HU—HU—HU——
As if answering Ace's will, a massive fireball rose slowly from the darkness.
It burned like a miniature sun.
Blazing, dazzling, unstoppable.
The boundless heat and light instantly tore through the surrounding darkness, illuminating the entire world once more.
Bathed in the radiance of that blazing sun, Ace's figure looked almost divine—
like Helios, the god who carried the sun across the heavens.
Under that light, Xiao could no longer hide within the darkness.
His silhouette was exposed, standing plainly beneath the blazing flames.
"Blackbeard—!"
Ace's five senses returned in a rush.
His gaze locked firmly onto the man who had engulfed the world in darkness.
"To awaken under that level of pressure…" Xiao said softly, genuine admiration in his voice.
"And to force the Flame-Flame Fruit into awakening—remarkable."
Only now did Xiao fully understand why, in the original timeline, Blackbeard had tried again and again to recruit Ace.
"Ace," Xiao continued, spreading his arms slightly,
"I'm actually reluctant to kill you."
"If you're willing to submit to me—"
He meant it.
From the moment Ace first appeared in the pirate world, he already possessed top-tier combat potential.
Even after suffering defeat, imprisonment, and long-term suppression in Impel Down, Ace's strength had never truly collapsed. Once freed, he still displayed terrifying power—enough to clash head-on with Admiral Aokiji without being overwhelmed.
That level of presence left a far deeper impression than Luffy ever had at the same age.
Ace felt like a mature, complete powerhouse.
Luffy, by comparison, still felt like a reckless child.
And yet—
Ace was only three years older than Luffy.
At this moment in time, Ace was roughly equivalent to Luffy two years after the timeskip—
already standing at the peak of the Whitebeard Pirates' combat strength.
And unlike Luffy, Ace had reached this height without destiny's cheat codes.
No Nika.
No prophecy.
No chosen path.
Pure effort.
Pure talent.
Pure will.
If Ace lived—
then when Whitebeard fell, Ace would inherit everything.
Territory.
Influence.
The accumulated fortune of decades.
As the son of Gol D. Roger, he could even summon his father's former allies.
If Ace survived, the Pirate King's throne would almost certainly never belong to Luffy.
And that—
Was exactly why fate demanded Ace's death.
"I want Whitebeard to be king."
Ace stared straight at Xiao, his eyes burning with absolute resolve.
"Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor—"
The words were quiet.
But what followed was a torrent of destruction.
Flames surged like a tidal wave, swallowing the sky, descending with overwhelming force.
"PA—"
A crisp sound echoed.
Xiao snapped his fingers.
PU——
In the next instant, the blazing flames dimmed—
like a lamp suddenly switched off.
The flames vanished.
Leaving only thin wisps of smoke drifting helplessly in the air.
Ace's body froze.
Then—
His tall figure collapsed to one knee.
Like firewood burned to ash.
"…Your power…" Ace muttered weakly, his consciousness already slipping.
"It's… beyond Dad's…"
"What kind of conspiracy… are you planning…?"
Cold dread flooded his heart.
This wasn't something a single Dark-Dark Fruit could explain.
The only possibility—
Was that Blackbeard's own strength had already surpassed Whitebeard's.
A man with such power…
who had hidden himself within the Whitebeard Pirates for decades…
The conspiracy behind him was unimaginable.
If this man truly turned against the world—
The damage would be catastrophic.
Regret flickered through Ace's fading thoughts.
If only I hadn't insisted…
But it was too late.
"…That's disappointing."
Xiao withdrew the darkness and looked down at the unconscious Ace.
"I barely released anything," he sighed.
"And you almost got crushed to death."
"I didn't even try. Why did you fall already…?"
Ace, of course, couldn't answer.
He was far too exhausted to even dream.
When the darkness finally receded completely, Banaro Island was no longer the same.
The land had been drained of life.
Plants withered.
Animals lay lifeless.
Even microorganisms buried deep underground had been erased.
The soil cracked like a tortoise shell—dry, black, dead.
The island's vitality had been stolen by an unseen hand.
What had once been a prosperous land was now silent and desolate,
strewn with shriveled corpses and dead trees,
like husks abandoned by their souls.
A suffocating aura of death filled the air.
Banaro Island—
Had become a grave.
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