One Piece: The Cryo Doctor on the Straw Hat Ship

He stood at the edge of the roof tiles, his eyes, like molten metal, fixed on the black beard, the shadow cast by the brim of his hat unable to conceal the raging anger and determination within.

A gentle breeze rustled his fiery cloak, and sparks drifted in the wind.

"But it's been so hard for me to find it... Teach."

"Captain Ace!?"

After a brief moment of astonishment, Blackbeard suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, the rough sound making the windows of the shops on both sides of the street rattle.

"Thief hahahaha—!!"

"I never expected to run into you here!"

He casually tossed the supply bag he was carrying onto the ground, opened his arms, and his broken teeth gleamed yellow in the sunlight.

"What a touching reunion!"

"Shut up, I'm not your captain!" Ace's voice was calm, but behind the calm was an uncontrollable anger.

“You were no longer my team member the moment you committed your heinous crimes.”

"Oh~ Is this the famous Fire Fist Ace?" Lafayette twisted his body strangely and took a step forward.

Ace's gaze lingered on him for a few seconds before turning to the other members of the Blackbeard Pirates.

"It seems you have successfully formed your own pirate crew, Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates, Marshall D. Teach."

"Hahaha..." Blackbeard chuckled in a deep voice, "Ace, do you want to come aboard my ship and conquer the world with me!?"

"I have already prepared a meticulous plan. The era of Whitebeard is over!"

"The one who will conquer the world next... is me, Blackbeard!!!"

"Zhehahahahaha!!!!"

"asshole!"

Ace's expression suddenly changed. He leaped off the roof, flames gathering at his toes, and landed without making a sound.

He slowly raised his head, orange flames dancing deep within his pupils:

“Teach...come back with me.”

Blackbeard grinned and spread his hands: "Zehahaha... Go back? Go back where? On that old man Whitebeard's ship?"

His laughter abruptly stopped, leaving only a ferocious murderous intent on his face.

"Stop joking, Captain Ace."

"I've waited so long for this day, for the ability I've always dreamed of to appear..."

Do you know how many years I've waited on this ship?

Ace remained silent, his hands already clenched into fists, and scorching flames burst from between his fingers, distorting the air with heat.

"You killed Thatch, the fourth division commander, for the sake of a Devil Fruit." His voice was icy cold. "You should know the rules of the Whitebeard Pirates very well."

"Rules?" Blackbeard spat dismissively. "Those things are meant to be broken!"

"Zehahaha... Ace, come with me! With your strength, together we can definitely create an unprecedented storm in this era!"

Ace slowly took off his hat, gently patted off the dust, and put it back on.

The flames suddenly surged, transforming into a towering pillar of fire that enveloped his entire body.

"My answer was already decided the moment you killed Sachi—"

"Today, you must die here."

Chapter 113 Flame Wax (Seeking monthly votes~)

"Fire Fist!!!"

Ace's right arm instantly expanded, and surging flames condensed into a giant fire fist with a diameter of over ten meters, carrying devastating high temperature and impact force, and slammed towards Blackbeard.

Wherever the flames passed, the stone pavement melted and cracked, and the windows and doors of the houses on both sides shattered!

"Hahaha... As expected of Captain Ace!"

A sinister glint flashed in Blackbeard's eyes.

The next instant, instead of retreating, he advanced, and a strange darkness surged from his right fist. The darkness swirled and expanded like a vortex, forming a huge black hole barrier.

"Dark Acupoint - Devour!!!"

The moment the giant fire fist crashed into the dark vortex, it was like a mud ox entering the sea; the flames were frantically sucked into the darkness, without even a single spark being thrown out!

Ace's pupils shrank: "This is..."

"Zehahaha... Can you feel it, Captain Ace!"

Blackbeard laughed maniacally, darkness surging from his left fist as he slammed it into the ground.

"Dark Water - Liberation!!!"

boom--!!!

The flames that had just been swallowed burst forth from the ground, transforming into dozens of flaming spears that stabbed back at Ace with even greater ferocity!

"Tsk!"

Ace retreated rapidly, clapping his hands repeatedly, causing walls of flame to rise from the ground.

