Ch. 10- King Punch!
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard, Jupiter, Monkey D. Aika, Kumi, Rita, and Carla © Me
KRAAKK! Bartolomeo (after he finished taking his leak) kicked Hack in the jaw, knocking him out cold!
"I don't believe it!" cried Gyatts. "Hack is down!"
The crowd gasped in complete and utter disbelief, and a woman in the crowd shrieked in horror. From their perch outside the competitors stands, Luffy, Blizzard, Aika, and Kumi are also in shock at what they had witnessed.
"What was that…?" Luffy asked.
"That guy has Devil Fruit powers," Blizzard answered. "Question is, what kind?"
"Unbelievable!" Gyatts shouted. "The Fishman warrior, Hundredth-Degree Hack has been defeated by that scoundrel, Bartolomeo! I was rooting for him, you chicken-headed bastard!"
"Keep your commentary impartial, Gyatts!" said one the woman next to him.
"It's still impossible to determine a winner! Just 24 left standing in Block B!"
"Time to finish this one up!" Bartolomeo declared.
"I see one guy with an attitude about him," Bellamy said, his tongue dangling out of his mouth.
Elizabello was still throwing practice punches while Dagama and whatever is left of his alliance still stood around him.
"Gamahahaha!" Dagama laughed. "They're all just nursing their wounds, now…the time is right! Are you ready, Blue Gilly?!"
SMASH! Blue Gilly landed a crushing kick to Ricky's helmet, smashing the right side to pieces!
"HYAO!" Blue Gilly shouted as Ricky fell down.
"The heavy hitters are going down left and right!" shouted Gyatts. "Even Ricky, the Mysterious Gladiator will not last to see the light of another day, for Blue Gilly has overpowered him!"
"Heh!" Blue Gilly scoffed. "What do you plan to cut with a sword that has no edge, huh, old man?!"
"Ugh…!" Ricky groaned. "I suppose there can be no victory…over the waves of time…!"
The crowd soon burst into cheers.
'…Those…damn detestable cheers…!' Ricky thought, blood seeping through his mask. 'Damn you to hell, Doflamingo!'
"The old man got beat up!" Aika cried, worriedly. "Why doesn't anyone help him?!"
"Aika, this is a coliseum," Blizzard answered. "No one cares if someone gets hurt in this place. Hell, no one cares if anyone dies…to them, all that matters is that they get entertained."
Aika whimpered nervously as she and Kumi sat underneath Blizzard.
"Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea," Kumi muttered.
Back down in the arena, the remaining gladiators in Dagama's alliance are now standing around Elizabello.
"We've thinned out most of the numbers, thanks to Dagama's plan," said one of them, holding a kusarigama. "When the signal goes out, we will dissolve this formation!"
"And then we'll battle to determine the true winner!" added another, a pirate with armor around his arms, but then, BAM! WHACK! THWAM! Gilly jumped out behind them and kicked them right in their backs!
"What the hell?!" questioned one of the gladiators. "Don't break formation! Why did you let them behind you?!"
Then, Dagama began to cut up him and the other gladiators.
"Gamahahaha!" Dagama laughed, swinging his swords left and right.
"GAH!" one of the gladiators screamed. "Dagama, you damned traitor!"
"You've served us well, you faithful lapdogs!" shouted Dagama as Blue Gilly stood next to him. "You'll have your payment later!"
"I was also hired to put down the dogs, you see," Blue Gilly said.
"You too, Blue Gilly?!" questioned one of the gladiators.
"Hey!" Aika shouted from her hiding place. "That's not fair!"
"It doesn't matter if it's not fair, Aika," Blizzard said. "Anything goes here!"
Aika only seethed as she watched the battle.
"It's still not fair…!" she whispered.
"Gamahahahaha!" Dagama laughed as Blue Gilly kept kicking the other gladiators out of the ring. "The weak-minded are destined to be used as pawns on the battlefield! Keep it up, Blue Gilly!"
"HYAO!" Blue Gilly shouted as he kept kicking his powerful legs.
"Dagama, you bastard!" shouted one of the defeated gladiators.
'And now that you're back is turned, Blue Gilly,' Dagama thought as he raised his sword, licking his lips in a bloodthirsty manner, 'you're mine!'
He then lunged for Blue Gilly, who seemed to remain unaware of Dagama until…
"LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU, MISTER LONG LEG MAN!"
