Chapter 153 I, Whitebeard, am willing to call you the world's strongest Flame Emperor!
Ace stepped forward, one deliberate step at a time. As he passed Akainu and the others, he winked conspicuously at Whitebeard and Marco; his meaning was unmistakable.
"Pfft..." Jozu quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, his thick shoulders shaking violently with suppressed laughter. He hastily bowed his head, pretending to cough, afraid the Marines would notice something amiss.
Marco adjusted his glasses, struggling to maintain a stern expression. This kid was playing with fire in the most literal sense!
Ace finally reached the center of the battlefield. Pale flames surged around him as he deliberately adopted the most arrogant tone he could muster and shouted, "Listen up, you remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates!"
His voice, amplified, echoed across the entire arena: "You have two choices! Surrender immediately, or—"
He deliberately drew out the last word, winking again at Whitebeard, "—join my newly formed 'Flame Emperor Pirates'!" The pale flames condensed into the shape of a giant sun in the air. "From today onward, you will serve under the Warlord, the 'Flame Emperor'!"
These words caused an uproar among the Marine ranks!
Akainu's magma body churned violently. "This brat actually wants to recruit a Four Emperor's crew?!"
Sengoku's eyes, however, gleamed with a shrewd light. "Excellent! This way, we can weaken Whitebeard's forces while strengthening the Warlords! Though Newgate would never submit to the Marines."
Only the members of the Whitebeard Pirates were struggling to contain their laughter.
Namur directly dove underwater, pretending to retrieve a "dropped" weapon; Vista's twin swords nearly slipped from his grip; even the usually unflappable Marco had to turn away, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Whitebeard, his acting skills in full swing, cooperated perfectly, widening his eyes in feigned rage and slamming Murakumogiri onto the ground:
"Gurararara! Arrogant brat!" The quaking white light erupted around him, seemingly wild, yet deftly avoiding all of his crewmates. "You think you can just absorb my family?!"
Ace suppressed a laugh, his pale flames transforming into a giant dragon that spiraled into the sky: "Then let me show you the power of the new 'Flame Emperor'!"
He threw a punch!
It was a seemingly casual, almost lazily slow punch. The soft strike traced a pale white arc through the air, not even disturbing the dust around it.
A wave of immediate sneers rose from the Marine side.
"That kind of attack? My grandmother could dodge it!"
"Is this the level of a Warlord?"
"Is he trying to insult Whitebeard?"
"..."
Even Akainu frowned, his fist clenching unconsciously. This guy was far too cocky!
A flicker of doubt also passed through Sengoku's eyes. This was nothing like the Ace who had seriously wounded Teach!
"This kid!" Garp seemed to see right through Ace, chuckling as he snatched a senbei from Sengoku's stash and started munching on it.
However, just as that slow-moving punch was about to make contact with Whitebeard, an astonishing scene unfolded:
Whitebeard suddenly froze as if bound by invisible chains. He watched with wide eyes as the soft punch "gently" landed on his chest, and then he launched into an Oscar-worthy performance!
"URGH AAH—!!!"
Whitebeard let out a blood-curdling scream, his massive body dramatically arching backward.
He clutched his chest tightly, his white crescent mustache trembling violently, his face instantly turning ashen—he even realistically coughed up a mouthful of "blood," though the color looked suspiciously like tomato juice.
"Ho... How is this possible?!" He staggered back seven or eight steps, each step leaving deep fissures in the ground.
Finally, he barely managed to support himself with Murakumogiri, pointing a trembling finger at Ace, his eyes filled with "shock" and "disbelief."
The entire Marineford fell into a deathly silence.
Marines stood with jaws agape, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. This exaggerated, theatrical display made even the slowest Marine realize something was wrong!
"Ho... How terrifying the Flame Emperor is!" Whitebeard suddenly roared with all his might, his voice so loud it nearly shattered Sengoku's glasses. "This attack infused with Devil Fruit power! This heat that surpasses magma!"
"It's simply... too strong!!"
He tremblingly raised Murakumogiri, as if declaring the end of an era: "I, Whitebeard—hereby proclaim you the World's Strongest Flame Emperor!"
"Pfft—" Jozu finally couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing, quickly hiding his face behind his diamond-armored arm. Marco rubbed his temples in agony, blue flames flickering wildly above his head as he tried to look like he was preparing for battle. Whitebeard's acting was just too over-the-top!
Ace feigned seriousness as he retracted his fist, the pale flames in his palm "coincidentally" forming the shape of a crown. He slightly raised his chin and muttered, just loud enough for all to hear: "It seems... I still need to hold back a bit more."
Akainu's composure shattered instantly: "Do you take the Marines for fools?!"
The surrounding Marine officers and soldiers collectively froze, all staring dumbfounded at the utterly absurd play unfolding before them.
Several young Marines even instinctively rubbed their eyes, wondering if they were hallucinating.
"W-World's Strongest Flame Emperor?" a Major stammered, repeating the unheard-of title, his telescope clattering to the deck. "They're just handing out titles like that now?"
What infuriated them even more was Ace's casual remark about "holding back."
A Vice Admiral's beard trembled with rage, and he couldn't help but roar in a low voice: "Holding back? Holding back, my ass! That's Whitebeard! The man who can split the seas with a punch!"
He excitedly pointed at Whitebeard, who was currently "coughing up blood": "Against a monster like that, surviving is an achievement, and he talks about holding back?!"
At this moment, Whitebeard's acting was exceedingly exaggerated. His massive body was "painfully" hunched over, each step backward leaving deep cracks in the ice.
He clutched his chest with one hand, crimson "blood" foam constantly trickling from the corner of his mouth, dyeing his snow-white mustache a vivid red. He looked as if he had been continuously bombarded by the main cannons of ten warships for an entire day.
"Th-this acting is too shoddy..." a bespectacled staff officer pushed up his slipping glasses, his mouth twitching as he complained, "If you were really spitting that much blood, even Whitebeard would die from blood loss!"
Just then, Whitebeard suddenly began to "cough" violently again, "spitting" out another mouthful of blood, his voice "weak" yet still booming: "Gurararara... What a Flame Emperor Ace... I, this old man, admit defeat..."
The entire Marine camp fell into a deathly silence.
Ace also heard the surrounding doubts and was slightly startled that they had seen through the act, but then he decided not to care. He raised a hand and lightly brushed back the stray hairs on his forehead, his tone somewhat nonchalant:
"My apologies, I was a bit distracted just now."