"Impossible! How could your power be this strong!?"
In the sky, Bullet controlled the steel behemoth that had lost an arm and let out a frenzied roar.
Refusing to accept it, he swung its only remaining arm and smashed it toward Luffy again.
But...
"It's useless!"
Boom!!!
In his giant form, Luffy turned his hand into a blade and, with a swift slash at the steel beast's joint, instantly chopped off its last remaining arm.
The ridge-like limb crashed onto the island, kicking up a massive cloud of smoke and dust.
Yet no matter how thick the dust was, it still couldn't hide the disbelief and shock on Bullet's face.
"Your ability really is incredibly powerful!"
At that moment, Luffy suddenly spoke. His sharp gaze seemed to pierce through the thick shell of steel and meet Bullet's eyes directly.
"But..."
"You're missing the thing that can truly make you stronger!!!"
"I can't feel your conviction at all!!!"
Bang!!!
A huge crater suddenly exploded into the hardened ground.
Even in his giant state, Luffy still used a technique similar to Shave, his body flashing like teleportation as he appeared behind Bullet in an instant.
The next moment...
A simple yet ferocious punch shot out with terrifying force, blowing through the armor Bullet was so proud of and smashing him straight out of the steel giant's body.
"Puh..."
In an instant, Bullet's eyes rolled back, showing only the whites as he briefly lost consciousness.
His body sprayed out a mouthful of blood involuntarily, and who knew how many bones in his body had been shattered.
The enormous steel beast also collapsed at once, turning into countless chunks of wreckage that rained down.
"It's over."
Looking at Bullet's figure crashing into the earth like a meteor, Luffy shook his head in disappointment.
Clearly, he wasn't all that satisfied with this opponent.
Bullet's level of strength was such that he couldn't be used like Hajrudin for basic-form training, nor was he strong enough to force Luffy to go all out in a truly exhilarating battle.
Just as Red had said, this was nothing more than a bit of entertainment to relieve the boredom of their dull training.
...
...
"I-It's over just like that!?"
At the same time...
The pirates on the island stared blankly at Bullet, who had been defeated so easily by Luffy, each of them left speechless in shock.
They could hardly believe that terrifying monster from before had been beaten so effortlessly.
But in the next second, their eyes focused on the sky once more.
As the steel giant collapsed, a battered treasure chest fell from above along with shattered chunks of earth, then suddenly popped open midair.
A crystal-like Eternal Pose appeared in everyone's sight.
"That is..."
In an instant, every pirate's gaze was irresistibly drawn to the legendary Eternal Pose said to lead to the final island, Laugh Tale.
As pirates who had wagered their lives on the sea, even after experiencing a battle that had filled them with despair, the ambition in their hearts had not been extinguished!
But in the very next moment...
A giant hand directly caught the Eternal Pose, then closed around it, making it disappear from everyone's sight.
And after obtaining the Eternal Pose, Luffy immediately withdrew from his battle state.
His body gradually returned to normal.
"One of the Four Emperors, Luffy, has obtained the Eternal Pose to the final island!"
At that moment, a voice rang out from the crowd.
Then, discussions immediately erupted one after another like a flock of noisy sparrows.
"With his strength, there's probably no one left in this world who can take the Eternal Pose from him, right!?"
"Heh... even a monster like Bullet was beaten so easily, and the World Government can't do anything to the Straw Hat crew at all..."
"Unless the other three Four Emperors join forces, who else in this world could possibly stop the rise of the Straw Hat Pirates!?"
"The Four Emperors are like fire and water with each other. How could they possibly unite!?"
"Then doesn't that mean... he's about to become the next Pirate King!?"
"Not necessarily! There can only be one Pirate King in this world... they might not be unwilling to team up against the Straw Hat crew."
"But no matter what, the current Straw Hat Pirates are the closest existence to that position!!!"
