(Vote Result: I choose Captain Gun. He received 3 votes, while the other two received 2 each.)
I turned toward the two remaining participants still destined to fight.
Hina kept her arms crossed despite the chains still restraining her wrists, trying to maintain the dignity expected of a Marine Rear Admiral. Beside her, Galdino already looked half-dead from stress as he imagined the nine remaining rounds of the tournament.
I let out a small sigh.
"I'm not going to be petty."
Both of them immediately looked up at me.
"I'm going to give you a partner for the competition. Consider it compensation for Marianne being removed from the roster."
Galdino's face lit up instantly.
"Ah! Finally, some good news!"
Hina frowned slightly.
"Hina doesn't need anyone to fight."
"Of course," I replied with an amused smile. "And yet you agreed to team up with a bounty hunter less than an hour ago."
The Rear Admiral immediately looked away.
Meanwhile, Marianne watched the scene with relief, but also a certain amount of guilt. Krieg had positioned himself behind her like a colossal bodyguard, his chains slowly undulating around the sixteen-year-old girl.
"Don't worry," I told her as I passed by. "You're staying here."
She nodded quickly.
A few seconds later, blue flames engulfed Hina, Galdino, and me.
—
Hades' coliseum reappeared around us in an explosion of infernal light.
The stands were already roaring with excitement.
Hades appeared in the center of the arena within a pillar of green flames before pointing his microphone toward the new arrivals.
"AND HERE COMES TODAY'S MAIN EVENT!!"
The invisible audience immediately erupted into cheers.
The camera focused on Hina and Galdino.
"The final contestants of the day!"
Then the god of the underworld blinked.
"Huh?"
He turned toward me.
"Didn't you say there were three left?"
I simply smiled.
A shadow formed beside me.
Then a figure slowly emerged.
Captain Gun.
The former pirate who had been transformed into a unique Heartless after his defeat.
His massive body was covered in dark armor, while his yellow eyes glowed calmly.
"There are three now."
Hades' smile widened.
"Oh?"
He observed the trio.
A Marine Rear Admiral.
A wax-wielding bounty hunter.
And a unique Heartless.
"What a strange team we have here…"
He raised his arms toward the stands.
"Since our dear Sora claims they're the most promising participants of the day…"
He tossed the microphone into the air before catching it again.
"I'll let him handle the introductions!"
—
Meanwhile...
The outside world was already in turmoil.
—
Marine Headquarters
The conference room seemed even more tense than during the first broadcast.
Sengoku stared at the screen with an increasingly irritated expression.
"I refuse to believe any of this is real... even our Marines are getting dragged into this mess."
Tsuru let out a sigh.
"And yet it's very real. I just hope she makes it out alive."
Beside her, Kuzan calmly watched the screen.
"Hina really has incredible bad luck. She's good at capturing people, not necessarily defeating them."
Kizaru lazily raised an eyebrow.
"Ooooh... how frightening. I hope her teammate with the number-three hairstyle will be useful."
No one could really tell whether he was serious.
Then their attention shifted to the third member of the team.
Captain Gun.
"So Sora decided to give them a companion?" Garp asked.
"Apparently," Tsuru replied.
Even Sengoku was starting to get a headache.
"As long as it helps Hina survive, that's what matters," Tsuru declared.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
—Somewhere on the Grand Line...Baroque Works
Robin watched the broadcast with a faint, amused smile.
"Ara ara..."
She took a sip of coffee.
"Well, that's unexpected."
Robin stifled a small laugh.
She finally turned her gaze toward Crocodile.
"It seems your agent has become a celebrity."
In the shadows of his office, Crocodile took a long drag from his cigar.
A cloud of smoke slowly escaped his lips.
"That idiot..."
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
"How the hell did he end up in a situation like this?"
Robin's smile widened.
"With Mister 3?"
She set down her cup.
"I imagine he talked at the wrong moment. But it's strange, I don't see Miss Goldenweek."
Even Crocodile seemed to find that explanation believable.
"Yeah... you're probably right about Galdino. As for the girl, we can assume she's dead. She doesn't have the level needed to deal with someone like Sora."
The Desert King lightly shook his head as he thought about the loss of useful agents.
Then he looked at the trio formed by Hina, Galdino, and the Heartless.
For the first time since the broadcast had begun...
He seemed genuinely curious to see how all of this would end.
Back in the coliseum, infernal flames continued to dance around the arena while screens across the world remained focused on the final three participants. Hades floated above the sand with a huge grin, clearly delighted by the spectacle, while Zeus watched from his cloud with more curiosity than during the previous matches.
