Chapter 298: Caught Red-Handed

Adrian silently prepared his next move.

He wasn't planning on staying on the hotel to watch the drama unfold any longer.

Reaching out, he gently patted Love's little head.

"Love, it's time to go into the castle."

The little fox looked up uneasily, her voice conflicted. "Adrian-sama, shouldn't we help Shanks?"

Adrian's pats turned into gentle rubs.

"What's this? Does Love want to jump into the fray herself? Now that I'd like to see."

"Hey!" Love stomped her foot in frustration. Adrian-sama always knew what she meant but still teased her like this. It was infuriating!

"Alright, Love. Believe in Shanks, just like you trust your own cooking skills."

As he withdrew his hand, Adrian casually reassured her.

"With that kid's skills, there's no way he'd lose to that blue-coat pervert."

The so-called blue-coat pervert was, of course, Charlotte Daifuku.

"But, but…"

Love was still hesitant.

Adrian added, "If Shanks loses, wouldn't that mean I have poor judgment?"

This seemingly illogical statement surprisingly put Love at ease.

"Shanks! You can do it!"

Love took one last look at Shanks, who was still being pressed by Charlotte Daifuku, silently cheering him on.

With ripple in the air, Love was transported into the fortress by Rumi's power.

Adrian's eyes glowed red as he activated his Observation Haki, instantly locking onto a familiar faint presence. His figure vanished from the hotel rooftop.

Underneath the food competition stage, in a brightly lit, spacious passage.

The towering figure of Charlotte Oven stood in the corridor, his flaming three-bladed golden-orange hair nearly touching the ceiling, blocking the passage like a solid wall.

"Hand over the wooden box with the Devil Fruit!"

Charlotte Oven grinned menacingly, clenching his right fist as a crimson heat radiated from his dark brown gloves, making the air in the passage sizzle.

"Brother Daifuku must be waiting for my good news!"

The host, judges, and participating chefs, who had thought they were safe hiding under the stage, were now in despair.

In terms of professional cooking skills, they were confident they could surpass their opponents. But when it came to fighting, even combined, they couldn't withstand a single punch from him!

Due to his proximity and nearly instinctive professional conduct, the host held the wooden box containing the Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit. However, now it felt like a hot potato in his hands.

Just as the host was about to hand over the Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit to save his life, a carefree voice sounded behind Charlotte Oven.

Charlotte Oven quickly grabbed the host's slender arm with his left hand, roughly snatching the wooden box. If he weren't afraid of damaging the Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit, the host's arm might have been melted like a candle.

Even so, the host's right hand hung lifelessly at his side, clearly dislocated from Charlotte Oven's immense strength.

Next, Charlotte Oven guarded the wooden box with his left hand and turned to look behind him.

"Oh dear, it seems my prize has been stolen…"

The previously carefree voice turned shameless.

"In that case, I guess I'll just have to make a quick exit!"

"Aren't you the chef who just won the competition?"

Charlotte Oven frowned, focusing on Jansev, who was ready to run.

"Didn't expect you to escape from Brother Daifuku!"

"Escape? That's a dark joke!"

Jansev raised an eyebrow.

"And to add 'didn't expect'? Aren't you underestimating me a bit too much?!"

Hot-tempered and aggressive, Charlotte Oven had no time for banter. He protected the wooden box with his left hand and clenched his right fist again. The scorching red glow reappeared on his right forearm, heating the surrounding air to a blistering temperature.

As a user of the Heat-Heat Fruit, Charlotte Oven could generate terrifying amounts of heat and transfer it to any object he touched, heating it instantly.

This was undeniably a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit with immense potential!

If developed properly, its power could rival even the Logia fruits!

"What Daifuku couldn't achieve, let me finish it for him!"

Charlotte Oven roared, stomping his feet on the passageway, leaving molten pits in the stone floor as he charged towards Jansev.

At the same time, Charlotte Oven raised his colossal, cauldron-sized flaming fist and slammed it towards Jansev.

"Fist of Extreme Heat!"

"Oh no! I'm doomed! It's the one person I hate the most—the fiery guy!"

Despite his merciless banter, Jansev's body suddenly tilted forward.

It looked as if he was going to throw himself right into Charlotte Oven's blazing fist.

A faint smell of something burning filled the air.

In just a second, Jansev, now sporting scorched, curly bangs, swiftly retreated.

It seemed as though an invisible arm was pulling him back through the air.

And indeed, it wasn't far from the truth!

A thick layer of light purple thorns had already covered the dimly lit floor, ready for this moment long before Jansev taunted Charlotte Oven.

Right now, a thick and sturdy light purple thorn was wrapped around Jansev's right ankle, yanking him backward!

As a user of the Thorn-Thorn Fruit, achieving this was a mere trifle!

Charlotte Oven's punch hit nothing but air as he slowly landed on the ground.

At the same time, his legs radiated intense heat, incinerating the light purple thorns around his feet into twisted ashes.

"High temperatures are a plant's worst enemy!"

"Yeah, high temperatures are indeed a plant's worst enemy."

Jansev touched his bangs regretfully; he wasn't fond of afros, especially ones that only exploded halfway.

It looked like half a grilled steak was stuck to his head!

