"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Fire Fist!"
Sasuke quickly formed hand seals, inhaled deeply, and exhaled a massive fireball.
Fwoosh—!!!
The heat wave rolled out like a tidal wave, catching Ace's attention.
He was genuinely surprised—how could someone spit fire like that?
But in terms of sheer power, this fireball wasn't inferior to his own.
Ace's right arm ignited as he transformed it into a blazing inferno, flames writhing with immense heat.
Then—he punched forward. A column of fire shot out from his extended arm, erupting into a fiery fist.
The two fire attacks collided midair—
Boom!
—a massive explosion of flame surged outward.
Ace leapt into the air.
"Fire Gun—!!"
He shouted, index and middle fingers extended like twin pistols aimed straight at Sasuke.
From his already-elemental hands, the flames surged even more fiercely.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!!!
Flaming bullets pierced the air, racing toward Sasuke.
But the purple chakra surged around him.
Buzz—
A towering skeletal figure formed—
Susanoo had taken shape!
The bullets struck the half-formed construct, but all were blocked by the violet avatar.
Seeing this, Ace narrowed his eyes and swung his arm.
"Flame Ring!"
Boom—!!!
A wave of fire burst from his limbs, circling him like a blazing barrier.
Whoosh!
In that moment, Sasuke reappeared below him, hands flashing through seals.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
ROOOAAR!!!
A serpentine dragon made of fire erupted upward.
"Flame Pillar!"
Ace's surrounding fire barrier surged downward like a fiery jet cannon.
In terms of raw output, Sasuke was being overwhelmed.
But now—
His eyes spun with the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Tch."
Sasuke clicked his tongue coldly.
Then, dark flames coated the exterior of his Fire Dragon Technique.
"Flame Control: Kagutsuchi."
His left eye closed. His right eye—the Mangekyō—glowed.
In an instant, the dragon-shaped flame and the pillar of fire collided again—
Boom!!!
Ace's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Black flames…?"
"What kind of power is this?!"
This power—it wasn't something he had ever seen before.
The black fire surged forward, devouring both the fire dragon and the flame column with ease.
Even worse—
The black flames climbed the flame pillar like a curse, racing straight toward him.
In a flash, they were already within striking distance.
Ace's expression changed drastically.
"Even my Flame-Flame Fruit powers… are being eaten?!"
He didn't hesitate.
He dodged.
BOOM—!!!
As Ace retreated, the loss of output caused his flame pillar to collapse.
Sasuke's black-flamed fire dragon burst through, spiraling into the dark clouds above.
Clatter—
Ace landed hard, staring upward at the sky, eyes still wide with lingering dread.
"Too dangerous..."
"That black flame… even if I go full-elemental, it might just burn me faster!"
"There's no choice... I'll have to try that technique."
Crossing his arms over his chest, Ace bent slightly forward.
"Great Flame Commandment—Flame Emperor!"
Buzz—
The moment he spoke, a flaming circle ignited at his feet.
The fire coiled upward like a snake, wrapping around him completely.
The ground scorched.
A vortex of flames spiraled, then ignited with wild intensity.
It grew—
Until it took the shape of a massive, burning orb—
Almost like a miniature sun.
Ace held it aloft with one hand.
His expression was grim.
"Now… even that cursed black fire can't travel up this kind of flame."
Sasuke only sneered.
"Heh... clever. But pointless."
Zzzzzap—!!!
Ace's pupils shrank.
"Thunder…?!"
"That strange power again?!"
But Sasuke didn't reply.
He leapt into the air.
Buzz—!!!
Purple chakra surged from his body.
Susanoo grew, bones knitting into form.
A giant skeleton towered in the sky.
Then, flesh took shape—
Karasu Tengu armor layered over it like divine warplate.
Complete Susanoo.
Sasuke stood atop its head, his arm raised.
Lightning converged—
Chidori began to crackle in his palm.
BOOM—BOOM—!!!
At the very moment Sasuke raised his hand—
From within the thick, ominous clouds overhead, a deafening roar of thunder erupted.
Ace instinctively stepped back, again and again.
His heart skipped a beat.
The "Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor" he had just formed shattered instantly.
Despair crept into Ace's eyes.
Lightning flickered wildly across the heavens.
But that wasn't all.
Blood trickled from the corners of Sasuke's eyes.
Kagutsuchi.
And then—the ultimate Lightning Release technique.
"Lightning Style: Kirin!!"
When the massive silhouette of a thunderbeast emerged from the dark clouds, time seemed to freeze.
Even on the execution platform—
Dracule Mihawk and Vista, locked in their duel; Senju Tobirama and Marco, overwhelming their opponents—
All stopped and turned their eyes skyward.
The Qilin's arrival was that awe-inspiring.
Its presence—its power—was overwhelming.
Even the combatants on the battlefield below noticed the thunderbeast streaking across the sky.
The terrifying technique caused none other than Uchiha Madara to glance upward.
"Hmph… so the kid finally brought it out."
"This Lightning Release is dangerously refined."
"I wonder who taught him something like that."
Tobirama nodded slightly in appreciation.
"This show-off brat… not bad. Using Lightning Release to draw directly on the power of natural lightning—that's a high-level technique. You could even call it the pinnacle of Raiton."
By contrast, Mihawk's and Vista's pupils shrank.
Even for those with Observation Haki, reacting to something that fast was no easy feat.
And to defend against it?
Nearly impossible.
After all, Ace couldn't even hold the Flame Emperor form once the Kirin appeared.
The outcome was already sealed.
Even if he tried to dodge using elemental transformation, the black flames still lingering in the sky would consume him.
Sasuke looked down coldly.
"The name of this technique is… Kirin."
The thunderbeast let out a roar that shook the heavens and the sea.
