Suspended ten feet above the ground, Ace was engulfed in golden-red flames, his Haoshoku more overwhelming and terrifying than Doflamingo's. The cracked earth beneath him spread like a spiderweb, already suffering substantial damage. A pair of fiery eyes locked down on Doflamingo from above.
Earlier, Ace had demanded the Tontatta Princess, Mansherry, from Doflamingo and failed. Since diplomacy had failed, force was now his only option. He ignored Diamante and the others nearby, focusing entirely on the man below. Only Doflamingo could make him take such measures seriously. This was not arrogance, but the confidence that came from unmatched strength.
"I only want the Tontatta Princess, Mansherry," Ace declared, his voice cutting through the oppressive heatwaves that rippled around him. The temperature soared, causing surrounding buildings to spontaneously combust. The ground beneath Ace began to melt into molten liquid. Diamante and the others were the first to succumb to the overwhelming heat, their bodies trembling as if they would liquefy. Reluctantly, they retreated.
Doflamingo's cold gaze, hidden behind sunglasses, swept across the battlefield as he began assimilating the ground around him. No powerful figure with a reputation would tolerate someone so audaciously approaching their doorstep.
"Overestimating yourself," Doflamingo muttered.
Ace raised his index finger, and a fireball erupted from it. It expanded rapidly, growing ten meters, twenty meters, fifty meters, and finally over a hundred meters in diameter, suspended above his head like a miniature sun. The heat melted the ground, dried lakes and gardens instantly, and turned the soil into molten magma, which began spreading outward in all directions. Dressrosa, once tranquil, erupted into chaos as nearby citizens fled in panic.
"I'll give you one more chance, hand over Mansherry," Ace warned, the hundred-meter fireball roaring above him with fierce intensity. Doflamingo, drenched in sweat, struggled to endure the extreme temperature.
Suddenly, the ground trembled as a towering stone giant, its right hand like a mountain, slammed toward Ace. Pica had acted. Among the Donquixote Family, only Pica's ability posed a potential threat. Ace, unfazed, released a ripple of heat that awakened the surrounding environment. Instantly, he located Pica's true body hidden within the stone giant. A beam of flame shot from Ace's glowing left index finger, piercing through the giant's left abdomen and striking Pica directly.
"How did you find me?" Pica shouted in horror. If he hadn't moved at that exact moment, the flame would have pierced his body entirely.
In a flash, Ace appeared inside the stone giant's right chest as if teleporting. With a single gesture, the massive fireball above him rumbled downward. The stone giant melted into liquid, and Pica trembled helplessly. The attack was precise, lethal, and instantaneous.
Doflamingo countered, swinging his right leg wrapped in sharp threads horizontally toward Ace's head. But Ace anticipated it, dodging sideways while summoning a flaming spear imbued with Armament Haki in his right hand. He thrust it directly at Doflamingo's heart. The five-colored threads of the String-String Fruit collided with the spear, clashing with the sound of steel grinding against steel.
Ace followed with a sidekick, flames surging with tremendous force. Doflamingo felt as though a mountain had crushed him. He became a streak of light, crashing onto the street, ripping up rows of houses, and landing sprawled out, spitting blood.
From the sky, countless flaming swords, spears, and halberds appeared behind Ace. With a wave of his hand, they rained down like a meteor shower on Doflamingo. The display was awe-inspiring and terrifying.
Doflamingo responded with his White String technique, assimilating the ground over a hundred meters and forming massive threads to guard his front. Explosions erupted continuously, and flying debris obscured the battlefield.
Ace's right hand extended into the sky, spiraling flames surging fifty meters, then a hundred, two hundred, and finally five hundred meters before he launched it downward. Like a falling sun, it struck with cataclysmic force, distorting the very land beneath. Doflamingo's face twisted in ferocity as the awakened terrain stretched further.
"Now! Tenfold Instant Kill!"
Golden lightning erupted from behind Ace, connecting heaven and earth. The concentrated energy reached its peak, a flash as swift as light itself.
Yet Ace's attack was anticipated. From the clouds, a bone-deep wound appeared along his right foot up to his back, blood spraying like a fountain. Lucien, soaring among thunderous clouds, had executed a perfect sneak attack. Ace coughed, blood spilling from his nose and mouth, the wound threatening to cripple him. Without the Voices of All Things alerting him to danger, he might have been split in two. His opponent's speed was unimaginable.
Golden-red flames boiled, steam rising in waves as Ace entered Life Return. His aura surged to the clouds, and the wound on his back healed visibly.
Lucien's eyes were calm, yet he cursed silently. These fellow villagers were anything but ordinary.
"Who are you?" Ace demanded, flames burning in his gaze as he stared at Lucien.
Below, a vast mushroom cloud had consumed an area over a thousand meters wide. A huge pit of molten liquid marked the destruction, leaving Doflamingo's fate uncertain.
Lucien said nothing. His body ignited with white flames, occasionally flashing with golden lightning as he plummeted like a streak of light. A man of few words, he acted decisively.
Golden-red flames roared as Ace shot upward, unafraid. Their paths collided, red and white rainbows of energy intertwining, sending circular air pressure in all directions. The force was vast, mighty, and relentless, like a meteor slamming into the earth.
At the moment of collision, both fighters sensed each other's overwhelming power. Their movements blurred to the eye, seemingly a hundred meters apart, yet their knees clashed with staggering force. Ace's knees glowed with scorching flames, while Lucien's black-red crystal knees radiated raw strength. A vacuum formed between them, preventing direct impact.
"Crack…"
A dark red lightning bolt struck suddenly. Ace's Haoshoku had reached its peak, pressing down with oppressive weight. Lucien's amethyst eyes narrowed. He had never felt such a force before. Haoshoku of this magnitude could suppress an opponent's strength entirely, proving that the Conqueror's Haki was not just for intimidating lesser foes.