BOOM—!!!
Fire and lightning twisted together as violent shockwaves from colliding fists tore across the arena. More than half of the stage exploded under the force of the exchange, chunks of stone spraying outward like rain.
After months of intense training, Sabo had already crossed firmly into Admiral-level territory in Dragon's assessment. With the Rumble-Rumble Fruit combined with both forms of Haki, his position as the Revolutionary Army's second-in-command was entirely deserved.
Ace had grown considerably as well, and the techniques he had inherited from Garp were far more dangerous than before, but Sabo still handled the assault with relative ease. Unfortunately, that composure only made Ace angrier. Every punch missed, every attack seemed to hit empty air, and the frustration of chasing someone he simply couldn't catch was driving him insane.
There wasn't much Ace could do about it. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit gave Sabo absurd reaction speed and mobility, and if he genuinely wanted to avoid a blow, catching him was easier said than done.
"Damn it! Stop running if you've got the guts!"
Ace finally snapped and roared at him.
Sabo casually slipped past another heavy punch and smiled beneath his ridiculous beard.
"Well, if I can dodge it, why wouldn't I?"
He shifted away again before Ace's follow-up could connect.
"Speed happens to be one of my specialties."
That answer sent another surge of heat straight to Ace's head. This irritating old bastard bouncing around in front of him was undeniably powerful, but he was also unbelievably infuriating.
Ace's patience finally ran dry.
He reached for the sword at his waist and drew Ace, the blade once wielded by Gol D. Roger. Conqueror's Haki erupted around him and wrapped itself around both the weapon and the flames spreading along its edge.
Images flashed through his mind: Garp throwing him around like a sack of grain and smashing him repeatedly against Seastone during training; the years he had shared with Cain, his precious little sister, and the bond between them that had supposedly been carved into his very bones; even the time years earlier when that foolish sister had willingly fallen into Garp's hands for the sake of her beloved big brother.
The more Ace thought about her, the more violently those emotions collided inside his chest.
His focus reached its absolute peak.
With one arm, he brought the blade down.
"Divine Departure: Departing Flame!"
A black-and-red slash erupted from the sword, Conqueror's Haki igniting together with his flames to create the strongest attack Ace could currently produce. Heat and overwhelming pressure fused into one violent crescent as it tore straight toward Sabo.
"I'm never handing my little sister over to you, bastard! Don't underestimate the bond between siblings!"
Sabo stared at him.
"…Aren't we brothers? Since when did you have a sister?"
The words came out automatically.
Then something suddenly clicked in his head.
"…Wait. You mean Ca—?!"
Understanding hit him all at once, but his body never slowed.
The metal pipe on his back dropped neatly into his hand as lightning exploded around him. Brilliant blue electricity compressed rapidly, shifting into bright yellow, then deep violet, before finally merging with Armament Haki and darkening into pure black lightning that coiled tightly around the pipe.
"But if we're talking about the bond between brothers…"
Sabo spun the pipe through the air and brought it down directly against the incoming black-red slash.
"Don't forget about me either, Ace!"
"Thunder Dragon!"
The collision thundered across the arena.
Ace's eyes locked onto the pipe, then onto the black lightning wrapped around it.
His pupils contracted.
'That weapon…'
'That ability…'
'No way.'
There was no longer any need to ask who the bearded old man really was.
Ace had recognized him.
And in that same instant, overwhelming shame swallowed him whole.
He desperately wanted to stop.
Unfortunately, the slash had already left his sword.
There was no taking it back.
Sabo merely smiled and continued forward without hesitation.
"That's right, Ace."
His voice carried cleanly through the roar of the lightning.
"You're not the only one who has bonds worth fighting for."
For a brief moment, memories of all of them together began surfacing in Sabo's mind as well—
"BONDS, MY ASS! ARE YOU TWO SERIOUSLY POWERING UP WITH THE POWER OF BROTHERHOOD RIGHT NOW?!"
Cain's furious scream erupted from above.
Unfortunately, the thunderstorm generated by Sabo's attack completely swallowed his voice.
Cain stared down at the two attacks rapidly closing in on each other and only needed a brief glimpse with Observation Haki to know exactly what would happen if they collided properly.
