Having someone like Bepo, a Mink, participate in the tournament seemed reasonable to Maude.
Even having enslaved humans forced to fight as beasts, though cruel, was within the rules and tolerable under the tournament's constraints.
But letting a human with a Zoan-type Devil Fruit participate in beast form? That was crossing the line.
At this moment—
On the square arena, a majestic yellow-striped tiger prowled with measured steps.
From its tiger-shaped head, faint traces of human features could be discerned.
The most peculiar detail, however, was the tiger's attire.
This striped tiger, contestant number 6136, was the dark horse and hottest contender to win in the ongoing 11-to-6 match.
Its opponent was a white tiger clad in spiked armor, contestant number 433.
The two combatants stood at opposite edges of the arena, while behind each of them, on the cross-shaped walkways, stood their respective handlers.
In the main tournament, after the preliminaries, handlers could join their beasts on stage as "commanders."
Their role was mainly to act as the beasts' extra set of eyes, offering strategic assistance at key moments.
Earlier, during Bepo's match in the 11-to-6 round, Law had stepped up as his commander—albeit reluctantly.
Uninterested in interfering, Law treated himself as a mere prop, allowing Bepo to fight freely in the arena.
Of course, if Law had used his Op-Op Fruit powers, even with their limited range at the time, he could have easily dispatched the opposition.
Maude's gaze shifted over to the white tiger, armed with spiked chain tails and protective gear.
He recalled that this tiger, like Bailey, had emerged victorious in the first-round preliminaries.
Back then, it didn't have such elaborate armor.
Moving his eyes from the white tiger, Maude now focused on the yellow-striped one.
"A Tiger Zoan from the Cat-Cat Fruit series, huh…"
Maude frowned as he scrutinized the human Zoan user on the stage.
Joining a beast-fighting tournament like this, they must have already considered the championship prize—a Devil Fruit—as theirs.
This unexpected variable had significantly raised the difficulty of Bailey's path to victory.
On the stage—
Amidst the audience's focused gazes, the second battle of the 11-to-6 round officially began.
Contestant 6136, the striped tiger, launched the first attack. With fierce strides, it charged at the white tiger on the other end of the arena.
"Big White, dodge and hold back for now!" the white tiger's handler commanded from the walkway, his expression tense.
In this world, beasts were highly intelligent and capable of understanding human speech.
The white tiger heeded the command, veering to the side to weaken the impact of the striped tiger's direct charge.
However—
Even as the charge path curved, the striped tiger's speed and momentum remained undiminished.
"Roar!"
Letting out a roar brimming with murderous intent, the striped tiger leaped mid-charge, claws aiming for the white tiger.
The white tiger deftly sidestepped, narrowly dodging the attack, and retaliated with a swipe of its spiked tail aimed at the striped tiger's head.
The seamless transition between defense and counterattack drew gasps from the audience, showcasing the white tiger's prowess.
Faced with the oncoming spiked tail, the striped tiger's beastly eyes flashed with human-like disdain.
Raising a paw, it performed an oddly incongruous gesture.
"It's just a beast…"
The striped tiger scoffed internally, swatting the spiked tail to the ground with its paw, despite the resulting spray of its own blood.
The impact disrupted the white tiger's balance.
Taking advantage of this opening, the striped tiger ignored the injury and used its other paw to strike the white tiger's spiked helmet.
The devastating blow shattered the helmet, slamming directly onto the white tiger's skull.
With a loud, resonant crack, blood spurted from the white tiger's head as it collapsed lifelessly.
"My Big White!!!"
Watching his beast fall, the handler dropped to his knees, wailing in despair.
He had lost not only his chance at the Devil Fruit and prize money but also his livelihood—his prized beast.
The striped tiger turned and walked away, its wounded paw leaving a trail of blood on the stone arena floor.
For a Zoan user, minor wounds like these would heal within days.
"The Ancient Zoan Fruit… it's mine!"
The striped tiger's name was Conan, first mate of the Savage Fang Pirates, a bounty of 75 million berries to his name.
Determined to win the rumored Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit, he had set aside his pride to participate in this beast-battling spectacle.
Still—
As the audience erupted in cheers, Conan's beastly eyes reflected the jubilant crowd.
"This feeling… it's not bad."
Basking in the crowd's adoration, Conan narrowed his eyes, clearly relishing the attention.
On the walkway, the Savage Fang Pirates' captain, Barton, with a bounty of 98 million berries, gave his first mate a peculiar look.
"We're just here to snag the prize, don't lose yourself in all this."
Barton glanced at Conan's euphoric expression and sighed inwardly.
In the audience seating—
Maude let out a soft sigh.
Things had just gotten a lot more complicated.
The white tiger had shown impressive strength in those brief exchanges—its reflexes, speed, power, and combat instincts left a strong impression.
But against a human Zoan Devil Fruit user, even a beast of that caliber stood no chance.
"Can Bailey win…?"
Maude wasn't optimistic.
The white tiger had been defeated so quickly, leaving Conan's true strength largely untested.
Nearby, Law's cold eyes followed Conan as he left the stage to the sound of raucous applause.
"Bepo, if you face contestant 6136 next, withdraw immediately."
"Not a chance!"
Bepo, his head wrapped in bandages, shook his head vehemently, his gaze briefly darting to Bailey perched on Maude's shoulder.
Until he gave Bailey a proper thrashing, there was no way he'd back out.
Noticing Bepo's challenging gaze, Bailey ignored him, instead locking his eyes on Conan's retreating figure.
Against ordinary beasts, Bailey had absolute confidence.
But against a Zoan user? That was another story.
He couldn't help but imagine the worst: losing both the prize money and his life.
Turning to Maude, Bailey's unease was evident.
Understanding Bailey's worry, Maude reached out to stroke his head.
If there was no certainty of victory, he wouldn't let Bailey take the risk.
So—
Maude began to contemplate eliminating Conan outside the arena.
Zoan users…
They were his favorite type of prey.
Meanwhile, Law, unwilling to let Bepo risk himself, grew increasingly frustrated as Bepo rolled around on the floor in protest.
Seeing Bepo's tantrum, Maude watched with amused interest, much to Law's chagrin.
"Let's wait and see who Bepo faces next…"
Sighing, Law rubbed his temples, inwardly hoping that Bepo's next opponent would simply be Bailey.
Perhaps then, all of this could be resolved.
[TL/N: What the hell?! This is almost like a pokemon battle, lol.]
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