The rules were the same as the rules used during the Dressrosa arc's struggle for the Flame-Flame Fruit.
The contestants were divided into four waves. In each wave, the last person left standing in the arena would advance.
In the end, the four who advanced would fight in a chaotic free-for-all, and the winner would become the champion of this match and obtain this Devil Fruit!
The contestants in the first wave were: Crocodile, Vasco Shot, and several assorted strong contenders and cannon fodder.
The contestants in the second wave were: Pekoms and his three underlings, along with several assorted strong contenders and cannon fodder.
The contestants in the third wave were: Catarina Devon, along with several assorted strong contenders and cannon fodder.
The contestants in the fourth wave were: Moria, the Happo Navy, and the others, along with several assorted strong contenders and cannon fodder.
Ahem. The other contestants had been decided by drawing lots, but Pekoms's group had been given a little backstage help by Baron Tamago.
After all, he was one of their own pirates. No matter how one looked at it, they could not let him lose face.
As for those other strong small fries…
Pekoms was a Mink who had eaten the Ancient Zoan Dire Wolf Fruit. If he could not even defeat those people, then Baron Tamago truly had no way to help him!
And so, amid the cheers of everyone in the audience stands, the first wave of matches officially began!
The on-site commentator was a professional specially hired from Dressrosa, and he controlled the heated atmosphere very well.
And just as Crocodile, Vasco Shot, and the others entered the arena, in the Golden Palace next door…
After nearly a month of meditation training, the S-Cells inside Roy's body had finally divided to an extremely large quantity, and he officially began charging toward the first stage of Super Saiyan!
Super Saiyan 1 was the most classic Super Saiyan form. Its combat power was fifty times the normal state.
Moreover, there was an extremely large threshold restricting the change before and after transforming into a Super Saiyan.
Before a Saiyan transformed into a Super Saiyan, no matter what degree their power reached, there would always be a point that firmly pressed them down.
Some Saiyans could increase their power however much they wanted, but they still could not break through into Super Saiyan, let alone Super Saiyan 2 or Super Saiyan 3 afterward.
Only after breaking through the Super Saiyan realm and becoming a Super Saiyan could one truly be considered to have crossed that decisive threshold!
And once one successfully transformed into a Super Saiyan, then as long as one continued training and increasing one's power, transforming into Super Saiyan 2 and Super Saiyan 3 would become a natural progression. It was only a matter of time.
And now, Roy was officially attacking the Super Saiyan realm. That meant that becoming Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3, and even Super Saiyan 4 in the future would not be a problem!
Powerful combat strength? Roy satisfied that condition.
A steady mind? Roy had trained enough.
S-Cells? They had already accumulated to an extremely massive quantity.
What reason did Roy have to fail this breakthrough?
On the arena stage, Crocodile and Vasco Shot, who were currently clashing, suddenly stiffened.
Aside from them, the movements of the other powerful contestants in the arena also froze.
Just now, they had suddenly felt an extremely terrifying aura rise into the sky above Raijin Island!
Although it had only lasted for an instant, every one of them had clearly sensed it.
"Hey, hey, is that for real?! How can there be an aura like that? It makes me unable to muster even the slightest desire to fight."
The cigar in Crocodile's mouth trembled, and three drops of cold sweat ran down his face.
Vasco Shot, who stood opposite him, was not reacting much better.
"On this island, the only one who could possess such might would be… the Thunder Emperor, right?"
Crocodile bit down on his cigar unwillingly. That aura from just now had made him feel the vast difference between them in an instant.
It was like the natural chasm between a lion and an ant!
But this did not shake Crocodile's resolve in the slightest. For someone who had always aimed to become Pirate King, being scared off by nothing more than an aura before even meeting the man would be far too pathetic!
"So strong. Is that the aura emitted by the current strongest man in the world? It's several times more terrifying than Mama!"
Cold sweat poured down Perospero's forehead. He had finally clearly sensed the Thunder Emperor's terror. No wonder Mama, who had such a strong desire for control and was so domineering, had backed down when facing the Thunder Emperor.
He even vaguely felt that Mama and the Thunder Emperor might no longer be on the same level at all!
"Phew. So this is Super Saiyan?"
With a flash of lightning, Roy's pupils turned light green, his hair and eyebrows turned golden, and all of his hair except his bangs stood upright. Golden flame-like aura burned around him as he felt the surging power within his body, and he could not help letting out a long breath.
"This kind of power amplification really is intoxicating!"
Roy was slightly entranced by the power increase brought by Super Saiyan, but he quickly steadied himself again.
"Next, I need to stabilize this state. After that comes Full-Power Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, and Super Saiyan 3…"
After firming his conviction, Roy did not immerse himself in the joy of breaking through to Super Saiyan. He began training once again.
On the arena's side, Roy's aura had only affected them slightly, and then an even more intense battle erupted!
Vasco Shot fought with his sharp spear techniques, while Crocodile developed the Suna Suna no Mi's abilities to the fullest. The two went back and forth, engaging in an intense battle between mighty foes, making the people in the audience stands burn with excitement and shout that it was satisfying to watch!
As for the other powerful small fries, they were quickly knocked out of the arena during the clash between the two.
The two fell into a tug-of-war, fighting from daytime until dusk. In the end, Crocodile still relied on the powerful Logia abilities of the Suna Suna no Mi to blast Vasco Shot, who had fought all day and drunk far too much alcohol until his head was dizzy, out of the arena.
With that, the contestant who advanced from the first wave was the Sand Crocodile, Crocodile!
The first day of matches came to an end while all the spectators were still craving more.
The second match would be held three days later.
Baron Tamago was very shrewd. He would not be like Doflamingo and cram all the matches into a single day.
That would be far too sloppy, and there would be no way to maximize the benefits of the event.
Like this, holding one match every two or three days…
During that period, the spectators staying on the island and the personnel from all sides would greatly stimulate Raijin Island's consumption.
There was no reason not to earn money that was sitting right in front of them.
After the match ended, Crocodile dragged his exhausted body back to the lounge specially provided for the contestants.
As for Vasco Shot, he lay collapsed on the ground and used the last bit of clarity remaining in his mind to ponder:
"Ma… My plan to exchange the Devil Fruit for fine wine has gone up in smoke. Does that mean the only way to get that kind of fine wine is to join the Thunder God Pirates?"
(End of Chapter)
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