Unfortunately, in the ranking battle, there’s no rule of disqualification due to violations. As long as it’s something an enemy might use, it can be used here. Even if Queen used his Plague Bullets, it would be completely within the rules.
Since the host cum commentator was pulled into the arena, Queen’s commentary disappeared for the time being, but no one in the audience seemed to mind. Hardly anyone understood his commentary anyway.
In a normal fight, an Aura Arrow would suffice; there’s no need for special arrowheads.
But, seeing Setsuna take out a Seastone arrowhead, Queen suspected that she’d been planning this for a while.
Fortunately, thanks to his body having undergone massive modifications, Queen managed to grab the curved arrowhead with his mechanical claw.
Looking at the quiver of special arrowheads on Setsuna’s back, Queen’s expression twisted even more.
“Are you serious?”
“As if. I haven’t even used Sulong. Just stretching my body a bit.”
Grabbing three arrows from her quiver, Setsuna, flying in the sky using Magnet Rise, shot them toward Queen’s vital parts. Queen didn’t hold back either. Among the Beasts Pirates, rumors were flying that he was becoming the weakest of the Calamities. This was a perfect opportunity to prove himself.
With mechanical sounds coming from his joints, Queen entered full firepower mode.
“Don’t say I bullied you later! I’m not a pushover!”
Laser cannons, flamethrowers, Seed Bombs, Poison Powder—over the years, Queen’s modifications had become more and more extreme, gradually transforming him into an airborne fortress.
“You’re definitely not a pushover, but you missed!”
There was only an afterimage left in Setsuna’s original position while she had appeared beside Queen. She was also using her bow as a close-combat weapon, similar to how Speed used hers as a saber.
Every one of these archers was the same—close-combat maniacs. Even if Setsuna had infinite ammo buff, there was no way she would avoid close combat in a fight.
However, after the attack, she saw Queen’s head, along with his neck, fly off.
“This guy… shouldn’t go down this easily…”
She had only used about thirty percent of her strength, wanting to see what new modifications Queen had made to his body. She didn’t expect to have “killed” him outright. As Setsuna hesitated, a missile suddenly shot out from Queen’s body, and his wild laughter echoed from the sky.
“Muhahaha! Didn’t see that coming, did you? This is my latest breakthrough: Brachio Launcher!”
Queen’s Tropius ability was modified from Brachiosaurus, and in order to control his massive body, Brachiosaurus has a special ability—”a second brain.”
The central nervous system of the Brachiosaurus became larger and expanded around his lower back, forming a ganglion that helped the brain manage the movements of his internal organs and limbs.
Queen had used this ability to carry out this bizarre modification.
Now, his neck and tail had formed a separate body, even sprouting a pair of Tropius wings, flying higher into the sky in an awkward yet somewhat comical manner.
“You b*stard…”
At first, she was just feeling bad for being idle, so she casually pulled Queen over to play a bit, but she didn’t expect him to give her such a shocking experience.
“Alright, I get it now. You’ve lived long enough, huh!.”
The power of aura condensed into a bowstring once again, and what appeared to be a normal Aura Arrow was nocked on the bowstring. But as the arrow was shot, it split into hundreds of arrows in the sky.
“Love modifications, do you? Trying to scare me, huh? Let’s see how you like being turned into a pincushion!”
She had anticipated that Queen might use some strange attack but hadn’t expected him to launch a mental attack. Her mind has genuinely suffered a slight trauma.
With the power of aura surging, Setsuna entered her Mega form. She now wielded a pair of Aura Blades, which she wrapped in Haki and lightning, and charged at Queen’s body still on the ground.
Even though Queen had made numerous bizarre modifications to his body, he still couldn’t abandon this body. Under Setsuna’s fierce assault, he had to return to his body and continue the battle in a more “normal” form.
In the neighboring Night Terrain, Bat-Man had just defeated his challenger, Madillo-Man. Thanks to Golbat’s echolocation, Bat-Man had a huge advantage in the dark. Even though Madillo-Man burrowed underground using his Sandshrew ability, he couldn’t escape being tracked by Golbat’s Supersonic.
Sandshrew’s defense was strong, but under the relentless assault of Golbat’s Poison Fang and Leech Life, Madillo-Man eventually ran out of stamina. Bat-Man glanced at the bow in his hand. Compared to the clash between Queen and Setsuna, he felt like he was holding a mere toy.
They were both archers, yet he had to shoot one arrow at a time for precise shots, while she seemed to have a cheat code, unleashing a barrage of firepower all by herself.
…
Time passed, and aside from Jack and Elizabeth, most of the other matches had already finished.
The adults’ strength had mostly plateaued, so the rankings didn’t change much. Those who felt they had reached their limits didn’t challenge further.
In the remaining ongoing battles, most participants were either newcomers challenging single-digit Numbers or former single-digit Numbers reassessing their own strength.
In this ranking battle, a few youngsters stood out, including the newly-turned 18-year-old Isuka, as well as the sibling duo Ulti and Page One.
After a long period of training, these three were now aiming for lower ranks. They each had their own dreams, and achieving them required swift advancement through the ranks.
Queen successfully defended his position. Though Setsuna didn’t use Sulong, he also held back some of his cards. Although the two seemed to be fighting fiercely, they were actually the pair who were the most controlled.
This was referring to the battle after Queen ended his absurd antics.
After a brief rest, Queen returned to his position as a commentator.
“Oh, not bad, little girl. She has now won six consecutive battles and is continuing to challenge her opponents! Let’s see how far she can go!”
The number of people fighting had dwindled, so the Rotoms projecting the battles on the surrounding screens were now focusing on fewer matches.
“No way, who is this girl? She’s so strong at such a young age?”
“Young? There are two even younger than her! She is one of the kids brought back by the high-ranking officers. She wasn’t particularly talented at first, but a while ago, she and Lady Delia found a Plate, and since then, she’s been catching up.”
People are born with innate differences in talent, and hard work alone can’t always close the gap. To surpass others, you have to put in even more effort. However, Arceus can grant people greater strength, reducing that gap.
The idea that “hard work leads to success” had become a core tenet of the Arceus Cult.
She was fighting in a classic terrain: on a deck at sea, which is one of the most common environments for pirates. Isuka’s two pairs of insect wings vibrated rapidly behind her, and steam occasionally billowed out from her body.
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