The Donquixote family had set aside a special area with sixteen chairs, a place for those who advanced to the finals to rest.
At this moment, Katakuri and Oven occupied two of the chairs, while Daifuku sat on a slightly lower chair behind them.
Although there were still many empty seats, they instinctively followed certain rules, such as leaving the winners' seats vacant.
"Such powerful Haki. People really can't relax for a second around you."
Redfield's mind-reading is also a part of Observation Haki and can likewise be resisted by Haki. Red Hair's Observation Killing can effectively protect you from being read through by Observation Haki.
Katakuri didn't possess Observation Killing, but his own mastery of Observation Haki wasn't weak enough for Redfield to read him like an open book.
The weaker the person, the easier it was for Redfield to read their memories. For those whose Observation Haki wasn't weak and who were on guard, his mind-reading wasn't so smooth. He could glimpse current thoughts, but not past memories.
After all, when Observation Haki resists Observation Haki, it manifests more like mutual cancellation.
If two people's Observation Haki levels are similar, it's essentially as if neither had Observation Haki, and the fight proceeds as usual.
It's not about sitting motionless staring each other down to see who can predict more scenes.
However, this mainly shows up in predicting inner thoughts and anticipating the next attack. If it's only sensing position, there are few people who can completely hide their presence.
Katakuri remembered Charlotte Linlin mentioning Redfield's ability, so he'd been cautious about it since arriving, but when he saw Yamato, a momentary distraction gave Redfield the chance to catch his thoughts.
"We old guys naturally have our own tricks. Your mother has already become an Emperor of the Sea. That strength of hers really gave me a headache back then.
"I might pay her a visit sometime soon. After all, finding One Piece requires the stone she holds."
"Redfield, the you now is no longer the Aloof Red of the past."
Youth is ultimately a kind of capital. Compared to Redfield, Charlotte Linlin looks far younger, and Katakuri didn't think the current Redfield could beat his mother.
"Yeah, you're right, it's time to say goodbye to Aloof. But honestly, I rather liked that name."
In the end, Katakuri chose to leave first. Facing such a bizarrely speaking old monster was putting him under considerable pressure. His goal was the Quake-Quake Fruit, not provoking a conflict with Redfield right now.
Even if he said that he intends to go to Whole Cake Island, the decision would ultimately rest with Charlotte Linlin. This caliber of opponent was worthy of her personal intervention.
When facing Redfield up close, Katakuri had to maintain a highly focused state.
That state would be detrimental to the upcoming fight, so he chose to distance himself for the time being.
After the three Katakuri brothers left, only Redfield and Rebecca remained, and Redfield asked the question he had asked earlier.
"Well? Have you made up your mind?"
"I'm sorry. I don't want to be a pirate, but if possible, could you help me take down Doflamingo? I will pay any price."
"Little girl, 'willing to pay any price' and 'not wanting to be a pirate.' These are contradictory words. And right now, you don't have anything I want."
Rebecca's answer wasn't exactly what Redfield most wanted to hear, but it still satisfied him. Rebecca had no idea that he possessed the ability to read minds.
Even though she didn't want to be a pirate, she could have chosen to deceive him first, but she didn't. That honesty was precisely what Redfield liked about her.
"What a pity. Let's talk again after the tournament is over. By the way, do you know anything about the Beasts Pirates?"
"No, I only know that they're the power backing Doflamingo."
"I see. I'll take a walk, you can think over what I said again. Sometimes, changing your way of life might not be such a bad thing."
Saying that, Redfield vanished from the spot. He was going to help Pato prepare some things and gather some intelligence along the way.
Having long been a lone wolf, Redfield was extremely versatile. Navigation, medicine and cooking, he knew a bit of everything. His all-around abilities were comparable to Queen's. After all, back then, he didn't trust anyone and could only rely on himself for everything.
Gathering intelligence was naturally an important part of that. At first, he thought this tournament was just a game, but now it seemed that there was more than one interesting opponent.
Meanwhile, the battles in the Corrida Colosseum continued. Diamante's defeat saddened the audience for a while, but soon their attention was drawn back to the matches, and Gatz resumed his commentary.
"The battles in C Block are going to be incredibly intense! Marco the Phoenix! Fire Fist Ace! Diamond Jozu! All three are members of the Whitebeard Pirates and Whitebeard's sons!"
"For this ability that once belonged to Whitebeard, they seem determined to win, and anyone who dares to stand in their way will face their ruthless assault!"
