Chapter 567: Ace vs. Doflamingo
The blazing white flames streaked across the sky like a meteor, carrying intense heat as they flew directly towards Moria’s position.
“What!?” Startled, Moria quickly transformed into a shadow and sank into Little Oars’ shadow to dodge the incoming Fire Fist attack.
When Moria resurfaced, sensing the scent of burnt air, he looked towards the direction from which the flames came with lingering fear.
At the edge of the Edd War Island reef cluster, numerous figures appeared. Leading them was a shirtless man engulfed in roaring flames.
Who else but Fire Fist Ace?
Beside Ace were Marco, Vista, Jozu, and others, all captains of the Whitebeard Pirates. Behind them, there was also a large group of Whitebeard Pirates members.
“So, you’ve finally shown yourselves?” Doflamingo, aboard his ship, watched them appear and couldn’t help but burst into laughter, saying, “Indeed, to break through, you need both inside and outside coordination! But… where is that old man! The Whitebeard?”
Sengoku was also observing with a telescope, but he indeed didn’t see Whitebeard’s figure, furrowing his brows in response.
“Ace…” Garp muttered softly, watching Ace appear, his hands crossed over his chest, his expression complex.
After temporarily cornering Moria with his Fire Fist, Ace immediately ran towards where Little Oars was.Ace is a Devil Fruit user but can’t fly. With seawater all around, Ace had to rely on the ships on the sea surface for navigation.
Boom! With flames engulfing his body, Ace made a leap and landed on a Marine warship’s deck!
“He’s the second-division captain of the Whitebeard Pirates! Take him down!” The commander of this warship was a Marine Rear Admiral. Upon seeing Ace land on his ship, he immediately shouted, rallying the Marine soldiers to charge at Ace with their weapons.
However, Ace didn’t engage with them. He made another leap, leaving the warship and jumping onto the nearest pirate ship.
Others followed Ace’s lead. Being Devil Fruit users who couldn’t fly, they jumped onto ships as footholds. These pirates from the Whitebeard Pirates’ headquarters were exceptionally strong, their physical abilities not to be underestimated.
“Oars! Hold on, I’m coming to save you!” Ace shouted loudly as he rushed forward, spotting Oars lying in the water.
“Ace… Ace!?” Hearing Ace’s voice, Oars struggled to support himself from the sea and turned his head towards Ace.
“Damn it!” Moria was frustrated. Oars’ body was incredibly robust, and it would take significant effort to kill him. Moria initially wanted to cut off Oars’ shadow to subdue him first and then kill him, as those whose shadows are removed would fall into a state of unconsciousness for a while, making them defenseless. Moria planned to save energy this way. However, Ace’s sudden intervention disrupted his plans.
“Fragment Bats!” Moria waved his hand, and countless black bats charged towards Ace, shouting, “Don’t disturb me!”
However, when Ace jumped into the air and saw the bats approaching, he swiftly waved his hand, releasing a fan-shaped flame that engulfed the bats.
“Squeak, squeak, squeak!” The bats screamed in the flames, their figures disappearing one after another. However, they weren’t burned by the flames but rather simply vanished.
“Right, this kid uses fire!” Moria suddenly realized. His Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability would be suppressed by Ace’s flames. Flames emit light when burning, and Moria’s bats, being creations of his ability, were not real creatures but shadows. They naturally dissipated upon encountering light.
Unfortunately, at this moment, the pirates on the pirate ship, having shaken off the bats that Moria had summoned earlier, angrily swung their weapons at Moria.
“Damn, bad luck!” Seeing the situation wasn’t in his favor, Moria had no choice but to retreat. He transformed back into a shadow and disappeared from the deck, reappearing on his own ship.
“Hmph, can’t handle it?” Doflamingo mocked him the moment he reappeared.
Meanwhile, Ace had reached the ship where Little Oars was. He stood on the deck, anxiously calling out to Little Oars.
Struggling, Little Oars managed to stand up again, scratching his head foolishly and smiling at Ace, “Ace, are you guys okay?”
Ace and Little Oars were close friends within the Whitebeard Pirates, which was why Ace had rushed over to check on Little Oars immediately after appearing.
Despite Little Oars’ goofy smile, Ace was furious as he looked at the wound piercing his chest.
Turning his head, he glanced at the ship where Moria was. He remembered well; Little Oars had been injured by that bulky Shichibukai with short legs.
Ace was enraged. White flames erupted from his right hand, which he then thrust forcefully towards the marine ship where Moria was!