Its oppressive pressure was suffocating.
Then—
The Kirin landed atop the fully-armored form of Susanoo.
Its burning red eyes locked onto Ace far below.
"Vanish in the thunder."
Sasuke's voice was calm. Final.
The words had barely fallen—
KIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNN——!!!
The Kirin roared again, then raised its head and flew back up into the clouds.
Its enormous body vanished into the dark sky—
Only to be followed by even more intense flashes of lightning that lit up the ruined island beneath Marineford.
Then, Sasuke lowered his arm.
His hand, cloaked in Chidori, came crashing down.
BOOOOOM—!!!
The sound of thunder was so loud it momentarily deafened everyone.
The blinding light stole away their vision.
Mihawk instinctively raised Yoru, blocking the lightning's aftershock.
His heart shook with disbelief.
Even he wasn't sure he could withstand that level of raw destruction.
"This… this isn't the power of some random ability," he muttered.
It was nature itself—harnessed and weaponized.
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
Amidst the chaos, Rock Lee alone remained entirely unfazed.
He lashed out with a powerful kick—
His target: a dumbfounded idiot frozen by the appearance of the Kirin.
CRACK—!!
The fool was sent flying through the air—
—Right toward Ace.
Just pure coincidence.
BOOOOOOM—!!!
The Kirin shifted, its body rising, then vanishing in an instant—
Only to reappear directly in front of Ace.
"AHHHH—!!!"
The idiot collided headfirst into the path of the Kirin.
"LUFFY!!!"
Ace cried out, completely losing control.
BZZZZZT—!!!
Then, something unbelievable happened.
The Kirin struck Luffy dead-on—
Yet nothing happened.
"…Huh?"
Even Sasuke's eyes widened slightly.
Luffy, now lying on the ground, scratched his head and looked at the stunned Ace.
Then turned to glance at Tobirama Senju, Vista, Mihawk, and the others.
"…Ace? What's wrong with you?"
Even Sasuke, the caster of the Kirin, was dumbfounded.
If Enel had been here, he might've spontaneously produced a dozen shocked emojis.
Tobirama stared blankly at the rubber-brained idiot.
"…Rubber Man?"
He narrowed his eyes, then shook his head thoughtfully.
"No... If the voltage is high enough, even rubber will burn. And the heat from such a high-pressure strike should be enough to melt through it."
He exhaled slowly.
"But it seems... this world holds powers beyond what we understand."
"Troublesome…"
From below, Shikamaru blinked slowly, still processing what just happened.
"Why does this feel so unreasonable?"
Shikamaru sighed from the sidelines, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Well… whatever. This is seriously troublesome. Sasuke's definitely going to lose it."
As expected—
Sasuke's expression twitched.
He could hardly believe it. Kirin, his ultimate Lightning Release technique, had been blocked—
and so easily.
A single vein bulged near his temple.
The Complete Susanoo stirred, its colossal form rumbling like a mountain come alive.
Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan bled freely now, his vision blurring with fury.
"If you blocked one—let's see you block another!"
He roared.
Instantly, Amaterasu activated.
The Susanoo raised its sword—long, jagged, and now completely engulfed in black flames.
Simultaneously, Sasuke unleashed Fire Release: Kagutsuchi—manipulating the shape of the black flames.
Hundreds of Amaterasu-infused kunai rained down like a hellish version of the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.
"Get out of here first!" Ace shouted.
He grabbed Luffy and flung him out of harm's way.
Then, his body flickered—elementalized into pure flame.
With both arms ablaze, Ace hurled fiery punches upward, trying to intercept the rain of black flame weapons.
But Sasuke was losing his grip.
The shinobi no longer cared about showing off ninjutsu finesse—he was piloting Susanoo like a raging Gundam, wildly slashing and firing Amaterasu without restraint.
One flicker of black fire caught Ace.
He screamed as the cursed flames clung to his arm, refusing to go out.
"Ace!!"
Luffy's voice rang out in panic.
But just then, a green blur appeared in front of him.
Rock Lee.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke," Lee said, bowing his head slightly. "I shouldn't have kicked that idiot into your technique."
"But now—" Lee's eyes narrowed seriously.
"I'll handle the payback on your behalf."
Before Luffy could even respond—
"Gear Second!!"
Steam burst from his body.
Luffy knew now wasn't the time to hold back.
Even if his elemental abilities could mitigate damage, Lee's pure taijutsu bypassed that advantage through sheer force.
BOOM—!!!
Luffy's rubbery legs inflated for a moment—
Then compressed like springs.
Hissssss—!!
White steam gushed out. His skin glowed reddish. Blood surged, veins pumping under pressure.
"Tch… Bastard."
Rock Lee observed calmly.
He raised his right hand, sizing up Luffy.
"Rubber Man, huh?"
"Pure taijutsu might not be ideal against that… but I won't hold back."
Fwoosh—!!!
In a flash, Luffy vanished.
His movement blurred—fast enough to resemble the Marines' Soru technique.
But Lee had already removed the weights on his ankles.
Everyone nearby felt the sudden shift.
"Jet Pistol—!!!"
Luffy's fist, pressurized and coated in blood, extended with explosive force toward Lee.
WHOOSH—
But the next instant—
Lee disappeared.
Luffy's attack missed.
Sensing something behind him, he immediately tried to move—
But too late.
A massive force slammed into the back of his head.
BOOM—!!!
Lee's fist landed squarely.
Luffy's head snapped forward from the impact—his neck stretching unnaturally from the rubber elasticity.
But even while staggering—
Luffy twisted his spine, spinning his body midair.
"Jet Whip—!!"
His leg came sweeping back around toward Lee in a brutal counterattack.
...
TN:
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