Starting with two Kamui, they raised the flag of rebellion in One Piece.

Ace was well aware of Li Mingyuan's actions in dismissing everyone else, and he suspected that the ability Li Mingyuan was about to use must have some secret.

However, he didn't care about it.

Everyone in this world has secrets they want to hide, and he is no exception.

Rather than questioning why he should hide it, Ace was more concerned about what Li Mingyuan was about to show him. In fact, because of this secrecy, he was even more excited about what would happen next.

At the same time, Li Mingyuan stood in front of Ace, looking at Ace who was staring intently at him.

"I didn't expect to be fighting a Logia-type Devil Fruit user so soon."

"I imagine this will be a very memorable experience."

Li Mingyuan replied frankly.

He gently moved his joints to relax his muscles and bones, his expression equally expectant and composed.

This was the first time for Li Mingyuan to actually fight a truly powerful and important character from the original work. Without a doubt, Ace was stronger than all the weaklings he had fought since coming to this world; in fact, there was no comparison between them.

But at this moment, looking at Ace standing not far away, Li Mingyuan felt more enjoyment and joy than nervousness.

It wasn't a life-or-death battle, just a friendly exchange.

For a former One Piece reader, what could be more exhilarating than being able to personally clash with a beloved character from the original work?

Li Mingyuan's eyes had, without anyone noticing, quietly transformed into three-tomoe scarlet Sharingan eyes.

"If it's Ace, using it should be fine, right?"

He gently touched his eye sockets and covered his eyes.

If nothing unexpected happens, the next thing to happen will be when this ability first appears in this world.

To date, he has never activated the true power of these eyes, nor has he even practiced them in private. Firstly, his eyesight is not sufficient to allow him to activate skills at will, and secondly, before finding a solution to his eye problem, he has not yet encountered an enemy worthy of these eyes' true power.

But at that moment, Li Mingyuan looked at Ace in front of him, and he was certain.

Now is the perfect time to use it.

Because it was just a friendly sparring session, there would be no danger to life even if the ability was used incorrectly.

Moreover, he will eventually have to practice using his eyes in private before facing a real enemy. After all, he can't just use his abilities without testing them at all when facing a real enemy later; that would be like having too much of a life.

As the first person to reveal these eyes, Li Mingyuan was certain that in the entire East Blue, there was no more worthy opponent than Ace at this moment, and only someone of Ace's caliber was worthy of him showing his eyes' abilities for the first time in this world.

Li Mingyuan took a deep breath.

At this moment, Li Mingyuan stopped moving his body and confronted Ace.

As both players entered a state of combat readiness, the air in the arena became almost stagnant, so heavy that it was hard to breathe.

This tense standoff continued until a sound came from the dense forest not far away.

When Nami, panting heavily, finally poked her head out of the forest and looked around at the surrounding area...

—The two of them moved together.

"Fire Fist!!"

Ace roared and unleashed a fiery punch.

The flames were far more intense and massive than those that defeated Edragor, with terrifying flames engulfing almost half of the beach.

They went all out from the very beginning!

"Fire Fist from the start? Not bad."

Li Mingyuan's Sharingan with its three tomoe clearly witnessed Ace's entire movement from gathering his strength to throwing a punch.

At that moment, Li Mingyuan chuckled and gathered his chakra in his legs.

"However, the gaps in the movements are too large; you can't hit someone with that kind of skill."

As he spoke, his legs suddenly burst forth with power.

Just before the fire fist arrived, he leaped upwards and jumped directly above the massive flames!

"What?! You dodged it!"

Ace exclaimed in shock.

"It's not just about dodging... Watch out! Getting hit can hurt."

Li Mingyuan's voice came from mid-air.

The point where Li Mingyuan landed after taking off was a place he had deliberately chosen.

Above the sea near the coast!

In an instant, Li Mingyuan's center of gravity dropped, and he assumed a posture that Ace had never seen before.

"Fishman Karate, 100-Watt Straight Punch!"

Li Mingyuan gave a deep shout.

Just as he was falling into the water, he suddenly threw an extremely heavy punch forward.

