"Legendary great pirate, Red Count Patrick Redfield?"
The name of the Red Count was almost universally known and recognized.
As soon as Gion mentioned the name, the news that the Red Count had arrived in Arabasta and killed King Cobra spread rapidly within Arabasta.
———
[One Hour Later]
BOOM!
Sakazuki let out a ferocious laugh and smashed a magma punch onto Red Count's right leg.
After the clash, Rosse swiftly slashed down with his halberd.
This time, it was the first time Red Count actively dodged.
Red Count expressionlessly tilted his body slightly, dodging the attack of the Trident of the Sea God.
Facing Red Count's evasion, Rosse seemed to have expected it and immediately swept horizontally with his halberd.
"Useless," Red Count said faintly, merely tilting his body slightly to simultaneously dodge the attacks from both Sakazuki and Rosse.
His greatest strength wasn't Conqueror's Haki or Armament Haki, but Observation Haki.
Having fought Rosse enough times, even if he couldn't read minds, he could still pre-read Rosse's attacks.
He had just engaged in head-on combat to collect Rosse's combat data.
"Really troublesome," Rosse sighed, his gaze toward Red Count filled with solemnity.
An entire hour, even teaming up with Sakazuki, they couldn't take down the Red Count, only managing to wear down his stamina.
Red Count's S+ wasn't the S+ of Rosse's panel, but genuine S+ overall strength.
Physique, Haki, swordsmanship, martial arts, all reached the peak of perfection.
In comparison, only Rosse's physique was superior to Red Count; all other aspects were suppressed.
As for Sakazuki, even with a Logia-type fruit, he was at a complete disadvantage.
Such a powerhouse was truly someone standing at the peak of the world.
In an era, there were usually fewer than ten such individuals.
The current Rosse had already given up the idea of recruiting Red Count.
Red Count was different from Zephyr. He was a Conqueror's Haki user, a powerhouse who climbed to the peak over corpses.
Such a powerhouse might admit defeat but would never submit.
From the initial clash of Conqueror's Haki-imbued cane sword with Rosse's, Rosse had already understood the will contained within the opponent's Conqueror's Haki.
A powerhouse like this, what Rosse could do was give him a grand funeral.
"Fight!"
Silver light burst in Rosse's eyes, his Mythical Zoan form nearly pushed to the limit.
To prevent Red Count from dodging, Rosse chose the simplest method.
"HEAVEN'S FALL!"
Raising the Trident of the Sea God high, Rosse's almost tangible Conqueror's Haki burst forth, directly locking onto Red Count.
Conqueror's Haki was a type of aura.
In the ultimate clash of Conqueror's Haki, whoever retreated, their aura would weaken.
From the beginning, this was a battle of endurance. Rosse had long been prepared.
"HAHAHAHA, tricks we pirates have long played out," Red Count laughed to the sky, sidestepping Sakazuki's attack, wielding his Conqueror's Haki-imbued cane sword, and charged straight toward Rosse.
BOOM!
Just upon contact with Rosse's downward strike of the Trident of the Sea God, a flicker of solemnity flashed in Red Count's eyes.
This attack was different from before.
Within it, he actually felt the sensation of a ten-thousand-meter tsunami crashing down onto his sword.
This was a Conqueror's Haki embodiment or Devil Fruit awakening vision.
Though still in its infancy, once stepping through this door, future progress would come swiftly.
In this battle, Rosse might just break through.
Rip!
Red Count exploded with full power.
In the vision realm, Red Count, within the ocean, fiercely charged into the sky, battling the ten-thousand-meter tsunami with no sign of fear, aiming to slice through the massive waves.
"I AM—THE RED COUNT!"
"Red Count? Just a stray hyena roaming the seas," Sakazuki snorted coldly, his whole body erupting with surging magma.
Suppressed for an hour, Sakazuki now exploded.
At this moment, his awakened Devil Fruit ability was fully unleashed without reservation.
In a trance, billions of magma hounds appeared in the sky, rushing toward Red Count alongside Rosse's ten-thousand-meter waves.
"Conqueror's Haki? No, Logia Devil Fruit Awakening?", Another flicker of shock appeared in Red Count's eyes.
He admitted he had slightly underestimated Sakazuki, never expecting the other had trained his Logia power to the point of awakening.
Such individuals were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; in his memory, there was only one, a true fighter who could battle two top-tier powerhouses head-on.
Though Sakazuki seemed somewhat immature, in the future he definitely had the potential to reach their level.
BOOM!
Faced with Rosse and Sakazuki's eruption, Red Count also ignited his fighting spirit.
He could already sense, there was no leaving today.
Since he couldn't leave, then fight to the end.
Let the Red Count's swan song bloom here in Arabasta.
RUMBLE!
At this moment, Red Count completely gave up the thought of escape.
And at this moment, his self-restrained Conqueror's Haki surged to its peak again.
In the vision created by his aura, he stood high in the ten-thousand-meter sky.
Whether it was Sakazuki's magma hounds or Rosse's ten-thousand-meter tsunami, none could affect him in the slightest.
"Going all out?", Rosse's eyes narrowed slightly. With the auras of the three intertwined, it was easy to feel each other's intentions.
He and Sakazuki had never been in a rush.
Under a two-on-one scenario, even if Red Count was truly strong, but after such prolonged fighting, all three clearly knew, if this continued, Red Count would inevitably lose.
Red Count, fighting two at once, expended far more stamina than they did. As long as they dragged this on, he could be killed in less than half a day.
Not to mention Zephyr was still on the way, three-on-one would end the battle even faster.
So in the earlier battles, Red Count still clung to a slight hope of escape.
But now, fighting to this point, Red Count gave up all chances of survival, betting everything on this battle.
This Red Count—
Was the STRONGEST Red Count.
Buzz!
Flying slashes crossed the sky from his cane sword, continuously attacking Sakazuki.
Red Count changed his offensive style and launched a fierce assault on Sakazuki.
"DIE!"
Sakazuki was never the dodging type. Sensing Red Count's desperation, his tiger eyes actually revealed a soul-shaking madness.
Desperation?
Which powerhouse hadn't climbed out from mountains of corpses?
He smashed apart Red Count's flying slash with a punch, and under Red Count's horrified gaze, completely ignored the slash imbued with Conqueror's Haki.
With only a layer of Armament Haki covering his chest, both hands coated in magma lunged toward Red Count.
Hiss!
Red Count's cane sword slashed Sakazuki's chest. At their level, Logia elementality was nearly limitless, blood splattered everywhere, easily creating a deep, bone-revealing wound.
Yet at the same time, Red Count's hands were also grabbed by Sakazuki.
"I caught you!"
Sakazuki let out a ferocious laugh.
"DOG BITING CRIMSON LOTUS EXPLOSION!!!" (Inugami Guren)

In an instant, Sakazuki's hands turned into magma, and endless magma nearly enveloped both him and Red Count completely.
RUMBLE!
A violent explosion erupted within the magma. The entire several-hundred-meter radius seemed nuked, sand compressed into glass crystals, scorch marks of lava everywhere.
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