"Fire Fist!"
Bang!
Scorching flames suddenly surged, and a hot wind swept back.
Ace punched with his right fist from a distance.
Boom!
A fist formed of scorching flames instantly pierced the air, hurtling straight toward Bai Yu.
Wherever it passed, not only the pirate ships but even the sea itself was torn apart by the flames.
It crossed the dozens of meters between them in the blink of an eye.
Feeling the scorching wind and waves rushing toward him, Bai Yu's wooden sword erupted with dazzling golden light.
He brought it down in a powerful frontal slash.
Boom!
The Fire Fist split apart at the blow.
A blade aura over ten meters long crashed straight toward Ace with unmatched sharpness.
Without the slightest fear, Ace met the slash head-on.
Bang!
The ship beneath his feet split in two under the slash.
As flames swept back across the sky, everyone's pupils abruptly contracted.
They soon saw countless flames churning rapidly in midair, condensing half of Ace's figure out of thin air.
"Fire Pistol!"
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Ace fired repeatedly with both hands, sending dense flame bullets raining down on Bai Yu.
Watching the attack rapidly grow in his pupils, the smile on Bai Yu's face became increasingly bloodthirsty and belligerent.
The wooden sword in his hand erupted with golden light again as he slashed straight down.
Boom!
It was still a plain, unadorned slash!
The golden blade aura that burst forth stretched well over ten meters.
The Fire Pistol shots filling the sky were instantly shredded by this strike.
Without losing momentum, the blade aura slashed toward Ace in midair.
Bang!
The flames exploded apart once more, and after the blade aura swept past,
the flames filling the sky formed Ace's figure again.
Endless firelight gathered in Ace's right hand, turning into a ring of fire that he hurled fiercely toward Bai Yu.
This attack swelled in the wind, ultimately becoming a wheel of wind and fire dozens of meters across, seemingly blotting out the sky and sun.
Yet faced with all this, Bai Yu's attack remained unchanged.
Golden light surged as he raised his hand and delivered another slash.
Bang!
The golden blade aura flashed!
This time, however, the slash was several times greater than before, reaching a full fifty or sixty meters.
Everyone's expression changed drastically at the sight of this slash that seemed to pierce heaven and earth.
Their nerves stretched taut.
Faced with the seemingly world-destroying attacks the two unleashed with every movement,
this was a fucking battle between gods!
If this strike landed on them,
their puny arms and legs probably really could not withstand even one blow.
Bang!
The blast swept back, carrying firelight with it.
The blade aura, dozens of meters long, tore straight through the clouds gathered in the sky.
As the firelight filling the sky gathered together again,
a trace of wild delight appeared on Deuce's face when he saw Ace completely unharmed.
"See? I told you Captain Ace was unbeatable."
"A Logia Devil Fruit user isn't someone you can defeat just because you want to. That's an innate advantage. No matter how strong this Marine rookie is, if he can't touch Ace, defeat is his only path."
Deuce hurriedly burst into laughter.
Beside him, Zeff's mustache twitched as he spoke.
"It's just as I heard on the Grand Line. In the first half, Logia Devil Fruit users are uncrowned kings, unless..."
"But this is the East Blue. I'm afraid no one here has that kind of ability."
Everyone present exchanged looks.
They might pay no heed to Deuce's assessment.
But the cooks present knew perfectly well that Zeff had spent time on the Grand Line.
Although he had slipped back after just one short year,
his knowledge was still far beyond that of ordinary people.
"Bai Yu, we've played around enough. That was just to let you get used to fighting a Logia Devil Fruit user. Now I'm going to get serious."
Flames surged wildly from Ace's body as he raised his right hand.
Endless flames poured in and gathered madly, as though they cost nothing.
A massive fireball rapidly expanded and rose.
The scorching heat made even the surrounding sea seem to boil.
Some distance away, Zeff and the others' expressions changed drastically.
"Hurry and get the ship away! This attack is definitely no ordinary one!"
Zeff roared urgently.
The ship rapidly sailed away.
But before they could escape far, the fireball gathering in Ace's hand, now over a hundred meters across, finally took shape.
This was Ace's strongest killing move at his current stage.
From afar, it looked as though a sun had risen over the sea.
Everyone in these waters immediately felt utterly insignificant.
"Bai Yu, this is my strongest attack. I hope you can take it!"
Endless fighting spirit appeared on Ace's face. Looking at Bai Yu, who had not moved so much as half a step since the battle began, a glint of competitiveness flashed in his eyes.
"I refuse to believe you can stay still under this attack!"
"Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor!"
Boom!
Under Ace's control, the hundred-meter sun crashed down toward Bai Yu with crushing force.
The immense impact pressed even the surrounding sea down by dozens of centimeters.
The pirate ship beneath Bai Yu's feet creaked under the strain, seemingly unable to withstand the immense pressure and heat.
Everyone who had been frantically fleeing lost their composure at the sight, their gazes all locking onto Bai Yu.
They desperately wanted to know how Bai Yu would deal with this attack from the strongest pirate rookie, Fire Fist Ace.
"Haha, now this is what gets me going!"
Bai Yu suddenly laughed and gripped his wooden sword with both hands.
The sight of this utterly ordinary movement made Ace's heart jolt.
From the first time he had seen Bai Yu draw his sword to their encounter now,
Ace clearly remembered that Bai Yu had always wielded his sword one-handed.
Now he had suddenly changed that habit.
This undoubtedly gave him a bad feeling.
Bang!
A pillar of golden light erupted violently from within Bai Yu.
The release of overwhelming Spiritual Pressure first caused the sun descending from above to falter slightly.
The instant endless killing intent and the power from Wu Liuqi gathered within it,
everyone in these waters felt as though they had plunged straight into an ice cellar.
This was different from the scorching heat brought by the flames.
It was a chill that came from the soul, and even Ace's expression abruptly changed.
Unfortunately, before they could react,
Bai Yu had already brought the wooden sword held in both hands down in a powerful frontal slash.
"Kendo: Bisection!"
Boom!
One slash flew!
The entire world seemed bathed in golden light.
A hundred-meter blade aura met the sun head-on with the force to split the heavens.
Golden light flashed, and the sun split in two beneath the slash.
The next instant, its remaining force undiminished, it slashed toward Ace.
At the same time, the endless flames that had gathered madly lost their restraints and erupted like a volcano.
Bang!
A thunderous explosion resounded through the clouds.
Endless flames swept outward like a tsunami.
The pirate ships that failed to flee in time were swallowed up.
The floating restaurant sheltering in the distance, along with Deuce and the others, was also instantly sent flying by the tsunami crashing down head-on.