Chapter 422: Though Both Have Red Hair, There's a Gap in Strength
In the sacred arena of Elbaf. This was one of the thousands of branches of the Treasure Tree Adam, extending out a dense crown, a single, magnificent branch. It was also the place where the giants held their duels.
On the ground were left numerous slashes from swords, spears, and halberds, crisscrossing and covered with moss.
Although it was called an arena, it was in fact not a building, but just an open space. There were no spectator stands, nor was there a ring.
Only on the ground, at the very end of the branch, was a giant sword, nearly twenty meters high, stabbed into it. It had stood for thousands of years without falling, symbolizing that the great god of Elbaf would forever fairly witness all duels.
In the center of the field, the Red Hair Pirates and Kid's crew stood on opposite sides. Outside, they were surrounded by Buggy's group and many giants. And further out, Reiner's group and the Giant Warrior Pirates were just arriving.
The moment they saw them, a subordinate immediately rushed to Buggy and shouted:
"Ah! They're here, boss! It's Black Snake Reiner!"
"What!"
"Is Straw Hat here?!"
Buggy and his men were shocked. They whipped their heads around and saw Reiner at the head, the members of the Straw Hat crew lined up, slowly walking over. Behind them were the giant warriors led by Dorry and Brogy.
A sharp, blue shirt outlined his tall and straight figure. Reiner's face was expressionless as he walked straight up with his hands in his pockets, exuding an aura that made people step back.
The pirates' eyes were nervously fixed on Reiner. Wherever the group passed, the people in front of them subconsciously retreated and parted to both sides.
"What a terrifying aura."
"So this is the strongest man in the world."
"He's clearly not exuding any Haki. What's with this hair-raising pressure?"
Gulp~
The pirates in the outer circle swallowed. Unconsciously, cold sweat had already broken out on their foreheads, as if every step Reiner took was on their hearts, making them tremble.
Regardless of their strength, they could all feel a more powerful pressure from Reiner.
Except for one person.
"Hey! Where's Straw Hat? Don't tell me he's too scared to come out because he knows this old me is here! Where'd that guy go!"
Buggy flew up into the air, his face flushed with anger as he shouted.
Hawk-Eye's sharp gaze swept around. He also did not find Zoro's figure.
"Where's Roronoa?"
"They're still below. They'll be here later."
Reiner replied faintly, and at the same time, he grabbed the face of the floating Buggy in front of him and lifted him up.
"Ah! My nose! My nose!"
"Let go! Ah-da-da-da! It hurts so much, you bastard!"
Looking at Buggy, who was waving his hands, a blur of afterimages, while crying out in pain and struggling fiercely, Nami's lips twitched, speechless.
"This guy is still the same as before. How on earth did he subdue three Warlords and become their boss?"
"Nami—! Robin—!"
Suddenly, a young girl's soft voice came from the crowd, her tone slightly excited. Nami looked up and saw a girl holding a small red umbrella, pouncing at her with an excited face.
"Long time no see, everyone!"
"Eh! Is that Perona? That's great!"
Nami's eyes lit up. She happily went to meet the pouncing Perona and hugged her.
Robin smiled faintly and also walked over.
"Ara. Long time no see, Perona. You've become even more beautiful."
"Really!"
Two small shy blushes appeared on Perona's fair cheeks, and she smiled cutely, pursing her lips.
To see everyone again was really too happy.
"Princess Perona~~"
'Hedonist' Sanji, his face infatuated, twisted his body and floated over.
Pudding lowered her head and sighed, not saying anything. It was clear she had already given up struggling.
In Chopper's words, this was a genetic defect of the males of the Vinsmoke family. It was destined to be incurable in this life. Their future children would probably not escape it either.
A reunion after a long separation was always a joyous occasion.
After Thriller Bark, Perona had stayed on their ship for a good while. Her cute, simple, and bizarrely aesthetic personality had established a good relationship with everyone.
At that time, there were only Nami and Robin in the girls' dormitory. Perona's joining had also brought a lot of liveliness to it.
Upon meeting, the few of them started chatting on the spot.
At the same time, on the other side.
"Since you came with Luffy, I won't kill you. But this is already the second time. If I go easy on you again, I'll lose face."
Thud—thud.
A pair of straw sandals stepped out. Red-Hair stood back, one hand on the hilt of his sword, his expression indifferent as he faced Kid.
"The losing side will hand over their pirate flag. All those present will bear witness. If you can accept that, then draw your sword."
The moment these words were spoken, everyone present couldn't help but be a little shocked. This price was by no means light. A flag was the supreme soul of a pirate crew.
There were only two situations in which a flag was handed over: either to surrender and submit, or to disband on the spot.
