Luffy, by the window, intently stared at Bartolomeo, his eyes flickering a few times.
"That guy is still laughing there, he's really a strange fellow," Luffy said softly.
"He's not just doing all sorts of bad things; his arrogant attitude is what's most annoying.
Unlike me.
His reputation, I'm afraid, even a god would find hard to salvage."
Cavendish slightly raised his hand, sniffing the fragrance of a rose, his face full of disdain.
The referee in the stands was also quite disgusted by Bartolomeo's arrogance, but quickly composed himself, realizing he still had an unfinished task.
"Next, the last contestant from Block B will make his appearance! This person is completely different from that mad Bartolomeo!
This gentleman holds fervent reverence and love for our King Doflamingo.
He crossed dangerous seas, transporting vast amounts of gold from distant lands to present to the King, showcasing his unwavering loyalty.
He even willingly donned a maid outfit to please the King, wishing only to become the King's most loyal hound.
Thereafter, he successively defeated and subjugated those nations that slandered our country as a barbaric Pirate King kingdom.
He is Dressrosa's Bullet of Brutality! Also one of the top contenders for this championship! The Hyena Bellamy!!!"
As Bellamy, dressed in a maid outfit, appeared, the entire audience instantly ignited, erupting in deafening screams, their adoration palpable.
They roared Bellamy's name at the top of their lungs, wave after wave of shouts echoing through the arena.
Cavendish watched this scene with a displeased expression.
"Although this is their home turf, that guy's popularity is just too ridiculous..."
Luffy, on the other hand, looked at the center of the Colosseum with astonishment.
"So many people, are they all going to fight together? I don't even know where to look..."
Cavendish glanced sideways into the arena.
"You just need to pay attention to the strong ones. Let me give you a special introduction to the people I'm watching."
"Then I'll trouble you," Luffy said, uncharacteristically polite, nodding in response.
Cavendish's gaze focused on the fighting stage.
"The man wearing yellow boxing gloves and a crown, and the long-bearded fat man who just teased the Cannibal, are respectively the King of Prodence Kingdom, Fighting King Elizabello II, and his strategist Dagama.
The blue-haired man in a floral shirt is Brusque, the Leg Attack Fighter of the Longleg Tribe.
Those two ugly guys holding harpoons and the scruffy-looking Indian man with a knife are the criminals Abudra and Jett.
The Fishman in the white yukata is the Fishman Jujutsu practitioner Hack.
The rest are Bellamy and Bartolomeo. The ultimate winner will definitely be one of them."
Luffy looked at Cavendish innocently, his voice a bit slow-witted.
"Um... could you say that again...?"
...For a moment, Cavendish wanted to kill this fellow.
The battle in the arena intensified, yet Bartolomeo showed no fighting spirit, lying sprawled on the arena floor, dozing off.
His thoughts began to drift.
"Ah... I really miss Orochimaru-senpai. I wonder when senpai will come... will he come to watch my match?
And Luffy-senpai, I really want to see him in person. (´•౪•`)"
Looking at Bartolomeo's nonchalant appearance on stage, Cavendish gritted his teeth in anger, glaring at him.
"He's utterly reckless! He and Straw Hat Luffy are both juniors who don't know their place; I must take him out in this match!"
Saying this resentfully, Cavendish began to flip through his stack of bounty posters, which looked like toilet paper.
(눈_눈) Luffy looked speechlessly at that stack of toilet paper.
"What are you doing... Cabbage?"
Cavendish flipped through the tattered bounty posters one by one.
"I'm checking the wanted posters of the Worst Generation rookies. Looks like I need to get new ones; too many cuts, I can't see them clearly."
Luffy pouted, seeing his bounty poster so damaged it was almost unrecognizable, cold sweat pouring down (´ﾟжﾟ｀), his voice even a bit guilty.
"I say... why don't you just let it go... spare them..."
But Cavendish flatly refused, still mumbling something.
Meanwhile, in Dressrosa city, Orochimaru was aimlessly wandering around, bored.
It was really too boring... he also wanted to find some fun.
He regretted agreeing to Doflamingo; the discomfort in his body made him want Doffy to die sooner and be reincarnated.
That fellow actually said he wouldn't let him use his abilities to recover, no matter what.
Tsk... really, why should he listen to him?
Pacing on the eaves, Orochimaru's ears suddenly twitched, catching a noisy clamor, among which a certain sound inexplicably felt familiar to him.
Orochimaru steadily propped his hands on the edge of the eaves, his entire body inverted, his head peeking out from the edge of the eaves. He himself was completely unaware of how bizarre and strange this posture was.
From a distance, only a pair of eyes were visible below the eaves, his hair cascading down like a waterfall, floating in the air. An uninformed person, at first glance, might even think it was a terrifying scene from a midnight horror movie.
Pedestrians below, seeing this eerie sight, quickened their pace and fled in a hurry, interspersed with the wails of frightened children.
As expected, from such a peculiar angle, Orochimaru saw Sabo.
At this moment, Sabo was quite startled by the toy's eye unexpectedly popping out, causing Orochimaru's mouth to twitch slightly and unconsciously.
Then he quietly stared at Sabo, who was eating, definitely not because Sabo looked a bit embarrassing.
He secretly mused, so this person is so uninhibited when I'm not around?
This slovenly appearance could almost rival Ace's, right?...What to do, I'm a little disgusted ￢mouth￢ノ
Orochimaru watched Sabo, who hadn't noticed him, trying to lower his presence in the surroundings.
He secretly speculated that Sabo's visit this time was most likely to investigate the underground weapon trade in Dressrosa.
Fortunately, he had prepared in advance and had quietly swapped out all the relevant items underground.
Although he felt some guilt towards Sabo, but... well, Sabo should understand, right? After all, weapons themselves are not at fault!
Because of Orochimaru's deliberate concealment, Sabo, who was gorging himself, remained completely unaware, though his posture was quite a shock to passersby.
Koala sat back-to-back with Sabo, holding up a magazine to cover her face, and reported the situation to Sabo in a low voice.
But Sabo, as if he hadn't heard, just kept eating with his head down.
Koala called out a few more times, and seeing Sabo still unresponsive, she became a bit anxious, her tone unconsciously rising a few notches, calling out with a hint of exasperation.
"Are you even listening?!"
And Orochimaru, hearing the voice, instinctively looked towards Koala.
So this is the childhood friend of Sabo that Dragon mentioned...
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