I'd Call You the Strongest! (Bonus chapter 6 for patron Zangjing Laozu)

"Wow, that Yellow Monkey is amazing! His ability to make people angry with just one sentence has not only not diminished after graduation, but has actually improved!" Vidal sighed inwardly with a bit of helplessness.

Back then, this guy relied on his ability to be irritating when he didn't speak, and even more so when he did speak, coupled with his lack of diligence in training, which annoyed Teacher Zephyr several times. The result was self-evident.

But adding fuel to the fire now seems like it will only make the situation worse.

Vidal groaned inwardly.

Redfield's face was filled with obvious rage, but his rationality seemed unaffected as he charged straight at Vidal, only to inexplicably withdraw his Conqueror's Haki.

"Yellow Monkey, don't fly too far. Fight right here in the woods. Keep up the coordination!"

"Please, don't call me that, it sounds awful!" Borsalino complained as he placed his hands in front of him. "Ama no Murakumo!"

[Buzz--]

Golden light burst forth, and a lightsaber, far longer than any ordinary sword, appeared between his palms. He then gripped the hilt tightly with his right hand, and in the next instant, he vanished in a flash of light.

At the same time, Vidal manipulated the Tree World beneath him, launching a dense attack on Red Count, and covering the branches with a layer of Armament Haki.

"Violent Spear Thousand Trees!"

Now that Borsalino is supporting us, we can try to stall and wear them down, since we don't need to worry about the light source for the time being.

Hundreds upon hundreds of thick, long branches, their tips stained with a layer of black ink, wrapped in dense, emerald-green leaves, pierced toward Redfield at incredible speed. But this seemingly menacing scene paled in comparison to a single, remote slash of light from Redfield, which shattered instantly upon being illuminated by the crimson glow.

His strength remains as unwavering as ever!

[BIU----]

Just then, a strange sound came from above. Ignoring the broken branches and wood around him, Redfield looked up and saw that it was the glowing little devil kicking a thick, long Glint-Glint Beam at him.

[Bang!!]

The Glint-Glint Beam was incredibly fast, reaching Redfield in the blink of an eye, only to be shattered in mid-air by a casual flick of his umbrella, leaving no time for an explosion.

But taking advantage of the opportunity, Borsalino appeared behind him in a flash of light. However, as soon as he appeared, Redfield already knew he would be there. He turned around, and his purple umbrella became a blur, like a venomous snake, stabbing towards Borsalino's throat.

This startled the former, who abandoned the idea of attacking and transformed into a flash of light to dodge the attack, then appeared on the other side and slashed at the attacker.

At the same time, Vidal, dressed in black and green and enveloped in a bright green light, came forward, his right gauntlet tearing through the wind and rain as he slammed it toward Redfield's face.

"Go to hell!!"

Faced with a perfectly coordinated attack, Redfield dodged the lightsaber and heavy punch with incredible agility, then unleashed a series of thrusts with his purple umbrella, sending both of them flying. Borsalino's Ama no Murakumo even broke in one of those thrusts!

Vidal wasn't faring much better. His gauntlet was shattered by the stab, his fist was injured, and blood spurted from the wound, causing him to groan and fly backward in pain.

Redfield, determined to finish the battle quickly, had no intention of letting him go. He transformed into a streak of crimson and chased after him. Borsalino tried to rush over to stop him, but was held back for a second by Redfield's crimson slash.

[Pfft--]

This was enough to catch up with Vidal. Under the latter's incredulous gaze, Redfield coldly pierced the breastplate of the Natural Power with his purple umbrella, then pushed it in forcefully, pinning it completely to the trunk of a large tree.

"You might as well just die!"

Redfield had given up on searching Vidal's memories, because as long as he was dead, whether he knew anything or not, the problem was solved.

This approach will make finding the Bat-Bat Fruit even more difficult, but compared to that, the contents of Vladimir's Diary are more important. Devil Fruits don't remember anything, much less say anything.

Borsalino's appearance did put some psychological pressure on him, not because of Borsalino's strength, but because of the possibility of reinforcements arriving later.

The navy's fleet is fine, but what if an Admiral- level combatant came along with it?

That would be a huge problem!

"No way!" In mid-air, Borsalino stared in shock at Vidal, whose heart had been pierced, and stopped moving, a thin layer of cold sweat beading on his forehead. "He... he's just dead like that?"

He knew that Vidal's Woods-Woods Fruit also had the ability to transform into an element, but the umbrella was clearly Coating in Haki, so transforming into an element wouldn't work.

"How is that possible!"

Suddenly, Vidal, who was nailed to the tree trunk, revealed a cold smile. Then, he quickly stretched out his hands, and in the next moment, he frantically sprouted layers of dense, thin thorns, completely covering Redfield, who was almost within reach. Bright red chili peppers also grew on them. Then, through the tree trunk behind him, he teleported his body into it and left instantly.

After all of this happened in a split second, the chili peppers exploded one after another.

[Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!]

Clusters of scorching flames and shockwaves engulfed the faded Vidal wood carving, along with the large tree, completely.

At the same time, Vidal slowly emerged from another large tree in the distance.

"How did you do that?!"

Suddenly, a golden light flashed beside him. Borsalino asked in surprise, his eyes scanning Vidal up and down.

"Using Observation Haki, I predicted the part of my body that would be attacked, then preemptively split my body into its elemental form, allowing the umbrella to pass through my body without touching anything!"

Vidal didn't keep it a secret. Taking advantage of the brief time he had gained, he quickly told the other party this little trick, hoping it might save Borsalino's life in the upcoming battle.

"I see!"

Borsalino Satori something, feeling as if he had gained some useful new knowledge. As for Observation Haki, he had naturally Awakening long before graduation.

"I see!"

But the same words were immediately spoken by another voice. Redfield stepped out of the burning forest, his feet scorched on the blackened ground. Vidal was not worried that the burning trees would spread, after all, a storm was still raging in the sky.

"Forrest Vidal, when it comes to running away and saving your life, you are the strongest man I, Redfield, have seen in decades!"

"Hmm"

Hearing this, Vidal didn't know how to respond. It was a compliment, but he couldn't feel happy about it, and besides, why did it sound so familiar?