Chapter 1218: The Old Geezers

The Donquixote family prepared sixteen chairs in a special area, a resting place for those advancing to the finals.

At this moment, Katakuri and Owen occupied two of the chairs, while Daifuku sat on a slightly lower chair behind them.

Although there were still many empty seats, they instinctively followed some rules, like leaving the seats of the winners empty.

“Such strong Haki… I can’t relax for a moment in front of you…”

Redfield’s mind-reading is also part of Observation Haki, and it will be resisted by Haki. Red Hair’s Observation Kill can effectively prevent others from seeing through him with Observation Haki.

Katakuri doesn’t have the ability of Observation Kill, but his own Observation Haki prowess is not enough to let Redfield see through to his underwear.

The weaker a person is, the easier it is for Redfield to read his memories. For those who aren’t weak in Observation Haki and are prepared, his mind-reading isn’t as smooth; he can see the current thoughts but not past memories.

After all, when Observation Haki confronts another Observation Haki, it’s more like mutual cancellation in terms of performance.

If the Observation Haki levels of two people are about the same, it’s as if neither of them has Observation Haki, continuing to fight as they always have.

Rather than sitting still and staring at each other, seeing who can predict more scenes.

However, this mainly reflects in predicting inner thoughts and the next attack rather than just perceiving position, as few people can completely hide their presence.

Katakuri remembered how Charlotte Linlin had mentioned Redfield’s ability before, so upon coming here, he was cautious about this. However, seeing Yamato caused a moment’s distraction which allowed Redfield to seize an opportunity and see his thoughts.

“An old guy has to have some old guy tricks, and your mother has become a Sea Emperor now. Her body’s strength gave me a headache back then. I might visit her in a while, after all, the position of Pirate King needs the stones in her hands.”

“Redfield, you’re not the same solitary crimson as you once were.”

Youth is indeed an asset; compared to Redfield, Charlotte Linlin seems much younger. Katakuri doesn’t believe the current Redfield can defeat his mother.

“Hmm, you’re right. It’s time to say goodbye to the solitary past, but to be honest, I kind of liked that title.”

Eventually, Katakuri decided to leave for now; facing such a strange-speaking old monster was quite stressful, and his goal was the Quake-Quake Fruit, not to clash with Redfield right now.

Even if he mentioned going to Cake Island, that should be left to Charlotte Linlin to decide. This level of opponent is worthy of Charlotte Linlin taking action personally.

When facing Redfield up close, Katakuri needs to maintain a highly focused state.

This state is not conducive to the upcoming battle, so he chose to temporarily distance himself from here.

After the departure of the Katakuri brothers, only Redfield and Rebecca were left, and Redfield posed the previous question again.

“So, have you thought it over?”

“I… I’m sorry, I don’t want to be a pirate, but if possible, could you help me defeat Doflamingo? I can pay any price.”

“Young lady, saying you can pay any price and that you don’t want to be a pirate are contradictory. Plus, you don’t have anything I want right now.”

Rebecca’s answer wasn’t exactly what Redfield wanted to hear, but it satisfied him. Rebecca didn’t know he had mind-reading abilities.

Even if she didn’t want to be a pirate, she could have chosen to deceive him first, but she didn’t. This honesty is what Redfield appreciates.

“What a pity. Let’s talk again after the competition ends. But, do you know anything about the Hundred Beasts?”

“No, I only know they are the backing behind Doflamingo…”

“I see. I’ll take a walk. You can also reconsider my words; sometimes a change of life might be nice too.”

With that, Redfield also disappeared, going to help Padoom prepare some things, collecting intelligence along the way.

Having been a loner in the past, Redfield is extremely versatile; he knows a bit of navigation skills, medical skills, and cooking, with versatility comparable to Queen. Back then, he trusted no one and relied only on himself.

Gathering intelligence is naturally an important part. Initially, he thought this competition was just a prank; now it seems there’s more than one interesting opponent.

…

The competition at the Bullfighting Arena continued, and Diamante’s defeat made the audience sad for a while, but soon they were entranced by the competition again, and Gatz resumed his commentary.

“The fight in Zone C is exceptionally fierce! Phoenix Marco! Fire Fist Ace! Diamond Jozu! All three are members of the Whitebeard Pirates and sons of Whitebeard! They appear determined to win the abilities that once belonged to Whitebeard, attacking mercilessly anyone who dares to get in their way! There it is! Fire Fist Ace’s famous technique – Fire Fist!”

