User blog comment:CallMeKnuckles/DEATH BATTLE Prediction Blog: Natsu VS Ace/@comment-4450205-20170426234411

I'd like to thank Knuckles for allowing me to join this.

This fight is a rare case where the combatants' destructive power is unimportant. Both have destroyed mountains and islands, but both used fire to achieve these feats, which is an ineffective weapon in this battle due to their mutual immunity to the element. Ace stands to have a significant strength and speed advantage due to his ability to match the likes of Blackbeard and his brother, Luffy. He also has more stamina, as he was able to fight for 5 days continously without slowing down whatsoever, where as Natsu has never fought longer than 1 day. However, Natsu is tougher due to being bulletproof where as Ace hasn't shown to be, has access to other elements like lightning to use in his attacks, and is not far behind in the strength department.

Now to address the 2 elephants in the room. Can Natsu eat Ace? In theory, there is no reason he shouldn't be able to. Ace has never been established to be a divine flame, or any other kind that Natsu has been shown incapable of eating. However, due to his speed advantage and the fact he can choose whether his body is composed of fire or not, it is unlikely Natsu could pull it off in practice. Even if Ace tired to the point where he has trouble creating fire, his body should naturally be stuck in its normal state rather than trapping him in its fiery form. Natsu could start eating Ace, but Ace could just push himself away, reform what fire he lost, and solidify his body. Natsu can eat part of Ace to replenish his power, but it's unlikely for him to successfully and completely eat Ace.

As for the second elephant, can Natsu hit Ace? Yes. Even if Ace is transformed into fire to bypass physical attacks, Natsu has shown on repeated occasion that he can physically touch and interact with fire, even without the use of magic. This is most notably seen in his encounter with Atlas Flame, a dragon entirely composed of hellfire, that Natsu was able to clutch onto and continously eat. Even though Natsu lacks Armament Haki, he should still be able to hit and hurt Ace due to his interactions with the likes of Atlas Flame.

For a smaller elephant, can Natsu's flames hurt Ace like the Magu Magu Devil Fruit did? Probably not. Though Natsu's fire is undoubtedly hotter than Ace's, as it has evaporated lakes extremely quickly and melted steel, it is specifically stated that the Mera Mera and Magu Magu Devil Fruit are of the same class, but Magu Magu was just stronger. It is more likely the elemental differences between Ace's fire and magma that let the Magu Magu hurt him.

With both of their easy-way-out gimmicks out of the way, who wins? Neither is known for being incredibly witty, but Ace is consistently smarter on the battlefield than Natsu's headfirst rushdown strategy. However, Natsu has had moments of surprising insight that surpass Ace's tactical ability, even if they are few and far between. Both may be immune to fire, but only Natsu can eat fire and use them to replenish his stamina while boosting his power when attacked by Ace. This means that as the fight continues, Ace will be gradually tiring himself while Natsu is only growing stronger and constantly fighting at peak power. It doesn't help that Natsu has super forms like Fire Dragon King or Dragon Force that boost Natsu's physical stats drastically. Ace starts off strong, but Natsu's constantly rising power and overwhelming tenacity just make it a harder victory for Ace the longer they fight. Ace can't really overload Natsu with fire either, as he's never shown any form of limit to how much fire he can eat. Even if he does have a theoretical limit, it's one Ace cannot hit with his fiery powers.

"But what if Ace just stops using his Devil Fruit powers and fight Natsu with his superior stats?" Well, it's certainly a closer fight for him. Even in an endurance match, Ace can fight for longer periods of time and has better strength, speed, and arguably hand-to-hand skill. However, Natsu still grows stronger the angrier he becomes, as rage strengthens him like eating fire does, albeit without replenishing his stamina. On top of that, Natsu still has stat-boosting super forms that let him match and surpass Ace's strength and speed. While Ace is a better strategist, it's not by a massive margin, and it's not enough for him to lead Natsu into any form of complex trap.

In the end, either Ace keeps using his fruit in hopes of overloading Natsu's fire-eating abilities and just constantly strengthen the Dragon Slayer, or the Fire Fist stops using his fire and is ultimately overwhelmed by Natsu's increasing power and magical lightning. It's a tough fight, but in the end the Salamander eats the Fire Fist for breakfast.

I declare the winner Natsu Dragneel, the Salamander.