Chapter Cover Side Story · The Days on Kuja's Eastern Route · You Two Get 100 Points
Even when Hancock wore that expressionless face and stood there as stiff as a wooden post, her charm was already maxed out.
Now that she was actually dancing, however, her figure became enchantingly graceful and fluid. As she moved, her expressions shifted between faint smiles and playful winks, her seductive allure practically breaking through the heavens.
Only then did Liam remember that this woman was actually a born performer.
It was just that, most of the time, she relied on her beauty to bulldoze her way through life and couldn't be bothered to act.
Suddenly, the three Boa sisters halted their movements in unison with the rhythm of the mesmerizing music, freezing in a pose and looking toward Princess Jolyne on the opposite side.
Robin's heart skipped a beat.
After giving a slight smile, she spread her arms and struck a dance pose of her own.
Stepping to the beat, she snapped her fingers. Flower petals burst forth beside her, and another Robin rose from the ground.
Soon, three Robins, identical in appearance and figure, were dancing opposite Hancock and her sisters.
Compared to Hancock's beauty, which was domineering and almost demonic in its allure, Robin's beauty seemed detached from the mortal world, like a flower fairy dancing amidst the snow.
One group danced, then the other answered in turn, engaging in a continuous dance exchange.
Watching the spectacle, Liam clapped his hands and laughed heartily.
......
Corrida Colosseum – Contestants' Waiting Room
The waiting room had already been reduced to a complete wreck.
Standing by the hole-riddled entrance passage were King Riku and the soldiers he had brought with him, along with Robin and Scarlett, who was hiding behind Robin's back.
Back then, in order to marry Kyros despite his criminal record for killing, Princess Scarlett had staged a fake funeral and officially "died."
Now, worried that someone might discover the truth about her fake death, Scarlett hurriedly hid behind Robin.
They already saw your face, didn't they?
Robin was puzzled.
Although she didn't understand why this woman with the pink braid was hiding, Robin had already noticed something.
Whether they were gladiators in the waiting room or soldiers accompanying the King, everyone had initially been drawn to Scarlett's appearance. Yet they had all quickly looked away, seemingly cooperating with her and pretending they hadn't seen anything.
"Giorno Giovanna..."
Sure enough, when King Riku spoke that name, Kyros calmed down.
Holding his greatsword before Liam, he said in a deep voice,
"Rebecca, come over to Daddy."
"Daddy..."
Little Rebecca poked her head out from behind Liam's leg, blinking. Then she turned toward the entrance where King Riku stood.
"Grandpa..."
King Riku forced a gentle smile.
"Don't be afraid. Everything's fine."
'But I'm not afraid?'
Rebecca tilted her head in confusion.
"Big Brother isn't a bad person, Daddy."
Not a bad person...
To the gladiators standing nearby, who had all frozen like statues after hearing King Riku reveal that the man in sunglasses was Giorno Giovanna, those words sounded almost absurd.
A pirate with a bounty of 400 million Berries.
Someone who had recently fought Whitebeard himself.
Judging from the newspapers, the media had practically portrayed that battle as the clash of the century, the ultimate showdown between titans. And yet this little girl was introducing him in the same tone one might use for the friendly big brother next door.
Was that really appropriate?
"Little girl, your mother is over here."
Robin waved from across the room.
"Mommy!"
Rebecca was about to run toward Robin, but halfway there she suddenly changed her mind and turned back.
In the deathly silence that had fallen over the room because of Giorno's name, she completely ignored the atmosphere.
Running up to Kyros, she affectionately hugged one of his thick legs and looked up with a sweet, obedient smile.
Kyros's heart instantly melted.
He almost couldn't keep hold of the sword in his hand.
Only then did Rebecca cheer happily and run on her short little legs toward her mother behind the beautiful big sister, throwing herself into Scarlett's embrace.
King Riku silently gestured to the surrounding soldiers, signaling them to lower their weapons.
He also glanced at Giorno's female captain, Jolyne Cujoh, before fixing his gaze on Liam.
"Giorno, what is your purpose in coming to Dressrosa?"
Liam replied helplessly, "Can't a person come here for sightseeing if they don't have a purpose?"
Kyros tightened his grip on his sword.
"You are a pirate."
"Kyros, put down the sword." King Riku sighed. "If he truly intended us harm, would holding a sword really allow you to stop him?"
What they needed to do now was completely eliminate any hostility.
Though reluctant, Kyros obeyed the King's order and casually tossed aside the borrowed greatsword he had picked up.
He swept his gaze across the surrounding gladiators.
The moment his fierce eyes touched them, they instinctively took a step back.
