Behind Lafayette, Kaito sat at the center of a row of wooden chairs, with Robin and the other officers seated beside him. From their elevated position behind the platform, they looked down upon the assembled members of the War Pirates gathered before the arena.
On one side of the platform, the two giant warriors, Dorry and Brogy, also sat cross-legged, silently observing the upcoming matches.
As Lafayette continued his announcement, he explained that the rules for the Brigade-Level Grand Tournament would be different from the previous rounds.
First, the competition would no longer be restricted to internal promotions within individual brigades.
Instead, every Squadron Captain and every Brigade Captain would compete together.
Second, the number of arenas would be reduced to just one.
The twenty existing Brigade Captains would each take turns defending the arena.
Any Squadron Captain was free to challenge whichever Brigade Captain they wished.
Each Brigade Captain had only one opportunity to defend their position.
Victory meant remaining on the stage.
Defeat meant immediate elimination.
If a defending captain remained unchallenged for ten consecutive minutes, they would automatically retain their position.
The tournament would continue until all twenty Brigade Captain positions had been decided.
After explaining the rules, Lafayette ordered the surrounding pirates to retreat toward the outer edge of the clearing, leaving the center completely open as the battlefield.
"I'll go first!"
"If anyone wants to challenge me..."
"Come!"
Almost immediately after Lafayette announced the beginning of the tournament, one Brigade Captain strode confidently into the center of the arena.
Looking around proudly at the gathered Squadron Captains, he declared his challenge.
It was Bunier.
"Bunier actually rushed out first."
"I thought I'd be the first one up."
"I wonder who'll challenge him."
"That guy's incredibly strong."
"Captain Bunier is on the stage!"
"He's ridiculously powerful."
"I wonder which Squadron Captain would actually dare challenge him."
The moment Bunier appeared, the surrounding pirates erupted into lively discussion.
As one of the earliest Brigade Captains, Bunier was naturally familiar to nearly everyone present.
Because they knew him well...
They also knew how strong he was.
Among all the Brigade Captains...
His strength ranked near the very top.
"That's Bunier."
"That kid really is motivated."
Seated comfortably in the central chair, Kaito crossed one leg over the other, folded his fingers together on his knee, and watched Bunier standing proudly in the center of the arena with obvious interest.
Naturally...
He knew Bunier very well.
After all...
It had been Bunier who had respectfully presented Tashigi to him.
Later...
After Bunier successfully awakened Observation Haki...
Kaito had personally rewarded him with the Bullet Ant Fruit obtained from the Treasure Jade Ice Continent.
In Kaito's opinion...
Bunier's strength was unquestionably outstanding.
Perhaps he couldn't yet compare to Robin or the other senior officers...
But among the Brigade Captains...
He was absolutely among the strongest.
The Bullet Ant Fruit alone was an incredibly valuable ability.
"Bones..."
"Should we go?"
Bentham quietly glanced toward the arena while whispering to Bones.
Bones shook his head.
"Let's wait."
"We should observe for a while first."
Both Bones and Bentham stood among the Squadron Captains waiting to challenge.
Although neither of them lacked strength...
They were not yet powerful enough to become officers directly.
As newcomers...
They had climbed through every stage of the Grand Tournament...
From Team Leader...
To Squadron Captain...
And now...
To the Brigade-Level Tournament.
Since every challenger only had a single opportunity...
And only twenty Brigade Captain positions existed...
No one dared challenge recklessly.
Choosing the wrong opponent...
Meant immediate elimination.
Even veterans hesitated carefully before stepping forward.
Among the Brigade Captains...
Bunier wasn't the only Devil Fruit user.
Although Kaito had not yet distributed the remaining two Ancient Zoan Devil Fruits recovered from the Treasure Jade Ice Continent...
He had previously rewarded four Devil Fruits.
They were:
Ox-Ox Fruit, Impala Model
Dog-Dog Fruit, Coyote Model
Bug-Bug Fruit, Praying Mantis Model
Spring-Spring Fruit
Including Bunier...
Five Brigade Captains now possessed Devil Fruit abilities.
The remaining fifteen captains were not Devil Fruit users...
But none of them were weak.
Some had already mastered the Eight Impacts Fist.
Others specialized in the Six Powers.
Some had awakened Armament Haki.
Others possessed Observation Haki.
Not a single Brigade Captain lacked strength.
Even the weakest among them could easily earn a bounty worth tens of millions of Berries if they sailed independently.
Because everyone understood Bunier's strength...
The surrounding Squadron Captains hesitated.
Still...
The position of Brigade Captain was simply too tempting.
After waiting for a short while...
One Squadron Captain finally stepped forward.
The battle began.
Although the challenger had already mastered the fundamentals of the Eight Impacts Fist...
And had learned portions of the Six Powers...
The gap between him and Bunier was still obvious.
After a brief exchange...
Bunier activated his Devil Fruit.
His body instantly transformed into the human-beast form of the Bullet Ant.
Bullet ants were naturally about five times larger than ordinary ants.
Even in his hybrid form...
Bunier's height expanded from roughly two meters to nearly five meters tall.
His body became that of a massive armored ant-man.
Black chitin covered nearly every inch of his body like heavy armor.
His hands transformed into enormous crushing pincers.
Behind him...
A sharp poisonous stinger extended from his tail.
"Haah!"
With a thunderous roar...
Bunier threw a single punch.
The challenger hurriedly activated Iron Body to defend himself.
But...
It made no difference.
Ants were among nature's strongest creatures relative to their size.
Although the Bullet Ant Fruit's increase in strength wasn't quite comparable to the Muscle Fruit...
It was still astonishing.
Iron Body simply couldn't withstand Bunier's overwhelming power.
Boom!
The Squadron Captain was blasted backward more than ten meters.
Blood sprayed from his mouth as he flew through the air.
He crashed heavily onto the ground...
And immediately lost consciousness.
The medical team, already standing by beside the arena, rushed forward without delay.
They carefully placed the unconscious challenger onto a stretcher before carrying him away for treatment.
"Who's next?!"
Having defeated his opponent with a single punch...
Bunier's confidence only grew stronger.
Raising his enormous pincers...
He glared proudly at the remaining Squadron Captains.
"He's incredibly strong."
"Captain Bunier really lives up to his reputation."
"It looks like nobody dares challenge him."
"Against the other Brigade Captains there might still be a chance..."
"But against Captain Bunier..."
"I doubt any Squadron Captain can beat him."
The surrounding pirates burst into loud cheers after witnessing Bunier's overwhelming victory.
At the same time...
Many began eagerly discussing who would become the next challenger to step onto the arena.
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