Boom!
The instant the Muggy Ball exploded, the intense heat melted the wax armor created by Mr. 3. Though the wax Mr. 3 made was as hard as steel, it still retained one of wax's inherent nature - it was weak against heat.
Under the influence of the heat, the wax instantly melted, and the power of the Muggy Ball successfully wiped out all of Buggy's underlings. Even Buggy himself was blown to pieces by the blast.
Because his foot had been close to the explosion's center, it was sent flying toward the outer edge of the arena, where it was promptly swallowed by a leaping fighting fish.
"Oh no! Captain Buggy's foot got eaten by a fish!"
Seeing this scene, the underlings who had fallen into the water panicked, and a ridiculous chase between people and fish began outside the arena.
"The Shichibukai Buggy has created a massive explosion! The effect is quite remarkable. After that blast, there are barely any contestants left standing in the arena!
But now he'll be facing Shiryu head-on. Is this the confidence of a Shichibukai? Looks like the reason he hadn't taken action earlier was simply that no one had been worth his time!"
Gatz was quite enthusiastic in his praise of Buggy; after all, Doflamingo had once been a Shichibukai, so praising Buggy was, by extension, like praising Doflamingo.
If someone dragged down the overall standard of the Shichibukai, that would reflect poorly on Doflamingo's image as well, even if his public information now claimed he was no longer one of them.
"Shiryu has launched a fierce barrage of slashes at Buggy, but every single one of his attacks has been dodged by Buggy! No matter how he swings his sword, he just can't touch Buggy's body!"
The Chop-Chop Fruit was the natural nemesis of slashing attacks. Against slashes, a Chop-Chop Fruit user's body automatically splits into pieces. No matter how powerful the slash, if it can't connect, it's useless.
Even during the Summit War, Hawk Eyes only managed to slice Buggy into thin slices, unable to cause any real harm.
Either Hawk Eyes hadn't used Haki, or the Chop-Chop Fruit's power is actually a passive ability that triggers automatically before a slash lands, splitting the user's body in advance, just like Katakuri's, causing the enemy's attacks to miss completely.
If that's the case, then this passive ability is even more troublesome in some ways.
Seeing his slashes fail, Shiryu raised his leg to kick Buggy, but before Shiryu's attack could connect, Buggy suddenly moved. His fragmented body flew uncontrollably around the edges of the arena.
This was because of that fighting fish from earlier. Buggy's power is centered around his feet. No matter how far his body parts scatter, they cannot leave too far from his feet. Once they exceed the range, they are forcibly pulled back toward his feet.
At this moment, the fighting fish was swimming right along the edge of Buggy's ability range, and since Buggy's foot had been swallowed into its belly, his body was now moving uncontrollably, dragged along by the fish's motion.
Even Shiryu's Observation Haki couldn't predict Buggy's next move, because even Buggy himself didn't know what would happen next. Simple prediction was useless here; only someone who could truly see the future could foresee Buggy's movements.
The more Shiryu failed to cut down Buggy, the angrier he became, and the angrier he got, the more he wanted to cut him down.
Below the arena, Buggy's underlings were chasing the fish, while in the arena, Shiryu was chasing Buggy. Anyone unlucky enough to stand in Shiryu's path was cut down where they stood. Hiding in a corner, Mr. 3 couldn't help but tremble, but in the next moment, he realized something.
"Candle Ship!"
A massive wax ship appeared nearby, and Mr. 3 shouted loudly, "Anyone who doesn't want to die, get on the ship now! That lunatic's really trying to kill us all!"
After Buggy's explosive clearing and Shiryu's slaughter, the E Block's arena was strewn with severed limbs and scattered body parts, marking the highest number of casualties and injuries since the tournament began, and also the one that drew the loudest cheers from the audience.
Although Katakuri and Redfield's fights were spectacular, the overwhelming dominance was so extreme that the audience couldn't even see what had happened before the match was already over.
Shiryu's blood-splattering fighting style, on the other hand, fit the current atmosphere of the Corrida Colosseum perfectly, but for the contestants, this kind of cruel competition was far less friendly.
Seeing that they couldn't win, and with Shiryu relentlessly chasing Buggy, the remaining contestants all rushed onto the lifeboat created by Mr. 3.
"Galdino is exploiting the rules! His ability actually lets him create a ship! But I despise this kind of behavior, there's nothing hot-blooded about it at all!"
"Now, only two contestants remain in the arena, the victor of E Block will be decided between Shiryu of the Rain and Buggy the Clown!"
Though he didn't like it, Gatz still announced the result.
"Damn it."
Looking at the nearly unscathed Buggy, Shiryu was uncharacteristically furious. The guy's erratic movements made no sense at all. He had been chasing and attacking him for so long, yet hadn't landed a single hit.
If not for his desire for the power of the Quake-Quake Fruit, and his unwillingness to be eliminated, he definitely would have ignored the rules and cut Buggy down right then and there.
But at this point, he had already killed plenty of people. For the sake of his greater goal, he forcibly suppressed his bloodlust, sheathed his sword, and left the arena.
