"Luffy, this might sound a bit cruel, but you'd better take a good look at their battle. Based on your previous performance, at best, you're about on their level."
The number 21 stood out clearly on the back of Speed's vest. This was Marco's assessment of Luffy, which judging solely from his current performance, might even be considered an overestimation.
"Marco—"
"Don't interrupt me, Ace. He's your younger brother. If you truly care about him, you need to make him understand exactly what his real strength is."
"The New World is cruel. One moment of carelessness and you'll die without even leaving a body behind. Those who don't understand their own limits are destined to sink into the sea sooner or later."
For Ace's sake, and because of the effort Luffy had shown during the Summit War, Marco was willing to say a few words to him. If it were someone unrelated, they wouldn't even bother to say anything even if that person died out there.
"I remember you said you wanted to challenge Kaido? You were on that battlefield too, right? Do you still remember what Pops' last words were? 'No revenge.' That was his final request of us."
Marco didn't expect Luffy to remember, so he directly gave the answer.
"Knowing Pops, he probably saw that as a fair fight. But there was another reason. Two years ago, Kaido was, in Pops' eyes, an opponent we could never defeat.
So, Straw Hat, before you act, you'd better think carefully."
Marco's words had Hercules nodding repeatedly, and it even handed him a pineapple from the side. Though it wasn't peeled, Marco bit right into it anyway—truly a tough guy.
"And there's one more thing. Those numbers, they're just for reference. You can't always rely on them. In some rare cases, the higher number doesn't necessarily mean the person is weaker.
The ranking is mostly based on strength, but there's also some favoritism among the Beasts Pirates. Some people are too embarrassed to challenge others they have personal ties with, so the order stays the same.
Others can't win simply because their fighting styles counter each other. In short, it's a very complicated system."
As for how Marco knew all that, well, let's just say someone in the Whitebeard Pirates had learned that lesson the hard way.
Marco's words carried great significance, but how much Luffy actually absorbed was anyone's guess.
While Marco was explaining, the battle in F Block had already begun. Though no powerful enemies had appeared yet, Speed and others still formed a tight triangular formation, leaving no room for mistakes.
"Numbers determine strength! It's obvious that the one in front, Speed, is the strongest of the three! What kind of power will No. 21 unleash?"
The Numbers system had its pros and cons. It could deter opponents effectively, but also reveal one's strength to some extent.
There were no strict rules about the number's position; they didn't even have to paint them on their bodies. Solitaire's No. 22 was on her helmet, while Mizerka's No. 23 was at the back of her neck, nearly invisible unless one looked closely.
But the downside of displaying numbers was that those with higher ones were treated as a breakthrough point.
Now, the three stood in an inverted triangle formation. Mizerka at the rear, Solitaire and Speed flanking the front. And the exposed, higher-numbered Mizerka had already drawn the enemy's focus.
Snap!
A whip cracked through the air. Several people in the Corrida Colosseum suddenly found their bodies standing in a line against their will, and then a massive hand grabbed the man at the front.
"Commodore Killer Bowling!"
A mercenary was hurled by Orlumbus straight toward Solitaire's direction.
Seeing the human-ball flying at her, Solitaire in her Ambipom form extended the two large arms on her back. These arms were stronger and more flexible, which deftly redirected Orlumbus's attack with a precise twist, completely neutralizing it.
"So someone finally dares to attack us? At least you've got some guts."
"Stop joking, woman! It was your people who stole the ship from my men back then!"
From the start, Orlumbus had set his sights on the Beasts Pirates. Back then, Jack had seized ten ships from the Yonta Maria Grand Fleet.
Because he was faithfully carrying out Kaido's orders, Jack had only taken ten ships and done nothing else.
But for Orlumbus, that had been the first time since leading the Yonta Maria Grand Fleet that someone had publicly robbed him. He had never forgotten that.
"Do you guys know about this matter?"
"Don't remember."
"I remember, but if I recall correctly, it was the young miss' pet that wiped out those ships."
By "pet," they meant the several-meters-tall Tyranitar that could summon a Seastone Sandstorm with just a wave of its hand. What they said was true, but to Orlumbus, it felt like they were rubbing salt into his wound.
"B*stards… Do you think you're monsters like that too? I'll show you the power of an admiral!"
After that day, Orlumbus carefully studied the Beasts Pirates' officer hierarchy: Calamity-level senior officers, single-digit high-level officers, and double-digit Numbers who, despite also being considered officers, were vastly inferior in strength to the single digits.
Seeing that Speed and the others were frail women with numbers above twenty, Orlumbus felt that they wouldn't be too hard to deal with.
