The Grand Line. Banaro Island.
The sky stretched clear and wide, the sun blazing over the restless waves. The sea pushed and pulled against the jagged rocks surrounding the island, as clouds drifted lazily above. The island itself was barren and craggy, with sharp cliffs and scattered ruins a perfect stage for the clash of pirates.
"...Well, what do we have here. It's Commander Ace."
Marshall D. Teach, the man known as Blackbeard, stood tall at the shore, his massive frame casting a heavy shadow. His belly hung round beneath his black coat, which was draped loosely over his shoulders. He grinned with wild delight, revealing the gap where two teeth were missing, his eyes wide and unblinking with a manic light.
Sitting calmly atop a wooden plank was Portgas D. Ace. His freckled face was firm, his jaw clenched in disdain. His orange hat hung behind him by a string, the sun glinting off the beads at his neck. His sharp eyes glared at Teach with quiet fury.
"Don't call me that anymore," Ace said coldly. "Those words should only be used by people who say them with respect. You're just making fun of me."
From the side, a slender figure tipped his hat politely. Laffitte. Tall, elegant, his hair short and slicked straight. He leaned casually on his cane, a sly smile curling on his lips.
"Oh, you must be Fire Fist Ace," Laffitte said smoothly.
"That's me," Ace replied, his expression hard. "Nice to meet you."
"You're a pirate captain now, aren't you?" Ace said, glancing at Teach. "Head of the Blackbeard Pirates, Captain Marshall D. Teach."
"Ze ha ha ha ha!" Blackbeard's booming laugh rattled across the island. "Come on, Ace, it's been so long!"
Blackbeard narrowed his eyes and asked, "What's up?! How did you know I was here?!"
Ace cut him off sharply. "Let's cut the chase, Teach. You've been around a real long time. There's no way you don't understand the situation."
Blackbeard's eyes gleamed as he threw back his head. "Yeah… Then let me tell you one thing!"
He laughed wildly.
His wild laughter shook the air.
"I've already made my plan to rise to the top. Whitebeard's era is over. I will become the King of the Pirates!"
Ace's face tightened, fury brimming, but before he could reply, a cold voice cut through the air.
"Blah, blah, blah…"
Ace turned sharply. From the shadows of the ruins, a man strode forward. He was tall, towering, with a muscular but refined frame. His eyes burned crimson, yet his expression was one of bored indifference. Long black hair flowed down just below his neck, framing a sharp jawline. A black open coat, faint red embroidery along its edges, drifted loosely around him. His chest was bare, faint scars crisscrossing from old battles. A fang-shaped pendant hung from a chain around his neck, swaying as he walked. His boots struck the stone with heavy, steady steps.
It was Ryuk.
With a lazy, unimpressed look, he turned to Blackbeard.
"Teech. Stop meddling in useless talk and capture him already." His red eyes glinted dangerously. "He's an important pawn for our plan. Don't mess up."
"Ze ha ha ha ha!" Blackbeard roared. "I know, I know! Don't worry."
His grin widened as he faced Ace again. "Ace, I would've liked to invite you to join my crew. But my friend has proposed a nice plan. I can't give up on that. To be honest, I was going for Monkey D. Luffy… but that brat's luck is good. He escaped by a slight chance."
Ace's eyes widened in shock. "You what?!"
He sighed, standing slowly, flames already flickering at his fingertips. "Teach, you know I'm never going to join your crew. And you know Luffy is my brother. I can't let you go. I will beat you… and take you to Pops."
Teach's grin twisted cruelly. "Ze ha ha ha ha! That won't happen, Ace."
Suddenly boom boom boom!
Van Auger, the sniper, pulled his rifle and fired at Ace in quick succession. Bullets whistled through the air… but passed harmlessly through the fiery body of the Logia.
"I see…" Auger said. "Logia indeed."
"You!" Ace snapped. Heh heh heh Ace laughed, and said, "Looks like we've a guy with no manners."
Suddenly Ace's finger sparked with fire, his hand raised like a gun. "Fire Gun!"
Bang bang bang bang! Flame bullets shot from his fingertip, blazing toward the crew.
But suddenly—
"Haah!"
Burgess, the champion, surged forward, lifting a massive house-sized wreckage with ease. With a roar, he hurled it at Ace.
Ace dropped his hand, fire bursting around him in a blazing circle. "Fire Pillar!"
A towering column of flame erupted upward, smashing the flying wreckage into cinders with a thunderous BOOM!
Smoke billowed.
But as the flames cleared, Ryuk's figure was suddenly gone. He had disappeared.
