One Finger

For a moment, he had no idea what to do.

Those eyes seemed to have seen straight through every thought in his mind.

"Let's fight."

"Show me how much you've learned under that old man Whitebeard!"

Xia Le smiled faintly.

Ace clenched his fists. This time, he didn't hesitate. With a roar, he charged.

Chapter 198: One Finger

Fwoosh!

Flames blazed. Ace sprinted forward and reached Xia Le almost instantly. He leaped high, spread his arms, then plunged down at him.

"Divine Fire: Shiranui!"

With a roar, both his hands became flaming spears and stabbed at the figure before him.

To his shock, Xia Le slipped past the attack with the smallest of movements, his timing uncannily precise.

When Ace looked again, the figure that had stood there was gone.

"Relying too much on a Devil Fruit's power is never a good thing!"

"Ace!"

The calm voice came from behind him.

Ace's pupils contracted, and a chill raced up his spine.

When had he gotten there?

Ace spun around and kicked off the deck, retreating to put distance between them.

To his surprise, Xia Le didn't pursue him. He merely watched in silence.

"You're looking down on me!"

Ace's voice burned with anger.

"You haven't shown me any strength worth taking seriously!"

Xia Le smiled faintly.

Then he raised his right hand and extended his index finger.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Ace shouted.

"This finger will do!"

"At your current level, one finger is all you're worth!"

Xia Le smiled.

There was no mockery in his expression, but his contempt came through clearly in his words.

Ace grew even angrier!

In all his time at sea, he had never met a man who underestimated him so completely.

"Bastard!"

"Even Pops wouldn't look down on me like that!"

Ace roared