Fire.
Scorching flames blazed fiercely around Ace like a blazing sun.
Several rings of spiraling fire swirled around Ace, gathering into his outstretched right hand as they spun.
A scorching fireball gradually appeared above Ace's raised palm, becoming a massive sphere as dazzling as the sun.
As time passed, the fireball stopped growing. Instead, it compressed inward, shrinking considerably.
Its once-vivid color continued to deepen. When the crimson flames gradually turned dark red, Luffy felt an unspoken terror that made his hair stand on end, his expression turning grave.
Even Trick, whose ability somewhat countered Ace's, could not help becoming serious when he felt the technique Ace was unleashing.
"Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor!!"
After Luffy and Trick retreated, the sunlike fireball slowly crushed down toward Kurozumi Orochi's frozen body.
"Kuma!!"
Endless flames erupted in an instant. The terrifying heat seemed capable of igniting everything, scorching every combustible substance.
The gorgeous ice flowers rapidly cracked apart under the heat, rising as steam and vanishing. Kurozumi Orochi beneath the ice, however, was not so fortunate.
Having just endured the confinement of extreme cold, he was instantly engulfed by searing heat. Spiderweb-like cracks appeared over Kurozumi Orochi's enormous body and continued spreading across the rest of it.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!!!"
Pillars of blood sprayed out like jets of water, only to be instantly evaporated dry by the flames. Even the wounds turned to char in an instant.
Several snake heads were ignited by the flames, then reduced to charcoal beneath the blazing heat.
Next, their flesh was burned away, leaving only skeletons that continued to burn.
"Aaaaargh!!! Damn it!! All of you should die!!!"
Within the flames, the crowned snake head that had been hanging down on the ground rose with a howl. Dragging along seven charred bodies, it charged out of