68 Silk's Dilemma

The two men were stood on opposite sides of the arena preparing themselves mentally before the start of the fight.

Where Daz Bones eyed his opponent cautiously, Silk was stood calmly with his eyes closed. Daz Bones was the first to break the silence as he said confidently.

"You're winning streak will come to an end here today!"

Silk opened his eyes and glanced at his opponent lightly.

"Too weak!"

Hearing the obvious disdain in Silk's voice, his eyes went cold as he said icily.

"Your arrogance will be the end of you."

Silk didn't bother replying, he just stood with his eyes closed awaiting the start of the match.

Eventually the sound of the commentator's voice rang out in the arena.

"Let the fight… Begin!"

As soon as the commentator said to begin, Daz Bones shot towards the beast before him, who still had his eyes closed.

"Truly arrogant, even till your dying breath!"

As he ran at Silk, his fingers transformed into knives. He thrust his hand forward clawing at his opponent's throat.

It wasn't till the last possible moment that Silk finally moved. Daz didn't even realise he had moved until it was too late.

It wasn't till after he felt the pain of his ribs breaking did he realise that he had been punched. He had lost consciousness before being forcibly delivered out of the ring in that one punch.

Silk didn't even bother giving his opponent another cursory glance. He looked towards the commentator as he said lightly.

"Next."

When they heard that, the crowd went crazy! His performance was just too shocking, defeating a peak bronze level fighter with such ease… His strength truly was the real deal.

Orion looked at Silk in slight surprise, which then turned into a little smile.

"Ooh… Martial Artist boundary, impressive!"

Roman looked down at Silk before adding.

"Looks like he only just broke through though."

Ori nodded as he replied.

"It looks like he's using this colosseum as a way to temper himself and solidify his boundary after his breakthrough."

Shaya, who was reading the book with the information on the colosseum raised her head and added,

"It says in here he's only 23. To reach the Martial Artist boundary at 23, that's quite an impressive feat."

Sabo who had just been listening to their conversation quietly till now asked.

"What's the Martial Artist boundary?"

Ori who had been helping him train with the staff was the one to reply.

"Weaponless fighters are called martial artists, and like the sword and staff they are separated into certain boundaries depending on strength. Those boundaries are:

1. Brawler which equates to Staff User,

2. Martial Student which is the same as Staff Student,

3. Martial Artist is the equivalent of a Staffsman,

4. Martial Master mirrors a Staff Master,

5. Martial Grandmaster which is equal to a Staff Grandmaster,

6. Martial Lord equates to a Staff Lord,

7. Martial Saint is the same as a Staff Saint."

Whilst they were talking, the 2nd fight began. Although the opponent did better than the previous one he still lost after several moves.

The following challengers didn't fare much better. It wasn't till the 90th challenge did things take an unexpected turn.

The man who appeared opposite Silk was an extremely large and muscular man, standing at 7" making him only slightly shorter than Silk but still taller than most. He had an overly thick neck and hair that was styled into three curved sections which was blonde at the roots and gradually turned orange at the tips.

He donned an orange cape that was held in place by a yellow lace tied in a bow, a pair of brown gloves and a pair of red bottoms.

For the first time since arriving on the island, Ori was in a genuine state of shock.

[How could it be him? What could she possibly want on an island like this that she'd send him?]

As he said that he looked back over at Silk and a light bulb seemed to go off in his head.

On the arena, when Silk saw his opponent he felt the presence of a genuine threat.

The large man dressed in orange and red smiled as he walked over to Silk and asked, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Do you know who I am?"

Silk frowned as he eyed his opponent with caution.

"Should I?"

"Probably, but it's not surprising that you don't."

Knowing that there had to be a reason why this man was speaking so amicably Silk couldn't help but ask.

"There's no way that that someone like you is willing to talk so pleasantly to someone for no reason, just to fight them moments later. So who are you exactly and what do you want with me?"

The man's smile grew wider as he replied.

"It's so refreshing talking to someone intelligent for once.

My name is Charlotte Oven, the 5th child of the Yonko Big Mom. Momma wants for you to marry into our family!"

As he said that the caution in his eyes turned into one of genuine shock with a hint of fear.

Seeing his reaction, Oven let out a light chuckle as he said.

"You don't have to look so frightened. We, the Big Mom Pirates treat our family well, even in-laws. If you say yes, I'll let you win this fight and also make sure you win the Golden Warrior Belt and take home that £100,000,000 prize.

That is what you're here for isn't it? The £100,000,000! So you can send it to support Queen Otohime and her endeavours. That was the dream of your parents wasn't it, to help Fishman Island so they can one day live freely under the sun."

"How…

How did you know?!"

Oven smiled as he replied.

"As the crew of one of the four emperors of the sea, there's not much we don't know!"

Silk was eventually able to recover from his state of shock, but he was still left with a frown on his face.

"And what if I say no?!"

When he heard that, Oven's smile was replaced by a look of anger.

"If you say no, I'll take you back forcefully, but I'll also make sure that Fishman Island pays a horrible price for your refusal. The choice is yours!"

As he said that, Silk was able to feel a subtle killing intent emanating from Oven's body, preventing him from doubting his words for a second.

[If I was to say yes then I'd lose all my freedom and the dream father and I worked so hard for would all be for naught… But if I say no, then I don't doubt that I'll be taken back forcefully and forced to do whatever it is they want with me against my will, not just that, but fishman Island would also be forced to pay a price! Even with Whitebeard's support, it may not be enough to deter an angered Big Mom!]

As he was thinking he couldn't help but clench his fists in anger.

[This all stems from me being so weak! If I had Whitebeards strength, there's no way that Big Mom would ever try and force me to do something against my will! I'm still too weak!]

Just as he thought all hope was lost, he felt a gentle breeze brush passed, and with it the voice of what sounded like a young man who sounded like he was right behind him.

"Don't take him up on his offer… I have a plan that'll keep Big Mom's focus away from Fishman Island and you out of her grasp. The only problem is that you'll be forced to face a danger like nothing you've ever faced before.

If you feel like taking the risk then blink twice, if not just agree to Oven's request and I'll pretend I never said anything."

When he heard that, Silk couldn't help but turn his head to look behind him. But there was no one there.

After turning around, the voice reappeared.

"Don't bother, you won't be able to find me like that. Your time's running out, you need to hurry and make your decision."

Silk turned back to Oven who was stood patiently in front of him as if everything was under his control.

Even though he had dozens of questions for the mysterious voice, he couldn't ask them now. And if it's a choice between certain failure and a chance at freedom, the choice became easy.

Thinking to that point, Silk took a deep breath and blinked twice as he waited for the voice's next instruction!