The others went to draw their balls one by one.
Soon, the final matchups were decided.
"Rayleigh, who would have thought? The very first match is a civil war within the Roger Pirates."
Roger looked at the number one in his hand, then at the number sixteen in Rayleigh's. He was momentarily speechless, but a powerful fighting spirit surged up right afterward.
Roger fixed a burning gaze on Rayleigh, his expression turning serious.
"Let's not waste a stage like this. Let's fight without holding anything back. It feels like we haven't had a serious fight in ages."
The others all turned their attention to their opponents.
Zoffy would face "Yuan Hong" in the second match.
No one had expected the two superpowers to clash so soon.
But Hades knew that Zoffy would not lose.
In swordsmanship alone, the two might be evenly matched, or Zoffy might even be slightly weaker.
But Zoffy held the advantage in the three types of Haki and a physique honed over decades.
This swordsman from the Great Xia Kingdom would lose, not because he was inferior to Zoffy, but because he was too young.
The third match was Captain John against "Hot Spring Ogre" Kirinji Tenjiro.
John glanced at the man with the strange hairstyle.
Although this pompadour-wearing man's swordsmanship was not particularly strong, John still sensed a hint of danger from him.
That meant the man was powerful in other areas.
Still, he remained confident of victory.
The fourth match was Genryūsai Shigekuni against "Five Peaks" Ochoku.
Unlike John, Ochoku gave the muscular "old man" a long look. He sensed a potent threat. He would have to take this seriously, or he would lose.
Then his gaze shifted to a corner of the stands, where an old man with a face covered in wrinkles