Ginny Awakens, Grand Opening

"Ginny... wake up..."

The voice reached her ears as if through thick cotton.

Ginny felt her body swaying and jolting, surrounded by indistinct noise.

She struggled to open her eyes.

The first thing she saw was a familiar purple afro and a face filled with concern.

"Ivankov..." Ginny's voice trembled badly.

"Hee-haw! You're finally awake!" Ivankov's lips curled upward in a relaxed smile.

"How do you feel? Does anything hurt?"

"Mm... I..."

Ginny tried to sit up, only to discover that she and Ivankov were tied back-to-back, with hemp ropes wrapped around their wrists and ankles.

They were locked in a small iron cage less than two square meters wide. The cage sat on a cart that slowly moved along with the steps of the animal pulling it.

She leaned her body toward Ivankov.

Tears suddenly came pouring out beyond her control.

"I-I finally found you." Ginny's voice was choked with tears. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

"I'm so useless... I said I would save you, but I ended up getting caught myself."

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Ivankov wanted to turn and look at her, but the ropes restricted his movement.

He could only raise his voice. "I'm already so happy that you came to save me, I could jump for joy!"

"Hee-haw! Or rather—"

"It was because I was too careless that I dragged you and Big Bear into this."

His voice dropped, heavy with self-reproach. "We worked so hard to escape that hell called God Valley."

"And now we've ended up like this again... sigh."

Ginny shook her head hard.

"That's not true." She sniffled. "Our actions saved a lot of people."

"There are more than a dozen children at the dock base now. Roy and the others are still saving people. We weren't captured for nothing."

Ivankov fell silent.

A few seconds later, his shoulders relaxed slightly, and his tone became light again.

"You're right! We saved people! That's far more interesting than hiding all over God Valley!"

The cage cart continued to jolt forward.

Ginny began observing her surroundings.

The cage cart carrying her and Ivankov was conspicuous, placed in the middle of a convoy.

There were another seven or eight similar cage carts ahead and behind them.

Some held children, some were piled with cargo crates covered in black cloth, and some even contained ferocious beasts.

But after looking around, she still could not find the tall, silent figure she most wanted to see.

"Where's Kuma?" Ginny's heart tightened. "Why can't I see Kuma?"

"He was taken away separately by the second-in-command, Karim."

Ivankov answered in a low voice. "But don't worry too much."

"Based on what they said last night, we'll all be herded to the same place for centralized detention later."

"Probably for this damned competition."

"Competition?" Ginny was confused. "What happened while I was unconscious?"

"Way too much happened! All of it big news!" Ivankov gestured outside the cage with his chin.

"Look beside us."

Ginny followed his gaze and looked out.

They were traveling along the main road on the fifth floor of Tenpan City.

The streets on both sides were packed with people of all ages and genders, their faces full of excitement.

A man was frantically pounding on the closed iron door of a butcher shop.

"Boss! Boss!"

"The ten jin of pork hind leg I ordered yesterday! You said I could pick it up this morning! What do you mean you're closed?!"

The vent above the iron door opened, and a burly man with a face full of flesh poked his head out.

"Sorry! I'm going to compete! Closing early today!"

"Eh—?!" The tall, thin man stared blankly. "Compete? Aren't you a butcher?!"

"I'm also an outer member of the gang! I'm qualified to buy a standing ticket!"

After roaring that, the burly man slammed the vent shut, leaving the man outside frozen in shock.

"Damn it! Give me my money back! My Beli! The Beli for ten jin of meat!!"

Similar scenes played out along the entire street.

A merchant jumped up and down at a pawnshop counter. "My pocket watch! I haven't redeemed my ancestral pocket watch yet!"

The curtain behind the counter was lifted, and an old man poked out his head, speaking rapidly.

"This old man is going to make a fortune today. Come back tomorrow!"

With that, the old man swiftly ducked back inside.

Even more absurd was the barbershop at the street corner.

A customer was sitting in a chair.

The hair on his left side was short, while the hair on his right side was still long.

The barber suddenly put down his scissors and began untying the cape.

"Wait! What are you doing?!" The customer grabbed the barber's hand in horror.

"Watching the competition." The barber was expressionless.

"What about my hair?!"

"Bad luck." The barber threw the cape onto the floor and rushed out of the shop.

