The results spoke for themselves.
Bunier's overwhelming victory—defeating his challenger with a single punch—was enough to intimidate everyone watching. For the next ten minutes, not a single new challenger stepped into the arena.
On the platform, Lafayette checked the timer in his hand before raising the Loudspeaker Den Den Mushi.
"Bunier has successfully defended his position!"
"That means one Brigade Captain position has officially been secured."
"There are now nineteen positions remaining."
"The next Brigade Captains may enter the arena at their own discretion."
As soon as Bunier stepped down from the stage, another Brigade Captain immediately walked forward.
Unlike Bunier...
This captain wasn't a Devil Fruit user.
However...
He had been one of the earliest members of the original Sword Gang—one of the very first followers to join Kaito.
Although he possessed no Devil Fruit ability...
His strength was no weaker than Bunier's.
He had mastered the Eight Impacts Fist...
Learned several techniques from the Six Powers...
And had awakened both Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
Among all the Brigade Captains...
His strength also ranked near the very top.
Or rather...
Only captains with confidence in overwhelming everyone else would choose to enter the arena this early.
Soon...
A Squadron Captain stepped forward to challenge him.
Another battle immediately began.
Just like Bunier's match...
The outcome came quickly.
The former Sword Gang member defeated his opponent with overwhelming force.
His display of strength created another powerful deterrent.
No additional Squadron Captains dared challenge him during the following ten minutes.
He successfully secured the second Brigade Captain position.
One Brigade Captain after another stepped into the arena.
After every battle...
The watching pirates erupted into cheers, shouts, and applause.
The atmosphere of the Grand Tournament became increasingly lively.
"So even fighters at this level..."
"...still aren't qualified to become officers?"
"This pirate crew is incredible..."
Watching the battles below, Crocodile couldn't help looking toward Kaito, who sat calmly at the center of the officers' platform.
As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea...
He naturally received preferential treatment and had also been given a seat on the platform.
As he observed the matches...
Whether they were Brigade Captains or Squadron Captains...
Every participant displayed exceptional combat ability.
Especially fighters like Bunier.
If Bunier had belonged to the Baroque Works organization...
He would undoubtedly have replaced Bones as Mr. 1, becoming Crocodile's strongest subordinate.
Yet...
In the War Pirates...
Someone of that caliber wasn't even qualified to become an officer.
The difference in standards was astonishing.
It wasn't that Crocodile had never seen stronger pirate crews before...
But among pirate crews that had only recently entered the Grand Line...
The War Pirates were extraordinarily impressive.
As he continued watching...
A new thought gradually surfaced in his mind.
If I defeat Kaito...
Could I simply take control of the entire War Pirates?
"These people are way too strong..."
"I'm afraid your humble servant won't have much chance of winning."
Bentham swallowed nervously as he watched another fierce battle unfold.
Compared to the Team Leader and Squadron Captain tournaments...
The Brigade-Level Tournament was on an entirely different level.
Originally...
Bentham had been quite confident.
He didn't expect to become an officer immediately...
But earning the position of Brigade Captain seemed completely reasonable.
However...
After witnessing only a handful of matches...
That confidence had been thoroughly crushed.
The Brigade Captains were simply far stronger than he had imagined.
Winning against any of them seemed nearly impossible.
Bones remained silent beside him.
However...
His serious expression and unwavering gaze toward the arena revealed exactly what he was thinking.
Originally...
He had delayed entering the tournament specifically to observe the level of competition first.
Now that he had seen it...
Even he felt tremendous pressure.
Although he remained stronger than Bentham...
He no longer felt completely confident about winning.
"The people below have improved so much."
"Even I feel some pressure watching them."
"Exactly."
"Someone like Bunier..."
"I'd have to work pretty hard to beat him."
"I wonder if Beppo can win."
"If he loses..."
"I'm sure he'll be depressed for quite a while."
On the officers' platform...
Robin and the others quietly discussed the battles taking place below.
Some of them even grew noticeably more serious.
After all...
Several of the Brigade Captains had displayed remarkably impressive strength.
Even Robin and the other officers had no choice but to pay close attention.
The next stage...
The Officers' Tournament...
Would begin after this.
None of them wanted to lose their positions.
So every battle became valuable information.
One Brigade Captain entered the arena after another.
Likewise...
The Squadron Captains challenged one after another.
Most Brigade Captains successfully defended their positions.
However...
Several were eventually defeated.
Interestingly...
Every Brigade Captain who lost happened to be a non-Devil Fruit user.
The advantage provided by a Devil Fruit was simply too great.
Furthermore...
Those who had received Devil Fruits from Kaito had already been among the strongest Brigade Captains beforehand.
After obtaining those abilities...
Their strength had risen even further.
Every one of them now ranked among the elite.
Among those who successfully claimed a Brigade Captain position...
Bones was one of them.
After observing the competition for a long time...
He finally selected a comparatively weaker Brigade Captain as his opponent.
The Blade-Blade Fruit truly lived up to its reputation.
It was exceptionally well suited for combat.
His steel body...
Combined with the ability to transform every part of himself into razor-sharp blades...
Made him outstanding in both offense and defense.
Even so...
Victory did not come easily.
His opponent possessed Armament Haki.
Although it was only basic hardening...
It still significantly enhanced both attack and defense.
Bones struggled through an exhausting battle.
Only after suffering serious injuries himself...
Did he finally emerge victorious.
Bentham...
Unfortunately...
Was a step behind.
Even though he also chose one of the comparatively weaker Brigade Captains...
He ultimately failed to defeat his opponent as Bones had.
The result was perfectly understandable.
For one thing...
His Clone-Clone Fruit had not yet developed to the point where it could replicate the abilities of others.
As a result...
It offered very limited assistance in direct combat.
More importantly...
He had only recently joined the War Pirates.
Although Kaito openly shared the Eight Impacts Fist, the Six Powers, and Haki training methods throughout the crew...
Neither Bentham nor Bones had belonged to the crew long enough to truly master those techniques.
Their time simply hadn't been sufficient.
The Brigade-Level Grand Tournament began in the morning...
And continued without interruption until evening.
One major reason was the unexpectedly high level of competition.
Outstanding challengers like Bones repeatedly pushed the defending Brigade Captains into long, evenly matched battles.
As a result...
Many matches lasted far longer than anticipated.
When the Brigade-Level Grand Tournament finally came to an end...
A new generation of twenty Brigade Captains had officially been chosen.
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