CHAPTER 267: [267] : ACE VS. ZORO! ROWEN SHOWS OFF FOR THE CROWD!

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"ALL OF YOU, FALL BACK! GET AWAY FROM HERE! THIS IS NOT A BATTLE YOU CAN GET INVOLVED IN!"

Izou, the 16th Division Commander of the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet, quickly evacuated the core members of the Kozuki clan who had gathered here.

After they had retreated to a safe distance—

VMM!

Ace and Zoro both broke into powerful, confident smiles.

The crimson-black light in their eyes began to roar with untamed energy.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A frightening aura exploded from both Ace and Zoro at the same time, manifesting as a small storm of crimson-black lightning that shot out from each of them and slammed into the other.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The savage, tyrannical crimson-black lightning, divided into two opposing forces, began to furiously tear at each other, creating a tangible, terrifying storm of pure Haki.

A CLASH OF CONQUEROR’S HAKI.

A CONFLICT... BETWEEN KINGS.

Though Ace and Zoro’s Conqueror’s Haki was in no way comparable to Rowen’s, they were both top-tier powerhouses who had preliminarily mastered Haōshoku Coating for their attacks.

The horrifying storm of Haki generated by their clash, while not on the same scale as the island-sweeping tempest Rowen could unleash alone, was still far too much for the core members of the Kouzuki clan to bear.

In an instant, even at such a great distance, many of the less powerful Kozuki members’ eyes rolled back, and they collapsed unconscious.

"A Clash Of Conquerors!"

Kozuki Sukiyaki’s forehead was beaded with cold sweat.

Haki of this level... and according to the earlier conversation, these were just two of the man’s subordinates, vying for the number 1 position.

SKY SOVEREIGN... WHAT A SCARY MAN!

"Zoro... I won’t be holding back," Ace declared with a hearty laugh.

FWOOSH! BOOM!

An unbelievably terrifying inferno roared to life around Ace!

Then—

VMM!

The vegetation, the rocks, the very earth itself, all began to spontaneously combust.

Even the white clouds in the sky seemed to catch fire, brewing a dreadful rain of flames. The ambient temperature of the atmosphere began to skyrocket.

The Flare-Flare Fruit... AWAKENED!

"The power of Awakening, huh??" Zoro was no stranger to such a force.

Compared to this, the awakened power of Rowen’s Rumble-Rumble Fruit had been even more shocking. In terms of raw offensive power, lightning still surpassed fire.

"But this is still a pain in the ass,"

Zoro murmured, but his expression remained grimly focused.

The Flare-Flare Fruit, as expected of one of the higher-tier Logias, once Awakened, granted its user Admiral-level combat strength.

And as a fire ability on the same level as the Ice-Ice Fruit—just like how the Ice-Ice Fruit constantly filled the environment with a terrifying freezing aura, forcing opponents to wreath their bodies in Haki to avoid being invaded by the pervasive cold, which would cause stiffness, slowed movements, and even complete freezing.

The Awakened Flare-Flare Fruit rapidly raised the air temperature to over 1000 degrees.

And unlike the pure temperature of the Heat-Heat Fruit, the air was also filled with flame elements.

Without a full-body coating of Haki, Zoro’s body moisture would slowly evaporate, and his skin would be scorched. He would lose his ability to fight without a single blow being landed.

The true power of a Logia, its ability to become a natural disaster, was only truly unleashed after its awakening.

"Asura Aura——!!!"

Zoro had no intention of holding back either. Facing a powerhouse of Ace’s caliber, holding back would be a self-inflicted insult.

The power of his Asura Aura exploded from his body, a hellish, dark green energy that formed the phantom of a demonic god behind him.

AND!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Zoro actively controlled the power of Haōshoku Coating, fusing it with his Asura Aura!

The surrounding power of the Flare-Flare Fruit instantly lost all influence before this new force!

"The power of Asura Aura... what a strong pressure," Ace took a deep breath.

Before mastering Haoshoku Coating, Zoro had been able to use his unique Asura Aura to channel a portion of his Conqueror’s Haki, mimicking its effects.

This was why, in the original story, the moment Zoro awakened his Conqueror’s Haki, with the power of his Asura Aura, he unleashed a Haōshoku Coating-like effect—defeating King the Wildfire.

On Elbaf, Gaban could see at a glance that Zoro possessed Conqueror’s Haki, while Luffy was surprised Zoro didn’t know, saying his Conqueror’s Haki was overflowing.

The Asura Aura was that miraculous...

It didn’t require the user to master Haōshoku Coating to automatically channel a portion of its power.

In this respect, it was remarkably similar to the power of Enma.

And now, Zoro had preliminarily mastered Haōshoku Coating attacks. He no longer relied on Asura Aura but had mastered the power himself.

He was now actively combining the attack power of Haōshoku Coating with his Asura Aura.

Before, when he was just channeling a fraction of the power, his offense had already reached the Admiral level.

