Ace, Reduced to a Complete Background Character
Sabaody Archipelago, in front of the auction venue.
Black Rod Rex lay in a pool of blood, his fate unknown, dead; Demon Yorkson seemed to have regained his senses, but his eyes were lifeless, and he was questioning his existence, dead; Explosive Fist Louis and Ghost Eye Vincent knelt helplessly on the ground, their fists covering their heads, dejected and defeated, dead; Fire Fist Ace lay on his back, covered in wounds, struggling to even move, dead.
"Is the gap really that big after all? Although I knew I had no chance of winning, I thought at least I wouldn't lose as badly as last time!" Ace struggled to smile bitterly.
"This was the inevitable result. You chose the wrong opponent from the beginning. If you had scattered and fled, I might not have bothered to defeat you one by one. After all, the World Government's orders are just something to listen to. All they need is a fig leaf, and they can just grab anyone to make up the numbers."
"..." Ace was silent for a moment, almost spitting out a mouthful of blood, then gritted his teeth and said frantically, "What do you mean by saying this to me now?"
"That depends on what this Marine Admiral means," Roy said quietly.
Ace was taken aback. He realized he was increasingly unable to keep up with the Shichibukai's leaps of thought. Weren't the Marine Admiral here to suppress him? The Supernovas had already been wiped out, so what did the Marine Admiral have to do with it?
"What a joke, do you think Marine Admiral would let us go?" Ace mocked.
Roy looked at him with a strange expression and muttered to himself, "You want Akainu to let you go? You probably don't know who will kill you in the future."
"No, that's not true. I'm just saying that the so-called 'striking down the Celestial Dragons' isn't as important as you think. The target of this Marine Admiral who came here might just be me!"
"The Shichibukai belong to the World Government and are on par with the Marine Headquarters. Even Marine Admiral wouldn't easily take action against Shichibukai." Ace clearly didn't believe Roy's statement.
Although he had only been at sea for a short time, he already knew the importance of the Shichibukai, one of the three major powers of the Grand Line, along with the Marine Headquarters and the Four Emperors.
This is a crucial force for maintaining the balance of power in the oceans. A single move here can have far-reaching consequences. Even the World Government" would not want to disrupt this hard-won balance unless absolutely necessary.
On this point, the World Government and the Marine Headquarters have completely different attitudes toward the Shichibukai.
Because the World Government desires balance, a chaotic ocean would undoubtedly be more advantageous to the Revolutionary Army, which is something they do not want to see.
The Marine Headquarters may have different ideas, but the Navy is, after all, a subordinate agency of the World Government and cannot completely ignore the World Government's orders.
That's why Ace scoffed at Roy's statement.
"You underestimate the rank of Admiral. Marine Admiral are not only the highest fighting force of the Marine Headquarters, but also the highest fighting force of the World Government. If they are really determined to do something, they may be severely punished by the World Government afterward, or even temporarily stripped of their Admiral rank. But as long as they do not completely betray the Navy and the World Government, they will never be sidelined."
Roy knew that even though Enies Lobby was one of the three major agencies under the World Government, the Marine Admiral still had the right to launch Buster Call against it and carry out indiscriminate and destructive attacks.
It is evident that although the Marine Headquarters is subordinate to the World Government, its high status gives it considerable influence within the World Government.
As the highest combat power of the Marine Headquarters and the World Government," even if Marine Admiral does something outrageous, he wouldn't be completely stripped of his rank.
"Then isn't it pathetic that you work for the World Government, only to be suspected in the end, and even end up with the same fate as us?" Although he still didn't believe Roy's words, it didn't stop Ace from mocking him.
"Hahaha, you underestimate me. Without absolute certainty, how could I be so foolish as to stay here and wait to die when I know that Marine Admiral is about to attack me?"
Ace was momentarily speechless upon hearing this. He was no longer a complete novice and naturally knew that although the Shichibukai, the Marine Headquarters, and the Four Emperors were known as the three major forces of the Grand Line, he was clearly not on the same level as the latter two.
However, he also knew that someone like Roy couldn't possibly make baseless accusations. Wouldn't that mean that Roy, who had only been at sea for two years, had already acquired the strength to fight against the top experts on the high seas?
If this news gets out, the ocean will probably boil and never calm down.
Actually, if it were two years ago, Roy would absolutely not have wanted to face an enemy like Akainu. He was powerful and ruthless, making him a nightmare for any enemy.
However, after two years of secluded training, his strength has become unimaginable to ordinary people. Whether it is swordsmanship, Observation Haki, or Devil Fruit Ability, each of them alone can create a powerful force at the level of Shichibukai. Even he himself cannot fathom how strong he is now.
Therefore, Roy was confident that with his current strength, even if he was defeated, he could still escape unscathed.
The reason he didn't retreat this time was partly because he wanted to assess the strength of the Admiral and find out how far he was from the true top-tier combat power of the sea.
After all, he has never truly clashed with the top combat forces on the high seas.
When he fought Garp, he was too weak and could only rely on his Devil Fruit Ability to fight him. He was unable to "figure out" Garp's true strength.
The battle with Rayleigh was purely a contest of swordsmanship, with both sides holding back too many techniques, so it was not a full-force fight.
On the other hand, he also wanted to make a name for himself and prove his strength.
Admittedly, in the eyes of most people, his record is already terrifying and dazzling enough, but in the eyes of those top experts, it is far from enough.
In his battle against Doflamingo, he turned the tide by exploiting the latter's carelessness; in his battle against Garp, he forced Garp to retreat by taking advantage of Garp's soft heart; his battle against Crocodile the Sand was a genuine victory, but unfortunately, in the eyes of some, Old Sand was not quite qualified; as for taking the position of Shichibukai from the World Government, it seems to have been through a shady deal.
Therefore, in the eyes of those truly strong individuals, what Roy is most feared is his temperament and methods, while his strength is insignificant.
That's why Akainu was so unafraid to attack him.
Only by proving his strength through this battle can he truly join the ranks of the top powerhouses, secure his position as one of the Shichibukai, gain more influence, and rise to power in this chaotic era, ultimately becoming king.