"Is he still not planning to use the Flame Emperor...?"
As Will saw his opponent leap into the air, his mind was already racing with calculations.
After all, the whole reason he had dragged his opponent this far out was to fight to his heart's content, unrestrained.
And that move from the original story, the one where his opponent clashed head-on with Blackbeard, had always stuck vividly in his memory.
At that moment, a blazing pillar of fire came roaring down, casting a faint red glow across Will's face.
But just as it was about to make contact—
In an instant, Will vanished from where he stood!
The next second—
BOOM!
The massive fire pillar slammed into the ground, unleashing a deafening explosion. Surging flames spread rapidly in all directions along the surface.
Snow and ice melted in droves, and the ground caved under the sheer force, forming a crater from the impact.
Ace, descending from the air, frowned slightly as he surveyed the scene below.
He couldn't spot that man anywhere.
But before he could scan his surroundings to search—
Will's figure suddenly appeared behind him, perfectly level with his position.
"What?!"
A piercing sense of danger surged from the depths of Ace's heart, making his hair stand on end.
His eyes widened, and instinctively, he elementalized his body into flames.
Crack!
With a familiar sound ringing out—
Ace's flame-wreathed face was still mercilessly gripped by a blackened hand, his wide eyes visible through the fingers.
Whoosh!
Without giving him a moment to react, Will seized Ace's face and immediately accelerated using Moon Step.
He dragged Ace along, charging toward the direction of Drum Mountain.
Not long after the two had left the scene—
From the snow-covered forest in the distance, several figures suddenly emerged.
It was Nami, Chopper, and the others, who had been chasing leads from the village.
"I could've sworn I saw flames over here just a moment ago."
"Strange, there's nothing here now. Where did everyone go?"
Nami looked around, puzzled. Apart from the obvious signs of a battle in the clearing ahead, there wasn't a trace of anyone else.
"Maybe the other guy realized he couldn't win and tried to make a run for it."
"But Will's not one to let someone slip away, so he probably gave chase," Karina said casually, her breath visible in the cold as she bundled up in her coat.
Hearing this, Vivi felt a twinge of doubt. She couldn't imagine anyone managing to escape from that guy.
"Huh? Will's not here?" Chopper blinked in surprise, his expression adorably clueless.
They had rushed over after hearing from two villagers about the situation, following the trail of flames, only to arrive a step too late.
Dalton, who had been silent until now, seemed to recall something. He instinctively reached for the shovel on his back, his tone grave.
"Could it be… the Blackbeard Pirates, who invaded the kingdom before, have come back?!"
He couldn't think of any other powerful figure who would show up on Drum Island without reason.
Nami's brows furrowed at his words, and she said seriously, "Either way, let's keep moving forward and search."
"Everyone, keep an eye out for any signs of firelight nearby."
"Got it," the others nodded in agreement, no objections raised.
With that, the group crossed the snowless ground and continued toward Drum Mountain.
Whoosh!!
High above the snowy slopes of Drum Mountain, a sharp whistle cut through the falling snowflakes.
Then—
A figure plummeted from the sky at breakneck speed, crashing straight toward the ground!
Thud!
A muffled impact echoed as the figure slammed into a snowbank, flames instantly igniting and spreading.
As the snow melted away, Ace's figure rose from the crater, flipping to his feet.
His body still flickered with flames, but his expression had grown dark and stormy.
After hurling Ace once more, Will descended from the air, landing with a force that scattered the snow beneath him.
Looking at Ace's clearly enraged expression, Will felt it wasn't quite enough. He raised his voice in a taunting shout.
"This place is far enough out. If you've got any stronger moves, now's the time to use them!"
"Otherwise, you might not get another chance!"
At that, his eyes glinted as if struck by a sudden thought. He smirked and added mockingly, "Or maybe you didn't learn anything worthwhile from Whitebeard."
"Could it be that one of the Four Emperors, Whitebeard, is just a big name with nothing to back it up?"
Just as he'd expected—
Ace's face showed little reaction to the earlier taunts.
But the moment Will's words touched on Whitebeard—
Ace's blood boiled, veins bulging on his forehead as he roared, emotions flaring.
"What do you know, you bastard?! Whitebeard is the strongest man on these seas!"
"I won't let you talk about him like that! Take back what you just said!"
Without waiting for a response, Ace crouched low, crossing his arms over his chest to gather power.
"Great Flame Ring —!!"
With a furious shout, circles of fire erupted across the ground around him, spiraling outward in a blazing pattern.
The flames surged upward, engulfing Ace entirely.
Then, the fire spun inward, condensing rapidly into a single point.
It formed a massive, scorching fireball, over ten meters in diameter.
"Flame Emperor —!!!"
Beneath the blazing orb, Ace propped it up with one hand, letting out a powerful roar.
Will, standing at a distance, gazed at the enormous fireball forged entirely of flames.
Far from panicked, he felt a surge of excitement, laughing loudly as he shouted, "Now that's more like it! That's the spirit!"
His eyes gleamed, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"Perfect. This is a great chance to test that move's power!"
With that—
As Ace continued to channel flames from beneath, expanding the fireball's size—
Will sprang into action.
Explosive Burst!
Riiip!
With a tearing sound, Will's undamaged shirt was shredded apart by his bulging muscles.
Immediately, he felt a surge of immense power coursing through every part of his body.
"The power—it's all rushing in!"
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