Chapter Twenty-One: The Death of Fire Fist Ace

Qingsi looked at the bodies sprawled haphazardly across the ground and let out a long sigh. “Looks like there’s no chance to slack off now.”

Glancing at the unconscious Tianye and Mizuno Izuna, Qingsi muttered softly, “Should I pretend to be dead for a while…”

“Hey, Qingsi, what are you doing?”

Suddenly, Vice Admiral Mas’s voice sounded behind him. Qingsi stiffened slightly, then turned and smiled. “Luffy just knocked out Tianye and Izuna. I was just making sure they were settled.”

Mas glanced at the two lying on the ground and said gently, “You really do care about your subordinates. I thought you might try pretending to be dead to avoid fighting.”

Qingsi looked slightly embarrassed but replied earnestly, “How could I? I’m here to slay pirates and earn merit.”

Mas nodded. “As you can see, the only pirates left on the battlefield now are formidable ones. Be careful during the fight.”

He started walking toward the distance, leaving a single sentence behind: “If all else fails, playing dead on the ground… that’s an option too…”

With twin swords in hand, Vice Admiral Mas left Qingsi behind, his figure receding into the distance. Mas was a vice admiral, and he had his own reasons to fight. The word “Justice” emblazoned on the cape behind him was far more than a simple slogan.

When he was ten, his entire village was slaughtered by pirates. By the time he returned, the place was nothing but ruins. His parents, even his baby sister, had all been cruelly murdered. Thus began his life as a wanderer. Later, driven by revenge and the search for the pirate crew responsible for the massacre, he joined the navy. He started from the very bottom, a mere errand boy, with no great talent, no miraculous encounters, no Devil Fruit—nothing but hard work. It was only at age forty-two that he finally became vice admiral.

At last, he discovered which pirate crew had destroyed his village: a sub-crew under Whitebeard’s banner. Whitebeard’s fleet had forty-three divisions, and even Blackbeard, who was right by his side, was uncontrollable, let alone crews stationed far from the main ship. Their crimes were many and varied.

Mas had been seeking an opportunity for revenge. He had once led a raid but failed to capture them, and afterwards, that pirate crew vanished into the New World. Mas never had another chance for vengeance—until today, with the Whitebeard Pirates right before his eyes.

For justice and for himself, he would fight to the bitter end!

Watching Mas’s retreating figure, Qingsi grumbled impatiently, “Damn, you treat your men so well—how am I supposed to slack off now? This is tough…”

After a moment’s hesitation, he picked up the sword stuck in the ground nearby and started toward the main battlefield. Qingsi was confident in his ability to survive, as long as he didn’t face Whitebeard or the division commanders head-on.

From the corner of his eye, Vice Admiral Mas watched Qingsi and allowed himself a faint smile.

At this moment, Luffy was already charging up the artificial “bridge” created by lightning, striding boldly toward the execution platform.

Suddenly, a figure landed in front of Luffy—a dozen feet ahead. It was the legendary hero, Garp.

Everyone stared in shock at the bridge, nerves stretched taut as they watched to see what Garp would do.

Yet, to everyone’s astonishment, Luffy punched Garp off the bridge—a bridge that Garp himself had already smashed to pieces beforehand.

Qingsi chuckled, “That’s quite the performance—what a perfect act of mercy. As if, with your strength, you couldn’t get up there without the bridge.”

Garp landed headfirst, doing a somersault.

Luffy made it to the execution platform, but struggled with the lock, and before he could open it, Kizaru destroyed the key.

Nearby, the dazed Mr. 3 awoke to see the broken key.

Then Sengoku, who had been overseeing the battle, transformed into his giant golden Buddha form, giving Luffy ample time to react before launching a punch at him.

The three fell from the platform. Relying on memory and his Devil Fruit powers, Mr. 3 managed to craft a new key and tossed it to Luffy.

A moment later, a barrage of cannon fire rained down, filling the sky with flames.

“Are all three of them finished?”

Buggy looked up in shock, exclaiming, “Taken out, just like that?!”

…

Suddenly, a channel of fire opened amid the blazing light.

A tongue of flame erupted, and within four points of fire, the symbol of the Whitebeard Pirates’ jolly roger appeared. Ace, dragging Luffy and Mr. 3, flew down from the flames.

“Logia types are just so cool,” Qingsi commented as he discreetly moved farther back. Ace’s grand entrance was bound to make a scene—standing too close could be dangerous.

Ace made his debut with a spectacular attack. A towering pillar of fire slammed into the ground, sweeping outwards. Marines stationed below were sent flying, their bodies engulfed in flames, burned inside and out.

The division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates beamed with joy at Ace’s rescue. The pirates’ morale soared.

Suddenly, the loyal Squard steered the Moby Dick straight toward the Marine Headquarters, driven by remorse and guilt, intent on perishing together with the navy.

But the ship came to an abrupt halt.

Whitebeard stood below, stopping the Moby Dick with one hand. Then he shouted, “Squard, do you know how unfilial it is for the old to bury the young?”

He blocked all the division commanders behind him, urging them to return to the New World.

One of the commanders demanded, “Father, aren’t you coming with us? Are you going to die here?”

Whitebeard struck his classic pose, swinging his arm back and bellowing,

“I’m a relic of the old era! There’s no place for me on the ships of the new age!”

At once, he activated his Devil Fruit power. Smoke and dust erupted as Whitebeard drove a massive chasm between himself and his commanders.

The pirates were reluctant to leave, but some commanders stopped their attempts, saying gravely, “This is the captain’s order. We cannot disobey!”

“If you aren’t prepared to accept this, you’re just tarnishing the name of the Whitebeard Pirates…”

All the pirates began preparations to retreat, but Ace stared intently at Whitebeard’s back through the smoke. A group of marines, blades drawn, tried to approach Whitebeard to finish him off.

Ace blasted them away with a fiery punch.

He fell to his knees.

Whitebeard said to him, “No need for words, Ace. I just have one question.”

“Have I been a good enough father to you?”

Ace, prostrate on the ground, wept, “Of course…”

Whitebeard nodded, “Is that so?”

Turning away, he ignored Ace.

Ace followed the other pirates, running toward the ships.

At that moment, Akainu, clad in a crimson suit, appeared.

He bombarded the retreating remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates with taunts, and in the end, only Ace stopped, unable to tolerate anyone slandering Whitebeard. He simply couldn’t.

He hurled a fiery punch at Akainu.

Akainu instantly countered with a blow of his own.

In mere moments, Ace was defeated, clutching his arm and grimacing in pain at Akainu.

Akainu’s gaze shifted to the exhausted Luffy nearby.

He might not be able to kill Ace in a single blow, but the odds of killing Luffy were high.

So he charged at Luffy—either target would be a victory.

Luffy’s pupils dilated in terror. Suddenly, a figure blocked his path—Ace, whose chest was pierced through by Akainu’s fist. Scarlet blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

And thus, Ace fell.