"Is that all?"
"My kindness was really in vain."
"Even if Shiryu fed you Sea King meat for a month straight, you'd still only reach this level."
Feeling the lingering Haki around Redfield, Rosen's voice grew increasingly disappointed.
He knew that years of imprisonment and poor food had left Redfield far from his prime.
To that end, some time before leaving Impel Down's Infinite Hell, Rosen had asked Shiryu to leave something good for Redfield to eat, in the name of a "last meal."
But he didn't know whether Redfield had simply become a remnant of a bygone era, or if even at his peak, the Aloof Red was only ever this strong.
Either way, the fact that Aloof Red — who once claimed to be able to defeat a former Marine Admiral — failed to give Rosen any unexpected surprise was disappointing.
"Stop talking nonsense."
"Boy, if you want to speak to me like a winner, you're twenty years too early."
"When your Haki can overpower mine, then you can talk big!"
Redfield's face soured at Rosen's tone.
The joy of returning to the sea and breathing free air again instantly faded.
"Yeah?"
Upon hearing this, Rosen nodded slightly.
"As you wish."
The moment the words fell, an even greater Haki than before erupted from his body — like a volcano spewing molten lava — carrying a pressure that sent massive ripples through the air, surging in all directions.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Rosen and Redfield's spirits clashed violently once again.
Gold and crimson — like two suns of different colors — collided.
Boom!
Fierce black and red lightning bolts, like mighty dragons, danced across the sky. Wherever they passed, they tore up sand and rock and split apart the sea of clouds overhead.
However, Redfield ignored the devastation around them. His full attention was on Rosen's Haki.
"No… impossible!"
"It's only been three months!"
"How can your Conqueror's Haki surpass mine?"
The blood-red sphere of Haki Redfield released — once a raging storm — now shrank under Rosen's overwhelming presence, like a defeated rooster. It could no longer expand, and instead retreated.
The evil smile froze on Redfield's face.
He had never eaten a Devil Fruit. Back in the day, he had defeated Fleet Admiral Kong with nothing but his Three Forms of Haki and the swordsmanship of a great swordsman.
His Haki was supposed to be unmatched.
But now…
It had been surpassed by a Marine Academy student in just three months.
"Is it just Conqueror's Haki?"
Rosen looked at Redfield, whose face was twisted in disbelief.
"What do you mean?"
"I surpass you in more than just Conqueror's Haki.
"In Armament Haki as well.
"And with my Observation Haki's ability to see the future — I can see further than you."
Rosen locked eyes with Redfield, speaking slowly, word by word.
His voice wasn't loud, and his tone was calm, as if stating a simple, obvious fact.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
"Yeah?"
"Then let me see how you surpass me in all Three Forms of Haki!"
Redfield laughed sharply, then withdrew his Conqueror's Haki.
This clash of Haki had only been a greeting between kings — a way to size each other up and gauge the other's spirit.
You couldn't decide a victor with a Haki clash alone.
Even higher-level Conqueror's Haki could only suppress an opponent; it couldn't directly crush someone at admiral level. At most, it could overwhelm a vice admiral.
"As you wish."
Rosen also withdrew his overwhelming Haki, then exhaled a breath into a sword, holding a Zanpakutō that had yet to be released, its true power concealed.
Clang.
Redfield, without a word, drew a long sword.
It was the very blade confiscated from him when Garp captured him — now returned to the sea with him.
Sniff.
His grip tightened, and from his palm burst the purple-black glow of Armament Haki, along with the black-red lightning of Conqueror's Haki, wrapping the weapon.
Armament Haki turned the sword into a black blade.
Conqueror's Haki gave it a terrifying edge.
Bang!
As if by unspoken agreement, the two men rushed forward at the same time, their blades colliding like thunder.
The violent aura surging from each strike created shock waves so powerful they bent the island's forest as if bowing before an emperor, and shattered the already-torn sea of clouds above.
For the first time, the sky was completely clear.
The island's view and light widened and brightened like never before.
Bang!
Neither Rosen nor Redfield used any ability other than Haki. They transformed their blades into black swords with Armament Haki, wrapped them in Conqueror's Haki, and fought head-on.
The moves were simple — chop, lift, cut.
But each clash echoed like thunder.
Each surge of Haki unleashed a storm like a tsunami.
For a while, the two were completely absorbed in the pure clash of Haki, their only thought to keep swinging their blades, again and again, flooding the air with their overwhelming presence.
Ten strikes.
Neither yielded, but the ground within a hundred meters shattered, rubble rising into the air.
Thirty strikes.
Still evenly matched, but the crack between them was now filled with black and red lightning, like a massive thunder pool.
Fifty strikes.
After each clash, Rosen stood unmoving, while Redfield's body trembled and his feet slid back a step or two.
Although he immediately readjusted and re-engaged, those watching — whether Sengoku, Zephyr, and Borsalino on the warship, or Gion, Tokikake, and the students at the Naval Academy — could all see that the Aloof Red was on the back foot.
One hundred strikes.
When the black blades met once more, even with his feet dug deep like nails, Redfield was driven back dozens of meters, carving a trench in the ground.
From equal footing, to falling behind, to now — every clash ended with Aloof Red being pushed back.
Only a hundred exchanges in.
Faced with this reality, Redfield's face had grown dark.
He could be stubborn and refuse to admit it aloud, but in his heart, he knew the truth:
A clash of Conqueror's Haki? Suppressed.
Armament Haki? Also suppressed.
Observation Haki? In the fight just now, Rosen's ability to see further into the future had robbed him of any chance to turn the tables.
As Rosen had said — he was behind in all Three Forms of Haki.
And most importantly — those hundred strikes had been fought almost entirely with Armament and Conqueror's Haki.
Redfield had already exhausted every Haki technique he knew. Rosen hadn't.
And he hadn't even touched his Devil Fruit abilities.
He knew all this.
Which was why the Aloof Red's expression had turned so grim.
...
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