With Enel sent to the emergency room, Aileen naturally claimed victory in the first match of the junior quarterfinals.
Dragging her body, which had recovered some strength, Aileen returned to the center of the arena and raised her longbow, ready to enjoy the crowd's belated cheers.
Seeing Aileen's gesture, the spectators understood what she wanted. With knowing smiles, they began cheering for her.
This was the glory that belonged to the victor.
Lind merely smiled, inwardly happy for his daughter as well.
The next day soon arrived, bringing the second match of the junior quarterfinals: Buggy against Zeta.
This time, however, the match had moved to Arena Two. Aileen and Enel's battle had damaged Arena One rather badly, and it needed major repairs.
This was one advantage of building multiple arenas: there were plenty of backups.
At that moment, two figures, one large and one small, stood facing each other on the platform in Arena Two, but their demeanors stood in stark contrast to their builds.
At five meters tall, Zeta should have been the fierce-looking one, yet he radiated a gentle, soothing air that had nothing to do with pirates.
The small, slender Buggy, on the other hand, exuded an icy disregard for life. Even among the powerhouse division's contestants, few possessed such a demeanor. Anyone who did not know better might have thought he was the leader of some major pirate crew.
"Jihahahaha! There's something familiar about this little fellow Buggy. Doesn't he remind you of the captain?" Shiki said with a laugh as he watched Buggy, whose entire bearing warned strangers to keep their distance.
"Indeed. He wasn't like this when I saw him aboard Roger's ship last time. How did he change so much in just a few years?" Whitebeard asked in puzzlement, casting a questioning