“White Dragon!”
A white flame formed into a dragon, roaring as it flew out from Ace’s arm, heading straight towards Moria.
“!!!”
Doflamingo, who was on the same ship as Moria, was shocked when he saw Ace’s move.
This… This move is so similar to Ian’s Black Dragon Wave! The only difference is that Ian’s flames are black, while Ace’s flames are white!
Watching the white flame dragon approach, Doflamingo couldn’t help but lick his lips. This white flame dragon brought back bad memories and ignited his anger.
With a sudden leap, Doflamingo jumped into the air. The next moment, the flying white flame dragon collided with the marine ship.
“Boom!” With the eruption of white flames, the entire marine ship immediately began to burn fiercely. The marines on board were engulfed in flames, screaming as they desperately jumped into the sea.
Moria escaped at the moment the flame dragon attacked. He reappeared on another marine ship, glaring angrily at the ship he had just been on. The roaring fire was terrifying to behold.
Meanwhile, Doflamingo, who was hovering in mid-air, finally made his move. Ace’s flame dragon left him itching with hatred. Extending his hand, countless threads appeared in Doflamingo’s palm. These threads entangled and condensed into a thick whip, shooting straight towards Ace like a fired cannonball.
“Excess Whip String!”
The whizzing whip made Ace realize the danger. He could see the black haki wrapped around the whip, so he shouted to the people on the pirate ship, “Get down!” Then he quickly jumped himself.
“Bang!” With a loud explosion, Doflamingo’s Overheat String struck the pirate ship, instantly shattering its bow into countless pieces!
This strike almost destroyed half of the pirate ship’s hull. Water surged in, causing the ship to tilt and sink into the sea. The surviving pirates could only jump into the water and swim away desperately to avoid being sucked into the vortex created by the sinking ship.
With the pirate ship sunk and Ace having no place to land, Little Oars was right behind him. He reached out with his massive hand and caught Ace.
Ace let out a sigh of relief, about to thank Little Oars when the next moment, Little Oars grabbed Ace firmly, pulling him into his arms and twisting his body!
Crack! Just as he twisted his body, long wounds suddenly burst open on Little Oars’ back. These wounds were so deep that he was instantly covered in blood.
It turned out that just a moment ago, Doflamingo had thrown Five-Colored Strings towards Ace’s direction. The five fingers he opened carried threads as hard as steel wires, slicing through Little Oars’ muscles with powerful force.
Ace hadn’t noticed Doflamingo’s attack, but Little Oars did. To protect Ace, he took the blow with his own body.
“Oars!?” Ace also noticed Little Oars’ injury and shouted again.
He certainly remembered Doflamingo. During the battle between Ian, Doflamingo, and Sabo at Dressrosa, Ace was there too. However, he and Sabo were searching for weapons at that time, so Ace didn’t have a deep understanding of Doflamingo’s strength. Due to his negligence, Little Oars got injured, making Ace extremely angry.
Just then, a blue flame flew from the sky towards Doflamingo in mid-air. The blue flame spun and, as it approached Doflamingo, suddenly transformed into Marco’s form. Then, clenching its fists, it smashed down fiercely on Doflamingo!
Doflamingo raised his right hand to defend with his Armament Haki. However, he hadn’t expected Marco’s attack to be so strong, and it was also infused with Armament Haki. His right arm sank abruptly upon impact, causing his whole body to uncontrollably crash towards the sea below.
Boom! Doflamingo fell into the water, creating a massive splash on the sea surface.
“Hmph, that’s a good hit!” Boa Hancock watched from a distance, a smile appearing on her face. She had clashed with Doflamingo back at Dressrosa, so she had no sympathy for him falling into the water.
On the other hand, Sengoku saw Doflamingo fall into the water and quickly picked up a Den Den Mushi, ordering nearby marine soldiers to jump into the water and rescue him.
“Indeed, the captains of the Whitebeard Pirates are as strong as monsters!” On a marine ship, Admiral kizaru sat with his chin resting on his hand, turning to Admiral Akainu beside him. “With such strength, how did you manage to trap them on the island back then?”
Akainu, wearing his marine cap, shaded his eyes under the brim, sitting motionlessly in his chair. Upon hearing these words, he snorted coldly, “I only hit the ships, not the people!”
On the side, Aokiji lounged with his legs crossed, casually remarking, “Doflamingo fell into the water. Although these environments limits the abilities of Devil Fruit users, our own Devil Fruit users are also restricted. Should I change the battlefield?”