After searching for the place where the competition would be held to win many prizes, including Devil Fruits, one of which is Arthur's, or it could be that it was his.
I won't say coliseum, since I don't see any coliseum in this place. I could use Haki to observe the surroundings, but I feel like those things take the excitement out of life. I only use Observation Haki when I feel it's truly necessary.
Balesca: "I sense many presences beneath the island," she said, standing next to me.
Dante: "Did you use Haki?"
Balesca: "Part of it—I'd been here once, a long time ago, but I barely remembered anything. I know there are some secret facilities here, which are in Ruby's hands."
Yamato: "Why didn't you say so before?" she said, doing the same thing as Balesca, but from my other side.
Baelsca: "I just said I didn't remember; besides, these guys have a lot of secret facilities; hopefully I knew the name of the island where I was permanently housed when I was working for Hades."
Yamato: "Hades, what?" she said, confused, not knowing who Hades was.
Dante: "Forget it; let's just follow the plan I laid out."
Yamato and Balesca: "Understood," they both said, leaving me alone.
The plan was simple, at least on my part: enter the coliseum as a participant, win, and take home all the prizes. Nothing too elaborate.
I walked for a while until I met someone, who freaked out when he saw me. He quickly ran away, but I caught him before he could take a few steps.
Dante: "Why are you running away?"
Guy: "Forgive me, I swear I didn't do anything. I'm just a humble guy who wants to provide for his family any way I can." The guy dressed as a guard started making excuses to get me to let him go. It made me laugh, but I wouldn't leave him alone with that, at least not until I got some information.
Dante: "Why are you so scared? Do you think I'll do something to you or the place?"
Guy: "Huh? Aren't they supposed to destroy everything and shut down the coliseum so they can arrest or kill us all?"
I can't believe that's the image I present to some people. It's not that far from my former self, but I'm already retired. It's a pain to do all that. I'm only here for a specific reason, and if I can steal it to avoid being here, I'll do it without any shame.
Dante: "No, I'm here to participate in the coliseum, nothing more."
Guy: "Really?"
Dante: "Really."
Guy: "Really?"
Dante: "Yeah, really."
Guy: "Really, really?"
Dante: "YES, SHIT, don't you get it the first time?"
Guy: "Oh, sorry, if you're really coming to participate in the coliseum, let me take you to register, follow me," he said, still fearful.
I just followed him, intending to finish this as quickly as possible.
....
Dante: "So, this will all be broadcast," I said, looking at the guy in front of me.
I was standing at the entrance to the coliseum, ready to go in and be part of this whole circus. The person here seemed to be someone from Ruby; he didn't look like a normal guard; he was playing with a fan of cards in his hands as if nothing was happening.
???: "The broadcast will be for the underworld associates, but with you here," he said, taking his eyes off his cards to look at me, "it'll be something more world-class."
I just rolled my eyes. I quickly looked back at the paperwork and entered my name and some minor information.
???: "Your number is 59, you're in row H, and you must win the final of that final to reach the real coliseum finals, good luck," he said, handing me a number.
I just took it and left, following the signs indicating row H.
POV: Third-person
The man watched as Dante entered the basement, where the various clashes would take place in the coliseum.
He gestured to one of the guards monitoring the area to come closer.
Man 2: "What can I do for you, Mr. Franco?" he said to the man holding the deck of cards.
Franco: "Tell the boss that her prize has arrived." He said simply.
Man 2: "Understood." He said, heading to a spot in the center of the island.
The man identified as Franco continued playing with the deck of cards as if nothing had happened, but inside, he was struggling with the odds and ends of his boss's idea working and what would happen if it didn't. It made his hair stand on end.
*On another part of the island.*
A beautiful woman could be seen dressed in a loose yukata, revealing much of her body but covering only the necessary amount. She had black hair and red eyes.
Surrounding her were five handsome and charming men. One was fanning her with a giant fan, another was massaging her feet, another was massaging her shoulders, another was feeding her food from the plate to her mouth, and the last was standing guard.
The five men were doing their jobs perfectly and mechanically, as if they were being controlled, as if they had no emotions, like puppets.
In the midst of her moment of relaxation, the door slammed open. The man standing guard tried to attack, but the woman stopped him with a movement, making him return to his original position.
"Adelina, I'm here." And with just that simple sentence, the woman now known as Adeline tensed, only to give a satisfied smile and relax again.
Adelina saw the woman in front of her. A woman with red hair, black eyes, and somewhat ordinary clothing, thinking about her clothes when Hades was still alive. Denim shorts, a black unisex t-shirt, and a red jacket that matched her hair.
Adelina: "I didn't think this plan would work, but here it is. The first part is done. What's next, Ruby?"
Ruby: "It was very likely to work, knowing he was after that Devil Fruit, with this 'information leak.'" She said "information leak," making a quotation mark gesture with her fingers. "The important thing is that it worked; he's most likely on guard, so we have to avoid tension and just follow the plan. What follows is waiting for him to win the Coliseum. That way, you can meet him and use your mental powers to control him. That way, you get the man under your command, and I get my ultimate champion."
