Renji Kai slowly stepped onto the arena platform.
As he climbed up, the surrounding guards erupted into cheers. It was clear—they were all excited to see this upcoming fight.
"Place your bets! Odds are set!" one of the guards suddenly shouted. "Number 38 kills Number 55 in under a minute—odds are 1:1! Kills him in under three minutes—1:3! Kills him in under five—1:5! Over five minutes—1:10!"
The moment he finished, guards all around the ring began pulling out their wallets and placing bets.
"I'll put down 1,000 Beli on 38 killing 55 in under a minute!"
"Make mine 3,000 on 38 in under three!"
"5,000 Beli, 38 finishes him after five minutes!"
A voice suddenly cut through the raucous noise—a voice that didn't quite belong. "Excuse me, what are the odds for 55 killing 38?"
The crowd instantly fell into dead silence.
Everyone turned to stare at Renji Kai, who stood on the platform with a grin on his face, completely unfazed.
"Hey kid, you got a death wish or something?" Number 38 growled from across the ring, glaring at him with contempt.
Renji shrugged. "Why's it gotta be you who kills me? Can't it be the other way around? We're here for a duel, right? Skill versus skill."
"Hmph, sounds like someone's got way too much confidence. Even if I did offer odds on that, it's not like you've got the money to place a bet," sneered the betting guard.
"That's a shame," Renji said with a mock sigh. "I was hoping to make a little cash to spend once I'm outta here."
"He's nuts," someone muttered. "Says he's getting out. Hah! Number 55's a real comedian."
"Too bad he's up against Number 38," another guard snickered. "Would've liked to see more of his jokes."
Then, a calm, heavy voice echoed from the second floor.
"I'll loan you the money. How much do you want?"
Renji looked up and spotted Saludes, the squat man with the horned hat—the head guard of the first level—grinning down at him.
"Doesn't matter. However much you can lend. If I lose, I'm dead anyway," Renji replied casually.
"Hah! Alright then," Saludes turned to the bookie guard. "Do you have odds for 55 killing 38?"
"Yes, sir! Odds are 1 to 500!" the guard shouted back.
"Good. Put 10,000 Beli on him for me."
The moment Saludes finished speaking, the crowd exploded in noise again.
This was the first time Saludes had ever placed a bet. Normally, he just silently watched the matches—but this time, not only had he placed a bet, he'd done so in such an unexpected way.
"You little bastard! I'm gonna rip you apart!" Number 38 growled, fury written all over his face.
Renji didn't answer.
Instead, with a thought, he opened up his system interface and selected the Might Guy Character Card.
Ding! Host has successfully activated the Might Guy character card. Usage count reduced by one.
In the next instant, Renji felt a powerful force surge into his body.
At the same time, countless taijutsu techniques flowed into his mind—Leaf Hurricane, Leaf Strong Whirlwind, Body Flicker, Dynamic Entry, the Eight Gates…
All of it—instantly recorded and remembered.
"Now this is interesting," Renji murmured, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he felt his body shifting, strengthening.
"You two, get ready!" a prison guard called out from below the platform. "I now declare this deathmatch officially underway!"
Ding!
The sharp chime of a bell echoed through the prison. The match had begun.
Number 38 charged without hesitation, sprinting toward Renji like a mad bull.
But Renji just stood there, calm and collected, waiting.
"Die!" Number 38 roared as he reached Renji and launched a brutal punch at his head with bone-crushing force.
That was when Renji finally moved.
"Leaf Hurricane!"
His leg lashed out at lightning speed—his foot slamming upward toward Number 38's chin with incredible force.
Just as Number 38's fist was about to smash into Renji's face, his body froze in mid-motion.
Because Renji's kick had already struck.
BAM!
The loud thud of impact rang out as Number 38's body was launched into the air like a rag doll, then came crashing back down onto the platform.
The entire arena fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone—guards, prisoners, even fellow duelists—stared in utter disbelief.
Blood trickled from the corner of Number 38's mouth. His body didn't move. Not even a twitch.
The experienced guards didn't need to check. They could tell at a glance—Number 38 was dead.
Even Saludes up on the second floor furrowed his brow. Clearly, Renji's performance had caught him completely off guard.
This man, Number 38, had been the resident executioner of the first level. A ruthless killer who had taken out five others in a row—and yet, in front of Renji, he hadn't even managed a single strike.
This would need to be reported.
Renji might need to be reclassified.
If he was re-evaluated, there was a real chance he'd be transferred down to one of the lower, more dangerous levels of Impel Down.
Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have successfully defeated your opponent. You have earned 500 Reputation Points.
Seeing that a single kill had netted him 500 points, Renji's heart leapt.
When he'd first seen the cost of unlocking some of the more powerful character cards—tens or even hundreds of thousands of points—he'd worried it might take forever to rack them up.
But now? Now he realized—it wasn't so bad after all.
The only problem was that he was still locked up in Impel Down, stripped of his freedom.
First thing's first—he needed to get out.
"Well, kid, looks like you've got some skill after all," Saludes called out. "Guess you just got lucky today. You—take him back to his cell. Restrain him with cuffs and chains. And assign two Blue Gorillas to guard him alone."
"Hey, Saludes," Renji called up, grinning. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Hm?"
"You said you'd lend me 10,000 Beli, right? Now that I won, with 1:500 odds… I think you owe me five million."