Patrick Redfield.
This was the old monster who had fought Enel in Dressrosa and later contacted Cyrus.
Only now, judging by his current appearance, he had clearly found that fruit.
Not much time had passed since then, which meant he must have had his target in mind long ago.
Cyrus studied Redfield, who stood not far in front of him.
The Red Count, a man who had once been able to stand against the Roger Pirates all by himself, was not particularly muscular.
He was a master swordsman, and like Roger, he possessed extremely powerful Observation Haki.
However, the Observation Haki he had awakened was slightly different from Roger's.
Roger could hear the Voice of All Things.
As for Redfield, his Observation Haki could not only predict the future, but even sense the thoughts of others.
On top of that, he possessed all three types of Haki.
Strictly speaking, Redfield was a fully qualified monster-level powerhouse of the sea.
As Cyrus thought through the information he knew about the man before him, his eyes narrowed slightly.
The instant Cyrus narrowed his eyes, Redfield suddenly felt a bone-chilling sense of danger.
His pupils contracted sharply.
'So this is the strongest man with the greatest reputation on the sea right now!'
Even across his long life, Redfield had never felt such a terrifying sense of threat before.
Neither Whitebeard nor Roger, not even the monsters of the Rocks Pirates back then, had ever given him this feeling.
In an instant, Redfield's muscles tightened, and his body lowered slightly.
His Observation Haki could not sense a single thought from Cyrus.
There were only two possible explanations for that.
The first was that Cyrus had no thoughts at all right now.
But as long as someone was human, they would definitely have thoughts.
And judging from the danger Redfield was feeling, he guessed the other party had already developed killing intent.
As for the second possibility, it meant the other man's Haki training had already surpassed his.
Redfield stared fixedly at Cyrus, his umbrella sword already in his hand, ready to be drawn at any moment.
"Your purpose?"
Seeing Redfield on full alert, Cyrus suddenly lost the urge to attack.
This legendary pirate before him was not his opponent.
Since he had already made that judgment, there was no longer any meaning in fighting.
"I merely wanted to see what kind of person had created such a huge commotion."
Redfield frowned after hearing Cyrus's question.
He had wanted to act stubborn at first, but the danger he felt from Cyrus made the words change before they left his mouth.
"Heh."
Cyrus chuckled softly.
"And now you've seen me."
"What if I said I wanted to witness your strength?" Redfield spoke again.
"Then I would kill you." Cyrus said it lightly, his tone so casual it sounded like an offhand remark.
Redfield's heart tightened.
After Roger's death, he had entered Impel Down on his own, but he had never been someone who wanted to die.
The Cyrus before him was nothing like the people he had met on the sea in the past.
Unable to clearly sense Cyrus's thoughts, Redfield could not make an accurate judgment.
"If I said I wanted to join the Hunter Guild, would you be willing to spar with me?"
But the old pirate's mind was far from slow, and he instantly thought of a solution.
Before coming here, he had already learned that some of the pirates in Totto Land and some of Whitebeard's sons had joined the Hunter Guild.
Clearly, the New World was different from Paradise.
In the New World, the Hunter Guild had not wiped out every pirate without mercy.
"Oh?"
Cyrus paused, looking at Redfield in surprise.
"There were quite a few pirates who came out of Impel Down this time besides you. Do you have the same idea as them?"
"No."
Redfield shook his head.
"I'm different from those people. I have always been alone. But now, I find your Hunter Guild rather interesting. The whole world seems to be changing under your influence.
"Even I want to step into an event of that scale."
Redfield smiled as he spoke.
The moment he said those words, the threatening feeling around him disappeared.
"If you join the Guild, I can spar with you."
This time, Cyrus did not reject Redfield's words.
A fighter of this level would surely be useful later.
"Now?" Redfield asked.
But the moment his voice fell, his expression changed dramatically.
A terrifying explosion tore through the air, and a visible shockwave spread rapidly in every direction.
The terrible sound echoed across all of Candy Island.
