Starting with two Kamui, they raised the flag of rebellion in One Piece.

Is there no chance of winning?

Amidst the flames, Li Mingyuan heard Ace's voice filled with certainty.

Instead of responding immediately, he gently closed his eyes.

"You have no chance of winning, give up."

It seems that someone else had said the same thing to him before.

As for the other party's fate.

To be honest, Li Mingyuan couldn't remember very clearly anymore.

Because that happened when it was still in the Naruto world, similar situations occurred almost every day in the Warring States period.

It's always been like this; despite his apparent weakness, his opponent always thought he had the upper hand.

In reality, only Hashirama and Madara knew his true nature.

I never fight a battle I can't win.

When Li Mingyuan opened his eyes again.

Everything in the world is different now.

"Um?"

Meanwhile, on the beach, Ace was still keeping a close eye on Li Mingyuan's direction.

He was not surprised when he heard the sound coming from the flames.

Followed by.

What shocked him most was what came into view.

"W-what!?"

Ace stared wide-eyed at what was in front of him.

Not just Ace.

Even Nami, who was watching the battle, and another figure who had been secretly watching from behind her, were stunned in place.

Because it happened at this very moment.

Li Mingyuan, who had been engulfed by the fireworks, suddenly emerged from the flames!

Forget about being severely burned by the flames; there wasn't even a trace of burns on Li Mingyuan's body.

Completely unharmed!!

"You're the first person to witness this ability firsthand, Ace."

Li Mingyuan looked at Ace with an extremely calm expression and sighed, "I never expected that I could be tested to this extent."

"My eyes, as long as I can see, can basically achieve the same effect as Observation Haki... Even with my hints, being able to see through this is commendable."

"Your combat instincts are truly remarkable."

"To show you something special, I'll do it for you."

Li Mingyuan stared at Ace.

In his eyes, three curved, blade-shaped magatama slowly rotated around his pupils.

"The unparalleled beauty of these eyes."

Li Mingyuan smiled calmly.

The crimson Mangekyou Sharingan: Kamui, has finally been revealed in the world of One Piece.

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Mingyuan suddenly bent down and dashed towards Ace at an extremely fast speed.

Ace suddenly regained consciousness.

There wasn't even time to ask what Observation Haki, which Li Mingyuan was talking about, actually was.

"Crossfire!"

Ace crossed his two index fingers to form a cross and let out a low shout.

In an instant, a cross-shaped beam of fire shot out from his finger, rapidly aiming at Li Mingyuan.

However, Li Mingyuan, who had been dodging and weaving in response to his fire abilities just moments before, now showed no sign of dodging or avoiding his straight-through attack.

The crossfire actually pierced through Li Mingyuan's body, going straight through!

"They've gone through it!"

Ace was startled again, and the words of astonishment slipped out, "Could it be that you're also a Logia-type Devil Fruit user!?"

Before he could reply, Li Mingyuan had already rushed in front of Ace.

"Fishman Karate -"

Seeing that Li Mingyuan seemed to want to use the same strange move as before, Ace glanced at the seawater behind him out of the corner of his eye and immediately gritted his teeth.

"How could it happen a second time?!"

Ace roared, "Divine Fire - Shiranui!"

With the two at almost zero distance, Ace transformed his hands into flames and forcefully hurled the flaming spear in his hands.

However, the target was not Li Mingyuan, but the ground beneath his feet!

In the deafening impact, the Flame Ring and the Divine Fire, Shiranui, combined and created a massive explosion.

Ace was pushed back several meters by the shockwave before he could finally stop.

"Ha ha……"

Ace, panting heavily, looked at the scene with a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead.

The series of powerful attacks had already depleted his stamina considerably. Although he didn't know what ability Li Mingyuan was using, such a wide-range, indiscriminate attack should still be able to somewhat hinder the opponent's actions.

The thought had just crossed Ace's mind, less than a second had passed.

"Flames? Not bad at all."

Amidst the sea of ​​fire, Li Mingyuan's voice rang out with a hint of pleasure.

