The Myth Descends

At the bottom of the Meteor Crater, smoke and dust filled the air.

"I've learned my lesson."

"Now, it's time to try a different approach."

With that low declaration, the vast reserves of blood and vitality within Ace erupted like a dormant volcano. His dark red coat fluttered in the scorching currents, and in the next instant, the black shirt clinging to his body was burned away by the heat pouring from within.

Crimson-gold flames surged into the sky, illuminating the gloomy fortress heights as bright as day.

Under Zephyr's grave gaze, Ace's tall, powerfully built frame began to undergo an astonishing transformation.

Two enormous wings, formed entirely of solid crimson-gold flames, burst open from his back. Each beat sent the surrounding air twisting violently under the scorching heat. Dense, hard crimson-gold feathers quickly spread across his arms and legs, as if he had donned an ancient suit of armor.

Zoan · Tori Tori no Mi · Mythical Zoan · Vermilion Bird Form!

The moment his partial transformation was complete, the hard rock beneath Ace's feet couldn't withstand the heat and melted into seething, dark red lava.

"Flames of a different color, and that kind of pressure..."

Zephyr's remaining left hand clenched hard. An unprecedented solemnity appeared on his weathered face. "It really is a Mythical Zoan. No wonder you dared to take my Black Arm head-on."

Ace said nothing. His broad crimson-gold wings beat fiercely behind him.

"Boom!"

A molten crater was all that remained where he'd stood. Ace became a crimson-gold flash that tore through the air, appearing above Zephyr in an instant.

"Divine Fire: Vermilion Bird Seal!"

Ace raised his right leg high. Coated in flowing Haki and crimson-gold divine fire, it came crashing down toward Zephyr's head with enough force to split a mountain.

"Don't get too full of yourself, rookie!"

Zephyr roared and made no attempt to dodge. He poured all his blood and vitality, along with his Armament Haki, into his remaining left arm, then punched skyward to meet the flaming leg dropping like a meteor.

"Black Arm: Smash!"

"Boom!"

Fist and leg locked together in midair.

This clash was far more dangerous than any of their previous exchanges.

Black Haki and crimson-gold divine fire sparked between them, the flashes visible to the naked eye. Ace's divine fire, hot enough to melt steel, scorched the Armament Haki barrier around Zephyr's fist, while Zephyr's immensely heavy Black Arm held back the force that could split mountains and shatter stone.

The earth crumbled inch by inch beneath their clash, and the fortress walls still standing nearby collapsed one after another like fragile crackers.

"Your strength and speed have increased this much?!"

Zephyr gritted his teeth, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He could feel the pressure on his left arm steadily mounting. The strange, scorching heat was even trying to pierce his vaunted Armament Haki defense and burn his bones.

In the instant they remained locked together, Zephyr's eyes sharpened. He lowered his left arm abruptly, deflecting the force of Ace's descending strike. Then he lunged forward with his massive frame and slammed a devastating shoulder check into Ace's chest.

"Thud!"

Ace staggered back several steps. The crimson-gold feathers across his chest shattered, and his bones gave a dull crack.

But just one breath later, a spark of Nirvana Fire kindled on his chest. His broken ribs and damaged organs healed completely in a matter of moments.

"That absurd regenerative power..."

Zephyr panted heavily, his gaze growing grimmer.

"The Haki of the old era was indeed formidable."

Ace landed steadily and looked straight at the former Marine Admiral. "But time takes its toll. You've lost an arm, and your stamina is fading. How long can you keep up this kind of intense exchange?"

"As long as I'm still alive, I'll never let you pirates do as you please on the sea!"

Zephyr roared and shot forward again with Soru.

He knew he couldn't win a battle of attrition against a Mythical Zoan. His only chance was to focus all his Haki on a single point and shatter his opponent's defenses and internal organs completely!

"Black Arm: Absolute Kill!"

Zephyr's left arm swelled, and the black Armament Haki covering it took on a faint, dark red sheen. He poured a lifetime of combat experience and killing intent into this all-out punch.

Facing the old veteran's desperate strike, Ace didn't dodge.

His gaze was calm as still water. His blood and vitality roared like an engine. Instead of letting his crimson-gold divine fire burst outward, he forcibly confined it to his right fist, weaving it together with the layer of flowing black Haki and compressing it.

Since his opponent had brought out his strongest Armament Haki, he would use advanced Ryuo and Vermilion Bird Divine Fire to crush it head-on!

"Divine Fire: Star Breaker!"

The two figures, one large and one small, met for one final head-on clash in the center of the devastated fortress.

"Rumble!"

The instant their fists connected, a slight earthquake seemed to shake the entire Steel Country.

Blinding white light swallowed them both. Then a huge mushroom cloud rose into the sky. A violent shock wave swept out like a hurricane, grinding every fragment of stone and every wrecked vehicle within several hundred meters into dust.

At the heart of the storm.

Zephyr's eyes widened, disbelief filling them.

The Black Arm defense he had always been so proud of was pierced in an instant by a sharp, concentrated force of Haki. The scorching Ryuo bypassed the Armament Haki armor covering his body and wrecked his bones and muscles from within.

"Crack."

The bone-breaking sound made the scalp tingle.

Zephyr's left arm bent at a twisted angle. At last, the seemingly unbreakable black Haki shattered beneath the combined force of the two powers of destruction!

Zephyr coughed up a large mouthful of blood. His tall, powerful frame flew backward like a broken kite, tumbling dozens of meters across the hard rocky ground before slamming into a steel bunker that was still standing.

The bunker collapsed with a roar, burying the one-armed veteran beneath the rubble.

The clouds of smoke and dust slowly dispersed.

Ace stood where he was, the flames around his right fist gradually dying out.

Bare-chested, he bore bruises and wounds of all sizes across his muscles, but the divine fire quickly healed them. He let out a long breath of scorching white air, and the crimson-gold wings on his back folded away as he returned to human form.

He quietly watched the rubble burying Zephyr.

After a long while, no counterattack came from the wreckage.

Ace raised a hand and swept the stones aside with crimson-gold flames, revealing Zephyr's bloodied figure.

The veteran, who had lost his right arm and much of his stamina, lay among the rubble. His chest still rose and fell, but his eyes were closed, and he had lost consciousness completely. His only remaining left arm hung limp at his side, its black Armament Haki long since faded.

The battle was over.

"He was a worthy opponent."

Ace looked away. In that head-on fight, his understanding of internal Haki destruction had finally become fully established.

The battle between the commanders had been decided.

Ace turned his head slightly and looked toward the other side of the heights.

There, the sounds of explosions, slashes, and cannon fire continued to echo without pause. The other members of the Eclipse Pirates were locked in a fierce struggle with the Marines' Vice Admirals and officers.

Ace set off, trailing heat that had yet to fully fade, and walked toward the area engulfed in battle.