"Commodore Hug!"
Orlumbus relied entirely on brute strength in battle; he had no real technique. Now, like a rampaging bear, he charged forward heavily toward Solitaire.
However, he seemed to have forgotten one thing. Even if Solitaire was his target, the three of them were a team.
"Mizerka, move!"
"On it! I've been ready!"
All this time, Mizerka's tail had been submerged in the nearby pool, maintaining a state of storing water. For a Water-type Ability User, being able to draw upon external water drastically reduced energy consumption. At this moment, Mizerka's body was already filled with stored seawater.
As for the fighting fish in the pool, those creatures posed no threat to them whatsoever.
Facing the charging Orlumbus, Mizerka's tail whipped up from the water, blasting a high-pressure stream directly toward him.
At the same time, Speed's forehooves struck the electrified ground, sending two bolts of electricity through the air. Midway, the electricity fused with Mizerka's water stream, combining into a combo technique that struck Orlumbus.
Zzzap!
The seawater drenched Orlumbus, and the electric current spread through every part of his soaked body. In that instant, Solitaire had already drawn her blades and appeared right in front of him.
"Four-Sword Style Iai • Tail Slash!"
"What a beautiful combo! As expected of members of the Beasts Pirates, they've demonstrated the crew's most terrifying power - Mythical Zoan abilities!"
"As everyone knows, Mythical Zoans are even rarer than Logia-type Devil Fruits! Their users possess the physiques of Zoans and uses the power of nature!"
"Contestant Mizerka, in particular, is an exceptionally rare devil fruit user capable of manipulating water! Combined with lightning and sword techniques, these three truly live up to their title as the Oni Princess's personal guard! Orlumbus is no match for them—l, he's already down for the count!"
"F Block's seeded contestant, Orlumbus, has been eliminated!"
Orlumbus became the first seeded contestant in F Block to be eliminated. Gatz was still lavishly praising the Beasts Pirates without reservation, but Mizerka and the others had already begun a new round of battle. The only one who was echoing him was Yamato, who was cheering on her subordinates.
Although the three's combo attack had quickly taken down Orlumbus, they showed no signs of stopping. Mizerka and Speed continued to unleash their abilities further, seemingly intent on using water and electricity to wipe out all remaining opponents at once.
It was at that moment that an unexpected change suddenly appeared in the arena.
"What?! What is this?! Why are legendary pirates appearing here?! This is unbelievable! Is this the ability of that raccoon dog?!"
Just moments ago, Pato had been surrounded and attacked by other contestants. In response, he had no choice but to pull out the transformation leaves he had made together with Redfield, and finally used them on the arena.
"Some of you might not recognize these men, so allow me to introduce them properly! The man on the left is the Commander-in-Chief of the World Government, the former Marine Fleet Admiral, Kong!
And the man beside him… he's another legend from the same era as Roger, the great pirate Golden Lion Shiki!"
These were transformation leaves created by Redfield based on his own memories, and the opponents worth remembering for someone like him were extremely few, each one a leader of their era.
However, since the transformed figures were directly linked to the Devil Fruit user himself, and the user of the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Bake-danuki was Pato, there was no way he could replicate the full might of those monsters. In fact, they didn't even have tenth of their strength.
Even so, these illusions retained their owners' abilities—swordsmanship, physical skills, and Devil Fruit powers—without exception. For the other contestants, it was nothing short of a disaster.
"You two, knock everyone off the arena!"
Transforming the two leaves drawn for him by Red Count had cost him considerable effort. At Pato's command, the young Kong and Golden Lion, whose legs have not yet been severed, immediately launched a furious series of attacks on the people around them.
The transformed clones lacked the liveliness of real people; they moved like puppets, silently carrying out their orders.
"Kong" clenched his fists and struck forward, instantly clearing a wide area, while "Golden Lion" was far more direct. With both of his feet intact, he tore through the crowd with dual swords in hand, easily cutting down everything in his path.
Even without using the Float-Float Fruit's power, Golden Lion was still a great swordsman in his own right. Though his strength was greatly reduced, it was more than enough for this battlefield.
"What a terrifying ability! To manifest phantoms of powerful figures from the past! Just what kind of chaos will these legends of the old era bring forth?!"
Each punch from "Kong" and slash from "Golden Lion" sent scores of contestants flying, yet Speed and her team did not panic. Instead, they cautiously tested their opponents' strength.
"With this level of power, they're manageable."
"Indeed. They're just realistic illusions. Compared to this ability, Lady Olga's is still stronger."
As if having heard Speed and Mizerka's words, Pato reached into his pocket again, and produced yet another stack of transformation leaves.
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