Portgas D. Ace vs. Marshall D. Teach - Flame Fist and Blackbeard

Major Chapters: 440-441
- Other Chapters: 434
Volumes: #45, 46
Victor: Unknown

The Build Up

This fight was primed since the early days of Arabasta, back when Ace was first introduced. Blackbeard, a former subordinate of Ace's, killed a crewmate (later identified as the 4th Corps Commander, Satch) and escaped the fleet. Ace, as his superior, felt a duty to track Teach down. This he did from before the story began in earnest until Chapter 434, where he caught up to the Blackbeard Pirates on Banaro Island.

The Action

Having confronted the crew, Ace remarks that he's come to kill their Captain. "Blackbeard" Teach offers Ace a place at his side, but upon remarking that his first task is to kill Luffy, Ace states that he is Luffy's older brother. And, when he refuses to join the crew, Van Auger opens fire with a series of shots; Ace replies with his Higan attack, scattering the group. Jesus Burgess literally drops a house on his captain's opponent, only to see a Hibagashira scald it to nothingness. Ace drops a tremendous Fire Fist onto Teach, burning him badly.

However, Blackbeard reveals his Devil's Fruit: the Yami-Yami no Mi that controls darkness. The two then begin to fight in earnest, only for Teach to reveal that his gravitational darkness can absorb everything, including Devil Fruit powers. Both of them stand bloody and battered by the battle's end, but as they loom up with their finishing moves, Ace confidently declares that he will make Whitebeard the Pirate King.

The Aftermath

The ramifications of the Ace-Teach fight has yet to be seen. In text boxes within Chapter 441, the battle was remarked as setting off an "enormous, unforgettable event" in the future.