Chapter 457: The Unraveling Fuse: Ace and Blackbeard’s Confrontation

Back on the ship, Luffy watched as the others returned and immediately called for everyone to set sail.

No one really understood why Luffy was suddenly in such a rush, but with the Buster Call taken care of, now wasn’t the time to ask questions.

With a booming shout from Franky—”Coup de Vent!”—the ship blasted toward Water 7.

…

But the real spark was ignited in silence, unnoticed by all.

On a deserted island near Jaya!

“Captain, today’s newspaper.”

“Hahahahaha, they’ve really pulled off something huge!”

“Hey, check this out, it’s news about Straw Hat! According to the report, they stormed Enies Lobby. Their bounties are going to skyrocket.”

Van Augur said, “Speaking of Enies Lobby, Water 7’s sea train is famous all over.”

“And it’s not far from here, either.”

Lafitte smiled, “That’s what you call fate.”

Doc Q sighed, “To think they’re actually within our range. Poor, unlucky souls.”

Jesus Burgess hefted a sack as tall as a man, stuffed full of the loot they’d plundered from this little island, and roared, “Ahahaha, let’s go, Captain!”

Though this deserted island near Jaya had a few hundred villagers making their homes here, not a single soul made it out alive.

“Get ready to set sail. We’ve got work to do!” Teach kicked aside the body at his feet, swaggering in his wide-legged gait toward the shore.

With a vacancy among the Seven Warlords, now was the perfect time—swap Luffy for a seat at the table, and his plans could finally move forward.

Just as Teach had barely taken a few steps, a familiar voice called down from above.

“Hey, Teach! I’ve been looking for you forever.”

The sound froze Teach in his tracks. “Uh!”

He quickly turned his head to the right.

Standing before them, perched on the rooftop, was none other than the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates—Ace, watching Blackbeard and his crew from above.

This all happened as Luffy and his crew returned to Water 7, inviting Franky to join them and spending three days ashore before setting sail again.

Now, on Banaro Island in the Grand Line, near Jaya.

“Oh! Captain Ace!”

Seeing a familiar face, Teach eagerly stepped forward.

“Can it, Teach. I’m not your captain anymore, not after what you’ve done. That’s for when you show respect—save it!”

Lafitte chimed in, “So, you’re Fire Fist Ace.”

“That’s right. Nice to meet you,” Ace replied.

He then glanced down at Teach. “And now you’re quite the captain yourself, huh?”

“Captain Marshall D. Teach of the Blackbeard Pirates.”

“Come on, Ace!”

“Sasibi ridana!”

“So? How’d you know I was here anyway?”

Teach spread his arms, even managing a hint of joy, as if greeting an old friend.

Ace pressed his hands together, mocking him. “Let’s cut the nonsense, Teach.”

“You’ve lived longer than most, there’s no way you don’t get what’s going on here.”

“Right?”

Teach never lost his smile—he knew exactly why Ace had tracked him down. “Ah, wagada!”

“Let me ask you one last thing, Ace: How about joining me?”

“Let’s conquer the world together. I’ve already mapped out my path to supremacy—Whitebeard’s time is over!”

“I’m going to be King of the Pirates. First step? Take out Straw Hat Luffy at Water 7, present his corpse as a tribute to the World Government.”

In the whole pirate world, only Blackbeard truly fit the title—ruthless, stopping at nothing to become King of the Pirates and achieve his own ambitions.

He could chat calmly with strangers and kill in the middle of a conversation—this was Teach, Blackbeard in every sense, a true pirate.

Ace looked genuinely shocked for a moment, his brow furrowing. “You said Luffy? How do you know him?”

“Oh! You know him too?”

Teach never expected Ace to know Luffy—after all, Luffy was a rookie straight out of the Four Seas while Ace hailed from the New World. How in the world could they know each other?

“Now, even more, I can’t let you go.”

“He’s my little brother!”

“And anyway, there’s no way I’d ever…”

Whoosh!!

Sniper Van Augur raised his arm and fired a shot, but the bullet passed right through Ace’s chest without so much as scratching him.

Teach’s smile faded as he shot Van Augur a glare. That shot cut their conversation short.

He’d wanted to draw Ace into his own camp, but with a single gunshot, that chance was gone.

“Hey, Teach! You’ve got a rude crew member here!”

“Fire Gun!”

Ace straightened up, hands shaped like the number eight as he fired a rapid barrage of flaming bullets at Van Augur.

A hail of fire bullets chased Van Augur as he scrambled across the ground to dodge.

Burgess hefted half a collapsing house, leaped into the air, and hurled it down at Ace.

Ace halted his attack, planting his hands on the rooftop. “Fire Ring—Flame Pillar!”

A pillar of fire erupted toward the sky, blasting the shattered house into pieces.

“Augur! Burgess! Stop jumping in without orders!”

“You two can’t beat that man on your own—fall back.”

All of Blackbeard’s handpicked men were strong, but none had mastered Armament or Observation Haki. Against Ace they didn’t stand a chance, and if any of them died he’d truly regret it.

“Fire Fist!”

A massive fist of fire sent Blackbeard’s crew flying.

Blackbeard ended up right in front, taking most of the flames. And since he’d eaten the Dark-Dark Fruit, the pain was twice as strong—even this small blaze sent agony searing through him.

“Captain!”

“Captain!!”

Burgess and the rest scrambled to their feet, ignoring the embers still clinging to their clothes as they rushed to help Blackbeard snuff out the flames.

“So hot! So hot! So hot!”

Ace leaped down, stepping over the house he’d blasted apart and heading straight for Blackbeard.

“So hot! So hot! So hot!”

“Captain!” Lafitte called, shedding his coat and beating at the flames on Blackbeard’s back.

“All of you, fall back.”

As the flames on his body were finally put out, Blackbeard saw Ace storming over and quickly sat up.

Lafitte and Burgess stood guard on either side, keeping their eyes fixed on Ace as he drew near.

Blackbeard put on his best act, rolling around on the ground and playing weak, hoping Ace would lower his guard as he smothered the lingering flames.

Getting up, Teach said,

“Ace, you really want to kill me, don’t you?”

“Not that I blame you—killing crewmates in the Whitebeard Pirates is a grave crime. I did kill Thatch, the Fourth Division Commander.”

“But I had no choice! He found the Devil Fruit I’d been after, and the rule on the ship is: whoever finds it gets to eat it first. I’d memorized every shape from the fruit encyclopedia.”

“The moment I saw it I knew it, it was the fruit I’d dreamed of.”

“Honestly, all those years on Whitebeard’s ship… it was just ‘cause the best chance to get that Fruit was with them.”

“If luck hadn’t been on my side, I’d have let it go. But that Fruit… it landed right in my friend’s hand.”