On the other end of Minion Island, the snowstorm seemed even fiercer than around the town ruins.
Redfield leaned on a slender umbrella as he walked through the snow at an unhurried pace. His posture was as elegant as if he were strolling through his own garden, utterly out of place on this desolate, hopeless battlefield.
Suddenly, he stopped. His seemingly clouded yet incomparably sharp eyes narrowed slightly as he looked into the snow-filled distance ahead.
A tall figure had appeared there at some unknown time, as though he had been waiting for quite a while.
A rare flicker of surprise appeared on Redfield's placid face. His immensely powerful Observation Haki could clearly sense that the aura emanating from this young man was vast, profound, and even...
It did not seem like something a human could possess. Instead, it was closer to those terrifying Supergiant Sea Kings of the deep sea, filled with primal, savage vitality.
Adams looked at Redfield and spoke before the legendary pirate could say anything. His voice was calm, yet carried unquestionable force:
"Red the Aloof, Patrick Redfield. Fight me."
He paused, then threw out a bargaining chip the other man could never refuse:
"The Vampire Fruit user works for me. If you win, I can have her restore your youth."
He had opened with his trump card! He had directly exposed Redfield's deepest desire.
Adams was not worried that this man would fail to take the bait. Although Stussy's current development of the Vampire Fruit was still far from the point where she could freely grant youth to others, that did not matter—because Adams had never believed he would lose.
Redfield truly was surprised. He had come here for the Op-Op Fruit, yet he had unexpectedly heard a definite lead regarding the Devil Fruit he