His right foot, wrapped in Armament Haki, pinned Ace to the ground.
"Armament Haki... Damn it!"
Under the heavy blow, Ace's chest throbbed with pain, and his mouth was full of blood. Yet his gaze was as sharp as a blade, fixed on Maud without the slightest hint of retreat.
Maud's condescending words had not angered him. Instead, they had ignited an endless fighting spirit within him.
The old man's corpse was indeed still in Maud's hands...
That confirmation alone was enough. There was no need to prove himself with empty words.
Whoosh—!
Ace's limbs, pressed tightly against the ground, instantly transformed into roaring flames and lunged at Maud, who was only inches away.
"..."
A chill flashed through Maud's eyes when he saw this, but it stalled for an instant.
Because of that, the tip of Shusui hovering over Ace's face slowed by a beat and failed to strike first.
The raging flames then crashed into Maud, knocking him several meters back.
Clusters of flame clung to his body like parasites burrowing into bone.
Whoosh—!
Maud swung Shusui once to his side. The resulting force drew all the flames clinging to his body toward one side, where they fell to the ground and formed a long, narrow corridor of fire.
The flames had not caused Maud the slightest injury.
"Your flames... are far too weak."
Maud's tone was calm, as if he were stating an undeniable fact.
Before the war at Marineford, he had fought Ace once in Alabasta. Back then, he had still felt some pressure.
But now, forget pressure—he felt that he could defeat Ace even without using the Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
After forcing Maud back, Ace quickly rose and wiped the blood from his mouth. Flames burned all over his body, but his gaze toward Maud was