I crossed my arms before looking at the three contestants.
"I'll let them introduce themselves..."
I paused briefly before smiling.
"But if they talk too much, I may have to kill them on the spot."
The tone was light.
The message, however, was not.
Hina immediately understood what that meant.
Since arriving in the coliseum, she had been quietly thinking of a way to use the worldwide broadcast to pass information about Sora, the Heartless, or even their current location.
That plan had just died.
She probably wouldn't have time to say three sentences before being executed on the spot.
The Rear Admiral clenched her teeth in frustration.
Beside her, Galdino swallowed loudly.
He was sweating so much that his glasses were starting to slide down his nose.
Don't talk too much...
Don't say anything stupid...
Don't mention Baroque Works...
Especially don't mention Baroque Works...
The poor man repeated that phrase in his head over and over.
I made a small gesture with my hand.
"Go ahead."
Hina stepped forward first.
Even in the middle of an infernal coliseum, she maintained a straight and dignified posture. She slightly raised her chin, ignoring the spectators' stares.
"I am Hina."
Her voice echoed throughout the arena.
"Rear Admiral of the Marines."
Then she turned her head directly toward me.
"And Hina will punish you one day."
Part of the audience seemed impressed by her courage.
I simply smiled.
As if she had just announced that she intended to beat me in an arm-wrestling match.
Which only made her more irritated.
"Hina is serious."
"Of course."
I nodded solemnly.
"I don't doubt it for a second."
One of her eyes almost twitched.
Beside her, Galdino timidly raised a hand.
"Uh..."
"I'm Mister 3."
He hesitated for a second.
"An independent bounty hunter."
I slowly turned my head toward him.
The poor man immediately froze.
Then I smiled.
And that only made him sweat even more.
"I'll complete their introductions."
Hades was already laughing in his lodge.
I pointed at Hina.
"The lady here is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user specializing in restraint techniques."
I put on a thoughtful expression.
"She is also a heavy smoker."
"HINA DOES NOT SMOKE THAT MUCH!"
The reaction was immediate.
Even Zeus burst out laughing.
"Not that much?" Hades repeated while clutching his stomach.
"It was literally the first thing I noticed when I saw her."
Hina blushed slightly under the laughter.
"Hina can quit whenever she wants."
"That's exactly what every smoker says," I immediately replied.
This time, even Galdino had to struggle not to laugh.
The Rear Admiral shot him a murderous glare that made him instantly look away.
I then turned toward him.
"As for Mister 3..."
Galdino immediately stiffened.
"He's a bounty hunter who possesses a Devil Fruit that allows him to produce and manipulate wax."
I paused.
"He also specializes in the ancient art of opportunistic survival."
"Hey!"
"And strategic retreat."
"That's different!"
"Very different?"
"Completely different!"
Even Hina had to slightly turn her face away to hide a smile.
For a few seconds, the tension in the coliseum almost seemed to disappear.
Then the massive arena gates slowly began to open.
Galdino's smile vanished instantly.
And Hades' grin widened.
"The introductions are over..."
The god of the underworld raised his microphone.
"It's time to see whether this strange team has what it takes to reach the finals."
The first round was cleared with almost insulting ease.
As soon as the gates opened, the forty Large Bodies and thirty Soldier Heartless charged at the trio just as they had done against every previous contestant.
This time, however...
They were facing a real team.
"Iron Cage!" Hina shouted.
Black bars instantly erupted around several Soldier Heartless, trapping them in tightly packed groups before they could even reach their opponents.
Beside her, Galdino had regained some of his confidence.
"Candle Wall!"
Walls of wax appeared throughout the arena, dividing the Heartless into several smaller groups that were much easier to handle. Some Large Bodies even found themselves trapped in pits of hardened wax, struggling to climb out.
Then...
Captain Gun entered the fight.
The unique Heartless simply smiled before leaping into the middle of the monsters.
Multiple cannons emerged from his body with an ominous clicking sound.
"Fire."
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
Dozens of projectiles were fired simultaneously.
Unlike ordinary weapons, each shot seemed to be guided toward a different target.
The black bullets systematically struck the yellow eyes of the Heartless.
One Large Body fell.
Then another.
Then five more.
Captain Gun then began spinning on himself like a living turret, flooding the arena with a rain of gunfire.
In less than a minute...
The battle was over.
Even Hades remained silent for a few seconds.
"Good grief..."
Zeus burst out laughing from the clouds.
"That one is completely ridiculous!"
—
The second round was even faster.
And far more violent.
