World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament Begins

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Early in the morning, a lively and bustling Tidal Wave filled the air outside, as if the entire city had been plunged into a sea of joy and excitement.

"Wow! So many, so many people!" Luffy shouted exaggeratedly as he Luffy down the street. For someone like him who loves excitement and a lively atmosphere, this rare spectacle was a celebration tailor-made for him. If he didn't know that he was still shouldering the important task of saving Chef Sanji, he probably would have already rushed into the crowd.

Nami and the others, who knew Luffy's personality well, watched him warily and reminded him, "Luffy, you better not run around later, okay? When you go crazy, you'll definitely forget about our business!"

"Okay, I understand!" Luffy replied listlessly, watching helplessly as the festival he so longed for slipped away.

"Idiot, pull yourself together! Don't let your guard down just because there are 300 spots in the Finals. If you're unlucky and get assigned to one of those strong teams, the outcome of the battle could be very difficult to predict!" Zoro warned earnestly.

"And you, Zoro, don't just keep talking about Luffy, you also need to stay close to us, otherwise with so many people, if you get lost you'll definitely miss today's elimination round." Nami had a doting expression on her face, as if she were concerned about her mentally challenged son getting lost.

Suddenly caught in the crossfire Zoro's veins bulged, but he had no choice but to suppress his anger and say with a twitching mouth, "I understand."

"Hey, guys, judging from what you're saying, you seem to be contestants in today's competition, and quite confident at that. You must have some really strong skills!" A lewd voice suddenly rang out beside them. It was a chubby little guy with squinty eyes who leaned in next to them with a fawning smile.

Before Nami and the others could react, Luffy patted his chest and said, "Of course, we're very strong!"

"That's good, that's good. May I ask if you all allow me to conduct an interview?" the chubby boy said, rubbing his hands together.

"An interview...?" The group looked bewildered, then scrutinized the other person with suspicious eyes. "But you don't look like a newspaper reporter at all."

"Haha..." The chubby boy chuckled twice and explained, "I'm different from those traditional newspaper reporters. I use Dream Net Dream Online to broadcast news to reporters all over the world in real time. Think about it, what takes News Coo three days to deliver a newspaper, we can do in just three minutes. The most important thing is that our news is completely free..."

"Wow! There are even free newspapers! It looks like we can save on unnecessary expenses again!" As someone who can bargain with the News Coo, Nami was naturally extremely satisfied with this innovation.

"Yeah, think about it, nobody would refuse something for free. That means if you agree to my interview, you'll be famous throughout the Grand Line in less than half an hour!" the chubby boy urged.

"Famous... of the Grand Line!" Luffy's eyes immediately turned into stars as he hurriedly said, "Hey, you rascal, come interview us already!"

"Winter... Winter Melon Man?" The chubby boy's eyes were unfocused, as if he had been hit by a million points of damage.

"Um... don't mind him, Luffy has always been very outspoken," Nami said shyly.

"Straightforward?" The chubby guy, who had been stabbed again, displayed his excellent professionalism at this moment, forcing a smile and saying, "It was my rudeness that I didn't formally introduce myself. My Dream Net name is High Fever Thirty-Six Degrees. You can just call me High Fever-kun."

"High Fever Thirty-Six Degrees... It's definitely easier to remember the Winter Melon Man!" Luffy muttered to himself.

"Now I'll begin the interviews. Are all four of you contestants?"

"No, the main participants are me, Luffy, and this Three-Sword Style Zoro, Zoro," Luffy said, waving his hand.

"Oh, oh, oh, swordsmen with Three-Sword Style, that's really rare. So what are your professions? Pirates, Marines, bounty hunters, or perhaps Revolutionary Army?"

"Of course I'm a pirate! I'm going to be the Pirate Kings!"

Nami and the others knew they were in trouble, but it was too late to cover Luffy's mouth.

Sure enough, after hearing what Luffy said, the chubby guy opposite him suddenly narrowed his eyes and squinted, his eyes gleaming with admiration as he said, "Since you have such a terrifying ambition, then Brother Luffy's bounty must be quite high!"

"Hmm, my bounty is 100 million Beli, while Zoro's bounty is 60 million Beli," Luffy said proudly, puffing out his chest and raising his head.

Nami and the others keenly noticed that after Luffy announced the bounty, the chubby boy's expression froze for a moment, and a look of disdain appeared in his suddenly widened eyes.

"This is really... quite a rare bounty!" The chubby boy twitched his lips, struggling to keep going, "Then Luffy must be a newcomer who just entered the Grand Line this year!"

Luffy, however, felt looked down upon and said unhappily, "How could I be a rookie? I set sail for the Grand Line two years ago!"

The chubby boy sighed and quickly put away the Den Den Mushi. "Sorry, goodbye, I've bothered you!"

Seeing the chubby boy running away as if his life depended on it, Luffy asked in confusion, "Huh? Is the interview already over?"

Nami and the other two sighed and rubbed their foreheads, saying with a headache, "Can't you tell that they don't want to interview you because they think your bounty is too low?"

"What?" Luffy's voice suddenly rose several octaves, startling the pedestrians on the side of the road. "That damn bastard dares to look down on me!"

After a moment, Luffy couldn't help but ask again, "Is my bounty of 100 million really that low?"

"If this were Paradise in the first half of the Grand Line, it would naturally be very high, but this is the New World where strong people are everywhere. Not to mention that this city is now a gathering place for strong people from all over the world. Pirates with bounties below 300 million really have no say here."

"Damn it, if it weren't for the fact that the Marine Headquarters was rebuilt on the ruins after the war, based on my performance in Impel Down and at Marine Headquarters two years ago, my bounty would have been raised to at least 300 million," Luffy said indignantly.

"We're here!" Zoro, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.

Upon hearing this, Luffy quickly put aside his previous displeasure and kept looking around, asking, "Where is it? Where is the battlefield?"

"Right above."

Luffy looked up and his pupils contracted sharply. He then realized that the "dark clouds" floating in the sky were actually a floating island!