Due to the sea area near Delta Island being affected by Sephiroth's Conqueror's Haki, huge waves were immediately stirred up on the sea surface, continuously pushing the ships of the Donquixote Pirates and the Blackbeard Pirates away from the island.
"What powerful Haki! As expected of the man who defeated Red Hair..."
Blackbeard Teach looked at the huge vortex formed by the clouds over Delta Island, and a drop of cold sweat couldn't help but trickle down his forehead. The intensity of Sephiroth's Conqueror's Haki truly made Blackbeard feel a bit apprehensive. He felt that even if the opponent couldn't use his Devil Fruit ability, dealing with him would be tough.
"Blackbeard, stop spacing out! If we can't take care of Sephiroth today, our situation in the future will be extremely passive."
Doflamingo's eyes were sinister as he stood on the bow of the Flamingo ship, gazing at the cloud vortex in the distant sky.
Ever since Reverse Mountain was dismantled from the Red Line by Sephiroth, Marineford Admiral Akainu has been stationed there with heavy troops, and has also begun establishing a Navy Base nearby, sharpening their blades and pointing their forces directly at the New World.
In addition, within Wano Country, which is still in a state of isolation, there have surprisingly started to be traces of Marine activity. After extensive inquiries and probing by Doflamingo, he finally confirmed that the Marine had established a presence within Wano Country, and the Navy Base had already been completed long ago.
Wano Country is located in the heart of the New World. If combined with the Navy Base at Reverse Mountain, it would directly form a pincer attack, greatly increasing the speed of troop deployment. By then, the New World will be completely covered by the Marine's influence, and they, the Sea Emperors, will become fish on a chopping block, left to the Marine's mercy.
Blackbeard Teach heard Doflamingo's urging words and immediately frowned, saying:
"Even if you didn't say these things, I would understand."
After speaking, he turned his head to look at a figure not far behind him. The person was tall and thin with an aged face, his white hair braided into two pigtails that hung over his shoulders.
He wore a plum-colored shirt and blood-red trousers, black leather shoes on his feet, a wide blood-red cape draped over his shoulders, and held a slender umbrella with a bat-shaped handle in his hand. In addition, a tanuki wearing a pink cloak stood on his shoulder.
This person's name was Baroric Redfield, nicknamed "Red Count", and also known as "Solitary Red" and "Solitary Redfield".
This person's name was basically unheard of among the younger generation of Pirates. But among the older generation of Pirates, or those who witnessed the previous era, such as Blackbeard Teach, Red-Haired Shanks, and others, this person's name was very familiar.
In the past, his strength was incredibly powerful, and he alone was on par with Roger and Whitebeard. If he hadn't had the habit of gathering subordinates and developing territory, then the three legendary Pirates of the past would have had one more person added.
It can be said that in the previous era, before Roger became the Pirate King, the status of the four — Red Count Redfield, Whitebeard Newgate, Golden Lion Shiki, and Demon Roger — among the Pirates was similar to that of the Four Emperors now.
However... Just over twenty years ago, Redfield, who was alone, fought a fierce battle with the former Fleet Admiral Kong. After defeating Kong, he was completely exhausted both physically and mentally, so he used all his strength to break through the dragnet set by the Marine.
But... When you're unlucky, even drinking cold water can get stuck in your teeth. As luck would have it, he encountered Garp, who had come as reinforcement.
And so, Redfield gladly received the Impel Down Level 6 package, and was imprisoned for over twenty years.
The reason Redfield appeared on Blackbeard Teach's ship wasn't that he had joined the Blackbeard Pirates, but rather that he had reached some agreements with Blackbeard Teach and was preparing to jointly attack Sephiroth.
As for why he chose to be an enemy of Sephiroth...? The answer is simple... He wanted to obtain the Vampire Fruit!
Ever since Redfield left Impel Down, he began searching the seas for a way to restore his aging body to youth. After much searching, he finally learned of the legendary Vampire Fruit, which could restore youth and prevent aging forever.
