A Rhapsody of Fire and Wind!
No deafening explosion.
Eerie silence.
The moment the burning firebird and the emerald wind eye met, the entire world lost its sound.
Time and space, at this instant, were infinitely stretched.
The next second.
Rumble—!
A terrifying energy, impossible to describe in words, erupted wildly from the point of impact!
It wasn't a simple mutual cancellation!
Wind didn't extinguish fire.
Fire didn't burn away wind.
They... merged!
Ace's "Dawn" flames were violently sucked into, torn, and stretched by Sabo's "Ode to the Wind God"!
And Sabo's wind blades, which cut through everything, were dyed with scorching heat by Ace's flames, each one transforming into a deadly Flame Blade (Flame Blade)!
Wind fueled the fire!
Fire rode the wind's might!
A colossal fire tornado, connecting heaven and earth, roared into existence in the center of the forest!
"Woooo—!!!"
The fire tornado let out a sharp howl, spinning wildly, sweeping everything around it into its vortex!
Thick trees were uprooted and incinerated into charcoal in mid-air!
Rocks from the ground were sucked in, emitting a harsh grinding sound, then melted into scorching magma!
The entire clearing transformed into a hellish inferno of destruction!
"Waaahhhhhh—!"
Luffy, in the distance, was sent tumbling by the violent shockwave. He clutched the meat leg in his arms tightly, getting blown over a dozen meters away, finally stopping when he crashed into a large tree.
"Cough, cough! Hot... so hot!"
He grimaced from the heat, but his eyes were wide, staring intently at the sky-piercing fire tornado, his mouth agape enough to fit a fist.
And the orchestrators of this terrifying spectacle.
Ace and Sabo.
Both maintained their attack stances, but their bodies trembled violently.
Thud.
Sabo's knees buckled, and he dropped to one knee, propping himself up with the pipe in his hand to keep from collapsing completely.
Sweat soaked his top hat, dripping continuously down his cheeks.
His chest heaved violently, each breath bringing a burning pain, his lungs feeling as if they were tearing.
"Ha... ha... ha..."
On the other side, Ace's situation was no better.
His legs gave out, and he wobbled before finally slumping to the ground.
The flames on him had completely extinguished, and the eyes that once burned with fighting spirit now only held extreme exhaustion.
Utter exhaustion.
Complete exhaustion.
Both Ace and Sabo were just children.
That earlier, beyond-the-limit attack had drained all the elemental power from their bodies, along with completely overdrawing their physical stamina.
After raging wildly for over ten seconds, the fire tornado finally weakened due to the loss of subsequent energy support, and with a "boom," it exploded.
Burning embers and charred wood chips rained down, like an apocalyptic shower.
The entire clearing was unrecognizable.
A massive crater, over thirty meters in diameter, appeared where they stood, its edges still smoking and emitting a pungent, burnt smell.
Ace and Sabo looked at each other from a distance.
Both wanted to see disarray on the other's face, but in the end, they only saw the same exhaustion as themselves, and... an undeniable recognition and shock at each other's power.
"You bastard..."
Ace panted, forcing a weak smile, "You... you're quite capable..."
"You too..."
Sabo leaned on his knees, struggling to stand up, but collapsed again, "You're just... a brute..."
Neither could utter another word, only gasping for breath.
It was a draw.
Or rather, a mutual defeat.
"Wow—!!!"
Just then, Luffy's energetic shout broke the silence.
He bounced out from behind the big tree, still clutching the half-eaten meat leg, his face filled with uncontrollable excitement!
"That was amazing!!!"
Luffy, like a monkey, ran and danced into the center of the clearing, staring at the huge charred crater, his eyes sparkling with little stars!
"Ace! Sabo! What was that thing you just did! It was so cool!!"
He ran in front of Ace, jumping and hopping.
"Next time! Let me join next time!"
Luffy held up the half-eaten meat leg, his face full of innocent anticipation.
"If the three of us fight together! It'll definitely be even more amazing!"
The words had barely left his mouth.
"Absolutely not!!"
Two extremely weak voices, yet in unison, erupted in a hysterical shriek.
Ace and Sabo, one sitting, one kneeling, simultaneously used all their strength to shake their heads wildly at Luffy, their faces showing identical expressions of terror.
That expression was a hundred times more fearful than when they faced each other's ultimate techniques just moments ago!
Luffy's smile froze on his face.
He stopped jumping, tilted his head, his face full of question marks.
"Eh?"
"Why not?"
He asked innocently, looking extremely wronged.
"Why?!"
Ace was so angry he almost choked, his black-ash-stained finger trembling as he pointed at Luffy.
"You idiot! How dare you ask why?!"
Sabo also propped himself up on his knees, a painful, unbearable expression on his face.
"Luffy... please... what you do... it can't even be called sparring..."
Ace took over, roaring, "That's f***ing unilateral demolition! You call that sparring?!"
"Last time, who said he was going to show us a new ability, and then threw out a small, round, red toy?!"
Sabo's face turned green, and he pressed his temples, feeling his head start to ache again.
"That thing called the 'Boing-Boing Bomb'! It bounced seven or eight times on the ground! Bounced around all the trees and rocks! And then precisely bounced back to our feet!"
Ace grew more agitated as he spoke, practically springing up from the ground.
"If I hadn't reacted quickly and kicked it away! You would have sent both of us flying!"
Sabo added, "Then that thing flew off and set half the mountain on fire! We spent the entire afternoon chasing after it to put out the flames!"
Luffy blinked, trying to recall, then grinned, revealing a foolish smile.
"Hmm... but..."
He stuffed the last bite of meat into his mouth, mumbling indistinctly.
"That was really fun..."
"Fun your head!!!"
Ace and Sabo roared again in unison.
They exchanged glances, and in the depths of each other's tired eyes, they saw the shared fear of being dominated by the Boing-Boing Bomb.
They would rather clash with each other's ultimate moves for three hundred more rounds than ever "spar" with Luffy again!
Absolutely not!
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