"What's going on?! Pato, who looks like a raccoon dog, turned out to be a dark horse too?! Dressrosa is really full of hidden masters today! The people it summoned are terrifying. Looks like they're Devil Fruit users too!
Judging by appearances really is the biggest mistake. The match isn't over yet, just how many more monsters has this Quake-Quake Fruit drawn out?!"
Golden Lion. Kong. To Gatz, these two were far too distant.
After wreaking havoc at Marineford, Golden Lion was imprisoned in Impel Down. Though he managed to escape, before he could cause any real chaos, he was defeated by Yamato.
The tides of the era have never stopped shifting. For Gatz, who rarely even leaves the country and spends his days doing commentary, Golden Lion was already an antique.
What's more, Golden Lion in Redfield's memory was middle-aged, so Gatz couldn't even recall his name. He just thought the man looked incredibly powerful.
Kong's situation was similar. The era of Sengoku had already ended, and the position of Marine Fleet Admiral had already passed to Akainu.
Kong himself was still alive and well, having been promoted from Marine Fleet Admiral to Commander-in-Chief, but his news on the seas had gradually disappeared.
Fleet Admirals rarely have chances to fight, let alone a Commander-in-Chief. Those living in Dressrosa might have heard his name in the news, but very few ordinary people remembered him at all.
To the audience here, as long as the battle was thrilling enough, it didn't matter who you were.
The ones most affected by the clones Pato created with his transformation leaves were the pirates, especially Vice-Captains of the Four Emperors like Marco and Katakuri.
"Oi, oi, you've gotta be kidding me. Isn't that ability way too broken?"
Marco couldn't help but exclaim as he watched the match. Just now, a fighting fish had lunged at Golden Lion near the edge of the arena, but Golden Lion dodged it effortlessly with a sidestep, and in the same motion, he used the splash it caused.
Under the influence of his power, the seawater below transformed into a ferocious lion, roaring as it charged toward the other contestants in the arena. At the same time, he swung the dual swords in his hands, releasing several sword beams that split F Block directly into multiple sections.
"What's going on? Is that blonde-haired old man someone famous?"
"Famous? He was once a man who stood at the very top! A great pirate from the same era as Pops. Even Roger himself was once put into a difficult situation by him! If it hadn't been for that bizarre weather, the outcome of the Edd War might have been completely different!"
"Captain of the Flying Pirates, Admiral of the Golden Lion Pirates Fleet, the Flying Pirate - Shiki the Golden Lion! He's got quite a few titles to his name."
"As for the man next to him, if I'm not mistaken, that's the former Fleet Admiral of the Marines, Kong. Both of them are monsters from the old era."
"Is that so? So even the raccoon dog next to Red is that amazing."
"Red, huh? That explains it, no wonder."
Luffy's words seemed to clear up some of Marco's doubts, helping him understand why an ordinary-looking raccoon dog could clone these monsters from the old generation.
It seemed these clones were tied to Redfield, and if that was the case, everything made sense.
As a remnant of the old era, it was only natural that Redfield would know these figures well.
"I don't know what kind of ability this is, but the clones are far weaker than the originals. And that raccoon dog's true body… is way too weak."
Even after eating the devil fruit, Pato was still just a special kind of raccoon dog. Even with Redfield's power, the strength of his clones couldn't be that high. If Redfield himself had eaten the fruit, the clones he could create might've been on an entirely different level.
At that moment, Golden Lion and Kong were rampaging across the arena. Whether it was the Golden Lion wielding his ability or Kong relying solely on his fists, both posed a lethal threat to any ordinary contestant.
Even though these were severely weakened versions, they were still far beyond what ordinary gladiators could handle.
However, just as Marco had said, Pato's true body was his weak point. Even if he could use transformation leaves to create clones of powerful figures, he was still just a small, fragile raccoon dog himself.
On a chaotic battlefield, the best option would have been to hide in some corner, but unfortunately, on this narrow arena, there was no place for him to run.
Speed's hooves struck the ground a few times, and bursts of smoke rose beneath her feet. Heat surged upward, quickly enveloping her entire body. Wrapped in blazing flames, Speed charged straight ahead.
"Mizerka! Cover me! Solitaire, follow! I'll clear the way, you go and take out that raccoon dog!"
Olga had made them understand that against this kind of enemy, defeating countless illusions was meaningless. Unless they took down the real body, they'd always be led around by the nose.
Pato's ability couldn't deceive senses like Olga's could, so Speed made her decision quickly.
They might bicker and quarrel, but when things get serious, they always trust each other unconditionally, each entrusting their back to the others for protection.
