00012. Ace vs Marcus.

After they woke up Sabo and took an hour long break, Ace and Marcus were told to enter the ring. Inside the ring Ace nodded in respect to Marcus as he said, "I'm still surprised to be fighting you instead of Sabo. But after watching you fight, I won't underestimate you. So you better be ready."

Marcus smiled while he unsheathed his sword before he took a stance and said, "That's all I wanted."

Garp glanced at both boys with his arm in the air as he asked, "Ready?"

When both boys nodded, he dropped his arm as he said, "Fight!"

Both boys launched themselves at each other, with small dust clouds left in their wake. When they met in the middle of the ring, their blades slammed together, causing a small shock wave to erupt from their clash which cleared the dust away.

For a second the boy's weapons went slack, their hands numb from the brutal impact of blades. Ace recovered first as he clenched his weapon tighter and used his superior strength to overpower Marcus, forcing him to disengage from their first exchange. 

Ace followed quickly with a new attack which Marcus barely dodged as Ace's naginata whistled past his head. Ace then pushed forward with another quick slash, forcing Marcus to dodge again as he retreated from the older boy's relentless assault.

Time quickly passed by as Ace aggressively attacked and forced Marcus to retreat, while giving him no openings. Ace was using his strength and weapons added reach to completely dominate the other boy during the fight. 

While Marcus seemed to be at a disadvantage, Bogard and Garp noticed what was happening. Marcus was using Ace as another whetstone like he did with Sabo. The longer the fight went on, the faster Marcus improved.

More time passed and Marcus could easily dodge or parry any attack Ace sent his way now. At that point both boys were covered in sweat and Ace was starting to get winded. Marcus on the other hand was using his breathing technique, causing his breathing to be slow and steady compared to Ace.

A few minutes later and Marcus finally counterattacked for the first time, catching Ace off guard. Ace barely blocked the attack in time, but still retreated a few steps as he tried to reset himself.

Marcus also stepped back after the attack and casually reset back to his defensive sword stance. Ace carefully watched Marcus while he took the chance to catch his breath. Before Marcus slowly switched to an attacking stance and smiled as he asked, "Is it my turn to attack now?"

Before Ace could reply, Marcus dashed forward to attack. Ace swung his naginata as soon as Marcus entered his range which caused his weapon to clash against Marcus's sword blade.

Marcus forced his way past the blow before entering attack range for his sword. He quickly lashed out with his sword forcing Ace to jump backwards away from the incoming attack.

Marcus then quickly followed behind Ace and attacked again landing a shallow attack on Ace's shoulder. When Marcus pressed forward with another attack, Ace didn't retreat and blocked with his weapons staff instead.

With their weapons locked together, Ace leaned down closer to Marcus before he head butted the other boy in the face.

Blood spurted from Marcus's nose as he stumbled backwards in a daze and Ace's naginata slammed into his left side. 

Marcus leaned towards his injured side as Ace followed up with an attack to his head, knocking Marcus to the ground.

Ace then relaxed his guard and looked towards Garp, waiting for him to declare him the winner. After a few moments Ace glanced back down to see Marcus as he started to stand back up.

Ace shook his head as he said, "Stay down, unless you want to be hurt some more."

Marcus focused his gaze on Ace as he smiled, his face and teeth covered in dirt and blood as he said, "You think I'm hurt? My grandpa hits harder than you."

"Bwahahaha, You're damn right I do." Garp said in a proud tone of voice.

Ace clenched his jaw slightly as his eyes narrowed, before he moved his weapon back into an attacking posture and said, "Fine, have it your way."

Ace instantly attacked with an overhead slash at the other boy, who stepped back out of the way. When Ace's naginata finished its arc, Marcus stomped on the weapon and embedded the blade in the ground.

Using the weapon as a foothold, Marcus leaped towards Ace with an overhead slash of his own. Which forced Ace to let go of his weapon as he desperately dodged the incoming attack.

When Marcus landed on the ground he quickly adjusted his position to stay in between Ace and his fallen weapon. Marcus easily settled into an attacking stance, while Ace attempted to move around Marcus to reach his weapon.

A quick slash from Marcus forced Ace to retreat instead, before Marcus moved towards him. Over the next little while it was a cat and mouse game as Marcus kept attacking, while also keeping Ace from reaching his weapon.

After enough time passed, Ace grew frustrated not being able to attack and decided to fight Marcus with his fists instead. As Ace charged towards Marcus, the boy waited till Ace was already in his range before he attacked.

Marcus's sword whipped down towards Ace, who punched towards the flat side of the blade attempting to parry the blow away. Marcus adjusted his blade mid swing causing Ace to punch the blunt edge of his blade instead.

A crack rang out and Ace yelled in pain as he pulled his right hand away. Ace attempted to disengage from Marcus who anticipated the action and stepped closer as he attacked again.

Marcus's sword caught Ace on his left shoulder making the older boy groan as he leaned forward slightly from the blow. Marcus used the opportunity to grab the back of Ace's head with one hand and slammed his face down onto his rising knee.

Blood erupted from Ace's nose after the impact, while Marcus released his grip on the back of the boy's head. Making Ace fall forward onto the ground while Marcus stepped out of the way.