Everyone was horrified.
Kyros alone was already terrifying enough.
Just how frightening, then, was Giorno, the man who could casually toss Kyros aside?
Perhaps only those brave enough to face Giorno directly knew the answer.
As for them, they certainly didn't.
"As I said," Liam said with a smile while dusting off his hands, "I'm here sightseeing with my captain. I heard there was a Dwarf race on this island, so I came to see something new."
A Dwarf race?
Everyone's hearts tightened.
King Riku asked in confusion, "A master like you actually believes in fairy tales like that?"
Liam looked at him.
"You mean there aren't any dwarves here?"
King Riku shook his head.
"No."
"Really, are they not real?"
"Yes," King Riku replied. "That said, Dressrosa does have legends about fairies. But they're only legends. At some point, people started misunderstanding them and assuming they referred to an actual race of dwarves..."
"All right then."
Liam turned toward the hole deeper inside the waiting room and walked over.
"Fatty, aren't you coming out yet?"
The gladiators hurriedly made way for him.
Some were so nervous they tripped over themselves and scrambled aside on hands and knees.
At the opening in the wall, Sentomaru emerged carrying his giant axe.
He glared coldly at Giorno before turning to King Riku.
"King of Dressrosa, are you really going to shelter these two pirates?"
King Riku sighed.
With a pitiful yet sincere expression, he said, "It's not that I want to shelter them. The reality is that we simply have no means of opposing pirates of this caliber. Since they have shown no intention of attacking our country, then for the sake of protecting the citizens of Dressrosa, I would rather maintain peace and keep the situation stable until they leave the island."
"Have I done something wrong?"
"..."
Sentomaru remained silent for a long moment.
He looked around.
The soldiers.
The gladiators.
At this moment, what they feared most wasn't Giorno and Jolyne Cujoh.
It was him.
They were afraid he would attack Giorno again and push the situation completely out of control.
Sentomaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Carrying his giant axe over his shoulder, he lowered his head, avoided looking at Giorno, and walked through the path opened by the soldiers toward the hole he had entered through.
As he passed by Jolyne Cujoh, however, he couldn't help shooting her a vicious glare before storming off.
'The tight-lipped Sentomaru... what exactly did he tell you?' the Black Battle Armor asked curiously.
Robin smiled.
"We'll talk about it later."
'Who is she talking to?' Scarlett wondered in confusion while holding little Rebecca.
…
Deep Inside the Waiting Room — Equipment Preparation Room
The room was filled with all kinds of armor and weapons.
Suits of armor, swords, guns, spears, halberds, and other armaments were displayed on racks lining both sides, available for contestants to choose from.
Rebecca stared at everything with wide-eyed amazement.
Yet what attracted her attention the most was the bronze bust standing at the far end of the room.
It was a statue of her father!
"Kyros, the most legendary undefeated gladiator of the Corrida Colosseum..." Robin read aloud from the inscription on the pedestal.
"Over nine years, he fought three thousand consecutive battles and won all three thousand. Across his entire body, he received only a single insignificant sword wound..."
Rebecca's face filled with admiration.
Daddy is amazing!
Scarlett smiled as she watched Kyros's face turn slightly red.
Yet under his daughter's worshipful gaze, even Kyros couldn't help curling the corners of his mouth upward.
If it were Liam...
Robin couldn't help wondering.
How many consecutive victories would he have?
Five thousand?
Ten thousand?
Maybe he would just keep winning forever...
Sentomaru carried his giant axe out of the Corrida Colosseum.
After taking several deep breaths, he finally managed to calm himself down.
Just as he was about to head to a restaurant and eat something to relieve his frustration, he reached into the pocket inside his bib.
His expression changed.
'Damn it. Where's my wallet?'
Back inside the waiting room, the earlier conflict had left the air thick with dust.
Suddenly, cries of alarm erupted from the gladiators.
"Hey! Where's my sword?!"
"Where's my helmet?!"
"Where's my wallet?!"
"Where's my lunch?!!"
"Why did you even bring lunch in here?!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A tiny black shadow, nearly impossible to see with the naked eye, darted through the dusty air of the waiting room.
"I've told you countless times already, Giorno."
King Riku rubbed his forehead with a troubled expression.
"No matter how many times you ask, this country truly doesn't have any dwarves."
Liam was currently examining Kyros's bronze bust.
Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed at empty air beside him.
Smack!
A tiny blue-haired girl was abruptly caught in his hand.
She stared in shock at the enormous human hand gripping her body.
The miniature girl seemed utterly unable to believe that this was actually happening.
(End Of This Chapter)
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