"Such a ferocious barrage he's not leaving me a single breath."
Parrying the ceaseless, brutish slashes, Redfield searched for a way to flip the board.
He opened that peculiar, inborn Observation Haki of his sank straight into Ares's mind.
What he found rocked him.
"This guy…"
"There's nothing in there but fight?!"
Two characters only: Fight. Nothing else. No stray thoughts. No doubts.
Only combat.
Redfield could hardly believe it. He called out, "Hey, Ares why did you become a pirate?"
"To fight strong opponents," Ares answered without missing a beat.
Redfield's face went dark; his mouth twitched. "And your dream?"
"To forge myself into the hardest, most unbeatable blade under heaven!" Ares's bull-calf arms never stopped moving one domineering, razor-edged slash after another howled for Redfield's throat.
Pa! Pa!
Redfield slapped himself twice in his heart.
Why was he stupid enough to ask?
But some stubbornness remained. He tried one last time: "Aside from that nothing else?"
"Stop yapping like an old auntie! Quit holding back and fight me with everything you've got!" Ares roared. "Hiding your strength what a coward!"
The fight… wasn't satisfying enough.
That did it. Redfield's looks ran a touch androgynous, sure but being called a "woman" to his face? First time. His temper spiked.
"If I weren't saving strength for the Marines, you wouldn't be strutting like this! You're a death-seeking battle maniac I'm not!"
Yes, it would be fun to cut loose against Ares
But three Marine apex fighters stood yards away. Any one of them was dangerous. Here were three.
Who could afford to go all-out?
"In that case, I'll make you go all-out and have the fight I want!" Ares's shoulders bunched; he charged like a maddened bull.
This time he hardened his crimson Armament and used his hand as a blade.
"No-Blade Style Sword of the Lord of the Dead!"
Different from his earlier hew-and-hack this one was technical, a thing of finesse.
Ares had "borrowed" it from Silvers Rayleigh.
Shff!
That corded, armor-hard arm scythed down air shrieked; the red limb looked every inch a cursed katana.
It hit earth.
The ground split open with a booming crack; a jagged chasm raced outward.
Ares's brow dipped. "Dodged again?"
A miss.
His mood soured. He bellowed, "Can you even fight? Stop stalling go all-out with me!"
"I don't want to fight you," Redfield said through a black mood, leaning on future-sense Observation to flow around Ares's strikes with minimal effort.
Keep the stamina.
But Ares's taunts kept coming, hotter each time. Redfield snapped back: "You lunatic look over there. I said let's team up and take the Marines first. Wouldn't everyone be happier?"
Privately, he kicked himself. Should've steered clear of this maniac from the start.
Now there was nothing for it but suffer through like a scholar arguing with a soldier: you can't logic your way out.
And Ares wouldn't let him go. A worthy foe like this? No way he'd pass on a proper brawl.
A feral gleam burst in Ares's eyes; his grin went all teeth. "Don't worry. My crew will come."
"So Red Count, 'greatest swordsman' fight me to your heart's content!"
His dragon tail cracked like a whip.
"No-Blade Style Divine Dragon Tail-Cut!"
The sound alone told Redfield how vicious the blow would be. He leaned back the thick tail screamed past his face like a motorcycle redlined to the max.
The wind burned his cheeks. He slid back, opening the gap
Ares pounced like a tiger, never letting him breathe.
Twin claws ripped the air. Those talons could tear iron like wet clay yet failed to catch even the hem of Redfield's coat.
Ares's irritation spiked. Can't let him keep dancing away.
Think. Force him to cut loose.
At a distance, the Marine trio saw it as well: Redfield wasn't fighting he was avoiding.
Sengoku's brows knotted. "This won't do. We need them to go all-in. Only then do we get an opening."
Zephyr nodded. "If Redfield keeps turtling, this could drag ten days and nights with no result."
Best case was mutual ruin. Second best one wins, one falls, the victor crippled.
This stalemate was the one thing they couldn't accept.
While Sengoku still ground his teeth over tactics, another group swept onto the scene.
"Ares-ani!"
Kaido's shout rang out behind him came Silver Axe, Wang Zhi, Captain John, and the sea devil Slardar.
On the way, they'd picked up a wounded Wang Zhi and followed the thunder of battle.
John stared, dumbfounded. "That's Ares still as lively as ever. But why is he… fighting the Red Count?"
"Huh? The Red Count?" Silver Axe's voice jumped an octave. He peered hard, then whistled. "It is him. What's that guy doing here?"
Redfield's name was no small thing; a lone wanderer who'd made the world take notice second only to the Rocks Pirates as a crew.
His strength? Terrifying.
Wang Zhi looked puzzled. "When I spotted him earlier, he was dueling Admiral Sengoku. When did it become Ares?"
Kaido's shout pulled Marine eyes their way
and Ares's, too.
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