The Red Hair Pirates were all non-ability users. Although it had not been officially announced, this was a well-known fact on the seas. Not to mention, Kid's personality was not one to obediently submit to others.
Red-Hair's words clearly meant he was preparing to completely crush the other's pirate crew.
"How ruthless, boss."
Yasopp's thick lips curled into a tease.
Not only would the pirate crew be disbanded, but the moment the flag was handed over, it would also mean that their spirit would be completely shattered. In the future, there would be basically no possibility of them growing again.
Kid's eyes hardened. There was not a trace of fear, only the desire to defeat the man standing before him.
Crackle—Crackle!
A purple electric spark flashed from his mechanical left arm. All the metal objects nearby, including the swords and halberds in the hands of the people present, all began to vibrate and hum under the magnetic pull.
"It seems you've made up your mind."
Clack—Zing!
Red-Hair drew the Gryphon from his waist, its tip pointing at Kid. The black cape behind him fluttered to one side. There was no anger in his eyes. Instead, a corner of his mouth lifted.
"A one-on-one, or a group fight? You choose."
"I alone am enough."
Kid's expression turned sinister. A magnetic electric arc flashed from his body, and his spiky red hair flew about wildly.
Before the surprised eyes of the surrounding people, all the weapons uncontrollably flew out of their hands and into the sky.
This duel had no referee. The moment he had released his magnetic energy and Red-Hair had drawn his sword, the battle had already begun!
"Jiki: Shū!!" (Magnetism: Gather!!)
Kid roared, and with a forceful clap of his hands, all the hovering weapons instantly shot out, concentrating on Red-Hair's position.
The moment he made a move, Killer and the others, and on the other side, Beckman and the others, all retreated, leaving the field to the two men who had staked everything.
Ching! Ching! Ching!
Under the explosive magnetic force, the flying cold weapons were even able to surpass the speed of sound, piercing the air with an ear-splitting sonic boom.
Red-Hair swung his sword behind him. A red light flashed in his pupils. He lowered his upper body and rushed up, his figure gracefully weaving between the falling weapons.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One by one, the cold weapons were completely embedded in the Treasure Tree Adam, which was said to be impenetrable, the hardest wood in the world.
The weapons, whose speed of flight was invisible to the naked eye, in Red-Hair's eyes, the entire trajectory from launch to landing, had turned into a series of clearly visible lines.
He only needed to walk a path that avoided all the lines to easily pass through all the attacks. On the contrary, his movements were too fast. Kid was gradually unable to capture the other's figure.
Clang! Clang!
Two deafening sounds of clashing blades. Two weapons were sent flying by a shower of sparks and were stabbed into the ground, humming nonstop.
After sending two weapons flying with his sword, Red-Hair's figure had already gotten close to Kid.
Under his flowing red hair, a pair of eyes were incomparably cold. The blade, with its cold glint, seemed as if it could even cut the wind. It swung down in a diagonal slash from top to bottom.
Kid's pupils constricted. He subconsciously raised his mechanical left arm, and a purple electric arc appeared in his palm, invisibly pulling the incoming blade. At the same time, he gritted his teeth and leaned his body back.
Screech—!
With a strong sense of resistance, the blade, bit by bit, tore through the mechanical arm with a piercing cutting sound, and with a flash of sparks, it cut it in two.
At the same time, the tip of Gryphon's blade had also cut a small gash on Kid's chest, and a few drops of scarlet blood flew out along with the severed arm.
Sensing the strange power transmitted from the sword, Red-Hair was secretly puzzled.
While blocking, he also used the effect of magnetism to affect the trajectory of my sword?
He immediately thought of what he had seen from Hongo, regarding the other's Magnet-Magnet Fruit's ability.
Zing—!
While thinking, Red-Hair's movements also did not stop. The upward-swinging blade turned, and with the momentum, he chopped down.
Although he had dodged a blow that could have decided the winner, Kid's backward-leaning body was already off-balance. He had no chance of dodging this blow.
However, he suddenly smiled sinisterly and aimed his remaining half of his mechanical arm at Red-Hair, and an electric arc flashed!
"Jiki: Punk Blaster!!"
This is bad!
Red-Hair's two pupils constricted in shock. The other was clearly planning to trade a killing blow with him.
Bang!!
His straw sandals cracked the ground. At the same time as the scrap iron exploded, Red-Hair's figure instantly disappeared from the spot.
Even if a single blow was enough to heavily injure the other, he would never choose to win through a trade of injuries. He was confident he could win the battle in an easier way.
The storm of iron filings devastated the entire area in front of Kid. However, looking up, Red-Hair's figure had already appeared in the air.
Kid frowned, as if the result of his attack missing was a bit unexpected.
To be able to dodge even at this distance... how far can this guy's Observation Haki see?