Mizerka, positioned by the pool, had already transformed into an anti-air cannon. The water, compressed within her body, was imbued with tremendous kinetic energy, blasting forward to carve a path for Speed and the others.
"The seawater is being used by Mizerka with the force of a cannon! The path forward has opened, but someone has already set their sights on her! Can the sniper handle these new enemies without her teammates' protection?!"
Gatz's commentary echoed through the arena. This was a free-for-all. There were no fixed enemies. Seeing that Solitaire and Speed had both moved on to deal with Pato, some contestants turned their sights on the now-alone Mizerka.
"Looks like no one's guarding you now, huh?"
"Then why don't you take your leave right here!"
Jeet and Abdullah were wanted for bombing an important World Government facility. The Middle Eastern-looking Jeet had already taken down two contestants before joining Abdullah in his ambush on Mizerka.
Gatz's commentary made Mizerka's situation clear, but neither Speed nor Solitaire turned back to help. They didn't even glance over their shoulders.
That was the depth of their trust. They believed Mizerka could deal with the opponents in the arena.
And indeed, she could. The tips of Mizerka's fingers suddenly extended into sharp claws. As Haki coated them, the black claw-blades slashed like short daggers toward Jeet and Abdullah, all while she maintained her suppressive firepower.
On the other hand, things were far more dangerous for Pato. The clones of the Golden Lion and Kong were both fighting elsewhere, leaving Pato completely exposed. To deal with the situation, he pulled out two more transformation leaves.
Even though he was the user of Mythical Zoan, activating the transformation leaves consumed a great deal of stamina. The stronger and more complex the clone, the greater the drain.
With two muffled thuds, a woman in pink and a burly man like a small giant appeared in front of Speed.
"Pops?!"
"Mama?!"
Even knowing that Pato's ability involved creating others, seeing a young Whitebeard and Charlotte Linlin appear right before them left everyone stunned.
These were, after all, formidable foes worthy of being replicated from Redfield's memories. In the era when he roamed the seas, Kaido was only a novice. Even on the eve of Redfield's imprisonment, Kaido hadn't yet fully established the reputation of the Beasts Pirates.
In Redfield's memory, it was Whitebeard and Charlotte Linlin who truly embodied the meaning of strength.
Still in her prime and with her figure yet unchanged, Charlotte Linlin stood in front of Pato, wielding a massive machete, while Whitebeard swung his fists in all directions.
The power naturally wasn't as world-shattering as that of the real Whitebeard, yet the seawater around the arena began to surge outward, splashing over the spectators in the front rows before forming into a small-scale tsunami that crashed toward the arena.
Devil Fruit abilities, fighting style—everything from Redfield's memories had been replicated by the Bake-danuki fruit, albeit in a weakened form. Naturally, Whitebeard's signature Seaquake was among them.
"Incredible! Absolutely incredible! Contestant Pato's ability can actually achieve something like this! Thanks to him, we've once again witnessed the power of the Quake-Quake Fruit up close!"
"If even a clone alone can do this much, then just how powerful must the real Quake-Quake Fruit be?!"
Gatz sharply grasped the key point of the moment. As Pato continued to display his power, Gatz's words stirred the crowd's excitement even higher, so much so that even contestants who hadn't entered the arena yet felt their hearts burning with excitement.
"Wait, no! The tsunami's been hijacked! Even though the tsunami was created by Pato's clone, it has now become Mizerka's power!"
Pato's clones had preset combat patterns, but they were, at best, advanced automatons. They were capable of using techniques according to routine programming, not through actual analysis.
If Redfield were the one summoning the clones, with his direct commands, they could fight with much greater power. But Pato couldn't do that.
Whether it was Whitebeard or Golden Lion, he didn't truly understand their fighting styles. Letting them act on instinct was the best he could do. Trying to recklessly interfere would only weaken their performance.
A puppeteer controlling from afar was bound to lose eventually. At least Pato knew his own limits.
The cost, however, was that Pato couldn't react quickly enough to sudden developments.
Although Mizerka used her Surf ability to take control of the miniature tsunami Whitebeard's clone had created, the other clones possessed powers that could easily counter it. Golden Lion and Charlotte Linlin could both take control of the tsunami with their Devil Fruit abilities, and Whitebeard himself could simply shatter them with brute strength.
But now, those clones were either busy fighting other contestants or locked in battle with Speed and Solitaire. If they diverted their attention to deal with the tsunami, Speed would have a perfect chance to strike at Pato.
Not good at fighting, Pato was unsure how to handle the situation. In the end, the small tsunami under Mizerka's control swept across the entire arena, and amid the chaotic waves, four arms seized hold of Pato tightly.
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