OP: The Flame Pillar Of Justice

Private Third Class Vivi was assigned to Hina's ship and sent back to Marineford for the time being.

Vivi had wanted to bring her aide Igaram with her, but due to his strong insistence, she was unable to stop him from heading off to join Prince Nefeltari Mamba.

All 1,800 members of the Millions were arrested under the charge of being employees of the criminal organization Baroque Works.

To detain them all, Marine HQ sent ten prison ships, more than enough to handle the load.

Rengoku gathered permanent navigation logs, a Transponder Snail, and Seastone handcuffs before sending the main battleship back to Marineford from Alabasta.

Brrrrr. Brrrrr.

Clack.

"Justice!"

"Where is Portgas D. Ace right now?"

"Sir! He's currently resting in an abandoned village on the western outskirts of the Alabasta Kingdom!"

"The western outskirts of the kingdom, in an abandoned village… Got it."

"Yes, sir! As for Fire Fist—ahh!!"

Suddenly, the face of the Transponder Snail contorted in pain and panic before changing to a much more cynical and laid-back expression.

"Eh~ What's this? I've had a tail this whole time?"

The snail now mimicked a sarcastic tone and expression.

"Portgas D. Ace, I presume?"

Rengoku could already tell who it was, but asked again for confirmation.

"Yeah, that's me. I don't really care who you are, but I'd appreciate it if you stopped tailing me. I'm kind of busy right now."

"What happened to the Marine you were speaking to?"

"Oh—him? Hey, you still breathing?"

"Ugh... My apologies, sir…"

"I didn't kill him. I'm not trying to escalate things unnecessarily. Whoever you are, just stop tracking me."

"Ensign Maharil! Fire the flare!"

Even though Ace was on the line, the nature of a Transponder Snail meant that the communication could still be overheard by everyone listening.

Rengoku took advantage of this and immediately gave an order to the injured Marine nearby.

"Yes, sir!"

Maharil's faint response could barely be heard.

And just one second later, Rengoku looked up and spotted a red Marine flare erupt in the distant northeast sky.

It was far—so far, in fact, that the trail of the flare looked like a single thin line high above.

"Sky Running!"

With that shout, Rengoku launched himself into the sky, shifting direction midair and rapidly stomping his feet to accelerate.

The thud-thud-thud sound of Geppo echoed like a machine gun, and within moments, Rengoku reached the spot where Ace and Ensign Maharil were located.

"Heh~ What do you know, you were pretty close by after all," Ace remarked as Rengoku arrived, not even a minute after the flare went off.

At Ace's feet lay Ensign Maharil, unconscious and bloodied.

"Did you kill him?"

"No. Like I said—I'm busy. Just knocked him out."

Flames began to flicker and dance across Ace's body.

"Honestly, I've got no interest in fighting a Marine officer right now. I've got something important to take care of."

"Something important? What could a pirate possibly have to do that's so urgent you'd go out of your way to shake the Navy off your tail?"

"That's none of your business. Let's just walk away from this clean, alright? You tend to your wounded Marine, and I'll go take care of my business."

Ace's tone made it clear—he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

Beating up a few Marine officers was no big deal to him. But right now, he had found a crucial lead, and wasting time was not an option.

But that was only from the pirate Ace's perspective.

"Wanted for 550 million Berries. Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, 'Fire Fist' Portgas D. Ace! I'm afraid I'll have to arrest you here and now!"

Rengoku drew his Enrin Kitetsu blade from his waist in one smooth motion.

"…Tch. I'm seriously in a hurry right now."

Ace took off his hat and set it down beside him, then cracked his knuckles in preparation for the fight.

"Care to tell me your name first?"

"Vice Admiral of Marine HQ—Flame Pillar Rengoku!"

"Ohhh, so you're that famous Flame Pillar people have been talking about lately? Let's see whose fire burns hotter—Fire Fist or Flame Pillar!"

Ace immediately clenched his right fist and launched a flaming punch with intense heat.

"Fire Fist!!"

The flame condensed into a massive blast, like a focused laser beam of fire shooting forward.

If it hit clean, it would be far from a simple scratch.

"So this is the attack that earned you the title 'Fire Fist'…"

Rengoku raised his blade high above his head, adopting an upper stance.

His sword was instantly enveloped in a coating of black Busoshoku Haki, transforming it into a Black Blade.

Just as Ace's fire blast reached him, Rengoku swung down with full force.

"Black Blade – Logia Split!"

SLAASH!

The laser-like blast of fire was sliced clean in half.

The split flames veered off in two directions, torching several abandoned buildings behind them.

"…What the hell?"

Ace's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He had seen people power through his Fire Fist attack before—but never cleanly bisect it like this.

"Logia users may be powerful, but they have their weaknesses!"

The technique Black Blade – Logia Split didn't work on actual elements of nature, but on Logia-produced substances, its effectiveness was undeniable.

As Ace retracted his fist, Rengoku changed to a low stance, inhaled deeply, and charged in.

"Flame Breathing, First Form—"

"Unknowing Fire!"

Rengoku darted in like a bullet.

Ace couldn't counter in time.

He squeezed every ounce of strength in his muscles to duck under the slash and rolled away to reposition behind Rengoku.

Then, spreading both hands wide, he pointed all ten fingers at Rengoku's back—and unleashed a barrage of flames.

"Fire Bullets!"

From all ten of Ace's fingers, a barrage of high-compression fireballs shot out simultaneously, racing toward Rengoku's back.

But they couldn't lay a scratch on him.

"Flame Breathing, Fourth Form—"

"Blooming Flame Undulation!"

A fiery arc erupted from Rengoku's Enrin Kitetsu, forming a massive circular wall of flame around him.

The hundreds of fire bullets fired from Ace's fingers were all absorbed and blocked by this blazing curtain.

"Tch!"

"Flame Breathing, Sixth Form—"

"Crimson Cross Sun!"

Rengoku tore through the wall of fire, swiftly closing the distance and slashing down at Ace from above.

The speed was blinding. Ace hastily coated his arms in Armament Haki and raised them in a defensive stance.

But—Rengoku's first descending slash was a feint.

Despite the downward force and momentum, the blade slipped from Rengoku's hand mid-swing and hovered briefly in the air, leaving the slash empty—just a distraction.

The second slash came in sideways—from below.

Rengoku caught Enrin Kitetsu again mid-motion and struck with a horizontal sweep that was twice as fast as the first. A deep gash instantly bloomed across Ace's chest.

Flame Breathing, Sixth Form – Crimson Cross Sun.

A dual strike technique that mixes feints and real blows in the form of a cross.

The vertical slash could be real or fake. Same with the horizontal one. Or both could be real. Or neither.

The key was connecting the two—feint and strike—with the enhanced physical control developed through Flame Breathing.

"Ghhk!"

Wounded, Ace retreated backward to create some distance.

But Rengoku didn't miss a beat.

"Flame Breathing, First Form—"

"Unknowing Fire!"

With a powerful burst of leg strength, Rengoku dashed in once more and swung down with his sword.

Ace realized he had neither the time to dodge nor block.

So he extended both arms forward—and unleashed a swarm of green-tinged glowing embers.

"Firefly Formation – Fire Daruma!"

The tiny, glowing specks—like fireflies—ignited in rapid chain explosions, bursting all around him.

Since it was a Logia-based ability, the blasts didn't harm Ace himself.

"Did I get him…?"

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