ONE PIECE: KAIDO'S SON

  "Asshole, that's not what I meant!"

  Ace roared, flames crackling around his shoulders as he glared at Ragnar, who leisurely pulled out a pocket-sized mace from his sleeve.

  "I'm not like some fool who goes all-out hunting rabbits," Ragnar said calmly. "You may be a famous Fire Fist, but compared to me when I was five—you're still green. This," he lifted the comically small mace, "is all I need."

  Ace's brow twitched in fury. "Okay, okay… I want to see how you defeat Fire Fist Ace with a toy!"

  He crossed his arms. Heat pulsed outward like a tidal wave, warping the air, setting the air itself ablaze. Flames surged out from his form, circling him in fiery rings.

  "Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor!"

  Above Ace's raised palm, the fire rings spiraled upward like a vortex, forming a massive fireball, glowing like a second sun—its sheer heat evaporated moisture in the air and melted the soil beneath their feet.

  Yamato narrowed her eyes as she shielded her face from the heat. "So that's the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit… No wonder you got this far."

  Ace ignored her. "Didn't you say I'm weaker than your five-year-old self? Then stop talking and try breaking this!"

  He hurled the Flame Emperor forward.

  The colossal fireball tore through the air, incinerating the clouds above and casting a red glow across the sky. The heat melted the rock underfoot and set Yamato's residence ablaze—without even touching it.

  The true core of the Flame Emperor—where all the concentrated heat and explosive power converged—was enough to melt steel and reduce giants to ash.

  Then—

  Bang!

  A mace the size of a child's palm flashed through the air. It pierced the skies like a black meteor and struck the Flame Emperor dead center.

  Time froze for a moment.

  Ace and Yamato blinked. When they looked again, Ragnar was standing calmly, one arm raised, holding the miniature mace against the heart of the Flame Emperor.

  Despite the intense temperature, neither Ragnar's skin nor the mace showed any sign of damage.

  "W-What…?" Ace muttered, his voice hoarse.

  Then, crack.

  From the mace, deep black tendrils of Haki burst forth—Advanced Armament infused with Conqueror's Haki—coiling like serpents around the massive flame.

  A sharp hum resonated in the air.

  Then—

  Boom.

  The Flame Emperor collapsed. No explosion, no dramatic burst—just… extinguished.

  The superheated sun vanished in a flicker. Not even a spark remained.

  "Impossible…" Ace gasped, stumbling back in disbelief. "That's my strongest move…!"

  Ragnar stepped forward. "Strength isn't about how much you burn—"

  CRACK!

  He vanished from view. In the blink of an eye, Ragnar reappeared in front of Ace, arm cocked back.

  "—It's about how precisely you strike."

  THUNDEROUS BAGUA!

  The toy-sized mace swelled with black lightning and Conqueror's Haki, slamming into Ace's face with devastating force.

  There was a deafening explosion.

  A burst of Haoshoku Haki clashed violently with an overwhelming impact, tearing the hardened ground into flying shards of rock and soil, sending shockwaves through the battlefield.

  "Ugh—!!"

  Ace's face twisted in pain as Ragnar's Raimei Hakke (Thunder Bagua) connected squarely with his jaw. His front teeth shattered under the force, and his scream echoed as his body was launched like a broken arrow through the air.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Ace's body crashed through multiple buildings in succession, tearing trenches through the terrain. He smashed through the banks of two rivers, uprooted trees in his path, and finally skidded to a halt in a ruined heap five hundred meters away.

  He lay amidst shattered wood and stone, blood pouring from his mouth, limbs askew, bones clearly broken.

  "Haki…?"

  His dazed, bloodshot eyes blinked through the rising dust as he struggled to comprehend what had just happened.

  "My body… couldn't turn to fire…?"

  "Elementalization didn't work…"

  Ace's laughter came out broken and hollow. "Haha… The New World… it's so damn huge…"

  His vision blurred. Consciousness was slipping.

  But just before everything went black, a deep voice echoed faintly in his ears—

  "Fire Fist… what kind of king did you say you wanted to become?"