Unfortunately, in the face of Naruto's overwhelming Conqueror's Haki, which was as deep as the ocean, Ace's own Haki was nothing more than a small puddle in comparison.
When their Haki clashed, there was almost no contest… Ace's Conqueror's Haki was completely crushed.
After seeing this, Naruto couldn't help but mentally complain about Whitebeard a bit more.
'That guy really had gotten old. He hadn't taught Ace anything substantial, yet he was still willing to let Ace go off alone to hunt down a traitor?'
'Did he not understand Ace's special identity?'
With Ace's current level of strength and his reckless personality, Naruto was 99.9% sure this kid was going to suffer a major loss at the hands of Teach.
Of course, that would have been the case if Ace hadn't run into him.
'You're lucky you met me today.'
'Consider this your make-up lesson for all the training you skipped… Uncle Naruto's going to teach you everything you missed.'
"Come on, let's see if you've got what it takes to prove Whitebeard's reputation."
Naruto withdrew his Haki and gestured for Ace to make the first move.
"Fire Fist!"
Ace opened with his signature technique, his arm transforming into a massive flame that shot toward Naruto in an instant.
This move was powerful enough to sink ships from a great distance, with a wide area of effect and incredible speed. It was also one of Ace's most frequently used attacks.
But facing the enormous flaming fist rushing toward him, Naruto didn't even bother dodging.
He even had time to take off his ill-fitting black suit before turning and delivering a swift chop with his hand. The resulting wind pressure split the flames cleanly in half.
Naruto hadn't even used Haki.
"Impressive spectacle, but do you really expect to defeat your opponents with little tricks like this?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto vanished from his spot and reappeared right in front of Ace, delivering a sweeping kick.
Bang!
Ace instinctively activated his Logia intangibility, but Naruto's Armament Haki still connected, sending him flying.
'That hurt!'
The kick left half of Ace's body numb, and he was sent soaring through the air.
Fortunately, at the last moment, Ace managed to regain control of his body, using his flames to cushion the impact before reforming his upper body mid-air.
He then pointed his fingers like guns.
"Fire Gun!"
From his fingertips, several high-speed 'fire bullets' shot out.
These flames were hotter and more concentrated than before, with a penetrative force akin to physical projectiles.
But Naruto simply stood there, tilting his head slightly left and right to dodge them effortlessly.
"Better this time, but your accuracy is still terrible. Is your Observation Haki just for show?"
As he spoke, Naruto didn't even counterattack… he just stared up at Ace floating in the air like he was watching a clown perform.
"If this is all you've got, you might as well crawl back to Whitebeard's ship now. Maybe your so-called 'Pops' can still protect you for a little while longer."
These words further provoked Ace, or rather, that was exactly Naruto's intention.
In battle, emotional control was just as important.
You could let your enemy provoke you, but you couldn't let anger cloud your judgment and make you attack recklessly.
"Divine Fire: Unknown Fire!"
Ace seemed to truly lose his cool, abandoning his ranged advantage as his arms transformed into flaming spears. He descended from the sky like a meteor, thrusting straight at Naruto.
"Is this all you've got?"
This time, Naruto didn't even bother moving.
But then, Ace suddenly dispersed into flames mid-air, splitting into two separate fireballs that reappeared on either side of Naruto.
"Oh?"
For the first time, a hint of surprise flickered across Naruto's face.
Bang!
The flames on the right side suddenly erupted, rapidly expanding to block Naruto's vision. At the same time, Ace's voice rang out-
"Cross Fire!"
Ace crossed his fingers into a targeting stance, firing a cross-shaped flame like a laser toward Naruto, who blocked it effortlessly with a single hand.
But when Ace saw this scene, his face did not show any frustration. Instead, he showed the look of someone whose plan had succeeded.
"Now!"
The cross-shaped flames left behind faint marks on Naruto's palm, which quickly ignited into explosive bursts of fire.
However, Naruto seemed to have already 'seen' this coming. With a firm clench of his fist-
Boom!
A wisp of smoke escaped between his fingers.
"Not bad for a trick, but the power's too weak."
Having said that, 'Naruto-sensei' had now fully assessed Ace's level and decided to take the initiative.
In a flash, Naruto closed the distance, his fist instantly coated in pitch-black Armament Haki.
His fist struck Ace squarely on the left cheek, sending him flying sideways.
While knocking his opponent flying to the side, Naruto did not forget to lecture.
"The Mera Mera no Mi is a decent Logia-type, but you haven't developed its potential at all."
"Did your Observation Haki not pick up my attack trajectory?"
"Haki can bypass elemental intangibility, so why didn't you disperse your body preemptively to dodge?"
This was a technique the three Admirals, Kizaru, Akainu, and Aokiji, had honed to near-instinct. Unless the opponent used something like [Observation Killing], landing a clean hit on their real bodies was usually difficult.
"Even among the top officers under the Four Emperors, Big Mom's son, Katakuri, is far stronger than you."
Of course, this is somewhat biased.
How old is Katakuri and how old is Ace.
Katakuri was much older than Ace. If anything, Marco would be the more appropriate comparison.
But it doesn't matter. After all, Naruto's goal was to knock some sense into the kid.
It seemed that years of indulging in Whitebeard's 'father-son fantasy' had made Ace forget how he used to train rigorously for combat.
"Your Haki is weak, your physical strength is lacking, and you haven't even awakened your Devil Fruit. What's the point of all these flashy moves?"
He hit Ace with another punch, interrupting his process of performing [Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor].
Against a true powerhouse like Naruto, any wind-up was a fatal opening.
Just look at Shiki… even after years without serious combat, his slashes mixed with Devil Fruit abilities were instantaneous, leaving no gaps.
"Do you really expect your enemies to stand still and wait for you to charge up?"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ace was sent flying uncontrollably like a ragdoll before crashing hard into the ground.
"So, any objections to my earlier assessment now?"
Naruto crouched down, locking eyes with Ace.
"…"
Ace wanted to argue, but no words came out.
"One last thing… when fighting an enemy, you must have the resolve to kill."
As he said this, Naruto raised his fist high, ready to bring it down.
Boom!
The shockwave sent debris flying past Ace's head, and the sheer killing intent radiating from Naruto left him momentarily stunned.
"Drop that naive talk of 'bringing them back for judgment'. Next time, don't say it."
Pulling his fist from the crater it had made, Naruto's expression softened as he patted Ace's cheek.
At the same time, a faint green glow emanated from his palm and he began to heal Ace's injuries.
'Medical Ninjutsu is just so useful!'
"I'll be staying on this island for two more days."
"If you've realized where you're lacking, come find me."