Redfield, who had been standing in front of Cyrus, was sent flying backward with a white ring of air around him.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished from Cyrus's sight.
"Weak." Cyrus withdrew his fist.
As soon as his voice fell, countless bats appeared, flapping their wings.
Then the bats gathered together and formed Redfield's figure once more.
"Truly.... strong."
Floating in midair, Redfield sighed with emotion.
He had clearly felt it just now.
Cyrus had held back.
If he had not held back, that blow would have instantly blown Redfield's body apart.
"Since you've felt it now, go to Sabaody Archipelago and find Crocodile."
Cyrus waved a hand.
He still had things to do.
"That doesn't count."
Redfield raised a hand and drew his umbrella sword as he spoke again.
Hearing this, Cyrus paused, then turned back to look at Redfield, who was holding his sword.
"Come." Cyrus beckoned to him.
Whoosh!
Redfield arrived in front of Cyrus, thrusting the sword in his hand toward Cyrus's throat.
Dark purple Armament Haki wrapped around the sharp blade, giving off a dangerous aura.
Just as the sword was about to pierce Cyrus's neck, black lightning erupted along the blade.
Ding!
Redfield froze completely.
Cyrus had not even raised his hand. He simply stood in place and looked at him.
Redfield's sword, wrapped in two kinds of Haki, had struck Cyrus's neck.
And that was all.
Although it had not been his full power, this attack had still failed to leave even the slightest mark on Cyrus's skin.
Redfield could clearly feel that Cyrus had not used Armament Haki to defend himself.
In other words, Cyrus had blocked his strike with pure flesh.
What kind of monster was he?
Redfield's mind blanked for a moment, and he instinctively wondered if his own strength had declined too much.
His attacks were not something even the strongest bodies on the sea, or those with the hardest Armament Haki, had dared to take head-on.
After all, until now, he had crossed the sea relying on his tremendous attack power.
Great speed, terrifying Observation Haki, and attacks that were nearly impossible to defend against.
Those things allowed him to fight an entire powerful pirate crew alone with ease.
But now, that attack had failed.
"That's enough, right? If you attack again, I won't be holding back."
Cyrus looked at Redfield.
This guy's strength was indeed impressive.
A single strike had actually taken four percent of Cyrus's health.
Ever since Cyrus had grown stronger and stronger, very few people could do something like that.
Even Whitebeard had not managed it during their previous battle.
"That's enough."
Without the slightest hesitation, Redfield nodded and put away his umbrella sword.
"I'll go to Sabaody Archipelago and find Crocodile. But what am I supposed to do afterward? I have no interest in handling miscellaneous chores." Redfield asked, showing no reluctance at all.
"In that case, ask him for information. Oh, and take Enel with you while you're at it. The current Enel still isn't your match. He needs to fight some strong opponents before he can improve. When the time comes, take him with you and find the people who came out of Impel Down. Capture them again or kill them."
"Very well."
Redfield accepted without hesitation.
This kind of task suited his taste.
After eating this Mythical Zoan fruit and restoring his body to its peak condition, he also wanted to move around a bit.
Naturally, that meant finding suitable opponents.
As for Cyrus…
No, forget that.
He was human. He had no reason to fight a monster.
Redfield had only just landed, and before he could even enter the town, he set sail and returned again.
Cyrus watched him leave by ship, then turned away.
Redfield was only a small interlude.
What came next was the matter Cyrus truly cared about.
'If I'm infected by that power, can I also obtain the power of a demon?'
As Cyrus walked away, he thought about this.
The demonized Kaido was even more insane than his drunken self.
Morgans was still looking for his approximate location.
Of course, Cyrus was actually thinking about something else.
This demonic power came from Imu. Perhaps Imu could use that ability to control the demons created by it.
Then could he use that power in reverse to find where Imu's true consciousness was located, or perhaps find Imu's real body?
For Cyrus right now, Imu's most troublesome ability was exactly that.
A person who was not weak, could not be killed, and could not be found was difficult to deal with even for Cyrus.
If his idea worked, then things would become simple. He would follow that power back to its source and kill every person Imu had prepared as a vessel.
