In Dressrosa, Doflamingo sat before a projection, his left arm around Violet, his right hand holding a glass of fine wine, letting out a "Fufufufu!" laugh.
"Is it finally starting? But… why aren't any Marine or World Government people participating? Is Renji the only one competing?"
"It seems there's a big move indeed."
"Renji and that Golden Lion are in the same battle zone? Fufufufu, now I'll finally get to see some of your true strength."
In the sea near Galzburg, Marine and World Government personnel on numerous warships were also watching the live broadcast.
Lucci, seeing that Shiki was in the same battle zone as Renji, couldn't help but sneer, "Heh heh, it seems our esteemed Commander-in-Chief isn't having much luck."
"Lucci, do you think Renji can win?" Kaku asked, looking at the screen.
Even through the screen, he could feel Shiki's terrifying presence.
Lucci's face was full of mockery, and a smug thought flashed through his mind.
"He'll win. He is our esteemed Commander-in-Chief after all."
The arena was vast, with a large number of participants divided into different areas. Within a limited time, only a select few from each battle zone could advance to the next round.
"The first round will eliminate 90% of the people. How exciting!"
[Ding! Detected Host's current situation! A new selection has been triggered!]
[Choice One: Faced with the provocation of the peak pirate Shiki, you choose to forcefully suppress him, shocking the world!]
[Reward: Heavenly Six Eyes upgraded to Lv.8]
[Choice Two: Faced with the provocation of the peak pirate Shiki, looking at that scruffy old man with a tuft of yellow hair on his head, you are so disgusted that you uncharacteristically feel socially anxious and decide to temporarily avoid his edge!]
[Reward: 500 Bounty points]
[Choice Three: Looking at the tuft of yellow hair on the peak pirate Shiki's head, your extraordinarily handsome self can no longer tolerate it. Even your opponent needs a certain aesthetic standard, so you choose to help him improve his hairstyle!]
[Reward: Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue upgraded to Lv. 8]
The system's light screen choices appeared before him.
Renji's eyes swept over Shiki, who was at the same height as him, and his gaze slowly focused on the latter's hairstyle.
A moment later, he nodded. "Hmm, indeed."
"?"
Shiki noticed Renji's gaze and couldn't help but show a puzzled expression.
After so many years of battles at sea, he was absolutely certain that Renji's gaze was not one of killing intent.
Instead, it was more like…
Well, he didn't know.
After all, in all these years, no one had ever looked at him with such a gaze. If he couldn't figure it out, then he wouldn't bother.
"Kid, don't you understand?" Shiki discarded his distracting thoughts, a cruel smile forming on his lips.
"Your head is held too high."
Buzz... Buzz...
As he spoke, the twin blades beneath his feet hummed, and incredibly sharp slashes formed small tornados circulating around them.
The terrifying sharpness emanating from it made even the people in the arena below feel a stinging sensation on their skin.
"There's no mistake, this slash is so sharp! He's that legendary pirate… Golden Lion Shiki."
"Damn it, we're actually in the same battle zone as a guy like this? What kind of trash matchmaking system is this?!"
"Starting with a peak match, this guy is a great pirate on par with Roger and Whitebeard."
"Don't panic, Shiki seems to be targeting Renji. We just need to watch from the sidelines, it's very safe."
No sooner had the person finished speaking than a fierce slash swept across, instantly cutting him in half.
In the arena, a stunning trench instantly formed.
The faces of everyone in the arena instantly changed dramatically.
"Heh heh, I got a little excited and didn't control my strength."
Shiki looked at Renji and said casually, "Two years ago, you were the one who sent Newgate off?"
Renji didn't answer, only looking at Shiki's head.
"What kind of hairstyle do you like?" He suddenly spoke.
"Huh?" Shiki furrowed his brows, utterly confused.
Renji asked, "Middle part? Three-seven split? Choppy fringe or an American quiff?"
Listening to the unfamiliar terms from the other party, Shiki angrily said, "Brat, are you looking down on me?!"
Renji shook his head and sighed, "Forget it, it's ugly no matter what."
"!!!" Shiki clenched his fists.
He hadn't understood before, but now he understood. This bastard dared to insult him?!
"You…" Shiki roared.
But just as he was halfway through his sentence, his powerful Observation Haki and the strong sense of danger he had honed over the years made him realize something was wrong, and he instantly lowered his head by half.
The next instant.
Crack!
The yellow hair tied up on his head was smoothly and cleanly cut, large clumps of yellow hair scattering, scaring him so much that cold sweat broke out on his back.
"Furthermore..." Renji extended a finger, a cold smirk on his lips.
"Your head is held too high."
Whoosh!
"Did I see that right? That was… Renji's No-Sword Style just now?!"
"He actually cut off Golden Lion's hair in an instant. I didn't even see his starting move."
"Holy cow! This Golden Lion is something else, too. Worthy of being a great pirate once famous across the seas, he reacted so quickly."
"Tch, if Golden Lion hadn't lowered his head, he'd already be at the same table as Whitebeard."
Drip!
Sweat dripped from Shiki's forehead. It had been a long time since he had felt this level of danger.
Just one exchange had already made him feel the sensation of a life-or-death crisis.
"Hahahaha! How interesting..."
Swish!
Invisible slashes shot out wildly. Feeling the sharpness within the moves, Shiki didn't even have time to finish his sentence before he was scared into hurriedly dodging.
Clang... Clang...
The invisible slashes cut through the area where Shiki had been, and the arena wall in that direction began to tremble violently.
At the same time, in other arena battle zones, top powerhouses like Kaido sensed something and instantly looked upwards.
Clang... Clang...
The sharp slashes cut through, and in the terrified eyes of the crowd, the incredibly hard, massive wall actually developed white marks, and then—
Boom!
The entire wall instantly shook upwards, then was split into several pieces.
"Kaido-sama! That is…"
Looking at the invisible attack in the sky, King involuntarily entered a combat state, his hand gripping the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"This is a slash. So sharp..."
Kaido looked at the cut surface of the wall, his eyes flickering slightly.
Even he felt a strong sense of threat from that invisible slash.
On Kuraigana Island, within a dark forest, inside an ancient castle.
Mihawk's hand, which was swirling red wine, suddenly paused, and his captivating hawk eyes erupted with astonishing cold light.
"Good kid. This slash… in terms of both speed and power, it's definitely not beneath me."
"Hahahahaha!" Mihawk, uncharacteristically, let out a laugh.
"I look forward to your challenge."
The arena, which had been very noisy before, was now silent after that second.
"Gulp."
Someone swallowed hard and said with a terrified expression, "Are we… really going to compete for the championship with a guy like this?"
"Damn it, this accursed matchmaking system!"
"Renji! You have successfully earned my approval!"