Outside of Onigashima, Kaido couldn't care less about the aftermath of the battle; whatever the aftermath, it had nothing to do with him.
At this moment, Yamato showed faint traces of becoming more like Kaido. It wasn't that she had lost control; both Redfield and Yamato were still holding back. What they displayed now was already the result of restraint.
If they didn't restrain themselves, Redfield's ability would be manageable and wouldn't cause significant damage, perhaps only punching a few holes through the island.
But if Yamato were to let loose, Dressrosa turning from a tropical country into a frozen hellscape would only be a matter of time.
Most nations in the one piece world were made up of islands. Except for a handful of superpowers, most had extremely limited land area; especially those within the Grand Line, where a "country" was often no larger than a major city.
Dressrosa wasn't much bigger compared to Opelucid City, and the real Kyurem only needed an instant to freeze Opelucid City.
This was a misjudgment on Speed and Mizerka's part. After the Summit War, Kaido had been secretly—no, openly preparing something big for Yamato.
The preparation phase was quite long, which was why Kaido had yet to make a move.
Because of that, Yamato rarely used her full strength during these two years. Even when training her subordinates, she never went all out. So they were still evaluating her based on their understanding from two years ago.
Dressrosa narrowly escaped disaster, but the Corrida Colosseum wasn't as lucky. The Sandstorm Page One had whipped up didn't last long; under Katakuri's awakened powers, most of the sand turned into part of his mochi, while the rest was gradually assimilated by Yamato's power.
The Corrida Colosseum had entered its own cold winter. Katakuri himself was fine, but the mochi created from his awakened ability had frozen solid like ice, losing all of its original elasticity.
He repeatedly softened it using his power, only for it to freeze again. Eventually, Katakuri decided to end his awakening temporarily to conserve stamina, and went closer to Oven.
In this extreme cold, Oven was a ready-made furnace, perfect for keeping warm. On the other side, Ace served the same purpose.
Even Page One kept his Fire Fang ignited, indirectly turning himself into a large fireplace.
Those without fire-based abilities could only rely on their physical endurance. It was just a bit of cold, nothing that would cause any harm right away.
Although the fighting hadn't completely stopped, it was far less intense than before.
A streak of ice lightning split the air, freezing the seawater surrounding the arena. A fighting fish that had half its body out of the water was instantly turned into a frozen fish.
"The sea's frozen over… I wonder where that fighting fish went."
Ulti slammed her tail against the ice, and the echo told her that the entire Corrida Colosseum's pool had frozen solid.
"Let's wait, Sister. They're afraid of the aftermath from Sister Yamato's battle. No one's going to make a move for a while."
Page One and Ulti decided to wait and watch. Once Yamato finished her battle and was free, they could easily obtain the Devil Fruit.
They were different from the other contestants. If they couldn't get the fruit directly, they at least had the option to stall for time.
"Ah-ah-choo! Dear audience, you can probably feel the temperature in the Corrida Colosseum dropping rapidly. Those who can't take it, I suggest you move away. Even if you stay, you might not be able to see clearly."
"I'll stay here and keep commentating for everyone, ah-choo!"
Everyone in the arena was battle-hardened, even Buggy. You couldn't deny his combat experience just because he always ended up getting beaten.
They could still endure it, but the spectators were another story. Following Gatz's advice, many chose to leave. The cold was one thing, but the aftermath of the battle inside the Corrida Colosseum was getting bigger and bigger.
They were worried that if they kept watching, they wouldn't be able to walk away, but some people still surprisingly insisted on staying.
In a corner of the stands, a large wall had been built from white wax. Dozens of observation holes were carved into it. These were all Buggy's men, waiting to watch his battle.
Behind the crowd, Mr. 3 and Cabaji had started playing poker right where they stood.
"How long have you all been standing here? Is it really worth putting in this much effort?"
"Brother 3, this is Captain Buggy's moment of glory! He must have planned for this finals long ago! If we don't watch properly, we might never get another chance!"
"Well, that's true. If he dies, you really won't get another chance. Let's hope that guy doesn't lose his mind and throw his life away."
Mr. 3 interpreted the fanboy's words in a completely different way. Looking at the underlings filming Buggy with Den Den Mushi, he had already given up on complaining or trying to stop them.
But so far, they hadn't seen Buggy take any action. Since the finals began, Buggy had basically turned into an invisible man.
It was as if he wasn't even in the arena. At this moment, his feet were hooked onto the side of the arena. He was wearing cleats modified using Mr. 3's ability, with nails in the soles that allowed him to anchor himself to vertical surfaces.
Then his body flew up to the highest point within his ability's range, clearly indicating he didn't want to involve himself. The reason was simple: he didn't think he could afford to mess with any of the 15 people down there.
