The hour-long intermission slipped quietly by amid the crowd's ever-rising clamor.
The protective barrier lit up once more around the arena Ross had smoothed flat with a snap of his fingers.
When Scarlet's clear voice rang out over the entire Colosseum, everyone knew that today's Gladiator Tournament had finally reached its last battle.
"The Gladiator Tournament's final showdown!"
She paused, letting the silence hold the entire crowd's breath in suspense.
"Monkey D. Luffy versus Black Maria."
"Please enter the arena."
Luffy was the first to step onto the platform.
After a full hour of treatment from Marco, most of his wounds had healed. Only a few bruises remained at his temple and the corner of his mouth.
But those minor injuries did nothing to diminish his spirit.
He stepped onto the platform, his straw hat bobbing behind his head before he grabbed it, straightened it, and pulled it down over his brow.
Head held high, his trademark wide grin on his face, he waved vigorously at the cheers pouring in from every direction. He was so full of high spirits that he seemed like a morning sun bursting above the horizon, every inch of him brimming with a reckless vitality that made it impossible to look away.
His gaze passed over the packed crowd and across the arena, finally settling on the Mera Mera no Mi beneath its crystal cover in the center of the grounds.
Ever since his first day in this city, he had been determined to take it home.
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
He shouted toward the passageway, looking less like someone about to fight a final that would decide his fate than someone urging a dawdling playmate along:
"I can't wait anymore!"
Yet when the figure opposite him finally emerged slowly from the shadows, the noise