HTP: Ch. 63

Ace suddenly starts spamming messages.

[Ace]: Damn, Itachi is insane! He captured a Celestial Dragon and brought him for execution, and a bunch of Marine soldiers don't even want to fight anymore! He actually used Susanoo as armor and put it on Marco, his creativity is off the charts! He came riding Marco to rescue me! With Susanoo, sword and shield in hand, just charged in like that! Not gonna lie, I used to badmouth him on forums. From today on, I'm an Itachi fanboy!

That reckless? Is Itachi really that type of person? His fighting style was never this wild, right? What kind of brainwashing drinks did you pirates give him? Hiruzen thought this and couldn't help but ask:

[Hiruzen]: How's the battle at Marineford going?

[Ace]: I just clashed head-on with Akainu. Justice prevails over evil, I had the upper hand!

[Hiruzen]: You can go one-on-one with him now?

As if predicting what Hiruzen was thinking, Ace sent the next message immediately.

[Ace]: I just got a tiny bit of early-access buff, and he underestimated me a little. One full set of Advanced Armament Haki smacked him silly.

[Hiruzen]: And you?

[Ace]: I was originally planning to flex and then run. But now, I can still keep going!

---

A magma fist descended like a meteor.

Ace crossed his arms in front of his chest, flames laced with black lightning instantly forming a mirror-like fiery barrier.

Two similar fire-based powers clashed, and the resulting shockwave nearly tore the execution platform apart.

Even Garp and Sengoku, who were watching from the sidelines, had to shield themselves, unleashing their own Haki to protect nearby Marine personnel.

Sengoku roared, "Did you teach him that in secret? Garp!"

Garp shouted back, "I have no idea what's going on!"

The magma fist crazily spun on the surface of Flame Mirror, Armament Haki and black-red lightning clashing violently, forming a horrifying vortex of energy in mid-air.

"I can hold it back!" Ace gritted his teeth, then let out a furious roar with all his might.

The flame and the magma, both at full power, refused to back down, ultimately, both were reduced to ash.

The recoil made Ace stagger back several steps, each step leaving a deep scorched trench in the ground. Looking up, he saw that Akainu hadn't even budged under the clash of ability and Haki, he didn't need to absorb any force.

Who had the upper hand was obvious.

Ace clicked his tongue and adjusted his stance.

Sure enough, his current self was still a bit lacking in a one-on-one against an Admiral, but he wasn't discouraged at all.

Akainu slowly rose from the magma pool, the molten drops dissolving the ground below. His voice echoed like a demon lord from the molten inferno. "How many more attacks like that do you have left? I can fight ten more days and nights. Not running away immediately was your greatest mistake. Now… it's time for you to die."

With every word, more lava surged from the ground. The entire execution platform transformed into a scene from hell.

If not for the protection and coordination from Garp and Sengoku, the surrounding Marine soldiers might have all been wiped out.

Sengoku commented, "Akainu has already surpassed you, hasn't he?"

Garp's face was grim, obviously torn between family and duty. He replied, "Probably."

Ace, things have come this far, you better not die on me now…

Just then, Susanoo-Phoenix appeared.

With unstoppable momentum, it swept across the battlefield straight toward the execution platform, everywhere it passed, the very air trembled.

On the battlefield, no one could stand against it even for a single exchange.

Aokiji was busy restraining Whitebeard, Kizaru was being soloed by Rayleigh, Sengoku had to keep an eye on Garp, and Mihawk was "dueling" Vista.

All the remaining top officers?

Utterly insignificant!

Were there no other strong fighters left?

No one could stop it?

Akainu caught a glimpse of the situation from the corner of his eye, momentarily distracted.

But just then, a voice belonging to that accursed bloodline rang out, cocky and arrogant beyond belief. "Let me tell you, I'm not running because I'm not afraid of you! My flames have already surpassed your magma! Come at me again!"

Killing this cursed bloodline is clearly the most important thing.

Earlier, he let his guard down and allowed Ace to show off like that. Truly intolerable!

He refocused. He had to admit, Ace was no longer someone who could be casually dealt with.

He needed to go all-out to ensure victory.

Somehow, this criminal had grown incredibly strong, strong enough to contend for top-tier power.

Thankfully, he was the one here. If it had been Aokiji or Kizaru, the situation might've already spiraled out of control.

His magma body erupted with even more terrifying heat, granite beneath his feet vaporized in an instant.

His arms fully magmafied, transforming into two fearsome molten hounds. Both beasts were wreathed in Armament Haki, and the magma dripping from their fangs corroded deep pits into the ground.

But seeing this, Ace grinned with wild delight, clashing his fists together, this time, without even partially transforming into fire.

He wasn't relying on the Flame-Flame Fruit at all.

Regular fists coated in Haki!

Even though he had mastered the advanced technique of Conqueror's Haki infusion, he was being steadily pushed back by a fully serious Akainu, who truly was the Marine's strongest weapon.

But at that very moment, even while at a disadvantage, Ace grinned slyly, because reinforcements he could trust had arrived.

Amaterasu!

The inextinguishable black flames ignited on the surface of the magma. The cursed, black fire actually began devouring the lava.

Ace burst out laughing. Why didn't he go into elemental form? Of course, he was afraid of friendly fire.

"Ace! We're here!" From the skies, Marco cried out, releasing blue healing flames in full force.

What was this black fire?! Even magma… was burning??

Akainu was forced to cancel his magma form, pulling the burning parts of himself into his cape, and then yanking the Marine cape off entirely to stop the spread of black flame.

A second slower, and it might've reached his core.

Kizaru had warned him about this black fire before, having been burned by it himself. But Akainu scoffed, thinking his Magma-Magma Fruit had nothing to fear from other flames.

And now, he had nearly paid the price.

This was the perfect chance to strike while the enemy was off-balance. Ace wouldn't miss it.