"There it is! Fire Fist Ace's signature move, Fire Fist!"
A blazing fist of fire crashed down from above onto the arena Pica had newly constructed, and the flames instantly swept across most of the arena.
The contestants near the edge were blown into the water by the force of the Fire Fist, and those whose bodies caught fire jumped off the arena to extinguish the flames.
"As expected of the 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates! One move, and half the contestants are gone..wait, there's still someone standing in the fire! It's the star of C Block, Destruction Cannon Ideo!"
Ideo, a member of the Longarm Tribe, champion of the New World Central Fighting Tournament V2, and an XXX-rank boxer. With one arm shielding his forehead, he charged out of the flames. His right shoulder bulged as he gathered strength and threw a punch aimed straight at Ace, who was still midair.
"Destruction Cannon!"
Even among the Longarm Tribe, Ideo was a special type. The unique structure of his shoulders was what gave his punches their explosive, bomb-like power.
Ideo was fast, but someone was faster.
"Brilliant Punk!"
Diamond Jozu charged straight into Ideo. After a loud explosion, Jozu stood unharmed, his diamond body still gleaming under the sunlight, while Ideo's arm bent at a strange angle.
In head-on clashes, Jozu feared no one.
From Kuzan to Crocodile, all had once been sent vomiting blood by his sudden charges. That seemingly clumsy body possessed incredible speed, allowing Jozu to charge about the battlefield like a tank.
However, when Jozu diamondized his entire body, he always left one eye exposed to observe the outside, and that lone eye became the opening others targeted.
"Shooting Moon!"
A knee strike from Blue Gilly of the Longleg Tribe aimed right at Jozu's only unprotected spot, but before he could get close, Marco caught him in midair and slammed him into the ground.
Logia-type, Zoan-type, Paramecia-type — the three represented all different Devil Fruit types. With their coordination, C Block quickly lost all capable contenders, and the Whitebeard Pirates similarly claimed victory.
In the end, Jozu forfeited, allowing Marco and Ace to advance to the next round.
Compared to the devastation Redfield and Diamante had caused to their arenas, C Block's arena remained relatively intact, and preparations for the D Block contestants were quickly completed.
"I'm off, Ace! Wait for me in the finals!"
Ace and Marco didn't go to the so-called preparations room for the finalists. Instead, they returned straight to the audience seats, just in time to switch places with Luffy.
"Go on, let me see how much you've grown over these two years."
The first three rounds of battles had all ended shockingly fast. Compared to them, D Block's match seemed relatively normal. Contestants were gradually eliminated during the brawl, and along the way, Luffy even managed to tame a fighting bull.
That bull had originally been used to battle death-row inmates, added to D Block purely for entertainment. However, during his training with Rayleigh, Luffy had learned how to communicate with animals, and easily tamed it.
"Unbelievable! Lucy has tamed the bull! Now he's become the Bull Knight, charging around the arena on his mount! Several contestants have unfortunately been defeated by this pair!"
"The unknown Lucy has revealed a whole new side of himself! Could he, like Red, become another dark horse of this tournament?!"
Luffy's bull-riding rampage caught the attention of many, including Chinjao, who was also in D Block. Even with Luffy wearing a helmet, Chinjao still recognized his true identity.
"Out of my way!"
Chinjao slammed his arms down, blasting away every enemy in his path, then immediately charged toward Luffy without pause.
"Garp's grandson! Stop right there! Hasshoken • Head-Arms!"
After a quick sprint, Chinjao leapt high into the air, his massive body rapidly closing in on Luffy like flying. The sharp head was like an arrow, piercing towards Luffy, who was on the bull's back.
"Gum-Gum Arch!"
Seeing Chinjao hurtling toward him, Luffy stretched out his limbs, narrowly dodging the attack.
"What are you talking about? Who's Garp's grandson?"
Luffy whistled awkwardly as he retorted.
"Still denying it?! That clueless look of yours is even more infuriating than Garp's! Do you have any idea how humiliating my life has been since I lost my pointed head?! That frustration, that sorrow, a brat like you could never understand!"
"Who'd want to understand you anyway?! And what nonsense are you talking about? Your pointed head is right there on your head!"
"That's because my benefactor helped me restore it! All these years, I never had the chance to repay them, that's why I entered this tournament!
But what my benefactor did has nothing to do with you. Even if I've regained my pointed head, I'll never forget the sin your grandfather committed!"
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