"The legendary pirate, Red the Aloof!?"
Almost everyone in Alabasta knew the name. When Gion had let it slip, word of the Red the Aloof's arrival—and his slaying of King Cobra—spread like wildfire across the kingdom.
One hour later.
Boom!
Sakazuki flashed a malicious grin and slammed a Magma Fist into the Red the Aloof's right leg.
After their initial clash, Ross swung his halberd downward in a swift arc.
For the first time, the Red the Aloof dodged.
His face remained stoic as he twisted his body just enough to evade the strike from Poseidon's Trident.
But Ross had anticipated the move. He halted mid-swing and swept the weapon across the battlefield in a wide, devastating arc.
"It's useless!"
The Red the Aloof's voice was calm. With a slight shift, he evaded both Sakazuki's and Ross's assaults.
His true edge wasn't Conqueror's Haki or Armament Haki—it was Observation Haki, honed to perfection.
After battling Ross for so long, he didn't need to read minds; he could predict every move.
That earlier head-on clash? It was just him probing Ross's style.
"These guys are a real pain," Ross muttered, his gaze sharpening on the Red the Aloof.
For a full hour, even with Sakazuki's backup, they hadn't taken him down. They'd only chipped away at his stamina.
The Red the Aloof's S+ rating wasn't some panel stat like Ross's—it was raw, peak strength across the board. Physique, Haki, swordsmanship, physical prowess. All at the pinnacle.
Ross outmatched him only in raw physical power; everything else, the Red the Aloof dominated.
Sakazuki fared worse. His Logia Devil Fruit gave him an edge, but he was still outclassed in every exchange.
These were the true elites—the handful of monsters who ruled the seas. In any era, maybe a dozen at most.
Ross had abandoned any hope of recruiting him. Unlike Zephyr, the Red the Aloof wielded Conqueror's Haki and had clawed his way to the top over countless bodies. A man like that might concede defeat, but he'd never bow.
From their first clash—when Ross's blade and staff crackled with Conqueror's Haki—he'd sensed the unbreakable will in the Red the Aloof's aura.
For such a legend, Ross could only offer a fitting end: a warrior's death.
"War!"
Silver light blazed in Ross's eyes as he pushed his Mythical Zoan form to its absolute limit.
To trap the Red the Aloof and prevent escape, Ross went with the brute-force approach.
"Overturn the Seas!"
He raised Poseidon's Trident high, unleashing a palpable wave of Conqueror's Haki that locked onto his foe like chains.
Conqueror's Haki was will made manifest. In a clash of kings, the one who faltered first lost their edge.
This fight was always meant to be a marathon, and Ross was ready.
"Hah! That's pirate basics—nothing new to me."
The Red the Aloof's laugh boomed as he sidestepped Sakazuki's strike. His staff-sword, infused with Conqueror's Haki, surged forward to meet Ross head-on.
Boom!
The moment their weapons collided, a flicker of gravity crossed the Red the Aloof's eyes.
This wasn't like before.
It hit like a 10,000-meter tsunami crashing down on his blade.
Infused Conqueror's Haki entwined with the fruit's power—or maybe Devil Fruit awakening?
Still raw, but crossing that threshold meant explosive growth ahead. Ross could shatter his limits right here.
Sizzle!
The Red the Aloof poured everything into his counter.
In the haze of aura, he stood defiant amid a raging ocean, charging skyward against the colossal wave. No fear, just unyielding resolve to split the sea itself.
"I am the Red the Aloof!"
"The Red the Aloof? Just a scavenging dog in the waves!"
Sakazuki sneered, his body erupting in a torrent of molten magma.
Suppressed for an hour, he finally cut loose.
His awakened Devil Fruit power roared free.
In an instant, the sky filled with a legion of Magma Hounds—hundreds strong—barreling toward the Red the Aloof alongside Ross's tsunami.
"Conqueror's Haki? No—Logia awakening?"
Surprise lit the Red the Aloof's eyes again.
He'd underestimated Sakazuki. To awaken a Logia fruit? Rare as they came. In his long life, he'd known only one other like that—a beast who could tangle with dual elites.
Sakazuki was green, but the potential was there. He'd climb to those heights someday.
Boom!
Ross and Sakazuki's onslaught ignited the Red the Aloof's own fire.
Deep down, he knew escape was off the table.
If he couldn't run, he'd burn bright to the end.
Let his final stand echo across Alabasta.
Boom!
No more holding back. The Red the Aloof unleashed his full, long-suppressed Haki.
In the aura's vision, he towered 10,000 meters in the air, untouchable. Neither Sakazuki's hounds nor Ross's waves could touch him.
"Going all out to the death?"
Ross's eyes narrowed. Their auras intertwined; intentions were crystal clear.
He and Sakazuki weren't rushing. Even against the Red the Aloof's might, two-on-one tipped the scales.
After hours of grinding, all three knew the truth: prolonged fight meant the Red the Aloof's loss.
He burned stamina twice as fast. At this rate, they'd end him in half a day.
Zephyr was en route, too—three-on-one would wrap it quicker.
Earlier, the Red the Aloof had eyed a getaway. Now? He'd slammed that door shut, betting it all on the brawl.
This was the Red the Aloof at his peak.
Buzz!
A sky-piercing slash exploded from his staff-sword, aimed straight at Sakazuki.
Shifting tactics, he hammered the Marine with relentless fury.
"Die!"
Sakazuki didn't flinch. Sensing the desperation, a feral gleam sparked in his eyes.
Desperation? Every powerhouse waded through blood and bone to rise.
He pulverized the flying slash with one magma-wreathed fist. Ignoring the Red the Aloof's Conqueror's-infused follow-up, he charged in the enemy's stunned stare.
Armament Haki coated his chest—barely enough against this caliber. But his magma hands lunged for the Red the Aloof's grip.
Slash!
The staff-sword bit deep into Sakazuki's chest. No elemental dodge at this level; blood sprayed, carving to the bone.
But Sakazuki's hands clamped down on the Red the Aloof's.
"I've got you!"
A wicked grin split Sakazuki's face.
"Inugami Guren!"
In a heartbeat, his hands melted into magma. Endless heat swallowed them both.
Boom!
The blast ripped through the magma shell like a bomb. Hundreds of meters turned to hellscape—sand fused to glass, earth scarred with cooling lava flows.