Chapter 523: The Blackbeard Pirates?!

Chapter 523: Chapter 523: The Blackbeard Pirates?!

Listening to Rebecca’s words, Meiser fell silent. Was that really the case?

Then why didn’t she wear something a bit more normal?

"Thank you both for just now," Rebecca said earnestly.

"For what?"

"I really hate that guy called Sparta."

"Oh, that." Luffy waved his hand dismissively and said, "It’s no big deal."

Ultimately, he only acted because the other party attacked first, so it wasn’t a matter worth mentioning.

Rebecca smiled at his words, then looked toward the statue and said, "You two seem quite interested in this statue."

"I just think he looks a bit cool."

"I see." Rebecca nodded and then smiled. "He is a legendary figure, you know~"

"A legendary figure?"

Luffy was a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected this cool-looking middle-aged man to be so famous.

"Yes."

Rebecca, feeling a sense of familiarity with the statue but not knowing why, nodded and said, "He is the strongest gladiator in the history of the Corrida Colosseum—Kyros."

"He participated in three thousand matches and never suffered a single defeat!"

"He’s that strong!"

Luffy’s face was full of astonishment. He really hadn’t expected someone to be able to win three thousand matches in a row.

Meiser, on the other hand, asked curiously, "Unscathed throughout all three thousand matches?"

"Not quite." Rebecca shook her head and said, "He did suffer one injury. It’s said he was cut by someone’s sword."

"That’s still incredibly impressive."

To participate in three thousand matches and only be injured once was enough to prove the man’s strength.

Then, Meiser continued, "Is this uncle participating in this tournament as well?"

"No." Rebecca said, "He vanished."

"Vanished?"

"Mhm. It’s said he disappeared twenty years ago." Rebecca’s eyes grew complicated as she said, "And for some reason, not a single person in this country knows anything about his past. They only know he won three thousand matches."

"What do you mean?"

"Because no one has ever seen him," Rebecca said. "Neither the elderly nor the gladiators—no one has ever seen what he actually looked like. It’s as if... he never existed in the first place."

"How is that possible?" Luffy pointed at the statue beside them and said, "The statue is right here."

"That’s why this statue has become the most mysterious existence in Dressrosa."

No one knew why this statue was here, nor did anyone know how he managed to create such a record, but... his legend had been passed down nonetheless.

"In other words, even you people of Dressrosa don’t know if this legend is true or false?" Meiser asked.

"Yes." Rebecca nodded and said, "No one knows if the legendary gladiator Kyros actually existed. The only thing we can know is the biography beneath this bronze statue."

"However..."

At this point, Rebecca paused for a moment before continuing, "Although no one knows who he really is, no one has ever moved this statue. That is also a very incredible thing."

Normally, a statue of a high-ranking officer of the Donquixote Family should be placed here instead.

But the other party hadn’t done that, which was why Rebecca was also puzzled.

"A legend no one knows about..."

Meiser stared at the statue before him. Instinctively, he felt that something wasn’t quite right.

"Hey, Rebecca." Meiser looked at her and said, "You said he vanished twenty years ago, right?"

"Yes."

"That’s strange." Meiser frowned. "How could a legend active in Dressrosa twenty years ago disappear so quietly?"

"Most importantly... even the memory of his existence vanished..." At this point, Meiser paused slightly before continuing, "This is very unreasonable."

"It is indeed a bit unreasonable," Rebecca said. "But we truly do not know if this person ever existed."

Aside from this bronze statue, they knew nothing.

Listening to Rebecca’s words, Meiser fell into deep thought.

Then, a shocking thought surfaced in Meiser’s mind.

That was... this man named Kyros might have been erased by some Devil Fruit Ability User capable of eliminating one’s presence!

Otherwise, there was simply no way to explain this phenomenon.

"I just don’t know if that Ability User is still in Dressrosa," Meiser thought to himself.

If the person was still in Dressrosa, it meant they were one of Doflamingo’s people!

