Chapter 8 Block B
The Block B battle royale had begun, and almost immediately, things started to heat up.
"It's the first round, Block B!" Gyatts shouted. "A 138-man battle royale!"
"BOOOOOOOOOOO!" the crowd jeered.
"That's not fair!" shouted a toy wooden giraffe.
"Yeah! Those guys are ganging up on Bellamy!" shouted a woman in the audience.
In the arena, it is revealed that some of the fighters had formed a team consisting of Dagama, Elizabello, Tank Lepanto, and others.
"It looks like right off the bat, we've got an alliance of fighters! Even so, this is a valid strategy, so no rule forbids it! And it seems it's been orchestrated by the round fellow from Prodence, Dagama the Tactician!"
'Gamahaha!' Dagama laughed mentally. 'The Flame-Flame Fruit will come to Prodence when all is said and don! My king, Elizabello II, was born a living was born a living weapon of destruction! The punches he unleashes from his powerful physique are truly astonishing to behold…he left the world speechless when he smashed through the walls of an enemy fortress with one blow! There's just one drawback to this incredible gift of his…'
Behind Dagama, Elizabello is making swift punches in the air…and he seemed to work up quite a sweat.
'In order for him to throw a single punch,' Dagama continued, 'the king requires one full hour of heavy concentration and warming up! It is his treasured heirloom, a weapon that can only be unleashed once in any battle: the King Punch, a weapon devastating enough to sink even one of the Four Emperors, should it land squarely! Finding the right timing to unleash it will decide this battle!'
"Are you ready, Your Majesty?!" asked Dagama.
"Whenever you are!" Elizabello grinned. "Tell me when to strike, Dagama!"
"Of course, Majesty!" Dagama replied. "Remember, you fools! Protect the king and thin out the numbers in the ring! GAMAHAHAHAHA!"
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" the gladiators roared as they charged at one another, clashing with their weapons.
Meanwhile, Bellamy was facing against Tank Lepanto, a huge, muscular man with legs that are disproportionate to the rest of him, a thick black beard and spiky sideburns and his hair styled in a Mohawk. On his left arm is a piece of armor similar to the Burgess wore, linked by an iron chain, around his waist is a kilt with a brown belt fastened with a golden belt buckle and a pair of black boots.
Tank laughed as he swung his spiked ball and chain around, but Bellamy remained stone-faced.
"You sure about this, Lepanto?" asked Bellamy. "A military commander of Dressrosa, aiding another country's tactician?!"
"Ha!" Tank scoffed. "Money dictates everything in the world, Bellamy! Forget ambitious dreams. I'd rather reach down and pick up the gold at my feet!"
"Ha-ha!" Bellamy laughed. "That actually stings!"
Tank grunted as he swung his spiked ball and chain, and then threw it, attempting to hit Bellamy from a distance, but the spring-man used his Devil Fruit powers to leap out of the way, causing the muscular brute to hit several other fighters in the ring and caused to get sent to the edge. As they looked back, they saw an ominous fin emerge from the water surrounding the arena, heading towards them.
"AAAAAAAH! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
"OH, SHIT!"
"I'M GONNA FALL IN!"
Back with Bellamy, he pulled his arm back as it took the form of a spring.
"Spring…DEATH KNOCK!" he shouted as he fired his fist at Tank, who blocked with his arms. "Hahahaha!"
Meanwhile, the 3 gladiators ended up falling into the water with a SPLASH!
"3 disqualified for falling out of bounds!" Gyatts announced. "And of course, in the seawater outside the ring…"
The 3 gladiators turned and screamed upon seeing a group of gigantic fish with bull-like noses, a pair of huge, sharp horns, and a wide, evil grin full of sharp fangs.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" the gladiators screamed/gurgled as they tried to get away.
"…Are the famed coliseum residents!"
Outside of the water, the crowd had started cheering.
"Yeah!"
"Come on! Bring 'em out!"
"A pack of…LITTLE FIGHTING FISH!"
KERSPLASH! The Fighting Fish came jumping out of the water, goring the hapless gladiators that were unfortunate enough to fall into their domain with their huge horns. While some in the audience cover their eyes and scream in horror, others roar and cheer in excitement.
"Hell within the ring!" Gyatts shouted. "Hell outside the ring! No one will leave this ring without at least one injury! That's what the Corrida Coliseum is all about!"
Meanwhile, the lesser gladiators are facing off against Abdullah, a man with a bald, pointed head with black hair in pigtails, and on his forehead are three vertical scars, and he sports a pair of rectangular sunglasses, as well as a pair of purple trousers held up by brown suspenders, and the same kind of armor on his left arm as Tank and Burgess. In his hands are two tridents.
