VS Ace
At this moment, Moke's gaze fell on Ace, his eyes filled with a hint of inquiry.
To be honest, he was also quite interested to see, even though four years had passed since the Marineford War.
What level of strength did Ace reach?
Like Enel, did he make up for his weaknesses?
At this moment, Marco was already beside Whitebeard, beginning to treat him.
"Gurala la la..."
Whitebeard didn't stay on the city wall, but sat down instead. He looked at Ace, then at Moke, seemingly lost in thought.
Especially Moke's eyes.
He immediately had an idea and turned to Ace, saying, "Since you've already made your move, then let's have some fun with Moke."
"Ah?"
Ace looked utterly shocked.
Whitebeard was quite blunt. "How many more years can Pops live? In the future, the Whitebeard Pirates will either be handed over to you Marco. If neither of you is a match for Moke, even if the Whitebeard Pirates are handed over to you, can you defend them?"
These words caused an uproar, as did those of Ace, Marco, Jozu, Vista, and the other captains.
Everyone wore expressions of shock.
They sensed a reluctance to retreat from Whitebeard's words. Yet, they had to admit that their Pops was absolutely right.
"Call..."
Ace took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Then, he became eager to try again.
Who is Moke?
If he were the strongest person in the world after his Pops, who wouldn't want to fight such a powerful opponent?
Just like all Swordmaster, he wanted to fight Hawkeye, the world's Swordmaster.
He gave Moke a deep look, then leaped ashore. Clearly, he didn't want his fight with Moke to involve other people or the pirate ship.
After all, his fighting style has a truly wide-ranging impact.
Especially the ultimate skill...
Upon seeing this, Moke first smiled.
Then he turned to Whitebeard: "Then I'll teach... your most beloved son for you."
As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into a streak of Hikaru and followed Ace to the shore.
Upon hearing Moke's words, neither Marco, Jozu, Vista, nor the other captains, nor Whitebeard, said anything.
Although Moke was younger than Ace, in this world where strength reigns supreme, he had the right to say those words to anyone below the Four Emperors.
"Firefly Fire Daruma..."
As soon as Moke landed, Ace attacked without any hesitation.
He used his hands to create many small, glowing fireflies that floated around Moke, eventually gathering on Moke's body before exploding in one go.
This move is incredibly powerful; if it were anyone else, they would certainly be injured.
But now Ace is facing Moke.
After the explosion, flames engulfed Moke. When everything calmed down, Moke was still standing there unharmed.
Looking at Ace, there was a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
Sure enough... they never learn their lesson!
He was speechless.
He sheathed the Shusui sword in his hand. Because Ace didn't need it at all...
"Shave..."
The next second, Moke vanished from his spot, and when he reappeared, he was already in front of Ace. To Ace's astonishment, Moke threw a punch.
It aimed directly at Ace's face.
It was so fast that Ace couldn't react in time.
However, Ace had been in the New World for so many years and had a wealth of combat experience. He instinctively crossed his arms in front of him.
"Collapse..."
Moke's fist slammed hard into Ace's arms.
Ace's expression changed drastically, because he sensed an unparalleled, terrifying power. Under this terrifying power, Ace was blasted away.
Finally, it crashed about 100 meters away onto a Kozuchi.
Ace exploded into a ball of flames, which then coalesced and transformed into a human form.
Ace stood there unharmed.
Although the impact wouldn't cause any serious injury, his arms were trembling. Clearly, he had been badly hit by Moke's punch.
Moke shook his head. "Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit, and you're facing me... and you're not even using Armament Haki. What were you thinking? In another place, against another person, right now, both his arms would be broken. No... his sternum would be broken too. It would be a miracle if he survived."
He paused for a moment at this point.
He then added, "Even if it's a probing attack, it's against an opponent of the same level, or a higher-level opponent against a lower-level one... The opposite is suicide."
As soon as he finished speaking, Moke disappeared from the spot once again.
When he reappeared, Moke was already in front of Ace.
Finally, he unleashed another punch.
The target is still Ace's face!
The fist rapidly enlarged in Ace's eyes... but this time Ace was prepared; he transformed into a ball of flame and dissipated first.
They then coalesced into a human shape in the air.
"Fire Ring·Fire Pillar!"
Ace used the Flame Ring in mid-air, then spun the collected flames between his hands to form a burning pillar, which he then shot upwards to strike the sky. While in mid-air, he could also launch it downwards to strike the ground.
At that moment, the pillar of fire shot down from mid-air towards Moke on the ground.
"Well..."
Moke sighed inwardly, thinking, "This guy really never learns his lesson!"
So he stood there, motionless, letting the pillar of fire pound on him...
"Rumble..."
Moke was engulfed in flames once again, but when the flames subsided and everything returned to calm, Moke was still standing there unharmed!
Not only that, Moke absorbed this power.
People burn energy.
Then, to Ace's utter shock, he unleashed a punch.
"Fire Fist!"
Flames erupted from Moke's body, transforming into an enormous fiery fist that hurtled towards Ace.
It was remarkably similar to his moves.
In other words, Moke not only copied his Flame-Flame Fruit ability, but also his techniques.
This... this... this...
Ace stood there, completely stunned.
The next second, the Fire Fist slammed into him. His entire body exploded under the attack. But he immediately returned to human form, completely unharmed.
Ace stood there stunned, and then he finally understood.
Such attacks are largely ineffective against those who can Elementalization. Unless... the power of the attack reaches a level where even Elementalization cannot prevent damage.