Soon, Jinx and the others arrived inside the arena on Amazon Lily that looked just like a birthday cake. The surrounding stands were packed with women shouting at the top of their lungs, while inside the ring, two lightly dressed Kuja warriors were locked in combat.
Beside the ring stood a huge signboard displaying the names of the two fighters currently battling, along with their respective odds.
Given Marigold status on Amazon Lily, cutting in line was naturally very easy, but no matter how much privilege one had, they still had to wait for the match in front of them to finish.
"As expected, even though they both know Haki, the strength of these two on the stage isn't even as good as some pirates who don't know Haki, meow."
╮(●ω●)╭
Suika Meow wiped the wine from the corner of her mouth and spread her paws in disappointment.
Kaido Meow, who had barely spoken until now, also nodded in agreement.
"Still, opponents like this are actually pretty suitable for Shirahoshi. Her Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu can make up for her lack in Armament Haki…
the only pity is that there no liquid nearby. If a real fight breaks out, she might be at a bit of a disadvantage, meow."
"It okay! I—I'll do my best!"
Shirahoshi puffed up her "small" face, clenched her fists, and cheered herself on.
The little blue cat squatting on her head flicked its tail and said, "Relax. If we take the two humans on the ring as the standard, as long as you don't make any major mistakes, your chances of winning are still pretty high, meow."
Marigold, listening from the side, felt extremely uncomfortable. Her Kuja warriors were being completely underestimated, so she was holding back a surge of anger, planning to properly restore the Kuja tribe reputation on the ring later…
She just didn't seem to have considered what she would do if she couldn't beat Jinx.
So the moment the fight on the ring ended, Marigold impatiently dragged Jinx and jumped up onto the stage.
"It Lady Marigold!"
"Her opponent… could it be that adorable little blue cat?"
"That a Mink Tribe member! A guest Snake Princess brought back today!"
The surrounding audience immediately erupted into noisy gasps. However, because of Kuja Island isolation, most people not only had no idea who Jinx was, they had never even heard of the "Mink Tribe."
Fortunately, the Kuja arena had a dedicated host—more precisely, an announcer. After her introduction, everyone finally gained a basic understanding of Jinx—
Another subordinate of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
"Who are you calling that idiot Sherwin subordinate?!"
∑(=`Д=)
Hearing the announcement, Jinx curled her lips in irritation.
Then she shot a glance at the opposing Marigold, who was standing ready for battle, and her mood worsened as she flicked her tail unhappily.
"No weapon? Then it'd be awkward for me to use one too, meow…"
"No, there no such restriction here. You're free to use a weapon," Marigold replied decisively. "Even without a weapon, my strength won't be reduced!"
"In that case…"
The little mad cat had no interest in deliberately pursuing fairness. Since the rules allowed it, she decisively drew her bang-bang gun and spun it twice in her hand.
"Then I won't hold back, meow~"
After all, this was only an arena match. Jinx wasn't crazy enough to pull out a rocket launcher in a fight like this. The bullets she used weren't specially made explosive rounds either, but rubber bullets she normally used when sparring with the other cats.
Even so, once coated with Armament Haki, their power was nothing to underestimate.
"Come on—say hello to my good friend first!"
(=`=)l▄︻╤
The little mad cat raised her hand and unloaded a full burst straight at Marigold. Against such a large opponent, she didn't even need to aim carefully.
Yet Marigold displayed agility and flexibility completely at odds with her size.
Her round, bulky body twisted like a python that had just finished a meal—deeply incongruous, yet effortlessly dodging every single bullet Jinx fired.
At the same time as she evaded the shots, she slithered forward like a snake, closing the distance in a swift S-shaped path.
"Take this!"
Once close, Marigold lifted her fist and smashed it toward Jinx, with no intention of holding back.
"Watch out!"
"Get out of the way!"
The Kuja warriors, unfamiliar with the true strength of the Felynes, still couldn't fully suppress their maternal instinct toward cute little animals. They cried out in alarm, loudly warning her.
Amid their shouts, Jinx lightly tapped the ground with her feet and nimbly avoided Marigold punch. As she leapt away, she casually tossed a Chewfire Grenade down at Marigold feet.
"Boom—!"
The tremendous thrust from the explosion sent Marigold—over four meters tall and solidly built—sprawling head over heels.
However, Jinx had only used the weakest basic model. Combined with the fact that Marigold herself possessed flame-based techniques and had considerable resistance to high temperatures, the blast merely knocked her down and caused no real damage.
Yet outside the arena, the spectators who had originally been leaning toward Jinx began to boo.
If it had only been firearms, the Kuja warriors would not have minded much. In their eyes, guns were no different from the bows they used themselves. But once bombs entered the picture, that was another matter entirely.
Although their strength was often looked down upon by the cats, the Kuja tribe devotion to martial prowess was very real.
In fact, their strength was not bad at all. It was, after all, a nation where everyone could use Haki. It was just that, compared to the Felynes who all seemed to be carrying protagonist-level templates, mass-produced Haki appeared rather ordinary.
So even though their maternal instincts had been stirred by the cat cute appearances, the moment they saw Jinx shamelessly pull out a bomb, these women instantly switched sides and voiced their dissatisfaction with boos at the little mad cat.
"Hmph, you said I could use whatever weapons I wanted, and now you can't stand it? Saying one thing and doing another—no wonder Klee Meow and the others don't like you, meow!"
(=`へ=)
Jinx curled her lip disdainfully, but she had no intention of using the Fire-chewer grenade again. She even put away the Bang-Bang Gun.
With the little mad cat personality, she naturally did not care about what others thought of her. In fact, the louder the audience booed, the more delighted she became when using bombs…
Jinx liked that look people gave her—the kind where they couldn't stand her, yet could do absolutely nothing about it.
If it were just Jinx alone, or a life-and-death battle with an enemy, the moment she heard those boos, the little mad cat would have pulled out the Reaper Missile instead of putting away her Bang-Bang Gun.
But this was an arena match on the bad women turf—the kind of women Klee Meow and the others disliked—and with Shirahoshi, that "tagalong little sister," watching from the side. So, for once, the little mad cat actually developed a tiny bit of standards for how the fight should go…
She was going to make these women who said one thing and did another lose in a way that left them completely convinced, meow!
Besides, Jinx was a Bomb-Bomb Fruit user. Even without the Fire-chewer grenades, she could still cause explosions all the same.
After putting away her weapons, the little blue cat raised her paw and, from a great distance, swung her fluffy little fist toward Marigold—
"Felyne Karate · Air Burst, meow!"