Do You Only Know These Few Moves?

Crack, crack, crack.

The ground beneath Ace's feet split uncontrollably, and his right hand was steadily forced back, making his body slowly bend downward.

He had clearly suffered severe injuries. Why could he still stand? Why was his strength increasing instead of weakening?

Without any warning.

Ace suddenly felt the pressure above his head vanish. When he looked up, Wilton, who had been crashing down like a meteor, had disappeared. Then a pungent smell of blood reached his nose.

Feverish Spin.

Damn it.

There was no time to turn into fire.

It was right in front of him.

Covered in blood, Wilton gripped his dumbbells tightly. Armament Haki surged forth as he spun with all his might, unleashing two unstoppable slashing shockwaves that tore through everything in their path.

Ace had only half-transformed into fire. He raised his left hand, coated in Armament Haki, in front of him. The instant the dumbbells struck, pain twisted his face. His left hand held on for only a moment before the overwhelming force smashed heavily into his chest.

The sound of cracking bones rang out.

Ace spat out a mouthful of blood. His twisted figure flashed away in flames, blasting through ruined buildings and uplifted crust before finally crashing into the end of a scorched broad road and being buried beneath the debris.

"Major General Wilton."

"Ace."

Sadi, Smoker, and Luffy, who had been watching the battle, were all dumbfounded.

The sudden reversal was too abrupt. He had clearly been critically injured and on the verge of death, so why could he still stand? More importantly, his combat power was even more terrifying than before he was injured.

The more severely he was hurt, the stronger he became?

Wilton sprang into the air, transforming into two mountain-like dumbbells once again as he smashed toward Ace in the ruins, as though he had a built-in targeting system.

Strike while he was down and finish him off.

Thankfully, his Iron Body and Armament Haki were as reliable as ever. Any other major general might not even have ashes left, but not only had he endured it head-on, he had also triggered the passive skill Self-Sacrifice.

He had not even used Recovery, Healing, or Justice Potential yet, because he could still take it.

For a direct clash with his opponent, maintaining this low-health state suited him best.

Rumble!

The crust exploded and heaved upward. Ace barely dodged in time, reappearing some distance away with both hands spread wide as a large number of glowing firefly-like flames drifted toward Wilton.

Firefly Fire Daruma.

Faced with this attack, Wilton spun in place. Two slashing shockwaves spread outward again without any blind spots, and the tiny flames exploded before they could get close.

The slashing shockwaves continued toward Ace without losing momentum.

Ace vanished in elemental form. Just as he reassembled his body and spat out the blood in his mouth, a whistling sound came from above his head.

"Do you only know these few moves?"

Flame Command: Fire Pillar.

Ace's face darkened as flames erupted across his body and formed a pillar of fire. He shot into the sky and slammed into Wilton. After an evenly matched collision, Wilton was forcibly blasted away, spinning several times in midair before landing on the ground.

Dumbbell Impact.

In response to Ace's fury, Wilton told him through his actions that he really did only know these few moves. He swung the dumbbell in his right hand through the air, and in an instant, a five-hundred-meter dumbbell phantom slashing shockwave tore through dirt and rubble as it surged toward Ace.

Ace dealt with it using a single Fire Fist.

Then the air above his head began to howl again as Wilton pressed down with both dumbbells.

Again and again.

Wilton only had a few moves, all simple and brutal. Otherwise, he just used Normal Attacks, but every blow seemed as heavy as Mount Tai.

In terms of momentum, even Ace's Conqueror's Haki was suppressed by Wilton's fearless, mutually destructive fighting style.

That man simply was not afraid of dying.

It was truly maddening.

He was so severely injured, yet not only had his attack power not fallen, it had become increasingly absurd. Even if this were one final counterattack before death, it should not have lasted this long.

The other man was clearly not a Devil Fruit User either.

Exactly where had things gone wrong?

So this was what it meant to be a Marine Tough Guy?

Ten minutes later.

A fireball like the sun slowly rose into the sky. Ace stood there in a sorry state, holding up his right hand, blood dripping from his mouth and nose as his face turned pale.

As he watched the man climb out of the pit in the distance yet again, the flames in his eyes flickered wildly.

A mere major general was giving him the illusion that he was facing an admiral. The man's sheer stubbornness placed enormous psychological pressure on him.

The longer they fought, the fiercer he became.

The longer they fought, the less it made sense.

"Let this end!"

Great Flame Ring: Fire Emperor.

Feverish Spin.

Rumble!

Like colliding meteors, both Ace and Wilton wore savage expressions as they charged at each other with all their strength.

Until only a single flash of light remained in the world.

Far away, Smoker, Sadi, the Jailer Beasts, and Luffy instinctively shut their eyes. Then a deafening blast of hot air struck them head-on.

When everything finally cleared.

More than half of Nanohana had vanished, leaving only scattered ruins to tell of the fairly prosperous town that had once stood there.

At the very center, all the flames withdrew into Ace's body. He coughed up blood and gasped for breath, his gaze fixed firmly on the charred figure in the enormous pit in the distance.

No one could withstand two of his Fire Emperors.

It was over.

But before Ace could lower his guard, the charred body suddenly twitched. A green glow lit up around it, and then it climbed to its feet with a roar.

Grabbing his dumbbells, Wilton tensed the muscles in his legs and leaped from afar toward Ace, smashing down with the same violent ferocity as always.

This time, his Iron Body and Armament Haki had nearly failed to hold up, so he used Recovery while continuing to maintain his heavily injured state. As long as he did not die, it was fine.

"Damn it!!!"

Explosive Double Axes.

"What kind of monster are you?"

Ace's mentality shattered. Why had this guy not fallen yet? Had his own strength declined? But the scorched wasteland around them proved that his destructive power was as terrifying as ever.

Why?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Collision after collision, Wilton no longer knew how many times he had been blasted away, and Ace no longer knew how many times he had been struck.

Gradually, Ace's advantage began to disappear.

Fire Emperor.

Already exhausted and gasping for breath, Ace seized an opportunity to unleash his third AOE ultimate. The sun-like attack fell straight toward Wilton.

In that instant.

A mushroom cloud towering between heaven and earth rose high into the sky, its shockwaves rapidly spreading across the rest of Alabasta. Even the capital could see the sky turning red in the distance.

"Wihahaha!"

Within the flames.

A fanatical figure leaped high into the air, blood and steam spraying from his entire body as he charged at Ace with the intent to perish together.

He had used Healing.

Fire Fist.

With a thunderous crash, the enormous fire fist shattered. The dumbbell smashed down with unstoppable force, but Ace barely managed to vanish in elemental form. He was gasping heavily, his expression ugly.

That man's attack power and defense were still just as absurd.

He had clearly suffered such severe injuries and had long since reached the limits of the human body. Even an awakened Zoan user should not have been able to get back up.

Damn it.

The pressure was growing greater and greater.

"Marine Tough Guy Wilton, I'll remember you."

"The next time we meet, I'll definitely settle this with you."

Ace did not intend to keep wasting time with this man. His real goal was to hunt down Teach and rescue Luffy and the others.

He was not here to waste time.

Fire Emperor.

Without another word.

Panting heavily, Ace unleashed his ultimate move once more. A sun rapidly smashed toward Wilton, and without even looking back, he sped toward Smoker and the others.