However... After repeated confirmation and analysis by Redfield, he somewhat helplessly discovered that the Vampire Fruit he had yearned for, which had never appeared for hundreds of years, had actually been eaten by someone! And that person was the current Fleet Admiral... Carl D. Sephiroth!
Redfield had also done some research on the combat strength of this current Fleet Admiral. World's Greatest Swordsman, defeated the Four Emperors Kaido, defeated two Marine Admirals with his own strength... Sephiroth's combat strength was so powerful that he felt even his younger self wouldn't have the confidence to win against him, let alone his current state of old age and physical decline.
After Redfield learned that Sephiroth was the current user of the Vampire Fruit, he had actually somewhat dispelled the idea of obtaining the Vampire Fruit. After all, not to mention whether he could kill Sephiroth, even if he were lucky enough to kill him and make the Vampire Fruit lose its host and regenerate, where would he then go to find this regenerated Devil Fruit?
However... As the news of Blackbeard's rampant acquisition of Devil Fruit abilities spread completely across the seas, coupled with Redfield's accidental encounter with Paton, a glimmer of hope was reignited in his heart.
After much deliberation, he finally sought out Blackbeard Teach and told him that Sephiroth was the Vampire Fruit user. He stated frankly that if Blackbeard ever wanted to make a move on Sephiroth, he could cooperate with him.
During this time, the two also haggled a bit and a small conflict broke out. In the end, Blackbeard and Redfield reached an agreement: if one day, the two of them teamed up and killed Sephiroth, then after Blackbeard helped him obtain the Devil Fruit, he would need to work for him for five years before their debts were completely settled.
Redfield knew that making a deal with Blackbeard was no different from asking a tiger for its hide, but he himself had also prepared a backup plan!
As long as Sephiroth was killed, even without Blackbeard Teach's help, he had a certain degree of confidence in obtaining the Vampire Fruit by using Paton's ability.
"Red Count, you must use your full strength in the upcoming battle against Sephiroth!" As he spoke, Blackbeard Teach's gaze intentionally or unintentionally fell upon the tanuki standing on Redfield's shoulder.
This was a tanuki named Paton. He was a user of the Dog-Dog Fruit, Mythical Zoan type, Bake-danuki form, who could transform into the appearance of others and possess thirty percent of the transformed person's strength, but would revert to his original form after taking a certain amount of damage.
In addition, he could also use his ability to conjure leaves and transform them into some creatures with limited strength. This Devil Fruit ability was neither particularly strong nor weak; it mainly depended on who Paton transformed himself into.
But... Paton's Devil Fruit ability, combined with Red Count Redfield's extraordinary talent and Observation Haki that could directly read others' memories, together became a BUG-level existence.
Blackbeard Teach didn't know how Redfield did it, but he could actually use Paton's Devil Fruit ability to conjure various top-tier powerhouses. Even at thirty percent strength, these summoned warriors were terrifying.
If Redfield wanted, he could have used Paton's power to create a Blackbeard replica and steal the Vampire Fruit right then — that's why he'd never feared Teach breaking their agreement.
No, Redfield had never trusted Blackbeard at all. Their "deal" was just grease for the wheels of their temporary alliance.
"Save your breath," Redfield said, plucking a green leaf from his pocket. He flicked it upward. "I always go all in."
The leaf exploded into white smoke midair — when the haze cleared, a perfect Van Auger replica stood there, one hand pressed to Redfield's shoulder.
Whoosh! The counterfeit sniper activated the Warp-Warp Fruit, teleporting Redfield and Paton to Delta Island's shoreline in an instant.
Blackbeard whirled toward his actual sniper, teeth bared in a jagged grin. "Heh! You gonna let some knockoff show you up, Van Auger? Move it!"
Van Auger's eye twitched. Without a word, he slapped a palm against his captain's arm.
Immediately, Blackbeard felt his eyes blur, and he and Van Auger materialized on Delta Island's coast. After several round trips ferrying the crew, the last of the Blackbeard Pirates finally set foot on enemy ground.