With his right foot clad in Armament Haki, Maude pressed Ace down onto the ground.
"Armament Haki... Damn it!"
Under the forceful blow, Ace's chest throbbed with intense pain, blood filling his mouth. However, his gaze remained sharp as a blade, fixed directly on Maude without a hint of retreat.
He wasn't angered by Maude's words spoken from above; instead, they ignited an endless fighting spirit within him.
Whitebeard's body was indeed still in Maude's hands…
That was all the confirmation he needed. There was no point in wasting words.
—Swish!—
Ace's limbs, still pressed against the ground, suddenly transformed into roaring flames, lunging at Maude, who was within arm's reach.
"…"
Seeing this, a chilling glint flashed across Maude's eyes, but he hesitated for just a fraction of a second.
The tip of his sword, Shusui, which had been poised over Ace's face, was just a beat too slow, failing to strike first.
Instead, the surging flames slammed into Maude, forcing him back several meters.
Clusters of fire clung to him like a parasitic curse.
—Whoosh!—
With a swift swing of Shusui to his side, Maude generated a burst of air pressure that redirected the flames, scattering them across the ground in a narrow trail of fire.
The flames had done him no harm.
"Your fire... is too weak."
Maude's tone was calm, as if stating an undeniable fact.
Before Marineford, when he had fought Ace in Alabasta, he had felt some pressure.
Now? There wasn't even the slightest challenge. Even without using the Shadow-Shadow Fruit's abilities, he could still defeat Ace.
After forcing Maude back, Ace quickly got to his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth. His body burned with flames, but his gaze remained as cold as the winter frost.
He didn't respond to Maude's remark. Instead, he silently increased the intensity of his flames.
In an instant, the fire raging across his body flared up violently, forming a scorching wall of flames behind him.
Maude simply watched Ace build momentum, making no move to attack.
Because of his connection with Sabo, he couldn't kill Ace.
That brief hesitation earlier had allowed Ace to break free from his hold.
Otherwise…
When Ace had tried to fight back, Shusui would have already slashed into him.
Maybe not a fatal blow, but heavily injuring Ace would have been effortless.
"Ace, are you alright?"
At that moment, Marco and Vista returned to Ace's side almost simultaneously.
Ace nodded at them, signaling that he was fine.
Seeing this, Marco and Vista sighed slightly in relief before turning wary eyes toward Maude.
—Crack, crack—
The sound of ice forming echoed behind Maude.
Aokiji was stepping forward, his every step freezing the ground beneath him, spreading ice in all directions.
"Captain, let me handle this."
Hands still in his pockets, Aokiji looked calmly at Ace, Marco, and Vista.
After several exchanges, Ace and Vista were both wounded. As for Marco, thanks to the Phoenix's regenerative abilities, any injuries he sustained would heal instantly.
For Marco, being wounded in battle made little difference.
Given the current situation, Aokiji could easily take on all three of them.
However, their side had overwhelming strength, so there was no need for him to take on the fight alone.
What prompted him to step forward was seeing Maude hesitate when striking at Ace.
As for why…
As the first to have encountered Maude as an enemy, Aokiji knew him well.
And now, as his crew member, it was only natural to share his captain's burdens.
Maude glanced at Aokiji, sensing something, pausing in thought for a brief moment before responding calmly, "You handle Marco."
"Arara, alright then."
Aokiji scratched his head, not insisting, and simply accepted his captain's order.
As their brief exchange ended, Marco, now fully transformed, was enveloped in blue flames, his wings spread wide as he soared into the sky.
"Phoenix Gravel!"
With a powerful flap of his wings, Marco sent a storm of blue fire fragments cascading down like a torrential rain upon Maude and Aokiji.
—Crack, crack—
A thin layer of ice formed over Aokiji's face as he looked up, his eyes reflecting the incoming blaze.
—Whoosh!—
In an instant, he disappeared, reappearing midair, closing the distance between himself and the Phoenix Gravel attack.
"Ice Time Capsule!"
Aokiji extended both hands, releasing a white surge of freezing energy that clashed head-on with the incoming fire.
—Boom! Hisss—
The opposing elements clashed violently, generating a burst of steam and shockwaves.
Below, Maude didn't even glance upward at the battle.
He took a single step forward, vanishing into thin air the moment his foot touched the ground.
In the next instant—
He reappeared right in front of Ace.