"DULLAAAAA!" Abdullah yelled as he raised his weapons, causing the gladiators to ready themselves for an attack…but then, SLASH! They are suddenly cut down by the blade of a saber, which belonged to none other than Jeet.
Jeet is a tall, tan-skinned man with a stitched scar going down the left side of his face, and black hair under his white turban, as well as a pointy mustache and a scruffy beard. He is clad in a pinstriped bronze yellow tunic with a smoke design at the bottom, and around his neck is a white beaded necklace, as well as a pair of black shoes and a pair of white earrings.
"This is what happens when you turn your backs on m on the battlefield!" Jeet cackled. "Sihahaha!"
"GAAAH!" one of the gladiators screamed in pain as he glared at the two war criminals. "You…COWARDLY BASTARDS!"
Abdullah and Jeet grinned as they tapped their weapons together, the latter's tongue hanging out in a sick manner.
"Cowardly bastards, are we?" Jeet asked, mockingly.
"I like the sound of that," Abdullah spoke.
As the fight raged on, Hack is facing off against a fat gladiator, who held up a giant mace.
"Hundredth Degree" Hack is a yellow-skinned Japanese Soldierfish Fishman with dark brown spots on the top of his head, as well as scales under his eyes. He has sharp teeth and gills on the sides of his neck, and long light blue hair that reaches down to his shoulder blades, as well as a mustache of the same color. He wears a white open gi with a black belt around his waist.
"You're just a filthy Fishman!" the gladiator shouted. "What the hell do you think you're doing in a human tournament, you freak?!" He then got up in Hack's face. "Well?! What do you say to that, Fish-face?! HUH?!"
"…I cannot help but feel pity," Hack answered, his eyes closed.
"What?!" the gladiator questioned.
"You are just a puppet with no words of your own," said Hack as he opened his eyes. "Therefore, let us speak with our fists!"
"Is that right?!" the gladiator asked as he raised his mace. "THEN FINE BY ME!"
Just as he was about to strike the Fishman with the weapon, Hack managed to catch it by one of the spikes with one hand!
"W…what the…?!" the gladiator gasped. "It won't budge!"
"FOUR THOUSAND BRICK FIST!"
POW! Hack thrust his fist forward, creating a powerful shockwave that sent the fat gladiator flying!
"I follow the example of my dear friend, Jimbei, who serves as the hope of our people!" Hack exclaimed. "There must be a good way to create good will through trading fists, and thus, I shall continue to fight!"
Meanwhile, more of the gladiators are falling out of the ring, left and right!
"AGH!" one cried as he fell, his arm bent in an awkward position.
"Dammit! This guy's such a bastard!" another cried, blood seeping out of his jaw.
"What are you fools doing?!" Dagama questioned. "He's just one spindly unarmed freak!"
"It doesn't matter if he's unarmed or spindly!" one of the fighters, a man with spiked boxing gloves. "It's those legs of his! They're like whips of steel!"
The man the gladiators spoke of is Blue Gilly, an extremely tall, well-built man, his long, powerful, slightly hairy legs giving him his advanced height, seeing as how he is a member of the Longleg Tribe. He has a thick neck, a square jaw, a thin nose, and medium-length indigo hair. His attire consists of a dark brown, long-sleeved open shirt with orange spots on it, revealing his chest and abdominals, a pair of black swim briefs, black kneepads with pink Xs on them, bandages wrapped around his ankles, and black shoes with short heels. He also has some sort of tattoo on his left thigh.
"Hyuey!" Blue Gilly exclaimed, gesturing the fighters to come closer. "C'mon, now! Come closer, boys! It's no fun when you keep your distance!"
"Quit your bitching!" shouted Dagama. "He's just a Longleg and nothing more! Just aim for those freakish legs of his!"
"But…we can't!" one of the gladiators cried. "We can't any closer!"
"Yeah!" another shouted. "The way he moves his legs…we can't tell where they'll strike next!"
Blue Gilly chuckled as he moved his legs in a fast pace, making it seem like he had more than 2 of them.
"Hyu, hyu, hyu…HYAO!"
KRACK! Blue Gilly kicked 3 more gladiators with his powerful legs, sending them into the water, and he grinned as he went looking for his next victims.
Concurrently, two random gladiators are clashing with one another, one using his shield to block the other's sword.
"Haa…haa…hey!" said the gladiator with the flat shield. "I don't recognize one of these gladiators!"
"What do you mean?!" asked the one with the shorter plumed helmet.
"Look at him," said the first one, glancing over at a muscular gladiator with a gold helmet and a purple cape with a skull-and-crossbones on the back, facing off against a huge pirate wielding a shield and an axe. "That ridiculously powerful one. Do you know him?"
