Seeing that Big Mom's injuries had seemingly healed instantly—save for her charred skin color—Ace stood frozen in complete bewilderment.
He had originally planned to take a brief rest before launching another attack to completely eliminate the Emperor, but now it appeared that opportunity had already slipped away.
Returning to the present moment, Ace stared with wide, curious eyes at Big Mom as she slowly approached him with renewed confidence.
"Mamamama! You don't even understand my abilities, yet you're so confident you can defeat me?!" Big Mom taunted while summoning several scattered Homies back to her side. A row of gleaming white teeth showed prominently against her darkened, battle-scarred face.
"That's weird," Ace muttered, scratching his head with genuine confusion. "Jerry clearly told me that if you ask enemies about their powers, they'll usually explain everything in great detail themselves."
He felt somewhat troubled that his opponent wasn't actively revealing her capabilities, but decided not to dwell on the mystery too extensively.
After all, even though he didn't know the specific mechanics of Big Mom's abilities, he had learned quite a bit about her through their extended battle and his previous encounters. He possessed a general understanding of her overall combat approach.
"No matter what kind of ability you're using, the reason you can recover is simple—my firepower just isn't hot enough yet!" Ace declared, swinging his right hand despite the persistent pain. "Then I'll just have to do it again, but this time I'll help you burn some serious calories! I'll incinerate every ounce of fat on your massive body!"
As he spoke, Ace once again commanded pure white flames to envelop his entire form, preparing for his next assault.
Zeus carried Big Mom upward before accelerating forward at tremendous speed.
In the blink of an eye, Big Mom appeared directly in front of Ace. She planted her feet firmly, leaped high into the air, executed a complete 720-degree forward roll, and brought Napoleon down in a devastating overhead strike.
Fierce winds buffeted Ace's face as the massive blade crackled with Conqueror's Haki. Thunder and fire intertwined to create a brilliant display against the night sky.
Ace extended his body and chose to evade the attack without hesitation.
The tremendous power behind this single sword strike caused the ground to explode and crack directly beneath the impact point. Fissures spread forward for hundreds of meters, and through these cracks, one could even glimpse the floors below the skull dome's main level.
"So this is what Jerry meant by 'surprisingly agile for someone so fat,'" Ace thought, the memory of his friend's words flashing through his mind. He shook his head slightly and launched his body toward Big Mom like a streak of pure light.
Ace's raised elbow crackled with Conqueror's Haki manifesting as black lightning, while the ever-burning pure white flames covering his entire body made every movement appear both powerful and majestic.
"GET LOST!" Big Mom suddenly whipped her head around and roared with earth-shaking volume, her own Conqueror's Haki radiating outward in oppressive waves.
She immediately threw a devastating punch that collided violently with Ace's lightning-wreathed elbow.
A tremendous muffled impact echoed across the battlefield as invisible shockwaves spread outward from their point of contact, generating fierce winds that swept across the entire skull dome.
"HAAAA!" Ace spun around and launched a concealed punch with his other fist, striking from an unexpected angle.
Seeing this incoming attack, Big Mom decisively released her grip on Napoleon and hastily swept her massive arm to intercept.
Another deafening collision rang out as both fighters rapidly retreated from the tremendous mutual impact.
"AGHHH! Prometheus! Think of a solution for me right now!" Big Mom screamed in genuine pain, swinging her arms frantically while shouting urgent commands.
"Whew..." Ace exhaled heavily, subconsciously taking advantage of the momentary break to manage the pain radiating through his hands.
The next second, he suddenly remembered Big Mom's mysterious recovery ability. Without another word, he immediately resumed his offensive, clearly unwilling to give his opponent any opportunity to recuperate.
"Fat old hag! Don't even think about getting a free healing break!" His hand injuries didn't affect Ace's booming voice whatsoever.
Big Mom—who had indeed intended exactly that but hadn't yet managed to execute her recovery—suddenly turned her head. Her face, twisted into something resembling a demonic mask, filled with furious rage.
"You damned little brat! I'm going to pound you into the ground!"
