The air crackled with tension as Ace stood face-to-face with Blackbeard once again. The fiery determination in Ace's eyes had only grown stronger since their last encounter, but Blackbeard's twisted grin showed no fear. Instead, he welcomed the rematch, knowing full well how much stronger he had become since their fateful clash.
"Zehahaha! Still think you can beat me, Ace?" Blackbeard taunted, his voice booming over the roar of the sea. "You couldn't do it before, and I've only gotten more powerful! This time, you're not walking away!"
Ace's flames ignited around his body, burning with an intensity that made the very air shimmer. "This time is different, Teach," he replied, his voice calm but full of resolve. "You won't get away with what you did. I'll make sure of it."
Without another word, Ace launched his attack. His Hiken roared toward Blackbeard, a massive column of fire that blazed through the air, threatening to consume everything in its path. But Blackbeard, with the power of the Yami Yami no Mi, countered with a wave of darkness, his Black Vortex absorbing the flames into its inky depths.
"You can't burn me, Ace! Darkness devours everything!" Blackbeard shouted, his voice dripping with arrogance as the flames vanished into the swirling blackness of his powers.
Ace gritted his teeth, refusing to let Blackbeard's taunts get to him. His flames had grown stronger, but Blackbeard's darkness was unlike anything else. The two powers clashed violently, the fire illuminating the dark void around them in a storm of energy.
As their battle raged on, Luffy and Sabo fought off the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates. Luffy, in Gear 4: Boundman, was a whirlwind of haki-infused punches, smashing through everything in his path. His King Kong Gun collided with Shiryu's invisible sword, the clash of steel and haki creating shockwaves that rippled through the battlefield.
"You're not getting past me, Zoro wannabe!" Luffy growled, his fists glowing with Conqueror's Haki as he pushed Shiryu back.
Shiryu, now wielding the power of invisibility from the Suke Suke no Mi, grinned darkly. "You think you can stop me, Straw Hat? Let's see how long you can last." He vanished into thin air, only for his blade to appear behind Luffy in a flash of deadly precision.
But Luffy, using his advanced Observation Haki, sensed the attack coming just in time and blocked the strike with his haki-coated arm. "I can see you, even if you're invisible!" Luffy shouted, countering with a powerful kick that sent Shiryu flying.
On the other side of the battlefield, Sabo clashed with Laffitte, the mysterious navigator of Blackbeard's crew. Laffitte, with his wings spread wide and his bizarre, elegant fighting style, dodged Sabo's powerful strikes with ease, his mocking smile never fading.
"You're quick, but let's see if you can handle this!" Sabo roared, his Dragon Claw technique ripping through the air, aiming directly for Laffitte's chest.
Laffitte dodged, his wings flapping as he soared above Sabo. "Tsk, tsk, such a brute. You'll have to do better than that." But before Laffitte could gloat further, Sabo leapt into the air, catching him off-guard with a powerful haki-infused strike that knocked him out of the sky.
Meanwhile, Zoro and Sanji were locked in fierce battles of their own. Zoro's swords clashed violently with Shiryu's invisible blade, while Sanji's fiery kicks collided with Jesus Burgess, whose massive strength made him a dangerous opponent.
"I'm not going down that easily, Black Leg!" Burgess shouted, his muscular arms swinging toward Sanji with crushing force. But Sanji was faster, dodging the attack and retaliating with a flaming kick to Burgess's side that sent him crashing into the deck.
"You're too slow, muscle head!" Sanji spat, his leg igniting once more as he prepared for another attack.
As the battles raged on, Ace and Blackbeard's clash grew more intense. Blackbeard's darkness consumed everything Ace threw at him, but Ace's fire burned brighter and hotter with every passing second. It was clear that both men had grown stronger since their last encounter, but Blackbeard had another trick up his sleeve.
With a twisted grin, Blackbeard raised his hand, summoning the power of the Gura Gura no Mi. The air around him distorted as the very atmosphere began to quake. "You didn't think I'd just rely on the darkness, did you, Ace? I've got the power of Whitebeard now!"
Ace's eyes widened as the sea itself trembled under the power of the Gura Gura no Mi. Blackbeard slammed his fist into the air, creating a massive shockwave that tore through the battlefield, sending waves crashing in every direction.
The force of the attack sent Ace flying back, but he quickly regained his footing, his flames flaring even hotter. "I don't care how many powers you have! I'm going to burn through all of them!" Ace shouted, his body engulfed in flames as he unleashed his most powerful attack yet.
"Entei!" Ace roared, summoning a massive fireball that dwarfed everything on the battlefield. The sun-like sphere of fire blazed above him, casting a searing light over the entire scene.
Blackbeard's eyes widened, but his grin remained. "Zehahaha! Come at me, then! Let's see if your flames can burn through the darkness!"
With a roar, Ace hurled the Entei toward Blackbeard. The massive fireball hurtled through the air, colliding with Blackbeard's darkness in a cataclysmic explosion. The force of the impact shook the sea and sky, sending shockwaves rippling across the battlefield.
For a moment, everything was consumed by fire and darkness. But as the flames and shadows dissipated, Blackbeard emerged, bruised and battered, but still standing.
"Zehahaha... you've gotten stronger, Ace, I'll give you that. But it's not enough!" Blackbeard taunted, his eyes gleaming with malice. "You're still no match for me!"
Ace, breathing heavily, wiped the sweat from his brow, but his determination never wavered. "I'll never stop fighting you, Teach. You won't take my brother or this world. Not while I'm still standing."
As Blackbeard prepared to strike again, a new realization dawned on Ace. Blackbeard's real goal wasn't just power—he wanted something more. Ace's eyes darted to Luffy, and the pieces started to fall into place.
"You're after Luffy's Devil Fruit, aren't you?" Ace said, his voice sharp with accusation. "You're trying to take his power!"
Blackbeard's grin widened, a dark chuckle escaping his lips. "Zehahaha... so you figured it out, huh? That rubber fruit of his... it's special. More special than you realize. But don't worry, Ace, I'll take good care of it after I crush you all!"
Ace's eyes flared with fury. "Over my dead body, Teach. You'll never lay a hand on Luffy!"
The stakes were higher than ever. Blackbeard wasn't just after power—he had set his sights on Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Mi, and now it was up to Ace, Luffy, and Sabo to stop him.
As the battle reached its peak, the brothers knew they had to fight with everything they had. One wrong move, and Blackbeard would not only take their lives but also the power that could change the course of the world.
The future of the New World hung in the balance as Ace and Blackbeard's rematch raged on, the outcome still uncertain.