Dressrosa — The Corrida Colosseum.
"Kill him! Kill him!"
"Mr. Store, take them all down!"
The stands erupted in a bloodthirsty frenzy, the roar of countless spectators vibrating through the very foundations of the arena. On the stage, the battle for Block A raged on. More than two-thirds of the participants had already been rendered unconscious, broken and unable to fight.
"Wiiihahaha!"
A burly man with purple hair and a matching beard stood tall amidst the carnage. He wore a golden "Champion" belt around his waist and a simple paper bag over his head with two eye holes cut out, a crude attempt to mask his identity. He thrust his arms into the air, letting out a triumphant, booming laugh.
Dozens of contestants lay scattered around him in various states of injury or death, every single one of them a victim of this man's overwhelming power.
On the opposite side of the ring stood another formidable figure. Towering and broad-shouldered, this man was clad in primitive furs and wore a sealed iron helmet adorned with bull horns. He gripped a polished steel spear as thick as a man's arm. Around him, dozens more lay incapacitated. Most suffered from shattered bones, but a few bore grisly, fist-sized holes clear through their torsos, the unmistakable marks of a piercing weapon.
Between these two, nearly a hundred participants of Block A had been eliminated.
"That laugh... I recognize you now, you bastard!"
The fur-clad warrior glared at the purple-haired man, his voice dripping with murderous intent. Without another word, he leveled his steel spear and charged.
Up in the announcer's booth, Gatz screamed into his Den Den Mushi, "Look at that! The contestant known as The Hunter is charging straight for Mr. Store! We're about to see a clash of titans!"
"Wiiihahaha! So I'm the target, eh?" the man known as "Mr. Store" laughed, though a thought flickered through his mind: Wait, that spear looks awfully familiar...
"Go to hell, you son of a bitch!"
The Hunter reached his opponent and thrust the heavy steel spear with blinding speed. The weapon whistled, emitting a sharp, piercing shriek as it tore through the air.
"I'm not dying today! Hahaha!"
Mr. Store laughed fearlessly. He tucked his arm and drove his elbow forward in a brutal counter.
BOOM!
The perforated steel elbow pad collided with the head of the massive spear. The resulting shockwave slammed into the floor, causing the stone beneath their feet to shatter instantly, sending a web of cracks radiating ten meters outward. A violent gust of pressurized air exploded from the point of impact, physically blowing the remaining stragglers clean off the stage.
"W-What incredible power!" Gatz shouted, his voice cracking with excitement. "Unbelievable! Aside from Mr. Store and The Hunter, every other contestant has been knocked out of the ring!"
"Move!"
The Hunter suddenly retracted his spear and lashed out with a lightning-fast roundhouse kick aimed at Mr. Store's head.
With a heavy thud, the force of the kick shredded the paper bag covering Mr. Store's face. The man himself was sent skidding twenty meters back, rolling across the stone before catching himself at the very edge of the ring.
With the bag gone, his true face was revealed to the world. His identity could no longer be hidden.
The cheers of the crowd faltered, replaced by a stunned, heavy silence. Spectators and waiting contestants alike stared in shock at the man previously known as Mr. Store.
"T-This is... I don't believe it! We know that face!" Gatz's voice trembled with realization. "An entrant of this caliber?! It's the man whose name makes children stop crying in the middle of the night, the Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates' First Ship: Jesus Burgess!!!"
"That guy..."
"The Blackbeard Pirates!"
"Why is a monster like him competing here?"
"And who is the guy who just kicked him? Is he a monster too?"
The surviving contestants from other blocks watched with bated breath, their eyes glued to the two figures on the stage.
"You damn brat... I'm going to slaughter you!" Burgess growled as he scrambled to his feet, wiping a smear of blood from his lip. He glared at The Hunter before breaking into a full sprint.
"If you think you can do it, then try!" The Hunter replied in a hollow, metallic voice. He spun his steel spear with such velocity it acted like a high-speed fan, kicking up a whirlwind of dust.
"Shockwave Elbow!!!"
Burgess roared. He leaped into the air, his right arm vibrating so fast it let out an audible hum. Wisps of white steam rose from his skin as ripples of compressed air shimmered around his elbow.
"Not good!"
The Hunter's instincts flared. Recognizing the danger, he crossed his spear in front of him to block.
BOOM—!
The elbow strike slammed into the steel shaft with a deafening crack. The entire Colosseum shuddered as if struck by an earthquake. A hurricane-force wind swept through the stands, forcing the audience to shield their eyes.
"What insane power!!!" Gatz screamed, clinging to his desk as the booth swayed. "The entire arena is shaking!"
On the stage, the ground beneath The Hunter gave way. His feet sank into the crumbling stone as he held his ground against the impossible weight of Burgess's strike. However, the toll was evident; his internal organs churned from the shock, and he fought back the urge to cough up blood.
"Take another one!"
Sensing his opponent's faltering breath, Burgess seized the opening. He drove his elbow forward again, striking like a great spear aimed directly at The Hunter's head.
CRASH!
The iron bull-horn helmet shattered into jagged shards. The Hunter was sent flying backward, skipping across the arena floor and plowing a shallow, fifteen-meter trench into the stone.
"Wiiihahaha!" Burgess threw his arms up, grinning widely at his success.
With the helmet gone, the Hunter's face was finally exposed: a rugged, square-jawed countenance featuring a distinctive blue bird tattoo on his right cheek.
"Mercy! Today's entrants are beyond anything we imagined!" Gatz's voice reached a fever pitch. "He is the great pirate with a bounty of 620.6 million Berries, the man who has survived being hunted by the Blackbeard Pirates themselves! The Captain of the Totem Pirates: 'Totem Warrior' Kohl Goff!!!"
"You... the bastard with the mangy bird tattoo. So it's you!" Burgess's grin vanished, replaced by a cold, irritated scowl.
He had fought a massive battle against this man four months ago. He never expected to run into him again here.