A Strange Heartbeat! (Bonus Chapter 3 for Alliance Leader Zangjing Laozu)

"You think your confidence comes from finally beating Bundy Byrnndi World? How ridiculous!"

"You spend every day with people like Kong, Sengoku the Buddha, Black Arm Zephyr, and Iron Fist Garp, and you actually take someone like Byrnndi World seriously? It's absolutely ridiculous!"

"You frog in a well, you Ryokugyu of the Navy!" Redfield lectured condescendingly, abandoning any defensive counterattacks with his purple umbrella, which instantly transformed into a purple beam and stabbed out.

In that instant, Vidal was shocked, because his Observation Haki clearly showed that the slender purple umbrella slid through his dense fist shadows like flowing water, precisely piercing through the black and green breastplate in front of him!

"Well--"

Instantly, the fist shadow vanished, the air-piercing ceased, and the wind and rain once again assaulted his face. He looked down in disbelief at the purple umbrella piercing his chest.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you right now." Redfield chuckled, his free left hand forming a claw as he reached for Vidal's head, intending to thoroughly search the little guy's memories.

There was no other way; a long time had passed since the battle in Sleep Ancient Town, and the memories were long buried deep within. It was impossible to obtain anything by simply reading them from a distance. The only way was to use physical contact and spend some time to get the memories he wanted.

"Um?"

But as soon as he reached out, he noticed that Vidal in front of him was rapidly fading, quickly turning into a wooden sculpture with a broken chest. This displeased him greatly, and he frowned as he looked towards the other side of the Tree World.

Although separated by dense trees, his gaze seemed to see through everything, precisely fixing on Vidal who had appeared there.

"That kid escaped again. When it comes to running away and saving his life, he's truly the best I've ever seen!"

In the woods more than 300 meters away, Vidal knelt on the ground, clutching his chest and panting heavily. Although the timely transfer of his physical body prevented the umbrella tip from actually piercing his body, the feeling of the sharp edge about to touch him still made him apprehensive, and the pressure generated by the great crisis made it hard for him to breathe.

"Luckily, I left two clones behind to save my life, otherwise I'd be living a living hell even if I wasn't dead!"

What to do next? He only had one clone left. Thinking of this, he prepared to create a few more, but just as two clones emerged from the ground, two small, scarlet slashes, somewhat like Rankyaku kicks, flew over and split them in two.

"I see. Using a thin twig to connect your clone allows you to instantly teleport your main body. That's quite an interesting trick."

Redfield emerged from the woods, clicking his tongue in admiration. "It's the same trick that got you across kilometers to the warship in just a few seconds, isn't it?"

"You truly are a genius when it comes to developing your Devil Fruit abilities, Forrest Vidal!"

Vidal's face was ashen as he watched the Red Count reveal his last trump card. He couldn't stop him, which meant he had no other options but to fight bare-handed.

"Then how can you run away? I'm looking forward to it." Suddenly, Redfield unleashed a massive, earth-shattering blade of light to the left and right, slicing through the Nine Pillar Domain right in front of Vidal, instantly transforming the area into a perfect triangle.

At the same time, Vidal also discovered that his connection with the last Wood Clone had been severed!

Left with no other choice, he simply tore off the thin twigs hidden under his coat and threw them away; they were no longer of any use.

Seeing this, Redfield smirked, "So you still had one left, you little rascal!"

He had only intended to reduce the battlefield space and minimize Vidal's room to dodge. If Vidal had flown into the sky or the sea behind him, it would have been tantamount to suicide, even though not running away would have meant certain death.

Vidal naturally understood this principle as well; the latter was merely a more dignified death, at least better than being sunk to the bottom of the sea.

"I"

Redfield, however, didn't want to listen to his nonsense anymore. He was really annoyed by Vidal's tricks one after another. Who knew what else this kid had up his sleeve? He'd cut off his limbs first!

What he didn't know was that Vidal was truly gone this time, he had nothing left.

[Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!]

As the crimson light drew near, the purple umbrella thrust out in succession. This time, the Red Count abandoned any passive defense and took the initiative to attack, the tip of his umbrella, wrapped in a layer of sharp red light, pointing at Vidal's limbs.

The latter could only muster his strength, concentrate all his attention, and maximize his Armament Haki and Observation Haki to defend or try to dodge. However, the difference in their Observation Haki was like heaven and earth, Vidal found that he could not dodge any of the umbrella attacks at all.

He could only back away while simultaneously punching his opponent repeatedly, and sure enough, he did the right thing.

The umbrella is only so long. Even considering the dangerous red light, as long as there is space behind you and you retreat quickly enough, you can avoid being attacked. However, if you stand still and try to use your Observation Haki to predict and dodge, the chances are extremely slim.

Red Count's absolute advantage in Observation Haki allows him to completely predict others' predictions, making those predictions no longer mere predictions!

Even so, Redfield's speed in all aspects made Vidal suffer greatly.

He could only rely on his Armament Haki and the Natural Power within him to withstand the damage, resulting in more and more damage to his armor, larger and larger damaged areas, and numerous bleeding wounds that gradually slowed down the rate of Photosynthetic Energy recovery.

"Bang bang!"

Redfield's purple umbrella completely broke through Vidal's defenses, transforming into hundreds of afterimages that struck the latter repeatedly from head to toe. His black and green armor, covered with Armament Haki, cracked and fell to the ground under the fierce thrusts.

Instantly, a large amount of blood transformed into scarlet flowers, splattering from Vidal's body. The blood was then carried into the sky by the gale, mingling with the rain, before falling to the ground and turning into puddles of blood, adorning the surrounding wet wooden planks.

[Bang!]

Perhaps Redfield had seen enough, for he instantly withdrew his purple umbrella and grabbed Vidal by the throat with his left hand.

Both men were three meters tall, so the sight of them together didn't seem out of place. He pulled the somewhat dazed Vidal off the ground, and the blood on Vidal's body flowed down his waist, legs, and feet, eventually flowing like a stream onto the rain-soaked ground, quickly turning it into a pool of blood.

"Let me see what you know, little guy." Redfield chuckled, simultaneously activating his Innate Observation Haki ability to read memories!

Upon hearing this, Vidal immediately regained his senses, because his memories were his greatest secret, his most sensitive point. He was not allowed, absolutely not allowed to touch his memories!

"Let me go!!"

His neck was being gripped tightly, preventing him from making a sound, but the roar in his heart was still heard by Redfield, who had just begun reading his memories. This startled him, because the power contained in this inner voice was quite great.

"Ahhh!!"

[Thump--]

Suddenly, a strange heartbeat sounded, which not only startled Vidal but also caused Redfield's expression to change drastically.