Red and Black

With a single word—

Silence!

Everything fell silent.

Whether it was the sea, the waves, the wind, the clouds...

Or the people!

The outer fire walls gradually extinguished, and the whirlpools in the sea slowly disappeared.

The ocean was so vast, it swallowed all traces of battle, as if nothing had ever happened.

But the fight was still ongoing!

High in the sky, two figures flapped their wings, facing each other.

They sheathed their swords, bent their bodies, and held their breath, preparing for the final clash of this battle.

It was as if the future was destined to become the present, and fate always had to have an outcome.

"Huu..."

Both let out a soft breath simultaneously and stopped breathing.

The two pairs of wings also beat slower and slower, finally stopping, eliminating the upward lift for the two.

At this moment, whether it was Lindsey or King, they had to pour everything into this final blow.

Therefore, for both of them, breathing and flying were useless burdens; only "moving forward" was enough!

Swish—

The two figures began to descend simultaneously, plummeting straight from the sky towards the sea!

Completely different Armament Haki spread out, covering their bodies, and then enveloping their respective blades.

They put force into their wrists, and the wings on their backs flapped one last time.

Whoosh—

Clang!

In mid-air, the two descending dark figures charged at each other, then drew their swords and clashed.

Boom!

That was no longer the sound of blades clashing; it was more like the explosion of giant cannons colliding!

Flames and Ancient Armament Haki scattered everywhere, turning the entire sky into a grinding mill of fire and flowers!

Zing!

A sharp, piercing friction sound tore through the air, and the two jet-black blades were locked in a stalemate for a moment.

The next instant—

With a crisp "clang," both black swords snapped in the middle, and then, no longer obstructed, they slashed diagonally downwards!

Splat!

Accompanied by the sound of blades cutting through flesh, red and black erupted.

It was blood and feathers!

King's wing was cut in half, black feathers scattering in the air.

As for Evan Lindsey, a very long wound appeared on his chest, spreading from his left shoulder to his right waist, spewing a large amount of blood.

Was the victory decided?

No!

Neither of their movements stopped, because this "final slash" was far from over!

King's eyes widened, filled with bloodshot veins, and he roared.

"Evan Lindsey—!"

The flames behind his head extinguished, instead attaching themselves with maximum power to the half-broken blade in his hand.

Defense was no longer important.

He wanted to pour everything into cutting down the [Demon] before him!

A massive fire dragon surged out, it was the strongest attack King could unleash at this moment—

Guardian Fire Dragon Emperor!

Meanwhile, Evan Lindsey had revealed his fangs.

"Come!"

He opened his mouth, gathering his roar!

But he wasn't aiming at King; instead, he tilted his head towards the sky and simultaneously slashed upwards with the half-broken black blade in his hand.

"Roar!"

Roar!

The powerful recoil acted on Lindsey's body, causing him to flip in the air, his blade heading straight for King's body.

In his West Wood form, the actual destructive power of the roar was weakened, but it provided more than enough propulsion, accelerating Lindsey's body to an unbelievable degree.

Almost instantly--

Half of his black blade collided with King's fire dragon, and then it completely exploded!

BOOM!

Whoosh--!

The two figures crossed paths and then there was no more movement, continuing their descent.

The flames receded, and the remaining earth and stones scattered completely.

Reaching the sea, one figure finally adjusted its posture, hovering in mid-air, while the other heavily crashed into the water.

However, the giant wings on his back instinctively spread, increasing the contact area between his body and the sea's surface, preventing him from sinking for the moment.

The one who fell into the sea was King.

The one hovering above the sea was, naturally, Ivan Lindsey.

The wound on his chest bled profusely, the flowing blood even dyeing the sea red.

Seeing this, Lindsey tore off large pieces of Ancient Armament Haki and used them as bandages, wrapping them around his upper body to temporarily treat the wound.

"..."

"Ugh..."

On the sea's surface, King bobbed up and down with the waves.

A terrifying wound stretched from bottom to top, splitting King's upper body all the way to his chin, leaving him with no strength to stand up.

"It's over, is it?"

King looked up at the [Demon] not far away and murmured:

"I lost..."

"..."

Lindsey flew down slightly, coming beside King, and touched his chin with a hint of curiosity.

"That..."

The question had nothing to do with victory or defeat, nor with complex information, but with something King had never expected.

