Chapter 525: Taunts and Counter-Taunts

Chapter 525: Chapter 525: Taunts and Counter-Taunts

Watching the wounded men groaning in agony before him, Luffy remarked, "That Champion guy really hits hard."

If those fighters hadn’t been fairly tough, that single blow might have killed them all outright.

"They were all ganging up on him at once, so isn’t it only natural that he’d hit back hard?" Meiser said.

He saw nothing wrong with it. After all... everyone had been attacking him simultaneously!

In a situation like that, holding back would have been pure foolishness.

"True enough."

Just then, a man walked over and spoke with an amused drawl. "Ha, I never expected to run into you here."

"Huh?"

Hearing the voice, Luffy glanced quizzically at Bellamy. What was this guy rambling about?

"My eyes aren’t just for decoration." Bellamy grinned broadly. "No matter how you disguise yourself, I’d recognize that bastard face of yours anywhere."

As he spoke, Bellamy raised a hand to touch the spot where Luffy had once punched him.

Though it didn’t hurt anymore, he could never forget the feeling from that day!

"Y-You’re...!"

Luffy finally recognized Bellamy, his expression shifting. "You’re the guy who beat up the diamond-head uncle! I remember, your name was... Marlow, right?!"

"It’s Bellamy!" Bellamy corrected him.

He didn’t take offense at the mispronounced name; after all, he was no longer the immature pirate he used to be.

"Oh, Bellamy." Luffy nodded, then asked, "What is a guy like you doing here?"

"I was never a resident of Jaya in the first place. I can go wherever I please, can’t I?"

"As for why I’m here..."

Bellamy paused slightly, then pointed at the Clown tattoo on his body, grinning wide. "Doflamingo is the pirate I’ve idolized ever since I was a kid. So I came here to take the championship!"

As long as he won this tournament, he would become an officer of the Donquixote Family!

When that day came... his dream would finally be realized!

Hahaha!

"You’re after the Diamond-Diamond Fruit too?" Luffy frowned. "I won’t let you have the Diamond-Diamond Fruit."

"Doesn’t matter to me. I’ll just beat everyone in the ring and take the championship anyway," Bellamy laughed.

Watching the brimming confidence on Bellamy’s face, Meiser slowly narrowed his eyes.

If he remembered correctly, this fellow was the Spring-Spring Fruit Ability User that Luffy and the others had defeated before heading to Sky Island.

Where did this guy get the confidence to speak so boldly?

Could it be... that he had achieved a Devil Fruit Ability Awakening?

Bellamy paid no heed to Meiser’s gaze, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on Luffy from beginning to end.

"Straw Hat Boy, I’m not the man I used to be," Bellamy continued. "That Sky Island you once talked about—I went there too!"

"Sky Island...?"

"Yeah." Bellamy nodded. "Though I lost my crew, my perspective of the world was completely turned upside down."

After what happened on Sky Island, Bellamy came to realize just how ridiculous and ignorant his past self had been.

The world was vast, yet he had stayed on Jaya like a frog at the bottom of a well. How... utterly ironic.

So from that moment on, he resolved to forge a brand-new way of living!

And becoming an officer under Doflamingo was his very first step toward the New World!

Thinking of this, Bellamy let out a wide grin.

Seeing Bellamy’s smile, Luffy’s face darkened. "Hey, you didn’t do anything to those people, did you?"

"Heh, who knows?"

Giving Luffy another grin, Bellamy turned toward the exit and added, "Anyway... I don’t hate you anymore."

After everything he had been through, Bellamy held no lingering grudge against Luffy.

After all... in a sense, Luffy had beaten some sense into him.

Pausing his steps briefly, Bellamy spoke without looking back: "A massive upheaval is about to sweep through this era!"

"To ride the giant waves that are bound to come, I will board Doflamingo’s ship!"

"I... will never laugh at you again."

With that, Bellamy walked away without another glance.

Luffy said nothing more, simply watching the man’s departing figure.

"Who was that guy?" Meiser asked at the right moment.

"Just... an opponent I ran into in the past," Luffy replied. "I just wonder how those folks back there are doing."

"Everyone has their own fate."

