Patrick Redfield, born with extraordinary Observation Haki, was constantly tormented by the overwhelming flood of sensations it brought him.
But it was precisely this ability, combined with his fearsome swordsmanship and physical prowess, that made him stand shoulder to shoulder with legends like Whitebeard, Shiki, and Roger—all on his own.
The moment the battleship carrying Kong and Garp docked, Redfield sensed their overwhelming presence. Yet all he did was furrow his brow slightly, and made no move to leave.
He simply lifted his cup and took another careful sip of coffee. There was no deeper reason, just the pride and confidence of a top-tier warrior.
He gazed silently toward the harbor, waiting for the Marines to arrive.
* * *
At the harbor.
Standing on the deck, Kong and Garp looked at the towering mountain ahead.
Behind them, rows of Marines were disembarking and entering the town, dispersing the crowds.
The fleet admiral stared at the mountain and said, "No movement. Makes things simpler."
Garp, laughing while munching on a doughnut, replied, "Bwahahahaha, looks like he's underestimating us."
Kong's expression turned stern. "Garp, you and Tsuru secure the town below. I'll deal with him."
Still grinning, the man nodded. "Don't worry."
Vice Admiral Tsuru gave a slight nod. "Understood."
The three stepped down from the deck.
Kong and Tsuru remained serious, while Garp followed behind in his usual carefree manner.
* * *
In the town.
Marines lined the streets with rifles at the ready, forming checkpoints. Countless residents peeked through windows and door cracks, nervously watching the troops.
Tsuru stood at the center of the plaza and addressed the townspeople, "Please remain calm, everyone. This is a Marine operation to apprehend a pirate. Our target is the infamous Patrick Redfield. We ask that you all stay inside your homes. Do not panic."
Hearing it was just an arrest operation, many residents let out a sigh of relief. But once they heard the name "Redfield," tension returned to their faces.
"What?!"
"You mean the Red Count? The one said to rival Roger himself?!"
"This is... bad..."
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"Don't worry. The Marines said to just stay indoors and it'll be fine."
"Let's hope so..."
Within their homes, families and friends whispered quietly among themselves.
Garp sat on the roof of the town's tallest church, looking toward the mountain. He stuffed another doughnut into his mouth and mumbled with a grin, "It's starting."
* * *
Atop the mountain.
Redfield set his cup down and glanced at Kong, who had now appeared in the distance.
"So that's what this is. A show of strength. I see... I've been underestimated."
He rose and grabbed the umbrella-tilted sword beside him, giving it a casual flourish.
Kong studied the man before him: dressed in a purple shirt, blood-red trousers, and a wide crimson cloak.
"You already know why I'm here. Just as the rumors say... your Observation Haki sees into people's hearts. A terrifying ability. Someone this dangerous can't be left alone."
Redfield flicked his umbrella toward a distant peak.
Whoosh!
A single brilliant arc split the sky, and the towering mountaintop was cleaved clean through, the upper half sliding away as massive stones tumbled down with deafening crashes.
"You could've just attacked me outright," he said coldly. "But instead, you dressed it up with some noble excuse. Such an ugly side of humanity."
Kong's arms darkened, coated in flowing waves of Armament Haki. "A noble excuse? No. It's simply giving you a chance to confess your sins, pirate."
Their gazes locked, unyielding and sharp as blades.
"...Hmph." x2
With a sudden burst, violent waves of pressure erupted beneath their feet as the air around them churned outward in every directions.
Like a storm, winds from their clashing wills tore through the earth, grinding against each other in a ferocious deadlock.
And then, in an instant, both Kong and Redfield vanished from sight.
Boom!
A deafening impact shook the land. The ground split open and cracked endlessly, sending dust hundreds of meters into the sky.
Thick smoke rose like a mushroom cloud, while rings of shockwaves rippled outward.
At the center of the blast, Redfield's right hand had thrust out with his umbrella sword, but it was caught by Kong's left arm.
The fleet admiral's right arm surged with Haki, forming a sharp cone aimed directly at his opponent.
Redfield leaned back, quickly pulling his weapon away.
Shhk!
A sound like tearing cloth echoed through the air as Kong's right arm pierced Redfield's body, but there was no sense of hitting anything real. His eyes narrowed. 'That speed…'
Even as his arm pushed forward, the pirate's image faded like smoke. But before it could disappear entirely, another Redfield materialized behind Kong and slashed down at incredible speed.
The fleet admiral twisted slightly, his entire arm cloaked in Haki.
Clang!
The umbrella-sword struck his shoulder, and a harsh, grinding sound rang out, like rusted iron being scraped.
Boom!
The two separated, and a thin line of blood ran down Kong's shoulder, his skin had been split half a centimeter deep by the slash.
Staring at Redfield, he remarked, "With swordsmanship like that, you could easily be called the world's greatest swordsman."
He didn't say that lightly. Redfield, much like Shiki, was a high-offense, low-defense type.
But unlike the latter, who balanced his strength across ability, Haki, swordsmanship, and influence, Redfield stood among legends purely through one thing: unmatched swordsmanship.
Using his heart-reading Observation Haki to predict openings, paired with overwhelming speed, when it came to swordsmanship alone, there was simply no rival on the seas.
Redfield replied coolly, "Terrifying indeed. I shouldn't be left unchecked any longer."
He had read Kong's mind, and voiced what the man was about to say.
The fleet admiral's gaze sharpened, but Redfield spoke again, "Reading minds… I really can't let you continue."
He echoed Kong's thoughts word for word.
Boom!
The ground beneath the fleet admiral's feet shattered as he disappeared. Redfield read his intent and stabbed behind him with his weapon, right toward Kong's eye.
But Kong shifted slightly, adjusting the target to his forehead. At the same time, his head was coated with Haki.
He tanked the blow, then brought both arms crashing toward Redfield.
Surprised, the pirate's brows tightened as he pulled back his umbrella sword and blasted forward.
Boom!!
Kong's fists passed through an afterimage and slammed into each other, creating a fierce shockwave that exploded outward, scattering all the surrounding smoke and debris.
"Even if you seize the initiative, so what. You don't get the luxury of making a mistake. Slip once, and you die."
Redfield's physical prowess was high, but against a brute tank like Kong, it was still a tier below. Even Shiki had to sacrifice an arm to escape Garp when caught in close combat. Not to mention Kong's physique, which made the vice admiral look small by comparison.
What made this fight dangerous was Redfield's speed and his mind-reading Observation Haki.
Redfield's expression darkened. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Kong was right.
He raised his right hand, then slowly extended his left, pulling off the umbrella portion of his sword and tossing it aside.
Spinning the weapon lightly, his aura sharpened as Haki surged steadily into the blade's tip.
His form flickered, then a blinding slash cut through the air.
Kong tilted his head to dodge, but the slash grazed his ear. It then kept flying and struck a distant mountain.
BOOM!
The mountain cracked at its midpoint and exploded violently. Huge boulders, blasted by the shockwave, flew in all directions across the island.
The figures of both men vanished once more as blades of sword energy and mushroom clouds detonated one after another in a relentless storm.
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