If that were the case... the others might be in danger!

Thinking of this, Meiser quickly asked, "Rebecca, do you know when Doflamingo became the King?"

Hearing the name Doflamingo, Rebecca instinctively showed an expression of disgust.

If it weren’t for that bastard, how could Grandfather have...

"Hahahaha, let me be the one to answer that question for you." A gladiator walked over to them, grinning as he laughed. "His Majesty the King became king ten years ago!"

"Under his leadership, this country has become more and more prosperous."

"Isn’t that right, Great Gladiator Rebecca~"

At this point, the gladiator showed a mocking expression and continued, "You’re really lucky. That Sparta guy who bullies you all year round actually got beaten into such a state by someone..."

"You must be overjoyed right now, hahahaha."

Hearing the gladiator’s words, the people nearby also burst into laughter, their expressions filled with mockery.

Listening to these people, Rebecca didn’t offer a rebuttal; she merely lowered her head and bit her lip.

Seeing this, the man felt it was a bit dull and shook his head. There was no fun in it if she didn’t fight back.

"I hope you don’t run into us," the gladiator sneered. "Otherwise, today will be the day you die!"

With a cold laugh, the man led his group away.

"Ten years ago..."

Meiser, watching them leave, slowly narrowed his eyes.

In other words, Doflamingo likely seized this country ten years ago when he became one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea.

If that’s the case, then the Devil Fruit Ability User who can erase people’s existence isn’t necessarily one of Doflamingo’s people, since there is a ten-year gap between the events.

Thinking of this, Meiser relaxed.

Then, Meiser noticed the looks from the people around them.

Why were these guys looking at Rebecca with such trash-like glares?

With a hint of confusion, Meiser looked at Rebecca.

This stubborn girl was currently gritting her teeth, looking extremely angry but forced to endure it.

This made Meiser very curious—what on earth had this girl been through?

After thinking for a moment, Meiser said, "Are they always..."

Luffy also looked around with a confused expression, clearly not understanding these people’s thoughts.

"Don’t mind them," Rebecca said through gritted teeth. "I’m used to it."

"Used to it?"

This time, Rebecca didn’t explain further, but the intensity of her teeth-gritting seemed to increase.

After a moment, she said, "I’ve decided."

"Decided what?"

"Today is the last time I’ll participate in a tournament," Rebecca said. "This time, I will seize the Diamond-Diamond Fruit and then... take down Doflamingo!"

"What?" Luffy said in surprise. "You want to take down Mingo?"

Why?

Meiser, on the other hand, looked at Rebecca with a complex expression. Although he didn’t know what kind of grudge this woman held against Doflamingo, he thought... Girl, you’re covered in death flags right now.

Like an old general on a theater stage...

After a moment of silence, Meiser advised, "Rebecca, you should be aware of what kind of people the contestants here today are."

Rebecca clearly understood Meiser’s subtext. Was this concern from a stranger?

To be honest, it had been a long time since she had felt such a thing.

At the thought, a smile appeared on Rebecca’s face.

Then, she said, "I know, but I have a reason why I must do this."

Seeing Rebecca speak so firmly, Meiser didn’t push further.

Everyone has their own fate; one can only wait and see.

"By the way, which block are you guys in?" Rebecca asked, having regained her composure.

"Ah, I’m in Block C."

"I’m in Block D."

The smile that had just appeared on Rebecca’s face stiffened slightly, and she lowered her head. "You’re in Block D too... In that case, we’ll be enemies later."

"Don’t be so tense," Meiser laughed. "Being enemies is something for when we’re on the field, isn’t it?"

"Don’t worry, I won’t make a move on you now."

Rebecca pursed her lips. That wasn’t what she meant.

It was rare to receive concern from a stranger, only for them to become an enemy. That feeling was really...

After a moment of silence, Rebecca said, "I hope we both make it out of the tournament alive."

With that, Rebecca turned and left.

