Battle Begins

"This... is this Sky Island?" Luffy's voice trembled for the first time. The Sky Island in his memory was almost a place where his dreams were shattered, a nightmare he never wanted to recall.

"Luffy, you need to know that quite a few islands have been swept into the sky by the Knock-Up Stream by chance. And the Floating Island above us, judging from its shape and outline, is very different from the Sky Island we know. Perhaps it is a desolate Floating Island that Nightmare found in the New World," Nami analyzed seriously.

"Nightmare really goes all out, Floating Island..." Zoro squinted and looked up at the sky.

"Indeed, I was also quite startled when I saw this shocking scene. Who would have thought that the battlefield of the competition would be in the sky? Nightmare really gave us all a rude awakening. Just this one move was enough to calm down the restless situation." Sabo walked over with Koala.

"Yeah!" Zoro could understand. After all, not everyone could have had such a dreamlike journey to Sky Island as they did. Most people in this world always regarded the so-called Sky Island as a vague legend. Moreover, when they learned of the existence of Sky Island two years ago, their reaction was no better than that of others.

"Luffy, what's wrong? Are you scared?" Another familiar voice pulled Luffy back to reality from his memories.

"Ace! Great! I can finally see you again!" Luffy shouted excitedly when he saw Ace appear in the arena.

The commotion they made drew the attention of many, who were deeply shocked.

"Fire Fist Ace and Dragon Claw Sabo? I never thought such big shots would be connected to Luffy from two years ago," Capone Bege said, puffing on his cigar.

"The key is the forces they represent: the Whitebeard Pirates and the Revolutionary Army. Those are the truly troublesome ones," said Scratchmen Apoo.

"It doesn't matter what happens, I don't plan to cause them any trouble before dealing with Nightmare anyway," Kid said, gazing at the Floating Island in the sky.

"Dealing with Nightmare? Looks like you've heard that rumor too?"

"What, are you scared? It's not too late to back out now!"

"Fear? I am indeed afraid, but I am afraid that your strength is too weak and you will slow us down."

"By the way, Luffy, which battlefield were you assigned to?" Ace asked curiously.

"I'm number 4, Zoro is number 77, Sabo is number 91, Ace, what about you?"

"I'm number 19. It seems we're not very lucky. If we were assigned to the same battlefield, we could at least look out for each other." Despite saying this, everyone knew that Ace actually wanted to take care of Luffy. After all, with his current strength, as long as he didn't encounter those strongest monsters, he would basically be fine.

"With a hundred competition zones and more than a thousand people in each zone, and the competition area covering such a large island, even with an optimistic estimate, it will probably take at least two or three hours to finish one zone."

Sabo said dejectedly, "Luffy alright, he should be able to enter the battlefield today, but it might be another ten or twenty days before it's my turn..."

Suddenly, the surrounding crowd erupted in cheers and exclamations.

"Look! The number of people in Battlefield One is dropping rapidly: 500, 300, 70, 15... How could it be so fast!"

"The battle is... is over?"

"What a joke! From the moment they entered the Floating Island, it's only been about 5 minutes!"

"It seems everyone else is dead; the only victor is a Masked Man!"

"This guy is so domineering, he won't even allow anyone to advance with him!"

Sabo and the others then looked at the nine all-around projections in the sky and found that the scene was filled with corpses and rivers of blood, making even the most timid person feel nauseous.

At this moment, the host of the competition seemed to only just react, and announced in a trembling voice, "Let... let us welcome the king of Battlefield One, from... the Heaven's Eye, Lord Tong, as the sole victor of Battlefield One!"

Sabo didn't have time to dwell on his humiliating defeat. Instead, he said with unusual seriousness, "This guy is incredibly bloodthirsty. If you make it to the Finals, you must try your best to avoid him!"

Ace nodded in agreement, saying, "Although we'll have a common enemy once we reach the Finals, this kind of person is still too dangerous. It's best to avoid dealing with him."

"Sabo, this guy shouldn't belong to any of the tiers you mentioned!"

"Yes, although they all wear masks, his fighting style is completely different from any of the CP0 members I know, or rather, very different from anyone I know. It's simple and direct, as if he was born to kill."

"But he's really strong. I didn't expect to meet one of those strong folk fighters you guys mentioned in my very first battle. I can't wait to start my fight." Luffy rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming with fervor.

"Unless it's a crushing defeat like the first battlefield, Luffy, you'll probably have to wait until the afternoon," Sabo said with a shake of his head and a smile.

Suddenly, the host's sharp and high-spirited voice resounded throughout the arena, "4 minutes and 30 seconds, 4 minutes and 30 seconds! Warden Shiryu has shown us what the efficiency of killing is. He truly deserves to be one of the strongest under the supreme king, and he truly deserves to be the pride of our Floating Island Colosseum!"

"Let's give Lord Shiryu the warmest cheers!"

Sabo's lips twitched; had he been slapped in the face again?

"This host is so annoying! This discrimination is just too obvious!" Luffy said, standing up for the person from before.

"No matter what, he's still one of Nightmare's men. If he doesn't praise his own people, who else would he praise? Besides, that guy is indeed very strong. He's one of Nightmare's four aces, on par with Enel, Katakuri, and Drake!"

"A top-tier Great Sword Master, and a top-tier Great Sword Master wielding Supreme Grade Sword, I really want to fight him!" Zoro felt his palms sweating as he gripped the sword hilt.

"The competition on Battlefield 3 has already started, so doesn't that mean it'll be my turn soon?" Luffy excitedly, then asked somewhat awkwardly, "But how am I going to get up there? I can't fly!"

Although Sabo didn't think Luffy's match would start anytime soon, having learned from his previous two experiences, he decided to just be a handsome man watching the show quietly.

"Luffy, over there, I saw some people board that iron bird called 'Airplane' and then it sent them into the sky," Usopp reminded him.

"Iron... Iron Bird, so amazing!" Luffy's eyes instantly turned into stars as he swayed his already limp body and ran in the direction Usopp pointed.