When the massive Gryphon, occupying nearly a quarter of the colossal arena, revealed itself, jaws dropped across the stadium and among those watching via the visual Den Den Mushi on the streets of Gran Tesoro.
The once-sluggish Queen had transformed into something truly terrifying.
"An Ancient Zoan, just like Jack the Drought: the Gryphon Fruit."
Ivalis stood on another street, staring at the giant screen. "The legendary monster said to summon tornadoes with a single flap of its wings."
"No... it's impossible. That kind of mythical beast..." Ideo and the others were too terrified to form a complete sentence, staring slack-jawed at the behemoth before them.
Queen's lion legs and eagle talons braced against the ground before the pair of wings on his back suddenly beat the air. After ascending dozens of meters above the arena, Queen performed a full 360-degree aerial spin and dove straight down.
Violent gales encased his body in a shroud of pale green wind pressure. It was impossible to imagine the result of such an attack connecting.
"That bastard! Is he trying to kill us all?"
"Should we jump into the golden pool?"
Some looked toward the golden pools surrounding the arena, but jumping in meant instant disqualification.
Seeing Queen closing in, many of the faint-hearted abandoned all hope for the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and dove into the liquid gold.
Tesoro, watching the match with his legs crossed, clicked his tongue in disdain. He pressed a red button on his remote and subtly activated his powers.
No one noticed that the people falling into the golden pool were instantly transformed into gold statues. A massive hatch opened at the bottom of the pool, sucking them all inside.
"Hmph. Looks like the entertainment city is about to get a few more toy slaves," Tesoro sneered.
BOOM!!!!
The massive body of the Gryphon slammed into the arena. The sheer force of the impact caused the golden liquid in the pools to erupt ten meters high, splashing onto the surrounding spectators.
As the aftershocks faded, everyone saw a jagged, giant crater in the center of the Golden Colosseum. The once-monstrous Gryphon had reverted to human form. No longer violent, Queen sat lazily cross-legged in the center of the pit.
Around him, whether they remained on the stage or floated in the gold pool, not a single person remained conscious. Every single one was K.O.'d.
"Block A! The winner is decided!!!"
Diamante shouted into his mic, pointing his index finger toward the arena. "The victor advancing is one of the Three All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates—Queen the Storm!!!"
Although many spectators felt cheated by how quickly the match ended, they were nonetheless awestruck by the power Storm had displayed, chanting his name at the top of their lungs.
"Kaido's All-Stars... they really are strong."
Ace gritted his teeth. "I can't let Pops' ability fall into anyone's hands."
As the golden passage rose again, Queen strolled back from the arena, the gazes directed at him now filled with far more dread than before.
"Block B contestants, get ready!" a low-level grunt of the Donquixote Alliance shouted.
"Alright! My turn!"
Ace was bursting with fighting spirit. "Break through the preliminaries, reach the finals, and take back Pops' power in one go."
As he spoke, Ace glanced toward a far corner on the right. Blackbeard Teach was sitting there, munching on a cherry pie. He caught Ace's gaze and smirked back.
"Teach, you're never getting Pops' power." Ace spat out the warning and turned toward the arena with indignation.
"Surururu~"
A strange laugh echoed as Tanaka emerged from the floor of the VIP lounge, handing a list to Alucard. "Alucard-sama, I forgot to give you this. This is the list of contestants for the four blocks."
Alucard took the list and scanned it for names he recognized.
Block A: Queen the Storm.
Block B: "Fire Fist" Ace.
Block C: Weevil.
Block D: Marshall D. Teach.
As long as someone like Luffy didn't disrupt things, these four would be the ones fighting for the fruit.
Although it was publicly claimed that the blocks were randomized, who would actually believe that?
Beep— Beep— Beep—
Suddenly, a piercing alarm blared. Tanaka jumped in fright, his shrill voice shrieking, "What is it? What happened? What's going on?"
Pere pere pere…
The transponder Den Den Mushi in Tanaka's suit chirped. He pulled it out to listen as a subordinate reported from the other end: "Tanaka-san! Tanaka-san! All surveillance visual Den Den Mushi feeds have been cut! We suspect someone has sabotaged the host Den Den Mushi in the Main Control Room!"
"Wh-What!?"
Tanaka was horrified and looked toward the ceiling.
The luxury suite where Alucard was staying wasn't actually the top floor; there was one more level above it, the Main Control Room that managed every visual Den Den Mushi feed in Gran Tesoro.
"Forgive me, I must go!"
Leaving behind a frantic excuse, Tanaka hurried off to investigate.
Alucard remained cross-legged, sipping his world-class red wine while watching the arena. After a moment, he muttered to himself:
"You've made some progress, Straw Hat Luffy."
Just as he said it, Alucard's expression shifted slightly. "Hm? It's not him?"
…
The Den Den Mushi screens at the top of the arena stands all turned to static. Tesoro stood up abruptly from his throne, shocked. "What's happening?"
"Tesoro-sama, it seems the Master Den Den Mushi has been sabotaged!" Carina rushed over to report.
The battle in Block B was also affected. Ace, currently ablaze and dominating the field, heard the commotion. He looked around in confusion. "What? What's going on?"
In that moment of distraction, Ace was careless. A fighter proficient in Haki landed a heavy blow to his stomach. Caught off guard, Ace was sent flying backward, nearly tumbling into the water.
"Crap!"
Ace yelled, digging his feet deep into the ground to create friction. He managed to stop just in time, narrowly avoiding a tragic disqualification.
"Whoa, whoa, Ace. If you lose like that, you'll really let down my expectations! Zehahahaha!" Teach laughed loudly from the window where Ace had stood moments before.
Ace had no idea that his little brother had just "screwed" him over yet again.