The sudden turn of events on the battlefield left everyone in a state of absolute shock.
"Who is that on our mast!?" Every eye in the Blackbeard Pirates turned toward the figure standing atop the heights. Some members of the Whitebeard fleet also looked up at Ace, their faces filled with doubt and wonder.
"Hmm?" Blackbeard turned slowly, looking toward Ace with a hint of confusion. Ace had just called out his name.
When he finally saw the face beneath the hat, his eyes flashed with a sharp glint, followed by a burst of manic laughter. "Zehahahaha! I was wondering who it was... if it isn't Captain Ace!"
"It's been two years, hasn't it? Tell me, Captain Ace, where have you been hiding all this time? Eh?"
As Blackbeard spoke, the battlefield erupted into a massive uproar.
"Ace! It's Commander Ace! He's back!" The blood-soaked warriors of the Whitebeard Pirates looked up at Ace standing at the summit, a surge of unspeakable emotion flooding their hearts. For two years, they had fought to the bitter end, all for the sake of seeing Ace and Whitebeard return.
"Ace..." Jozu, Vista, and the other Commanders gazed at him. By now, the battle had reached its final, desperate stage; the Whitebeard fleet had been driven back step by step, and the Commanders' clothes were stained crimson. Though they hated to admit it, they had been defeated.
"Zehahaha!" Blackbeard laughed wildly. Before him, a man knelt on one knee, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Marco!" Vista cried out in shock, preparing to rush to his side.
Slash!
The invisible Shiryu was not about to miss such a perfect opportunity. Seizing the opening, his blade bit into Vista. Vista's face paled as he hurriedly raised his swords to parry Shiryu's subsequent strikes.
"Commander Marco!" the Whitebeard crew screamed.
"Damn it!" Marco struggled to lift his head, his fists clenched as he glared up at the looming Blackbeard. He, too, had noticed Ace. They had waited two years for this moment, yet at this specific time, Marco didn't want Ace to come over. Teach's strength had exceeded his expectations; even if Ace had improved significantly, Marco felt that being able to simply hold his own against Blackbeard would be a miracle.
In their current situation, merely "holding one's own" wouldn't be enough to turn the tide.
"Ace... what about Pops...?" Though Marco didn't say it aloud, Ace knew exactly what he was asking: Did Whitebeard come?
"Marco, I'm coming down." Ace shook his head slowly. He didn't know where Whitebeard was either.
Vrumm— Flames erupted across Ace's body. Pressing his index and middle fingers together, he leaped from the mast, unleashing a dual beam of fire from his hands. As Ace spun his body in mid-air, the two pillars of flame acted like a merciless industrial cutter. Anything they touched—even the massive warships—was instantly sliced in two.
Due to his rapid rotation, the flames didn't just strike once.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
One Blackbeard warship after another was carved into pieces like blocks of tofu.
"AHH! OUR SHIPS!!"
It happened too fast. From the moment Ace leaped until before he even touched the ground, six warships had already been reduced to floating debris. It was only when the decks beneath their feet shattered that the pirates realized they were falling into the sea, their screams echoing across the water.
The Blackbeard Pirates were paralyzed by the sight. Some of the captains felt their minds go blank. What kind of destructive power is this!?
"Ace..." Marco and the other Commanders were speechless, stunned by this display of absolute dominance.
"Hmm!?" Blackbeard's face turned as dark as coal. Who could have imagined that in the blink of an eye, six of the ten warships he had brought would be destroyed? During the long hours of the preceding war, not a single Blackbeard ship had been sunk, yet Ace had annihilated six of them the moment he arrived.
What they didn't know was that Ace had intentionally spared four; otherwise, the entire fleet would have been wiped out. Ace had considered his move carefully: if he destroyed all the ships, he would cut off their path of retreat. In such a scenario, the Blackbeard Pirates would be forced to fight a desperate, suicidal battle to the death. That wasn't the result Ace wanted. He didn't need to massacre everyone.
He only wanted Teach's head!
The Ace of two years ago would have simply attacked with everything he had. The current Ace, however, considered the broader strategy.
"Our ships! You damned Fire Fist!"
"We-hahahaha!" Burgess leaped down from a high vantage point, his right fist compressing the air... "Galleon Impact!"
With a violent swing of his arm, a massive shockwave of air pressure poured down toward Ace.
"It's Captain Burgess!" The Blackbeard crew grew excited seeing Burgess launch a fierce assault. Burgess was one of the top powers in their crew, and the subordinates held their captains' strength in absolute awe.
On the ice, Ace was surrounded by flames, yet the frozen surface beneath his feet didn't show a single sign of melting. This wasn't because his fire was weak, but because his control over it had become masterful.
Ace slowly raised his hand, releasing a small ember. That palm-sized flame instantly expanded into a sea of fire, colliding head-on with the shockwave.
BOOM!
The moment the two forces clashed, Ace moved like a ghost, appearing beside Burgess in the blink of an eye and passing him.
"Fire Sword Finger!" With two fingers pressed together, a flash of red light erupted like a blade, piercing through everything in its path.
Pfft—
After the move, Ace didn't even look back, continuing his steady walk toward Blackbeard. Beside him, a bloody hole had suddenly appeared in Burgess's chest, blood gushing uncontrollably.
"Ugh... cough..." A jet of blood sprayed from his mouth as Burgess crashed to his knees.
Thud!
The impact of his knees sent cracks spidering through the ice.
"CAPTAIN BURGESS!!"
The Blackbeard pirates scrambled over to check on him. Everyone was stunned; no one had seen how Ace moved, only that he had walked past Burgess.
"Ace, watch out!" Amidst the shock, Vista noticed that the invisible Shiryu had vanished from his front and shouted a warning.
Clang!
The invisible Shiryu had reached Ace's side without a sound, his long blade unsheathed. With Haki coating the steel, a cold light flashed in Shiryu's eyes as he aimed for Ace's neck.
To the onlookers, it looked like Ace had simply raised his hand, yet the sound of clashing metal rang out.
"What? What happened?"
"Do I need to teach you how to swing a sword?" Ace spoke as he pressed his fingers together again. Red light flared, and a crimson scar of energy expanded instantly.
BOOM!
A dark shadow was blasted away from Ace's side like a cannonball. Shiryu spat out a mouthful of crimson, hurtling several hundred meters before finally coming to a halt.
"Ugh..." He clutched his chest, his face masked in pure horror.
"It's Lord Shiryu!"
"What!" This time, not just the Blackbeard Pirates, but the Whitebeard fleet was stunned. Vista, in particular, knew how difficult Shiryu was to deal with, yet Ace had sent him flying with a single move. And he had done it while Shiryu was invisible and launching a sneak attack!
Ace... just how strong has he become?