"Daifuku, Oven's ability is more suitable for the finals than yours. You should withdraw first."
"Yes, I understand, Brother Katakuri."
Katakuri held absolute authority among his siblings, and at this moment, he believed that Oven's Heat-Heat Fruit had far greater potential in this battle than Daifuku's Puff-Puff Fruit.
After all, in a chaotic 2v14 battle, Daifuku, who fought using his genie, could easily be ambushed, while Oven had no such concern.
Hearing Katakuri's arrangement, Daifuku, as the younger brother, didn't argue at all and immediately chose to admit defeat and surrender.
"The Katakuri brothers have instantly defeated their opponents! The victors of A Block are decided! Charlotte Katakuri and Charlotte Oven advance to the finals!"
The commentator Gatz seemed even more excited than the contestants, standing on top of the table by now.
He then picked up the microphone and continued: "Let's observe three seconds of silence for the poor souls who died. As for the injured, there's no need to worry, His Majesty has prepared an excellent medical team to ensure everyone receives treatment."
"That guy's punch...was so fast. Ace, is he a Devil Fruit user?"
Luffy adjusted his straw hat. From Katakuri's punch, he could even see traces of some of his own techniques. The way he threw his fists was strikingly similar to his own Gear 4: Snakeman mode.
"Yeah, Paramecia-type • Mochi-Mochi Fruit. It's a special Paramecia-type that allows him to turn his body into mochi. Don't underestimate it just because it's mochi; combined with his Observation Haki, this fruit is even more troublesome than a Logia-type."
"His Observation Haki is that strong?"
"Of course, it's the top-tier kind even in the New World. They say his Observation Haki can actually see the future."
"See the future? Observation Haki can do that?"
"You didn't know?"
Seeing Luffy's confused expression, Ace looked equally puzzled.
"Nope. Isn't Observation Haki just for sensing attacks so you can dodge them? I think I've heard something like that before, but I'm not sure."
Luffy thought for a moment, feeling like he'd forgotten something, but couldn't recall it.
As a beginner-level teacher, Rayleigh had only mentioned such things in passing. It was hard to remember clearly.
"Observation Haki also varies in degree. Some people's Haki naturally possesses special abilities, and a very few can train it to the point of foreseeing the future. Judging by your expression, you probably don't even know that Armament Haki can eventually be projected outward and even used to destroy things from the inside, right?"
"Uh... I think I might've heard that before... or maybe not."
"What were you doing for those two years? Hercules, did Rayleigh teach him all this and he just forgot everything?"
Ace turned to look at Hercules in confusion. Luffy had said he trained under Dark King Rayleigh for two years. Ace could understand if his brother hadn't mastered advanced Haki in that time, but to not even know about it was baffling.
"Heraaacross."
Hercules thought for a moment, then shook its head. It didn't remember anything like that either.
"You really built a solid foundation, huh."
Ace covered his face helplessly. His little brother seemed to have a lot to catch up on, and it looked like Rayleigh, that beginner class teacher, hadn't mentioned anything advanced at all.
Even if there weren't many in the New World who had mastered Haki to that level, Rayleigh definitely should have known it. Ace didn't even know what to say at this point.
"Alright, let him learn it in battle then. Ace's little brother, watch closely, this tournament is going to show you a lot of outrageous things."
Marco took a bite of a pineapple, his gaze sweeping around the Corrida Colosseum as if searching for something.
Katakuri and he were old rivals. Though troublesome, he was still someone he could handle.
Having personally experienced the Summit War, Marco knew very well that the real trouble hadn't appeared yet. However, after searching several times, he still didn't see any sign of the Beasts Pirates' members.
"Hm, looks like that's the only way."
A single battle couldn't scare Luffy. No matter how strong the enemy was, he never felt fear, but one battle could terrify Buggy.
On the other side of the stands, Buggy's mouth hung wide open. Ever since becoming a Shichibukai, he had been relying on his reputation to act as a hidden protector, and had never once personally participated in a New World battle.
Normally, he could still hide, but if he really had to step into this arena, he'd probably be flattened.
"Maybe I should just sneak away before these guys notice... With so many people around, it's not like they'd see me anyway."
Thinking that, Buggy's feet detached from his body and began to walk off quietly. As long as his feet reached a safe distance, his body could then fly over unnoticed.
To avoid attracting his subordinates' attention, the rest of his body didn't follow, but that only caused his feet to accidentally step on someone.
"Captain Buggy... where are you going?!"
His moving feet were discovered, and Buggy's little scheme was instantly exposed.
"Could it be that after seeing such fierce battles, you can no longer suppress your burning fighting spirit and want to enter the arena early?!"
"I—I..."
"We were originally planning to use numbers to help you achieve victory, but now we see that was an insult to you! It was our fault, we shouldn't have tried to interfere in your battle!"
"No! My men, it's fine! This is a rare chance to shine, let's all go together! This tournament has surely drawn the eyes of the entire world. Such a golden opportunity, how could I possibly hog it all to myself?!"
