Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for only $7 to get early access to upcoming chapters!
> > Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations <<
----------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 34: A Huge Increase in Strength!
A rhapsody of fire and wind!
There was no deafening explosion.
Just an eerie silence.
The moment the burning firebird and the verdant wind vortex made contact, the entire world lost its sound.
Time and space were stretched to infinity.
The next second.
RUMBLE!
A terrifying energy, impossible to describe, erupted from the point of impact!
It wasn't a simple cancellation.
The wind did not extinguish the fire.
The fire did not burn out the wind.
They... fused!
Ace's Dawn flames were wildly sucked into Sabo's Wind's Grand Ode, torn, and stretched!
And Sabo's all-cutting wind blades were dyed with Ace's scorching temperature, each one turning into a deadly blade of fire!
Wind fueling fire!
Fire riding the wind's might!
A massive, swirling fire tornado, connecting heaven and earth, was born with a roar in the center of the forest!
"WHOOOOOSH!!!"
The fire tornado let out a sharp howl, spinning madly, sucking everything around it into its vortex!
Thick trees were torn out by the roots, burned to charcoal in mid-air!
Rocks from the ground were pulled in, letting out a piercing shriek as they melted into scalding magma!
The entire clearing was turned into a hell of destruction!
"WAAAAAAAAAH!"
Luffy, in the distance, was sent tumbling by the violent shockwave. He desperately held onto his meat leg, blown more than ten meters back, and only stopped when he slammed into a large tree.
"Cough, cough! So... so hot!"
He winced from the heat, but his eyes were wide, staring at the heaven-and-earth-spanning fire tornado. His mouth was open wide enough to fit a fist.
And the creators of this terrifying scene.
Ace and Sabo.
They were still holding their attack poses, but their bodies were trembling violently.
Thud.
Sabo's knees buckled. He fell to one knee, using the pipe in his hand to support himself, barely keeping from collapsing completely.
Sweat soaked his top hat, dripping down his cheeks.
His chest heaved. Every breath was a searing pain, his lungs feeling as if they were torn.
"Hah... hah... hah..."
On the other side, Ace wasn't in much better shape.
His legs were weak, and he swayed, finally collapsing onto his butt.
The flames on his body had completely extinguished. His eyes, which had been burning with fighting spirit, were now filled with nothing but extreme fatigue.
Exhaustion.
Complete exhaustion.
Both Ace and Sabo were just children.
That attack, which had pushed them beyond their limits, had drained all the elemental power from their bodies, and their physical stamina along with it.
After raging for more than ten seconds, the fire tornado finally lost its support and weakened. With a final boom, it exploded.
The sky was filled with burning embers and charred wood chips, like a rain of apocalypse.
The clearing was unrecognizable.
A giant crater, over thirty meters in diameter, was left in its place. The edges were still smoking, reeking of a pungent, burnt smell.
Ace and Sabo looked at each other from a distance.
They both wanted to see a wretched look on the other's face, but in the end, all they saw was the same exhaustion as their own, and... an unconcealable acknowledgment and shock at each other's power.
"You..."
Ace panted, cracking a weak smile. "You're... not half bad..."
"You too..."
Sabo, leaning on his knees, struggled to stand, only to collapse again. "You're... a total barbarian..."
Neither could say another word. They just gasped for air.
It was a draw.
Or rather, a mutual defeat.
"WAHH!!!"
Just then, Luffy's energetic shout broke the silence.
He bounced out from behind the tree, still holding the half-eaten meat leg, his face filled with unstoppable excitement!
"That was so awesome!!!"
Luffy ran to the center of the clearing, dancing like a monkey. He looked at the giant, charred crater, his eyes sparkling!
"Ace! Sabo! That thing you just did! What was that! It was so cool!!"
He ran up to Ace, jumping up and down.
"Next time! Let me join in next time!"
Luffy held up his half-eaten meat leg, his face full of naive anticipation.
"The three of us will fight together! It'll be even cooler!"
The moment he finished speaking.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!!"
Two voices, though extremely weak, erupted in a hysterical, unified shriek.
Ace, sitting, and Sabo, kneeling, both used all their strength to shake their heads frantically at Luffy, identical looks of terror on their faces.
Their expressions held a hundred times more fear than when they had been facing each other's ultimate moves!
Luffy's smile froze.
He stopped jumping, tilted his head, his face a mask of question marks.
"Eh?"
"Why not?"
He asked innocently, looking completely aggrieved.
"Why not?!"
Ace was so angry he almost couldn't breathe. He pointed a trembling, soot-covered finger at Luffy.
"You idiot! You have the nerve to ask why?!"
Sabo also pushed himself up on his knees, his face a mask of painful, haunting memories.
"Luffy... I'm begging you... That thing you do... it can't be called 'sparring'..."
Ace took over, roaring, "That's f*cking called 'unilateral demolition'! You call that sparring?!"
"Who was it last time who said he'd 'show us his new ability,' and then threw out a small, red, round thing?!"
Sabo's face turned green. He pressed his temples, feeling his headache returning.
"That thing called Jumpy Dumpty! It bounced seven or eight times on the ground! It dodged all the trees and rocks! And then it perfectly bounced right back to our feet!"
Ace got more agitated as he spoke, nearly jumping up from the ground.
"If I hadn't reacted fast and kicked it away, you would have sent both of us to kingdom come!"
Sabo added, "And then that thing flew off and set half the mountain on fire! The two of us spent all afternoon putting it out!"
Luffy blinked. He tried to remember, then grinned a goofy smile.
"Mmm... But..."
He stuffed the last bite of meat into his mouth and mumbled.
"That was fun..."
"FUN YOUR ASS!!!"
Ace and Sabo roared in unison once again.
They looked at each other. In the depths of their exhausted eyes, they saw a shared terror, a terror that had been completely dominated by Jumpy Dumpty.
They would rather trade ultimate moves with each other for three hundred more rounds than ever "spar" with Luffy again!
Absolutely not!