For a time, countless pirates cast complicated gazes of awe and yearning at Luffy, who stood atop the wreckage of the steel giant.
The strength of the Straw Hat Pirates had already been made plain for all to see.
And their success was now within arm's reach!
If they could establish some connection with the Straw Hat Pirates at a moment like this, then might they also have a chance to become subordinates of the future Pirate King!?
After witnessing the strength of true top-tier monsters of the world, many pirates had already fallen into despair. Some had even begun thinking about giving up on being pirates altogether.
But if they could join under the Straw Hats, perhaps that would become their only motivation to keep going!
At the same time...
Another beast-like roar suddenly rang out from the distant sky.
Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to the sound, and they turned to look.
Then they saw, high above, a bizarre creature with a strange body locked in a contest of strength against another terrifying monster radiating the aura of blood!
They quickly recognized that the oddly shaped creature was none other than Red in his transformed state, the vice-captain of the Straw Hat Pirates!
Although they didn't know exactly what kind of Devil Fruit ability Red possessed, the fact that he could transform into a strange creature for battle was no longer any great secret on the seas.
After all, he was a great pirate with a bounty of 3.5 billion.
Even if he rarely showed himself in public, the New World would never forget a figure like him.
And the crowd also quickly recognized the identity of that blood-soaked monster.
After all, only one person could fight on equal footing with the vice-captain of the Straw Hat Pirates: the legendary pirate who had appeared together with Bullet earlier—Redfield!
It was just that the battle between Bullet and Luffy had been so overwhelming that no one had paid attention to this side of the battlefield.
But once they did notice this battle, everyone couldn't help but reveal expressions that said this was exactly what they had expected.
That monster wrapped in a bloody aura was also displaying power enough to shock everyone.
Yet under Red's combination of instant movement, psychic control, mental hypnosis, all sorts of strange Pokémon moves, and various tools...
Not a single one of the blood monster's attacks managed to land on Red.
On the contrary...
Every one of Red's Roar of Time attacks seemed to cross the river of time itself and strike Redfield directly.
After several exchanges, despite Redfield's formidable strength and the bodily enhancement granted by the Vampire Fruit, exhaustion had already begun to show on his face.
Feeling tortured and humiliated, Redfield fixed his crimson blood-red eyes tightly on Red.
But in the next second, he asked viciously:
"Bullet has already lost! Why hasn't that brat come over to support you!?"
"Are you looking down on me!?"
"Heh... Don't tell me you still think you have any chance to turn this around, Senior Redfield!?"
"Damn it!" A bloody gleam flashed through Redfield's eyes, but his thoughts rapidly swept over his surroundings.
His strength should never have been limited to this.
If only he could drink some more blood prey, the power he could unleash would definitely be far beyond this!
If he could drain all the pirates present, then the power he gained might even surpass the final form Bullet had dreamed of!
But...
Redfield's gaze sharpened, and a trace of helplessness flashed across his face.
That brat facing him—though his aura and physical qualities were average—possessed Observation Haki no weaker than his own, perhaps even stronger!
Every time, he was able to predict his actions with pinpoint accuracy and completely intercept every attempt to devour blood prey.
Because of Red's interference, there was no longer anything nearby for him to feed on.
And because of that, Redfield had already foreseen his own ending.
Why had this world become like this!?
Had he really been discarded by the era?!
Even though he had resisted the aging brought by time, could he still not fight against fate!?
Without realizing it, the intense will to fight within Redfield had already begun to fade.
And just then...
"You can't keep fighting anymore, can you?"
Red, who possessed Aura and could easily see through people's hearts, suddenly spoke with a smile.
Hearing that, Redfield showed no surprise. Instead, he lifted his head and let out a soft laugh.
"As expected! You also possess Observation Haki like mine!"
"Can you tell me this? Since you too can see the darkness in people's hearts, why do you still choose to trust others, and even place yourself beneath someone else!?"
