Chapter 99: Infinity Revealed
"I don't understand what Kaido was thinking, sending you to deal with me."
Satoru scratched the back of his head, genuinely looking puzzled.
"What do you mean by that?" Ember asked, his voice tight with suspicion.
"Because he should already know that you're not my opponent."
The instant those words left Satoru's mouth, Ember's figure blurred. He appeared directly in front of the Admiral in a flash of speed, his katana slashing down toward Satoru's neck.
The blade stopped.
It hung in the air just inches from Satoru's throat, unable to move forward no matter how much force Ember applied.
"Are you angry?" Satoru asked, a mocking smile playing across his lips.
Even though Ember wore a mask, Satoru could practically see the twisted expression of rage beneath it.
"Or did you come here on your own without Kaido's orders?"
"Shut up!" Ember snarled.
He poured more strength into his blade, muscles straining, but the katana refused to advance even a single millimeter closer to Satoru's skin.
"I thought so," Satoru said casually. "No matter how reckless Kaido can be when he's drunk, he's still a Yonko. He wouldn't send one of his top commanders on a suicide mission. Especially not someone as valuable as you."
Satoru's words clearly struck a nerve. Ember's grip on his sword tightened until his knuckles turned white beneath his gloves.
"I said shut your mouth!"
Ember pushed harder, veins bulging in his arms. But the result remained the same. His blade could not touch Satoru's body.
"You don't have Conqueror's Haki, do you?" Satoru asked suddenly.
"What?"
"You don't possess Conqueror's Haki. Which means you don't even have the basic qualifications to be my opponent."
Satoru's eyes gleamed.
"Reversal Technique: Red."
A brilliant flash of white light erupted between them. The force was so sudden and overwhelming that the entire ship split cleanly in half. Ember's body was launched backward like a cannonball, hurtling toward the ocean below.
Just before he hit the water, a pair of massive black wings sprouted from Ember's back. He caught himself mid-flight and transformed fully into his Ancient Zoan form—a pteranodon, a flying dinosaur from the age of the ancients.
"Much better," Satoru observed, watching the transformation with interest.
In his Zoan form, Ember's physical strength had increased dramatically. His speed, power, and durability had all multiplied by two or three times compared to his human state.
The pteranodon's wings beat powerfully as it gathered momentum in the air. Then Ember dove, rocketing toward Satoru at incredible speed. His wings sharpened, becoming like blades that cut visible trails through the air itself.
"Die, Marine!"
Ember aimed to slice Satoru in half at the waist with his wing blades.
But once again, he met that invisible barrier. His sharpened wings, wrapped in a violent cyclone of air pressure, stopped just short of Satoru's body. They could not make contact.
"What is going on?" Ember's voice was strained with frustration.
In all his years with the Beasts Pirates, Ember had fought countless battles against opponents with all manner of strange Devil Fruit abilities. He knew that Haki was the answer to most Devil Fruit powers. Strong enough Haki could overcome almost any ability. Even if he couldn't completely nullify a power, it meant his Haki simply wasn't strong enough yet.
Ember considered his own Haki to be at the second-highest tier in the world, just below the Four Emperors themselves. He had never encountered a Devil Fruit ability that his Haki couldn't affect at all.
Until now.
His Armament Haki was having absolutely no effect on whatever protected this Marine.
"It's not that you're weak," Satoru said, as if reading the confusion in Ember's eyes. "It's that I'm too strong."
That explanation only made Ember angrier. He had come here specifically to prove his strength, to show Kaido that he was the superior fighter.
Instead, he was being mocked.
Ember opened his beak and fired a massive fireball directly at Satoru's head. The flames detonated on impact, creating a huge explosion. Ember used the recoil from the blast to put distance between himself and his opponent.
"Did it work?" he thought desperately.
He didn't believe that one fireball could defeat the Admiral. But he hoped—needed—for the attack to at least touch Satoru's body. If he could confirm that his attacks could land, then there was still a chance of victory.
If he couldn't even touch his enemy, then this fight was already over.
"That almost worked," Satoru's voice came through the dissipating smoke.
The flames cleared, revealing the Admiral standing in exactly the same spot. There wasn't a single burn mark on his clothes. No soot. No damage. He looked like he had just watched a fireworks display.
"Impossible!" Ember's voice cracked with disbelief. "That attack was point-blank! How did you not get hit?"
The fireball had been infused with his most powerful Armament Haki. At that distance, even Kaido would have taken minor injuries.
"Do you want me to explain it to you?" Satoru asked, his expression almost playful as he beckoned Ember closer.
Ember was immediately wary. But when he sensed no killing intent from Satoru—no hostility at all, just casual amusement—his curiosity won out. He shifted back to his hybrid form and cautiously approached.
"Here," Satoru said, holding out his palm. "Put your hand on mine."
Ember didn't understand the point of this, but he wanted answers. He needed to know what kind of ability was blocking all his attacks. Slowly, he reached out and tried to press his palm against Satoru's.
His hand stopped in midair.
Just like his sword. Just like his wings. Just like the fireball.
There was something between their hands—something invisible that prevented them from touching.
"Why?" Ember whispered, his eyes wide with confusion.
"This is the infinity that exists between you and me," Satoru explained. "It would take too long to explain the full mechanics, so I'll give you the simple version. The distance between us appears to be very small. But in reality, it's infinitely far."
He smiled.
"You can never touch me. But I can touch you whenever I want."
Without warning, Satoru's hand shot forward and grabbed Ember's wrist in an iron grip.
"Not good!" Ember immediately tried to pull away, but he couldn't break free. Satoru's fingers were like a steel vice.
With his left hand holding Ember in place, Satoru clenched his right fist and began hammering it into Ember's abdomen. Once. Twice. Three times. The impacts came so fast they blurred together.
Ember coughed up blood.
But even as the blood sprayed from his mouth, it couldn't reach Satoru. The droplets stopped in midair and fell uselessly to the deck.
"Bastard!" Ember gasped, still struggling.
Even with one hand trapped, he refused to give up. If Satoru needed one hand to hold him, that meant the Admiral couldn't use that hand to defend.
"If I can't touch you normally, then I'll hit you when you're hitting me!"
Ember wrapped his free left hand in Armament Haki until it turned pitch black. Then he swung his fist to meet Satoru's next punch.
Their fists collided.
For the first time, Ember's attack connected with Satoru's body. A real, solid impact.
(End of Chapter)
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