Adelina: "Fufufu, I've been waiting for the day this would finally happen, to have that girl under my thumb and use her however I want, to be a proper personal gigolo."
Ruby looked a little disgusted by Adelina's recent comment.
Ruby: "He wasn't your nephew; how can you think of him that way? I thought you wanted him as a private bodyguard, not to satisfy your grandmotherly sexual needs." She said in a disgusted voice.
Adelina's eyes turned bloodshot, and she glared at Ruby when she heard the term "grandmother" used to refer to her.
She was already quite old, but that didn't diminish her charm and sensuality, with few to no wrinkles on her body; if she could be classified as anything, she would be a mature MILF.
Adelina: "You'd better think before you speak, since the plan depends entirely on me. Once it works, Dante is completely under my command, and I can easily order him to kill you right then and there."
Ruby just smiled, since the world Adelina lived in only existed if the plan worked, and if she was honest, she didn't believe the success of all this was 100% guaranteed.
And if it failed, the one who suffered the immediate consequences would be Adelina.
Ruby: "Yes, yes, whatever you say, the tournament is about to begin, so get comfortable and see how it all unfolds," she said, turning to leave the room, not wanting to talk to her anymore.
Currently, the two are in an alliance and on equal terms. Basically, if one ruins the other, she can repay them immediately.
As long as she's not there at the time, she can prevent Dante from ordering her to be killed, and if she wants to be clever enough not to give up certain controls on her, she could extort her in a certain way, since Adelina has more to lose than she does.
With the conversation over, the two went about their routine. What neither of them knew was that the mole had heard the entire conversation.
In a ventilation booth in Adelina's break room, Balesca was hiding, having overheard the entire conversation.
Balesca: 'It's a good thing these women are so arrogant and didn't use Observation Haki to check that there was no one around them,' she thought.
...
POV Dante
Announcer: "We're back, everyone. We're now in row H of this coliseum. Just like the previous rows, there are eight participants, who will face each other one by one until only one winner remains."
The audience roared with applause; most of the people here were wealthy or well-connected enough to be able to watch all of this live.
I was literally in jail; if the other non-participants had been the same, I would have thought this was something against me.
???: "Well, well, the great hero Dante, long time no see." I heard a voice; it sounded familiar, so I turned to see where it was coming from.
It was a tall man with short brown hair and black eyes; he was wearing a scarf that covered most of his hair, like Whitebeard.
Dante: "And who are you?" I asked, not knowing who it was.
???: "I'm Hogan. A long time ago, I worked for Hades and tried to kill you, but I couldn't. Now I work for Ruby and I'm guarding the contestant booths." He said, pointing to himself with a smile that reflected the light.
Dante: "Who?" I replied.
Hogan: "The guy you fought years ago, the hard hitter," he said, getting nervous.
Dante: "Who?" I asked again.
Hogan's smile faltered, and he looked at me sadly.
Participant 60: "You better get out of here, loser."
Participant 63: "Yeah, nobody knows you."
Participant 55: "You're embarrassing; get lost."
Hogan looked at the ground, depressed, and turned to leave silently, in utter defeat.
Honestly, I think I remember, but our interaction was so minimal that, beyond the fact that we fought, I didn't know what else to say.
Maybe it was a great anecdote for him to say that he fought side by side with Dante, but I don't know if that can be matched today.
Once he left, I decided to keep listening to the announcer.
Announcer: "As a reminder, and also for the participants in these rounds, the winner of this row will go directly to the finals, which will be the following day, as there's no time left for that. Also, remember that the only way to win is for your opponent to surrender, become unconscious, or die. If there's any Conqueror's Haki user, we ask that they not use it, as it could cause the audience to faint. Without further ado, let the next round begin. Participants 61 and 58 enter the arena."
The audience could be heard cheering and cheering with euphoria; I also saw the door open for Participant 58, and to leave, it opened for Participant 61. You must do this to prevent them from facing off outside the arena.
The good thing about all this is that in the hallway leading into the arena, there was a screen where the entire fight could be seen, and it was visible to everyone.
The two were introduced, but I didn't pay attention.
I watched them go head-to-head; one was stronger than the other, but his opponent was more perceptive, but it was no use. Participant 61 managed to grab 58's head, where they started to form up, so that in the end, 61 broke 58's neck, killing him instantly.
The crowd applauded and celebrated Participant 61's victory; it was like animals celebrating a massacre; this was totally encouraged by Ruby.
Ruby lived off the spectacle and the blood; she dedicated herself to training the most twisted people in this world. Battles to the death, regardless of age; confrontations with monsters; live torture; live rape; whoever it was; manhunts, like what happened in God Valley; and other horrific things.
Honestly, I don't know who disgusted me more, Ruby herself or the guys who paid for all this, and the worst part is that I knew why they did all this: to feel superior. All of these things are what World Nobles do; doing the same thing as them makes them think in their minds that they are just like them.
But there was one difference: World Nobles were taught from childhood to be this way, and the cycle repeats, but these people voluntarily decided to be shitty people. World Nobles are still shitty, but they have nothing else, ironically, but these people may or may not decide to be shitty, but they choose to be, and for me, that made my blood boil.
