Chapter 248: Ace's New Form!

"You two—come at me together." 

As Ace walked confidently to the forefront of the Entei Pirates, Kaido and Linlin's expressions quickly darkened. 

Ace's intentions were crystal clear—he was challenging both of them at once. 

Despite the current stalemate, it was obvious that the Entei Pirates had the upper hand. If their elite fighters launched a full-scale attack, the alliance of the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates would be thoroughly crushed. 

The alliance had drastically underestimated the Entei Pirates' strength, and this grave miscalculation, compounded by a lack of intelligence, had cost them dearly. 

Defeat for the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates was inevitable. 

But this did not mean Kaido and Linlin would allow their dignity to be trampled. 

Ace's bold challenge struck a nerve. His declaration to take on both Four Emperors single-handedly wasn't just an insult—it was a humiliation. 

The original plan had been for Kaido and Linlin to work together against Ace, but that was under their terms. Now, with Ace taking the initiative while in complete control of the battle, it was as if he didn't regard them as worthy opponents. 

They were the Four Emperors—rulers of the New World! No one had ever looked down on them so blatantly!

To them, this was an unforgivable affront to their pride!

"You've got guts, Entei!" Kaido growled, his voice filled with fury, though a sinister smirk tugged at his lips. 

Linlin's bloodshot eyes glinted menacingly, her massive frame vibrating with rage. She snarled like a predator ready to attack, her jagged teeth bared. 

"Boy, you'll regret those words!" 

Ace, however, only laughed. The black and purple hues of his Conqueror's Haki shimmered ominously in his eyes. 

"Talk less. Fight more." he replied, his voice brimming with unshakable confidence. 

 Boom!!! 

In an instant, Ace unleashed an overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki. 

The sheer intensity of his Conqueror Haki sent violent winds ripping through the battlefield, shaking the ground and sky alike. 

Even Kaido and Linlin couldn't completely withstand the force and were momentarily immobilized, glaring at Ace with grim faces. 

"This guy's Conqueror Haki keeps evolving!" Kaido muttered under his breath, his expression sour as he encased himself in his own Conqueror's Haki to shield against Ace's blast. 

"Mama!" 

Linlin's Homies—Zeus, Prometheus, and Napoleon—screamed as the violent winds from Ace's Haki swept them away. 

Homies, the anthropomorphic beings created by the power of Linlin's Soul-Soul Fruit, were temporarily weakened under the oppressive force of Ace's Conqueror Haki. 

For creatures born of Devil Fruit powers, the sheer might of Ace's Conqueror's Haki left them powerless. 

The devastating force began to unravel the essence of the Soul-Soul Fruit that sustained them. 

Zeus, Prometheus, and Napoleon could feel their connection to Linlin's soul slipping away. If the fruit's influence completely dissipated, they would revert to soul fragments and merge back into Linlin's body. 

For the Homies, this was the equivalent of death. 

"Prometheus! Napoleon!" Zeus screamed in terror as his comrades began to fade, their forms becoming translucent and insubstantial. 

In the next moment, Prometheus and Napoleon shattered into fragments of light with a faint sound. 

They were gone. 

Prometheus and Napoleon, the most powerful of Linlin's Homies, had fallen—destroyed by Ace's Conqueror's Haki. 

Zeus, now the last surviving Homie, trembled uncontrollably. His wide, anthropomorphic eyes reflected sheer terror. 

In his mind, death was now inevitable. 

Ace's gaze fell on Zeus, and the corner of his lips curved upward into a faint smirk. 

"Come here," Ace commanded coolly, his tone calm yet brimming with absolute authority. 

In the next moment, Ace manipulated the violent wind created by the roar of his Conqueror's Haki, blowing Zeus—amid his frantic screams—into Nami's hand. 

"Cloud?" 

Nami's eyes sparkled as she looked at the small, panicked cloud in her palm. 

During the earlier battle, Nami had noticed Zeus. As a thundercloud created by Linlin's Soul-Soul Fruit, Zeus could unleash extraordinarily powerful thunder—far stronger than anything Nami could generate with her Thunder Fruit abilities alone. 

If she could use Zeus as a medium for her abilities, her power would increase dramatically. 

"What... what are you going to do to me?!" Zeus stammered, his wide eyes filled with fear. 

Under the influence of Ace's Conqueror's Haki, Zeus had shrunk significantly, small enough to be held in Nami's grasp. For Zeus—created as a thundercloud by Linlin's soul and powered by the Soul-Soul Fruit—being captured by Nami, a living embodiment of thunder, was nothing short of terrifying. 

"Nami, do you like this gift?" Ace asked, retracting his Conqueror's Haki with a faint smile. 

Zeus wasn't weak; as a sentient thundercloud, he could serve as a potent medium for Nami's Thunder Fruit abilities. With Zeus, her thunder techniques would reach unprecedented levels. 

It was a fitting gift for Nami, and Ace had gone to the trouble of using his Haki precisely for this purpose. 

"I love it!" Nami exclaimed with delight. Then, turning to Zeus with a chilling grin, she declared, "Zeus, from now on, you're my slave." 

At that moment, her Conqueror's Haki seemed to radiate a golden aura, sending a shiver down Zeus's metaphorical spine. 

"!!!" 

Zeus quaked with terror. 

 So terrifying! 

But what could he do? If he defied Nami, he'd die. Yet if he betrayed Linlin, his "mother," he'd also die! 

Zeus felt cornered, trapped in a no-win situation. He didn't want to die! 

"Relax," Nami said calmly, her voice steady yet commanding. "Linlin won't exist in this sea after today. Be my slave, and I'll ensure you live." 

