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[TIOP] Chapter : 66
🕑 Added 2025-03-10 14:34:35 +0000 UTCAce’s expression finally grew serious. In his mind, the most challenging part of hunting down Teach had always been tracking him down. When Teach was still a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, he had never displayed exceptional strength. Even Thatch’s murder had been a cowardly sneak attack. But now, standing before him, Teach felt like an entirely different beast.
"Zehahaha! Ace, your body is made of fire, right? Well, mine is darkness!" Teach bellowed, activating his newfound power.
"Darkness?" Ace frowned in confusion. While darkness was a natural element, he had no idea what kind of abilities it granted.
Rather than explaining, Teach chose to demonstrate. He unleashed his power, revealing the terrifying nature of his Dark-Dark Fruit—an ability unlike any other. The overwhelming gravitational force of darkness allowed him to pull everything into it, consuming whatever it touched. But more than that, his power had an even deadlier aspect: it could negate the abilities of other Devil Fruit users. The moment Teach made physical contact, an opponent's Devil Fruit powers would vanish, leaving them vulnerable.
It was a frighteningly effective counter.
However, despite its overwhelming strength, Teach’s ability had one major weakness—unlike most Logia users, he couldn’t transform into an element to evade attacks. This flaw gave Ace a fighting chance. If not for this limitation, Teach’s claim might have been true: that the Dark-Dark Fruit was the strongest of them all.
**End of the Fight (Same as canon)**
From the sidelines, Van Augur, the Blackbeard Pirates' sniper, watched the battle unfold with a calculating gaze.
"I always assumed Devil Fruit users relied too much on their powers and would crumble without them," he mused. "But I didn’t expect a captain of the Whitebeard Pirates to be this strong in pure combat. Looks like today marks a turning point."
"You may have impressive skills, Ace, but what a shame—you should have joined us!" Teach said, looking down at Ace, who was kneeling on the ground, battered and bloodied. He tried once more to persuade him to surrender.
Ace wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and scoffed. "Idiot. A man who bows to you, a traitor, loses his dignity. I'd rather die than stain my pride. Do you understand?"
He knew there was no escaping this battle. At the start, he had been careless, allowing Teach to land unexpected blows that left him severely wounded. Even though he fought back with everything he had, Teach’s strength was undeniable. And now, he had reached his limit.
"Survival is the greatest victory, Ace. What a pity… in that case, you’ll be swallowed by darkness!" Teach bellowed with laughter, his voice filled with excitement.
Despite knowing the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, this was his first time using it in a battle against such a formidable opponent. And he was thrilled with the outcome.
But Ace wasn’t finished yet.
"Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor!"
With the last of his strength, he unleashed his most powerful attack. A massive sphere of fire erupted around him, radiating heat like the sun itself.
Teach, unfazed, roared back. "The sun or the darkness—only one can prevail!" Shadows surged from his body, devouring the surrounding light, clashing violently with Ace’s flames.
As the two forces collided, Ace's mind drifted for a split second.
'Jack'
His words echoed in Ace’s head—warnings he had ignored too many times. "Be careful of Teach." Even after Ace had already set out on his hunt, Jack had still urged caution.
So that guy really knew something all along…
Thinking of Jack, a faint smile appeared on Ace’s lips. As his brother, Jack would definitely avenge him, right? He would also look after Luffy… But as for their father, that was beyond him.
"BOOM—!"
Flames and darkness clashed, sending shockwaves across the island. The sheer force of their battle reduced everything to rubble.
Meanwhile, back at the banquet, Jack suddenly tensed, an unsettling feeling creeping over him as he glanced around.
"Luffy, what’s wrong?" Chopper asked, noticing Luffy had suddenly stopped his usual antics.
Luffy touched his chest, his expression momentarily serious. "I don’t know… I felt a sharp pain just now. Maybe my old injuries still haven’t healed. Ah, whatever—I'll just eat more meat!"
With that, he shook off the momentary discomfort and stretched out his hand, snatching up an armful of meat skewers and bones.
Jack’s eyes narrowed. This feeling… It's not good. It's Ace. His expression darkened as he abruptly stood up.
Meanwhile, on Banaro Island, several hours after the battle between Ace and Teach, a group of fishmen emerged from the sea and stepped onto the shore.
"Captain, this is the place. I saw a battle from a distance—it was too intense for me to get close. But I’m sure one of the fighters had fire-based abilities, so I came to find you immediately!" A smaller fishman reported to the towering figure standing at the center of the group.
"Let’s head up and take a look first. Even if fire abilities were involved, we can’t be certain it was Ace." The burly fishman, a member of the Fishman Pirates, spoke with caution. Under the orders of Jinbei and King Neptune, the fishmen had been searching for any trace of Ace’s whereabouts.