"But are my plants the only ones here?" {This guy speaking is speaking the most illogical way.}

Thorn Stomp!

Jansev stomped on the ground.

With his movement, the light purple thorns on the floor went wild.

In the blink of an eye, they transformed into layers of spiky nets, lunging towards Charlotte Oven, who was surrounded at the center.

The main target of this attack—

Was Charlotte Oven's left hand, which held the box containing the Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit!

"Even though it's a treasure of the sea, a Devil Fruit is still a type of 'plant'!"

Jansev's voice, hidden behind the giant purple thorn net, carried a hint of mischievousness.

"What will you do now?"

Facing such an airtight assault.

Charlotte Oven didn't dodge or evade; he just grinned ferociously.

In the eyes of a brute, there's no such thing as an impenetrable attack!

A layer of Armament Haki suddenly covered Charlotte Oven's left forearm as he clenched his left fist, firmly protecting the wooden box containing the Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit.

In the next moment.

Charlotte Oven used his power again, and his right fist turned into a blazing orange glow. The intense heat distorted the surrounding air, transforming it into roaring hot winds.

"Hot Wind Fist!"

Charlotte Oven bent his legs slightly, then unleashed a terrifying force, propelling him into the air.

He swung his right fist heavily, and under the influence of the scorching hot air, his originally orange-glowing hand turned into a blurry white light.

The howling winds, carrying enough heat to vaporize water, hammered towards the purple thorn net coming at him from the front.

Faced with such a terrifying heat, the seemingly indestructible purple thorn net instantly disintegrated, leaving a giant hole big enough for a person to pass through.

"This isn't enough! Hot Wind Fist!"

Charlotte Oven still wasn't satisfied. In mid-air, he swung his fist again, this time shattering the remaining thorny net into pieces.

The small segments of light purple thorns, began to evaporate from the intense heat of Oven's fiery punch before they even hit the ground, turning into dry, blackened branches that fell to the floor.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The sound of breaking echoed continuously as the dried thorns hit the ground.

Boom!

Charlotte Oven's massive body crashed heavily onto the corridor floor, creating a terrifying noise.

Despite the seemingly inescapable thorny net attack, Charlotte Oven emerged unscathed, having only expended a bit of energy.

"Wow... as expected of a hot-headed brute!"

Seeing this, Jansev couldn't help but exclaim.

"But sorry... I had another trick up my sleeve."

As soon as he finished speaking, a large, sea urchin-shaped mass of light purple thorns suddenly dropped from the corridor ceiling, its surface gleaming with a chilling sharpness, plummeting towards Charlotte Oven's head.

At the same time, the walls around the corridor, now pulled taut with web-like light purple thorns, released numerous sea urchin-shaped thorn balls, each the size of a human head, shooting towards Charlotte Oven like meteor hammers.

This chain attack was even more powerful and imposing than the previous giant thorn net!

And the primary target remained Charlotte Oven's left hand, the weak point holding the "Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit."

In this critical moment, Charlotte Oven's pupils contracted tightly.

In the next instant, he bent his legs, raised his right fist, and a layer of scorching orange light suddenly shone on his brown glove.

"High Heat Fist!"

His fist, radiating terrifying heat, punched upwards, successfully smashing the massive sea urchin-shaped thorn ball that nearly hit his head.

It was as if he had punched through a layer of paper; Charlotte Oven's right hand went straight through the massive thorn ball.

In the next moment, the light on Charlotte Oven's right fist grew even brighter, instantly heating the surrounding air to its limit. Several columns of high-temperature air formed in mid-air, glowing with a faint orange-red hue, and like homing missiles, they targeted the incoming sea urchin-shaped thorn balls from all directions.

"Hot Air: Thousand Crash!"

The high-temperature air columns struck down the thorn balls one by one, intercepting even those coming from behind with his keen Observation Haki.

"It's still useless!"

Jansev sighed.

"Looks like it's time for a tactical retreat..."

"Not running away from the fight?"

Jansev reflexively wanted to respond, "'I, Jansev Jengst, might tactically retreat, but I never run from a fight'?"

Jansev reflexively answered, "I, Jansev... What?!"

"Nothing, just anticipated your response."

Adrian calmly walked past Jansev's stunned figure and approached Charlotte Oven.

"It's you!!!"

The once arrogant and reckless Charlotte Oven, upon seeing Adrian, now looked like he had seen a terrifying apex predator, his voice trembling with fear.

Jansev could clearly see the once fiery brute now trembling like a scared child.

"Yes, it's me."

Adrian's fingertip slowly extended a white ghost, as he tilted his head, kindly advising Charlotte Oven.

"Better not make a move, I'm going to win anyway."

"Damn it!"

Charlotte Oven roared in anger.

"Why are you here!!"

In the next moment, Charlotte Oven's right fist once again radiated a bright light, charging directly at Adrian like a fearless warrior.

"High Heat——"

Dream Ghost: Sleep Curse.

Thud!

Thud.

Thud...

Boom!

Charlotte Oven's massive body fell to the floor with a tremendous crash, like a collapsing pillar.

Adrian raised his hand, gently catching the wooden box that had fallen from mid-air.

"Gotcha, both the man and the loot."