Do you only know these few moves?

Crack, crack, crack.

The ground beneath Ace's feet cracked uncontrollably, his right hand was continuously pushed back, and his body slowly bent downwards.

Even though he was severely injured, why could he still stand up? Why wasn't his strength decreasing, but increasing instead?

There was no warning.

Ace felt a lightness on his head. When he looked closely, Wilton, who had been like a meteor smashing down, had disappeared. Immediately after, he smelled a pungent scent of blood.

"Feverish Spin."

Damn it.

It was too late to elementalize.

He was right in front of him.

Wilton, covered in blood, tightly gripped his dumbbell, Armament Haki surging as he forcefully twisted. Two unstoppable slashing waves tore through everything in their path.

Ace was only halfway through elementalizing. He raised his left hand, covered in Armament Haki, to block in front of him. The moment the dumbbell collided, he felt pain on his face. His left hand only held for a moment before the immense power slammed heavily into his chest.

A bone-cracking sound echoed.

Ace opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. Twisting his face, he transformed into a fleeting flash of fire, streaking through ruins and cracked earth before finally landing, buried at the end of a scorched, wide road.

"Major General Wilton."

"Ace."

Sadi, Smoker, and Luffy, who were watching, were stunned.

The drastic turn of events was sudden. He was clearly on the verge of death from his injuries, so why could he still stand? More importantly, his combat power was even more terrifying than when he was uninjured.

Did the more severe his injuries, the stronger he became?

Wilton sprang up, transforming once more into two dumbbell-like mountains, smashing towards Ace in the ruins as if he had a built-in targeting system.

Strike the iron while it's hot.

Fortunately, his Tekkai and Armament Haki were as reliable as ever. If it were any other Major General, they might not even have ashes left. But not only did he endure it, he even triggered his passive skill, Self-Sacrifice.

He hadn't even used Recovery, Heal, or Justice Potential yet because he could still take more hits.

Engaging the opponent head-on, this low-health state was the most suitable for him.

Rumble.

The earth cracked and lifted. Ace dodged at the last second, his figure condensing not far away. With his hands spread, a large number of small, glowing fireballs from fireflies floated towards Wilton.

"Firefly Fire Daruma."

Facing this attack, Wilton spun on the spot, and two slashing waves continued to spread out without any blind spots. Those small fireballs exploded before they could even get close.

And the slashing waves continued towards Ace unabated.

Ace's elementalization vanished. Just as he finished condensing his body and spat out the blood in his mouth, a whistling sound came from above.

"Is that all you've got?"

"Flame Command: Fire Pillar."

Ace's face contorted, and flames surged around him, forming a pillar of fire. He shot straight up and slammed heavily towards Wilton. In a clash of equal forces, Wilton was forcibly sent flying, spinning a few times in the air before landing on the ground.

"Dumbbell Impact."

Facing Ace's rage, Wilton's actions told the opponent that he really only had these few moves. He gripped his dumbbell and swung it through the air, instantly sending a five-hundred-meter dumbbell phantom slashing wave that tore through dirt and rocks, charging towards Ace.

However, Ace dealt with it using a single Fire Fist.

Then, the wind continued to blow from above. Wilton gripped his twin dumbbells and pressed down heavily.

Again and again.

Wilton's moves were few, all of them simple and brutal, or just basic attacks, but the power of each strike felt heavier than Mount Tai.

In terms of momentum, even with Ace's Conqueror's Haki, he was suppressed by Wilton's fearless, all-or-nothing stance.

The opponent was clearly not afraid of death.

It was truly bizarre.

Despite being so heavily injured, his attack power hadn't decreased; instead, it was becoming more and more outrageous. Even for a final counter-attack during a deathbed resurgence, it shouldn't have lasted this long.

The opponent was also clearly not a Devil Fruit User.

Where did the problem lie?

So this was how a Marine Tough Guy was tough?

Ten minutes later.

A fireball like the sun slowly rose. Ace, holding his right hand up in a battered state, blood dripping from his nose and mouth, looked pale.

Looking at the man who had once again crawled out of the crater in the distance, the flames in his eyes flickered wildly.

A mere Major General was giving him the illusion of facing an Admiral, and his tenacity was putting immense psychological pressure on him.

The fight grew fiercer.

It's getting more and more unscientific.

"End this!"

"Great Flame Ring: Fire Emperor."

"Feverish Spin."

RUMBLE!

Like a meteor collision, both Ace and Wilton, faces contorted in agony, charged at each other hysterically.

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

Far away, Smoker, Sadi, the Jailer Beasts, and Luffy subconsciously closed their eyes, then a deafening wave of heat washed over them.

When everything cleared.

A large portion of Naha was gone, leaving only ruins and remnants to tell the tale that this was once a prosperous town.

Ace retracted all the flames into his body, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and panted heavily, his gaze fixed on the scorched figure in the distant crater.

No one could withstand two of his Fire Emperors.

It was time to end this.

But before Ace could let his guard down, the scorched body suddenly moved, then a green light flashed all over it. It then got up and roared.

Grabbing the Dumbbell, its leg muscles tensed, Wilton leaped from a distance and smashed towards Ace, as ferocious and violent as ever.

This time, Tekkai and Armament Haki almost couldn't withstand it, so he used Recovery, continuing to maintain his severely injured state. As long as he didn't die, it was fine.

"Damn it!!!"

"Explosive Double Axes."

"What kind of monster are you?"

Ace's mind was blown. Why hadn't this guy fallen yet? Had his own strength declined? But looking at the scorched earth all around proved that his destructive power was as terrifying as ever.

Why.

BANG BANG BANG!

Time and time again, they collided. Wilton didn't know how many times he'd been sent flying, and Ace didn't know how many times he'd been hit.

Slowly, his advantage began to disappear.

"Fire Emperor."

Exhausted and panting, Ace found an opening and used his third AOE ultimate move again. The sun plummeted straight towards Wilton.

In that instant.

A mushroom cloud connecting heaven and earth rose high, its shockwave quickly spreading to other parts of Alabasta. Even the capital could sense the red glow in the sky.

"Wahaha."

Amidst the flames.

A fanatic figure leaped high, blood and steam spraying from its body, charging at Ace in a suicidal attack.

He used Heal.

With a deafening roar, the colossal Fire Fist collapsed. The Dumbbell smashed down like a meteor, unstoppable. In the nick of time, Ace elementalized and disappeared, panting heavily with a grim expression.

The opponent's attack power and defense were still outrageously high.

Despite suffering such severe injuries, having long reached the human limit, even a Zoan awakened user wouldn't be able to get back up.

Damn it.

The pressure was mounting.

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

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

Ace decided not to waste any more time with this guy. His real objective was to hunt down Teach, and to rescue Luffy and the others.

Not to waste time here.

"Fire Emperor."

Without another word.

Ace, panting heavily, unleashed his ultimate move once more. A sun rapidly descended towards Wilton, then he quickly flew towards Smoker and the others without even looking back.