Marcus glanced down at his opponent for a moment before he walked back over to his starting position. After half a minute Ace slowly stood back up, his face a bloody mess and almost a mirror to Marcus.

Ace locked eyes with Marcus before he raised his right hand and tested it a few times by making a fist. Once he was satisfied, he walked towards his weapon to pick it up. Never once losing eye contact with Marcus as then shared an unspoken desire to continue the fight.

With his weapon in hand Ace moved back to his starting spot and ready himself to fight again. After a few moments both boys nodded at each other before they launched themselves at each other for the second time.

A massive explosion of sound erupted from the middle of the ring as the boy's weapons clashed this time. Instead of contesting over strength though, both boys pulled back before attacking again.

Dust kicked up from the middle of the ring as the clanging of weapons repeated over and over again. Each attack met by an equal counter, followed by another attack. At first the trades were equal, but slowly Marcus started to gain an upper hand with each attack as his skill with his sword began to show.

Ace attempted to use his increased strength to counter Marcus's skill, but it was a losing battle and after a while Marcus finally landed a shallow blow on Ace's left arm. While weak, the attack caused Ace to lose the next exchange and another glancing blow was landed by Marcus.

Within a few moments Ace was forced to drop his weapon as his left arm could no longer hold it properly. When that happened, Marcus stopped his next attack and pulled back as he asked, "Do you wanna give up or keep going?"

Ace shook his numb arm a few times as he said, "I'll only stop when one of us is unconscious on the dirt."

Marcus smiled as he said, "I was thinking the same thing."

Marcus then moved back to his starting position again and waited for Ace to move back to his own. After a minute or so, Ace was able to move his hand freely again, so he picked up his weapon and moved back to his spot. Once both boys were ready, they nodded to each other before rushing at each other again.

As they clashed together in the middle of the ring, Garp glanced at Bogard and asked, "Who do you think is going to win?"

"Based on skill alone, Marcus already won."

Garp nodded as he asked, "And not based on skill?"

"Marcus. Ace might be stronger, but he is having a hard time catching his breath, while Marcus is barely breathing hard at all."

Sabo glanced up at Bogard as he asked, "If that's the case, how come Marcus always does subpar in our spars? He never beat me or Ace and would normally tie with Luffy in most fights."

"Ya, me and Marcus normally tie in our fights. How come he beat Sabo?" Luffy asked with a frown as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

Garp chuckled as he said, "He was hiding his true strength, so everyone would underestimate him. While also getting a good gauge on everyone else's strength."

Bogard nodded along as he said, "When Garp announced the contest, both you and Ace only looked at each other as a threat. But you never put in any extra effort to win. The same goes for you Luffy."

Bogard glanced down at Luffy and Sabo while he pointed at Marcus as he said, "He pushed himself past his limit everyday and would train till he was about to collapse each night. That's why he'll win today."

As they talked, the battle between Marcus and Ace picked up pace. Marcus's sword turned into a blur of motion as he repeatedly attacked Ace, forcing the other boy to desperately defend. It took a little while before Ace was no longer able to keep up and an attack made it through his defense.

Marcus's sword whipped down through Ace's guard and grazed his left shoulder, numbing his arm and making movement difficult. As Ace struggled to raise his weapon back up, Marcus's sword struck his left elbow, almost forcing Ace to drop his weapon completely.

As Marcus moved in for another attack, instead of trying to block or parry again. Ace decided to trade blows instead and attacked Marcus with a blow aimed at his side. Marcus, seeing what Ace wanted to do, started to laugh as both their attacks landed on each other.

While Marcus took some damage, Ace still lost the trade with his left arm now hanging uselessly by his side. Ace gritted his teeth, while using one hand to lift up his weapon before he attacked again. Marcus accepted the challenge head on and didn't dodge the incoming attack as he struck out at Ace again.

Blows were traded between the two boys and before long they were covered in bruises and blood. Ace was using his naginata to help him stand, while Marcus held his sword with only his right hand. Both boys locked eyes with each other before Ace said, "You're not going to win."

"Says the guy who can barely stand." Marcus said with a bloody smile.

Marcus raised his sword up into position as he said, "This is the end."

Ace pushed himself off his weapon and struggled to raise it up as he said, "For you."

Ace wrestled with his weapon moving it to attack as Marcus moved forward and swung his sword down. Marcus ended up being faster and his sword slammed into Ace's head before his naginata could reach the other boy.

Ace lost consciousness and fell to the ground with his weapon as Marcus raised his sword up and yelled out in victory. When he finished his yell, Marcus collapsed on the ground unconscious.

Garp couldn't help but smile as he looked at the two boys. While it wasn't the best fight or even the smartest one he ever watched. He was proud of his grandsons, they both pushed themselves to their limits.

Bogard let out a sigh before he said, "Their idiots, just like you."

Garp started to pick in his left ear as he asked, "What are you talking about?"

"They both take after you. If Ace pressed the advantage when he had it, he would have won easily. If Marcus didn't decide to trade blows with Ace, he wouldn't be injured right now."

Bogard glanced at Garp as he said, "Your whole family is full of idiots."