The tornado formed by the entanglement of Shadow Fist and Fire Fist eventually scattered into flying fragments.
The sand swept into the sky came pattering down, striking the flames and turning them into white smoke.
Yet Maud's shadow regrouped amid the rain of sand, condensing into a shadow clone with the same outline as his real body.
This clash between "Fist Fire" could be considered a direct probe between the two.
In terms of the result, neither side had gained the upper hand.
But judging by the process, Maud had received it far too easily.
At least, that was how Ace saw it.
After all, having someone reproduce his signature move so effortlessly was tantamount to saying: Your technique isn't anything special.
"The Shadow-Shadow Fruit can be used like this too...? How interesting."
Thanks to the reputation of the previous Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability user, Gecko Moria, as a Shichibukai, Ace knew a fair amount about the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, though not enough to claim complete familiarity.
But precisely because he had Gecko Moria as a point of comparison, Ace found Maud's way of using the Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability so novel and interesting.
"Since Fire Fist didn't work, how about this...?"
A hint of a smile touched the corners of Ace's mouth. He bent his knees and crossed his arms before his body.
Flames sprang to life beneath his feet, forming rings of vortexes that expanded outward.
One meter, two meters, three meters, four meters...
When the diameter of the flaming vortex finally exceeded ten meters, it abruptly rose from the ground.
Ace raised his right hand. His palm seemed to possess a gravitational force, drawing all the flames that had risen from the ground toward it. In an instant, they gathered into a massive fireball more than ten meters in diameter.