A fist made of fire crashed down onto the new ring crafted by Pika, and the flames instantly swept through most of the arena.

The contestants near the edge were pushed into the water by the impact of the Fire Fist, and those whose bodies were ignited jumped off the platform to extinguish the flames.

“As expected of the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates! With one move, he cleared out most of the contestants… Wait, there’s someone still standing amidst the flames, it’s the star contestant from Zone C, Ideo, the Destruction Cannon!”

Ideo, a member of the Long-armed Race, champion of the New World Central Fighting Conference V2, an XXX-level boxer, shielded his face with a single arm as he emerged from the flames. His right shoulder protruding upward, he gathered strength and aimed a punch at Ace in mid-air.

“Destruction Cannon!”

Even among the Long-armed Race, Ideo is a unique type. The special structure of his shoulders is the reason his punches are as powerful as bombs.

Ideo’s speed is fast, but there’s someone even faster.

“Shining Collision!”

Diamond Jozu collided directly with Ideo, and after an explosion, Jozu remained unharmed, his diamondized body reflecting light under the sun, but Ideo’s arm showed a bizarre bend.

In head-on combat, Jozu fears no one.

From Kuzan to Crocodile, both have coughed up blood under his blitz attack. That seemingly clumsy body possesses unimaginable speed, allowing Jozu to charge across the battlefield like a tank.

Still, when Jozu is fully diamondized, he retains one eye to observe the outside world, and that eye becomes a breakthrough point for others.

“Moon-Shooting Leg!”

Brulegie from the Long-legged Race aimed a knee strike at Jozu’s only external area, but before he could close in, he was grabbed mid-air by Marco and then slammed to the ground.

Logia-type, Zoan, Paramecia-type, the three represented three different types of fruits, and working together, Zone C quickly lost any competitively capable contestants, while the Whitebeard Pirates also claimed victory.

Ultimately, with Jozu’s forfeit, Marco and Ace advanced.

Compared to Redfield and Diamante’s destruction of the arena, Zone C’s ground remained relatively intact and was soon ready to welcome Zone D contestants.

“I’m off, Ace! Wait for me in the finals!”

Ace and Marco didn’t head to the so-called advancing contestants’ preparation area, they returned directly to the spectators’ seats, where they met up with Luffy.

“Go ahead, let me see how much you’ve grown in these two years.”

…

The battles in the first three matches were somewhat astonishingly fast. Compared to their fights, Zone D seemed relatively normal, as contestants were gradually eliminated amid their skirmishes, and Luffy managed to tame a bull along the way.

This bull was initially meant to duel with death row prisoners, released into Zone D to add entertainment value, but Luffy, having learned the skill to communicate with animals during training with Rayleigh, easily tamed the bull.

“Lucy actually tamed that bull! Lucy has transformed into the Bull Knight, rampaging through the arena on his bull, causing several contestants to regretfully be defeated by this combination! The once unknown Lucy has shown a previously unseen side. Can he, like Lede, become the dark horse of this competition?!”

Luffy’s charge astride the bull drew plenty of attention, including from Chinjao, who was also in Zone D. Even with Luffy’s helmet on, Chinjao recognized Luffy’s true identity.

“Get out of my way!”

Chinjao slammed his arms downwards, sending the enemies before him flying, and without pausing, he rushed towards Luffy.

“Garp’s grandson, stop right there! Hasshoken Buto!”

Following a burst of speed, Chinjao leapt up powerfully. His massive body flew rapidly toward Luffy like an arrow, his sharp head aiming at the bull-backed Luffy.

“Rubber Arch!”

Watching the oncoming Chinjao, Luffy’s limbs stretched, allowing him to dodge Chinjao’s attack.

“What are you talking about? Garp’s grandson?”

Luffy whistled awkwardly while rebuffing Chinjao’s accusation.

“Won’t admit it? Your feigning ignorance is as infuriating as Garp! Do you know how humiliating those years were for me without my pointy head? This resentment, this sadness, a brat like you can’t possibly understand!”

“Who cares about understanding you! Plus, what nonsense are you talking? Isn’t your pointy head right on top of your head?!”

“My benefactor helped me restore my pointy head. I’ve never gotten the chance to repay them for all these years, hence why I entered this competition. But what my benefactor did has nothing to do with you; even though I’ve regained my pointy head, I won’t forget the sin committed by your grandfather!”