Blue Gilly turned around just in the nick of time to see Dagama's blade, and in retaliation, he sent a snapping kick to his chest, sending the rotund man backward!
"GAH!" Dagama cried as he fell out of the ring. "You…bastard…Blue…G…!"
THWOMP! Not long after, a Little Fighting Fish leapt out of the water and bashed Dagama with its horns, sending him flying!
"And there goes Dagama the Tactician!" Gyatts announced, causing the crowd to cheer and roar again.
"Hmph!" Blue Gilly scoffed. "I can't fathom anyone who'd be stupid enough to trust a slimy toad like you in the first place, Dagama!"
He then looked out to the air.
'Who was that that just called out to me, just now?' he thought.
Back at their little perch, Aika heaved a sigh of relief.
"Good," she said. "He heard me."
"Aika, why did you call out to him?" Luffy asked.
"I just…I dunno," Aika answered. "I just thought that I could help, that's all."
"Oh, Aika…" Kumi muttered.
'Aika,' Blizzard thought. 'You're just too innocent to understand how the world works.'
"KYAAAAAAA!" a woman in the audience shrieked. "NOOOOOOO!"
Down in the ring, Bellamy is now on the ground, his left temple bleeding while Bartolomeo stood over him.
"Oh, no!" Gyatts cried. "Our beloved knight, Bellamy, barely clings on! And worse, yet, that damned, detestable Bartolomeo has somehow overpowered him!"
"Not Bellamy!"
"Damn you, Bartolomeo! I hope you rot in Hell for this!"
"Ugh…!" Bellamy groaned. "What the hell…kind of powers are those?! I can't even touch you!"
Bartolomeo only chuckled evilly.
"…Bellamy," Luffy whispered as he sat on Blizzard's back. "…If Aika can do this…then maybe…"
Bellamy groaned as he tried to get to his feet.
"HEY, BELLAMY! HANG IN THERE, MAN!"
The Hyena gasped as he looked up…and saw Luffy, sitting on Blizzard's back.
'Straw Hat…?!' Bellamy thought in surprise. 'You..'
"So, what now, Elizabello?" asked Blue Gilly. "There's nothing more vulnerable than an exposed king…and everyone's been itching to take you down."
It is revealed that Elizabello is now surrounded by a number of fighters left in the ring. Despite that, he grinned.
"Dagama did well," said the Fighting King. "All that's left now is to strike! It wasn't me that formation was protecting…it was you!"
"Huh?" Blue Gilly muttered. "What are you talking about?"
"There's nothing more dangerous than an exposed blade," Elizabello smirked. "Am I wrong, boy?!"
That's when the audience grew a bit nervous.
"H-hey, I just remembered something," said a man in the crowd. "That guy is the King of Prodence, isn't he? Wasn't there some kind of news article a while back about how he punched an enemy fortress to rubble?!"
"What?!" asked a man with tattoos. "Don't be ridiculous! They probably used some kind of cannon or whatever!"
"But…what if it was true…?" asked a teddy bear with a tin drum. "If it is…then wouldn't his punch be strong enough to destroy the stands behind his target?!"
"What?!" asked a woman. "Y-you're kidding, right?! There's just no way!"
"W-wait, what'd they say?!" Luffy questioned, having overheard everything. "What are they talking about?!"
"…Luffy," Blizzard said. "I think we better get Aika and Kumi inside…NOW."
"What?" Aika asked in confusion.
"What'd he say?" Kumi asked.
"An uneasy air settles on the arena," Gyatts started, "as the silent king at the center of the formation moves into action!"
Elizabello reeled his fist back, poised to strike.
"Kiiiing…"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" the crowd screamed as they hurried out of the stands in a frenzy!
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" cried a toy robot.
"Could it be?!" Gyatts questioned. "Was that outlandish tale actually true?!"
"Elizabello is MINE!" shouted a gladiator, attempting to cut the king down with his axe.
"Move it!" Blue Gilly shouted as he lunged forward. "I'll shatter his neck! SHOOTING MOON!"
With Bartolomeo, he is now struggling against Bellamy, whose arm had turned into a spring and sprang out to grab him by the collar of his jacket.
"Agh!" Bartolomeo grunted. "Fuck, you're tough! What is this?! Lemme go!"
"Ha-ha!" Bellamy laughed. "Not likely, chump! Don't ever underestimate the power of a coiled spring!"
All of a sudden, he froze and looked back at Elizabello with a look of dread on his face.