Fishman Karate is special not only because of the race that uses it, but also because of the place where fishmen can perform this skill: the ocean!

Faced with Li Mingyuan's fierce attack of a hundred-watt straight punch, the seawater in front of him burst out, just like when A Long once swung water. The water droplets were like cannonballs, quickly piercing towards Ace.

Upon seeing this, Ace's pupils suddenly contracted.

"The seawater was being fired at us like bullets!?"

"The muskets aren't powerful enough... In that case..."

Ace took a deep breath, quickly raised one hand, and at the same time, flames erupted from his body and shot into the sky.

"Mirror Flame!!"

Ace roared and suddenly unleashed a large burst of flames from his arm, which collided with the water cannon.

In an instant, the entire venue erupted in a tremendous shock, as if cannonballs were colliding.

boom--!!

Flames rained down from all directions, filling the sky.

The lightning-fast attacks were so fast that they ignited the entire stadium in the blink of an eye.

Nami, who had just peeked out from the edge of the jungle, was stunned by the fierce battle before her, her expression blank, as if her soul had left her body.

"What...?"

"Why am I here? Is this really a battle I can just stand by and watch?"

Nami murmured fearfully.

If even a ripple from this scene were to reach her, wouldn't she be finished on the spot?

That's why she said she didn't want to watch such a battle at all!

Nami clenched her fists, never before had she prayed so earnestly for the battle to end quickly.

On the other side, Ace used his Mirror Flame to neutralize the incoming water cannons.

He stood there, and suddenly noticed something.

That is, after the water sphere was dispersed by his flames, it has now formed a mist, temporarily enveloping the environment around him.

Yes.

He could no longer see Li Mingyuan.

"Oh no! If that continues, water cannons will start firing from all directions!"

Suddenly realizing something was terribly wrong, Ace abruptly bent over.

The raging flames began to expand wildly outwards from him in a vortex-like pattern.

"Fire Ring!"

Ace shouted loudly and opened his arms to the sides.

"Since we can't see it, then let's cover the entire area and attack indiscriminately!"

"I'm not the only one whose vision is obstructed by the water vapor!"

As he said this, Ace quietly listened to the sounds around him, trying to determine Li Mingyuan's current location.

However, strangely enough...

No matter how he tried to sense it, there was no reaction from his surroundings.

The spot where Li Mingyuan fell into the water was quite far from the deep sea. That puddle was the focus of Yan Jie's attention, and it shouldn't be able to completely block Yan Jie's heat wave. If a person moves, there should be a sound.

"What's going on??"

Ace opened his eyes again in surprise.

Just then, the surrounding mist gradually dissipated, finally revealing the surrounding environment.

The waterside area he had been focusing on was now completely deserted.

Conversely, on the other side of the dense forest, a man's figure stood atop a large tree.

Li Mingyuan stood at the highest point, looking down at Ace on the beach below.

"Were you a little flustered when you didn't see me just now, Ace?"

Li Mingyuan smiled.

"You bastard! You didn't even try to ambush me earlier, and you had the time to laugh at me?"

Ace, his face blazing with fighting spirit, couldn't help but retort angrily, "You really think you're being underestimated!"

"But speaking of which, it seems like you've seen through all my moves. You even managed to dodge the Flame Ring, a new technique I've never used before. Why is that?"

Ace narrowed his eyes, slightly puzzled, and said, "I didn't use it during the battle with that treasure pirate just now..."

Curious?

Li Mingyuan said calmly, "If you can defeat me, perhaps I might be willing to explain it to you."

"Although now it's time for me to retaliate a little."

Li Mingyuan had just finished speaking.

Ace suddenly noticed a strange smell coming from his surroundings.

Along with this strange smell came a sudden burst of light and heat.

"This is--!?"

Ace turned around again and looked in the direction of the sea that he had previously ignored.

As he unleashed the fiery ring, waves of heat rolled across part of the beach surface, revealing what lay beneath.

That was a bomb hidden under the sand and gravel!

Boom! !

With a loud thud, Ace felt the impact coming from nearby and his body jolted.

It wasn't until the buried shells exploded that Li Mingyuan, who had been hiding far away, finally fell from the tree.