The moment twenty Green Requiems, twenty Red Nocturnes, fifty Yellow Operas, and ten Large Bodies appeared, Captain Gun seemed to enter a state of silent fury.
As though something in his Heartless memories still reminded him of his own defeat.
"I think he takes this personally..." Galdino muttered.
The unique Heartless then raised his arms.
Dozens of cannons instantly emerged from his back.
BOOOOOOM.
The sky above the coliseum was literally swallowed by explosions.
The Yellow Operas didn't even have time to gather their lightning.
The Red Nocturnes exploded into bursts of black flames.
The Green Requiems were obliterated before they could cast a single spell.
In less than two minutes...
Every magical enemy had been eliminated.
"Hina is officially impressed..." the Rear Admiral admitted.
Meanwhile, she and Galdino dealt with the remaining ten Large Bodies.
The combination of wax and black bars worked surprisingly well.
The Large Bodies were immobilized before being methodically finished off.
When the last one fell...
People all over the world began to realize something.
This team was nothing like the previous ones.
—
The following rounds unfolded in much the same way.
The stronger the waves became...
The more the trio's coordination improved.
Hina immobilized.
Galdino controlled the battlefield.
Captain Gun destroyed everything that moved.
Even the most skeptical spectators began following their progress with genuine interest.
On screens all around the world, viewers watched the three fighters advance from round to round without ever truly losing control.
When they finally reached the last round...
Silence fell over the coliseum.
Hades slowly rose from his lodge.
A dangerous smile on his face.
"Sora..."
I turned my head toward him.
"Yes?"
The god of the underworld theatrically gestured toward the arena.
"What if you were their final opponent?"
...
Galdino's face turned white.
Completely white.
Even his wax seemed to lose its color.
"E-Excuse me?"
Hina froze.
For the first time since the tournament had begun, a bead of sweat ran down her forehead.
"Hina absolutely refuses that idea."
Hades burst out laughing.
"Look at them!"
"They're already scared to death!"
Galdino immediately turned toward me.
"SORA!"
"REFUSE!"
"REFUSE RIGHT NOW!!"
For the first time since the beginning of the tournament, Galdino wore a genuinely confident smile.
Even Hina seemed to support that request for once.
I looked at Hades for a few seconds.
Then I shook my head.
"No."
The two fighters released such a powerful sigh of relief that it was almost audible throughout the entire coliseum.
Hades pretended to be wounded.
"You refuse?"
"Of course."
I shrugged.
"I'll only act as the final challenger if I find the challenger unpleasant."
I pointed toward the three finalists.
"They don't displease me," I said simply.
Even Zeus seemed to approve of that decision.
"Come on, brother. You've had enough losers today. No need to sabotage these humans' chances."
Hades muttered a few incomprehensible words about the "waste of a perfect show" before snapping his fingers in annoyance.
An explosion of green flames erupted at the center of the arena.
BOOOOOM!
The massive gates at the far end burst open as a monstrous roar echoed throughout the entire coliseum.
"GRAAAAAAAOOOOUUUUUUH!!"
Cerberus finally entered the arena.
The Guardian of the Underworld looked even more imposing than during my own fight. His three heads swept their surroundings aggressively while his black fur seemed to absorb the light itself. Each claw left deep furrows in the sand, and every breath sent red sparks flying between his fangs.
Even the spectators watching through the screens felt a chill run down their spines.
Hina didn't answer immediately, studying the monster with intense concentration.
Then, unexpectedly, the two fighters exchanged a few quick words.
"Vice Admiral Hina," Galdino said in a voice far more serious than usual.
The Marine officer briefly turned her head toward him.
"Hm?"
"Block its legs."
He adjusted his glasses.
"I promise I can finish this in a single move."
Even Hina seemed surprised by his confidence.
"You sound certain."
Galdino gave a nervous smile.
"Big opponents... are actually my specialty."
Before she could respond further, Captain Gun immediately sprang into action.
The unique Heartless didn't seem interested in strategic discussions.
Dozens of cannons emerged from his back and arms with an unsettling metallic clatter.
Then he opened fire.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Dozens of projectiles struck Cerberus' three heads simultaneously.
The shots were almost unnaturally precise.
Left eye.
Right eye.
Snout.
Temple.
Every impact triggered an explosion of darkness that forced the monster backward.
"GRAAAAH!"
One head was struck directly in the eye while another took several shots inside its open mouth.
For the first time since entering the arena, Cerberus lost his balance.
That was exactly the opening Hina had been waiting for.
"Cage Black Ori!"
Dozens of black iron bars erupted instantly from the ground.
