Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

Chapter 1039 Whitebeard's Advice

After talking with Reiner for a while, Whitebeard told Reiner to go and rest.

He had just sensed Reina's aura, and it was indeed much stronger than before. Although Reina hadn't done anything, Whitebeard knew him too well, so as long as Reina stood in front of Whitebeard, he could roughly sense Reina's state.

However, a strong aura does not necessarily mean greater strength. According to Reina, he can no longer use the Sharingan, so his strength will be greatly reduced. These are all factors that Whitebeard needs to consider.

Because the Whitebeard Pirates are currently in the war zone of the North Blue, the crew's troop deployment still requires his approval. Although he doesn't usually get involved, all matters, big and small, of the crew are reported to him.

There are some things that only Whitebeard can decide, especially when it comes to Reyna.

Now that Reina's combat strength has decreased, he can no longer be sent to many explorations and battles.

However, Whitebeard actually had another guess in his heart, but he wasn't very sure about it and it wasn't convenient for him to tell Reyna, so he didn't mention it to Reyna just now.

Back in his room, Reina began to examine his body. He had tried several times in the past few days, but he still couldn't use the Sharingan. The energy in his body was normal, and there was nothing wrong with his body. However, the power of the Sharingan resided in the brain and eyes, which were very vulnerable places, so he didn't dare to act recklessly. Therefore, he hadn't come up with a good solution.

"Dong dong dong..."

Just as Reina was feeling troubled, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Why are you all here?" The door opened, and standing outside were Marco, Vista, Ace, Lacoste, and Jozu.

"Lakuyo said your Sharingan has some problems?" Marco didn't waste any words and went straight to the point.

Reina smiled, let them in first, and then explained what had happened.

Although they had heard about it from Ace and Laco before, Marco and Vista still gasped when they heard Reina admit it.

The power of the Rinnegan was somewhat beyond their imagination.

As for Reina's inability to use the Sharingan, they didn't think it was a big deal.

Even without the Sharingan, Reina is still one of the world's top fighters, but once Reina can use the Rinnegan, he will definitely be the world's number one, a fact that Marco and the others firmly believe.

So the group of them came over to see if they could help Reina in any way.

"What about real combat? Why don't we try it out in battle? You might be able to feel it more clearly in actual combat!" Marco hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Actually, he stopped by Whitebeard's place before he came here. It was Whitebeard who suggested the method of fighting. He guessed that Reina should be able to unleash his potential and use the Rinnegan when he was facing life and death.

However, doing that would be very dangerous, so Marco suggested that Reina first spar with the captains to see if he could gain any inspiration or direction from the battle.

This is also why Marco brought the other captains over. He didn't want to fight Reina alone. Even without the Sharingan, Reina was very difficult to deal with. It was better to leave this to someone else!

Reina was somewhat tempted by Marco's suggestion, but the other captains' expressions were different. They finally understood why Marco had dragged them along.

They shared Marco's sentiments; even without the Sharingan, they still didn't want to fight Reina, as the feeling was unpleasant.

"Why are you all looking at me?" Joz asked, taking a step back in a flustered manner after everyone turned their attention to him.

“Um… Joz, you’re the most suitable person here for a sparring match, so… why don’t you come?” Marco hesitated for a moment before saying.

He was, after all, the captain of the First Division, and he was the one who organized this matter, so only he could speak up; the others clearly didn't want to be the first to speak.

Although Joz looked distressed, Marco had already spoken, so he couldn't find an excuse to refuse and could only look at Reina.

"No way!" As expected, Reina shook his head and refused, saying, "Joz is good at defense. If he can't put any pressure on me, then he's probably useless. Ace, you go first!"

"Huh?" Ace was taken aback for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay!"

Jozu excels at defense, and his moves are relatively simple. Even without his Sharingan, Reina can see through his moves at a glance.

Among them, in terms of techniques, Vista is probably the strongest, and he is also a swordsman with sufficient attack power. However, if we're talking about who's the most suitable, Ace is the most suitable, as he is a Logia-type Devil Fruit user with the ability to transform into elements.

