"..."
Rising from the ice wall, Patrick Redfield flexed his slightly numb wrists—he had just barely blocked Wright's slash in time, and it left him silently alarmed.
His strength, speed, Haki… he's even stronger than when he fought Whitebeard!
"Heh~ Took a blow right away, huh~? How's it feel~?"
Borsalino pursed his lips and fired off a barrage of lazy taunts. Maybe it was because he was the oldest among the Marine forces present, but something about Redfield always rubbed him the wrong way.
"Just a heads-up~ Compared to the Fleet Admiral's trash talk~ Even I've gotta admit defeat~"
"..."
Wright shot Borsalino an irritated glare—Seriously, Yellow Monkey, do you ever think before you speak?!
"Hehehe… Two Admirals and a Fleet Admiral. Looks like the Marines are sparing no expense today…"
Redfield let out a cold laugh.
"Doesn't this prove just how powerful I've become? That you had no choice but to deploy such overwhelming force against me?"
"Though I must admit, I didn't expect the Marines to possess such technology… Instant transmission to a target location? Frightening…"
"During the war at Marineford… You used this same technique to teleport into Impel Down, didn't you? And then returned to the battlefield in time?"
"You're not wrong. Which means," Wright smiled as he slowly rose into the air to face the blood-shrouded Redfield, "since this top-secret tech's now exposed, you're not going anywhere today. How about heading back to Impel Down for a nice cup of tea?"
"The cell you used to occupy—I had Warden Magellan renovate it a year ago. I guarantee it's got more ambiance now."
"What a joke!"
Blood energy surged violently around Redfield, his longsword now cloaked in dense blood mist.
"You really think you can take me on alone? Just you? When even both Admirals together couldn't bring me down?!"
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
Gold and crimson light split the sky, each claiming their half of the skies. Kuzan kept his eyes sharp on the battlefield, erecting ice walls to block the shockwaves erupting from the clash.
"Arara… this ain't something we're gonna resolve quickly. Maybe I should just take a nap…"
"Ehhh~ Better not~ I've got a feeling~ we'll be joining in soon~"
Borsalino let out a rare sigh.
"Seriously though~ Every time we deal with this old man~ it's the Fleet Admiral who has to step in~"
"Not exactly great for Admiral pride, huh?"
Kuzan scratched his chin, eyeing Smoker, who zipped through the sky with a Den Den Mushi, filming every second.
"And with all this footage? Ugh. Smoker's really doing us dirty here—how're we supposed to save face when this gets out?!"
"Fleet Admiral… is really that strong? Is Boss gonna be okay…"
Pato anxiously watched the golden and blood-red lights crashing into each other above. The skies crackled with blood fog and golden lightning, their Conqueror's Haki clashing with an intensity that echoed for miles.
"He's strong, yeah~ Way stronger than us, gotta admit that~"
Borsalino cast a sideways glance at Pato, who looked like he was on the verge of tears.
"Of course there's danger~ But we're taking him in~ That old man's going down~"
"Boss won't lose!"
Pato went quiet, then suddenly shouted with conviction:
"Boss still has his dream. When you're fighting for a dream, you can draw out power beyond your limits!"
"Arara… Tanuki, if we're talking about dreams, our Fleet Admiral's no less ambitious than that old man."
Kuzan crossed his arms, a hint of a smile creeping onto his face.
"If that old man's dream is to become Pirate King, well… at least Gol D. Roger achieved that once before."
"But world peace? That's something this world hasn't seen in eight hundred years…"
"Maybe… never at all."
"If it's a contest of dreams… there's no way Wright would lose."
Another intense clash lit the sky. Wright shook his head and called out:
"Come on, old timer. Time to show your real strength. You don't seriously expect me to believe that your Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit only gives you this much power, do you?"
"At this rate, you're still a long way off from realizing your 'great dream.'"
"..."
Redfield's expression darkened.
Of course the Vampire Fruit had more to offer than this. But he had only just eaten it earlier that day. Though combat had rapidly accelerated his adaptation to its powers, true mastery would still take time.
"Heh heh heh… I may not have full control yet, but if I'm willing to pay the price… I can go deeper."
Mythical Zoan fruits not only massively enhanced physical capabilities—they also granted supernatural powers unique to the mythical beast in question.
Redfield had already shown several of the Vampire Fruit's traits: regeneration through blood, dark shrouding to conceal his presence, and flight.
But—
The Vampire Fruit's greatest boost… was to Observation Haki!
And when paired with flight, Redfield unleashed Future Sight—the highest level of Observation Haki!
"So… a common trait among bat-type Zoans… Not bad."
Wright's eyes flared gold, locking onto Redfield's blood-glowing gaze. He too activated Future Sight. Their Observations were evenly matched once again!
As for reading minds—Redfield already knew from the Marineford war that such tricks were useless against Wright.
That strange Vice Admiral back then… it must've been Wright who helped him reach that level of mental discipline.
Redfield realized: when it came to Observation Haki, they were at a stalemate.
Which meant—
BOOOOOOM!
A sudden, deafening explosion rocked the battlefield where the two collided. But with both able to foresee the future, the clash had returned to square one.
"…Soundwaves?"
Wright's Holy Light Wall—Sanctuary had shielded him from harm, but he immediately recognized the nature of the attack.
"Hm… bats. Makes sense."
SWOOSH—!
Redfield slashed again—then burst into a cloud of blood mist, dodging Wright's counter like a Logia user and shooting toward him at high speed!
CRACKLE—!
As Wright parried, he noticed darkness rapidly engulfing the surroundings—as if night had suddenly fallen. And from within the veil of shadows, a crimson moonlight shone down, sapping his movements and clouding his mind!
"Hmm… simultaneous control of body and spirit? As expected from a Mythical Zoan!"
With a stomp, Wright unleashed a surge of Divine Flame—Consecration instantly dispersing the darkness. Golden storm-like slashes tore through the swarming aberrations from all sides!
"…Bats, huh?"
A burst of Holy Storm combined with Consecration wiped out the darkness completely. Redfield was forced to reappear, eyes wide in disbelief.
"You're completely unaffected?!"
He could feel it—something emanating from Wright's golden radiance that pressed down on him unnaturally. Just touching that light dealt damage.
"This… This wasn't the case at Marineford!"
"Well," Wright shrugged, Ashes igniting with blazing Holy Fire, his golden aura now illuminating the entire battlefield, gradually eclipsing the blood-red glow,
"You probably didn't know…"
"In certain circles… they say the Holy Light is a vampire's natural nemesis."
"And now, knowing all that—do you still believe one man alone can become the Pirate King?"
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