Seeing Ace charging directly toward her position, Big Mom opened her enormous hands and brought them down in a palm strike as heavy as a collapsing mountain.
Ace grinned with fierce determination. The flickering flames surrounding his body suddenly erupted backward like rocket propulsion. His speed increased dramatically as he flashed to Big Mom's side in an instant.
"All you can do is scream and shout, but I'm not afraid of you!" Ace flipped through the air and launched his left fist directly at Big Mom's head.
However, Napoleon suddenly materialized in her grip, blocking Ace's attack and knocking him backward more than ten meters.
Staring at the massive blade now in Big Mom's hands, Ace's eyes flashed with renewed determination. The flames enveloping his body seemed to burn even more intensely than before.
He stomped hard against the ground and instantly flew back toward the Emperor, delivering another devastating punch.
Big Mom had also readjusted her stance by this point. She countered with her own fist without any hesitation, even though the contact made her cry out in pain. She knew perfectly well that her opponent was suffering just as much.
Watching Ace get launched backward only to immediately rush forward again without pause, Big Mom laughed with dark amusement. "Mamamama! You have no other tricks left! You want to fight me to mutual destruction? You're courting death!"
"So what if I am?!" Ace shouted back defiantly, pure white flames dancing around his entire form. His eyes blazed with fury as if he had made an absolute commitment to this strategy of mutual annihilation. "As long as I can stay standing longer than you, I'll be the final victor!"
Just as Big Mom had predicted, Ace decisively launched into a violent, torrential assault.
Every punch and kick that connected with her massive body caused searing, burning agony to course through her frame. But due to Big Mom's relentless counterattacks, Ace was also being launched backward repeatedly. Blood slowly began overflowing from the corner of his mouth, splattering across his limbs and torso.
"Cavendish, what's the situation up there?"
Witnessing the shocking visual displays—along with the devastating aftershocks that caused the entire skull fortress to shake and partially collapse, even sending tremors throughout all of Onigashima—Deuce asked with deep concern etched across his features.
He had always understood that regardless of whatever tactical advantages they might secure, the individuals fighting atop the skull dome would ultimately be the ones to decide this battle's final outcome.
"The fighting is still raging with no clear victor emerging yet," Cavendish reported, shaking his head grimly. "Although those two attacks that lit up the entire night sky were definitely launched by Ace and Jerry, I can still sense both opponents' life forces and hear their voices continuing the battle."
"Well, I just hope they'll both be okay," Deuce said, taking a deep breath to calm his slightly frayed nerves before turning his attention back to the current ground-level battlefields.
The division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates were engaging Big Mom's elite children in individual duels. What should have been a relatively balanced series of encounters with mixed results had been decisively tipped by the addition of the Mink warriors led by Duke Inuarashi and Nekomamushi.
After all, there was a full moon shining brightly in the sky tonight. Even if not every member of the Mink Tribe could perfectly control themselves when entering their Sulong transformation, the fact that numerous elite warriors could skillfully achieve this enhanced state represented a tremendous combat advantage.
"Katakuri! Your chances of victory are slipping away," Marco observed with satisfaction, watching as Jozu and the other commanders pressed their attacks while nearly a dozen Sulong-transformed Minks rampaged through the enemy ranks.
Katakuri swung his awakened mochi trident toward the irritating pineapple-headed opponent before him. A brief flash of uncertainty crossed his eyes, though he concealed it expertly. "Are you really that confident in those two fighters up there?"
"Of course I am! I won't even bother mentioning Jerry—I heard you've already fought him before, so you know exactly what he's capable of," Marco replied, his eyes sparkling with genuine enthusiasm as a bright smile spread across his features.
"But Ace has always been highly regarded by Pops himself. I have complete faith that he'll be able to take over our banner and help guide the Whitebeard Pirates into this new era!"
The Phoenix's unwavering confidence in his younger brother's abilities resonated across the battlefield, even as the sounds of the legendary duels above continued to shake the very foundations of Onigashima itself.
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