Iron Will operated constantly, so even though Finn was grievously injured by the blade, he felt no pain whatsoever.
Therefore, his actions weren't affected by agony at all. While stabbing Redfield's shoulder with his sword, his other hand grabbed Redfield's neck and pulled inward. The two stuck together.
"Fleet Admiral!" Finn roared.
"Well done!" Kong's voice followed. Simultaneously, his figure rose into the air and punched toward both Finn and Redfield.
"Army's Origin: Fist of Victory!" Kong roared.
This punch still carried the force of thousands of troops, covering both Finn and Redfield.
At this moment, Finn locked Redfield tightly, using the Press-Press Fruit's power without reservation, pressing down on both of them. And the one delivering the strike was Kong, a top-tier master. No one could hide!
Facing Kong's punch, Finn wasn't too worried.
He'd definitely get injured, but he genuinely didn't think Kong would kill him directly.
Additionally, though he'd been "appointed to take charge in a crisis," he had beaten his own superior, the Fleet Admiral, quite badly.
He'd satisfied his mission, but what if the Fleet Admiral was petty afterward?
If you offend your biggest boss, he needs to vent his anger, right?
Now, getting knocked down by the Fleet Admiral's punch, the matter should be settled.
A punch packed with tremendous force struck Redfield's back hard. Redfield's expression changed. He suddenly spat a mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of internal organs.
Obviously, he was severely injured by this punch!
The powerful force burst through his body. Finn also spat blood. He could no longer suppress Redfield. His grip loosened. His figure was thrown out like a rag doll.
Before he hit the ground, Kuzan had already caught Finn steadily from behind.
Ice burst from his hands. In the blink of an eye, Finn was completely frozen.
This wasn't Kuzan attempting to harm Finn, but rather an emergency measure.
There was no doubt Finn was now critically injured. He'd been nearly cut in half by Redfield's sword and taken the Fleet Admiral's punch head-on. Even with Redfield blocking in front of him, he must have suffered serious injuries.
Kuzan's ice power froze Finn in one breath, forcibly locking his injuries, preventing him from dying before the doctor could provide treatment!
On the other side, Kong also breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Kuzan seal Finn.
To completely leave Redfield without any resistance, he'd hardly held back in that last punch.
As for whether he cared about Finn's brutal treatment of both him and Redfield just moments ago, not at all. As a Fleet Admiral, he possessed considerable magnanimity.
On the contrary, he greatly admired Finn's decisiveness, not hesitating at that critical moment because of Kong's status.
Pulling the severely injured Redfield from the shattered glacier, Kong said with anger in his eyes, "Red Earl, in the name of Fleet Admiral of the Marines, I declare you under arrest!"
Redfield's condition was truly miserable. One arm severed, Finn's Sōzai stuck in his shoulder, Kong's last blow having severely damaged his internal organs. He genuinely had no power to resist now.
He knew he was finished this time.
But he hadn't expected it would end so badly.
If not for that inexplicable Marine brat, how could he have lost so terribly?
Redfield felt profoundly unwilling.
But he ultimately maintained his composure and elegance. With a grin on his face, he said with a hint of arrogance, "You're just lucky this time, Kong..."
Kong was too lazy to argue with him. He threw Redfield to the ground. "Kuzan, do it."
"Yes, sir." Kuzan responded quickly.
As soon as he finished speaking, Redfield was frozen in ice, falling completely into Marine hands.
Not until this moment was this sudden yet quickly concluded battle truly over.
Even Kong found it somewhat unbelievable. When he'd encountered Redfield, he'd had a premonition he might have to fight for days and nights.
What happened? Before the afternoon had even passed, this Aloof Red was defeated?
However, he didn't dwell on this issue too much. Kong brushed off his thoughts and looked at Kuzan. "How is Commodore Finn?"
This time, Finn had made tremendous contributions!
Kuzan shook his head. "I don't know either, but when I sealed him, he was still breathing. Just by looking, I could tell he was critically injured."
"It's my fault. I punched too hard," Kong said with some self-reproach.
"Finn definitely won't blame you, Fleet Admiral," Kuzan said very sincerely.
Kong nodded. He had no doubt about it. After all, in his opinion, Finn was also ruthless. He hadn't hesitated to attack a Fleet Admiral like himself.
So obviously he was a person with a strong sense of the big picture. He could definitely understand why Kong had acted harshly and wouldn't assign blame.
But Kong still felt somewhat guilty.
"Send him back to the warship quickly and give him treatment immediately. We must not let anything happen to him!" Kong said in a deep voice.