Immediately afterwards, Ace saw a vortex suddenly appear in the fire that had been raging.

Just a few seconds later.

All the flames he had released, which had consumed a great deal of his energy, vanished.

Instead, Li Mingyuan's figure continued to approach him at a leisurely pace.

"But how many more times can you unleash such an attack?"

Li Mingyuan said calmly.

Ace looked incredulous and touched the sweat on his forehead.

Now, he was truly at a loss for how to react.

"Flames, have no effect on you?"

"It would be understandable if they just used seawater to extinguish it, but they actually absorbed the flames..."

Ace murmured, "I've never encountered anything like this before."

What kind of ability is needed to accomplish all of this?

The power of the Flame-Flame Fruit couldn't overpower the opponent?

"No! No matter what, since we've actually encountered this situation, there's no point in thinking about why."

"Finding a way to defeat you is what I should be doing now!"

Ace's confusion didn't last long. Soon, his eyes became firm again, even brighter than before, and a strong fighting spirit appeared on his face.

Whether or not he possesses the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit, he is still himself.

—Portcus D. Ace!

If he were helpless simply because of such difficulties, he wouldn't have chosen to go to sea.

His goal was the summit, and he figured that as long as he continued to sail on this ocean, similar situations to today would surely occur again, and more unknown forces and mysterious powerful figures would be waiting for him somewhere on this ocean.

Since we've encountered difficulties, we must find a way to overcome them!

"I have already demonstrated all the moves I currently know, although it is a pity that they were not very effective."

Ace took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "But even techniques that have already been used can vary greatly depending on the amount of firepower used."

"The flames that follow will unleash my true power!"

As Ace's voice echoed through the arena, a large amount of flames instantly erupted from his body.

More spectacular than any move used before, hotter than his own blood, the flames that had vanished from the field were rekindled amidst his boiling heartbeat.

Ace's lips curled up in a smile.

"Releasing such a large amount of flame all at once, given your current stamina, it probably won't last long."

"I see, so it means we have to decide a winner."

Seeing this, Li Mingyuan's expression seemed to indicate that he understood something. "Although generally speaking, using heavy firepower to directly cover unknown situations against unknown opponents might not be a wrong choice."

"Unfortunately, this turned out to be a wrong judgment for me."

Li Mingyuan stared at Ace, and the three curved, blade-shaped tomoe in his eyes began to spin rapidly once again.

"Those eyes can see through everything."

At that moment, time seemed to stand still.

Ace raised his burning fist, aimed at Li Mingyuan, and was about to unleash a powerful blow.

The movement of all his muscles, including the expressions on his face.

Li Mingyuan saw everything clearly.

"Fire Fist!!"

Finally, Ace roared and unleashed an unprecedented fiery punch.

The enormous flames, carrying intense heat and almost larger than a hill, hurtled straight toward Li Mingyuan at high speed.

Li Mingyuan remained still, but the space around his right eye gradually distorted.

Now that we've tried absorption, it's time to test the release function.

"False Fire Release: Storm Dance!"

Li Mingyuan suddenly looked up, and the space around his right eye was like a vortex, from which terrifying flames instantly surged out.

In the blink of an eye.

All the flames that Li Mingyuan had absorbed earlier collided head-on with Ace's full-force fire fist!

--boom!!!

A terrifying shockwave, surpassing the scale of any previous battle, shook the entire island.

The impact of the two flames caused the huge fireball to erupt like magma, forming a mushroom cloud over the entire beach. The surrounding forests and cliffs collapsed on the spot due to the explosion, and even the earth was torn apart with cracks.

Nami, who was in the jungle not far away, couldn't help but scream when she saw this.

On the other side of the island, even the members of the Spade Pirates who were still packing their things were drawn to the terrifying noise. In particular, when they saw the mushroom cloud rising from the other side of the island, everyone present was completely stunned.

It's completely unimaginable why a mere sparring match between two captains could lead to such a horrifying spectacle.