Kid's expression gradually became grave. And what's more, his Observation Haki had completely failed to capture the other's movements.
Was it too fast?
No. The speed should only depend on whether his movements can keep up. There's no reason why his Observation Haki would be completely unable to see it. This strange sense of dissonance lingered in Kid's heart.
Outside the field, the commotion of the start of the battle had clearly drawn the attention of everyone.
"What just happened?"
Nami was puzzled and turned her head slightly to look at Reiner.
Reiner just shrugged, and without turning his head, he said:
"I'm not sure. Observation Haki doesn't seem to work on that guy."
That's right. He also hadn't predicted Red-Hair's movements.
He had thought before that Red-Hair could use his Conqueror's Haki to affect others' Observation Haki, but now it was clear that was not the case.
He had accurately predicted Kid's movements just now and had not been interfered with at all. But he had not seen the move that Red-Hair was about to make.
He should be suppressing his own aura, to make others' Observation Haki ineffective on him.
The two sounded no different, and in a one-on-one fight, it was indeed the same for the opponent. But in a group fight, the difference was huge. One Conqueror's Haki outburst, and the entire enemy party would lose their Observation Haki ability.
This thing... when both sides have it and use it to about the same extent, you can't see the difference. If one side has it and the other doesn't, then the fight is as easy as playing with a blind man.
While thinking, the two in the field had made their move again.
Zing—!
Red-Hair first swung out a giant, arc-moon-shaped slash from the sky. Then he took a heavy step in the empty air and, using a technique similar to Moonwalk, he dived down closely behind the slash.
"Jiki: Shūgō!!" (Magnetism: Aggregate!!)
Kid bent his five fingers and made a grasping motion. The surrounding metal quickly gathered, and with a precise structure, it formed a seamlessly sealed mechanical wall.
He had already deeply experienced Red-Hair's swordsmanship. This time, he had also applied a powerful magnetic force to the interior of the wall, so that each embedded piece of metal would be tightly attracted to each other to strengthen the defense.
However, the next second.
Zing—!
When the slash landed, the half-meter-thick steel wall, with a powerful magnetic pull applied to its interior, was still cut in two!
A smooth, neat cut was made vertically from top to bottom. The separated defensive wall quickly disintegrated into metal parts.
Such powerful Haki... to be able to finely control and coil it on a flying slash?
Kid's eyes were filled with astonishment. This was the strongest defensive move he could make, yet the other had cut it in two with just one slash...
Before he had time to react, as the defensive barrier collapsed, Red-Hair's figure had already dived down, the Gryphon stabbing straight down!
It's over!
Kid's expression changed in shock. The blade, with its cold glint, was reflected in his frozen pupils. He quickly turned to the side and at the same time, extended his left hand. But he was still a step too slow.
Squelch—
The dull feeling of a sharp blade piercing flesh was transmitted. Red-Hair's sword had solidly pierced Kid's right shoulder, and with a spray of blood, it came out his back and was撇 on the ground.
Just when everyone thought it was over, Kid's left hand finally slapped the blade. He gritted his teeth, his eyes fierce, and the repelling magnetic force that he had superimposed and erupted pushed the blade outwards!
Hiss—
The horizontal pull of the blade once again sent flesh and blood flying. Kid's right shoulder was cut with a bloody gash.
Haki covered their shins. The two of them whipped out a kick at the same time!
Bang!!
A few black lightning bolts faintly sparked between the two. A powerful collision sent out a circle of impact. Kid's entire person was sent flying, and his back scraped along the ground, plowing a trench a dozen meters long.
Red-Hair was also sent flying backward. After a flip in the air, he landed, his two feet scraping along the ground for several meters before he stopped.
"Conqueror's Coating? I see."
Red-Hair's lips curled into a half-smile, his eyes showing great interest as he looked at Kid, who had stood up again.
He did know that the other had Conqueror's Haki, but his intel did not say that the other had mastered this application technique.
From what he had just felt, it was indeed a bit crude. It was probably something he had only recently started to try to master. But it was indeed Conqueror's Coating. Otherwise, that one blow from the other would not have been able to force him, who had also used Conqueror's Coating, back.
Since the start of the fight, the two had exchanged no more than three moves, and the situation already showed a clear disparity.
In Reiner's view, Kid's performance was actually quite good.
Red-Hair was very fast, and with a technique like Observation Haki, his figure was like a ghost and hard to capture. His exquisite swordsmanship, superimposed with his powerful Haki, had made his high-attack, high-speed positioning clear at a glance.
This characteristic determined Red-Hair's fighting style. It was the type that relied on speed to seize an opportunity and then deliver a powerful blow to end the battle.
To be able to withstand three moves, even if it was just barely... it was already enough to prove Kid's strength.
Although there was still no chance of winning.
(End of chapter)