The infernal guardian's four legs were caught within a massive metallic framework that snapped shut around him.
Cerberus roared in fury and immediately tried to break free.
The sand exploded around him.
The bars began to bend.
But Galdino was already moving.
"Candle Wave Block!"
A gigantic wave of wax spread around Hina's restraints.
The molten wax seeped into every available gap before hardening like concrete.
The monster's four legs were literally fused together.
Cerberus pulled with all his strength.
The ground cracked.
The bars groaned.
The wax fractured.
But it was enough.
"Now!"
Galdino leapt forward.
Walls of wax erupted in front of two of the monster's three heads.
The jaws slammed shut on them violently.
CRAAAAK!
But the wax structures immediately reformed.
Then again.
And again.
The two heads ended up completely immobilized beneath several tons of hardened wax.
Only the central head remained.
And Galdino had already planned for that.
A massive circular wax structure appeared around Cerberus' open mouth.
It resembled a gigantic doughnut several meters in diameter.
The monster could no longer fully close its jaws.
"Sorry, dog."
"But it's over."
Behind him, a veritable river of molten wax suddenly appeared.
The thick liquid surged forward like a flood, rushing straight toward Cerberus' forced-open mouth.
The guardian of the Underworld immediately realized the danger.
"GRAAAAAAAH!"
The central head thrashed violently, trying to pull free.
The ground cracked beneath its strength.
The black bars groaned.
The wax restraints fractured in several places.
But Hina gritted her teeth and slammed her palms together.
"Hold still!"
More black bars erupted from the arena floor, reinforcing the prison around Cerberus' legs.
At the same time, Captain Gun intensified his assault.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Explosive shots hammered into the beast's eyes and muzzle without pause, forcing the monster to keep its attention on him instead of the restraints.
Cerberus roared in fury as another projectile exploded directly against one of its foreheads.
Meanwhile, the river of wax reached its destination.
Galdino extended both hands.
"Candle Flood!"
The molten wax poured directly into Cerberus' open mouth.
At first, the beast tried to spit it out.
Then it tried to bite through it.
But there was simply too much.
The wax kept coming.
Liters.
Then hundreds of liters.
Then thousands.
The molten substance flooded the monster's throat, filled its jaws, and began hardening layer after layer.
Cerberus' roars rapidly became muffled.
"GRRMMMPH!!"
"MMMMPH!!"
The central head shook wildly while the two trapped heads struggled beneath their mountains of solidified wax.
The spectators watched in stunned silence.
Even Hades slowly lowered his microphone.
"…No way."
Galdino adjusted his glasses.
A gesture that somehow looked incredibly cool despite everything.
"Big targets are my specialty."
The wax continued to harden.
The central head disappeared beneath layer after layer of white material.
The monster's movements grew weaker.
Then slower.
Then—
Nothing.
Silence.
Cerberus stood completely immobilized.
Its legs were restrained.
Its heads buried beneath tons of wax.
Its mouth filled solid.
For several long seconds, nobody moved.
Then Zeus burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"He actually drowned Cerberus in wax!"
Even the King of the Gods looked delighted.
Hades stared at the wax-covered guardian of the Underworld.
Then at Galdino.
Then back at Cerberus.
"…I hate how effective that was."
The crowd exploded into cheers.
Hina blinked several times before looking at her teammate.
"You actually did it."
Galdino immediately lost all of his confidence.
His shoulders slumped.
His knees trembled.
And he collapsed onto the sand.
"WE'RE ALIVE!"
He pointed at Cerberus with a shaking finger.
"IT WORKED!"
"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT WORKED!"
Captain Gun simply tilted his head while smoke rose from his cannons.
As if wondering why everyone was making such a big deal out of it.
High above the arena, Zeus wiped a tear from his eye.
"This is why I love tournaments."
Hades groaned and rubbed his forehead.
"I spend centuries creating terrifying final bosses…"
He pointed accusingly at the wax-covered Cerberus.
"And somebody beats one by force-feeding him wax."
The God of the Underworld sighed dramatically.
"Fine."
A burst of green flames erupted around him.
"The winners of the Phil Cup are—"
He pointed toward Hina, Galdino, and Captain Gun.
"THESE THREE ABSOLUTE WEIRDOS!"
The crowd roared.
And for the first time since arriving in the Underworld...
Hina and Galdino realized they had actually survived Hadès' coliseum.
(Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The rewards for the three participants will be revealed in the next installment. ^^ A big thank you to HarkenEliwood for helping me correct this complicated chapter. I'll be more careful next time. )