"Damn it! Let's just go for it!" Gintoki tried several swords given by Ainz but found none of them suitable.
Noticing the Grand Kai's expression was growing impatient, he steeled himself, gritted his teeth, drew his Lake Toya, and prepared to step onto the stage.
"Hey~ Shiroyasha." Hearing someone call his old epithet, Gintoki Sakata instinctively turned his head. Suddenly, he saw something flying towards him. Gintoki caught it reflexively.
What met his eyes was a black-bladed sword with a crossguard shaped like a swastika. Gintoki's expression changed drastically, 'Th-this sword is... Zangetsu!?'
Gintoki had been keeping up with events on the Planet Shinigami. Although he had long abandoned the life of fighting and killing to become an ordinary owner of the Yorozuya, he often fantasized about having one of those cool Zanpakuto when he saw them.
He was naturally very familiar with the Zangetsu once wielded by Ichigo.
Gintoki looked incredulously at the man who had thrown him this sword… Lott!
"Y-you're helping me?" Gintoki even wondered if he was dreaming, 'How could a loser like me, who lazed around at home and avoided paying rent, possibly earn the regard of a big shot like Lott?'
It wasn't just Gintoki himself… the live audience and spectators across the universe were dumbfounded.
'Lott was helping that curly-haired guy? Wh-what's going on? Did that silver-haired curly-top lick Lott's shoes or sell his...?'
"No special reason. I simply look down on those who sleep with their brother's woman," Lott said calmly.
Upon hearing this, the gazes from across the universe towards Cloud became strange. Most were filled with disdain, contempt, disgust, and other negative emotions.
[Zenitsu: Wh-what? Sleep with his brother's woman? D-damn it! What an enviable... No! Despicable act! Go die, you blond!]
[Kocho Shinobu: You're blond too, aren't you? But such a person really deserves to die.]
[Jiraiya: Bastard! I haven't even done that! Hey! Silver-hair! I support you taking down this blond!]
[Genos: There are three types of people I, Genos, hate most in my life! Those who seduce their brother's woman, those who betray their teacher, and those who bite the hand that feeds them!]
Tifa, Cloud's childhood friend who had been cheering for him below the ring, also had a complicated expression, 'Cloud, you, you actually...'
Cloud himself was utterly bewildered, 'Sleep with his brother's woman... N-no, I haven't! I, Cloud Strife, am still a virgin!'
However, what Cloud didn't know was that Lott was referring to events from the future storyline.
Because Lott, in his previous life, played the game featuring Zack first before playing Cloud's story, his perception was a bit... well, everyone understands.
"You... seduced your brother's woman?" While Cloud was still confused, Gintoki was already walking forward, holding Zangetsu.
His usual sloppy demeanor had completely vanished, replaced by a growing killing intent in his eyes towards Cloud, 'Damn, this guy looks decent but actually did something so enviable... No! So heinous! Even if it weren't for protecting the Planet Amanto, out of humanitarian principles, I must eliminate this scoundrel!'
"Cough, then, let the match begin." The commentator cleared his throat twice, announced the start of the match, and quickly retreated from the arena.
Whoosh-!
The moment the words fell, Gintoki's figure vanished from his original position.
Clang!
The silver and golden figures overlapped. Zangetsu and the Buster Sword collided. Sparks flew, and a clear, loud impact sound rang out.
"I did not..." Facing Gintoki's eyes full of jealousy and hatred, Cloud felt he needed to explain. He had already noticed how his childhood friend was looking at him like a trash from below the ring.
"Shut up!" Gintoki twisted his wrist, erupting with fanatical fighting spirit.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The recoil sent both of them flying apart, and they charged at each other simultaneously, their blades meeting again.
"That curly-haired guy is unexpectedly good!" Blackbeard's eyes lit up. To be honest, before the fight started, he thought the silver-haired guy would be utterly crushed by the blond.
"Well... his strength is hard to say," Lott also showed a seemingly smiling but not quite expression.
To quote Vegeta, "Never compare power levels with gag characters."
Although not as terrifying as Arale, Gintoki had a bit of that flavor. When weak, he couldn't even beat a monkey. When serious, he could slice a galactic battleship in half with a wooden sword.
Even Lott, as a Transmigrator, couldn't definitively say whether his strength was strong or weak.
"But no matter what, that man cannot release the Zanpakuto," Aizen suddenly joined the conversation, "In his hands, Zangetsu is merely a slightly harder sword."
Lott replied with a faint smile, "But the blond's strength isn't that great either."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked back into the arena.
"Blade Beam!" Cloud swung the Buster Sword, the tip erupting with golden sword energy, carving a cross shape in the air. Gintoki blocked with Zangetsu held horizontally in front of him, but was still sent flying. He quickly planted his feet on the ground, but even so, his body kept sliding backward due to the impact. Gintoki's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly thrust Zangetsu into the ring floor, barely stopping at the edge of the ring.
Just as Aizen said, without training or Shinigami powers, Zangetsu in Gintoki's hands was just a harder sword.
"I should have used the Hogyoku to Hollowfy him earlier, that would have given him higher chances of winning," Aizen said smilingly.
At that moment, Cloud was already charging forward. The Buster Sword in his hand disassembled, transforming into several swords of varying sizes.
It's Omnislash, his ultimate skill!
'Just a way!' At the critical moment, Gintoki pulled something out of his pocket and threw it at Cloud.
Seeing the shape of the object, Cloud's face darkened. It looked like a man's 'weapon'... He instinctively sliced it in half with the Buster Sword.
Boom!
When Cloud easily bisected it with the Buster Sword, the object suddenly exploded.
However, the destructive power seemed weaker than a child's plaything to most present. Yet, the smoke generated by the explosion successfully obstructed Cloud's vision.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a sword tip broke through the smoke, heading straight for Cloud's forehead.
It wasn't Zangetsu! It was Gintoki's wooden sword.
Cloud didn't even use his sword, simply grabbing the blade of the Lake Toya with his left hand.
"Are you an idiot?" Cloud wondered if this curly-haired guy had something wrong with his brain. He didn't expect Gintoki to not use the Zanpakuto, but a wooden sword.
"Hehe~" A trademark sly grin appeared on Gintoki's face.
"Just do it!" He suddenly pressed a button at the base of the Lake Toya. Instantly, the Lake Toya's tip sprayed black liquid, splashing all over Cloud's face. It was soy sauce!
Temporarily blinded and stumbling back two steps, Cloud instinctively raised his hand to wipe the soy sauce from his face.
"Cloud, careful!" Tifa's warning came from behind.
Cloud, unable to see due to the soy sauce, couldn't tell what was happening. But in the eyes of the audience, they saw Gintoki step forward to behind Cloud and then... kick him in the butt!
The move itself wasn't powerful. But don't forget, both were standing near the edge of the ring. Receiving a sudden kick in the softest part of his body, Cloud, falling forward, instinctively reached out to brace himself. Then the next second he felt… what he touched wasn't the ring floor, but... grass!
"C-Contestant Cloud Strife has left the arena! Th-the winner is contestant Sakata Gintoki." Even the commentator himself froze for several seconds before reacting.
Although the tournament contestants' strengths varied greatly, this was the first time a match had been won in such an absurd manner.
"Yay! Yay yay yay!" Gintoki ran wildly across the venue, waving his Lake Toya, finally launching himself into a flying hug with the East King Kai, cheering incessantly: "I won! I won! Did you see that! Auntie! I won!"
The East King Kai's expression was extremely complicated. A contestant representing the East Galaxy had won, but why couldn't she feel happy about it?