The same speed. The same overwhelming presence!
"!!!"
Ace's eyes flared red, his body instantly dissolving into flames, merging with the fire wall he had created moments earlier.
This tactic was meant to make Maude lose track of him.
Then, he would use the surrounding fire to engulf Maude.
However…
Ace's Observation Haki was strong, but Maude's was even stronger.
Without even aiming, Maude drew his flintlock pistol, White Weasel, with his left hand and pulled the trigger.
—Bang!—
A Haki-infused bullet tore through the fire wall in an instant, creating a bowl-sized hole in the flames.
At the edges of the hole, faint traces of blood droplets could be seen, but they evaporated almost immediately in the intense heat.
A direct hit.
Yet, Ace remained standing.
Because the fire wall, controlled by Ace's will, suddenly surged toward Maude, attempting to engulf him.
"Your attacks are too predictable. Also…"
With a flash of white light, the flintlock in Maude's left hand transformed into a pristine, unsheathed long blade.
Wielding twin swords, Maude unleashed two simultaneous Hakoku slashes toward the advancing flames.
—Boom!—
Blinding light erupted as the devastating force obliterated the fire, revealing Ace's figure as he was forcefully knocked back.
"You hesitated to move forward just now… That means you already understand, don't you? The absolute difference in strength between us."
Maude gazed up at Ace, who had been sent flying.
At that moment, a sharp sword aura suddenly slashed toward him from the side.
Vista had launched an attack, swinging his twin swords at Maude's right flank.
Not even looking, Maude raised his arm, blocking the incoming blades with Shusui.
—Clang!—
Steel clashed against steel, sending sparks flying.
Their raw strength collided through their weapons, generating a shockwave that lifted fragments of ice from the ground, swirling them into a miniature snowstorm.
"Single-handed…"
Vista's intense gaze pierced through the blade of Shusui, locking onto Maude's right hand, which held the sword with unshakable stability.
As a fellow dual-sword swordsman, he suddenly became aware of the danger.
Or rather—
As a fellow dual-sword wielder, when Maude managed to hold off his two blades with just a single sword, it was, in a sense, already a loss.
But this was a fight to the death.
Only life and death would determine the victor.
Without hesitation, Vista forcefully retracted one of his swords.
The blade scraped against Shusui, sending a cascade of sparks flying.
At the cost of being pushed back two steps, Vista successfully retrieved one of his swords.
In that very instant, Maude's left hand, gripping the long blade Weasel, lunged toward Vista's chest with lightning speed.
Unfortunately for Maude, Vista's wealth of battle experience had already prepared him.
Clang!
With a daring gamble, Vista used his freshly retrieved sword to parry Maude's thrust just in time.
Although he managed to block the strike, Vista's defensive stance crumbled, forcing him to retreat further.
Maude pressed his advantage, stepping forward as his twin blades unleashed a relentless flurry of slashes, enveloping Vista in a storm of steel.
Clang! Clang! Clang!—!!!
Sparks burst with every clash of blade against blade.
Facing Maude's ferocious onslaught, Vista continued to fall back, teetering on the edge of a metaphorical cliff, one misstep away from catastrophe.
"Damn it!"
Vista gritted his teeth, struggling to fend off Maude's strikes.
But having lost the initiative and with an injury to his shoulder, Vista quickly began to feel the strain—an ominous sensation that at any moment, Maude's blade would cleave through him.
In just a few fleeting breaths, their swords had already clashed dozens of times.
And Vista found himself dangerously close to losing his footing over that metaphorical abyss.
At this perilous moment, Ace finally arrived.
As he sprinted forward, Ace swung his arms back, both hands bursting into flames.
The motion bore a striking resemblance to Luffy's Gum-Gum Pistol.
"Divine Flame—Hiken!"
Ace hurled his flaming hands forward, forging a blazing spear that shot straight toward Maude's temple and waist.
Out of the corner of his eye, Maude caught sight of the incoming fiery lances.
With a mere thought, a portion of the shadows covering his body detached, transforming into slender shadow pillars that shot forward to intercept the fire spears.
These pillars, imbued with tangible form and hardened strength, effortlessly pierced through Ace's attack before continuing their course, hurtling toward him.
