"I... I understand."
"So that's what happened. You simply infused yourself with the power of that knife."
"Whether it's the red beam or the hardened body that can withstand a swordsman's blows bare-handed, they're all abilities of that sword. Or, in other words—you're now a sword in human form."
Redfield looked at Rosen through the thick smoke of the explosion. A glint of understanding flashed in his eyes.
"You are the Leopard King."
He spoke each word with weight.
In response, Rosen only smiled. He raised his arm, spread his five fingers like an eagle's claw, and aimed at the Aloof Red in front of him.
Then—
Sniff—
Bursts of scarlet light erupted. In his palm, an energy sphere wrapped in blood-colored streams of light condensed into shape.
He didn't speak, but the meaning was obvious.
Even if you know the ability of the Leopard King's Resurrección... will it help you?
"Yeah?"
"It seems I've really been underestimated."
"I've been away from this sea for too long. Now even a navy brat without a rank dares to treat me so lightly."
Redfield couldn't use his Observation Haki to read Rosen's thoughts and memories, but he could see his intent instantly. An evil, cold smile crept onto his face. He pushed himself off the ground with his knees, tightened his grip on his sword, and violent streams of black-and-red lightning burst from his body.
The blade in his hand blazed with a blood-red aura—fiery, Haki, and searing like flame.
Call out—
Seeing this, Rosen instantly fired the condensed Cero from his palm. It became a blood-red bolt of lightning, cutting across the sky in a heartbeat, reaching Redfield in an instant.
"Kid."
"You don't really think I was fighting seriously just now, do you?"
"Let me show you—the power that slew the former Fleet Admiral of your Marine Headquarters!"
Facing the roaring flash that engulfed him like a crimson curtain, Redfield stomped hard. The burst of Haki beneath his feet shattered the ground, launching him forward. He and his blade became a streak of lightning—a blood-red crescent slash wreathed in black-and-red thunder.
Bang!
The same blood-red hue—
One side a flash, the other a slash.
The former a beam, the latter a crescent.
When the two forces met, a deafening explosion ripped through the air.
The shockwave shattered the ground into jagged fragments.
Chunks of rubble shot upward, only to be pulverized mid-air by the surging impact.
At the same time, the sea of clouds that had just re-formed above the island froze—then burst apart like smoke.
Bang!
From the very center of the clash came a sound like thunder. Then—
The roaring blood-red flash was split cleanly in half, like a cake sliced with a single cut.
A blood-red crescent streaked across the battlefield, a fleeting arc wrapped in overwhelming divine force, closing the gap to Rosen in an instant.
"One Sword Style · Blood Moon!"
Redfield appeared right in front of Rosen, eyes cold and arrogant. His long sword—wreathed in burning Haki and crackling black thunder—slashed straight across.
The scarlet crescent wave passed through Rosen's body.
The instant it struck, the earth beneath them split apart, a jagged tear hundreds of meters long ripping through the ground.
Cutting through the void. Splitting the earth.
This was the sword that had once defeated the Navy's former Admiral, Steel Bone Kong.
"It's over."
Redfield now stood behind Rosen. He didn't bother to look back, and didn't even use his Observation Haki to confirm the kill. His confidence in his swordsmanship was absolute.
Swordsmanship—
The supreme art of attack and killing.
And a great swordsman's blade—
At the pinnacle, every cut is backed by the spirit to cleave anything.
Aloof Red was no exception.
However—
Rosen did not fall. He stood still, slowly lowered his head, touched the spot where the slash had landed, brushed his fingers over it... and then let his hand drop.
At that moment—
Through the Den Den Mushi's feed, Sengoku, Zephyr, and others aboard the warship, as well as Gion, Tokikake, and the academy students, all stared in shock.
The lens had captured it clearly: Redfield's devastating slash had struck Rosen's abdomen—yet the Leopard King's white armor in Resurrección form showed not a single mark.
"Rosen's skin is like Big Mom's Iron Balloon."
"No—combined with his unparalleled Haki, his defense is absolute, inside and out."
"Whether external or internal, his defense surpasses even Big Mom's."
Sengoku's pupils contracted. He had fought Kaido and Big Mom when he was still an Admiral; he knew how monstrous their bodies were. But Rosen's defense... was even greater.
A Hierro that could take a great swordsman's slash—
And now, with the Still Blood Armor's ultimate evolution, reinforced by Armament Haki mastery, Rosen had withstood a blow wrapped in Redfield's full Haki.
Zephyr and Borsalino nodded grimly at Sengoku's assessment.
At this time—
"Is it over?"
"I don't understand what you're saying."
"Redfield."
Rosen tilted his head slightly, glancing at Redfield's back.
"...What?"
Redfield's heart tightened, as though gripped by an invisible hand. His eyes glowed red as his Observation Haki flared—only to sense Rosen's aura still burning strong.
"But you're right about one thing."
"It's time to end this."
Before Redfield could even turn, Rosen raised his arm, bent his elbow, and aimed it like an eagle's talon at Redfield's back.
Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!
A flurry of emerald-green blades shot from Rosen's elbow with air-shattering speed.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Redfield reacted instantly, retreating while swinging his sword in rapid defense. But at such close range, and with the blades so fast and numerous, even he couldn't block them all.
He deflected three, dodged one—
But the fifth slammed into his chest.
Even with Armament Haki hardened across his body, the impact's shockwave blasted him away like a bird with broken wings. He hit the ground hard, gouging a ravine as he skidded.
Phew—
One hand braced against the dirt, Redfield spat a mouthful of blood, staining the ground red.
Crushed. Again.
Dominance.
Strength.
Speed.
Defense.
Complete superiority.
The sight left every viewer on the other end of the Den Den Mushi feed frozen in stunned silence.
...
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