So Jimbei the Warlord attacking the Spade Pirates was an act sanctioned by law. He could say that he was an assassin sent by the World Government to eliminate Ace for refusing their offer, and it would all check out. But Jimbei stood at this moment as an individual, a fish-man, for his own personal reasons.
Ace had been under observation on Fish-Man Island ever since his encounter with Aladdin. Jimbei had made sure his people knew to keep an eye on him.
He’d started off as just a dangerous rookie, but Portgaz D. Ace had made clear his intention was to take Whitebeard’s territory. So they had trailed his ship all the way from Fish-Man Island to this point. Fish-men could swim, after all.
The ensuing battle lasted four whole days and continued into the morning of a fifth.
It was a battle to the death—a conflict of life against life, one grinding the other down until each side was nearly snuffed out.
Jimbei was a master of fish-man karate. The secret of that martial art of the Ryugu Kingdom lay in having control over water. Its blows were not simply bludgeoning impacts, but rather sent their force in waves through the moisture in living bodies, trees, the ground, and even the atmosphere.
Ace, on the other hand, wielded the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit. He could transform his own body into fire. It was a Logia power, a seemingly invincible force of nature, but that did not mean there was no way to counteract it.
In a fight with one worthy of being in the Seven Warlords, such weaknesses would eventually show—and now, after so much battle, Ace’s breath and flame were both feeble enough that they were close to being snuffed out. He had collapsed on the ground.
“Huff, huff…”
“Huff, huff…”
The same was true of Jimbei. His clothes were burned and the expanse of his ten-foot bulk was exhausted to the point of inertia, like a fish beached on land.
It’s been five days, and still neither of them has the upper hand! At this rate they’re both going to die!
The Spade Pirates had no option but to keep their distance and observe a battle that was far beyond their capacities. It was a valuable glimpse at just how powerful their captain was.
They’d seen the true measure of his fighting ability in vivid detail. But the counterpoint to their amazement at the skills he had demonstrated was their dread at the sheer strength, stamina, and willpower of the First Son of the Sea, who could battle so dauntlessly against Ace without the aid of a Devil Fruit power.
Are there more like this in the New World? Those with even greater power than this, in fact?
“I’m…I’m gonna go stop him.”
“What, Master Deu?”
They’d been hanging back and watching the battle for days, but the tension of that alone had left the crew exhausted. Deuce marched up to Ace and Jimbei, who had both collapsed in a stalemate. The ground beneath them was scorched and riddled with holes.
“Ace. You alive?” asked Deuce, glancing briefly at Jimbei just in case. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’ll say it anyway. I’m going to help you now.”
“Eh!”
Apparently, Ace was just barely conscious. He couldn’t move. Ace had Logia powers—had he ever suffered so much damage to his physical body before?
A Warlord and a man who refused to be a Warlord.
It seemed their battle was a peculiar clash of characteristics in which each participant’s strengths negated the other’s. If it were an exhibition of fighting arts, this would be considered a weak match, indeed. And both men were incredibly tough. As a fish-man, this could be expected of Jimbei, but Ace proved himself to be nearly superhuman in stamina as well.
“I’m going to pick you up, and we’re going to get out of here.”
“Deuce…” Ace muttered in protest. But he didn’t have enough strength left to brush his crewmate away.
“If you’ve got complaints, I’ll hear them later. I can’t have you dying on me now. For the sake of your honor, I’m just going to be honest: you picked the wrong opponent,” Deuce said, lifting Ace up to lean on his shoulder.
“Let…go! I still haven’t finished fighting…the big guy…” rasped Ace. But when he lifted his head, he and the rest of the Spade Pirates saw the last thing they were expecting.
Yet they should have expected it. It was the man they were waiting for. The very man they had come here to ambush.
“Ah!” Deuce gasped.
Beyond the pale mist of the morning was a vast shadow, as big and round as an Island Whale. But this whale did not bellow a whale call. This whale had a mast sticking out of its back—and it sidled up to the coast like a ship. An enormous ship.
“Who is it that’s come to take my head? Then have at it! I’ll take you all on!”
Standing at the prow of the ship like a hunter over his white whale was the king of the New World.
“That’s the Whitebeard Pirate Crew.”
“I can handle this myself.”
Thud! The man struck the edge of the ship with the blunt end of his weapon—a long, spear-shaped blade called a naginata. A shock wave crackled through the air.
The naginata had to be twenty feet long. It looked like a ship’s mast in his hand.
And the stature of the man called Edward Newgate, Whitebeard himself, was nearly as towering.
He had the look of a ruler of the seas.
The Spade Pirates were overwhelmed. They were paralyzed with fear—some felt their spirit broken, and fell to their knees.
There was a gust of wind, and a shock wave like a slash through the air cut by a master swordsman tore through the Spade Pirates.
Screams.
The sound of his companions’ voices brought clarity back to Ace’s hazy consciousness. He pushed Deuce away and stood on his own. The masked man stumbled backward to where the rest of the crew waited.
“Step down here! I’ve come to take you out!” Ace howled, his body battered and bloodied. He barked like a stray dog, calling all attention to himself.
Whitebeard unleashed another swing. This flying slash grazed Ace and plunged through the crewmates behind him.
“Eeyaaaaah!”
“Guys! That’s it…the Flame Fence!”
Fwoom! A wall of fire many feet tall rose up just behind Ace.
The sudden roar of flame whipped up the air, blocking the brunt of Whitebeard’s gusts from passing through.
“Captain!”
“Captain Ace, what are you doing?!” shouted his men from beyond the flames. With the Flame Fence blocking their way, they couldn’t rush forward to help Ace, either.
“Run! All of you!” Ace shouted.
Whitebeard watched in silence. Eventually he mocked them: “What, chickening out now?” First the youngster talked trash, then he started beating a retreat? The great pirate was a bit disappointed.
“Let my men go!” said Ace, staring Whitebeard down. “In exchange…I’ll stay here until the end!”
Ace was the captain. This battle was something that Ace sought for himself.
At this, for the first time, the legendary demon that was Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, revealed his human side.
He chuckled, “You little sprat. You think you’re man enough to take me?”
“Graaaaah!!”