“Hello everyone! After a year, we’re back in this arena once again. First, let’s thank Lord Arceus for providing the venue!”
Compared to her initial shyness during her first appearance, she had now fully adapted to this grand environment.
The Vision-Vision Fruit was being utilized with increasing proficiency in Ann’s hands. A massive projection unfolded, introducing everything in full detail. Everyone was satisfied with this new host—except for one person: Queen.
Originally, this was all his stage, but with Ann’s rise, he was now only responsible for hosting after the battles began.
The spectators had already taken their designated positions on the surrounding stone pillars. Moreover, as the pillars rose, Marine’s surveillance ships also lost their ability to monitor what was happening inside.
As for spies, infiltrating the Beasts Pirates nowadays wasn’t so easy. Those who came here were either founding members or officers with numbers. Any unfamiliar face would be interrogated multiple times while checking their ID card.
Why such measures? Don’t ask. Just know that Queen didn’t want to get backstabbed. Even though he came out with Arceus and Kaido, he prioritized his own safety first. Unless it was a highly unusual situation, he wouldn’t leave the headquarters alone.
There’s also no need for anyone to send spies here at this time. These officers usually operate in various sea areas.
If you want to investigate them, there’s plenty of time. Right now, this gathering of pirates has a combined bounty of over 10 billion berries, making them an extremely difficult force to deal with. There’s no need to tempt fate at the moment.
If Kaido, who is currently in high spirits, gets disturbed, there won’t be any friendly outcome afterward.
“Everyone is familiar with the rules of the ranking battle. I’ll briefly repeat Lord Kaido’s orders: keep fighting as long as you don’t die! Now, let the competition begin! After the terrain is allocated, you can each choose your targets to challenge!”
With that, Ann crushed a small light orb, which Arceus had given to her earlier. It was a special arena controller. The hosting duties had now been passed on to Ann and Queen, while Arceus and Kaido were merely spectators.
Aside from the audience seats at the highest point, the central arena underwent a massive transformation once again.
“The mighty powers of Lord Arceus—first, the ocean!”
A part of the arena sank, filling with seawater, leaving only a few platforms to stand on, eventually forming a special Water Terrain.
“Mountains!”
A series of ridges and rocky outcrops formed a miniature mountain range. Eroded rocks filled the arena with dust and sand floating around.
“Rainforest!”
Plants sprouted from cracks in the ground, instantly forming a small tropical rainforest. The dense canopy blocked the surrounding sunlight, giving the arena an air of mystery unique to rainforests.
“Plains!”
It changed the least. Apart from a patch of grass under the foot, there was nothing else, leaving the view wide open.
“Night!”
Light was removed from one part of the region, shrouding it in darkness. A night scene appeared in the middle of broad daylight.
In addition to these, there were desert, city, and ship deck environments. In the blink of an eye, the island was divided into eight distinct regions, each with its own battle style.
The Numbers symbolized the combat strength of the Beasts Pirates. They weren’t just mascots but front-line warriors, fighting in all sorts of war environments.
Apart from individual strength and abilities, the surrounding environment also impacted a fighter’s strength. Take, for example, Alabasta’s Crocodile or Florian Triangle’s Moria; both chose territories that best suited their abilities.
In such environments, they could fully exert their power.
The same logic applied to Pokémon abilities. Water-type Pokémon thrived in the Ocean Terrain, while Golbat could showcase its unique advantages in the Night Terrain. Due to this, Arceus added more battle environments to this competition.
However, it wasn’t the challengers who decided the battlefield but the one who has been challenged. The Beasts Pirates often fight battles outside and rarely enjoy the home-field advantage. To achieve higher status, one had to be capable of overcoming the disadvantages brought by unfamiliar environments.
……
“Ah~ Has it finally turned dark?”
Perona crawled out of the large sleeping bag on Bewear’s back. Her habit of being a night owl had improved—she’d gone from flipping her day and night routine every day to only occasionally staying up late, which was a significant improvement.
Just now, they were in the “Night” terrain of the arena, so she thought the night had already fallen.
“But why is it so noisy? Isn’t the competition over now that it’s nighttime?”
“It’s just getting started, Perona. Keep an eye on Meowna and Wolff for me. Don’t let these brats fool you like they do with Bepo.”
“I’m sorry…”
Perona, still groggy from sleep, hadn’t figured out what was happening when she heard Bepo’s apologetic voice. Suddenly, she felt her arms sink as two kids were tossed her way.
Although Rin, Wanda, Bepo, Hachi, and the other Minks were all present, they were deeply interested in the ranking battle. Perona, on the other hand, didn’t want to compete or watch. But since her whole family had come, she was dragged along as well.
This conveniently made her the perfect babysitter in Setsuna’s eyes.
“Don’t let these two run around before I come back. I trust you can handle it. If you do, I’ll buy you that limited-edition dress. Then, I’m off now.”
With that, Setsuna headed to her region where she would take on her challengers—the Rainforest, her favorite combat environment.
The moment Setsuna left, Meowna and Wolff became lively again, plotting how to trick their “Sister.” But Perona wasn’t as naive as Bepo. In the next instant, both kids were scooped up by Bewear, one under each arm, with two Hollows keeping an eye on them.
“Be good, and wait patiently for Mama Setsuna to come back. You can decide which region’s battle you want to watch yourselves.”
Perona asked Bepo what had happened while she was asleep, then transferred the babysitting task to Bewear. With its strength, Bewear was much better suited for the job.
Meanwhile, the ranking battle had already begun in the different arenas. In the battles of previous years, there weren’t many significant changes in rank, partly due to differences in strength, but also because it was difficult to gather so many people at once back then.
But this time, the most noticeable changes were among the new generation officers like Jack and Maria, who were steadily climbing the ranks. Many of them now had the strength to challenge the top ten Numbers.
Take Jack, for example—just as he had told Mandrell earlier, his goal this time was to challenge No. 2.
In previous ranking battles, he had been steadily rising through the ranks, and this time, he aimed to jump straight to the top.
After a brief discussion, Jack headed to the arena chosen by Elizabeth…
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