Although Haki can suppress Devil Fruit abilities, without the aid of the Sharingan, capturing Ace's movements is not so simple.

In the battle against the extraterrestrial visitors, Ace had already learned how to conceal himself.

So Reina chose Ace as his first choice.

“If Ace can’t hold on, one of you go up and keep putting enough pressure on me!” Reina said after thinking for a moment.

Even without the Sharingan, it would be virtually impossible for Ace to suppress him.

Marco and the others looked at each other and then nodded in unison.

Since we're already here, it seems we can't escape today. As for settling scores with Marco, we can do that separately after this is all over. When the rest of them team up, Marco won't be able to put up a fight.

After making the decision, the group left the residential area. Although it was just a friendly spar, it would be impossible for just a few of them to fight here. So, after leaving the residential area, the group went to the back of the island, near the coast, where there was a small, uninhabited forest, which was perfect for their sparring.

"First mate, let's begin!" After getting ready, Ace, with flames erupting from his body, said to Reina.

Reina nodded, indicating that Ace could begin the attack.

"Firefly Fire Daruma!" Ace knew that ordinary moves would have no effect on Aina, so he created countless fireflies while hiding his true form.

In the past, this kind of move would have been useless against Reina, because the Sharingan could see through it. But now Reina can't use the Sharingan, so it gave Ace an opportunity.

Hidden in the shadows, Ace manipulated the fireflies to surround Reina's location. Although he knew that this level of attack would not harm the first mate, the visual obstruction effect caused by the exploding fireflies was exactly what he wanted.

Reina's vision will be obscured by the flames, but he won't. He'll use those flames to deliver the decisive blow; that's his strategy.

Chapter 1040 Sparring

Ace hid in the shadows, manipulating the fireflies.

"boom!"

The fireflies became enraged when they got close to Reina.

Ace, who was hiding in the shadows, was overjoyed. Using the firelight and smoke, Ace came out of his hiding place and headed straight for Reina. However, when he arrived, he did not find any trace of Reina.

"Oops!"

Ace's first reaction was that he had been tricked; the first mate had used the smoke and fire to lure him out.

However, Ace calmed down in an instant. He was in fire elemental form, and Reina might not be able to detect him. Even if he was, he could use the surrounding flames to quickly move away.

Sure enough, the moment Ace transferred his body, Reina appeared out of nowhere and punched the spot where Ace had just been, startling Ace into a cold sweat.

"You brat, you haven't forgotten that I still have Observation Haki, have you? Even though I don't have the Sharingan anymore, I'm not blind!" Seeing that he had missed Ace, Reina began to try to influence Ace with his words.

He was certain that Ace was in this position when he made his move, making it the easiest spot to ambush him. Moreover, his Observation Haki had just detected an energy here.

Ace wasn't a fool either. He completely ignored Reina's words and instead moved while releasing more fireflies. These fireflies could not only confuse Reina but also conceal his figure.

Once Reina touches those fireflies, an explosion will occur, and whether or not to launch a sneak attack will be up to him.

He didn't intend to ambush Reina every time she touched a firefly. If Reina touched it on purpose to lure him in, then he'd be in trouble.

Not far away, Marco, who was watching the game, couldn't help but sigh, "Ace is not the same Ace he used to be! I still remember when he first uploaded, he was just a greenhorn, but now he has become a reliable guy!"

"You're a father now, are you not allowed to let Ace mature?" Laco glanced at Marco and said softly.

After being teased by Laco, Marco was momentarily at a loss for words, so he could only awkwardly touch his nose and say, "Who's next? I reckon Ace won't last much longer!"

Marco was just saying it casually, but unexpectedly Reina on the field suddenly dodged and punched a ball of fire.

"Oh!"

Ace, who was hiding in the flames, was knocked out of his physical form by Reina's punch. However, he was a seasoned veteran. Before his body hit the ground, he transformed into a fire elemental again and fled into the distance. At the same time, he commanded the fireflies around him to quickly gather towards Reina, buying himself some time.

