Challenge

As day gave way to night, Cifer opened his eyes again the next day. At last, a deserted island appeared within view of the Moby Dick, and it gave him an idea.

Seemingly noticing his gaze, Marco, who stood nearby with his arms crossed and a lazy look on his face, walked over to him. "Cifer, that's a deserted island. Don't tell me you want to live there by yourself?"

"Hahaha!" Ace burst out laughing. "Cifer, why not join the Whitebeard Pirates instead? Come to the Second Division!"

As he watched Ace, who was much shorter than him, extend his right hand, Cifer inexplicably recalled that famous Whitebeard scene. A nonexistent drop of cold sweat seemed to slide down his forehead.

"Mr. Whitebeard, could you let me experience the power of the World's Strongest Man?" Cifer's gaze passed over the crowd and settled on Whitebeard, seated high above them.

He could feel that, after obtaining Ulquiorra's power, he had become incredibly strong. He could also roughly sense the strength of those around him, but he would only know exactly how strong he was after fighting.

Without a reference point, he could not make an accurate estimate. There was no better benchmark than the World's Strongest Man.

The moment he said that, the looks some Whitebeard Pirates members gave Cifer turned strange—some were shocked, while others were amused.

"Gurararara~" Whitebeard did not answer him. The World's Strongest Man would not make a move simply because some unknown nobody challenged him. Besides, he was getting old, and fighting put a certain burden on his body. "What an arrogant brat."

"Cifer, let me fight you! On that deserted island!" A scorching aura rose as flickers of fire danced across Ace's body. "If you want to challenge Old Man, you'll have to get past me, his son, first."

"Let's have a fight!"

Cifer cracked his fingers and looked at Ace. For some reason, his Zanpakuto did not seem to have come with him to this world.

The Moby Dick soon reached the uninhabited island. Everyone disembarked, ready to witness the battle between the two. Even Whitebeard had his chair moved to the bow, where he quietly—and secretly—drank as he waited for the fight to begin.

"I'm a Flame-Flame Human who ate the Flame-Flame Fruit. Cifer, you'd better be careful not to die." Ace spread his five fingers, palm facing Cifer, as a faint elemental transformation had already appeared across his body.

"Come on. Let me see the power of a Devil Fruit, Ace."

"Fire Gun!" Ace formed pistols with both hands, flames bullets constantly shooting from his fingertips as they sped toward Cifer.

Through Cifer's probing nerves, he found that Spiritual Pressure did not exist at all in the pirate world. Yet everyone possessed another presence, like a burning flame. It was probably the power of the people in this world.

To his senses, Fire Gun posed no threat whatsoever. Without changing expression, he stood where he was and took dozens of Ace's Fire Gun shots head-on. To everyone's astonishment, not even a scratch appeared on him; only a trace of dust clung to his body.

"What powerful Armament Haki. Looks like I underestimated you." Ace wore an expression that plainly said he was getting serious. "Then try this—Firefly, Fire Daruma!"

A massive number of fireflies exploded around Cifer, and the powerful blast scorched a wide expanse of ground centered on him black.

"Is that guy an idiot? He actually took Captain Ace's attacks head-on twice!" The Whitebeard Pirates members began whispering among themselves.

Following the law of no damage after smoke, once the thick smoke dispersed, an unscathed Cifer looked at the dumbfounded Ace with disdain.

"Hey, hey, seriously? Is his Armament Haki really that strong?" Marco, who had been enjoying the show from the side, was also astonished. Ace had not gone all out yet, but Cifer looked far too relaxed.

Even Jozu beside him could not help frowning. If he had been in Cifer's position just now and had not used his ability, he might not have been able to remain so composed under Ace's barrage.

"Armament Haki? No, this brat isn't giving off any Haki at all!" Whitebeard's expression turned serious. Such physical strength reminded him of a powerful existence.

"Seriously, Cifer really is a monster," Ace said as though mocking himself, though his eyes grew solemn. "Flame Ring!"

A ring of fire rapidly formed on the ground, enclosing them both. At last, Cifer's expression became serious. In his senses, Ace's power kept rising, enough to damage his Steel Skin.

Ace's lower body instantly transformed into flames as he flew toward Cifer. His right hand also transformed into a massive flaming fist. "Fire Fist!"