"With your abilities and methods, if you truly wanted to, you probably wouldn't lose to that brat wearing the same straw hat as Roger, would you!?"
"Maybe because I was luckier than you and happened to meet a group of companions who shared my ideals."
Red did not reveal the truth that he had only recently obtained Aura.
Because he could clearly sense that Redfield had already begun to see him as one of his own.
Which worked out perfectly, because they already had a firm need for the Vampire Fruit.
If they could use this opportunity to recruit Redfield into the Straw Hat Pirates, it would save them a great deal of trouble.
What's more...
The Straw Hat Pirates themselves already had a deep connection to Redfield.
"Companions who share your ideals...?" Redfield let out a bitter laugh. "Perhaps I'll never understand your way of thinking in this life."
Because he had seen too much of humanity's darkness in his childhood, it was difficult for him to ever truly open his heart to others again.
"Why not give yourself a chance?"
At that moment, Red's voice rang out again.
"A chance?"
Redfield looked up in confusion, only to see in astonishment that Red had already withdrawn from his Mythical Zoan form, returning to his true body as he smiled and said:
"Senior Redfield, would you be interested in joining the Straw Hat Pirates?!"
"Join... you people!?"
Redfield stared up in shock.
Even with his power to read hearts, he was completely caught off guard by Red's sudden invitation.
One moment they had still been enemies, and the next, he was being invited to become a companion?
Redfield parted his lips, instinctively about to refuse.
But Red suddenly raised a hand to stop him, cutting him off as he continued with a smile:
"No need to refuse so quickly, Senior Redfield."
"Didn't you just ask me why I wasn't defeated by the darkness of human nature?"
"Don't you want to know the answer to that question?"
"Join us. Become one of us, and you'll understand very soon!"
"Th-This..." Redfield was briefly at a loss for words.
To be honest, because he could sense that Red was someone like himself—someone capable of seeing through the human heart—he truly was a little moved by Red's words.
So much so that his heart actually wavered.
"Oh, right!"
Before Redfield could answer, Red pressed the advantage.
Snap!
With the sound of a finger snap, two figures suddenly appeared floating beside Red, suspended in midair by his psychic power.
One of them was naturally the Straw Hat crew's captain, Luffy.
He had only just obtained the Eternal Pose to the final island, yet Red had already sent him a telepathic warning from afar not to damage it, leaving him genuinely troubled.
Even though his ambition had already shifted from becoming Pirate King to exploring the stars, he still didn't want to become Pirate King by relying on something like this.
Fortunately, Red directly took the Eternal Pose from his hand and smiled as he patted Luffy on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. If the final island could really be recorded by an Eternal Pose, then no one would have spent all these years unable to find it."
"This Eternal Pose is probably fake!"
As he spoke, Red casually tossed the Eternal Pose away, teleporting it straight into Usopp's hands for safekeeping.
Then his gaze shifted to the other companion Red had teleported over—the one who had already become nothing but bare bones: Brook!
Red smiled calmly.
"Brook, you should still remember this Senior Redfield standing before us, right?"
"Th-This..." Brook hesitated slightly. The soul fire in his skull suddenly flickered, and then he said in realization:
"Redfield... could he be...?"
"That's right!!!"
Before Brook could finish, Red interrupted him directly and turned to look at Redfield, whose expression had gone blank.
Clearly, in that same instant, he too had recognized Brook's identity.
Though their reunion came after everything had changed—though the boy from the past had become a twilight old man, and the beacon of his former life had long since become a pile of dry bones...
Redfield still recognized Brook instantly.
"You... You are... Mr. Brook!?"
"You... have already died once!?"
Redfield said, his voice choked with emotion.
"I'm truly sorry to meet you again in such a state." Brook removed the gentleman's hat from his head and replied with deep emotion.
For a moment, the tense atmosphere of battle vanished completely.
In its place remained only sorrowful remembrance and endless nostalgia.
(End of Chapter)