Buggy, meanwhile, wasn't nearly as fortunate. His underlings had to work incredibly hard to capture the fighting fish and retrieve Buggy's foot from inside its belly.
However, Buggy once again managed to harvest a wave of fame from the situation. His subordinates were convinced that Buggy and Mr. 3 had done all this to rescue the others from Shiryu's slaughter.
The battle in E Block hadn't destroyed the arena, so Pica didn't need to step in. After a quick cleanup of the bloodstains and some patchwork repairs, the matches for F Block immediately followed.
"What an interesting grouping! I can't believe the three of us ended up together. But this tournament doesn't allow bows. How annoying."
"Do you really need a weapon against this kind of trash? Have you forgotten what your ability is?
I haven't seen anyone troublesome here. If you still need to rely on a weapon against this trash, then you might as well go back to training from scratch, Speed."
"I get what you're saying, but could you please put those four swords down before lecturing me?"
Speed and Solitaire bickered back and forth. It was practically part of their daily routine.
The rules of the Corrida Colosseum affected archers and snipers the most. Unless you were a strange sniper like Jean the Bandit, who could casually pick up any weapon and hurl it like a bullet, their strength would inevitably be affected to some extent.
At least for Speed, her best long-range combat method had been sealed.
But it was different for Solitaire. Thanks to her Ambipom ability, she had become a Four Sword Style. At this moment, she was checking her weapons right in front of Speed.
"Can't help it, it's your fault for using a bow."
"Damn it, even without my bow, you're not my match! How about we settle this right now, just the two of us!"
"Alright, alright, what's there to argue about? We're just here to fill the numbers anyway. The real winner's obviously going to be the young miss, so whether we advance or not doesn't really matter."
Mizerka, who hadn't joined their argument, spoke up to smooth things over and put an end to their quarrel.
"If you two really want to fight, at least wait until after we've cleared out the others first. Doesn't this whole thing feel kind of familiar to you?"
"Now that you mention it… it really does."
Mizerka's words brought back memories from many years ago. Back then, Kaido had been selecting suitable subordinates for Yamato, and the selection process was through close combat.
Although they hadn't formed a three-person team back then, they had each managed to survive the chaotic melee until the very end. After so many years of cooperation, they had long since grown to this kind of arena combat.
"Even if the main character is the young miss, we still have to work hard. Otherwise… I really don't want to get caught up in Governor-General Kaido's crossfire. What about you two?"
It seemed that Solitaire had just imagined a terrifying scenario. Following Yamato had many advantages, the young miss was not only powerful but she also didn't put on any airs, and the benefits that came with serving her were plentiful. It was, without question, a cushy job.
Because of Yamato, the three of them had also gained many additional privileges.
Although they had earned them through the battles in their early days, Yamato's influence still played a significant part in it.
However, the position also came with risks. There was only one young miss, but there was no shortage of people who wanted to be her attendants.
Fortunately, Yamato wasn't the type to replace her followers just because of dissatisfaction, so they weren't worried about being replaced. What they were worried about was Kaido thinking they were too weak and dragging them off for "special training."
Even Yamato and Queen, both known for their tough bodies and daily beatings, could barely endure Kaido's special training. One could easily imagine just how brutal it truly was.
"Governor-General Kaido probably wouldn't care about something like this, right?"
"Don't kid yourself, Speed. Wherever the young miss goes, Captain Kaido's attention is sure to follow. And with so many big shots gathered here, something major is bound to happen sooner or later. So come on, let's give it our best shot."
Solitaire and Mizerka's words seemed to add a touch of tragic heroism to Speed's emotions. For the sake of their bright future, the three finally steeled themselves and stepped onto the arena.
"Ladies and gentlemen! According to past conventions, this should be the time for the finals, but the allure of the Quake-Quake Fruit is far too great! Contestants from all over the world have gathered here, and now the match for F Block is about to begin!"
"Let's take a look at today's star contestants!"
"The Admiral of the Yonta Maria Grand Fleet, "Massacre Ruler" Orlumbus! It's said that his whip possesses a mysterious power that can force enemies to obey his commands!
Former bounty hunters, and the mastermind behind the World Government institution bombing: Jeet and Abdullah!
From the Dressrosa Kingdom's army, Commander Tank Lepanto!
And now, from the world's strongest pirate crew, the Beasts Pirates' Numbers trio!
As everyone knows, Kaido of the Beasts ranks his subordinates by number. Although the numbers of these three are outside the top twenty, do not underestimate them!
For they bear another identity, the Oni Princess's personal guard!"
This was already the sixth match hosted by Gatz. After such high-intensity commentary, his voice was starting to crack slightly, but that did nothing to conceal the excitement in his tone.
Whitebeard's death had ushered in the era of Kaido. From that moment on, the world knew that the Beasts Pirates had become the strongest pirate crew on the seas, and Kaido was the man closest to the title of Pirate King.
Now that contestants from the Beasts Pirates were officially entering the tournament, even if they weren't senior officers, they were more than enough to capture everyone's attention.
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