"Flame Emperor… You dare call yourself an Emperor?!"

Charlotte Linlin had already eaten her fill. After Sanji made a delicious cake, she regained her sanity upon tasting it.

She had long craved the wedding cake she never got to eat, and her food obsession had reached a breaking point.

Sanji's cake, something she had never tasted before, fully satisfied her cravings and brought her back to her senses.

Now, step by step, Charlotte Linlin advanced from the coast, riding on Zeus's head as she flew toward Ace.

Ace stood on his ship, smiling. "The title 'Flame Emperor' was given to me by others. I simply go by Ace."

"Roger's son... that damned Roger! He tricked me and stole my Poneglyph!" Charlotte Linlin roared furiously.

"Is that so? I don't need your Poneglyph. Back then, Big bro took it openly and fairly, and I even got a share," Ace replied.

"Roy?" Charlotte Linlin narrowed her eyes at Ace.

"Yeah, Roy," Ace said with a grin.

"ROY?! THAT BASTARD DESERVES TO DIE MORE THAN ANYONE!!!"

Her ruined eye socket throbbed with phantom pain. She would never forget the agony Roy had inflicted on her.

That name was etched into her soul with pain.

It had been excruciating. Too excruciating!

"I almost forgot, you were once a member of the Whitebeard Pirates. Damn all of you! Every single one of Whitebeard's crew deserves to die! That includes you, Newgate, and Roy!"

With a roar, Charlotte Linlin raised Napoleon, her sword ablaze with flames, and brought it down.

"Useless."

Ace turned into fire and dodged her strike, absorbing Prometheus's flames in the process.

Homies like Prometheus were essentially fire storage containers, and Ace, as the Flame-Flame Fruit user, could absorb all fire.

"Not good! He's eating my fire!" Prometheus quickly severed the connection.

Linlin clenched her fists and infused them with Conqueror's Haki, landing a powerful punch on Ace.

Pff!

Ace quickly elementalized, but still got blasted back by the Conqueror's Haki.

"Conqueror's Haki infusion...!"

Ace gritted his teeth. Though he hadn't mastered this technique, over the past two years, he had greatly improved his control over Haki; he could now freely use Conqueror's Haki and had enhanced his Armament and Observation Haki to be on par with Katakuri. The two had even sparred multiple times.

But against Charlotte Linlin, his flames were ineffective; she could literally bathe in magma.

And his Haki still wasn't at her level. His attacks had little to no effect.

"Just how strong is Big bro's Haki...?"

Ace stared at Linlin's ruined eye with awe. He kicked out flames from his legs to keep from falling into the sea.

Charlotte Linlin, still riding Zeus, now held a weakened Prometheus. Most of his fire had been absorbed, reducing his strength.

"Mama!!"

"Rest, Prometheus," Linlin said, tossing him aside.

"Thunderbolt Cannon!"

Zeus, still charged with lightning, unleashed a purple lightning bolt at Ace.

"Fire Fist!"

Ace responded with a blazing punch.

Zzzap!

The lightning pierced through the flames and struck Ace in the chest.

Ace's Fire Fist hit Linlin directly, but she shrugged it off.

"Captain!!" his crew shouted from below, worried.

Ace moved slightly and looked up at Linlin, a gaping hole in his chest, but as a Logia user, lightning couldn't hurt him unless it was infused with Conqueror's Haki.

Charlotte Linlin tore apart the flames and had Prometheus absorb them back, then launched herself at Ace with Zeus.

"Die, Roger's son!!!"

"DIE, ROGER'S SON!!!"

That name, like a knife twisting in his heart.

"MY FATHER IS WHITEBEARD!"

Ace's biggest flaw was his temper, especially when someone brought up his father.

Charlotte Linlin noticed this immediately. Ace's Haki flared wildly, his Armament and Conqueror's Haki strengthened, but he lost composure. His Observation Haki fluctuated briefly.

In battles between top fighters, even a tiny lapse can determine victory or defeat.

"Elbaf Spear: Ikoku Sovereignty!"

Linlin seized the chance and slashed down.

Ace, enraged, chose to face her head-on.

"Fire Phoenix: Flame Emperor Slash!"

Flames erupted behind Ace, forming massive wings. He raised both hands and summoned a 100-meter-long blade of fire, illuminating the sky.

Everyone in the Big Mom Pirates was stunned.

Boom!

The two blades clashed mid-air, unleashing a shockwave of fire in all directions. The collision, infused with Conqueror's Haki, lit up the sky like it was burning.

Ace's eyes widened. Linlin's sword was right in front of him.

"YOU'RE TOO WEAK, ROGER'S BRAT! A STRAY DOG KICKED OUT BY WHITEBEARD!" Linlin sneered.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT NAME!"

Ace's flaming wings flapped in rage. With a burst of speed, he flew straight into Linlin's attack.

"Foolish!"

Linlin laughed as she slashed again.

Ace gritted his teeth.

He concentrated all his Haki into his legs and kicked her sword.

Clang!

Linlin's expression froze; her sword had been blocked.

"I WON'T LET YOU… INSULT MY FATHER!!!"

Ace kicked with all his might and sent Charlotte Linlin flying.

The entire Big Mom crew stood in shock.

"Mama... got kicked away?!" Perospero exclaimed, dumbfounded.

Charlotte Linlin, with only one eye open, stared at Ace in disbelief.

She had been overpowered in strength?

But she quickly regained control, using Zeus as a stepping stone to launch herself at Ace again.

"I… AM CHARLOTTE LINLIN!!!"

With another furious strike, she closed in on Ace before he could react. His Observation Haki was still unstable, and she moved with explosive speed, a blink-and-you-miss-it assault.

"THUNDERBOLT STRIKE!!!"

She unleashed a Conqueror's Haki-infused slash.

Ace's precognition kicked in; he saw the future.

If he turned into fire now, he would die.

Ace raised his arms, coating them in Armament Haki to block the blow.

But Charlotte Linlin's power was beyond imagination. Combined with Conqueror's Haki, her strike sent Ace spinning. His arms twisted from the impact as his body flew backward.

Whoosh

BOOM!!!

...

If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.

[email protected]/DaoistJinzu