Shiryu of the Rain — the man who has gone through "version update." Originally serving as the Head Jailer of Impel Down, he was imprisoned on Level 6 by Magellan for his bloodthirsty nature and later joined the Blackbeard Pirates during the riot sparked by Blackbeard's jailbreak.
If not for the antidote provided by Shiryu, Blackbeard's crew would likely have perished right there in Impel Down.
However, even Shiryu couldn't extend the Blackbeard crew's lifespan. Under the combined attack of the "Conquest of the Sea," he became the sole survivor of Blackbeard's crew, wandering around ever since.
Though he had lost his left arm, being right-handed meant it didn't affect him much.
Ambushes were his specialty, and the gap at the Marine Vice Admiral level is huge, so it's normal for Maynard to fall to Shiryu's surprise attack.
Logically, he didn't have much of a grudge against the Marines, and attacking Maynard here held no real meaning, since his news had already been widely reported.
His actions served no purpose other than alerting the Marines.
Yet he still did it, and for a simple reason: he wanted to cut someone down.
To Shiryu, killing was like smoking or drinking. If he didn't see blood, he'd grow irritable inside.
He just happened to run into Maynard, who was reporting information, and took the opportunity to launch a surprise attack. There was also a bit of resentment in that. Shiryu never had good feelings toward the Marines or the World Government.
From beginning to end, Shiryu never thought he'd done anything wrong. He'd merely cut down some prisoners and guards who stood in his way; hardly something worth making a fuss about.
But Magellan had always clung to his so-called rules, believing that as long as prisoners hadn't violated regulations, Shiryu had no right to kill them.
So if Shiryu had to cut someone, he'd probably choose a Marine.
If Shiryu had killed in Impel Down out of hatred for pirates, Magellan could've understood, and in the beginning, he did turn a blind eye.
But as Shiryu began slaughtering indiscriminately, not even sparing the guards, Magellan realized the man simply enjoyed killing for its own sake, and so he imprisoned him.
"Still not enough, huh…? A life-and-death Colosseum, that should let me cut to my heart's content."
Flicking the blood off his blade, Shiryu sheathed his sword and walked toward the Colosseum. As for Maynard's fate, that no longer had anything to do with him.
If he died, he deserved it. If he survived, then he was just lucky. That was all Shiryu thought.
Meanwhile, Pica had also begun working.
"Lord Pica, the arena's been damaged again. Please come help repair it."
"Broken again?"
The arena often took damage, but usually, simple repairs were enough, and it rarely required his power. Yet today, after only four matches, it had already been completely destroyed twice.
Without using his Stone-Stone Fruit powers, quick repairs were impossible.
"It was the Happo Navy's Chinjao, Lord Pica. There's nothing we can do about this, only you can handle it."
"Damn it. Diamante already lost, and the matches are still going on… What exactly is Doffy planning?"
Though he grumbled, Pica still activated his powers to help repair the arena; after all, this was Doflamingo's plan, and it was his duty to see it through.
"Thanks to Lord Pica's assistance, the arena has been quickly restored. The match in E Block now begins! This round features several famous participants. Bounty hunter Jean Ango, and the assassin brothers from the Mogaro Kingdom, the Funk Brothers!
Former Head Jailer of Impel Down, Shiryu of the Rain! And one of the Shichibukai, who has been the former colleague of our great king not long ago, the master of Buggy's Delivery, Buggy the Clown"
People surged into the arena from all directions. Unlike Dagama, who had bribed other contestants, Buggy's supreme luck seemed to be at work. Among the nearly two hundred participants in this arena, a full quarter were Buggy's own subordinates.
"Hahahaha! Listen up, lads! Go fight! Slaughter these b*stards so I can advance smoothly!"
"Ohhh!"
Buggy's followers were full of confidence. In their eyes, this was Buggy deliberately giving them a chance to shine. Only one person didn't share their enthusiasm.
"Why… why did you drag me here!?"
Mr. 3 looked utterly dejected. He had been sitting comfortably in the audience, but right before the match began, Buggy's men had suddenly rushed over, saying they'd registered him as well, and forcibly hauled him up onto the arena.
"I had no choice. You know the strength of Mohji and the others. Among those who know the truth, can be trusted and can protect me, you're the only one who comes to mind, 3."
"Buggy… you actually trust me that much?"
"Of course! This is the bond we forged in Impel Down! Facing those Jailer Beasts, that diarrhea bastard's poison, the Army Wolves on Level 5, how could I ever forget all that?"
"Cut the crap! I don't believe a word you say! If things look bad, I'll surrender immediately. Don't think about dragging me down with you!"
Buggy's words were deeply moving, but unfortunately, Mr. 3 resisted them, remaining steadfast and unmoved. Under these circumstances, the match in E Block began.
"Wax-Wax Fortress!"
The moment the fight started, Mr. 3 used his powers to create a castle wall-like fortification in one corner of the arena. He and Buggy immediately ducked behind the wall.
"I'm not done yet, Wax-Wax Candle Armor!"
With a grand sweep of his hand, Buggy's underlings were instantly clad in wax armor, and in their hands appeared spears, shields, swords, and other weapons. In the blink of an eye, an entire fully armed army was born.
"That's it! Go, lads! Eliminate every last one of my enemies!"
