Chapter 561: Ultimate Secret Technique: The Power of Bonds

Virtual Arena.

Ace and Uchiha Sasuke stare at each other; although they have not yet made a move, the atmosphere at the scene is murderous.

In the spectator stands, Madara looks at Uchiha Sasuke, his pupils constricting.

So alike, truly so alike!

This Sasuke and Izuna are simply cut from the same mold, the same hairstyle, the same unruliness.

"In the script, this Sasuke seems to be a king of posturing as well," the Old Demon King says.

He has basically read the scripts of the group members, each one, more than ten times.

After all, a life of invincibility is too lonely; that time can only be used for lying flat, slacking off, and drinking tea.

"Indeed, though he gets slapped in the face every time," Morgana nods.

"But what does it mean when the Chat Group shows 'Early Shippuden'?" Ye Fan asks.

"At every stage, their strength is vastly different," Yan Shuangying says.

"According to this stage, Sasuke at this moment should be in his rogue ninja phase, having not yet awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan," the Old Demon King says.

"A rogue ninja, heh. Worthy of being a descendant of the Uchiha; it seems Konoha took very good care of the Uchiha," Madara says disdainfully.

"Not really, the Uchiha were wiped out. Madara, you didn't know?" the Old Demon King asks in return.

"..., of course I know. If there is a chance, I will definitely slaughter that traitor Uchiha Itachi," Madara says, brimming with killing intent.

"Such great killing intent!" the Old Demon King says calmly.

The Uchiha clan was Madara's heart and soul; for Itachi to wipe out his own clan for the sake of Konoha, to Madara, this is a traitor, and it is unacceptable.

If it were a head-on clash and the Uchiha were wiped out by the Hokage lineage of Konoha, Madara would have nothing to say.

It would just be the victor taking all; he is not someone who cannot accept defeat.

The key is that they didn't even fight; the whole clan was simply slaughtered.

However, this bloodbath is not entirely Itachi's fault; there is also that traitor Obito.

To think he actually cooperated with Itachi to slaughter his own family; this was something Madara did not foresee.

Fortunately, in his own timeline, he has already changed things and will certainly not let the tragedy of the future happen.

As for other timelines, they have nothing to do with him.

At the same time, on the Arena.

"You are my opponent; state your name. My Kusanagi Sword does not kill nameless nobodies," Uchiha Sasuke says haughtily.

He can tell this is not the ninja world, and he can also sense that Ace's strength is extraordinary.

If this were the outside world, he wouldn't even speak and would just cut him down with one slash.

"Whitebeard Pirates, Second Division Commander, Fire Fist Ace," Ace says.

"A big background, then let me see your strength."

Without further ado, Sasuke leans forward and rushes toward Ace; his speed is extremely fast, reaching Ace's side in an instant.

The Kusanagi Sword is drawn, and a flash of sword light pierces through Ace's body.

"Is that it?" Sasuke sneers.

But the next second, his smile fades. Ace grips the Kusanagi Sword tightly with both hands, and scorching flames erupt, spreading up along the blade of the Kusanagi Sword!

The scalding temperature almost makes Sasuke drop the Kusanagi Sword, but he persists, simultaneously forming seals with one hand and saying to Ace:

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Hah, spit!"

A fireball is spat out from Sasuke's mouth, suddenly engulfing Ace.

Facing the scorching flames, Ace does not dodge or evade, saying:

"Petty tricks; playing with fire in front of me, heh."

Ace opens his mouth and simply eats the Great Fireball; if it were any other attack, he would be wary.

But fire—he himself is an elemental user of the Mera Mera no Mi and can control fire and transform into fire.

"??" Sasuke.

Ace is not polite either, opening his mouth to spit a mouthful of flames directly into Sasuke's face.

"!"

Sasuke again forms seals with one hand, using the Body Flicker Technique to put distance between himself and Ace.

Boom!

After the smoke clears, Sasuke holds the scalding Kusanagi Sword, his expression ugly.

"His ability is like a Bloodline Limit, but there is no Chakra fluctuation; it seems he can be immune to physical attacks," Sasuke quickly analyzes Ace's ability.

Ace does not give Sasuke a chance to catch his breath, shouting:

"Kagura!"

Ace jumps into the air, his hands controlling flames to transform into two javelins which he throws.

Sasuke's expression is calm, easily dodging them under the insight of the Sharingan.

The Sharingan can perceive an opponent's flaws and copy skills, but it is powerless against bloodline abilities.

Ace also understands that ordinary attacks cannot possibly take down Sasuke; only close combat can exhaust all of the opponent's stamina.

Thus, the two engage in close combat, trading punches and kicks.

With the enhancement of the Sharingan, Sasuke has the upper hand in taijutsu, even suppressing Ace at one point.

"Damn it, if only I had listened to Pops and practiced Haki," Ace regrets in his heart.

He has always relied on the Mera Mera no Mi ability and neglected the development of his own physical fitness.

Pops Whitebeard once said that a true powerhouse who cultivates Haki to a profound realm is enough to kill an ability user in seconds.

In the words of Pops, a fruit is merely the icing on the cake; the strongest thing is still oneself.

Of course, with the exception of some monstrous fruit abilities.

For example, Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi; once he unleashes his full power, the earth shakes and the mountains sway, the heavens collapse and the earth splits—that kind of large-scale damage, at a natural disaster level, is no longer something human power can withstand.

Ace felt regret; if he had been proficient in Haki, dealing with Blackbeard would not have been so difficult.

Sasuke had almost completely analyzed Ace's abilities, and suddenly pulling away, he said:

"You are very powerful, but your methods are too singular. If I am not mistaken, you possess a Bloodline Limit similar to fire, and everything about you is related to fire."

"That's right." Ace did not deny it.

Elementalization could allow him to be inherently invincible and wear the opponent out to death.

"You are very confident, haha."

"Ninjutsu might have no effect on you, but what about genjutsu? I wonder if you can withstand it," Uchiha Sasuke said.

"?" Ace.

Suddenly, Sasuke's pupils widened sharply, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan spinning; Ace felt as if struck by lightning, feeling himself sink into endless Darkness, unable to move a muscle.

"What the Uchiha are best at is not taijutsu, but genjutsu. I didn't expect you to have absolutely no resistance to genjutsu."

As Uchiha Sasuke spoke, he walked toward Ace, raised the Kusanagi Sword in his hand, and thrust it toward Ace's heart, without a shred of mercy.

To him, Ace was merely a stepping stone.

Splat!

The Kusanagi Sword sank into Ace's heart, fresh blood streaming out.

But within the illusion, Ace could only watch all of this happen, unable to stop it.

"I failed?"

"I really am a piece of trash!"

"I can't protect anyone!"

"I caused Pops to die, and made everyone risk their lives for me..."

"Damn it!"

In his mental world, Ace roared, feeling that he was a complete and utter failure.

But suddenly, Ace discovered that many people had appeared beside him: there was Whitebeard, there was Marco, Luffy, Sabo, and even Roger!

"Wahahaha, son, how can you fall here!"

"Captain, believe in yourself!"

"Ace, you are the big brother of me, Luffy, the future Pirate King!"

"As the son of the Pirate King, stand up!"

In an instant, a miraculous power surged from the depths of his soul.

In the outside world, Ace opened his eyes, and a soul-stirring aura spread out, turning the entire world black and white.