The crowd roared as the carnage of Block C erupted. Dust and blood clouded the coliseum's floor. Luffy—still disguised as Lucy—grinned as he ducked under a thrown club and launched a punch straight into a burly contestant's gut.
"WHOA! Lucy's throwing fists already!" shouted Gatz, the coliseum's commentator. "This block is on fire!"
Kael, disguised as Ironshade, was also in Block C, exchanging blows with multiple fighters. His eyes occasionally flicked toward Lucy—Luffy in disguise. He knew exactly who Lucy was. That was Luffy, the man he had once sworn to hunt. And yet now, standing in the same arena, Kael felt no rage—only confusion. There was something about Luffy that disarmed him.
Why am I hesitating? Kael thought. Why does he seem... familiar in a different way now?
"That guy..." Luffy mumbled. "He feels different. Strong."
As the two prepared for their clash, other skirmishes broke out around them. Sai and his brother Boo squared off against the brawny fighter known as Punk. With quick coordination, the two launched a series of attacks.
"Don't underestimate us just because we aren't giants!" Boo shouted, slamming his fist into Punk's side.
Punk roared and countered with a brutal spinning kick. "You'll regret that!"
Sai answered with a precise strike to Punk's jaw. But Punk wouldn't fall alone—he grabbed Boo mid-collapse and flung him into Sai, knocking all three men out of the match.
"And just like that, Sai, Boo, and Punk eliminate each other! What a turn!" Gatz bellowed.
Meanwhile, Kael faced Abdullah and Jeet. The two tag-team brawlers moved like wolves—fast, vicious, and unpredictable. Jeet lunged with a hook blade, while Abdullah circled behind.
"Stay still, pretty boy!" Jeet snarled.
Kael sidestepped Jeet's blade, grabbed his arm, and flung him over his shoulder into Abdullah. The two men hit the ground hard.
"You rely on numbers," Kael muttered, sliding back into stance. "But you're sloppy."
Before they could rise, Kael darted forward. In two rapid strikes—one to the neck and the other to the solar plexus—he knocked them unconscious. The crowd gasped.
"Whoa! Ironshade's no rookie!" Gatz announced. "Abdullah and Jeet are out!"
Meanwhile, in the stands, Bartolomeo watched Luffy with sparkling eyes and clenched fists. "Th-there he is... LUFFY-SENPAI!! He's amazing! So cool! I'll protect him with my life!!"
Back on Luffy's end, Don Chinjao charged like a rampaging bull. "I'LL CRUSH YOU, STRAW HAT!"
Luffy's eyes widened. "You again?! I don't even know who you are!"
Chinjao's round, dome-shaped head slammed into the ground as Luffy dodged, sending tremors through the stone. The other fighters scrambled out of the way.
"That guy's crazy!" Luffy muttered.
Chinjao snarled. "You carry the will of that cursed Garp! You'll pay for what he did to my head!"
Luffy blinked. "Garp? You mean my grandpa?!"
Outside the arena, Cavendish stormed down the stairs toward the arena tunnel.
"Let me through! I demand to enter Block C!" Cavendish snapped.
A pair of coliseum guards blocked his way. "Sir Cavendish, you're scheduled for Block D. Entry to Block C is prohibited!"
Cavendish gritted his teeth, his cape flaring behind him. "That fool... that idiot disguised as Lucy… it has to be him!"
The guards held firm. "No exceptions, sir. Please wait for your round."
"Tch! Fine... but if he's still standing by the finals, I'll personally make sure he doesn't walk out."
Chinjao roared in the background, charging once again. "This is it! You won't walk away this time!"
"Alright, old guy. Let's finish this!" Luffy activated Gear Second, steam billowing off him. He bounced on his heels, cocking his fist back. "Gomu Gomu no... ELEPHANT GUN!!"
His massive Haki-coated fist crashed into Chinjao's head, slamming him into the ground with an earth-shaking impact. The coliseum went silent.
A beat passed—then Chinjao's head reshaped, twisting from its round form into the sharp drill-point that he had lost years ago.
He blinked up at the sky. "My head... it's back... my beautiful head... the drill is back...!"
The crowd exploded into cheers.
Gatz screamed, "LUCY WINS! Don Chinjao is defeated! Block C is on fire!!"
Kael, meanwhile, wiped blood from his lip. After downing Ideo and Hajrudin with a ruthless combination of agility and power, he stepped into the ring's clearing.
"All others are down..." Gatz announced. "Wait—two fighters remain! IRONSHADE and LUCY!"
Luffy grinned and stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "Looks like it's just us now."
Kael's eyes narrowed. His heart thudded.
"Luffy... I should be trying to finish you," Kael whispered under his breath, unheard by the crowd. "But something's changed."
Luffy tilted his head. "You seem familiar... but I can't tell why."
The crowd screamed, unaware of the tension rippling between the two. Kael raised his fists. Luffy stepped forward. And so, the real fight began