Kane raised an eyebrow, walked to the window, picked up a pair of binoculars, and focused on the distant sea.
Under the bright moonlight, a lone small boat without any flag had entered the "taxation zone" designated by the G-5 Branch like a ghost.
"Hm? You couldn't get a clear look at the ship?" Kane's voice came through the Den Den Mushi, carrying a hint of casual inquiry.
"Reporting, Boss! It's too small, and it has no distinguishing features. It looks like... like a private boat." The lookout's voice was filled with confusion.
A G-5 patrol ship quickly spotted the uninvited guest. A Warship turned its bow and closed in on the target.
At the bow, several veteran G-5 ruffians held Den Den Mushis, boisterously shouting the "tollbooth declaration" Kane had newly composed the day before.
"Vessel ahead, listen up! This is the Justice Maintenance Tax Collection Office of the Navy G-5 Branch! Stop your ship immediately to cooperate with our inspection and pay the tax!"
"I repeat! Those who refuse to pay will receive Physical Salvation!"
The Marines shouted loud enough to shake the heavens, their swagger exactly like that of a gang collecting protection money.
On the small boat, a man dressed in a magnificent wine-red outfit, leaning on an elegant red umbrella, slowly walked out from the cabin.
He stood quietly at the bow, his face pale, with a head of smooth silver hair draped over his shoulders.
His expression carried a hint of travel fatigue, but it couldn't conceal the majesty ingrained in his very bones.
The man slowly looked up.
A pair of scarlet eyes, in the deep of the night, flickered with a soul-stirring light.
The clamor from the loudspeakers instantly got stuck in the throats of the G-5 Marines.
"This... this person is..."
"That monster... H-how could he be here!?"
"The Red... the Red Count!!!"
The Marines, who had been so arrogant just a second ago, were now trembling like chaff in the wind. The Den Den Mushi in one of their hands clattered to the deck.
The lookout's stammering report came through the Den Den Mushi: "Boss! It's... it's the Red Count! Baron Redfield!!"
The binoculars in Kane's hand snapped shut with a click. He casually tossed them back onto the desk as two bloodthirsty flames ignited in the depths of his pupils.
Baron Redfield.
The aloof monster who was as famous as Roger, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion, yet refused to become a "king."
The "Red Count," who needed no crew and could rival an entire fleet all by himself.
At this moment, he had not yet eaten the Mythical Zoan-Type Bat-Bat Fruit Vampire Form, but his strength was already at its peak.
"Interesting."
Kane grinned, a low chuckle rumbling in his throat.
"A big fish has finally arrived."
He slowly drew Zangetsu from his waist, its jet-black blade reflecting a cold, murderous intent under the moonlight.
"Gion, order all patrol ships to return to base immediately."
Kane's voice carried an undisguised excitement.
"Letting them participate in a battle of this level would just be sending them to their deaths for nothing."
Gion's heart trembled as she looked at the fanatical expression on Kane's face.
She rarely saw Kane with such a look.
It was the irrepressible excitement and desire of a top predator upon seeing its most coveted, ultimate prey.
She didn't ask any questions and immediately picked up a Den Den Mushi to relay the order.
"Boss, are you going?! That's the Red Count!!" the lookout cried out.
"Nonsense!" Kane barked coldly into the Den Den Mushi. "This is a huge cash cow! I'll chop up anyone who tries to snatch him from me!"
He grabbed his Justice Coat and threw it over his shoulders, the wide hem billowing behind him.
With his sword in hand, Kane strode out of his office.
...
"Has the Navy fallen to such a state?"
The Red Count spoke softly, his voice calm yet carrying a natural authority.
He watched the G-5 patrol ship hastily turn, attempting to flee, a flash of displeasure in his scarlet eyes.
He drifted alone on the sea, seeking only true "pleasure."
And at this moment, these noisy flies had disturbed his brief tranquility.
An invisible yet tangible Haki erupted from the Red Count like a tsunami!
Rumble!
The sky suddenly pressed down, and the sea surface churned violently as waves several meters high rose from nowhere.
On the rapidly fleeing G-5 patrol ship, the Marines didn't even have time to scream before they passed out in droves, their eyes rolling back.
The sea area within a radius of several hundred meters was instantly cleared by this Haki.
"Hahahahahaha!"
A burst of wild laughter tore through the oppressive silence created by the Red Count's Haki.
In the distance, a white wave of air ripped through the night sky, like a comet striking the moon, its speed surpassing that of sound!
Godspeed Luminous!
It was a brand-new move Kane had developed recently from his understanding of the Storm Fruit.
He used his fruit's ability to extremely compress and jet air behind him while simultaneously enveloping his body in airflow to minimize resistance, thereby achieving long-distance, ultra-high-speed movement over the sea.
BOOM—!!!
A deafening sonic boom exploded a hundred meters in front of the Red Count's small boat.
Kane's figure appeared as if out of thin air, a pair of wind wings unfurling behind him, allowing him to hover steadily above the churning sea.