The flaming spear crashed into the wall of fire, unleashing a deafening roar, and the entire street was instantly engulfed in flames!

"Captain! We're here to help you!"

Bages roared, his arm muscles bulging, and he was about to charge into the battle.

"Don't move!" Blackbeard raised his hand to stop them. "This is a battle you can't interfere in."

"Everyone except Enel, step back."

"Captain~"

Van Augur hesitated for a moment, but after seeing that Lafayette and the others had already left, he finally obediently retreated.

Enel stood at the edge of the burning ruins, his soaked blond hair clinging to his scalp in the heat.

He raised a hand, a faint arc of electricity dancing on his fingertips, his voice hoarse and arrogant:

"You barbarians from Qinghai... You can't possibly be unable to defeat even a random challenger who just pops up out of nowhere, can you?"

"Hahaha... Don't underestimate the people of Qinghai, Enel!"

Blackbeard spread his arms wide, and darkness spread out from beneath his feet like a tide, engulfing everything in its path, from the ground and rubble to the burning flames.

Although he left Enel behind, it was only as a precaution.

Blackbeard may seem timid and cautious, but his arrogance is no less than that of others.

He burst into maniacal laughter at Ace:

"Captain Ace, the Dark-Dark Fruit can devour everything, including your flames! Your abilities are meaningless against me!"

"Just as V provided..." Ace seemed thoughtful, but his gaze suddenly became incredibly firm.

"Then let's give it a try—"

"Are you really as scary as V says?!"

The moment the words fell, Ace's figure vanished, transforming into a streak of blazing white fire that shot through the air before solidifying again in mid-air as a swooping firebird.

"Yanshang·Falcon!"

boom!

The firebird collided violently with the dark vortex, and the resulting shockwave completely leveled half of the street's ruins.

Blackbeard grunted, the darkness scorched by the intense heat, creating a vacuum, but he immediately grinned and clenched his fist:

"Gravity Liberation!"

The flames and rubble that had just been swallowed were all "spit out" by the darkness, turning into a torrent of flames and rocks that engulfed Ace in reverse.

Ace crossed his arms, using the flame barrier to withstand the attack, but his body was shoved back several meters by the spreading dark energy, his shoes leaving two scorch marks on the ground.

"See that, Captain Ace!" Blackbeard stepped forward, darkness gathering in his right fist. "Before the Dark-Dark Fruit, any Devil Fruit user is nothing but a lamb to the slaughter!"

“Ability isn’t everything, Teach.”

"This is a sentence I recently learned, and I'll share it with you here today..."

Ace wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, suddenly suppressed the flames around him, and charged forward with pure physical skills, his left fist wrapped in Armament Haki aimed straight at Blackbeard's face.

"Only domineering power can overcome everything!!!"

Caught off guard, Blackbeard was struck squarely in the cheekbone by the punch, staggering back several steps, blood spurting from his nose. He touched his cheek, his eyes flashing with rage:

"Hahaha... Armament Haki? That's really rare!"

"It seems you've grown quite a bit since we last met, Captain Ace."

"Didn't I already say that?"

bake!!!

Blazing flames erupted from Ace's body once more, eventually forming a scorching fire dragon that coiled tightly around his arm.

Under the influence of Armament Haki, the flaming dragon seemed to be covered in jet-black scales, with a strange blend of heat and solidity.

Ace thrust his right fist forward, and the fire dragon coiled around it raised its head, opening its sharp teeth made of flames and Haki, and fiercely biting at Blackbeard's chest.

Blackbeard's pupils reflected the approaching dragon head, but his grin widened even further.

"You've definitely gotten much stronger."

"But didn't I already say... your Devil Fruit ability is useless against me!!!"

Blackbeard neither dodged nor evaded, his arms simultaneously enveloped in dense darkness.

The darkness was not nothingness, but rather as heavy as a tangible swamp, swirling and piling up before him.

"Dark Emperor - Vortex Shield!"

Blackbeard let out a low growl, and the swirling darkness in front of him suddenly accelerated, forming a huge vortex with a diameter of more than three meters.