Hatcha

"Let the game begin!"

Queen raised the small box in his hand high and shouted.

"Yeah!!!"

His voice instantly stirred up a frenzy in the plaza below. The pirates, baring their fangs and claws and twisted into all manner of strange shapes, erupted into cheers like crashing waves.

Then the pirates surged forward like a tide, every single one of them wearing an excited grin.

"A Mythical Zoan! It's mine!!"

"That belongs to me!"

"I'm gonna eat that fruit and become an officer!"

That was a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit!

If they could get that fruit, they would surely rise to become officers in one leap. It might even be possible to become a Calamity candidate like Lord Sirius.

Naturally, none of the pirates here could resist such temptation.

"Ha, this is really lively!"

Sirius stood up. Thanks to his height, he could now nearly take in the entire venue at a glance.

All the pirates were charging forward madly, with no one willing to stop.

Sirius even spotted two small figures in the crowd, excitedly dragging their blades as they rushed ahead.

But one thing was strange: from the very beginning, all the pirates had avoided the corner where Sirius and the others stood, leaving an open space around them as though they reeked so badly that no one wanted to approach.

The plaza was not very large to begin with, and soon the pirates at the front had reached the area beneath the platform suspended from the Dome.

But the question was, how were they supposed to get up there and take the fruit down?

Before that, however, they had an even more pressing problem to face.

"Get out of my way!! The Okuchi-no-Makami Fruit is mine!"

"You're the one who should get lost! Die!"

"I'm not afraid of you!"

The pirates instantly descended into a brawl. Blades clashed against flesh, while blood and screams intertwined.

In just an instant, it no longer resembled a game at all. The plaza had become a battlefield, and the game had turned into a slaughter.

"Worororororo! They're fired up!"

Kaido sat cross-legged atop a building beside the plaza, already drinking heavily from his huge sake gourd early in the morning. "It's been a long time since things were this lively!"

"King, don't disturb them. Let them enjoy themselves to the fullest!"

Beneath the Dome, King had transformed into a massive pterosaur and was soaring through the air with powerful beats of his wings. His sharp eyes continuously swept over the plaza below. He was the referee for this game.

But although he was the referee, King had no intention of interfering with how the pirates below fought. Whether they engaged in direct combat or resorted to schemes and tricks meant nothing to him.

King only needed to ensure that no one damaged the fruit. That was enough.

The scent of blood had begun to spread through the plaza. Sirius, whose sense of smell was keen, could not help frowning. "Let's end this quickly. Take the fruit!"

That way, they could at least reduce the casualties somewhat.

"Yeah! Then hold on tight!"

Jack shouted excitedly. Thick fur instantly grew all over his body, and in the blink of an eye, he had transformed into an enormous mammoth.

"Get out of my way!"

Roaring, the giant elephant broke into a charge.

"Wait for me, Jack!"

Yamato leaped up in an instant and landed on Jack's back as well. She lightly hopped over to Sirius's side, Spiked Club already in hand.

"Charge!"

She laughed, full of high spirits.

"Seriously, do I have to run on my own?"

Black Maria complained helplessly. Then, the next second, her body began to transform. Her upper body remained that of a young woman, but below the waist, she became a spider. All eight legs moved rapidly at once, allowing her to swiftly catch up with Jack and the others.

The mammoth's charge was like a locomotive. The pirates blocking its path scattered in panic, not daring to obstruct it in the slightest.

But there were no shortage of stubborn fools. Or rather, the Beasts Pirates had no shortage of stubborn fools.

"Even if it's Lord Jack, I won't yield!!"

The pirates, already bloodshot with killing intent, swung their blades at Jack.

But all they could do was roar twice. The next instant, Jack's pillar-like trunk swept out, sending them flying everywhere.

Those who were not struck by his trunk fared no better. They slammed into Jack's body as though they had been hit by a train, coughing up blood as they were flung into the air.

"Honestly, Sirius is trying to help Yamato take the fruit. Could you please stop blocking our way?"

Maria, following close behind Jack, sighed helplessly. The next instant, she casually flicked her hand, sending a huge mass of sticky spiderwebs splattering outward and instantly covering all the surrounding pirates.

The spiderwebs were extraordinarily adhesive and incredibly strong. No matter how desperately the trapped pirates struggled, it was useless.

"Nice one, Maria!"

Sirius praised her loudly.

"Maria, you're amazing!" Yamato turned around as well, praising her with a grin.

"Oh my, it was nothing."

Maria, walking beside Jack, gently stroked her cheek with her right hand. The tips of her ears had reddened slightly. "It's just a trivial little ability."

"Enough chatter!"

Jack shouted as he swung his trunk, sending nearby pirates flying. "Sirius, have you figured out how to get up there?"

The platform suspended from the Dome was hundreds of meters high. There was no ordinary way to reach it.

"I've got an idea."

Sirius casually knocked away a pirate foolishly leaping at him with one swing of his sword, then shouted, "But we need to get closer!"

"Got it!"

Jack answered loudly and drove his four legs even harder, charging straight through everything in his path.

While dealing with the pirates attacking them, Sirius surveyed the battlefield.

Fighting was breaking out everywhere. The pirates had completely lost themselves in the killing, and no one had time to care about anything else.

But Sirius also saw a rather interesting scene.

A little girl took advantage of a pirate's distraction and stabbed him in the back.

Sirius had some impression of that pirate. He seemed to have been one of the pirates from last night.

Just as the little girl excitedly raised her head, her gaze met Sirius's.

Sirius smiled at her, and the little girl glared back at him.

Annoying bastard! Don't get so smug! That fruit is mine!

Ulti glared fiercely at the guy riding on the elephant's back, then grabbed her younger brother's hand.

"Pay-tan! Keep charging forward! We'll definitely get that fruit!"

The siblings were very short, so short that the surrounding pirates would not notice them unless they deliberately looked down.

At a time like this, their small size had instead become their protection. They had actually encountered no danger.

But their advance soon came to an end.

Boom!

Accompanied by a howling gust, a huge foot stomped down in front of them. Countless pirates were instantly crushed into pulp, and the ground shook.

"Eek!"

Ulti could not help letting out a cute cry of fright. Pulling her brother along, she staggered back two steps.

She instinctively looked up, only to see a small mountain.

"What is that?!"

"Hahahaha, Sirius!! That fruit is mine!"

The monster, wearing sunglasses and sporting a bowl cut, laughed as he raised the enormous Spiked Club in his hand.

"Hatcha, you bastard!"

Sirius looked up. "You want a beating?"

"Who gets beaten is still up in the air!!"

Hatcha of the Numbers laughed loudly and brought his Spiked Club crashing down.