Chapter 81: Ace's Conqueror's Haki
West Blue - Unnamed Island - Jungle's Edge
Sunlight filtered through the canopy, dappling the two figures who had just emerged.
"Snifffle..."
An absurdly large man sniffed, his dull eyes slowly focusing on Luffy. He was covered in blubber, but his legs were as thin as sticks. His long, blond hair was tied into two ridiculous-looking braids.
Most notably, he carried a massive bisento (glaive) that was even taller than he was.
Next to him was an old woman who looked like a grotesque caricature. She was barely knee-high to the giant, wearing a leopard-print coat, garish lipstick, and huge sunglasses.
"Where did this old hag come from?!" Luffy blurted out.
"YOU BRAT!!!"
Miss Bakkin shrieked, her voice cracking with rage. "How dare you speak to the great Buckingham Stussy like that?!"
She squinted, noticing Luffy's Marine-in-training uniform. "Heh... a Marine brat. They're like cockroaches, everywhere!"
She slammed her gold-plated cane on the ground. "Weevil!"
"Mama!" The giant's head snapped toward her, a vacant, terrifying grin on his face.
Bakkin's withered finger pointed straight at Luffy. "Kill him. And while you're at it, crush every other brat on this island!!"
"Okay, Mama!"
Weevil hefted his bisento and charged, the ground shaking with every step.
Luffy, finally realizing the danger, tried to turn and run back to the beach—
But Weevil was impossibly fast.
FWOOSH!
A giant, calloused hand clamped around Luffy's waist, lifting him off the ground like an iron vise.
"Ugh... Let me go!!" Luffy struggled, but the man's brute strength was overwhelming!
"Iron Fist!"
Luffy, coated in Haki, smashed his fist into Weevil's face. The giant just took the hit, his expression unchanged.
"It hurts!!" Luffy stared in shock, his best punch having done nothing!
"LUFFY!!"
A meteor of blue-white fire tore through the trees!
"FIRE FIST!!"
Ace burst from the jungle, his flaming punch smashing squarely into Weevil's head!
"BOOM!!"
The giant's head was completely engulfed in the explosion!
"Did I get him?!" Ace landed, staring at the smoke.
But—
"Snifffle..."
The smoke cleared. Weevil was completely unharmed. Not even his hair was singed.
"Mama... he hit me, too..." Weevil whined, like a child who'd been bullied.
Bakkin just cackled. "Then tear their heads off and hang them from the ship!"
"Okay!"
Weevil charged, his aura explosive!
Ace's pupils shrank. "This guy's power... is on a completely different level!"
(Moments earlier, on the main beach...)
"BOOM!!"
Ace's final attack sent the last of the pirates flying. He landed, shaking out his smoking fist, and grinned. "Done."
Nearby, Zoro sheathed his swords, looking over the dozens of unconscious pirates. "They werena't much."
Ain and Binz had also finished, their Devil Fruits having easily neutralized the remaining crew.
High above, Zephyr stood on a rock, his arms crossed, watching. He finally gave the order: "Good work. Clean up the battlefield and secure the prisoners!"
"SIR!!"
But just as they were about to move—
"Hm?"
Ace suddenly frowned, looking around. "Wait, where'd Luffy go?"
He spread his Observation Haki, but it was still too untrained. He couldn't get a lock. "Weird... he was right here."
A knot of anxiety tightened in his stomach. An invisible string seemed to pull his attention toward the deep jungle.
"FWOOSH!"
He didn't wait. Blasting fire from his feet, Ace shot off like a rocket, a streak of fire heading into the trees!
"Ace?!" Zoro yelled. "Where is he going?!"
Zephyr also sensed the shift. His own, god-like Observation Haki instantly flooded the entire island.
"!!!"
His eyes snapped open behind his sunglasses. His face went pale.
"Luffy is in the jungle?! And... two other extremely dangerous auras!!"
His expression turned to a grimace. "Damn it... what is a monster of that caliber doing in the West Blue?!"
BOOM!
The rock he was standing on exploded as he launched himself toward the jungle, a blur of motion!
"ALL HANDS, ON ALERT!! NO ONE MOVES A MUSCLE!!"
(Back in the jungle...)
KRAK—!!
Weevil's giant hand tightened, and the sickening sound of bones being crushed echoed through the trees!
"AAAAAAH!!!"
Luffy screamed, his face contorted in agony, as blood sprayed from his mouth!
"LET HIM GO!!!"
Ace, his eyes wide with terror and rage, exploded. His entire body burst into a column of blue-white fire. "BLAZING SUN!!"
"BOOM!!"
The massive pillar of fire slammed into Weevil's chest, the heat so intense the surrounding trees instantly vaporized!
But as the fire faded... the giant was still standing.
"Snifffle..."
"Mama... he's using fire on me."
"Hmph..." Bakkin sneered. "Then kill his little brother!"
Weevil nodded. His grip tightened. Luffy's struggles stopped. His eyes rolled back. He was suffocating.
"I SAID... LET HIM GO!!!!"
Seeing Luffy go limp, Ace's mind shattered. He roared, and the flames around him went wild, an uncontrollable force erupting from deep within him!
"BOOOOOOOOOM—!!!"
A wave of invisible energy exploded from him! The ground cracked, the jungle was flattened, and a wave of pure, terrifying pressure washed over the island!
Conqueror's Haki!
"What?! Conqueror's Haki?!!"
Even Bakkin, standing behind Weevil, was shocked, her knuckles white on her cane. "A Marine brat... with the 'King's Ambition'?! A kid this young?! Impossible!!"
"Thud!"
The force of the blast actually pushed Weevil back a step. He stumbled, surprised, and his grip loosened, dropping the unconscious Luffy to the ground.
But the outburst had completely drained Ace. He fell to one knee, gasping for air, his body spent.
"Luffy..." he choked out.
"Damn it!" Bakkin shrieked, her voice full of a new, genuine fear. "Weevil! Kill him! Kill him NOW! We can't let him live to grow stronger!!"
Weevil roared, raising his massive bisento high over the kneeling, exhausted Ace.
The blade fell.
"It's... over... Sorry... Big Bro..."
Ace, his vision blurring, watched the steel descend, too weak to even move.
"GET THE HELL... AWAY FROM MY STUDENTS!!!!"
"BOOOOOOM!!!"
A fist, wreathed in black Haki and crackling with thunderous rage, smashed into the side of Weevil's bisento!
"CLANG!!!"
The metallic explosion was deafening. Zephyr, his sunglasses shattered, his eyes blazing with a cold fire, stood over Ace and Luffy, his knuckles smoking from the impact!
Weevil, his massive body thrown back three steps, his arms numb from the shock, stared at the purple-haired old man.
Zephyr, his "Justice" coat in tatters, was radiating pure, unadulterated fury.
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