Seeing that the human-wave tactic was about to turn into him alone charging in to fight a group, Buggy immediately panicked. He quickly stopped his underlings from further indulging in their fantasies and came up with a legitimate excuse to get them to join him.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Buggy and his Buggy's Delivery group marched grandly toward the preparations room. By the time Mr. 3 and Mohji returned with food, Buggy and others were nowhere to be seen.
"That's strange. Didn't Buggy say he was going to watch the fight from here and wait until the strong ones wore each other down before going up? Where did he go?"
"No idea. Maybe he ran away? But the others are gone too."
"Forget it, let's just keep watching. Fortune favors the fool, Buggy will be fine."
After confirming among themselves that Buggy was probably alright, they sat down with their food and continued watching the matches.
Meanwhile, in the preparations room, the contestants for Block B were also getting ready.
Punching bags were being smashed, fighters sparred with one another, and bounty hunters wiped down their weapons; everyone was busily preparing for the next round of battles.
The speed of the Block A match had far exceeded their expectations, making them realize that what lay ahead would be an incredibly fierce fight.
On a bench nearby, Redfield, going by the alias "Red", sat quietly with Pato.
"Boss Red, it's so lively here! Why don't we find a few more crewmates? Just the two of us sailing around is way too boring."
Since his release from prison, Redfield's mindset had changed. He had begun to confront his inner thoughts, and after decades of solitude, for the first time, he was open to the idea of having companions. The fact that he didn't immediately reject Pato's suggestion said enough.
"Don't rush it, Pato. Reliable and strong companions aren't easy to find. But if we really do meet someone trustworthy, I wouldn't mind entrusting them with the Quake-Quake Fruit."
Both Redfield and Pato were Devil Fruit users, and he had come here to add Quake-Quake Fruit to his collection. So Redfield didn't particularly mind giving it to someone else, but from his tone, it was clear that he already considered the fruit as good as his.
"My match is about to start. Wait here for me, I'll be back soon."
The Corrida Colosseum had no requirements on race for its contestants. Although Pato was just a raccoon dog, or perhaps a raccoon, he was still qualified to compete; he just hadn't been assigned to the same group as Redfield.
Participation was open to all, and no one had the right to question a contestant's identity. But not everyone saw it that way. After hearing Redfield's words, a tall, muscular man wearing only shorts and a cape on his back approached.
"Hey, old man, what nonsense are you spouting?"
"I don't think I know you."
"Of course you don't. A frail old man like you joining the tournament? Don't make me laugh. The audience came to see battles between the strong, they're not interested in watching someone crush an ant."
"Oh? They were quite interested in watching that one-sided match in A Block just now."
"Save the lecture, old man! Get lost! This isn't a place for you!"
As he spoke, he threw a punch straight at Redfield.
"Spartan! Stop it!"
Those nearby shouted to stop him when they saw what he was doing, but it was useless.
Spartan was a gladiator of the Corrida Colosseum, a swordsman who had won fifty-one monthly championships, one of the arena's star fighters.
Though a favorite among fans, his temperament was arrogant and domineering, often bullying other contestants in private.
In his mind, the arena was sacred; weak-looking old men, brats, and women had no place here.
Facing his punch, Redfield merely shifted his body casually, causing the attack to miss completely.
Seeing that his punch couldn't even touch an old man, Spartan seemed to feel he'd been humiliated. Ignoring the rule that forbade fighting outside the arena, he immediately moved to attack Redfield again.
"Stop!"
A clear female voice rang out from behind a nearby pillar. A moment later, a shield flew from the distance.
Although it hit its target, it was useless. The shield was instantly deflected by the muscles on Spartan's body. However, the woman's voice caused Spartan to pause for a moment.
"Rebecca? Are you entering the tournament too? There sure are a lot of people who don't know their place."
"You didn't avoid me today? You usually go out of your way to avoid me. Do you think that just because you're competing today, I won't dare lay a hand on you?!"
Rebecca was one of the contestants Spartan often bullied. Seeing her dare to stand up for someone else only fueled his anger further, and he prepared to lash out without thinking of the consequences.
But this time, Redfield moved.
He slowly raised the umbrella in his hand, pointing its tip toward Spartan.
"You're absolutely right, ants like you really should stay far away."
Just now, Redfield hadn't done nothing. He had read Spartan's memories, taking a brief look at the man's past.
Spartan should be grateful to those who had changed Redfield. Those who made him confront his own heart and regain some humanity.
Otherwise, he would have regretted this deeply, if he even had the chance to regret it.
"What the hell are you saying, old man?!"
Seeing Redfield's disdainful gaze, Spartan swung his fist at him, disregarding everything.
But Redfield merely gave his umbrella a slight flick, and Spartan's movement came to an abrupt halt. He then crashed into the ground, creating a large crater, and finally lost consciousness.
"Truly an ant. Can't even handle that much? You were right, ignorant ants should know when to back off."
Stepping over the fallen Spartan, Redfield walked forward. The crowd around them fell completely silent. No one had seen what happened. To them, it looked as if Spartan had simply fainted on his own.
Even the referee had no grounds to disqualify Redfield, since the instigator had knocked himself out.
Redfield then stopped in front of Rebecca, a flicker of interest appearing in his eyes.
"Little girl, such a skimpy outfit won't increase your defense, you know."
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