"Desgarrón!"
Rosen waved his hand casually, and five colossal rays of light—manifestations of the Leopard King's claws—descended from the sky, carrying boundless divine power as they fell toward the island.
Although the claws had yet to land, the terrifying claw wind, sharp enough to tear the air apart, had already engulfed the island. Sand and rocks were lifted and flung through the air, and Redfield's tattered clothes rustled violently under the pressure.
"What stands so high above me…?"
"I don't believe it!"
"On this ocean, the only ones who can surpass me are Roger and Whitebeard. Even in the Navy, I only recognize Garp."
After all, Redfield was one of the few who had once stood at the very top of the seas.
Even with one arm severed by Gran Rey Cero, after only a moment of hesitation, his fighting spirit ignited again. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly with his remaining hand, and both his body and blade erupted with a violent, Conqueror's Haki that burned as fiercely as a mountain aflame.
Boom—
Black and red lightning, wild as a feral dragon, coiled around his body and weapon.
Facing the overwhelming descent of the Desgarrón, Redfield, knowing escape was impossible, abandoned any thought of dodging. Like a true overlord of the seas, he charged upward into the sky.
Body.
Black blade.
Haki.
In an instant, the three became one—transforming into a Haki Blood Moon Slash, carrying the King's will to look down upon the world itself, and clashing head-on with the claws of the Leopard King.
Bang—
Their respective Conqueror's Haki clashed before steel or energy could meet. The air itself exploded as overwhelming pressure burst outward, and black-and-red lightning raged wildly around them.
The ground trembled and cracked apart.
A hurricane screamed through the sky.
The surrounding sea boiled into towering waves, surging in all directions.
When their Haki detonated in the air, the impact shattered the clash into countless black bolts that tore across the sky and sea.
But it wasn't over—
The real collision was only beginning.
As the Conqueror's Haki lightning danced madly, the blue light marks of the claws and the blood-red crescent moon finally made direct, solid contact.
Boom!
Earth-shaking thunderclaps rolled again and again.
Each blast echoed like the roar of a thousand Sea Kings.
Every detonation unleashed a titanic shockwave, sending waves surging around the point of impact. Black lightning wove through the air, shaking both sky and sea into chaos.
Fortunately, only Rosen and Redfield were on the island. On the nearest warship, Sengoku, Zephyr, and Borsalino—top warriors in their own right—watched on. Were it anyone else, the sheer aftermath of that one clash would have rendered them unconscious.
"Are the only ones who surpass you Whitebeard and Roger?"
"Does in Navy only recognize Garp?"
"Then let me engrave something into your mind. Before you die, remember it well—you are inferior to me."
In mid-air, Rosen's ears still rang with Redfield's earlier roar. He chuckled under his breath, as if answering the man's challenge.
As if in response to its master's will, the Leopard King's claw surged with renewed ferocity, determined to prove Rosen's words true.
Bang!
Bang!
After a prolonged stalemate, the claws suddenly erupted with an indomitable edge. With unstoppable force, they tore through the blood-red crescent moon hovering close.
Click—
A sound like tearing fabric split the air. The enormous crescent moon—so massive it was like the real moon descending to the sea—finally shattered, exploding into countless violent waves of Haki.
Redfield's figure was left exposed in the air.
An instant later, the five massive blue streaks of light fell together, engulfing his body entirely before slamming into the island.
Swish—
The rock surface was pulverized like tofu before the claws' power, torn apart to reveal five bottomless chasms carved deep into the earth.
Clang—
A black blade spun from the sky and landed in the center of the claw marks, embedding itself into the ground at an angle.
The moment the sword left Redfield's hand, the Haki clinging to it dissipated rapidly, and the once-black blade returned to the form of an ordinary weapon.
Only Redfield—cut from the heavens by the Leopard King's claws—remained kneeling on the fractured ground.
Phew—
Scarlet blood poured from five deep wounds across his body—so deep the bone was visible, and even glimpses of his internal organs could be seen.
This sight left Sengoku and Zephyr aboard the warship silent.
They were both legends of the old era, men who had fought alongside and against Redfield's generation. Even Sengoku, who had once been stronger than Aloof Red, felt an unshakable emotion stir within him as he looked upon the scene.
"Has he grown to such a level…?"
"To bury a legend of the past by himself…"
"The Aloof Red."
Sengoku turned from the Den Den Mushi's live feed and stared through the void toward Rosen, standing above the island.
As a great swordsman, Redfield's blade had been struck from his hand—an unthinkable disgrace. Even without being a swordsman himself, Sengoku knew what it meant.
The era of the Navy was coming.
And on the Grand Line, so too was the era of Rosen—
One that began by felling the sword of the Aloof Red.
On the battlefield, Redfield had no such thoughts. The overwhelming pressure of the Leopard King's claws left him with no time to reflect—every ounce of his focus was on survival.
Though his sword had been knocked away, he had managed to withstand the claws and live.
"Blocked… blocked it?"
At that moment, Redfield's face was pale as death, his breathing ragged.
"Yes… you blocked it."
Rosen looked down at the kneeling figure. Inwardly, he acknowledged the sheer durability of those who stood at the top of the sea—they were built like iron bulls.
"But…"
"As for the second question—what will you do?"
The instant he spoke, Redfield's face changed.
Clang—
Rosen's left hand, hanging at his side, suddenly opened wide. Familiar blue light blossomed from his palm, descending arrogantly toward the earth.
Then—
That light was wrapped in violent black lightning, forming the second Desgarrón.
Only now did Redfield fully realize—
Yes, a man has two hands.
And the Leopard King's claws… were not one, but two.
"Goodbye…"
"Patrick Redfield."
Rosen cast one last glance at him, then gently waved his left hand.
Swish—
The sky-splitting claws of the Leopard King descended, their indestructible Haki edge cutting straight through the heavens before crashing onto the island, swallowing Redfield's tattered form whole.
Click—
A terrible sound of the earth breaking split the air. Five colossal dust pillars surged upward like awakened dragons, roaring into the sky.
When the smoke and dust cleared, the entire island's surface was carved into ten interlocking chasms.
From above, the scene resembled a titanic Leopard King—large as the greatest Sea Kings—leaping and raking the island with its claws.
Boom—
A deafening roar shook the seas, like the wrath of heaven itself.
Then—
The island covered in the ten claw marks began to quake violently. Under the massive tremors, the land split apart like a sliced birthday cake, breaking into dozens of fragments that floated upon the waves.
This was the island where Rosen and Patrick Redfield had fought.
Now, it was gone—
Its destruction an announcement to the world:
The overlord of the old era had fallen.
The king of the new era had risen.
And through the lens of the Den Den Mushi, this scene spread like wildfire—not just through the Naval Academy, but across the entire Marine Headquarters.
...
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