He held Zangetsu, his Justice Coat dancing wildly in the fierce wind behind him.
The smile on his face was ostentatious and arrogant.
"Redfield."
"You violently resisted law enforcement and knocked out a whole ship of my brothers. You'll have to compensate for the medical expenses."
"Your ship entered my G-5's sea of Justice. You'll have to pay the toll."
"Most importantly, you scared me. I've suffered severe mental trauma. The fee for emotional distress is even more non-negotiable."
Kane held up three fingers and began to calculate the bill with a straight face.
"Seeing as this is your first offense, I'll give you a twenty percent discount."
"Three Billion Berry. Hand it over, and I'll let you go."
The air over the sea seemed to freeze.
The Red Count's eyes lifted slightly, clearly reading the undisguised malice in Kane's thoughts.
"An interesting little brat. The voice of your heart is filthier than this sea."
The Red Count smiled. It was the first time he had ever seen a Marine state "robbery" with such righteousness.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Of course, I do." Kane nonchalantly picked his ear with his pinky. "Baron Redfield, known on the seas as the Red Count. What? Trying to use your name to pay the bill? Sorry, I don't accept bad checks here."
The Red Count's smile gradually faded.
A hint of coldness finally appeared in his scarlet eyes.
"Since you know who I am, yet you still dare to make demands of me..."
"It seems you have prepared yourself for death."
Boom!
The Red Count's aura suddenly changed!
If before it was just a gentle breeze, now, it was a Category 10 typhoon!
A dark red Conqueror's Haki, like a sea of blood, instantly engulfed Kane!
"Redfield, since you don't want to pay, you'll have to pay with your life."
Kane's smile grew more ferocious.
"Although that face of yours is worth a bit of bounty money, where I'm from, no cash is no good."
He wasted no more words. The tip of Zangetsu pointed directly at the Red Count, and his own Haki erupted without reservation at the same instant!
BOOM—!!!
Two streams of Conqueror's Haki collided violently over the sea!
Black and red lightning, like writhing giant pythons, leaped frantically around them, letting out crackling explosions.
The sky was torn open by this force. The sea was churned into a complete boil by these two terrifying auras!
"Hmph."
The Red Count let out a cold snort, and the elegant red umbrella in his hand trembled slightly.
Swish!
A bloody slash, so fast it could split the sea in two, swept horizontally toward Kane!
The slash was silent, yet it contained a terrifying will to cut through anything.
Kane's pupils contracted abruptly.
"Tensa, Zangetsu!"
He chanted in a low voice, and an extreme speed far beyond normal instantly spread throughout his body.
The flow of time around him seemed to slow down.
"He disappeared?!"
A trace of surprise flashed in the Red Count's all-seeing eyes.
With the ultimate speed granted by Tensa, Zangetsu, Kane's figure vanished from the path of the slash like a phantom.
Even the Red Count's keen Observation Haki experienced a momentary lapse.
When Kane reappeared, he was right in front of the Red Count!
He raised Zangetsu high above his head, the highly compressed, jet-black Armament Haki, almost tangible, Coating the blade's edge.
This was not Conqueror's Haki Emission.
It was a pseudo-Haki Infusion he formed by using Zangetsu's properties to extremely condense his own Haki, but its destructive power was already comparable!
The black blade's edge, carrying an unrivaled ferocity, slashed straight for the Red Count's head!
Faced with this earth-shattering slash, a crack finally appeared on the Red Count's eternally aloof expression.
He did not retreat, but instead thrust the elegant red umbrella in his hand forward.
There was no earth-shattering boom, only a piercing screech like the sound of tearing fabric!
Zangetsu's black blade, wrapped in terrifying Haki, came to an abrupt halt in mid-air, less than an inch from the surface of the Red Count's umbrella!
It was as if an invisible, transparent barrier separated the two.
Zzzzzzz—!!!
Countless thick, black-and-red bolts of lightning crazily spawned and exploded in that one-inch gap. It was the two streams of Conqueror's Haki engaged in the most primitive, most violent slaughter!
The next second, the energy that had built up to its limit erupted!
BOOM!!!
A spherical, pure white shockwave, with the point of impact of their weapons as its center, expanded brazenly!
The boiling sea below was forcefully pressed down by this unparalleled repulsive force, creating a massive crater over a hundred meters in diameter!
The rolling dark clouds above were instantly torn open into a huge circular hole. The bright moonlight poured down, as if a spotlight was shining on these two monsters.
Thud! Thud!
Kane was knocked back two steps in the air, but the power of the Storm Fruit instantly stabilized him.
The small boat under the Red Count's feet let out a groan as if unable to bear the load. The force transmitted through his feet pushed it several feet deeper into the sea!
"Cough..."
A very faint, muffled grunt escaped the Red Count's throat. His scarlet eyes were now filled with solemnity.
"This density of Haki... this incredible speed..."
He looked up, his elegant voice carrying a deep confusion toward this unknown monster.
"When did the Navy... produce a monster like you?"