Blackbeard's voice boomed across the chaos: "Ahh! Burgess! Who told you to attack him? You guys aren't his level yet. Stay out of this!"
"Sorry…" Burgess muttered, scratching his head with an apologetic grin.
Ace's fist burned brighter as he clenched it. "Fire Fist!"
His blazing arm drew back, then hurled forward, a massive inferno roaring toward the Blackbeard crew.
But before it could strike, Ryuk reappeared in front of them, his red eyes narrowing. He raised two fingers calmly, pointing directly at Ace's attack.
"Dismantle."
An invisible slash cut through the fire itself, splitting the colossal fist of flames clean in two.
BOOOOM! The explosion still rocked the island, tearing through the ruins.
"Stand back!" Blackbeard barked at his crew.
"Ze ha ha ha ha!" Teach's laughter was manic. "Nice work, Ryuk! Ze ha ha ha ha! Lemme give you a hand!"
He stepped forward, his massive body looming between Ace and his crew. His grin twisted into something dark, cruel.
"Ace, I know you want to kill me. I killed Thatch with my own hands. I didn't have a choice… he got the fruit I was searching for, for so long. Do you know I've been planning this for long?! I've waited for this opportunity… I've waited for this fruit for so long! So long! And when I was finally about to give up this fruit appeared! Ze ha ha ha! It's destiny!
According to our rules, the one who finds the Devil Fruit has the right to eat it."
Ace's fists trembled. "So you killed Thatch… and stole the Devil Fruit."
Blackbeard's grin stretched, shadows creeping from his palms. "Call it bad luck… or fate. This power chose me, Ace. It was destined for me."
Darkness began to spread from his body, swallowing the light around him. The ground cracked, the air shuddered as the abyss seeped outward.
"With this power…" Teach's voice thundered, "I am the strongest in the world!"
His laughter was monstrous, echoing with madness.
"Ze ha ha ha ha! You may be fire, but I… I am made of darkness!"
The shadows swirled, clashing against the blazing heat of Ace's flames.
"Let's see who wins…" Teach bellowed, his voice shaking the island. "Fire… or Darkness! Ze ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Fire Bullets!"
Ace's voice rang out, and in an instant, blazing projectiles shot forth from his fingertips. Tiny orbs of fire whizzed through the air, surrounding Teach before detonating in a violent series of explosions.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Ahhh! Ahhh!" Blackbeard roared, his massive body engulfed in flames. He thrashed and cried out in pain, but even as the fire consumed him, his expression twisted with something more than agony. Embarrassment briefly flickered across his face… before he smothered it with wild laughter.
"Zeha ha ha ha! Commander Ace! Do you really want to kill me?!" Teach's booming laugh echoed across the ruined island.
Suddenly darkness erupted from his body. The flames were sucked inward, devoured by a void of swirling shadows, until nothing remained. Not a single burn, not even a scorch mark, lingered on Teach's skin.
Ace's eyes narrowed, his face darkening. Why… doesn't he have any injuries? Can he absorb damage too? His frown deepened as unease set in.
"Zeha ha ha ha! What's the matter, Commander? Did you see that?" Blackbeard's grin was manic, his teeth flashing in the sun. "That's the power of my Devil Fruit! Zeha ha ha ha ha!"
He thrust out his palm.
"Black Vortex!"
Gravity surged violently from Blackbeard's hand. Ace's body jerked forward against his will, dragged toward the yawning pull of darkness.
"Ugh!" Ace's body slammed into Teach's grasp, the pirate captain's enormous hand clamping down on his shoulder. In the next instant—
BAM!
A colossal punch crashed into Ace's abdomen, sending shockwaves ripping through his body.
"Commander Ace," Teach sneered, his eyes gleaming with cruelty, "how's that feel?!"
The ground shook from the force.
Even as a Logia, Ace's body shuddered, his flames scattering. His face twisted in pain, his breath stolen.
"Pffta…" Blood dripped from his lips, his expression grim. I can't… I can't figure it out. What is this ability? And how does it work? This won't be easy…
But Teach wasn't finished.
"Zeha ha ha!" His laughter bellowed again. "Black Vortex!"
The gravity pulled Ace forward once more. His body was dragged helplessly across the ruined ground, straight toward Blackbeard's waiting hands.
"Flame Spear!"
A long, blazing spear of fire materialized in Ace's grip, heat waves rippling violently from its form.
Blackbeard's expression darkened. "Aaahh!" His eyes widened, sensing the danger.
Ace's stance was firm, victory glinting in his eyes—
BOOOOM!
A heavy kick smashed into his face before he could strike. Ace's body jerked violently backward, crashing into the jagged cliffside. The impact tore a crater into the stone, debris collapsing around him.
