Ace delivered a merciless punch to Luffy, who was just about to retract his arm when Luffy, spinning and crashing onto the sand.
"Ouch, that hurts!"
Luffy clutched his stomach and rolled around in pain, feeling like he was about to vomit up everything he had just eaten.
" Luffy!"
Zoro and the others looked worried upon seeing this, and were also somewhat shocked, not expecting Luffy to be sent flying with a single punch.
"Ha! You think you can challenge the Five Emperors with this?! That's it!"
Ace withdrew his fist, saying something that was both deadly and psychologically damaging, while feeling much more satisfied. Beating up his younger brother still felt the best.
"Ah, you wretched Ace, I will definitely defeat you!"
Luffy couldn't tolerate Ace's disdain, so he flipped himself up and stood up, his fists also covered in Armament Haki.
" Gatling!"
Countless fist shadows bombarded Ace like a giant net, enveloping his entire body.
Seeing this, Zoro and the others were on edge. This was Luffy's attack, covered in Armament Haki, making it far more powerful than before.
However, Ace's lips curled into a sneer. Compared to these countless fist shadows, they were far inferior to Enel and Lin Yuan's, simply incomparable.
He had been specially trained by the two of them, and although he got beaten up a lot, compared to them, Luffy's speed was child's play.
Ace activated his Observation Haki, anticipating all of Luffy's attacks. Then, his figure became blurry. He didn't make any big movements, but he precisely avoided all the attacks.
"Boom boom boom boom boom boom..."
Luffy's fist sent dust flying up from where Ace was, burying Ace's figure in the dust.
" Luffy, well done!"
Molly, Usopp, Fisher, and the others were cheering and encouraging Luffy, seemingly already envisioning Ace's defeat.
Zoro, however, frowned, sensing that defeating Ace wouldn't be so easy.
As expected, Luffy slowly exhaled after finishing the Luffy, staring at the smoke and dust with a puzzled look.
"What's going on? It seems like they didn't hit Ace!"
Luffy raised his hand, looking at his fist in confusion. His attack had clearly enveloped Ace, but he didn't feel like he had hit him.
"Heh, Luffy, is this all the strength you have? It's far too weak!"
Just as Luffy was wondering, Ace's figure gradually appeared, his body covered with a layer of firelight to prevent smoke and dust from getting on him.
Luffy's pupils contracted as he stared at Ace in disbelief.
"How is that possible!"
Ace looked at Luffy, then a smile appeared on his face.
"Whoosh..."
Suddenly, Ace vanished from his spot, almost teleporting, faster than the Six Powers Shave.
Luffy was about to make a move, a jet-black fist appeared in front of him.
"Bang!"
Ace's punch landed squarely on Luffy's face, the force so great that Luffy's face contorted in pain, and his body tumbled and flew away.
"Boom..."
Finally, Luffy smashed a huge crater in the sand, almost burying himself alive.
Ouch, that hurts!
Zoro and the others also turned their attention to Luffy, wanting to step forward and help.
"Don't come any closer! I want to defeat him myself!"
"Hiss hiss..."
Suddenly, Luffy's voice rang out, stopping Zoro and the others from their actions. At the same time, a large amount of heat emanated from his body, and his skin turned bright red.
Ace frowned, but said nothing. With a flash, he attacked again.
A determined look appeared in Luffy's eyes, and his speed almost doubled before he charged towards Luffy without hesitation.
Ace adjusted his strength slightly and began to clash with Luffy.
Suddenly, clouds of dust billowed up from the desert, and the sounds of constant struggle could be heard from within.
"Bang..."
Suddenly, another figure was blasted out. Zoro and the others only needed to glance at him to realize that it was Luffy who had been sent flying, his outstretched arm still extended.
Another large crater was created, Luffy lay on the ground panting, before standing up again.
" Zoro, we can't wait any longer! Luffy is no match for their attacks!"
Sanji anxiously reminded him, already eager to make a move. The others stared at Ace in shock, never expecting that Luffy, whom they considered invincible, would be so easily defeated.
"Clang!"
"Everyone, Luffy together! We can't let Luffy fight alone!"
"Yes!"
Zoro drew three swords and attacked from the left and right with Sanji, while Fisher and Higgins also drew their weapons and stood by.
As for Molly, she took out two pistols and prepared to launch a ranged attack with Usopp.
"Everyone!"
Looking at his crew, Luffy felt a surge of emotion and immediately attacked again, ganging up on Ace.
Luffy knew that he was far weaker than Ace, but they were a pirate crew, and he didn't believe they couldn't defeat each other if they worked together.
Sensing the movements of everyone in the Straw Hat Pirates, Ace's lips curled into a slight smile, which then vanished into cold indifference.
"Hmph, with your strength, what does it matter if you outnumber me!"
After saying that, Ace no longer held back, his entire body covered in Armament Haki, and he instantly caught the attacks from Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.
"Heh, that's it!"
After blocking the three people from attacking him, Ace revealed a mocking smile, and his body became dazed again.
"Bang... bang... bang..."
Ace's speed was ridiculously fast. Even though Luffy and his two companions Awakening their Observation Haki beforehand, they couldn't react in time and were blasted away.
Their Haki had only Awakening for a short time, at most at the beginner level, while Ace's Haki had almost reached the advanced level, they were not even in the same league.
Seeing their companion blasted away, Fisher and Higgins didn't stand idly by either, and immediately attacked, only to be blasted away by Ace as well.
Molly and Usopp, who were not far away, tried to attack, but they passed right through Ace.
Just as Ace was fighting the entire Straw Hat Pirates alone, Lin Yuan and Whitebeard Newgate appeared in the sky, followed by a man and a woman.
The man was none other than the hotel owner Kagehachi, and the woman was Brûlée.
After news of Ace and Luffy from the Kagehachi reached the Merchant Guild headquarters, Monet happened to be with Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan suddenly became interested in the battle between the two brothers, so he told Whitebeard Newgate about it.
The two used Brûlée's Mirror-Mirror Fruit to teleport directly to Alabasta, and then Lin Yuan led the others there.
At this moment, Ace was facing the entire Straw Hat Pirates alone, but his overwhelming strength made Luffy and the others suffer greatly.
Of these people, only Zoro's sword could allow Ace to dodge; the attacks from the others couldn't hurt him at all.
"I'll lead the attack, you guys create opportunities for me!"
Zoro shouted and took command of the battle.
However, Ace did not give him a chance to build up his strength. Lin Yuan's teachings were already deeply imprinted in his mind: strike while the iron is hot!
" Fire Daruma..."
Ace felt it was enough and prepared to end the battle, giving Zoro and the others no chance to turn the tide.
Countless flames instantly engulfed the Straw Hat Pirates, while his figure quickly vanished from the spot.
"Bang bang bang bang bang bang..."
Ace moved with Inazuma speed, leaving afterimages, before appearing beside the group and striking them hard in the chest.
Except for Molly, who was spared by Ace and escaped injury, everyone else coughed up blood and flew backward.
"Heh, compared to those monsters, you guys are really weak, especially Zoro, your swordsmanship is far inferior to Kuina's!"
With Ace's cold voice ringing out, the entire Straw Hat Pirates were destined for utter defeat.