Chapter 218: The Great Salamis Battle (IX)
When that massive ball of flame came flying in, every Marine soldier in a straight line was set ablaze!
Covered in fire, the burning Marines frantically rolled on the ground to extinguish themselves, while others tore off their uniforms to beat out the flames on their comrades. The entire Marine formation instantly fell into chaos.
It was at that moment that a small, fire-spewing boat charged straight down the cleared path.
It was a peculiar little vessel, looking more like a surfboard than a boat. At its stern stood a cross-shaped mast with furled sails, and on either side were wheel-like structures. Flames shot out from the rear. This guy Ace was actually riding this surfboard-like boat, wobbling and swaying as he charged forward.
The moment Ian saw this small boat, it felt familiar. It seemed to be the single-person boat that Ace always used in his memories. Ace used his flame abilities to power it.
But Ian never expected that this guy would actually drive his boat onto land!
Clearly, Ace's boat was out of control. You could tell from the way he was steering. Although he had cleared a path with his Fire Fist, he was wobbling all the way, knocking over quite a few Marines. When he finally got close to Ian, he seemed to try to brake, but instead took a nosedive and fell off, sending his little boat flipping into the air.
"Ah, that hurts!" Ace got up from the ground, rubbing a bump on his forehead.
Kizaru didn't really recognize Ace, so he stared at him for a while. It was only after spotting the Whitebeard Pirates emblem on Ace's back that he finally realized who this guy in the cowboy hat was.
"This brat seems to be Fire Fist Ace... a rookie pirate who's been making waves lately," Kizaru thought to himself. "I haven't heard much about him recently. I didn't expect him to join the Whitebeard Pirates... troublesome. His presence here means Whitebeard is on his way too?"
Ian also noticed the Whitebeard emblem on Ace's back. The tattoo looked freshly inked.
The boat that had flown into the air came crashing down with a thud, nearly hitting Ian. Ace laughed heartily, scratching his head and saying, "Sorry, sorry! This boat was a gift from the Old Man. It's my first time driving it, so I'm not very skilled yet!"
Ian looked at him speechlessly and asked, "How did you break in? Didn't the Marines blockade the harbor?"
Ace tipped his hat, grinning and flashing his white teeth. "I blew up a warship and charged in!"
We're trying to get out, and you're charging in... But Ian wasn't too surprised by Ace's appearance. He had already learned from Mohawk that Ace and Whitebeard were heading here, so he was mentally prepared.
But why was Ace alone?
So Ian asked, "Didn't you run into the Beast Pirates?"
"Yeah!" Ace nodded. "They've surrounded the Old Man, but they haven't made a move yet. I was worried about you, so I came alone on my boat to pick you up."
Ian could tell that Ace called the Old Man very naturally, as if he had fully accepted Whitebeard's identity.
Even though it was just Ace, he was still a powerful combatant. By now, all the members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates had gathered around Ian, Fujitora, and Ace, including Baby-5. The Marines had them completely surrounded.
At this point, over a thousand Marines had landed on Salamis Island, forming a dense sea of soldiers.
Yet none of the Dragon Hunter Pirates showed any signs of panic.
Kizaru naturally noticed this and felt a bit puzzled, wondering why Ian and his crew were so confident.
What he didn't know was that while he had gained the upper hand against Ian and Fujitora earlier, that was only because Fujitora and Ian hadn't unleashed their true power yet.
"Surrender now! You can't escape!" commanded the frontmost Marine, a man named Sentomaru.
Ian ignored him and said to Fujitora, "Old man, want to take a shot?"
Fujitora smiled and replied, "I was just thinking the same thing."
As Fujitora drew his staff sword, a faint flash of light appeared, and an overwhelming force suddenly struck the densest cluster of Marines ahead.
"Gravity Blade: Tiger!"
In the next second, the dense Marine formation was split apart to both sides by this force!
The sight was as spectacular as Moses parting the sea. Marines on both sides, crushed by the lateral gravity, were sent flying sideways.
With a single slash, Fujitora had overturned the formation of over a thousand Marines, clearing a wide path in the middle.
Ace's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He hadn't expected the blind old man beside Ian to be so powerful.
Even Kizaru was startled. When he had fought Fujitora earlier, Fujitora's ability had no effect on him, so he didn't think much of him. He had assumed Vice Admiral Tsuru's praise was exaggerated. But without comparison, there was no harm. Seeing this scene, Kizaru realized he had completely underestimated this Fujitora Issho.
"Charge out!" Ian waved his hand, and all the Dragon Hunter Pirates let out an excited shout as they pushed forward.
Ace covered the rear, also seeming excited to face so many Marines. Whenever a Marine stumbled to his feet and tried to attack, Ace would send a Fire Fist flying at them.
