The tin roof suddenly caved in under a kick, and a figure wrapped in flames and smoke crashed to the ground, gouging out a half-meter-deep crater.
Ace knelt on one knee, his black coat billowing in the blast. The Whitebeard flag on his back snapped fiercely in the firelight.
Ace slowly rose to his feet, the flames gathered in his palm illuminating his bloodshot eyes.
"I've been looking for you for so long, and you were hiding in a place like this!"
The Blackbeard Pirates instantly drew their weapons. Van Augur's gun was already aimed at Ace's brow, but Teach raised a hand to stop them.
He slowly stood up, his massive body nearly brushing the ceiling beams.
He had not expected to run into Ace so soon.
"Captain Ace, zehahahaha, what a rare guest!"
Teach's laughter echoed through the tavern like an old, broken beehive. He patted the fat on his belly, his eyes roaming over Ace.
Ace had not expected Teach to be this shameless. "Captain? Don't call me that so affectionately. You and I stopped being comrades a long time ago."
Teach did not care about Ace's mockery and continued speaking.
"But seriously, Ace, staying on that broken ship of Whitebeard's is a waste of your talent."
At those words, the flames in Ace's palm crackled, and the hatred in his eyes grew even more intense.
"A waste of talent?"
"Not as great as your grand ambition of killing a comrade for a Devil Fruit."
"The law of the sea has always been survival of the fittest."
Teach suddenly raised his voice and slammed his fist onto the bar. The sound of shattering bottles tore through the silence.
"That fool Thatch held the Dark-Dark Fruit. If he couldn't use it, shouldn't it have gone to someone more