"What the hell is that?!" Bartolomeo questioned.
"HYAO!" Blue Gilly exclaimed as he prepared to kick.
"GET DOWN!" Blizzard shouted as he and Luffy jumped back inside the building through a window with Aika and Kumi in tow.
"What's going on?!" Aika questioned in confusion and fright. "What's happening?!"
"Heck if I know!" Kumi cried.
By now, everyone in the line of Elizabello's punch had gotten out of the stands…but Ricky still lied motionless in the ring.
'…Fighting King of Prodence…!' he thought.
"PUUUUUUNCH!"
KA-WHAM! With a sing thrust of his fist, Elizabello sent a powerful shockwave right into Blue Gilly, as well as many others left in the arena, which is soon reduced to rubble. Even Bellamy was in the line of fire! The only one who tried to withstand it was Ricky, but even he was no match for the awesome might of the punch!
Everyone was forced to shield themselves from the powerful blast of wind that came from the punch. Luffy grunted as he held Aika and Kumi in a protective embrace while Blizzard acted as a windbreaker in case the wall they stood behind didn't hold up.
As quickly as it started…it was over.
Gyatts and his two spokeswomen appeared from their stand and gasped in horror at the sight that lay before them.
"I…I don't believe it!" Gyatts shouted. "What dreadful power! There is no way that anyone has survived this awesome attack in the ring!"
Down in the waters surrounding the arena, Blue Gilly and Bellamy, as well as many others, floated unconsciously.
"No!" cried a woman in the crowd. "Not Bellamy!"
"Impossible!" Gyatts cried. "Championship contenders litter the ground AND the water in disarray!"
Luffy and Blizzard peeked their heads over the wall, the youngsters poking their heads up not long after.
"That was close!" Luffy exclaimed. "What kind of a punch was that?!"
Elizabello panted, his right fist steaming.
"The 138-man battle royale of Block B," Gyatts announced, "ends with a winner hailing from the Kingdom of Prodence…wait…what's this?!"
"Look, down there!" shouted a man in a bowler hat. "There's still one person left! The only reason the rest of the coliseum didn't get blasted was because he blocked it!"
It is revealed to be none other than Bartolomeo, standing in the ring with his fingers crossed…and a barrier stood right in front of him!
"W…what is this…?!" Elizabello questioned in shock.
"Crossing your fingers is a barrier against harm," said Bartolomeo, a wicked grin on his face. "Even little kids know that much!"
Elizabello gasped in surprise.
"I ate the Barrier-Barrier Devil Fruit," Bartolomeo said. "I am a barrier-man!"
"So I was right!" Blizzard said. "He is a Devil Fruit user!"
"Whoa…!" Aika whispered.
"Barrier…CRUSH!" Bartolomeo shouted as he thrust his fist forward, causing the barrier to move forward until it practically bulldozed Elizabello down to the ground, leaving him defeated!
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" shouted the audience.
"No way!" Gyatts cried. "The Fighting King, Elizabello II, is down for the count! I hate to say this, folks, but the winner of Block B is…BARTOLOMEO!"
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the crowd shouted.
"Hahahahahaa!" Bartolomeo laughed, triumphantly. "You can all go to Hell!"
The crowd just kept on jeering him.
"Dammit! Of all the people, why did that fucker have to win?!"
"Hehehe," Bartolomeo chuckled silently. "I've gotta win the Flame-Flame Fruit for a certain someone is why!"
"I don't believe it," Luffy said. "That chicken-head guy won!"
"Yeah…and soon, our fight's coming up," Blizzard added.
XXX
Concurrently, inside the coliseum's crowd-seating concourse…
"WHAT?!" Franky questioned. "YOU, TOO?!"
"SHH~!" shushed the Thunder Soldier. "Keep your voice down!"
"You say you're plotting to destroy the SMILE Factory, too?!" Franky whispered.
"Indeed," the Thunder Soldier answered, softly. "We've been working towards this for quite some time, now!"
"Then tell me where it is!" Franky whispered. "I'll blast it down in seconds flat!"
"No!" the Thunder Soldier protested. "You cannot! We wish to save those who are trapped inside there! Our activity is a crucial piece to overthrowing this country! If you have the fortitude and the conviction to stand up to Doflamingo, then I shall tell you the entire truth about the tragic nation of Dressrosa!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Meant to upload this yesterday, but I got lazy. ^^;
Review, please!