The gigantic flaming fist smashed toward Cifer's body. But at the instant it was about to strike, time seemed to stop in Ace's eyes. He felt his own movements become unbelievably slow.

Cifer's body vanished into thin air. Ace's Fire Fist continued onward, punching through every tree around it and only stopping after burning them all to ashes.

Whitebeard, seated at the bow, widened his eyes. Cifer was now standing behind Ace!

Everything had happened right before his eyes. He had never heard of such an ability!

He knew one of the Marine Six Powers was incredibly fast, but it was merely fast. Cifer's instant movement just now was not as simple as speed. Even Whitebeard's Observation Haki had failed to sense his movement in that instant; he had only seen Cifer appear behind Ace.

"Just where did this monster brat come from? He really is full of mysteries, rararara~" While Marco and the others were still stunned, Whitebeard secretly poured more liquor into his mouth.

Although Ace's Observation Haki had failed to sense Cifer's movement in that instant, he could sense Cifer behind him now. He whipped around, only to see Cifer's finger pointed directly at him.

"Cero."

Danger!!!

Ace fully transformed into flames, becoming a mass of blazing fire. Emerald-green energy poured forth, passed through Ace's body, and shot straight toward the mountain behind him.

"Boom~"

With a tremendous blast, nearly half the peak of a mountain on the deserted island was blown away. Even Ace broke out in a cold sweat at the sight.

So it really wouldn't work?

The reason Cifer had not deliberately held back was because he had guessed that, without Armament Haki, he probably could not directly hit a Logia Devil Fruit User.

"That was close. Cifer, you really don't pull your punches. If that attack had hit me head-on, I'd probably already be lying on the ground." Flames gathered again to form Ace's body, and his body began spinning continuously. "Flame Ring: Fire Pillar!"

Flames surged into the sky. Although Cifer used Sound Step immediately to leave the fire pillar's attack range, the scorching heat still left his body slightly hot.

It seemed that, before using Resurrección, his strength was probably a little weaker than the powerful division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates. Cifer now had a rough assessment of his own strength.

For now, both his speed and power appeared to surpass Ace's, but that was only because Ace had yet to find his rhythm in battle. After several exchanges, Ace had already begun to grasp Cifer's attacking rhythm.

Ace obviously had not used his full strength yet. Against that Flame Emperor, Cero in its current state probably would not be enough to contend with it. He could use Sound Step to evade Flame Emperor first and counterattack afterward, but that was not what Cifer wanted. He wanted to defeat Ace head-on, then challenge that World's Strongest Man!

"Ace, please use all your strength next, because..." Cifer paused, his dark emerald eyes fixed squarely on Ace. "I'm going to get serious."

Blade Release? Cifer had no Zanpakuto on him at this moment. Everything depended on a single thought from him!

"It would be my honor!" Ace grinned at those words. Naturally, he knew Cifer had not shown his true strength—and neither had he.

At that moment, Marco, watching from nearby, waved a hand and looked toward the surrounding Whitebeard Pirates members. "Everyone except the division commanders, get back on the ship. What comes next isn't something you can watch from this distance."

Before he had even finished speaking, a fierce wave of heat swept through the area. Some of the weaker Whitebeard Pirates members felt as though they were standing in a sea of fire and hurried back toward the ship. Among them, however, Blackbeard did not move. His eyes remained fixed on the two figures in the arena.

Ever since Cifer had appeared, he had felt an ominous premonition, as if some terrifying creature had fixed its gaze upon him. He desperately wanted to know just what level Cifer's strength had reached!

"Is it raining?" One of the Whitebeard Pirates members touched the droplets on his face in confusion.

All of a sudden, the intense heat and scorching sensation vanished. Black raindrops began falling from the sky, and everyone present felt an inexplicable, crushing pressure. Some of the weaker ones could barely breathe; clutching their chests, they dropped to their knees.

"What an overbearing presence!" Even the division commanders could no longer remain calm. That aura... it was almost like facing Old Man himself!

"Such strange Conqueror's Haki?" Whitebeard naturally was not intimidated, but Cifer had given him far too many shocks today! Looking at Cifer again, he saw him raise a hand and point at Ace.

"Seal it, Black Winged Great Demon!"