"It seems this woman carries a very heavy burden of fate," Meiser remarked.

He guessed that Doflamingo might have killed this woman’s family when he seized the country; otherwise, she wouldn’t talk about taking down Doflamingo.

However, it didn’t have much to do with him. After all, they were just strangers meeting for the first time.

Shaking his head, Meiser turned to Luffy and said, "Want to go watch the matches?"

Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen a gladiator match yet. He didn’t know if it was as he imagined.

At the same time... he also wanted to know who the winner would be this time.

"Let’s go, let’s have a look." Tossing the matter of Rebecca to the back of his mind, Luffy grinned. "I’m also curious to see what this tournament is like."

With that, Luffy followed Meiser out, heading toward the distant spectator area.

However, as they passed through the shadows, Meiser quietly separated a clone, disguised it as a staff member, and sent it to search for the location of the officers.

The clone nodded and then quickly departed.

Afterward, Meiser caught up to Luffy, who was walking ahead of him, and they headed toward the viewing window together.

Before they even reached it, the two heard the announcer’s deafening roar.

"That Mr. Store wearing the paper mask is simply absurdly strong!" the announcer shouted. "Is there really anyone here who can defeat him?!"

"Hey, sounds like there’s a really strong guy."

Hearing the announcer’s voice, Luffy immediately looked excited and said, "Let’s hurry and see."

With that, Luffy quickly pushed through the crowd and arrived at the large window where they could watch the battle.

Meiser watched helplessly; this guy really was like a monkey.

Shaking his head, Meiser leaped over the crowd and landed steadily beside Luffy.

"Is it that guy?"

Staring at the man below wearing a cardboard box helmet, Meiser narrowed his eyes and said, "He does look quite powerful."

He just didn’t know how strong the man really was.

It was at this moment that the surrounding crowd seemed to realize Mr. Store’s strength and charged toward him with their weapons drawn.

"Everyone, let’s team up! Kill him first, and then we can decide the winner!"

"Yeah!"

Understanding the gravity of the situation, the crowd reached a consensus with extreme speed.

"Heh, numbers mean nothing to me," Mr. Store sneered. "All of you, die!"

In the next moment, Mr. Store launched an attack against the crowd without hesitation.

Clang!

Boom!

With a single strike, he cleared the field!

"Wha...?!"

Watching Mr. Store take down all his enemies in a single blow, the announcer was stunned.

Just how strong was this guy!

"The... the winner of Block A has emerged!" the announcer said, swallowing hard. "This man is Mr. Store!"

"In the blink of an eye, this man crushed the remaining contestants on the field, securing victory with overwhelming dominance!"

"Is this Mr. Store?!"

"Such incredible power!"

"Now, a new hero has appeared in the arena! He is... Mr. Store!!"

"YEAH!!"

Upon hearing the announcer’s words, the audience burst into thunderous cheers, their expressions more excited than the last.

This was exactly the kind of spectacle they loved to see.

"Weehahahaha~"

Listening to the cheers around him, Mr. Store curled his lips in enjoyment. Then, he unhesitatingly pulled off his headgear, letting everyone see his face clearly.

That’s right, he wasn’t some Mr. Store; he was the First Ship Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates, Jesus Burgess!

"This... this is truly shocking!" The announcer looked at Burgess in shock. "I never expected this man would come here to participate in this tournament."

This was the Blackbeard Pirates!

A Four Emperors Crew!

A person like this had actually come here to compete?

This really was... too exciting!

Realizing this was a major scoop, the announcer’s enthusiasm immediately surged.

"That’s right! The winner of Block A is the First Ship Captain of the Four Emperors’ Blackbeard Pirates, Jesus Burgess!"

"Weehahahaha~"

Listening to the announcer’s introduction, Jesus Burgess let out a wide-mouthed laugh.

That’s right, he loved being the center of attention.

Today, he was going to become the champion of this tournament and seize the Diamond-Diamond Fruit!

Weehahahaha!

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