Redfield looked at these three young Marines who had suddenly appeared, then at Tatsuki, who had a fanatical smile not far away. Even with his temperament, he felt his scalp tingle.
Where the hell is this place?
It's just a base, how could it be hiding four monsters?
Every single one of them had the potential to dominate the seas in the future.
"Mad dog-like Marines."
Redfield straightened his slightly messy collar, his elegance gone, replaced by a hint of genuine anger in his voice.
"For that bit of toll, do you want to perish together with me?"
"Perish together?"
Tatsuki laughed wildly, his pitch-black blade pointing toward Redfield from a distance.
"Aren't you overestimating yourself?"
He suddenly turned his head and barked at the three behind him who were preparing to attack again, "Everyone fall back! Just watch from the side!"
Sakazuki and the other two were all stunned upon hearing this.
"Tatsuki! Are you crazy?!"
Sakazuki's serious face was twisted with rage, and magma bubbled on his fists.
"The opponent is a legendary pirate on par with Roger! Why talk about the pedantic rules of a duel at a time like this?!"
"Cut the crap!" Tatsuki's tone was cold and overbearing.
"This guy is my prey!"
He ignored his companions' shock, turned back, and locked his eyes onto Redfield, his boiling battle intent almost manifesting into substance.
"Aloof Red. Next, it's time for just you and me."
He wanted to see exactly where his limit was with 90 points of Physique, plus Internal Destruction, the Storm-Storm Fruit, and Tensa Zangetsu.
Tatsuki slowly extended his right hand, pointing it toward the sky. The night sky, which had been relatively clear, was instantly covered in dark clouds, with countless silver snakes darting wildly through the cloud layers.
Storm-Storm Fruit ability activated!
Thunder Descent!
A terrifying bolt of lightning descended from the sky, instantly locking onto the small boat beneath Redfield's feet.
Boom!!!
Accompanied by a deafening roar of thunder, that poor small boat was blasted into dust by the lightning, completely disappearing from the ice.
Tatsuki grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, his eyes fanatical. He looked at Redfield again and declared war word by word, "Let's fight to the death! Aloof Red!"
Redfield slowly exhaled a breath, and the killing intent that had been dormant for many years completely awakened.
"Then prepare yourself to die in this sea."
The moment the words fell, his figure was like an arrow leaving a bow, instantly disappearing from where he stood.
In the next instant, a blood-colored afterimage pressed close to Tatsuki's body. That elegant red umbrella transformed into the world's most sharp and lethal weapon, bringing with it countless piercing sounds of breaking wind, pointing straight at Tatsuki's throat, heart, and brow.
His fighting style had no flashy Devil Fruit abilities. It was a pure, perfect combination of physical body, Haki, and swordsmanship.
"So fast!"
Tatsuki's pupils constricted slightly, but the corners of his lips split into an even more exaggerated arc.
His Observation Haki had long been pushed to its limit, and his ability to see into the future activated. Countless afterimages of the future flashed before his eyes, accurately predicting the trajectory of every one of Redfield's attacks, allowing his body to perform the smallest possible evasive maneuvers.
The blade in his hand also turned into a black stream of light.
If Redfield was an elegant vampire, then the current Tatsuki was a berserk God of Death.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Tensa Zangetsu and the red umbrella constantly collided in the air, sparks flying everywhere.
The speed of the two was so fast that the naked eye could barely capture it. Only two blurred afterimages could be seen entangled together on the frozen sea and in mid-air, constantly engaging in teleport-like collisions. Every collision would explode into a circle of visible white airwaves.
The trio watching from afar had varying expressions.
"My, that's an unbelievable speed." Borsalino pushed his sunglasses.
Although his tone was still lewd, a drop of cold sweat slid down his temple. "Only by using elementalization can I keep up with this rhythm. Tatsuki..."
"It's not just speed." Sakazuki stared fixedly at the battlefield, his fists clenching with a cracking sound.
"It's that reckless, suicidal madness. He's enjoying the slaughter."
Center of the battlefield.
Redfield grew more alarmed the more he fought. He was astonished to find that Tatsuki could always predict his movements half a step ahead, either parrying with a blade or performing an extreme dodge.
"This kind of Observation Haki... seeing into the future?" A trace of solemnity entered Redfield's voice.
As soon as this thought arose, he no longer hesitated and activated the other ability he was truly proud of—Mind Reading!
As long as the opponent had a thought of attacking, he could see through all their motives and trajectories a step ahead, making all predictions useless.
However, when he tried to read Tatsuki's heart, what he heard wasn't 'left slash,' 'right thrust,' or 'defense,' but a pile of noise that almost caused his brain to crash.
'If this hit lands solidly, would it count as excessive law enforcement? It should be worth at least 200 Violation Points.'
'What material is this guy's umbrella made of? If I snatch it and sell it to Vegapunk, how much funding could I get in exchange?'
'No, I need to destroy more public property! Make an even bigger commotion! It would be best if I could change the underwater topography!'
This... what the hell is all this nonsense?!
Just as Redfield was momentarily stunned by these absurd inner thoughts, Tatsuki's blade arrived.
"You dare to get distracted while fighting me?!" Tatsuki laughed wildly.
Tensa Zangetsu showed no mercy. Upon the blade, Armament Haki as black as ink surged frantically as he swung the blade down in a furious slash toward Redfield's head.
Redfield hurriedly raised his umbrella to block.
BOOM!
The massive force blasted him into the sea. The hard ice shattered, stirring up hundred-meter-high giant waves and ice shards that filled the sky.
[Ding! Detected that the host is maliciously destroying the marine ecological environment during combat! Tthe fish-blasting behavior is egregious!]
[Violation Points +500!]
"That's more like it!"
Listening to the sweet notification sound ringing in his mind, Tatsuki felt the blood in his entire body burning, his fighting spirit climbing to its peak.
"Again!"
The ice surface exploded violently, turning into countless sharp arrows shooting in all directions.
Redfield stepped on the broken ice and soared into the sky. That pale face was now covered in frost.
Elegance? Composure?
Before this madman Marine, they had long since vanished.
"You bastard..."
This time, Redfield's aura completely changed. A Conqueror's Haki far more terrifying and profound than before soared into the sky, with black and red lightning tearing the sky apart.
"It ends here, brat!"
His speed was actually thirty percent faster than before. The tip of the umbrella drew a bizarre arc in the air that neither the naked eye nor Observation Haki could capture, instantly breaking through the sensory limit of Tatsuki's 'future vision'.
Pfft!
Blood splattered.