Chapter 459: Clash of Fire and Darkness

Ace crashed down from the ruins, reaching up to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. This was the first time he’d ever suffered such a serious wound.

Back in the New World, with the power of his Logia Devil Fruit, he’d always been unstoppable. Aside from Whitebeard, almost no one could ever land a solid hit on his body.

“There’s another thing my Dark Gravity can absorb—the power of Devil Fruits.”

“So when I touch your body, you Devil Fruit users can’t use any of your abilities at all.”

“Logia, Zoan, Paramecia… every overconfident Devil Fruit user in the world—I’ve got the perfect attack to leave them defenseless.”

Ace pulled himself back to his feet, face turning grim. “So as long as you don’t catch me, I’ll be fine, right?”

Blackbeard just scoffed and swept out his hands in disdain.

“You’ve already seen for yourself—nothing escapes Dark Gravity.”

“Dark Water!”

Teach thrust out his left hand again, surging gravity yanking Ace off his feet and hauling him toward Blackbeard at breakneck speed.

Just with this move alone, Teach could counter almost every Devil Fruit user out there. It was like an ultimate weapon.

“Ace, you rely too much on your Devil Fruit. So how will you escape an attack like this?”

High on a mountaintop, a middle-aged man hidden under a mysterious robe watched Ace in the fight below, an unreadable smile flickering across his face.

“Flame Commandment: Hiken!”

Pulled halfway toward Teach, Ace’s fists exploded into flames. Two pillars of fire shot out, smashing toward Blackbeard, as Ace tried to break free from the grip of Dark Water.

But even with that, Ace couldn’t stop himself from being reeled in. When Teach’s right fist hammered into Ace’s skull, the twin fire pillars punched right through Teach as well.

Boom!

Ace crashed into the ruins from the force of the blow, clutching his forehead.

“Feels like my skull’s splitting open.”

“Teach really has picked up a terrifying ability.”

“What’s this? A fire spear?”

On the other side, Teach realized the fire pillars hadn’t faded—they were still lodged in his body, burning hot, making it feel like his insides were being roasted alive.

He gripped the pillars with both hands, black mist rolling off his body as he channeled their flames, trying to absorb them.

“Cross Fire!”

A savage pillar of fire slammed into Teach just as he was sneering.

The instant they connected, thick smoke billowed from Teach’s body. Moments later, an explosion rocked the hill behind him, flattening it.

“The captain’s gone wild again.”

“Fate’s up to its old tricks.”

From a distance, Lafitte and the others watched the massive explosion erupt outside the town and started discussing it.

Ever since they’d joined the Blackbeard Pirates, it was the first time they’d seen Teach go all-out.

In the darkness, Ace and Teach were locked in a battle of mutual destruction—each hurting the other as much as themselves.

“Dark Water!”

“Flame Commandment: Hiken!”

……

Teach kept pulling Ace in, hammering his body over and over. At the same time, Ace unleashed waves of fire, burning Teach, but each time the black smoke swirling from Teach would absorb the flames instead.

The two of them traded blows like this for hours. If it hadn’t been for Ye Fan secretly helping from the shadows, Ace probably wouldn’t have lasted even ten minutes.

After all, Ace wasn’t much of a fighter up close—he had always focused on developing his Devil Fruit power.

Boom!

Teach landed another heavy punch, slamming Ace into the ruins and leaving him sprawled on the ground.

Teach reached out his right hand. “Before the darkness, everything is powerless—even someone as strong as you.”

“But the more I think about it, the more it’s a shame. Ace, join me. Be my ally.”

Teach seriously wanted Ace on his crew—a powerhouse like him with a Logia Devil Fruit would be the ultimate addition.

It would give him even more confidence in his next plan.

Besides, anyone who wants to be Pirate King needs a few real heavy-hitters on their team.

“If a man bows to power, what’s the point of living, Teach!”

“I’ll never let my life be something I regret.”

“Got it, idiot?”

Ace somehow managed to stand, wiping the blood from his forehead as his crimson eyes gleamed.

If Teach thought Ace would ever join him, he was dreaming.

Ace was more likely to take Teach down first.

“In this world, survival is victory.”

“Shame, really, Ace.”

“Then die here in the darkness!”

Seeing Ace couldn’t be persuaded, Teach decided to go all-out. He needed to finish Ace now and go capture Luffy to earn his place as a Warlord.

Back then, Teach had never actually planned to hand Ace over to the World Government.

A man who’d lived in the New World, he knew all about the connections between Whitebeard and Karl’s Pirate Crew.

If he really did hand Ace to the government, there was every chance they’d get ambushed and Ace would end up escaping.

That was the complete opposite of his true goal. After all, the world’s not just black or white—it’s endless shades of gray.

“Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor!”

Ace, strength almost gone, gave it his all for one last attack. He remembered something Ye Fan once told him—a lesson about fire’s true heat.

A massive yellow fireball appeared, tinged with eerie blue flames that sent its temperature soaring, big enough to swallow half the island.

The ground baked and cracked beneath the intense heat. Even Teach, standing at a distance, felt the temperature spike and his face changed.

“Ze-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

“Ace!!”

“Is the sun stronger, or the darkness? Only one of us can win this fight.”

Teach knew Ace was almost spent. If he could just survive this blow, Ace would be all his.

If he didn’t finish Ace now, there was always the chance for another twist.

“I choose to support Whitebeard as King!”

“There’s no way you’ll ever be Pirate King, Teach! Not a chance!”

“Ze-ha!”

“Wahhh!”

A hemisphere of yellow-and-blue fire smashed into a dome of darkness, the collision sending powerful shockwaves rippling through the nearby sea.

Even the clouds overhead were torn apart by the impact, revealing a bright, clear sky.

But even giving it everything, Ace still fell beneath Blackbeard’s fists.

Teach didn’t escape unscathed either—the overwhelming heat had started charring parts of his body.

Luckily, the power of his Dark-Dark Fruit could absorb most of the heat, stopping the charring from creeping deeper, though it still left Teach barely standing.

As Blackbeard staggered forward to finish Ace off, he was suddenly seized by the worst feeling. A looming sense of death gripped his heart.

His body stiffened. He could hardly breathe.

“Ze-ha-ha-ha!”

“I’ll trade Ace in for that Warlord seat!”