Clash

"Hey, big guy."

The woman—that is, Leona—glared down at Ace, her voice fierce and fiercely possessive of her food. "This Tyrannosaurus is premium meat I've had my eye on all day. Don't think you can steal someone else's prey just because you're big. Touch it, and I'll slice you up along with it!"

Ace stood his ground, unruffled by the explosive threat.

He wasn't looking at the massive Tyrannosaurus at all. His attention was fixed on its open wound and the two blades in Leona's hands.

With his Observation Haki, Ace had clearly caught the slash from a moment ago.

The woman hadn't used any extraordinary sword aura. She had relied entirely on her profound understanding of bones and muscle fibers: the instant her heavy blade smashed through the scales, she had used her light blade to sever the Tyrannosaurus's nerve center with pinpoint precision.

This art of slaughter, like a butcher cutting up an ox, had preserved the prey's vital blood and its fierce, searing heat to the greatest extent.

"Impeccable food preparation."

Ace slipped his hands into his pockets, a glint of genuine admiration in his deep black eyes. He strode toward the Tyrannosaurus's corpse with complete composure. "But on the open sea, ownership of the prey is usually decided by the size of your fists. And as it happens, I'm hungry too."

"Another crude pirate who has no respect for ingredients and only knows how to take what he wants?!"

Ace's brazen provocation instantly set Leona off.

Lately, the island had been overrun by a horde of trash who butchered everything in sight with poison gas and heavy weapons to curry favor with the World Government's nobles. The black-haired man before her had a terrifying presence, and her instincts told her to be wary.

"You're asking to die, so I'll grant your wish!"

Leona roared and kicked off the Tyrannosaurus's corpse. Her tall, six-foot-three frame was like a furious lioness as she hurtled down from above, a fierce gust of wind trailing behind her!

"Whoosh!"

The Black Steel Bone-Cleaving Blade in her right hand came crashing down toward Ace's shoulder with the force of a mountain!

Facing a savage slash capable of splitting a boulder in two, Ace didn't retreat. He didn't even coat himself in Armament Haki. He casually raised his right hand and reached out to catch the enormous Black Steel blade barehanded!

"Fool!" A cold glint flashed in Leona's eyes. Even pirates with bounties in the tens of millions would be cleaved in two if they tried to take her Bone-Cleaving Blade with their bare flesh!

"Clang—!!"

A deep metallic crash, like the toll of a giant bell, thundered through the jungle.

The coldness on Leona's face froze in place.

A terrifying force of impact traveled from the hilt into her arms, numbing her hands. Her slit pupils widened in disbelief.

Ace's right hand had caught the Black Steel Blade and held it fast. The razor-sharp edge had only cut through the top layer of skin on his palm before becoming firmly lodged in the densely packed muscle fibers beneath, as tough as bundled steel cables. It couldn't move another inch!

"How is this possible?"

A storm raged through Leona's mind. "He blocked my Black Steel Blade with nothing but the density of his own flesh?!"

Could this man's body really be more terrifying than an ancient beast's?

"Not bad."

Ace's lips curled into a relaxed smile. For the past half month, he had used Vermilion Bird Divine Fire in a grueling regimen of self-destructive muscle-rebuilding training. His body had long since reached a frightening level of physical durability.

"Bastard! Don't get cocky!"

Leona decisively abandoned the contest of strength. Her body twisted with remarkable flexibility in midair, and the Silver Bone-Trimming Blade in her reverse grip shot out like a striking snake. Its vicious, deceptive angle aimed straight for the nerve cluster beneath Ace's unguarded ribs!

The heavy blade broke through armor; the short blade trimmed the bones. That was her real killing move!

But against Ace, who possessed top-tier Observation Haki, a sneak attack of this caliber was practically happening in slow motion.

Ace released the Black Steel Blade and casually reached down with his left hand.

His movement seemed unhurried, yet he caught Leona by the wrist in midair with perfect precision.

"Got you," Ace said calmly.

"Damn it!"

Leona's heart lurched. She tried to pull away, but the strength in Ace's hand was like an immovable iron vise.

Giving Leona no chance to resist, Ace gripped her wrist and drove his waist into the motion. His body surged with a terrifying force as he swung her over his head and slammed her roughly but decisively into the ground!

"BAM!!!"

The impact sent dirt and fallen leaves blasting into the air.

Leona hit the ground hard. The force of the impact made her vision go black, and her bones felt as if they had come apart. Her two beloved blades fell from her hands and landed nearby.

Ace hadn't gone for the kill. He had controlled his strength with pinpoint precision, leaving the fiery-tempered chef temporarily unable to fight without injuring her internal organs.

"Cough, cough."

Leona lay in the crater, gasping for breath, a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth. She gritted her teeth and glared up at Ace, her wild slit pupils full of resentment.

"Defeat is defeat. Kill me or do whatever you want. The prey is yours." Leona was blunt by nature. Having lost to the law of the jungle, she wouldn't beg like a weakling.

Yet the execution she expected never came.

Ace walked to the edge of the crater, his broad frame blocking the sunlight filtering through the jungle.

He looked down at the red-haired woman, whose fierce defiance remained even in defeat. Remembering her nearly flawless knife work, he felt a burning, uncompromising intensity flare in his deep black eyes.

"I have no interest in killing you."

He looked down at her, his voice calm, yet carrying the regal air of someone who could hold everything in his grasp.

"Your knife work is exceptional, and you understand ingredients inside and out. A chef like you is wasting her talents on this island, dealing with mindless beasts."

"Become my personal chef."

Ace offered the words bluntly. It wasn't a request, but a declaration.

Leona froze. She even forgot to wipe the blood from her mouth as she stared in disbelief at the man who had just slammed her into the ground and was now seriously trying to recruit her.

"Huh? Is something wrong with your head, big guy?"

Coming to her senses, Leona snapped back furiously. "Why would I cook for some stranger like you?! And what do you know about real cooking? I'm after the most ferocious beasts in the world!"

"If you want to cook the most ferocious beasts, then you have even less reason to turn me down."

Ace didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled with easy confidence.

"On your own, the best you can do is carve up a few Tyrannosauruses on this island."

Ace stretched out his broad, solid hand and pointed to the dead beast. His voice brimmed with the arrogance of one who meant to conquer the world. "But if you come aboard my ship and join the Eclipse Pirates, you'll get anything from Giant Sea Kings thousands of meters long in the Grand Line's Calm Belt to powerful beasts rarely seen even in the New World."

"If it's prey anywhere in these seas, I'll trample it underfoot and bring it to your cutting board."

At those words,

Leona's feline slit pupils contracted to pinpoints.

She stared into Ace's unfathomable black eyes, her heart pounding beyond her control.

What kind of man was he?

He actually saw the most terrifying creatures in these seas as ingredients he'd bring to her cutting board?!