"Is this newcomer… a monster?!"
On the high platform, the vice admirals were visibly shaken.
One of them couldn't help but speak up, his voice laced with disbelief. Even through the broadcast, he could tell—if he were to face Mundo himself, he probably wouldn't stand a chance.
Many other vice admirals around him silently nodded in agreement.
And it wasn't just them.
Even the Three Admirals—Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru—were now staring intently at Fenric, visibly astonished.
In terms of Armament Haki cultivation, Fenric was already close to them!
The assessment continued.
But now that everyone had witnessed the showdown between Mundo and Yumo, their standards had drastically changed. The rest of the battles now seemed dull in comparison.
The real reason no one left yet?
It was simple.
Everyone wanted to see Senior Mundo go head-to-head with that blind uncle!
That blind uncle—shrouded in mystery—had been finishing fights in a single move. His strength was obvious.
Now, it all came down to this: which of these two powerhouses would take first place?
As time passed, more and more contestants were eliminated.
A few hours later, fewer than ten participants remained.
"The next match: Contestant No. 30, Mundo, versus Contestant No. 11, Sentomaru! Will both contestants please come forward!" the referee called.
"I surrender!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Sentomaru gave up.
He jumped off the platform casually and strolled away, utterly unconcerned.
The crowd: "...???"
"WHAT?!"
No one had expected that little fat man to forfeit without even putting up a fight.
Originally, Sentomaru was considered one of the top contenders. After Momonga was eliminated, many thought he'd have a shot at making the top three.
Now?
He just… quit.
That left the third-place candidate slot wide open again.
But as for who would take first or second?
Everyone agreed—it could only be between Senior Mundo and the blind uncle.
With Sentomaru out, only six people remained:
Senior Mundo, the blind uncle, and four others.
To Fenric's surprise, two of the remaining four were clearly Samsara players—one man, one woman.
The man went by the nickname "Beast", and the woman by "Sunflower."
It was obvious they weren't using techniques native to the One Piece world. That alone marked them as Samsara players.
For them to make it this far was already impressive.
Fenric recognized their nicknames, which meant their reputation in the Samsara Space must be significant.
In truth, both Beast and Sunflower never imagined they'd get this far.
They chalked it up to luck—and above all, to the guidance of their revered boss: Shura.
That's right.
They had already guessed that Mundo was Shura's alternate identity.
Before entering the third-layer world, they had done plenty of research and learned that the two strongest NPCs in this Navy assessment were the blind swordsman and Yumo.
Mundo's name never came up.
So when he suddenly appeared and demonstrated overwhelming strength, there was only one explanation: he was a Samsara player—and not just any Samsara.
Only someone like Shura could pull this off.
Of course, due to system rules, Samsara players weren't allowed to reveal too much about the Samsara Space. So even though they knew who Mundo really was, they didn't dare say it aloud.
Still, when they looked at Fenric, their eyes were filled with awe and admiration.
Shura was just too powerful!
After all, since the Samsara Space began, the best anyone had done in the Third Stage was third place, achieved by someone named Adam.
And now?
Their boss was going for first!
"The next match: Contestant No. 13, Beast, versus Contestant No. 22, Issho! Please take the stage!"
The referee's words wiped the smile right off Beast's face.
Still, he forced a bitter smile and stepped into the ring.
He knew the blind man was incredibly strong—but as a Samsara player, this assessment was important. His final rewards would depend on his performance.
Beast didn't expect to win.
He just wanted to last longer than one move, to break the "instant defeat" streak the blind uncle had going.
But he was still too optimistic.
He didn't even see the strike.
One moment he stepped onto the platform, and the next—he was airborne, flung out of the ring.
…Same as everyone else.
"The next match: Contestant No. 66, Sunflower, versus Contestant No. 4, Samo!"
Surprisingly, Sunflower and this marine named Samo ended up in a back-and-forth brawl. They were evenly matched.
But…
To the audience, it was a snoozefest.
Two rookies pecking at each other.
The crowd just wanted to skip the warm-up acts and get to the main event!
Eventually, after more than ten minutes of grinding it out, Sunflower launched Samo out of the ring with a high kick.
According to the rules, falling off the platform meant instant loss.
Sunflower took the win.
Next, it was Fenric's turn to draw lots.
Unfortunately, he drew No. 66.
Sunflower.
"The next match: Contestant No. 30, Mundo, versus Contestant No. 66, Sunflower!"
Sunflower, still catching her breath from the last match, froze. Her face instantly fell.
She had just expended most of her energy… and now she had to face the Shura boss himself?
Yeah, no thanks.
She wasn't going to embarrass herself.
"I surrender!" she said immediately.
Now, only three contestants remained:
Senior Mundo, the blind uncle, and one extremely lucky recruit.
The final lottery draw belonged to that last marine.
"Hey rookie, your turn to draw!" the referee called out.
The marine stepped up nervously, glancing at Mundo and the blind swordsman before weakly asking:
"Uh… can I skip this part?"
Pffft!
The crowd burst into laughter.
"Haha! This guy's hilarious!"
"His luck's finally run out!"
"There's no way he can take on either of those monsters!"
"Still, for a rookie, he's done amazing just to make it this far."
"That's true. But next… it's the showdown we've all been waiting for!"
Mundo vs. the blind swordsman!
The arena buzzed with excitement as the tension built.
As for the rookie?
He stepped onto the stage, eyes closed, and randomly pulled a number ball.
No. 30.
He looked at the number, sighed, and didn't wait for the referee.
"I abstain!!"