That's why I hate people who try to be World Nobles more than the World Nobles themselves.
Announcer: "This fight was very satisfying with the victory of Participant 61; now, the next match." He said, leading to a tense silence. "Let Participants 64 and 59 enter the arena," he said, bringing the audience back to its euphoria.
First, the door opened for contestant 64. He was a man with long white hair, iron cuffs, and a confident gait.
The announcer explained who he was, but I didn't care; I'd never seen any of these guys before, so they're just NPCs to me.
Once the guy arrived at the center of the arena, he began introducing me; the cell he was in opened as he did so. I led the way to the arena entrance.
Announcer: "Now we have a very special guest. He's traveled almost all over the world and fought some very strong people; among them is the former Admiral Zephyr. He defeated several people from the underworld, including their former leader, and these are mere public facts; imagine how little is known. His last greatest achievement was three years ago, defeating the current Admiral Kizaru. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce contestant 59, a former world noble, Dante Manmayer, the great hero."
The entire audience was euphoric with my performance, even more so when they saw me enter.
I can literally say it's a coliseum. I know it's like the one in Rome, except the lighting is completely artificial since it's underground.
My opponent, whoever he was, was nervous; I could feel it immediately, but it didn't show on his face. It was still a little noticeable, as he started sweating profusely right then and there.
Participant 64: "I never thought I'd have the honor of hitting a world noble," he said confidently.
I didn't answer him; I just looked at him sadly.
Announcer: "Let the fight begin," he said, causing my opponent to lunge at me. I saw him use a bit of Haki in his hands, but not in his mitts.
The moment he threw the punch, I only turned slightly to the left, causing the blow to miss completely.
He saw me panicking a little, and that turned into full-blown panic when he saw I also had my fist ready to attack with Haki.
And in less than a second, I had already punched him in the face, not with much force, but enough to send him flying against the arena wall.
No one said anything; they just stared at the guy who flew away, waiting for the smoke to clear to see how he was doing. Once it did, they saw my opponent pinned to the wall, covered in blood, and unconscious.
Announcer: "Incredible, I defeated him with a single blow. I expected nothing less from the man they say can match the greatest sea monsters."
Everyone celebrated my victory, shouting my name, but I didn't pay attention to it, since this wasn't a victory for me; I just landed a punch on a guy, and there was nothing to celebrate. I'm quite narcissistic in these kinds of cases, and I admit that, but not in this case.
And so I returned to my resting place/cell to await my next fight, while the other participants looked at me with fear, some with anticipation.
....
Third-Person POV
In Mary Geoise, you could see how the Gorosei viewed the confrontations. It was mostly to gauge the skill of certain people, to see if they could recruit them to the world government if they saw it as worthwhile.
That was the idea until someone showed up in row H of the coliseum, someone no one expected.
Nasjuro: "Hey, Toppman," he said upon seeing one of the five elders, more specifically the bald man with a mustache.
Warcury: "Yeah, I know," he said, stopping Nasjuro from speaking.
At that moment, he took a den den mushi and communicated with someone. Toppman Warcury held the title of law, so he was in charge of ensuring everything was carried out in the name and as the hand of the gods.
Shortly after, four people entered, those who had been summoned before the five elders.
Marcus: "It's about time you appeared, Figarland, Shepherd, and the last two remnants of the Manmayers."
Facing the Gorosei were two holy knights and two aspirants of the same.
The first was Shamrock Figarland; the second, the current commander of the God Knights; the third, a veteran of the same knights, Sommers Shepherd; and finally, the last two children of Ares Manmayer, Alexander and Dianna Manmayer.
Shamrock: "What do you need us for, Gorosei?" he said almost respectfully.
Marcus: "See for yourselves," he said, pointing at the screen.
It showed Dante's second fight, in which he defeated his opponent with ease.
Both Alex and Dianna tensed when they recognized their brother; they had always been aware of what he was doing and, therefore, knew how strong he was.
Sommers looked on without much interest, but Shamrock looked a little confused. This is because he met Dante when he was younger, and from what he'd learned about him, he hadn't changed much. They weren't friends, but he always thought Dante would be his greatest rival to become leader of the Knights of God. That never happened, but that equal mentality always remained in his mind, especially when he learned of all the accomplishments I'd made in the outside world.
Topman: "We can't let him run free after his sins. You must capture him, alive if possible. He's no more good alive than dead. The Navy and the CP0 proved incompetent in this task, so we sent him to you." Then he looked back at the two brothers. "We sent you so you can convince Dante to come back here and so you can go back to undo all the damage your father, your firstborn, and Dante did to the Manmayer name; do you understand?"
Alex and Dianna: "Understood."
Jaygarcia: "Be careful. From what we know, Dante can kill people with immortality." The moment he said that, I saw the four of them tense up, especially Sommers. "So you have to be careful. We can't afford to lose any more of God's Knights."
Ju Peter: "This is where the coliseum is held. If you leave now, you'll be there tomorrow to watch the finals," he said, handing Shamrock directions and a map, along with an eternal pose.
Shamrock: "Understood." And so they immediately left, unaware of all the chaos that would ensue on that island and some events that would remain etched in the minds of many people.