Recruit Luffy at the start and build the strongest navy.

Chapter 198 A Brand New Flame Form

"Fire Fist!"

A massive, orange-flaming fist, carrying an incomparably violent aura, crashed down from the sky.

Below, a wall of blue and yellow flames quickly appeared in the void, blocking the giant fiery fist.

The three colors of flame intertwined in mid-air before dissipating together after a period of time.

The next second, a blue and yellow phoenix suddenly shot out from the flames that had not yet completely dissipated, like a sharp arrow, and arrived in front of Ace in mid-air in the blink of an eye.

A kick, resembling an inverted hook, was delivered fiercely towards Ace.

Bang! !

A dull thud was heard, and Ace, his hands wrapped in Armament Haki, crossed his arms and blocked Marco's attack.

Ace slightly raised his eyes, met Marco's gaze, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"It's very effective!"

Marco narrowed his eyes and shouted:

"Stop joking!!"

At the same time, he exerted force with his foot again, unleashing a powerful burst of energy that sent Ace crashing down.

As Ace fell, he transformed into a ball of flame and crashed violently onto the candy-colored land.

In an instant, the intense heat of the flames caused the candy land to begin to melt.

For candy, the thing it fears most is fire.

Soon, the flames melted a large crater in the candy-like land.

Just as it was about to melt through the land, the ball of flame finally flew out, transforming into Ace in mid-air and landing on the land to the side.

Even so, the high temperature from the remaining flames continued to melt the candy land, eventually penetrating it.

The seawater below surged up and eventually came to rest at the same level as the candy land.

Ace made a gun gesture with both hands and kept firing at Marco, who was rushing towards him in mid-air.

Puff puff puff puff!

The fire bullets kept hitting Marco, but they were all engulfed by Marco's flames and eventually dissipated.

Seeing this, Ace narrowed his eyes.

He crouched slightly, flames swirling around him, faintly forming a ring.

"Flame Pillar!!"

A pillar of fire suddenly erupted, shooting into the sky and slamming directly into Marco, sending him flying.

Immediately afterwards, Ace's figure shot out from mid-air from the pillar of fire and arrived in front of Marco, kicking him as well.

A dull thud followed, and Marco again caught the attack steadily. This time, a faint smile appeared on Marco's lips as he looked at Ace and said:

"It's very effective!"

Ace's gaze was deep and unfathomable as he uttered a sentence:

"Stop lying!!"

The next second, Ace's entire foot turned into flames, and a large amount of flames erupted from his leg, hitting Marco and blasting him away.

But when Marco stopped, he had no injuries whatsoever.

The two stood facing each other in mid-air, Ace's brows furrowed slightly, while Marco wore a faint smile.

"You are fire, and I am fire! Therefore, your attacks are useless against me!"

"And since your domineering aura is inferior to mine, you should already know how things will end, Emperor Flame Ace..."

"It's a bit of an overhyped reputation!"

"You'll soon find out whether it's just an empty reputation or not. As for your claim that my flames are useless against you, I'd like to ask you something..."

Are you really sure?

As he spoke, Ace slightly raised his hand and began to speak to himself:

"For quite some time after I ate the Flame-Flame Fruit, I wasn't very satisfied with it!"

"Why? Because I've noticed that almost anyone with a bit of skill can wield fire, making my ability seem rather commonplace!"

"At the same time, since everyone can wield fire to some extent, many powerful individuals have some understanding of how to control it, which makes things somewhat difficult for me!"

"But I've never been one to accept my fate. I refuse to believe I actually ate a useless Devil Fruit!"

"A Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit? I absolutely refuse to believe it's only this powerful!"

"So for a long time afterward, I worked hard to become stronger, searching for a way to make my flames even stronger, and not long ago, I finally found it!"

Marco frowned slightly, looking at Ace with a hint of impatience on his face.

"Can you please stop with all this nonsense?"

But Ace ignored him and continued talking to himself:

"You are honored to have the opportunity to be the first witness to my new flame form!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a brand new flame suddenly shot out from Ace's hand.

boom--

A terrifying aura suddenly erupted, mixed with a terrifying heat wave.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle!

The air was distorted by the scorching heatwave, and the surrounding candy-like land began to melt under its terrifying heat.

!!!

Marco's pupils contracted sharply, and a look of deep shock appeared on his face as he stared intently at the flames in Ace's hand.

"This, this is..."

The flames on Ace's hands were no longer the orange-yellow color they used to be, but a deep, clear crimson.

Even without sensing its power, just looking at its appearance, one would feel that it is much stronger than ordinary flames.

A faint smile appeared on Ace's lips.

"Come, let me see if my flames can harm you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ace threw another punch.

"Fire Fist!!!"

……

Somewhere on the other side of the battlefield.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing rang out, sending sparks flying.

Vista and Zoro's swords were pressed together.

He immediately retreated, then lunged forward again, their long swords clashing repeatedly in the air, each clash generating a series of aftershocks.

Suddenly, a sound of flesh tearing apart rang out, and a line of blood suddenly burst out of Vista's chest.

Blood gushed out, and his body was slashed away, falling back quite a distance before stopping, panting heavily.

Zoro drew his sword and slowly walked towards Vista, speaking calmly as he did so:

"If you were in your prime, you would be a very formidable opponent, but unfortunately, even though your swordsmanship is superb, you can't unleash much of your full potential in your current state!"

"Looks like Kyle did you a lot of damage!"

Upon hearing this, Vista's expression turned somewhat grim. Just as Zoro had said, if he were in his prime, he could definitely put up a good fight with Zoro.

It's not impossible for him to even win the battle, but the problem is that his previous injuries were too severe. Even though Marco's treatment can preserve some of his strength, he is still somewhat weaker than when he was at his peak.

But soon, Vista's expression changed, and a smile appeared on his lips.

"I admit I'm no match for you right now, but that doesn't matter much. I just need to hold you off. Look at the current situation on the battlefield!"

"Your navy... seems to be in a bit of trouble!"

"I know!"

Zoro nodded.

"So, I'm going to defeat you as quickly as possible, and then..."

"We'll see what happens next!!"

Before he finished speaking, Zoro's figure darted out instantly.

……