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"Kid, since I came to this world, I'm actually a bit excited for the first time." Madara slowly spoke, his eyes fixed on the increasingly close fireball. Suddenly, his pupils changed dramatically, and lines appeared across them.
"Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)!"
A powerful repulsive force burst out, twisting the air around Madara. At that moment, the massive fireball engulfed him.
Ace watched intently, his gaze locked on the fireball in the sky.
Deep down, he felt this mysterious and cold man was not ordinary.
Then, in the next moment, the hundred-meter-wide fireball suddenly exploded from the center, breaking into streams of flowing flames that fell into the sea. From within the fireball, a figure dove down at an extreme speed.
"It's him!"
Ace's pupils shrank sharply. Such a huge fireball hadn't caused any damage to that figure at all.
"Whoosh!"
A strong wind swept by, and Madara's speed was like flowing light. In an instant, he was right above Ace, stomping down hard.
"Boom!"
Ace took a step back as the deck beneath Madara's foot shattered piece by piece, leaving a huge crater.
His cheek twitched; Ace felt pain deep inside. This was a ship he had spent a lot to acquire!
"Fire Pistol!"
He quickly formed his hands into the shape of pistols, aiming at Madara who was looking up at him.
Those eyes full of lines made Ace shudder.
"Da-da-da-da!"
Flame bullets shot out. Madara stepped forward again, and an invisible repulsive force around him appeared once more, scattering the bullets that came at him.
"How is this possible?!" Ace was shocked and terrified by Madara's strange power.
Before he could react, Madara's figure flickered and appeared right in front of him, throwing a punch head-on.
"Boom!"
Ace had no time to dodge and was hit solidly. But Madara's eyes flashed.
"Flame Clone?"
The face that got hit turned into pieces of fire, causing no harm to Ace at all.
"This isn't a Clone, it's elementalization, old man!" Ace realized, clenching his right fist as flames rapidly gathered into the shape of a fist.
"Fire Fist!"
The flaming fist suddenly struck toward Madara. Madara reacted swiftly, expression unchanged. His figure flickered and he retreated ten meters, crouching on the ship's railing.
"So this is the power of Devil Fruit in this world?"
Madara's eyes shifted, his Rinnegan transforming into Sharingan. Three tomoe spun quickly and then changed into Eternal Mangekyō.
"I am a Logia Fruit Mera-Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit) Ability User! Also, old man, although you burned my ship, you showed no intent to kill!" Ace solemnly took a battle stance, then asked seriously, "What exactly do you want to do?"
Madara squinted, then unexpectedly smiled.
"What I want to do?"
"I want entertainment!"
No sooner had the words fallen than he vanished, and a short blade in his hand flicked out instantly.
"Whoosh!"
The speed was so fast it left Ace unable to react. His waist was split in two, his mouth opening and closing in shock and disbelief.
"So fast!!"
"Sizzle sizzle!"
Flames appeared from the broken waist and quickly healed.
"Completely immune to physical attacks?" Madara's eyes were calm and expressionless. The results of two attacks made him understand this truth.
Yet he didn't hesitate. He lifted his foot and kicked straight toward Ace's chin.
Ace's expression changed, quickly raising both hands to block.
"Bang!"
A muffled sound echoed. The tremendous force sent Ace flying backward. Madara's eyes flashed as he stared at Ace, who took several steps back and finally steadied himself, and in his heart, he gained a new understanding.
"When in physical form, you can be attacked."
"But can elementalization also appear passively?"
"It's a bit troublesome, but for me..."
Madara's eyes locked onto Ace, causing him to tremble inside. The corners of Madara's mouth curled up.
"Killing you is still easy!"
At that moment, Ace felt the hairs on his back stand on end, a sense of death looming over him. Since setting sail, especially after obtaining the Mera-Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit), although he had faced danger before, never once had it felt as intense as now.
"Your ability isn't bad, but it's still too weak! Fundamentally weak!" Madara's cold words sent Ace's heart plummeting to the bottom of a valley.
"To deal with elementalization, I can kill you at the very instant you become physical, with the fastest speed possible, so that even your passive skills won't have time to activate. I can also exploit elemental weaknesses!" Madara said calmly, quickly forming hand seals.
"In this sea, the strongest jutsu should be..."
Suddenly, Madara's seals stopped abruptly.
"Suiton (Water Release), Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
In an instant, the ocean behind him exploded with a roar. A water dragon as large as a house's size of just its head roared and twisted, splashing countless droplets as it surged out of the water. Its magnificent form, the lifelike scales, and sturdy claws made it look like a real dragon. The sight was terrifying, causing trembling fear.
Ace, seeing this giant water dragon already rising out of the sea, its half body measuring five or six hundred meters, turned pale beyond words.
Facing such a colossal creature, and one that wielded the very element that counters his power, water, he felt despair.
Yes, this unknown man was right. Compared to him, he was pitifully weak!
On the small broken ship, Qin Lin and the others' expressions changed.
"Not good! Madara is playing too rough. Such a powerful jutsu could kill that kid!"
"Yang Yi!"
Qin Lin shouted loudly.
Yang Yi had already leapt high off the ship. His right hand surged with cold energy as he pressed it sharply onto the sea surface, aiming directly at the huge water dragon.
"Hyōton (Ice Release), Ice Brush Willow Technique!"
Immediately, a layer of chilling air spread over the sea, rapidly freezing the surface.
"Crackling!"
The freezing speed was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, the water dragon formed by Madara was covered and its entire body frozen solid.
When the ice reached the dragon's head, the house-sized water dragon had already crashed into Ace.
"Too late!" Yang Yi's face changed.
"Boom!"
Accompanied by white steam from the impact, Ace was blasted backward, falling into the sea. The pirate ship shattered from the blow.
"Crackling!"
The ice just then reached the remaining water, freezing it completely.
Madara watched this unfold, expressionless. A few seconds later, he stepped forward and pulled Ace from the water, lifting him up in his hand.
"Madara-san, it's only a sparring match. You nearly killed him!" Qin Lin said helplessly.
"His weakness is not my fault," Madara said coldly.
The three were speechless.
At this moment, the Spade Pirates swam toward the small boat anxiously, looking at Ace, ready to board.
"The weak have no right to ride with me!"
"Get lost!"
A cold shout, Madara's icy gaze made everyone shiver.
"Wake him up. The three of you."
In the next moment, he said to Qin Lin.
(End of Chapter)