"Get back here—!"

"At least cut the right side short too—!"

The entire fifth floor had fallen into a frenzy.

Everyone was heading in the same direction: the arena!

Ginny stared in astonishment.

"This, this is..."

"It's nothing major." Ivankov's tone was sarcastic. "The gangs are settling their internal disputes and showing off their strength."

"And while they're at it, they let the residents vent their emotions and make money betting on fights."

The cage cart turned a corner.

The view ahead suddenly opened up.

The Fifth-Floor Arena.

At this moment, all twelve entrances to the venue stood wide open.

A lean, capable-looking minor boss pushed through the crowd, and gang members along the way made room for him.

He entered the arena and arrived at a spacious underground preparation area.

The place was brightly lit.

Nearly a hundred muscular men who looked like they had been scrubbed with pineapples were warming up.

At the very back of the preparation area stood a wooden table.

Samuel and Karim sat facing each other, with playing cards and liquor bottles piled on the table.

The minor boss approached the table and bowed. "Second-in-command, Third-in-command."

"A lot of reporters from news agencies have arrived outside. They want to enter and conduct interviews..."

Without even raising his head, Karim threw down a card. "Let them in. Just don't let them affect the competition."

"Yes." The minor boss withdrew.

Samuel stared at the cards in his hand and spoke with a faintly amused smile.

"Second Brother, that Paramecia fruit you put up for the wager..."

"What exactly is it called? You have to let me know what the stakes are before the competition, right?"

Karim looked up at him.

"What, you don't trust me?" His voice was rough. "I said it's a powerful fruit, so it's a powerful fruit."

"Hmph..." Samuel played a card. "It's not that I don't trust you. I'm just curious."

"Not just anyone has seen something like the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia."

"How do you know that fruit is so powerful?"

"Could it be that you've seen the encyclopedia?"

The fingers holding Karim's cards tightened slightly.

"Second Brother, I've put up both the goods wanted by the Celestial Dragons and slaves with decent potential."

"Even if you're keeping the fruit's name from me..."

"You can at least tell me where it came from and how you knew it was powerful. That's not a problem, right?"

Karim stared at Samuel for several seconds, then tossed the cards in his hand onto the table.

"It's not that I don't want to explain it clearly." Karim leaned back in his chair.

"This fruit was actually obtained through a trade."

"A trade?" Samuel raised an eyebrow. "How much Beli did you spend?"

"Devil Fruits are often something money can't buy."

"I didn't spend any money." Karim wiped his mouth. "Recently, I led a fleet back from the Rossini Archipelago."

"When the fleet was resting on the outskirts of the archipelago, a strange fellow dressed all in white, with his face covered, rowed over in a small boat."

"He came directly aboard my ship and took out a box. When he opened it, that fruit was inside."

Samuel frowned. "What did he trade with you for?"

"People," Karim said.

"He wanted to use the fruit in exchange for a group of refugees who had suddenly appeared in the archipelago."

"I remember that several groups of bounty hunters were already capturing them then. But I had more men and more ships, so I moved faster and snatched them all up before the bounty hunters could."

"Later, after the man in white inspected the goods, he really gave me the fruit. Then he took all those people away."

Samuel stared at Karim, seemingly judging whether his words were true.

A few seconds later, he suddenly smiled.

"Second Brother, don't tell me someone tricked you with a fake fruit?"

"Impossible." Karim was resolute. "The patterns and color of that fruit were definitely genuine."

Just then, a lackey hurried inside.

"Second-in-command! Third-in-command! The boss has already reached the grandstand. The opening ceremony is about to begin!"

"Please hurry over!"

Samuel and Karim stood up at the same time.

They were of similar height, staring at each other across the wooden table.

"Let's go." Karim turned first and headed for the exit.

Samuel followed behind him, the unsettling smile never leaving his lips.

The farther they walked outside, the more thunderous the roar of the arena became, and even the ground beneath their feet trembled.

When they reached the exit of the preparation area,

Samuel suddenly spoke.

"Today, the fruit and the people..."

"I want them all."

Karim did not stop walking.

"If you want them, come take them yourself."

He turned his head slightly.

"You understood the rules long ago."

One after the other, the two entered the arena.

Outside the passageway, the cheers surged like a tsunami.