Luffy couldn’t protect the people of Sky Island forever, so their survival ultimately depended on their own destiny.

This time, Luffy didn’t respond, merely watching Bellamy’s receding back with furrowed brows, lost in thought.

"Alright, Luffy."

Meiser withdrew his gaze and said, "Let’s go watch the Block B match. Once this round is over, it’ll be your turn."

Snapped out of his reverie by Meiser’s words, Luffy nodded. "Yeah, let’s go."

Before long, the two returned to their earlier vantage point overlooking the arena.

To their surprise, Cavendish was there as well.

Looking at his back, Meiser instinctively sensed trouble, yet Luffy casually walked right up to him as if nothing were amiss, leaving Meiser thoroughly exasperated.

Shaking his head, Meiser strode over to follow.

"Ah, you’re here," Cavendish noted.

"Yeah, came to watch the match."

Luffy nodded, then looked curiously toward the arena floor, where Bartolomeo was being openly jeered by everyone. "Why is everybody so mad?"

"Because he made his entrance."

"Him?"

Looking at the man with prominent fangs, Luffy asked curiously, "Who is he?"

"The captain of the pirate crew Barto Club—Bartolomeo the Cannibal."

"Cannibal?"

Meiser wore a shocked expression. "That guy actually eats people?!"

It was the first time he had ever heard of a cannibal here.

"That I wouldn’t know," Cavendish replied, shaking his head. "Though that is how the rumors go."

Listening to Cavendish, Meiser assumed a thoughtful look.

Was it just a terrifying epithet, or had he genuinely done such things?

He was rather curious.

"Hahaha~"

"Seems everyone is quite enthusiastic~"

Bartolomeo pulled out a small sphere that looked suspiciously like a bomb from his pocket. "In that case, let me give everyone a little gift~"

With that, he lobbed the "bomb" high into the air.

Seeing this, the spectators all wore puzzled looks.

"What is that guy doing?"

"Let me see."

A toy robot produced a pair of binoculars and looked up into the air, before crying out in sheer terror, "It’s a bomb!!"

Upon hearing those words, the crowd panicked instantly, scrambling to their feet to flee for their lives without a second thought.

However, because the stands were completely packed, escaping quickly was virtually impossible.

"Damn it, get out of the way!"

"You damn old geezer, crawling around in the aisle—are you trying to get us all killed? Move!"

"Everyone out of my way! Let me out first!"

"Let me through first, I’ll pay you whatever you want!"

...

Within a matter of seconds, human nature was laid bare in all its ugliness.

Finally, the bomb-like sphere landed in the spectator stands. It bounced a few times and came to a dead stop.

"Huh?"

The crowd nearby paused in confusion upon seeing this, then cautiously edged closer to inspect it.

Once they saw what it actually was, their faces twisted instantly.

"It’s... a ball?!"

It wasn’t a bomb at all!

"How pathetic!"

"How truly pathetic!!"

"Look at how pathetic you look!!"

Bartolomeo’s jeering grew louder with each shout, and the spectators’ expressions turned uglier and uglier.

To think they... had been frightened to such an extent by a simple ball?

What an absolute disgrace!

"You sure know how to provoke people, brat," Dagama laughed. "Aren’t you afraid of making them hate you?"

"Heh, let them hate me all they want," Bartolomeo sneered. "I have no desire to be liked by pieces of trash anyway."

In his eyes, spectators who enjoyed watching bloodsport like this were no good to begin with, so he naturally saw no reason to show them any courtesy.

Dagama clearly understood his implication, but merely chuckled and said nothing more.

"He’s still grinning," Luffy observed, staring at the sneering Bartolomeo. "What a weird guy."

"You see? That fellow has a wretched reputation," Cavendish said, pulling out a rose and sniffing it. "He couldn’t possibly compare to a noble gentleman like me."

As he spoke, Cavendish wore an entranced expression, lost in whatever fantasy had captured his mind.

Meiser ignored his ramblings, instead watching Bartolomeo with a thoughtful expression.

Was this guy... mocking the spectators’ twisted mindset?

Did he believe that anyone who came to watch this kind of spectacle was inherently scum?

Heh, interesting.