"So, he's coating them with Armament Haki…"
Ace's eyes darkened as he scrutinized the incoming shadow pillars. With the aid of Observation Haki, he barely discerned the deep black sheen of Armament Haki blended seamlessly into the shadows.
Not daring to take any chances, Ace abandoned the thought of simply dispersing into flames. Instead, he relied on his agility, weaving left and right to evade the shadow pillars stabbing at him from all directions.
Boom! Boom! Boom!—!
The pillars crashed into the ground, detonating with explosive force.
While nimbly dodging the relentless barrage of shadow attacks, Ace continued to charge toward the ongoing battle between Maude and Vista.
However, since Maude had split a portion of his shadow to attack Ace, his Shadow Demon Form's augmentation dropped to 50% effectiveness.
This partial reduction in strength and speed somewhat alleviated the pressure on Vista's defense.
Yet even so, Vista remained overpowered.
Even at half capacity, the Shadow Demon Form still elevated Maude's close-combat abilities to a level Vista simply could not match.
It was a fundamental disparity in combat strength.
In truth, from the very moment they crossed blades, Vista had already experienced firsthand Maude's overwhelming, monstrous pressure.
Whether in terms of strength, speed, or technique, he was utterly outclassed.
No amount of experience could bridge such a gap.
In other words, from the moment their swords clashed—
Vista had already foreseen his inevitable defeat.
"Only a short time has passed since the Battle of Marineford… yet this man…"
Vista gritted his teeth, his expression tense as he endured the storm of Maude's relentless attacks.
"…is a complete and utter monster."
Cracks of weakness spread through his deteriorating defense.
In such a state, no technique from his Flower Sword style could turn the tide.
Clang—!
The breaking point had arrived.
"A Flower Sword, huh…"
Maude muttered under his breath, flicking up Vista's blade with a single stroke.
Vista staggered, exposing a fatal opening. His precariously maintained defense crumbled in an instant.
Maude showed no mercy. With his other sword, he struck directly at Vista's chest.
Slash!
A streak of steel. A burst of blood.
Vista grunted in pain, his face turning deathly pale.
Not far away—
Ace's expression twisted in shock as he saw Vista wounded by Maude's blade.
"Vista—!!!"
Perhaps it was due to his lineage, or maybe it was sheer force of will—
Whatever the reason, in that instant, Ace's raging emotions ignited like fuel poured onto a blazing inferno, causing him to erupt with even greater power.
A surge of flames burst forth, resembling a tidal wave, roaring outward with an unstoppable force, threatening to consume everything in its path.
The shadow pillars attacking him were swallowed by the inferno in an instant.
Ace's sudden explosion of power drew the attention of everyone present.
Even the Marines stationed at Dressrosa's entrance—including Fujitora—looked on in astonishment at the flames erupting from Fire Fist Ace.
"…Has he awakened?"
Fujitora, though blind, saw the situation clearer than anyone else.
The overwhelming flames controlled by Ace were no longer simply emanating from his body; rather, they were igniting spontaneously by drawing upon the very air itself as fuel.
As countless eyes bore witness, Ace stood amid the surging inferno, his figure illuminated by the firelight—like a phoenix reborn in flames.
The moment the shackles broke—
Alongside the flames, a newfound confidence and resolve to defeat Maude burned within him.
"Bacardi Maude!!! I will take you down!!!"
In Ace's eyes, flames flickered wildly.
"Oh? Noted."
Ace's declaration had barely left his lips before Maude's flat, emotionless voice reached his ears.
The shadows, unafraid of fire, had stealthily maneuvered within the blazing inferno, turning into hidden stepping stones.
"!?!"
The moment Ace registered Maude's voice, the fire in his eyes froze.
When did he—?!
Before he could react, Maude, having already sheathed his blade, restrained Ace with his Haki-coated, shadow-infused hands and delivered a brutal knee strike straight to his gut.
Thud!
Unimaginable force exploded through Ace's body.
"Guh—!"
Ace spat out a mouthful of blood as if his insides had ruptured.
The flames flickering in his eyes vanished instantly.
The surrounding inferno, once rampaging, began to dissipate.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
The Marines, who had expected an awe-inspiring rampage from Ace after his awakening, were left wide-eyed, slack-jawed in shock.
Wait… this wasn't how it was supposed to go…
Shouldn't the newly awakened Ace have turned the tables and given Maude a proper beatdown?
Why did he fall even faster than before?!
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