Rematch with Ace

Chapter 158: Rematch with Ace

Even with Haki, Rodney couldn't land a hit on Ace because Ace transformed his head and disintegrated it to avoid Haki attacks. Although he might not possess Observation Haki, Ace could anticipate direct attacks and preemptively transform to avoid them.

Ace's flaming fist struck Rodney's body, causing no pain but propelling him away with great speed, sending him flying into the air.

Ace regenerated his head and smirked, "God Fire: Unknown Fire!"

He waved both arms, condensing flames into two fiery spears that flew toward their target.

"Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!" Rodney retaliated.

A water pillar extinguished the flames, and Rodney landed on the ground, snorting, "Ace, let me see how you escape this time!"

Placing his hands on the ground, Rodney exclaimed, "Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!"

Within a 500-meter radius centered around him, the ground trembled violently.

"Hey! What kind of Devil Fruit power do you have?" 

Ace stared in amazement at everything happening before him, finding it all so unreal. Could this be a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit awakening? But what kind of Devil Fruit allowed control over so many elemental abilities? Robin and the other veteran crew members above, observing the spectacle, commented, "The captain needs to go all out."

Isabella: "??"

The newcomer had no idea what was about to happen. Robin explained, "The captain possesses the ability to manipulate terrain and control energy. Creating this kind of terrain is evidently for his strategic advantage."

As she finished speaking, they heard Rodney's triumphant shout below, "Water Release: Exploding Torrent Wave! Ahhh!"

A colossal wave surged out of nowhere, hurtling toward Ace.

"What is this? How can you control water?" Ace questioned. He retaliated with "Mirror Flame!"

Massive walls of high-temperature flames formed, temporarily blocking the water's assault. The interaction between the flames and water vaporized the surroundings, turning the pit into a scorching, blurry mess. Ace grabbed onto a protrusion in the earth wall, preparing to climb upward.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

The water dragon broke the surface, ferocious and determined to drag Ace into the depths.

"Fire Fist!"

Ace's flaming fist shattered the water dragon, but a kunai flew toward him and landed beside him. Rodney, pulling a wire, flew over. 

"Chidori!"

The crackling sound of electricity filled Ace's ears, startling him. He quickly dodged as Rodney's entire arm sank into the earth wall.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Ace asked, perplexed.

"I didn't use Haki either!" 

Rodney grinned, his teeth gleaming unusually bright in the sunlight. Ace glanced at him and realized that he was standing on the earth wall, which was now as flat as the ground.

This can't be right, it was a pit!

Can we stick to objective reality here? If someone sees this, they'd be in tears! Rodney added, "Even if I were lying in a coffin with no body, I'd shout with my soul's voice, 'Show some respect for my research!'" 

Rodney ran over as if running on flat ground and threw Ace down below.

"Wow!" 

Ace splashed around in the water, looking like he had lost his abilities.

Rodney jumped down and stood on the water's surface, speechless. "This is water I created with my energy. There's no curse of the sea here, so what are you afraid of?"

Ace finally realized he still had his abilities and wasn't weakened. He awkwardly smiled, "My bad, it'll take some getting used to!"

"Then Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"

A water sphere materialized around Ace, trapping him. Looking down from above, Robin raised an eyebrow. If she remembered correctly, she had once experienced this move.

That Captain of theirs!

In the water, flames clearly lost their effectiveness, effectively countering Ace's Devil Fruit abilities. However, he still had his physical strength, and his body wasn't much weaker than Rodney's. He threw a punch, breaking the water prison, but when he attempted to attack Rodney, he realized that Rodney had turned into a puddle of water and merged with the surrounding water.

"Ninja Art: Hiding in Mist Technique!"

Thick fog enveloped the bottom of the pit, with only Aisa and Kona, who possessed Observation Haki, able to perceive what was happening. Aisa smirked, "A water clone made of... energy?"

Just as they were talking, Ace felt his throat tighten as a powerful arm wrapped around it. Simultaneously, something grabbed his legs as he tried to escape. There were no fish in this water!

Wait, there was someone in this water!

It was Rodney's clone, and Ace turned green as he realized it. Another clone? But Ace was completely outmatched in the water, and he was pulled under. Struggling for just a few moments.

Ace: "Gurgle gurgle!"

He sank completely, and Rodney walked out of the water, saying, "Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!"

The ground surged again, throwing Ace aside as he gasped for air. Rodney asked, "Isabella, perform water rescue!"

"No need to rescue; he won't die." 

Isabella approached Ace and, with a puzzled expression, explained, "His physical condition is excellent. Just help him vomit the water from his stomach." She walked to Ace's side, her 10-centimeter high heels pressed onto his abdomen, then applied pressure.

"Ugh... Splutter!!"

Ace expelled a mouthful of water and woke up. Rodney squatted beside him and asked, "Convinced yet?"

"What kind of abilities do you have that keep popping up? What kind of Devil Fruit power do you possess?"

"I have a Paramecia-type Chakra Fruit. Eating it allows me to generate five types of chakra energy: wind, thunder, water, earth, and fire. But it still needs further development," Rodney earnestly explained.

Ace widened his eyes, "Are there Devil Fruits like this? And why didn't you suffer in the sea earlier? I remember you falling into the sea once, and you just climbed out immediately."

"Oh, that? I used chakra to envelop my body and prevent it from touching the sea. It's a basic application of chakra, including walking on water, even though it defies physics." 

Chakra appeared visibly on his hands, and he casually went on, unaware that Isabella was listening intently, completely unaware that he was making up nonsense.

Robin and Reiju, who knew the truth, couldn't hide their perplexed expressions, but they kept smiling.

Isabella frowned and asked, "Captain, if that's the case, why do you have to spit things out of your mouth every time you use your power?"

"Chakra needs a place to be released, and the mouth is the most suitable. I'd use my hands, but it's not the best for unleashing the full extent of my power." 

Rodney shook his head and said, "Alright, Ace, from now on, whenever someone from the Whitebeard Pirates shows up, you leave. Or, if my house has been altered in any way, you fix it. Fortunately, Robin's books are in another building; otherwise, she'd kill you!"

"That's true. Mr. Ace, you're really lucky. Otherwise, you'd be living with the captain."

"Sigh, when did my status drop so low?"

"It's always been like this."