Is that bounty hunter named Li Mingyuan really someone who can fight Ace to this extent?

The coastline after the explosion.

"Cough! Cough cough!"

Although he managed to dodge the shockwave and the fiery explosion by using his elemental powers, he was completely exhausted.

At this moment, Ace was kneeling on one knee, coughing incessantly.

After catching his breath, he finally managed to catch his breath and was about to look up to see what was happening to Li Mingyuan.

But at that moment, Ace suddenly noticed...

Before he knew it, a pair of shoes had appeared in his line of sight as he looked down.

"...Sigh, at this point, there's really nothing more to say."

"Should we say we're glad? It was just a friendly exchange."

Ace gave a wry smile, then looked up at the man in front of him.

Unlike his somewhat disheveled self, Li Mingyuan looked almost exactly the same as before the battle, except that his trouser legs were still a little wet.

"So, do you want to continue fighting?"

"If you stop now, this sparring match could end in a draw."

Looking at Ace in front of him, Li Mingyuan chuckled and spoke.

"Heh, you actually said it back verbatim? How petty."

"But let's forget about it. I'm not that shameless. If I lose, I lose. There's nothing wrong with admitting it."

After adjusting his condition for a while, Ace stood up from the ground, looked at Li Mingyuan and sighed, "Moreover, you seem to be completely in control right now. I have a feeling that you still have some real trump card up your sleeve. My intuition tells me that I really can't defeat you right now."

"Isn't that a bit off, you over here?"

Upon hearing Ace's words, Li Mingyuan smiled without saying a word, neither confirming nor denying.

This was a way of saving face for Ace.

For Ace right now, he's completely out of options. He doesn't know how to use Haki very well, and his Devil Fruit ability hasn't been developed to the level shown in the main story and side stories.

However, Li Mingyuan had not used the ability of his left eye during the battle just now.

Space was being distorted and torn apart little by little. To what extent could the Logia-type Devil Fruit user still retain self-awareness? He was actually quite curious about this question as well.

"Really, no wonder you've always been so at ease and even dared to leave a bunch of us pirates on your ship. It turns out that from the very beginning, you were confident that you could handle any unexpected situation."

"However, even if I lose today, it doesn't mean I'll lose in the future."

Ace, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit, looked earnestly at Li Mingyuan and said, "Don't run away after winning. Let me train for a while, then we'll spar again and see who wins!"

"sure."

Li Mingyuan agreed without hesitation.

This mere agreement is exactly what I wanted.

Seeing that Li Mingyuan agreed so readily, Ace finally smiled and then relaxed and slumped to the ground.

"Ah, I never expected there to be a master like you in the East China Sea."

"Come to think of it, I only remembered it now."

Looking at Li Mingyuan's face, Ace suddenly slapped his forehead, realizing something, and said, "Li Mingyuan, you...you're that bounty hunter from the news?"

Ace finally remembered why, when he first saw Li Mingyuan's ship, he felt familiar with the Arlong Pirates' news from the crew's words.

Because I read the newspaper just a month ago, and it said that the Arlong Pirates had been wiped out.

The bounty hunter who wiped out the Arlong Pirates was named—

Li Mingyuan.

This is the man standing in front of him now.

Estun immediately showed a belated expression of regret, slapping his thigh in frustration.

"I can't stand it."

Completely speechless, Ace lay sprawled on the beach, his body tilted backward.

The relaxation after a battle, plus the rest after overworking the brain.

Soon after, bubbles started coming out of Ace's nose.

He fell asleep.

It was less than a few dozen seconds after Li Mingyuan and Ace finished talking.

Having realized the battle was over, the two spectators approached Li Mingyuan with trepidation.

"Wow, what kind of scene is this?"

"The ground is full of craters, and there are patches of land that are glowing red-hot. That's probably what happens when a meteorite falls, right?"

Nami walked up to Li Mingyuan and, facing him somewhat irritably, said, "Speaking of which, you promised to protect someone in the audience, but look at Karina and me now, covered in dust and leaves. Don't you have anything to say to us?!"