After arranging these matters, the warship broke through the ice and headed for G-1 Marine Base to assess the situation. Simultaneously, Kong relayed relevant information back to Headquarters.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford
After confirming the Fleet Admiral was fine and that Patrick Redfield had been arrested, Admiral Sengoku heaved a sigh of relief and ended the call.
However, there wasn't much joy on his face. On the contrary, it looked somewhat heavy.
"Mr. Sengoku?" A call entered Sengoku's ears.
He looked up. It was Rosinante. More than two years had passed and Rosinante had matured a little.
"It's nothing, Rosinante. Your employment procedures have been completed. You can report now." Sengoku said with a smile.
Rosinante looked at Sengoku with some concern. He could sense Sengoku was in low spirits.
But without asking further questions, Rosinante nodded and left the office.
After he left, Sengoku picked up the teacup on the table. Looking at his own face reflected in the liquid, he murmured softly, "The Fleet Admiral will not fall until I fall... right?"
He already knew everything about Finn's situation. He felt he bore some responsibility for this.
Two days later, Garp's Dog-Head warship arrived at G-1 Marine Base.
G-1 Marine Base had indeed been breached by Redfield, shortly before Kong's warships arrived.
This made Kong certain that Redfield had genuinely become stronger than before.
The fact that he could fight to that extent after breaking through G-1 Base already proved this.
It also made him feel somewhat fortunate they'd captured Redfield this time.
Under Kong's command and arrangement, G-1 Base quickly resumed operations. After Garp's arrival, he temporarily served as G-1's commander. Kong had no intention of continuing the inspection. What was the point of inspecting in such circumstances?
So after exchanging a few words with Garp, Kong's warship returned. Finn, naturally still in a coma, was taken back to Marineford for follow-up treatment.
Simultaneously, news that the Marines had captured the Red Earl, Patrick Redfield, quickly spread across the world like a tsunami.
Of course, the news wouldn't say that Kong had coincidentally encountered the Red Earl who'd just destroyed G-1.
On the contrary, this incident was defined as the Marines planning a major operation to capture the Red Earl, which achieved great success under the Fleet Admiral's leadership!
Two years ago, the world knew the Marines had defeated the Golden Lion in the New World. Shiki's massive fleet had represented the Marines' unrivaled power at the time.
However, for a period afterward, the Marines hadn't made any major moves in the New World, just proceeding steadily. Though there were achievements, they weren't particularly eye-catching.
As a result, the Marines, silent for almost two years, suddenly made headlines again.
Marine captured the Red Earl, who ranked among big pirates like Shiki, Roger, and Newgate!
In the New World, Marine power surged again!
Unlike the Battle of Edd War two years ago, this incident took place right at G-1 Marine Base's gates. No other forces could obtain detailed intelligence there, and no third party was involved. Therefore, many people didn't suspect the Marines were exaggerating again.
Instead, they genuinely believed it.
There was no way not to believe. Just look at the newspaper, at the photo on the front page. How miserable did the famous pirate Redfield look?
One arm severed, a sword stuck in his shoulder, his entire body covered with wounds, as if he'd been ambushed by the Marines.
It was even said the battle lasted less than an afternoon from start to finish.
Conceivably, how many enemies had he faced at that time...
So miserable!
Unfortunately, though Marine power in the New World increased greatly, it didn't immediately bring much actual benefit.
Because unlike big players like Shiki, Redfield had always been a loner with no territory.
So after his capture, it was just positive publicity. They gained something in terms of momentum.
The New World didn't suffer any chaos as a result.
Merveille - Shiki's Base
On this island that reached into the sky, Shiki's base camp, the Golden Lion was staring at the photo of Redfield in the newspaper.
"Admiral, is there something wrong?" Dr. Indigo asked curiously.
Shiki had been examining the photo for two or three minutes.
"Rodriguez Finn," Shiki suddenly spoke. He searched through the words in the newspaper for a while, finally seeing a sentence in an inconspicuous corner.
"Rear Admiral Kuzan and Commodore Rodriguez Finn of Marine Headquarters fought bravely."
"It's that little brat. It seems he's grown up." Shiki suddenly smiled.
In the photo, Shiki recognized the sword stuck in Redfield's severed arm's shoulder at a glance.
One of the 21 Great Grade Swords.
He'd once encountered the owner of this blade in the North Blue. A not very mature Marine boy.
Now, this little Marine kid seemed to have become even stronger.
Shiki was just slightly sentimental, but didn't think much about it. He didn't even know the Press-Press Fruit he'd lost in Edd War had also been eaten by Commodore Finn.
Otherwise, he might have paid more attention to this little brat.
The world continued turning, but the balance of power had shifted once again.