"No," answered the second one.
"I've been a competitor here at the coliseum for years, but I've never seen that guy before! The coliseum gladiators are all trained to use a sword and shield in the ring, but instead, he only uses the sword! What is he, a samurai from Wano?!"
"Maybe we should test him?"
"Sounds good to me."
With that, the two charged at the taller gladiator, preparing to take him out with the swing of their blades…but then, he seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye!
"Huh?!" they questioned. "H-he vanished!"
"Too slow…"
As they turned around, the gladiator swung his sword, striking them both and knocking them out cold, causing everyone in the crowd to cheer. However…if one were to take a closer look at his sword…they'd see that the blade was dull.
"Did you see that just now?" asked a toy robot. "The gladiator with the skull and bones cape."
"…" An old man with a polka-dot neckerchief sat beside him, his chin in his palm as he watched said, gladiator.
"He's so mighty," said the toy robot, "but I don't ever recall seeing him before."
"….About that," said the old man. "I feel like…I have seen that gladiator before…at least, someone who fought without a shield like that…but…what was his name…?"
Meanwhile, the audience was making a ruckus about something.
"Look at him, down there!"
"What's he doing?! Does he actually want to die?!"
"And why doesn't anyone try to attack him?!"
"We just want him to lose, already!"
In the ring, it is revealed that Bartolomeo is lying near the edge, yawning nonchalantly while chuckling.
XXX
Up in the competitor viewing balcony, Luffy, Hayate, and Cavendish are watching the fight go on.
"Everyone sure hates that chicken guy, huh?" Luffy asked.
"That, there," Cavendish began, "is actually his trademark. It's his tendency to consume others with rage that earned him the nickname Bartolomeo 'the Cannibal'."
"Sounds pretty mean," Luffy said.
"He's just another one of those insolent rookies," said Cavendish.
"Well, I think it's neat that we're seeing all these guys fight at once! Shishishi!" Luffy mused. "By the way, what did your say your name was, again?"
"It's Cavendish," Cavendish answered, flipping through a stack of papers.
"What are you doing with all those papers, Cabbage?" Luffy asked.
"It's Cavendish," Cavendish repeated, "and I'm just going through this stack of wanted posters of the Worst Generation. I think it's time I get new ones."
"Why?" Luffy asked.
"Just look!" Cavendish replied, holding up Luffy's wanted poster…which is torn up with stab marks. "Mine are almost illegible due to all the stabbing!"
"Man this guy grudge against us mere because we took away all of his Attention thought Hayate"
"Um…Cabbage?" Luffy asked. "Why don't you just forgive them?"
"Out of the question," Cavendish replied. "Straw Hat Luffy Wolf Fang Hayate and the rest of those Worst Generation fools deserve the death penalty. Given the prize in this tourney, I'd counted on at least one of them showing up to compete…"
Luffy gulped nervously at this.
"However, as you saw with Burgess, it's possible to still hide your face here," Cavendish concluded. "I guess it would be faster to just wait for them to win."
"Uh…yeah," Luffy answered, chuckling nervously.
Suddenly, they heard loud, heavy footfalls coming from behind them, so heavy that the floor seemed to quake with every step.
"Whoa!" Luffy cried.
"W-w-what's happening?!" Hayate asked.
"Oh, my, is this the observation area?"
The group turned to see none other than Don Chinjao approaching, stroking his long beard with his fingers.
"Y…you're…!" Cavendish gasped, but as Chinjao got close, the group of three ended up getting nearly squished between the walls and the old man's giant belly.
"We have a good view of the fight from here," Chinjao mused.
"Ah I gonna get squish!" Hayate added, his head stuck in between Luffy's and Cavendish's head.
"Too…too snug…!" Luffy complained.
"Oh!" Chinjao exclaimed as he backed up, allowing the group to breathe and move freely. "Pardon me."
"Who are you, anyway, old man?!" Luffy asked.
"…By the way," Chinjao started, "how is Garp and Valant doing these days…Straw Hat Luffy and Wolf Fang Hayate?"
"Huh?" Luffy muttered. "You know my Grandpa, old man?"
"Idiot!" Said Hayate. "that was supposed to be a secret."
"OH, CRAP!" Luffy cried.
"WHAT DID THEY CALL YOU?!" Cavendish questioned.
"Way to go, Luffy!" Hayate shouted. "You just blew our cover!"
"W-w-wait!" Luffy stammered. "My name's not Luffy! It's Lucy! Read the back of my shirt!"
"Garp nearly killed me, many years ago," Chinjao started, "so I've decided…that I would extend my hatred to at least 3 generations!"
"WHAT?!" Luffy questioned in shock.