It might take a little time, but at least there would be a solution.
The only question was whether this idea could succeed.
As for whether he himself would be controlled by Imu?
Cyrus had no worries about that at all.
If Imu could do it, there would be no reason to wait until now.
No matter how powerful Imu's demonic power was, it definitely had some kind of limitation.
At the very least, Kaido's current madness and the demons spilling out of Wano both showed that although Imu had acted this time, the situation had already slipped beyond that person's control.
Cyrus did not have to wait long.
After contacting Robin and the others and telling them to return to Candy Island, Morgans's news arrived.
"I found him. You'll never guess who Kaido ran into."
Morgans's voice was clearly full of excitement.
"Red-Hair?"
Cyrus instinctively answered when he heard that.
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Morgans immediately went silent. Only after a long while did he speak again.
"You actually knew? Don't tell me they're also under your surveillance!"
Morgans's voice had gone sharp. He was clearly genuinely shocked.
"Don't be so surprised. In Kaido's current state, there aren't many people who can fight him, and there are even fewer in the New World."
"Hehe. Fine, Cyrus, you really did guess correctly this time. The Red Hair Pirates were returning from Elbaf and resting on the South Pear Islands when they happened to run into Kaido's attack. Since they became his target, they started fighting him. But Cyrus, Kaido has become stronger."
Morgans's tone grew serious as he warned him.
"He has obtained true immortality."
"Oh? The strongest creature has become the strongest immortal creature? I wonder if he can let me enjoy myself this time."
"Cough, cough!"
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Morgans coughed twice after hearing Cyrus's words.
Then there was no sound from inside the receiver.
"His location and direction. I don't know how long Shanks and Kaido can keep fighting. It'd be annoying if I had to look for him again." Cyrus spoke.
"Mm. I'll give you the detailed location."
Morgans immediately agreed.
The waters of the New World were complicated, and the islands there changed often.
After all, while there were not many people in the New World who could sink an island by themselves, there were still more than a few.
On top of that, the New World's extreme disasters and weather made judging directions no easy task.
However, the newspaper agency's News Coos were spread throughout the New World, and by using the connections between them, Morgans could determine a rough location.
Although drawing a map was still difficult, giving Cyrus directions was not impossible.
Boom!
Flames shot into the sky and vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
…
"Captain, we should retreat first. That guy has gone insane."
Red-Haired Shanks looked somewhat battered.
Behind him and to the side, his vice-captain, Benn Beckman, spoke.
Not far in front of them, a towering figure radiating black energy stood there, wantonly releasing malice and terrifying pressure.
"Red-haired brat, none of you are leaving today. All of you die here!"
Kaido laughed loudly, and everyone could clearly feel the malice pouring from him.
"So it really is like that."
Seeing Kaido in this form, Shanks's expression became complicated, and he spoke softly.
"Captain?"
"Beckman, take the others and retreat. Someone has to hold this guy back. Otherwise, no one will leave."
Shanks gripped Gryphon in his hand, and black lightning burst from the blade.
"No."
Benn Beckman did not want to fight Kaido to the death here, but having their captain stay behind alone to hold off Kaido while everyone else escaped?
That was not something a man of the sea should do.
"This is an order from your captain."
Shanks did not turn his head as he spoke.
The moment his voice fell, the earth beneath his feet exploded.
In the next instant, he was already in front of Kaido, powerful Conqueror's Haki wrapped around Gryphon's blade.
"Divine Departure!"
Boom!
The two figures crossed past each other.
A massive wound opened across Kaido's chest, blood spraying out in great quantities.
With no defense, that slash had nearly cut Kaido open from chest to abdomen.
But Kaido's expression barely changed, as if that terrifying injury was not on his own body at all.
Kaido turned to look at Shanks, and the wound on his chest rapidly healed.
In the brief time it took him to turn around, the injury had completely vanished.
Seeing this, Shanks's expression did not change much.
They had already understood this situation clearly a moment ago.
The strongest creature had become the strongest immortal creature!
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