"Vice Admiral! What are you doing?" Isuka cried out, her mind reeling. "Weren't we in negotiations? Why—"
"Negotiations?" Draw cut her off without even turning his head, his voice cold as steel. "They're over." He stared directly at Ace, a cruel smirk twisting his lips as he shrugged off his Marine coat. "You refused the offer in person. As a Marine officer, that gives me all the justification I need to arrest you right now, 'Fire Fist' Ace!"
As the coat fell away, it revealed that his powerful forearms were outfitted with complex machinery, terminating in wide, jet-like nozzles. He crossed his arms and pressed a switch. With a low hiss, the mechanisms activated, and the black muzzles aimed directly at Ace.
"Come on!" Vice Admiral Draw roared, his stoic demeanor cracking to reveal a manic glee beneath. "Let's see whose fire is stronger, boy! Mine, or yours! Hahaha!" Hot, orange-red flames began to burn at the nozzles.
With a wild laugh, he unleased a torrent of fire. He swept his arms in wide arcs, and the flames poured out like a liquid tide, instantly engulfing the surrounding slum houses. The dry, dilapidated structures went up like tinderboxes, forming a raging sea of fire in seconds. The children Ace had fed just moments before were now trapped, their joyful faces replaced with masks of terror as they screamed, unable to move forward or back.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing!?" Ace bellowed, raw fury surging through him as he watched the inferno spread. "Are you insane!?"
"Insane?" Draw's eyes were wide with fanatical light. "Don't be absurd. I'm merely creating a perimeter to ensure that you evil pirates have no means of escape! Hahaha! I advise you not to struggle in vain!"
Realizing that reasoning with the man was impossible, Ace said no more. He turned and sprinted toward one of the burning houses, the crackle of the flames loud in his ears. He had to save the children first and settle the score with this monster later. At the same time, Deuce began frantically searching for a water source, anything to combat the blaze.
But Draw was no stationary target. He would never miss an opportunity to press his advantage against a pirate. He swiveled his arm, aimed his flamethrower squarely at Ace's back, and fired another vicious stream of fire.
Feeling the blazing heat coming at him, Ace had no choice but to stop and turn, throwing his arms out as his body transformed into fire to meet the attack head-on.
Draw's manufactured flames were incredibly powerful, and the force of the blast held Ace in place, preventing him from moving forward. But he didn't dare move aside. If he did, the house behind him—and the children inside—would be instantly incinerated.
"Vice Admiral, stop! Please, stop!" Isuka shouted from the sidelines, her voice filled with horror. "There are children in those houses!"
"Lieutenant Isuka, assume your proper position," Draw replied coolly, his attacking posture unwavering. "I am containing the area in order to capture a dangerous pirate crew. Is there a problem with my methods?"
"Can you even call yourself a Marine anymore!?" Deuce roared, his face a mask of rage and disbelief. Seeing Ace pinned down and Draw completely unmoved, he charged from the side, throwing himself at the Vice Admiral and landing a desperate punch.
It had no effect. Draw didn't even flinch. With a contemptuous sneer, he kicked Deuce hard, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Deuce coughed, spitting dust, but refused to give up. He scrambled back to his feet and latched onto Draw's waist, clinging with all his might. He was trying to physically stop the man from aiming his flamethrower, but his actions only served to anger the Vice Admiral further.
A cold light flashed in Draw's eyes. He kept one arm aimed at Ace, maintaining the stream of fire, while he began to mercilessly smash his other elbow into Deuce's back. "Get off me, you annoying reptile!" he snarled.
This scene—the inescapable fire, the screams of trapped innocents, the monstrous man perpetuating it all—struck Isuka like a physical blow. The nightmare of her past, the day her hometown burned, flashed before her eyes. For a heart-stopping moment, she was frozen, the old terror threatening to consume her. Then, she looked at the burning houses, at the children crying inside, and something inside her snapped. She would not be a victim again.
With a defiant cry, she made her choice. She charged toward the flames, her past be damned. All that mattered was saving the innocent children who were struggling for their lives. The heat was immense, but she pushed through it, her sword a blur as she expertly cut a path through the burning debris.
"Quick! This way! Come to me!" she yelled, stretching out her scarred hand as far as it would go, her voice a beacon of hope in the roaring inferno.
Meanwhile, Deuce was enduring a brutal beating. Blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouth after several more crushing elbow strikes from Draw, but he gritted his teeth and held on.
"Let go, you damn pirate!" Draw roared, his patience gone. He delivered another vicious blow to Deuce's back.
Deuce couldn't hold on any longer. A spray of blood erupted from his mouth as he finally collapsed to the ground, his grip failing.
"Hmph. Pathetic," Draw snorted with disdain. He turned his head to adjust the aim of his other arm, only to find with a shock that not a single spark was coming from the nozzle.
"Ahem… you think… you've already won?" Deuce rasped from the ground, coughing up more blood. In his hands, he clutched two vital-looking connectors, slick with fuel. He had desperately torn them from Draw's machine—the lines connecting the flamethrower to its fuel source.
The instant the flames died, Ace appeared. He was in front of Draw in a flash, his fist already ignited and slamming into the Vice Admiral's chest at point-blank range.
The Fire Fist erupted, engulfing Draw's entire upper body in a vortex of sky-scorching flame.
"Deuce! Hang on! I'll get you out of here!" Seeing the hit land, Ace ignored Draw completely, turning and squatting down to help his fallen friend.
But as Deuce looked up, he saw Draw's hand shoot out from the flames. The Vice Admiral grabbed Ace by the head and slammed him into the ground.
"You think a little fire like yours can hurt me?" Draw's voice dripped with contempt as he stepped out of the dissipating inferno, completely unharmed. "You're dreaming!" His hands and forearms were now coated in a glistening, pitch-black sheen. It was Armament Haki.
Ace spat a mouthful of dirt and blood onto the ground. "Haki…?"
"Oh? So you recognize it," Draw mocked, glaring down at him. "Then you should know your Devil Fruit power is all but useless against me. Give up your resistance and accept the punishment of justice!" He flashed forward, his Haki-coated fist aimed to finish the fight.
"Justice?" Ace snarled, rolling to the side to dodge the blow. "A scumbag who burns children alive dares to speak to me of justice!? Are you even worthy of that word!?"
The ground shattered where Draw's fist landed. He rose slowly, his voice a low, cold monotone. "Hurting children? Don't be foolish."
"It is all because of the existence of evil pirates like you! If there were no pirates in this world, no children would ever be harmed!" he proclaimed, his eyes burning with a righteous, terrifying light. "Everything I did here was to eliminate you. In the process of capturing pirates, extraordinary measures are sometimes necessary. Everything that has happened here… is your fault!"
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