" Dark Water --!!!"
Blackbeard roared as he pushed the Dark Water to its limit, unleashing a dark vortex from his palm.
The powerful attraction drew the stunned Ace to its side, and it gripped Ace's right arm tightly.
The moment Teach grabbed Ace, all the flames burning on his body vanished instantly, like candles being extinguished at the same time.
The orange-red flames, the blue-white heat, and the surrounding flames all vanished completely in that instant.
Ace's eyes were filled with disbelief.
His prized Flame-Flame Fruit was rendered useless at this moment.
The feeling of being drained of all his strength was more bizarre than any battle he had ever experienced in his life.
He instinctively tried to transform into an elemental form to break free, but the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit held his Devil Fruit power firmly in place.
He could feel the flames still burning within him, but he couldn't release them, as if they were bound by a black shackle.
"Now's the time--!!!"
Blackbeard grinned maliciously and punched Ace in the stomach with all his might.
Without the protection of flames, the punch landed squarely on solid ground.
Ace coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body arching in a painful arc.
Blood splattered on Teach's face, making his already distorted features look even more grotesque.
The second punch landed on his face.
The third punch landed on his chest.
The fourth punch landed on his temple.
Ace was beaten so badly his vision blurred, but his strong will allowed Ace to continue trying to break free from Blackbeard's control.
But Blackbeard held his right arm tightly, giving him no chance to break free.
" Doc Q! You lot--!"
Blackbeard roared.
Doc Q got up from the ground, picked up the knife that had fallen to the ground, and limped over.
The other two henchmen also awoke from their coma. Although both were injured, their fear instantly turned into cruel excitement when they saw Ace being captured by Blackbeard.
Swords and fists rained down on Ace.
This was a brutal, one-sided beating.
Ace was firmly held by Teach's Dark Water, unable to transform into an elemental form or use fire, and could only withstand the siege of four pirates with his mortal body.
Every cut ripped through his skin, every punch shattered his bones.
Blood gushed from his body, staining the surrounding ground dark red.
But Ace never begged for mercy.
There were no screams, no wails, no bowing of heads.
He simply stared intently at Blackbeard with eyes burning with an indomitable flame.
There was no fear, no regret in those eyes, only pure, burning rage.
"Not bad, Captain Ace."
Blackbeard stood on Ace's head, panting heavily.
His left shoulder was still bleeding, and his body was covered in burns and bruises, making him look even more disheveled Ace.
But he was laughing; the ecstasy of surviving the ordeal had driven him somewhat mad, and a twisted smile squeezed out of his fleshy face.
Fire Fist Ace!
Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!
A notorious pirate with a bounty of 550 million!
What a prestigious title!
He looked down at Ace, who was being trampled under his feet, his tone full of contempt and smugness.
But so what?
On this vast ocean, only strength is the sole truth!
My Dark-Dark Fruit —it's the strongest!
Ace's fingers twitched.
He mustered his last bit of strength, wanting to say something.
His lips moved, and a hoarse syllable was squeezed out from deep in his throat.
But Blackbeard didn't give him a chance to speak at all.
Blackbeard leaped high into the air and slammed his knee into the back of Ace's neck.
A dull thud.
Ace's eyes glazed over completely as he lost consciousness.
Fire Fist, trampled underfoot, finally lost his last shred of consciousness.
Blackbeard rose from Ace's body, stood in the pool of blood, and laughed wildly to the sky.
"Thief, hahaha!"
I won! I won!
Fire Fist Ace! Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates! I won--!!!
His maniacal laughter echoed over the ruins of Banaro Island, mingling with the crackling of the surrounding flames, sounding particularly jarring.
Above the clouds, Roy slowly withdrew his Telekinesis.
The red light in his eyes slowly faded, and the sweat on his forehead was dried by the cold wind high in the sky.
The index finger of his right hand stopped tapping, and the Telekinesis membrane on his left hand dissipated.
He looked down at Blackbeard's maniacal laughter, then at Ace's figure lying in a pool of blood, and let out a soft breath.
Sorry, Ace.
Roy silently said this to himself.
This is a tribulation you must endure.
Your sacrifice will pave the way for a greater future.
The Paramount War had to happen, Whitebeard had to mobilize all his forces, and the Marine Headquarters had to pay the price.
All of this is predicated on you becoming the spark that ignites this war.
There was no pity in his eyes, only absolute calm and calculation.
It wasn't that he didn't care about Ace; it was just that he had been planning this whole thing for ten years.
A decade of planning, allowing no piece to deviate from the intended course.
Blackbeard hoisted the unconscious Ace onto his back and, with a few of his men, stumbled toward the port.
Blood was still seeping from the wound on his left shoulder, and every step he took was accompanied by a groan of pain, but he never put Ace down on his shoulder.
This is his spoils of war, his ticket to becoming one of the Shichibukai.
Roy took one last look at Ace.
The young man being carried on the Blackbeard's shoulders had his orange cowboy hat fall to the ground during the transport.
Blown by the sea breeze into the burning ruins, it slowly curled, charred, and turned to ashes in the flames.
Roy turned around, and his figure disappeared into the clouds again.
His mission is far from over.
Banaro Island was a turning point, but not the end.
The next step is for Blackbeard to hand Ace over to the Marines, thus triggering a war.
On the Grand Line, a dilapidated pirate ship drifted slowly on the sea.
This ship was stolen by Blackbeard near Banaro Island. Its original owner was a third-rate pirate crew who, seeing the menacing appearance of Blackbeard's group, decided to leave.
He jumped into the sea and ran away without even daring to think of resisting.
The ship itself wasn't too dilapidated; it was a proper sailing ship, far superior to Blackbeard's previous raft.
But things are different underneath the cabin.
The lowest level of the ship's hold was the ballast tank, originally used to store cargo and ballast stones. Now the cargo had been emptied, and the ballast stones had been pushed to a corner.
A thick Seastone chain hung down from an iron ring on the roof of the cabin, firmly binding a person.
Ace was suspended between chains.
His arms were pulled overhead by chains, and only the toes of his feet could barely touch the ground.
The wounds on his body hadn't been treated yet; the blood had congealed into dark red scabs that clung to his skin. His face was covered in bruises, and blood was still seeping from the crack at the corner of his mouth.
The Seastone chains gleamed with a cold, eerie blue light in the darkness.
This special mineral from Wano Country is the natural enemy of all Devil Fruit User.
Its unique magnetic field continuously suppresses the demonic power within the user, rendering them unable to exert even the slightest bit of strength.
Ace's legs were trembling violently, and the chains made a slight friction sound due to the shaking of his body, but he refused to put all his weight on the chains.
He braced his toes against the deck, barely managing to maintain his standing position.
Those eyes remained sharp as knives even in the darkness.