Chapter 45 — Ace, You're Still Just as Easy to Defeat!
"Gurarara…"
"Gurarararararara!!"
The deadly silence in that place shattered instantly—broken by a booming, earth-shaking laughter that roared across the sky and land!
Whitebeard—Edward Newgate—had his enormous body trembling from laughing too hard.
"Joker!"
Whitebeard wiped away the tears forming at the corners of his eyes from laughing.
"Your joke… is actually quite amusing!"
"Fuh…"
"Fufufufu…"
Cold sweat poured down Doflamingo's face like a waterfall.
He forced a smile that looked even more miserable than crying, laughing awkwardly—stiff and pitiful.
"Shirohige… you truly know how to joke around…"
But…
He didn't take back what he said.
He didn't correct himself by saying, "It was only a joke."
He simply stood there, stiff and tense, unable to move.
The smiles on the faces of Whitebeard's division commanders slowly disappeared.
Marco and Jozu exchanged glances.
Both immediately sensed something was wrong.
"Hey! Doflamingo!!"
A furious roar erupted!
Fire Fist Ace!
Naturally, he was the first to lose his patience—his temperament was always the most explosive!
Fwoosh—!
Flames burst violently from his body!
Ace stepped forward and grabbed the feathered coat draped over Doflamingo's shoulders!
"You—don't tell me you weren't joking?!"
Ace's youthful face was filled with disbelief.
"You dare demand money from the Whitebeard Pirates?!"
Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!
Marco, Vista, Jozu…
All the division commanders of Whitebeard immediately surrounded them, cold smiles carving their faces.
Dozens of terrifying auras—enough to make the sea tremble—locked tightly onto Doflamingo's body!
"..."
Doflamingo, his face practically burning from Ace's flames, felt as if these monsters would tear him apart in the next second!
It's over!
He screamed internally.
It's over!!
I should've known!
I should've just sent Trebol to handle this!
Damn it! Why did I get greedy for this "extra income"?!
I thought I could take a small administrative fee from this deal!
This isn't extra income at all!
This is the same as tying myself up and roasting myself alive!
I'm…
I'm going to get killed by Whitebeard in a single strike!!
"Joker!"
Marco's voice was cold enough to freeze marrow.
"You'd better give us an explanation."
"This…"
Under the crushing pressure of more than ten top-tier commanders, Doflamingo nearly fainted on the spot.
With every ounce of strength left in him, he squeezed out a trembling answer from his throat.
"This… this is Lord Akira's rule…"
"Akira?"
Ace frowned.
He remembered how Akira beat him up in Wano Country before throwing him out.
His expression instantly turned nasty, and his gaze toward Doflamingo grew even more hostile.
Just as his flame-coated fist was about to smash into Doflamingo's face—
"Stop, Ace."
Whitebeard's voice was calm, but carried absolute authority.
"Oyaji?!"
Ace reluctantly halted his strike.
Whitebeard didn't even look at Doflamingo, who was trembling so hard he looked moments away from wetting himself.
His gaze moved past the harbor.
Looking far into the distance.
Atop the tallest building…
A lone figure stood, letting the wind sweep past him.
It was as if he was "overseeing" the entire situation.
"Hm?"
Whitebeard's sharp eagle-like eyes narrowed slightly.
"That brat…"
"He's Joker's new boss?"
His Observation Haki had been covering the entire island for a long time.
He had already "seen" clearly the weapon the man was casually holding.
"!!!"
Whitebeard's pupils shrank instantly!
Even his massive crescent-shaped mustache quivered uncontrollably!
"That is…"
"There's no mistake…"
"Murakumogiri!!"
"..."
The atmosphere at the harbor turned strange—thick with tension.
Whitebeard fell silent.
But…
On that stern, authoritative face—
There was not a shred of anger.
Instead, he displayed something unexpected… a faint, meaningful smile that no one could interpret.
"Marco."
"Yes, Oyaji?"
"Give him the money."
