Inside the arena's lounge, built of yellow bricks.
"Rebecca?"
Noticing something was wrong, Luffy stretched his neck toward her and tilted his head in confusion. "Huh? Why are you crying?"
"Ah!"
"I'm fine!"
Rebecca startled and stepped back two paces, hurriedly raising a hand to wipe away the tears that had fallen without her noticing.
"I'm fine. Sorry."
"Now that I think about it, I was just being too arrogant, thinking I could win the championship in an arena full of experts." Rebecca forced a smile.
"So you're giving up? You can't win anyway."
Zoro suddenly spoke, his tone calm, his eyes just as devoid of emotion.
"I won't."
Rebecca instinctively gripped the hilt of her sword and declared firmly, "I'm a gladiator. Even if my opponents are you, I won't back down."
"Yeah, good luck. But don't expect me to go easy on you."
Zoro chuckled, and a hint of admiration crept into his eyes.
He believed true strength could never come from relying on a Devil Fruit alone.
Without an unyielding heart, even the sharpest sword was impossible to wield.
"What a load of pretty words from a disgraced princess of a fallen kingdom."
The hostile voice came from the crowd in the corner.
The three of them looked over.
"Who said that?!"
Luffy shouted angrily at the crowd. "You bastard! Get out here! I'll send you flying!"
Perhaps the other person didn't want to cause trouble before the competition, because no one in the crowd spoke again.
Luffy strode forward indignantly.
Rebecca caught his arm and stopped him. "Forget it, Lucy. If you start trouble, you'll be disqualified."
"Huh? I don't care about that. Besides, I'm not competing for the Devil Fruit."
Luffy snorted and pointed at the crowd, shouting, "Listen up, you bastards! Rebecca's my friend.