And now—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A terrifying, dark green energy, wreathed in crimson-black lightning, completely enveloped his three swords—Sandai Kitetsu, Enma, and Wado Ichimonji—as if they had grown tails of demonic energy.

This power had now completely surpassed the threshold of the Admiral class.

"Enma... what a powerful sword," Ace’s gaze was incredibly grim as he stared at Enma in Zoro’s hand.

Enma’s special characteristic was to absorb and then release the wielder’s Armament Haki. This absorption was different from the normal infusion and hardening of Armament Haki—it was directly absorbed into the blade itself.

Meaning, at this moment, Enma was filled with Zoro’s Armament Haki on the inside, and wreathed in the power of Asura Aura and Haōshoku Coating on the outside!

This power was not something the pure Flare-Flare Fruit ability could contend with.

"Hah..." Ace took a deep breath.

"Great Flame Commandment——!!!"

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The endless flames filling the environment instantly converged towards Ace, wrapping him in layer upon layer of fire.

Then, they rapidly condensed onto his fists, becoming two elemental fists that blazed like miniature suns.

"Flame Gloves——!!!"

Ace raised his elemental fists, which had condensed all the power of the Flare-Flare Fruit.

The astonishing crimson-black in his eyes began to materialize.

CRACKLE! BOOM!

Violent, tyrannical crimson-black lightning roared through the atmosphere, then coiled around Ace’s elemental fists!

HAOSHOKU COATING: FLAME GLOVES!

Ace’s current strongest power.

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Ace and Zoro roared simultaneously!

The very ground beneath them shattered under the immense pressure of their Haki before they even moved.

WHOOSH!

They became a streak of crimson and a streak of dark green, slamming into each other with a thunderous crash.

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!

Zoro’s three swords and Ace’s elemental fists clashed in an instant.

But with the power of Haoshoku Coating, they didn’t even make full contact. The mere proximity of the attacks caused the space between them to explode with an endless torrent of terrifying energy.

The air currents in the sky instantly began to roil and recoil, as if the sky itself was being torn apart by a giant!

Lightning flashed and danced across the sky.

The ground was pulverized on a massive scale, then torn to shreds by the horrifying energy tide in the atmosphere!

"W-what a powerful strength!"

Kozuki Sukiyaki and the others were completely dumbfounded.

A battle this fierce... the only thing they could compare it to was the legendary clash between Kouzuki Oden and Kaido.

A battle that could change the world... only the absolute top-tier powerhouses of the sea could achieve this.

And without a doubt, Ace and Zoro had both truly set foot in that realm.

After mastering Haoshoku Coating, Ace, with his awakened Flare-Flare Fruit, and Zoro, with his unique Asura Aura, were now on a level of power that a regular Admiral could no longer compare to.

They were advancing towards the level of the Emperors.

"How exhilarating!"

Yamato, standing beside Rowen, her eyes sparkled like stars. A battle this intense was an irresistible sight for someone who had been imprisoned by Kaido for so many years.

But... these two’s combat strength seemed to be above hers.

The feedback from Yamato’s Observation Haki didn’t make her feel unwilling, but even more eager to try.

Her life’s creed was to challenge the impossible!

Rowen’s Observation Haki, of course, sensed Yamato’s emotional change.

The current Yamato, though she had preliminarily mastered Haōshoku Coating, the Devil Fruit she ate, the Okuchi-no-Makami Fruit, had not yet Awakened. Her combat strength was inferior to Ace’s and Zoro’s.

However, Zoro’s problem remained—because he relied on the power of Asura Aura to forcibly elevate his combat level, his stamina, unlike Ace’s, who had reached the Admiral level through his Awakened Flare-Flare Fruit, was not as abundant.

In such a fierce battle, Zoro’s stamina couldn’t last too long.

Zoro’s chance of victory lay in his incredibly powerful attack power.

"Nine-Sword Style——!!!"

Zoro pushed his Asura Aura to its absolute limit, and the illusion of three heads and six arms appeared.

"Asura—Drawing Sword—Dead Man’s Game!!!"

One of Zoro’s ultimate techniques!

The sword technique that had injured Kaido in the original story.

At that time, Zoro’s Conqueror’s Haki wasn’t even fully awakened.

And now, Zoro had actively integrated Haōshoku Coating into his Asura Aura!

Its power was on a completely different level.

"Great Flame Commandment——!!!"

Ace was not careless in the slightest, once again pushing his Flare-Flare Fruit’s ability, and covering his fists with his full-power Haōshoku Coating!

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Zoro and Ace roared, their strongest techniques violently colliding!

POP!

Two fingers appeared before Zoro and Ace’s attacks.

This incredibly terrifying attack, before these two fingers, was as soft and powerless as a child’s tickle.

"That’s enough,"

A black cloak, embroidered with a Golden dragon, billowed in the wind.

"WH-??"

Yamato was completely and utterly dumbfounded.

"H-HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE??"

Kozuki Sukiyaki and the others’ eyes were filled with utter horror.

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