This wasn't going to end with a cracked arena.
So before his mouth had even finished yelling, his body was already moving.
"Bella!"
"Here!"
Bella opened her mouth.
A blast of freezing air erupted outward, and an enormous ice structure formed almost instantly. Her More-More Fruit activated immediately after—size multiplied a hundredfold, hardness multiplied a hundredfold, toughness multiplied a hundredfold, and defensive strength multiplied a hundredfold.
What looked like a gigantic frost-covered bowl, almost large enough to cover the entire arena, slammed down over the point where Ace and Sabo's attacks were about to meet.
At the same time, Katakuri awakened his Devil Fruit.
The ground surrounding the ice structure instantly transformed into flowing mochi, surging upward in heavy layers and wrapping around Bella's barrier before Armament Haki coated the entire structure to reinforce it further.
Even with all that protection, the collision still shook the entire island.
The force tore open a massive vent through the top of the barrier and blasted straight into the sky. Shockwaves spilled out around the edges, becoming a violent gale that crashed toward the audience.
"Who won?! Who actually won?!"
Someone in the stands cautiously peeked between their fingers, staring through the thick cloud of smoke and dust covering the arena.
The answer came in the form of a miserable scream.
"UWAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
At the center of the crater, surrounded by broken ice and hardened mochi, Ace lay curled up on the ground with both hands clutching his head, screaming until his throat went hoarse.
He had never been so embarrassed in his life.
The shame was so overwhelming that he could barely breathe.
Now that Sabo was standing alive and well directly in front of him, Ace had finally broken free from the bizarre delusion that he had a little sister.
And with his real memories back in place, he no longer had even the slightest desire to continue fighting.
He wanted a hole.
A deep one.
Preferably one large enough to bury himself in forever.
Because now he remembered every single idiotic thing he had just shouted in front of Sabo.
I'm never handing my little sister over to you!
Don't underestimate the bond between siblings!
Sabo had heard every word.
Which meant Ace had not only genuinely convinced himself that Cain was his little sister, he had become deeply emotionally invested in the fantasy and proudly shouted it right in front of one of his actual brothers.
There was no hiding it.
Not even a little.
"I can't show my face anymore…"
Ace buried his head deeper.
"I seriously can't go outside ever again…"
Sabo stood nearby in complete confusion, one hand halfway extended before he awkwardly pulled it back again. He had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to comfort him.
Perospero, meanwhile, simply announced the result.
"The winner is contestant Lucy!"
After all, contestant Ann was still lying face-down in a crater and showed no intention whatsoever of getting back up.
Up on the platform, Cain stared at Ace in bafflement.
"What the hell happened to him?"
He had absolutely no idea what had triggered this sudden emotional collapse, but Ace was clearly not okay.
Worried despite himself, Cain eventually decided to have him brought backstage.
…
Inside one of the backstage rooms, Cain and Uta sat together on one side.
Across from them, Ace was kneeling properly with his head lowered in shame, while Sabo stood awkwardly beside him looking like he would rather be anywhere else.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
They simply looked at one another as the awkwardness thickened.
Finally, Ace forced himself to explain.
"So… that's basically what happened."
His voice became quieter with every word.
"I might've… gotten a little too carried away with the fantasy."
Cain stared at his apologetic brother in silence.
Getting caught by both Ace and Sabo while dressed as En-chan had been humiliating, sure, but seeing Ace reduced to this state somehow made it feel like a fair trade.
Cain even felt a little smug about it.
Then Ace made the mistake of opening his mouth again.
"Um… En-chan?"
He raised his head just slightly, eyes wandering everywhere except directly toward Cain as he recklessly continued,
"Could you maybe…"
His voice became almost hopeful.
"…call me Onii-chan once?"
Cain's face went completely dark.
Uta's expression changed at exactly the same time.
Then both of them slowly turned toward Sabo.
Sabo flinched under the twin stares.
"W-What?"
Cain spoke first, his voice ominously calm.
"Sabo."
"Go over there."
Uta smoothly completed the instruction.
"Step on him."
"Exactly."
Cain looked down at Ace as though he were some disgusting piece of trash rather than his beloved older brother.
"Stomp that shameless bastard flat."