He hadn't even considered attacking Rebecca; not because he had a sudden moral awakening and felt bullying the weak was wrong, but because he feared triggering unpredictable consequences. Now Shiryu had personally shown Buggy what such consequences looked like.
"Good thing I didn't go after that little girl, or I'd be the one turned into an old man right now. But that Shiryu... he's given me an opportunity!"
Watching Shiryu shiver in the cold wind, Buggy suddenly had an idea.
On these seas, pirate culture was prevalent. Whether it was warlord-like factions like the Emperors of the Sea, or various adventure crews and exploration teams; if they operated without the World Government's permission, they were considered pirates.
And the word "pirate" itself wasn't exactly a compliment. Among those present, the ones who best embodied what a real pirate was were Buggy and Shiryu.
Despicable, cruel, greedy; these traits fit them both perfectly.
"As long as I take that guy down, I'll finally have a real achievement to my name."
Among all the Shichibukai, Buggy was undoubtedly the one with the least prestige.
Others either possessed terrifying destructive power and overwhelming combat ability...
Or had entered into some deal with the World Government, displayed astonishing talent, or carried some sort of political significance.
At worst, they were defeated by some top-tier powerhouses, people whose reputations shone as brightly as the midday sun, and merely surviving against them was already a sign of strength.
But only Buggy had been bizarrely propped up by public opinion. Though his underlings hyped him up and he shamelessly accepted it, deep down, he knew exactly how weak he really was.
With a single notable achievement, everything would become easier later on; whether recruiting new subordinates or intimidating enemies. He could boast that he was the man who took down the former Head Jailer, Shiryu of the Rain.
As for Shiryu's missing arm and the fact that Redfield had already drained his lifespan; those details could easily be ignored.
In time, people would only remember the result.
"Gyahahaha! Shiryu! Prepare yourself! Feel the wrath of Lord Buggy! Chop-Chop Clown Clown Throwing Knives!"
Buggy's hands hurled a barrage of throwing knives at Shiryu. Even though Shiryu's condition couldn't have been worse, Buggy still maintained a very safe distance.
"You... b*stard…"
Too weak to even use his Haki, Shiryu could only watch as Buggy's throwing knives stabbed into him one after another. In the bitter cold, his life slipped away until finally, he stopped breathing.
To die at the hands of a cowardly clown like Buggy became the most humiliating event in Shiryu's life; a disgrace he could never erase.
"Gyahahaha! You see that, boys? This is the power of Lord Buggy!"
The overjoyed and arrogant Buggy had just killed the most formidable opponent of his life, but he seemed to forget that those who climb too high are the easiest to be struck by lightning. Perhaps it was divine retribution for his shamelessness, or maybe someone simply couldn't stand him anymore.
A thick bolt of ice lightning crashed down from the sky, freezing the smug Buggy into a solid block of ice before he plummeted back onto the arena.
"Ice Dragon Bagua!"
A dragon-shaped phantom burst from Takeru's body. Within it, the will of Takeru 1.0 through Takeru 6.0 could vaguely be seen. Even in the darkness, Yamato locked onto her target.
Darkness, however, was the vampire's natural battlefield. Even though the power within Yamato allowed her to evade Observation Haki's prediction, Redfield relied on his immense combat experience to adjust instantly.
As her kanabo swept toward his waist, Redfield dispersed into a swarm of bats under the attack and reformed his body in the darkness. Moreover, in Yamato's perception, Redfield's aura had split from one into four.
Those were Redfield's clones, formed from scattered bats. While they expanded the range of his attacks, they also weakened his main body. But as long as the clones remained, Redfield was effectively immortal.
An all-encompassing assault came at her, only to be completely blocked by a circular barrier.
"Aren't you supposed to be a vampire? Since when can you make clones like that?!"
"Just a little trick. Compared to your abilities, this is nothing, right? Lightning, frost, shockwaves, and barriers. We're both Mythical Zoans, but you're much more of a cheat than I am."
"Right back at you, but you've stayed in the dark long enough!"
Electricity gathered on her wings, and a flash of lightning split through Redfield's dark domain. Last time, Yamato used an ice mountain to occupy all of Redfield's dark domain, forcing him to retreat.
However, as Redfield regained his youth, the area covered by the darkness also became much larger. Simply using physical volume expansion was no longer effective.
So with a bit of preparation, she unleashed lightning that filled the entire darkness. Even if he transformed into bats, he couldn't escape the all-encompassing lightning. This was thunderbolt powerful enough to shatter the darkness itself.
TN: Hey guys, I've picked up a new One Piece novel. You can search it: One Piece: The Undying King.
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