"Boom boom boom..." Reina completely ignored the fireflies. With his Black Emperor powers, he could basically ignore the energy generated by the flames and explosions.

Moreover, he can absorb the energy generated after the fireflies explode. Whether he uses it to replenish himself or returns it to the opponent during the battle, it's a good choice.

Meanwhile, Ace, watching Reina chase after him with sparks and lightning, was terrified. He had forgotten that Reina also had the ability to absorb impacts, and his fireflies were probably only good for confusing his vision.

"Divine Fire - Shiranui!" Ace quickly retreated, calmed himself down, and then turned around to unleash an attack on Reina.

"Interesting!" Because the firefly explosion obstructed his vision, Reina was unable to accurately capture all of Ace's movements, which made Reina, who was used to the Sharingan, feel a little uncomfortable for a moment. However, according to the feedback from his Observation Haki, it was more than enough to deal with Ace.

Seeing that Reina had dodged his attack, Ace created distance between himself and Reina while thinking about how to counterattack.

Running away all the time is not Fire Fist Ace's style.

So far, besides Black Emperor's absorption ability, Reina has only used Observation Haki and Armament Haki. However, Ace knows that his vice-captain also has two strange weapons, Hyōrinmaru and Senbonzakura, both of which are quite troublesome.

Although his chances of defeating Reina were slim, once the battle began, Ace only thought about how to defeat his opponent, not how to escape.

"Flame!" Just as Reina was pressing closer, Ace suddenly stopped, braced himself with one hand, and released a large amount of flames, completely surrounding the two of them.

"Ace, this level of fire has no effect on me!" Seeing that Ace had stopped running away, Reina also stopped and said with a smile.

“I know that with the vice-captain’s strength, Yan Shanggang probably couldn’t even stop you for a second, but… it has another purpose!” Ace smiled slightly, and his whole body transformed into flames.

Reina didn't rush to make a move. It wasn't a life-or-death battle, but rather a friendly sparring session to help Reina get into the swing of things.

Ace, engulfed in flames, saw that Reina was not attacking but waiting for him to make a move, and his fighting spirit began to burn.

Fire Fist Ace is no weakling!

"Fire Fist - Great Flame Ring!"

As Ace moved, the previous ring of flames suddenly flared up, and the raging fire obscured the figures of Ace and Reina.

“I’ve already said, ordinary flames… have no effect on me!” Reina waved his hand casually, and the flames that came to him retreated as if he were some kind of terrifying being.

"Of course I know that ordinary flames have no effect on the first mate. These flames are just to make things easier for me!" Ace's voice came from all directions, making it impossible to tell where his real body was.

At this moment, Ace had become one with the flames; he was the flames, and the flames were him.

“Not bad, your Devil Fruit ability has improved a lot! However, I remember I should have told you that the strength of your own body determines how far you can go. Devil Fruit ability is always just icing on the cake!” Reina smiled slightly and with a wave of his hand, Hyōrinmaru appeared in his hand.

Hyōrinmaru is the strongest ice-attribute Zanpakutō, perfect for dealing with fire.

Seeing Reina summon Hyōrinmaru, Ace's expression became even more serious. However, the move he was about to unleash was not so easy to deal with.

"Freeze a thousand miles!" Reina swung the Hyōrinmaru in his hand, and countless wisps of cold air scattered outwards, dispelling much of the surrounding flames.

"Emperor Flame - Great Flame Ring!" Reina's icy power made Ace tense. He stopped dodging, revealed his true form, and gathered the surrounding flames together, slowly forming a huge fireball.

Chapter 1041 Reina Without the Sharingan

Seeing the enormous fireball in Ace's hand, Reina smiled slightly and immediately activated Hyōrinmaru's Bankai mode, merging the giant ice dragon with Reina.

Ace held up a huge fireball and threw it at Reina.

Reina, who was holding the Hyōrinmaru, disappeared from the spot.

"Boom!"