Atop the wall, Buggy laughed maniacally. Spurred on by his orders and encouragement, his men charged forward. With sheer numbers on their side, they quickly defeated many opponents.
"Buggy's followers have formed a terrifying army, is this the true power of a Shichibukai? Still, our king is far stronger.
Up to now, Buggy, like King Elizabello II before him, hasn't made a move. Could he also be hiding some sort of signature technique like the King Punch? Let's wait and see!"
Buggy's subordinates were well-organized, and Mr. 3's wax armor was incredibly durable. Many contestants were knocked out of the arena. Under such circumstances, the remaining contestants began to join forces, determined to first eliminate Buggy's dishonorable gang.
But meanwhile, someone else was moving stealthily, quietly picking up the weapons dropped on the ground.
Then, he began hurling those weapons at others. It was Jean the Bandit, a bounty hunter from the New World. He called himself a sniper, though his "sniping" consisted of throwing other people's weapons.
"So many wanted criminals here… I'd love to cash you all in for bounties. Damn that annoying Shichibukai system…"
Shichibukai and their subordinates weren't wanted criminals; even if he turned them in to the Marines, there'd be no bounty. So all Jean could do was look on greedily at those under Buggy's protection.
But soon, he spotted his target — Shiryu.
Jean's intelligence network was almost absurdly extensive. To prevent public panic, the World Government had chosen to conceal what happened in Impel Down, and even the Marines had quietly avoided large-scale arrests of those fugitives.
However, aside from the Prison Escape Team led by Luffy and the others, Jean had already identified exactly which Level 6 prisoners had escaped, and had been tracking their whereabouts ever since.
Now that he had finally spotted one of the ringleaders, Shiryu, Jean was quite excited. Seeing Shiryu slaughtering other contestants, he seized the moment and hurled several weapons in succession at him.
But before any of those weapons could even touch Shiryu, he turned and sliced them all apart with a single swing of his blade.
The ferocious scar across his left cheek, splattered with fresh blood, made Shiryu look like a devil. The moment he saw someone daring enough to attack him, he turned immediately and rushed toward Jean.
"Shiryu! You're one of the few Level 6 escapees still wanted by the World Government! Get ready to go back home, I'll make my name by capturing you!"
"Capture me? Good. The blood of an arrogant man like you should taste exquisite."
Slash!
Before he even finished speaking, Shiryu had already dashed through the storm of weapons Jean had thrown, appearing right before him. With a diagonal downward swing of his sword, "Raiu," he cleaved straight through him.
"So weak. You couldn't even manage a scream or a struggle before dying?"
Looking at Jean, who was nearly cut in half at the waist, Shiryu's face was filled with disdain. He felt his mood had been destroyed by this man and immediately turned his gaze toward Buggy, who was grandly gesturing from atop the wax wall.
"That's right! Keep going, lads! These two are almost done for! So what if they can combine, they're still no match for me, Lord Buggy!"
"Hey, hey, you haven't even done anything! Where do you get the nerve to say stuff like that?"
Mr. 3 continued carrying out his duty of ridiculing Buggy, while below them, many of Buggy's underlings had already driven the Funk Brothers to the edge of the arena.
The elder brother, Kelly, was short and small-minded, but vicious. Whenever someone mocked him for his height, he'd fly into a rage and attack relentlessly, even beating them long after they'd passed out. He wasn't weak, but he wasn't especially strong either.
His younger brother, Bobby, was tall and burly, and something of a freak. His body was so tough that he could ignore most of the attacks, even a sharp axe would break in half against his body.
But Bobby was extremely timid. He'd rather take a beating than fight back.
However, when the two brothers joined forces, even pirates with bounty-over-100-million couldn't stand against them, because Kelly was the user of the Jacket-Jacket Fruit; when he transforms into a jacket and lets his younger brother wear him, he can control his brother's powerful body.
Under normal circumstances, Buggy's underlings shouldn't have been a match for the brothers, but they never gave Kelly a chance to activate his ability from the start. Using their numerical advantage, they split the brothers apart and eliminated the formidable duo early on.
"Brother 3's armor is really reliable! These guys can't even scratch me!"
A pirate praised Mr. 3's ability, but those words stuck to his back like a flag. A slash of sword energy swept past from the side, and despite Mr. 3's armor, a large number of Buggy's Delivery pirates fell.
Their armor split apart, and blood sprayed across nearly half the arena.
As Shiryu gradually got closer, Buggy's underlings tried to resist, but they were completely outmatched. In desperation, they turned to Buggy.
"Captain Buggy! Save us! This guy's too strong, we can't beat him!"
"Captain Buggy! Please save us, this guy only wants to kill!"
Facing his men's cries for help, Buggy had no choice but to step forward while pretending to be calm.
"Shiryu! You b*stard, stop right there! Your opponent is me!"
"Buggy the Clown… you really think becoming a Shichibukai means you're actually as strong as one? You were locked up on Level 1, don't get so full of yourself."
"That… that's because you don't know my true power! Taste my ultimate move, Special Muggy Ball!"
Buggy lifted his foot to trigger the mechanism and fire the Muggy Ball, but he forgot one thing: just moments ago, for the sake of looking cool and staying safe, he had asked Mr. 3 to make a set of wax armor as well.
His feet were now encased in wax, so the bomb ended up exploding right on himself.
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