Ace demonstrated his indomitable spirit.
At the critical moment, relying on his exceptional combat awareness and agility, Ace managed to evade Lancelot's fatal strike.
However, despite this, he did not escape unscathed.
Originally, Lancelot's bloody maw had been aimed at Ace's entire body, but thanks to Ace's timely dodge, Lancelot only managed to clamp down on one of his arms.
Even so, the impact and tearing force were staggering.
In an instant, blood splattered everywhere as half of Ace's arm was brutally torn off.
"ARGHHH...!"
Unbearable pain washed over Ace like a tidal wave, and he let out a heart-wrenching roar.
The agony of losing an arm was like ten thousand arrows piercing his heart, causing his entire body to tremble uncontrollably.
His face turned deathly pale in an instant.
But true warriors never yield easily to pain.
Despite suffering such a severe injury, Ace did not lose his fighting spirit.
On the contrary, he reacted with unimaginable speed.
He spun around abruptly and, with his remaining arm, unleashed his ability—raging flames burst forth from his palm.
These flames seemed to possess a life of their own, rapidly converging and intertwining. In the blink of an eye, they formed an enormous fist of fire.
This fiery fist burned intensely, radiating terrifying heat and a blinding glare.
Then, accompanied by a deafening booming sound, Ace unleashed this devastating counterattack without hesitation.
Its speed and power were truly staggering.
As expected, the massive fist of flames struck Lancelot's hideous face with tremendous force.
The overwhelming impact sent Lancelot's enormous dragon head snapping to the side.
Simultaneously, his body lost balance and crashed heavily to the ground, stirring up clouds of dust.
"Huff... huff..."
In the air, Ace clutched his broken arm tightly, his chest heaving like bellows.
Each breath carried heavy gasps and pained groans.
Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, quickly soaking his clothes.
A dense layer of cold sweat glistened faintly on his brow under the sunlight.
Despite enduring such severe injuries, Ace never took his eyes off the scene below.
He stared intently, his gaze filled with determination and resolve, as if trying to pierce through the swirling dust to see what was happening beneath.
Unfortunately, the thick curtain of dust completely obscured his vision, making it impossible to discern Lancelot's condition on the ground.
But this wasn't an insurmountable problem for Ace.
As a Logia Devil Fruit Ability User, he excelled at executing large-scale, powerful attacks.
Taking a deep breath, he endured the excruciating pain from his broken arm and suddenly swung his remaining arm.
Instantly, the power of the Mera Mera no Mi activated, and a brilliant flash of fire erupted.
As Ace swung his arm, raging flames rapidly converged, forming a towering whirlwind fire wall reaching a thousand meters high in the blink of an eye.
This fire wall resembled a roaring dragon, sweeping toward Lancelot's impact point with thunderous momentum, spinning and burning wildly.
This technique, named "Flame Circle," was one of Ace's signature moves.
Once activated, it wouldn't cease until the enemy was reduced to ashes or the flames dissipated naturally.
Its extreme temperatures could melt mountains and earth, making its power truly terrifying.
"BOOM..."
A deafening explosion echoed, and in the next instant, a figure shot out from the raging, all-consuming flames!
His speed was like an arrow released from its bow, closing the distance in an instant, leaving no time to react!
The figure was none other than Lancelot, who instantly appeared before Ace.
Before Ace could even react, Lancelot's hand clamped onto his head like an iron vise.
Simultaneously, a chilling, fearsome aura emanated from Lancelot.
Crackling blue electricity sparked around his palm, forming a dazzling ball of lightning out of thin air!
Meanwhile, a layer of pitch-black Armament Haki rapidly surfaced across his body, spreading outward and intertwining with the lightning in Entanglement.
Thus, Ace, who was held firmly in Lancelot's grasp, was completely unable to use his elementalization ability to evade the attack.
The powerful Armament Haki tightly sealed the surrounding space, leaving him with nowhere to escape.
As a result, Ace was forced to endure this strike head-on.
The combined damage from lightning and Armament Haki was utterly terrifying.
"Pfft..."
A mouthful of blood immediately sprayed from Ace's lips, the crimson liquid tracing an arc through the air before splattering onto the ground.
Simultaneously, his eyes instantly grew dim and lifeless, the focused gleam that had been there vanishing without a trace.
His entire body seemed to lose consciousness as he went completely limp.
At this point, Ace had lost all combat capability.
As for Lancelot, he too appeared somewhat disheveled.
His body bore numerous burn marks... Had it not been for his current physique being even more formidable than Kaido's, he would have long been reduced to ashes by this attack.
'Weak.... the Flame-Flame Fruit?'
'Weak, my ass!'
Only those who have experienced it firsthand truly understand its terror.
He had nearly been roasted alive just moments before.
He then carried Ace toward the Flower Capital.
Although Ace had only lost an arm, without treatment, he could easily bleed to death.
Secondly, there were two more individuals in the Flower Capital.
Kurozumi Orochi and Kurozumi Semimaru.
One was the current shogun of Wano Country, an Ability User of the Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Yamata no Orochi form.
The other was a Paramecia Ability User of the Barrier-Barrier Fruit.
How could trash like Kurozumi Orochi form an alliance with Kaido?
Because of the Kurozumi family behind him?
Don't be ridiculous!
The entire Kurozumi family combined wasn't even a match for Jack alone.
So why would Kaido tolerate garbage like Kurozumi Orochi?
It was precisely because Kurozumi Semimaru was a Paramecia Ability User of the Barrier-Barrier Fruit.
This Ability User might not possess overwhelming strength, but he undoubtedly had the strongest defense.
To this day, no one has been able to break through this fruit's defense.
Perhaps Whitebeard, who could shatter space itself, might stand a chance...