The dust settled slowly over the ravaged island, a grim to the intense clash. Blackbeard stood triumphant, darkness coiling around him like a living shroud, while Ace lay crumpled in the scorched earth, his body broken, his legendary flames extinguished.
The silence was heavy but at that moment painful gasps escaping Ace's lips.
He coughed a wet gurgling sound, blood flecking from lips. Lifting his head with immense effort, his eyes, burning with a fierce, desperate light even in defeat, locked onto Blackbeard's gloating form. "Luffy..." Ace rasped his voice a raw, painful scrape against the silence. "I won't... let you... touch him..."
Blackbeard's grin widened, stretching across his face like a grotesque mask. He threw his head back and let out a deep, rumbling chuckle that seemed to shake the very air. "Zehahahaha..... Luffy? That little straw hat?"
He leaned down slightly, his massive frame casting a suffocating shadow over the fallen commander. "Oh, I was planning to go after him, Ace. Hand him over to the World Government, collect the bounty, and claim my rightful place as one of their Warlords."
He took a heavy step forward, the ground trembling slightly. "But you... you fiery little nuisance... you wasted so much of my energy" Blackbeard's voice dropped, becoming colder, more calculating.
He gestured dismissively at Ace's broken form. "And your bounty..." He paused, letting the implication hang in the air. "It's significantly higher than that Straw Hat boy's, isn't it? The World Government pays so much money for the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates..."
Ace's eyes widened a flicker of horror cutting through the pain. "No... you wouldn't..."
"Why not?" Blackbeard loomed over him, the darkness around him pulsing with malevolent energy. "Why chase after the smaller fish when I have already caught the big one? Handing you over, Portgas D. Ace..." He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a venomous whisper, "...or should I say... Gol D. Ace... will serve my purposes far better."
The name hit Ace like a physical blow. His breath hitched, his battered body tensing despite the agony.
The blood drained from his face, leaving it ashen beneath the soot and bruises. His voice, when it came, was barely a whisper, choked with shock and disbelief. "Wh-what...? How...? When did you...?"
Blackbeard's laughter boomed again, loud and cruel. "When you were talking about it Privately With POPS" He mimicked a softer, conspiratorial tone, then snapped back to his own guttural roar. "I heard every word! The secret you thought was safe aboard the Moby Dick The truth of your bloodline Zehahahaha! Did you really think the walls couldn't hear? Even walls have ears."
The revelation shattered something deep within Ace. The secret he guarded so fiercely, the identity he had hidden from the world to protect his brother and honor his mother's sacrifice – known to his enemy, known to the man who now held him captive. The despair in his eyes was profound, deeper than any physical wound.
"You... heard..." Ace whispered
"That's right," Blackbeard sneered, straightening up. He looked down at Ace with utter contempt, the victor savoring his spoils. "And now, Gol D. Ace, son of the Pirate King... your value to the World Government just skyrocketed. They will pay a king's ransom for you. And I..." He spread his arms wide, embracing the darkness and the victory, "...I get my Warlord title. All thanks to you."
"Zehahahaha..... Zehahahaha....."Blackbeard laughed out loud his voice echoed on entire town.