Qin Lin and his two companions had been drifting in this world for three months since their arrival. On this vast and magical sea, they were in awe of its mystery and expanse.
Compared to the Naruto World, there were obvious differences here: the endless sea and various miraculous sights and creatures constantly refreshed their worldview.
Madara clearly recognized the vastness of the world here.
Of course, along the way, he did not forget to engage in friendly exchanges with experts. As they traveled through the Grand Line, Madara had encountered pirates with various bounty levels, and without exception, they had all disappointed him.
Each of these pirates boasted about being a Great Pirate with bounties in the hundreds of thousands, acting as if they were formidable. Yet, in Madara's hands, they couldn't even last a couple of moves before being defeated.
Until a few days ago, Madara heard about a Great Pirate named Fire Fist Ace, who had a bounty of 130 million, not far from where they were.
It was said that this Great Pirate possessed the Strength of the Flame and was incredibly powerful. His bounty was the highest that Madara and his companions had ever heard of.
Thus, this moment of confrontation came to be.
On a small, battered ship measuring no more than ten meters, Madara and the Qin Lin Three Generals stood on board.
A few dozen meters away, Fire Fist Ace and his crew were grinning as they looked at Madara and the others.
"Old man, if it were anything else, I might lose. But when it comes to flames, that's my Life Source!" Ace said confidently, flicking his right hand to ignite a small flame, which he then waved away.
Upon meeting, Madara had proposed a contest to Ace. Ace and his crew were initially bewildered, but when Madara suggested a competition of flames, they burst into laughter.
"This old man, I've eaten the Mera-Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit) and am a Flame-man. You want to compete with me in flames?"
"You'll lose terribly!"
Such words, which Ace and his crew thought were self-evident, immediately chilled Madara's gaze.
Seeing Madara's expression, the Qin Lin trio realized that things had taken a turn for the worse and quickly tried to dissuade him.
"You're very confident; I hope you can dance confidently in front of me next!"
Madara's indifferent words were followed by him taking a step forward.
"Tap, tap, tap!"
After three steps, Madara leaped high, jumping directly off the ship.
The Spade Pirates were stunned.
"What does this old man want? Is he jumping into the sea?!"
In the vast ocean, a ship is humanity's only support; those who cherish life wouldn't casually jump into the unknown sea.
But in an instant, Ace and his crew's pupils constricted again.
"Hey, Ace! Did you see that? My God! He's running on the surface of the sea!!"
"How is that possible? How can a human walk on the ocean!"
"Even a Devil Fruit Ability User can't do that!"
"Who on earth is this old man?"
Ace and his crew were dumbfounded, and at that moment, they finally realized that this serious, cold old man was not joking.
Above the sea, a cold man in armor with long black hair was running swiftly. With each step he took, water splashed up, creating ripples on the surface, yet he strangely did not sink into the water. It was as if he possessed a mysterious power that could resist the pull of the sea.
In just an instant, Madara crossed the distance of several dozen meters.
As he approached the Spade Pirates' ship, Madara bent his knees and leaped high.
"Ace! He's coming!"
The crew's expressions changed, and they shouted loudly.
Running on the sea was one thing, but this old man leaped several dozen meters into the air, his was outrageous!
Ace's expression grew serious as he looked up at Madara's ascent, his gaze fixed intently on him.
In the next second, he saw the cold old man's right hand making a few gestures, placing it near his mouth, and looking down at him.
"Let me see your caliber, kid! You dare say I will lose!"
Suddenly, the cold man took a deep breath and exhaled downward.
"Katon (Fire Release), Grand Fireball Technique!"
The Grand Fireball Technique was one of the most common forms of Katon (Fire Release) ninjutsu, rated only C-level, and many Shinobi, including Genin, could master it. However, when this ordinary Katon (Fire Release) was expelled from Madara's mouth, it instantly expanded into a massive fireball with a diameter of thirty meters. The scorching heat and searing flames merged into a sun-like crimson, instantly changing the expressions of Ace and his crew.
"Are you kidding me?!!"
"Run!"
"What's going on with this old man?!"
The enormous fireball descended from the sky, covering the distance of several dozen meters in an instant. The Spade Pirates' crew reacted quickly, all jumping into the nearby sea. Ace, still in shock, was astonished to find that there was someone in this world, besides himself, who could wield such terrifying flames.
"Boom!"
The fireball collided with the ship, exploding with a thunderous roar. Flames surged, twisting and radiating in all directions, quickly engulfing the entire ship.
Madara looked down, his gaze cold.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and a smile crept onto his lips.
"Indeed, this is quite impressive. Very good!"
Below, on the pirate ship, the sails and most of the wood had been instantly burned away by that strike. But strangely, the entire ship was not destroyed; it continued to float quietly on the surface of the sea. Given the power of Madara's Grand Fireball Technique, it should have been able to obliterate the ship instantly. At that moment, the flames seemed to be restrained by some mysterious force, rapidly gathering together.
Suddenly.
"Boom!"
All the flames quickly converged toward the spot where Ace had been standing, instantly forming a massive fireball the same size as the previous Grand Fireball.
On the small battered ship, the Qin Lin trio was astonished.
"You destroyed my ship, old man! That's a bit too much!"
Ace slowly raised his head, surrounded by swirling red flames, a massive fireball rotating above his right index finger. His face was now devoid of a smile, replaced by a cold expression.
Clearly, he was angry about this unfamiliar old man destroying his pirate ship.
"Oh? What do you want to do about it?"
Madara's eyes flashed as he stood in the air, looking down with a cold smile.
"Of course, I'll return it to you!"
With anger burning in his eyes, the flames around Ace blazed fiercely, and the fireball in his right hand expanded again, growing to a size of a hundred meters.
This scene made the Qin Lin trio widen their eyes. Madara's gaze also narrowed slightly.
Ace swung his hand forcefully, and the fireball on his index finger shot out, charging towards Madara.
(End of Chapter)
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