Whitebeard spoke slowly.
"Don't make things difficult for a 'worker.'"
"Hah?!"
Marco froze.
"Oyaji?! Are you serious?"
Whitebeard didn't answer.
He simply lifted his huge sake gourd again and drank deeply.
Marco understood instantly.
"Tch."
He clicked his tongue in irritation.
His body turned into vibrant blue flames as he flew toward the Moby Dick.
Moments later, he returned, carrying a heavy, bulging gold pouch.
Bang!!
Without even looking, Marco slammed the sack of gold straight into Doflamingo's face!
"Guh!"
Doflamingo's nose burst into a fountain of blood; the impact forced him back half a step.
"The money's here."
Marco's voice was icy.
"Take good care of our ship."
He leaned in, whispering with a threatening tone.
"If even one plank goes missing…"
"or…"
"If a single seagull dares drop its crap on it…"
"I'll come back and beat you to death."
"Y-yes! Yes!! Yes!!!"
Doflamingo felt as though he'd been granted heavenly mercy; he scrambled to his feet and hurriedly ordered his subordinates to guard the ship.
…
Whitebeard hoisted his spare naginata.
Together with all his division commanders, he officially stepped onto Dressrosa.
They walked along the wide, barren, yet strangely well-organized streets.
Seeing the towering skeletal frames of new high-rise structures scattered around…
everyone's faces were filled with shock.
"This… is this really Dressrosa?"
Jozu spoke in astonishment that he couldn't hide.
"When did Dressrosa become this neat?"
"Gurarararara…"
Whitebeard also inspected the "new city."
"This island… has become far more organized than before."
"Interesting…"
Just as the Whitebeard Pirates were still stunned by the massive changes in Dressrosa—
Boom.
A figure dropped from the sky.
Landing heavily right before them.
Dust exploded everywhere.
As the dust gradually cleared… the one standing there was Akira.
His three-meter-tall body radiated a fusion aura of the Oni race and Lunarian race.
He stood there with absolute calm.
What stood out even more was the massive hand casually holding a weapon—
a weapon that should have belonged to Whitebeard…
Murakumogiri.
"!!!"
"THAT!!"
The moment they saw the naginata, the eyes of all Whitebeard's commanders turned bloodshot!
"That's Oyaji's weapon!!"
Blue flames burst violently from Marco's body!
"You bastard!!!"
A roar fiercer than anything yet erupted through the air—
Ace again!
He had just been stopped by Whitebeard!
This time, he completely exploded!
"It's you!!"
"You're the one—the one who stole Oyaji's weapon!!"
Ace had long lost his rationality!
"How dare you steal Oyaji's beloved weapon!"
"You… need to be taught a lesson!"
"Fire Fist · Flame Pillar!!!"
Ace didn't give anyone time to react!
His entire body turned into a blinding inferno as he shot straight toward Akira!
But just as the flames were about to engulf him—
Akira didn't even lift his head.
He simply examined his "new weapon" calmly, as though nothing else mattered.
Then a voice—one Ace knew all too well—resounded clearly above him.
"Ace."
"It's been a while."
"You…"
"You're still just as impulsive."
"?!"
Ace froze mid-charge!
His flame-lit pupils shrank sharply!
"This voice…?!"
"No way…"
"It's that guy…?!"
Before he could even process it—
A massive hand coated in dense Armament Haki descended from above like a gigantic swatting palm!
WHAM—!!!!
The slap cracked through the air like thunder—echoing up to the sky!
The Armament Haki bypassed his elemental body perfectly!
Crashing—
Directly—
Into his physical form!!
Ace's face twisted in absolute shock.
BOOM!!
Fire Fist Ace was blown away like a shooting star!
He tumbled across the ground several times, scattering clouds of dust everywhere.
Thud!
He finally stopped at Whitebeard's feet.
His eyes rolled back.
He fainted instantly.
"Ace, it seems you still haven't grown much."
"You're still just as easy to defeat as before."
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