From the dust, a new figure landed with a thunderous step.
Ryuk.
He straightened beside Blackbeard, his crimson eyes glowing faintly. The long coat draped from his shoulders fluttered in the scorching wind. He cracked his knuckles slowly, one by one, the sound echoing ominously.
"Well," Ryuk said coolly, his tone edged with boredom. "Let's end this, Teech. We don't have time to play."
He stepped forward, approaching Ace's broken form with calm, deliberate strides.
"Pfft…" Ace spat blood, staggering to his feet. His breath came ragged, but his eyes still burned fiercely. He raised his chin defiantly, glaring at the man walking toward him.
This guy again… Who the hell is he? Ace thought bitterly. So many unknowns. They're strong, terrifyingly strong. But… why aren't any of them famous?
His thoughts were cut short by Blackbeard's rolling laughter.
"Zeha ha ha ha! You're right, mate!"
But Ryuk ignored him. His gaze never left Ace.
"How about you surrender yourself, Fire Fist?" Ryuk's voice was calm, cold. "Why put up such a futile struggle against something that's already been decided? Your struggle is meaningless. Why fight… when you already know you can't win?"
Ace smirked, wiping blood from his chin. His flames flickered back to life, swirling violently around his body.
"Give up?" he spat. "I will never give up. You say 'give up'—like hell I would! Fate? Already decided? I don't care about that!" He smirked wider, fire blazing brighter. "And my struggle isn't meaningless."
Ryuk's eyes narrowed. "Hmm. I see… Well, I guess I have no other option but to knock you out, Fire Fist Ace."
"Try it, if you can!" Ace roared, fire spiraling into a raging inferno.
Ryuk smirked faintly. Then he vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Ace, twisting his body mid-air. His kick cut like a blade through the flames.
Ace barely managed to raise his arms, blocking the strike—
BOOOOM!
The impact sent him rocketing backward, crashing through stone and rubble, the island itself trembling under the force.
BOOOOM!
A wild surge of fire erupted from the debris, flames spreading violently across the ruins until they formed a vast sea of fire.
From within the inferno, Ace roared—
"Fire Bullets!"
Flaming shots blasted outward in rapid succession, streaking through the air like miniature meteors.
But Ryuk slipped through them effortlessly, his tall frame weaving through the flames as though they were nothing. Not a single spark touched him.
He tilted his head, his crimson eyes gleaming with mockery.
"Is that all, Fire Fist Ace?"
Ace's teeth clenched. He already knew—he couldn't win. But running wasn't an option. If I run now, they'll go after Luffy… I can't let that happen.
He steadied his breath, determination blazing in his eyes. He crossed his index fingers over each other.
"Cross Fire!"
A blazing beam of fire erupted from his hands, screaming through the air toward Ryuk with unstoppable force.
"Yehahaha hahahahaha!"
Ryuk's laughter split the air, unhinged and wild. He swung his hand with ease, slicing the massive fire beam clean in half. In the next heartbeat, his figure blurred—
He appeared directly beside Ace.
BOOM!
His fist rocketed forward like a cannonball.
"What—?! He's so fast!" Ace thought, eyes wide with shock. He barely managed to raise his arms in defense. The impact still tore through him, rattling his bones, forcing his knees to buckle.
Blood spilled from fresh wounds that carved across his battered body. His chest heaved, his body breaking apart under the relentless assault.
"Ugh… I should do something… or else I'm done." Ace's thoughts burned as fiercely as his flames. "That's it. I'm using it."
Ryuk's voice cut through the firestorm, calm and merciless.
"Give up, Fire Fist Ace."
"Give up?" Ace spat blood, then smirked. His flames flared brighter, defiant.
"Heh heh… If I bowed down to power, then what's the point of living? I want to live a life without regrets. How can I live it if I gave up? Give up that would be a shame on my life. I will never give up! Do you understand that?!"
His roar split the sky as he launched upward, flames spiraling violently around his body.
"Flame Emperor!"
In his hands, a blazing sphere took shape growing, burning, until it became a miniature sun. The heat warped the air, waves of fire rolling outward.
Sweat ran down Ace's battered face, but his grin was fierce, unshaken.
"I'll make Whitebeard the King of the Pirates!"
Ryuk's crimson eyes narrowed. Then he smirked.
"Heh. Then I'll defeat you… with your own specialty."
Flames surged into his palm, swirling into a roaring blaze. He raised his hand, fire dancing across his hands as though it belonged to him. His expression darkened into a cruel grin.
"Let's see whose firepower is greater."
BOOOOOOM!