay with a deafening crash. Under the immense impact, it shattered into pieces on the spot, sending countless wooden splinters flying into the air.
Allen was stunned for a moment before snapping back to reality. Even though he had been mentally prepared for this, seeing it with his own eyes made him realize just how damn impactful this entrance really was.
However, since they had appeared here, Teach should already be causing havoc in Impel Down by now.
In reality, what Allen didn't know was...
While he was tangled up in his fight with Marco, a Marine had already reported to Sengoku that Blackbeard was wreaking havoc in Impel Down and that Vice Head Jailer Shiryu of the Rain had defected.
Warden Magellan had been severely injured, and the atrocious, powerful criminals in the Eternal Hell who had committed heinous crimes had been released by Teach.
By now, the entire Level 6 of Impel Down was a river of blood, completely transformed into an asura's hell.
This was also why Sengoku gnashed his teeth in hatred the moment he saw the Straw Hat kid.
Marco glanced at Allen. Taking advantage of the sudden, massive disruption, he immediately flapped his wings to disengage, a playful look in his eyes.
"Now isn't the time to be tangled up with you. Let's save our fight for next time."
"Hey, hey, hey, you guys might not even have a next time," Allen replied in a teasing tone, spreading his black wings to give chase.
But right at that moment, a brown figure rapidly attacked him!
"Desert Grande Espada!!"
*Shing!!*
A giant sword formed from sand and gravel suddenly burst from the ground. Allen's forward momentum halted as he hastily leaped backward.
Landing back on his feet, Allen looked up to see a cloud of yellow sand flying through the air. It landed on the ground and quickly condensed into the familiar figure of Crocodile.