Ian and Fujitora stayed at the very back to hold the line, never forgetting that Kizaru was still watching them like a hawk.
"Yata no Kagami!"
Kizaru brought his hands together in a vague circle in front of him, and a beam of light shot out from there. It reflected off the surrounding buildings in a curved trajectory, and in the next instant, Kizaru followed the light path and teleported right in front of Ace!
It seemed that Ace's Fire Fist was causing too much damage to the Marines, so Kizaru decided to take him out first. Using Yata no Kagami, he appeared above Ace's head and delivered a kick aimed at his skull.
However, Ian reacted in time and blocked the kick.
Purple flames enveloped Ian's blade as he executed a Hundred-Style: Demon Fire, sweeping it toward Kizaru in the air.
Since Kizaru had materialized during his kick, Ian's attack connected, setting his pant leg on fire. But the immense force of Kizaru's kick also pushed Ian down.
The moment Ian blocked the attack for Ace, Ace reacted. Both his hands blazed with roaring flames, and he swung them, launching two fireballs at Kizaru above.
The two fireballs pierced through Kizaru's body, leaving two massive holes. But countless light particles emerged, and Kizaru instantly regenerated.
With a faint *pew*, a laser shot from Kizaru's fingertip, piercing through Ace's body.
But Ace was also a Logia user. His body was made of fire. The laser passed through him and exploded on the ground, but Ace was completely unharmed.
Just then, a massive flying slash came from below, aimed at Kizaru. Kizaru's expression changed, and he quickly tilted his head to dodge. The slash grazed his hair, cutting off the edge of his hat.
"A flying slash imbued with Haki?" Kizaru hovered in the air, looking down at Ian, who was holding his sword below. "That's dangerous! If I got hit, I'd probably get hurt!"
Ian noticed the falling edge of Kizaru's hat. Seeing that such attacks were effective against Kizaru, Ian pressed his advantage and unleashed several more flying slashes at Kizaru above.
But... the flying slashes were still a bit slow. With Kizaru's mobility, as long as he focused, he could easily dodge them.
"How troublesome. Let me give you something a bit more serious," Kizaru said as he spread the five fingers of his right hand, aiming down at Ian, Ace, and Fujitora.
A massive amount of light began to gather in Kizaru's palm. His right hand started to glow, becoming almost blinding.
Ace immediately sensed that this attack from Kizaru would be dangerous. He raised his right hand, and a massive fireball appeared in his palm, rapidly expanding.
"Laser Cannon!"
"Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor!"
Kizaru's Laser Cannon shot downward from above, but it collided head-on with Ace's massive Flame Emperor fireball. Both attacks were high-energy, and the collision triggered an explosion!
*BOOM!* A ring-shaped shockwave spread out from the point of impact in all directions. Trees within the blast radius had their crowns blown off, and the glass windows of nearby buildings shattered with a loud *CRASH*!
The Marines were once again sent tumbling like rolling gourds by the explosive gale. Some members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates were also affected.
"Whoa!!" Under a large tree a few hundred meters away, intern reporter Pritz was nearly hit by a falling tree crown, letting out a terrified scream.
The battle scene was incredibly intense. When the shockwave from the explosion hit, Pritz thought he was going to die.
But despite his fear, he held tightly onto a Video Den Den Mushi, keeping its eyes aimed at the battlefield.
"Ma... Master Editor! Did you see that?" Pritz stammered into the microphone. "Is the broadcast live?"
"It's already started! Well done, Pritz!" came an excited and thrilled voice from the Den Den Mushi. "Amazing! The world will be stunned by this battle. Trust me, anywhere that can receive the signal is seeing this fight right now."
Hearing this, Pritz breathed a sigh of relief and continued hiding under the tree, looking toward the battlefield.
"I wonder who won that clash?" Pritz thought. "I hope it doesn't end too quickly..."
It seemed Pritz's prayers were answered. When the dust and smoke cleared, Kizaru was still hovering in the air, unharmed. Similarly, Ace on the ground was also fine. Their attacks had canceled each other out!
But as the smoke cleared, Kizaru, looking down from above, saw Ian aiming his right hand at him.
Electric sparks crackled around Ian's arm, and a small black iron ball the size of a pebble hovered at his fingertip.
"Railgun!" As Ian spoke, the projectile shot out with lightning speed, letting out a massive roar as it flew toward Kizaru!
Since Kizaru was only about twenty meters above, Ian didn't worry about range. He fired this Railgun with his maximum Psychic Power, making the projectile far faster than before.
Fast! Too fast! This time, Kizaru couldn't react. The moment Ian fired the Railgun, he was hit.
A massive hole was blown through Kizaru's head, taking half of it away!
"Did it work?" Ian stared intently at the spot where Kizaru was hit...