"No, it's definitely Ace. Look—this is his hat!" One of the fishmen bent down, picking up the familiar orange hat that had been left behind amidst the ruins. His expression darkened. "Did Ace lose? That’s impossible… He’s too strong."
He clenched the hat tightly before turning to his companion. "Take this and contact Boss Jinbei immediately. Tell him we’ve found clues about Ace, but the situation looks grim. He needs to get here as soon as possible!"
—
**Fishman Island – Ryugu Palace**
Upon receiving word from his subordinates, Jinbei rushed to the palace to discuss the dire situation with King Neptune.
"Your Majesty, things have unfolded just as Jack predicted… What should we do?" Jinbei’s voice was heavy with regret.
He had known this was bound to happen, yet he hadn't acted fast enough to prevent it. That failure weighed on him. He should have taken Jack’s warnings more seriously and tracked down Ace sooner by himself.
Neptune's expression hardened, his eyes gleaming. "Where is Jack now? Inform him immediately. Also, send word to Newgate. If we don’t act quickly, we’ll be at a severe disadvantage."
He exhaled deeply before adding, "In addition, we need to seriously consider Jack’s proposal. After all… things have played out exactly as he predicted."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Jinbei nodded before swiftly turning to leave. His first priority was to inform Jack and Whitebeard. Something had happened to Ace, and he feared that the world was on the brink of turmoil once again.
Meanwhile, news of Luffy’s attack on Enies Lobby spread rapidly across the world, carried by the ever-reliable news birds. Even the hometowns of the Straw Hat Pirates received word of their actions.
**Alabasta – Royal Palace**
Within the palace, King Cobra and his advisors gathered in hushed discussion, careful not to let Vivi overhear.
"Your Majesty, why is Nico Robin with Luffy and his crew?" Igaram asked, his expression filled with concern. "If Princess Vivi finds out, she will surely be heartbroken!"
King Cobra sighed, nodding solemnly. "That woman has always been shrouded in mystery… She is truly an enigma."
But unbeknownst to them, Vivi was already aware of Robin’s presence among the Straw Hats—and she didn’t mind in the slightest.
She gently touched the mark on her hand, a symbol of her bond with them, and smiled. "Luffy-san is a strange one. Even when you’re by his side, you can never fully understand what he’s thinking. But in the end, this was their choice, and I trust them. No matter what happens, we will always be crewmates."
Tears welled up in the eyes of those around her.
"Ah, Princess Vivi… You’ve truly grown up!" They were deeply moved, though Vivi, tilting her head in confusion, couldn’t quite understand why.
**Water 7 – The Latest Bounties**
Back in Water 7, Luffy and the crew had just received their updated bounties.
Monkey D. Luffy – "Straw Hat": 300 million berries
Roronoa Zoro – "Pirate Hunter": 120 million berries
Nico Robin – "Devil’s Child": 80 million berries
Sanji – "Black Leg": 77 million berries (Photo unavailable!)
Usopp – "Sniper King": 30 million berries
Nami – "Cat Burglar": 16 million berries
Tony Tony Chopper – "Cotton Candy Lover": (Classified as a pet) 50 berries
Franky – "Cyborg": 44 million berries
With a total bounty of 667 million berries, even Jack couldn’t help but be a little tempted.
"By the way, Luffy, according to your planned route, you’ll likely pass through the Florian Triangle, right?" Jack asked, stopping Luffy just as he was about to set sail after hearing Franky's request.
"Ah! Jack, you’ve heard of that sea too?" Nami’s eyes lit up with curiosity and anticipation.
"Yes, I know what’s out there."
"Wait! Jack, don’t say anything! This is our adventure, and it won’t be any fun if you spoil it now!"
Luffy cut Jack off mid-sentence, leaving him momentarily stunned.
Jack chuckled and nodded. "Well, there may be some trouble along the way, but with your abilities, I doubt it’ll be a real problem."
"Ugh! Why didn’t you let him speak, Luffy? We could have made preparations!" Nami snapped, clearly frustrated.
Luffy, ever stubborn, simply grinned. "This is our adventure!"
Once Luffy made up his mind, there was no changing it.
Jack smiled and waved. "Alright, I won’t hold you up any longer. I’m heading out too."
As he approached the shore, preparing to return to his warship, Lena suddenly stopped him.
"Commodore, a fishman is looking for you."
.
.
.
"What?! Are you sure it's Ace?"
The Fishman nodded. "We can’t be certain, but we found this—and it is Ace’s hat."
The Fishman didn’t know why Jinbei was so concerned about a human like Ace, but one thing was clear—if Jack wanted the fishmen’s respect, he had to prove himself worthy of it.
