"Haa... Haa..."
Redfield panted heavily, his crimson eyes staring fixedly at the madman opposite him, who was also covered in blood but becoming increasingly excited.
"Monster..."
"Right back at you." Tatsuki grinned, revealing a row of white teeth stained red with blood.
He had even more wounds on his body, including one that pierced through his abdomen, but the fighting intent in his eyes was even more blazing than when they first met.
[Ding! Detected that the host's swordsmanship has achieved a breakthrough during the extreme deathmatch with a legendary pirate!]
[Swordsmanship Level Increased: Great Swordsman -> Peak Great Swordsman!]
[Violation Points +50,000!]
"Oh?"
Tatsuki felt the brand-new comprehension of swordsmanship, and the curve of his lips became increasingly savage.
"Can you still fight? Aloof red?" Tatsuki rested Tensa Zangetsu on his shoulder. "I haven't had my fill yet."
Redfield's pupils suddenly constricted.
He wants to wear me down to death. I can't delay any longer.
Redfield's gaze suddenly became resolute as he poured all his remaining Haki into the red umbrella in his hand.
Buzz!
The blood-colored Haki rose, dyeing the clouds in the sky a dark red.
"This is the end, Marine!"
His figure erupted, turning into a blood-colored meteor, stabbing straight for Tatsuki's heart. This was a peak strike, gambling everything.
Seeing this, Tatsuki didn't dodge. Instead, he let out a hearty, unrestrained laugh.
"Now that's more like it!"
He gripped Tensa Zangetsu with both hands. The skill of a Peak Great Swordsman and the power of the Storm-Storm Fruit merged perfectly. On the pitch-black blade, wind and thunder surged, and Haki was as deep as an abyss.
Getsuga Tenshō: Wind God's End!
A pitch-black crescent exceeding a hundred meters, carrying countless fine wind blades and violent thunder, slashed out boldly to meet that blood-colored meteor.
Rumble... Rumble...
A terrifying explosion that defied description erupted between the sea and the sky.
The two extreme forces of black and red collided and annihilated each other violently. The resulting shockwave blew away everything within a radius of several kilometers.
The ice surface Kuzan had just frozen shattered like fragile glass, turning into countless ice crystals, which were then evaporated into a sky full of white mist by the terrifying heat in the next second.
The three watching from afar had to release their full power to barely stabilize themselves in the center of this storm.
The dust settled.
Tatsuki and Redfield's figures faced each other from a hundred meters away.
"Pfft!"
Redfield suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. His body swayed, but in the end, he used the red umbrella, its tip already cracked, to prop himself up against the ground, refusing to fall. His aura had weakened to the extreme.
In contrast, although Tatsuki was also in severe pain and his coat of justice was completely reduced to rags, his chest remained upright. The terrifying recovery power brought by his high-level Physique was rapidly repairing his damaged internal organs.
"Heh... hehe..." Tatsuki chuckled lowly, walking towards Redfield step by step.
"It seems I've won."
Redfield looked up and gave him a deep look. That gaze was incredibly complex, containing shock, unwillingness, but more than anything, a recognition of a fellow madman.
He knew that if they continued fighting, it would definitely be him who would die.
This Marine was a complete monster. It wasn't worth fighting to the death with such a reckless monster here.
Redfield said nothing, turned around, and prepared to leave with his heavily injured body.
"Did I let you leave?" Tatsuki's voice rang out coldly.
Redfield paused and slowly turned back, killing intent clear in his eyes. "Brat, leave a way out in all things. Forcing me to the brink won't do you any good."
"Good?" Tatsuki laughed incredibly arrogantly.
"In my dictionary, the phrase 'knowing when to stop' doesn't exist."
"Kuzan! Borsalino! Sakazuki!"
Tatsuki suddenly turned his head and roared at his three companions in the distance, who were already dazed.
"It's your turn! Surround him! Today, he either leaves four billion Berries behind, or he leaves his life!"
"Oh my, there's really no helping it." Borsalino's figure turned into a golden light, instantly appearing to Redfield's left, light gathering at his fingertips.
"Ara ara... Tatsuki, you really know how to order people around." Kuzan yawned, an ice path spreading beneath his feet, sealing off Redfield's retreat.
"Hmph! It should have been like this long ago!" Sakazuki's roar descended from the sky as he transformed into a massive lava meteorite, crashing violently towards Redfield.
Redfield's expression finally darkened completely.
One-on-one, he was already exhausted. Now, he had to face these three Logia users who were also monster-level?
"Marines..." Redfield's voice sounded like it was squeezed through his teeth. "You are seeking your own deaths."
He completely gave up the thought of running, a mad light flashing in his eyes. Since he couldn't leave, he would drag these brats to hell with him.
"Come on!"
Even while heavily injured, Redfield still erupted with heart-palpitatingly terrifying combat power.
With his scarred body, he head-on withstood the siege of the three future Admirals.
Great Eruption!
Sakazuki's lava dog head was blown apart by a sweep of Redfield's umbrella. The splashing magma sizzled as it burned his body, yet he didn't even frown.
Ama no Murakumo!
Borsalino's light sword was parried by Redfield's umbrella handle, flying past his neck by a hair's breadth.
Pheasant Beak!
Kuzan's ice bird was crushed under Redfield's foot.
But in the end, two fists were no match for four hands. Especially when the main attacker was Tatsuki, a madman with a bottomless health bar.
"Stay down!"
Tatsuki's appeared time and again in Redfield's defensive blind spots, Tensa Zangetsu tracing tricky and lethal arcs.
Sakazuki even implemented a 'wound-for-wound' fighting style, preferring to take a heavy blow from Redfield on his shoulder just to leave a hole in his body with a lava fist.
Borsalino and Kuzan continuously harassed and controlled the field, making Redfield's situation even worse.
The battle continued from the morning of the second day until dusk.
When the last ray of the setting sun sank below the horizon—
Clatter!
The red umbrella that had accompanied Redfield for half his life finally snapped into two pieces.
Thud!
Patrick Redfield, the legend who stood alongside Roger and Whitebeard, finally exhausted his last bit of strength and knelt on one knee on the ice field mottled with blood and magma.
He didn't fall. His spine remained straight, but his heavy panting and the dense, bone-deep wounds on his body all announced his defeat.
Opposite him, Tatsuki was bare-chested, revealing muscles as sturdy as a demon's back. Although he was also panting heavily, a greedy smile like a hungry wolf seeing fresh meat hung on his face.
(End of Chapter)
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