"How are you floating on the sea?"

"..."

"Heh..."

"Hehehehehe!"

King turned his gaze to the sky, disregarding the tearing pain of his wound, and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He had lost.

But for some reason, after the outcome was decided, he no longer felt the previous anger; instead, he felt a sense of refreshing clarity.

After a moment of thought, King replied, "This is how ancient Pterosaurs rest."

"Oh, I see!"

Lindsey nodded, feeling like he had learned something new today.

"..."

After a moment of silence, King suddenly remembered something.

"Hey, [Demon], your mask..."

His voice grew weaker, but he mustered his strength.

During their fall just now, King's mask and goggles were destroyed, revealing gray-brown clothing, white long hair, and a wreath-like tattoo near his left eye.

These were the characteristics of his survival as a remnant of the Lunarian Tribe.

This tribe, deeply intertwined with the "Void Century," carried a bounty of up to one hundred million Beli just for reporting their whereabouts to the World Government!

Therefore, King had always concealed his appearance, but now he was too weak to move.

"..."

Lindsey understood King's intention and didn't say anything further. He casually found a piece of cloth scattered on the sea's surface and covered King's face.

"..."

"Thank you."

烬 paused, then uttered two words.

He wanted to be angry, but he couldn't find a suitable reason.

What grounds did he have for dissatisfaction, when the outcome was the result of both sides pouring in their all?

"Big Brother Kaido, I'm truly sorry..."

"..."

In the distance, the sea.

Ship's deck.

Everyone who witnessed the outcome of this battle couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

In conclusion, it was Aiven Lindsey's victory!

They could finally catch their breath, then begin to regroup and tend to the wounded.

"..."

"Thank you, I'm much better."

Bepo thanked the doctor bandaging him, then turned and saw Cobra and the others returning to the deck.

But to his surprise, two more people were with Cobra.

One was the Sand Crocodile Crocodile, soaked and with blood on his forehead, clearly not lightly injured.

The other was the little princess Vivi, looking full of defiance.

...Huh?

Why was Her Highness the Princess on such a dangerous battlefield!

Vivi noticed Bepo's gaze, stuck out her tongue apologetically, and greeted him, "Hey, Mr. Bepo!"

Bepo: "..."

She probably snuck onto the ship.

Vivi's personality was like that naturally, and under Cobra's upbringing, she didn't have the typical royal spoiled nature. Instead, she had always enjoyed wielding weapons since she was young.

As the saying goes, she was "wild by nature."

He figured she must have also said something like "Hey, Dad" to His Majesty before this.

Bepo rubbed his forehead helplessly.

"..."

"We didn't suffer any casualties, and it's all thanks to Mr. Lindsey this time."

Cobra sighed deeply.

With Alabasta's strength alone, they might have been able to deal with the mysterious "Advisor" Vergo, but they would have been completely unable to handle the later Flame Calamity.

That was a monster with a bounty of a full billion Beli!

If Crocodile hadn't brought Aiven Lindsey to Alabasta, even if the Navy had arrived at their fastest speed, Alabasta would have certainly suffered heavy casualties.

"..."

"Indeed."

Crocodile lit a cigar and agreed, "We really need to thank that Primitive Man..."

"Huh?!"

Cobra noticed a hidden meaning in Crocodile's words and asked in confusion, "Mr. Sand Crocodile, you mean..."

"Look at the person lying on the sea over there."

Crocodile walked to the bow of the ship and gestured with a sinister grin, "That's not just one person."

"Hehehehe..."

"That's a living bounty of one billion Beli!"

"..."

In fact, Crocodile had one more thing he didn't say.

Back when he was at Sabaody Archipelago, due to the chaos Aiven Lindsey caused, all his funds were stuck there and couldn't be accessed at all.

It had practically become a dead account!

He slowly took a puff of his cigar, his mood improving considerably.

Now, he could finally make up for the deficit...

"Oh, right, there's one more thing."

Crocodile raised his eyebrows, his smile mixed with excitement and darkness.

"Cheer up, Cobra. We're not the ones who really need to worry about the follow-up trouble, it's the Navy."

The faint smoke from his cigar curled upwards.

Crocodile raised an eyebrow and said, "Hehehehehe..."

"I have to admit, this sea is getting more and more interesting!"