As a Thunder Fruit user, Nami could sense Zeus's emotions and state with uncanny precision, thanks to the amplification of her Observation Haki through electromagnetic waves. 

Lifting her Clima-Tact, Nami conjured a small thunder bubble crackling with energy. 

"Woah!" 

Zeus's eyes lit up at the sight of the bubble, and, acting on instinct, he devoured it in one gulp. 

"Delicious!" Zeus exclaimed, his voice filled with delight. 

He had never tasted anything like this before—such pure and abundant energy. 

"How about it?" Nami smirked, her crimson lips curling slyly. "Be my slave, and I'll give you all the thunderclouds you can eat." 

"Yes! Yes! I want more!" Zeus nodded fervently, completely enraptured. 

"Zeus!!!" 

Suddenly, Linlin's thunderous roar echoed across the battlefield as the winds of Ace's Conqueror's Haki subsided. Her blazing eyes locked onto Zeus with fury. 

"Mama?!!!" 

Zeus froze, instinctively terrified. His trembling gaze darted to Linlin, filled with dread. 

"Don't worry," Nami said coolly, gripping Zeus tightly before stuffing him into her Clima-Tact. 

"The Soul-Soul Fruit's abilities are impressive," Ace observed, glancing at Linlin with a smirk. His sharp eyes glinted with interest. 

"Enough games, Entei!" Kaido bellowed, his voice a mix of rage and frustration. "If you want to fight, then fight!" 

Kaido's bloodshot eyes bore into Ace. The sheer audacity of Ace—wasting his Conqueror Haki just to hand a Homie over to Nami—infuriated him. How much did this man despise them? 

"Swoosh!" 

Ignoring Kaido's outburst, Ace raised his right hand. Tiny specks of light began to materialize in the atmosphere, shimmering faintly. 

The lights swiftly converged, merging into the bodies of Kaya, Hancock, Nami, and Gion. 

 Bang! 

One by one, slightly reddish bubbles emerged from each woman's body. Kaya's bubble, in particular, was enormous, spanning several meters in diameter. 

As the bubble left Kaya, her furrowed brow relaxed, and her expression softened. 

It was the power of the Paw-Paw Fruit, capable of extracting and ejecting pain. 

"The ability of the Paw-Paw Fruit truly is remarkable," Kaido thought as he observed Ace's actions, his expression dark and brooding. 

Although this wasn't the first time he had witnessed Ace wielding multiple Devil Fruit powers with such ease, it still sent shivers down his spine every time. It was incomprehensible to him, and the sheer audacity of it made his scalp tingle. 

On the other hand, Linlin was seeing Ace's abilities in action for the first time. Her eyes twitched involuntarily as she took it all in. 

 What a monster! 

Both Kaido and Linlin cursed Ace silently. 

Despite their rage, neither of them made a move to attack. The Entei Pirates' officers had all assembled, and the strength of Ace's crew was more than enough to overwhelm them without Ace lifting a finger. 

Since Ace insisted on fighting them alone, they decided to bide their time. His arrogance would surely be his undoing—or so they thought. 

"It's a bit messy, Kaya," Ace said softly, his gaze warm as he looked at her. 

Using the Black Flash technique twice in quick succession had taken an extreme toll on her. 

Kaya, however, responded with a radiant smile, her beautiful eyes unwavering with determination. 

"For you, Ace, I can endure anything," she said firmly. 

"Then, I'll let him bear it," Ace replied with a faint smile. 

At his feet lay Jack, unconscious and battered from the earlier battle. 

The pain expelled by the Paw-Paw Fruit doesn't disappear on its own. If left unresolved, it inevitably returns to its original source. However, someone else can shoulder the pain—and Jack, already unconscious, would serve as a final vessel. 

With a swift gesture, Ace raised his hand, and the reddish pain bubbles floated toward Jack's body. 

 "Swish!" 

In the blink of an eye, the bubbles merged into Jack's body. 

 "Puff!" 

Blood erupted from Jack's form like a gruesome flower in full bloom. 

Already critically injured, Jack was unable to endure the torrent of pain. The last flicker of life sustained by the resilience of his Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit—Mammoth—was extinguished in an instant. 

Jack the Drought, one of the Three Disasters, is dead. 

 "Buzz!" 

Ace then took a fruit from the door-door into his palm and activated the Field of Comprehension . 

The Devil Fruit energy from Jack's Mammoth, which had been dissipating, was rapidly captured by Ace. The fruit in his hand began to morph and transform. 

Within moments, it became a special fruit adorned with two sharp tusks: the Elephant Fruit, Ancient Zoan—Mammoth Form. 

As an Ancient Zoan, this Devil Fruit possessed incredible strength, far surpassing that of ordinary Zoans. It would be a powerful addition to the Devil Fruit Corps under Ace's command. 

"Gion, take it," Ace said, extending his hand to pass the fruit to Gion. 

Without hesitation, Gion stepped forward and accepted it. 

As the captain of the Entei Pirates' Devil Fruit Corps, she was entrusted with guarding and distributing Devil Fruits within their ranks. 

Not far away, Kaido's face turned darker than a thundercloud. 

He had just witnessed Jack's death and the theft of the Mammoth Fruit right before his eyes. 

Rage surged through Kaido, his Conqueror's Haki erupting wildly, swirling around him like a storm. 

 "ENTEI!!!!" Kaido roared, his voice trembling with fury. 

The sheer force of his Conqueror Haki shook the battlefield. 

"Come," Ace said, his voice calm but laced with confidence. He turned to face Kaido and Linlin, his lips curling into a smirk. 

"But let me show you my new form first." 

The aura around Ace began to boil, the intensity of his Haki rising sharply.