"What an arrogant, insolent bastard!" the announcer hissed through gritted teeth once he recovered his senses. "I hope this scoundrel dies right here in Block B."

After venting his frustration, he raised the microphone and bellowed: "Now then, allow me to introduce our final contestant!"

"Unlike that madman Bartolomeo, this man holds the utmost love and respect for our King Doflamingo!"

"To earn His Majesty’s recognition, he brought back a massive pillar of gold from a distant land to present to the King, swearing his eternal loyalty from that day forth!"

"Later, he ruthlessly crushed the nations and towns that mocked our country as a barbaric pirate kingdom, forcing their surrender and spreading the glorious name of Dressrosa far and wide!"

"That’s right, he is the ferocious warrior who strikes fear into the hearts of our enemies—Bellamy the Hyena of Dressrosa!"

"YEAAAH!!"

Hearing the announcer’s introduction, the surrounding spectators erupted into thunderous cheers, each looking more thrilled than the last.

From the looks of it, it was as though they were gazing upon an idol.

"Tch."

Cavendish spat, visibly displeased by the crowd’s reaction.

"I see, so he bought his chance with a pillar of gold," Meiser remarked, stroking his chin.

In that case, he hadn’t cleaned out the City of Gold on Sky Island.

Which made sense; he was only one man, after all, so stripping the entire Golden City bare would have been impossible.

Hearing Meiser’s words, Luffy instinctively furrowed his brow.

If he only took a single pillar of gold, maybe he hadn’t harmed the people there.

Yet Bellamy’s attitude earlier...

Thinking of this, Luffy’s scowl deepened even further.

"Lord Bellamy!!"

"Lord Bellamy!"

As the man stepped onto the stage, the crowd’s passion soared to even greater heights.

Basking in the adoration, Bellamy spread his arms wide to acknowledge the cheers.

At that moment, the announcer shouted dramatically: "Today, this man resolves to achieve his long-cherished dream through victory, rightfully earning his promotion to an officer of the Donquixote Family!"

"Bellamy!"

"Bellamy!"

"Bellamy!"

"Home turf or not, that guy’s popularity is utterly ridiculous," Cavendish grumbled sourly.

The more he looked, the more annoyed he became, damn it!

"Don’t forget whose territory this is," Meiser said calmly from the side.

Though he didn’t know how close Bellamy was to Doflamingo, this was ultimately the Donquixote Family’s home ground, so such an enthusiastic reception was hardly surprising.

Cavendish said nothing more this time, merely giving a disgruntled huff.

"There are so many people," Luffy said excitedly, peering down below. "If all those guys are going to fight at once, who should I be watching?"

It felt like there were so many strong fighters down there!

"You only need to watch the truly capable ones," Cavendish said.

"Why?"

"Even if it’s an elimination brawl, it’s ultimately just the first round. The probability of the weak surviving is practically zero, so you only need to keep your eyes on the truly strong."

In a battle royale like this, the weak could never stand until the end, so Cavendish felt there was no point paying them any mind.

"Is that so?"

"Yes." Cavendish nodded, then smiled faintly. "Allow me to introduce the ones I have my eye on."

"Really? Thanks a lot," Luffy grinned, baring his teeth.

"You see that man wearing boxing gloves?" Cavendish pointed toward a man in gloves. "He is the King of the Prodence Kingdom—Fighting King Elizabello II."

"A king?"

Meiser showed a surprised look. "Even the king of an entire nation came to participate in this tournament?"

"After all, the prize this time is the Diamond-Diamond Fruit," Cavendish laughed.

It was only natural for a king with his kind of past to join the fray.

"Fair enough."

The Diamond-Diamond Fruit was a Devil Fruit that even the Four Emperors coveted, so it was hardly shocking that a monarch would vie for the championship.

Too bad, though... they had no intention of letting anyone else take that Devil Fruit!

Oblivious to Meiser’s thoughts, Cavendish produced another profile and said, "You see that fat man beside him?"

"That’s his tactician, Dagama."

"I hear his intellect is quite formidable. Perhaps he really will be able to help the King claim first place in this battle royale."

First place?

Meiser shook his head. This was hardly a place where mere intellect could carry the day.

To claim the championship in a brawl like this, sheer punching power was the only absolute truth!

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