"I've heard that the Flame-Flame Fruit's ability allows one to use the fruit's power to transform their body into elements, enabling them to burn. However, it does have other weaknesses besides seawater."

"I don't know if you're aware of this, Ace, but the Magma-Magma Fruit is a superior ability of the Flame-Flame Fruit. A Magma-Magma Fruit user can burn a Flame-Flame Fruit user."

Li Mingyuan walked up to the raging flames and raised an eyebrow, saying, "It is said that there are two possible reasons for this situation. One is that the combustion in the concept of the Flame-Flame Fruit is only a few hundred degrees, which is much lower than the temperature of magma, so it will be penetrated by the magma. The other is that the Flame-Flame Fruit is not the Fire-Fire Fruit. The fruit's effect is to enable the eater to burn rather than to produce flames, so combustion requires oxygen. Since magma is a fluid and non-flammable, covering the flames can also isolate oxygen and prevent combustion from occurring."

"So I thought, using the concept of firebreaks in firefighting, could I use an explosion to cut off oxygen and extinguish your flames, thereby injuring you?"

"...But now it seems I was overthinking it."

Looking at the figure standing in the sea of ​​flames, engulfed in flames, Li Mingyuan shook his head helplessly. "It seems there might be another reason why the Magma-Magma Fruit is effective against the Flame-Flame Fruit."

The flames receded and condensed, eventually transforming from a blurry figure back into Ace's appearance.

Ace lifted the hat on his head with his fingers and stared intently at Li Mingyuan.

"A Magma-Magma Fruit user can burn a Flame-Flame Fruit user? This is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing."

"So that's how it is. No wonder you insisted on circling around those treasure pirates on the way here, taking advantage of the water mist to plant bombs around me."

Ace chuckled, "While it's quite strategic, unfortunately, this kind of attack is useless against me!"

"Fire Ring·Fire Pillar!!"

Ace shouted again.

The flames from the earlier explosion, along with the flames released by Ace himself, all converged around Ace, and then a terrifying, burning pillar shot into the air.

Li Mingyuan made a decisive move and retreated, attempting to leave the impact range of the fire pillar.

But just then...

"Um?"

Li Mingyuan suddenly heard a sound coming from behind him.

That's the natural fluctuation of gas that occurs when a flame burns in the air.

"Firefly Daruma!"

Suddenly, Ace's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he shouted without warning.

Suddenly, the numerous small, glowing fireflies behind Li Mingyuan exploded.

Amidst the continuous flames, Li Mingyuan's entire figure was engulfed by the flames.

"Li Mingyuan!"

At the edge of the dense forest, Nami's exclamation rang out.

Ace stared at the spot where the flames were burning, glancing at Nami out of the corner of his eye, and grinned reassuringly.

"Don't worry, miss, he'll be fine."

Ace first replied to Nami, then looked at what was in front of him.

"How was it? Even though it was a deliberately controlled explosion, it'll still make you look a bit disheveled."

Ace said smugly, "You're not the only one who deliberately set up an ambush."

"Back in the mist, when I realized you might not be around, I immediately released fireflies, placing them in various locations under the cover of the Flame Ring."

Although Li Mingyuan didn't know why, he seemed to be able to predict Ace's moves in a way that was almost precognitive. However, Ace also noticed that Li Mingyuan's eyes had changed somewhat compared to his state before the battle.

If Li Mingyuan hadn't warned him not to show it to outsiders, Ace might have been like any other opponent Li Mingyuan had encountered before, not noticing anything unusual about the change in Li Mingyuan's eyes. But since Li Mingyuan had given him a heads-up, it would be a bit unreasonable for him not to notice it.

Therefore, out of a desire to give it a try, I thought of launching a sneak attack by avoiding the other party's line of sight.

Surprisingly, it was a success on the first try!

"Come on? How about it, want to continue fighting?"

"If you stop now, this sparring match could end in a draw."

Ace spoke casually, his gaze sharp, "I am fire. Apart from the sea, you currently have no way to harm me. Although it's somewhat unfair, you never had a chance to win from the start."