#36 A 'Fair' Fight

Out of the Thousands of pirates who started the selection, only five remained.

Van Augur!

Doc Q!

Jesus Burgess!

Lafitte!

Yes, the original four members of Blackbeard's crew had all survived without being defeated.

The fifth pirate was named Osju, the skinny, black-clad swordsman with a bounty of 53 million beli who joined at the beginning of the selection.

These five were now gathered in the square.

Van Augur, Doc Q, and Burgess were already sitting below the high platform, in "sage mode," healing their wounds while watching the ongoing battle. Even though they were strong, they had still been injured in the intense battle. Not all the pirates were weaklings; some were quite powerful. There were even some with bounties nearing 100 million beli, almost on par with the super rookies of this generation.

But in the end, they all died, leaving Van Augur and the others standing.

Well, not quite. The final outcome was still undecided.

Van Augur and the others had secured their spots, but Lafitte and Osju were still fighting!

The last spot would definitely be decided between the two of them.

Van Augur, Doc Q, and Burgess could have chosen to help one of them eliminate the other, as Carlo hadn't forbidden interference. But none of them would bother doing that; they weren't the type to help others. Watching the fight was much more enjoyable.

High up on the platform, Blackbeard was laughing like he was having the time of his life.

Interfering and possibly putting themselves at risk wasn't worth it for such selfish individuals.

"Pant, pant."

"Lafitte, you bastard! You already have Devil Fruit powers, so why are you still fighting me?" Osju, drenched in sweat, glared at Lafitte flying above him.

Others might fear Lafitte's reputation, but not Osju. His notoriety in the North Blue was no less than Lafitte's in the West Blue. In fact, he was even more ruthless and brutal.

Normally, Osju wouldn't bother talking. But now he was desperate. Facing a flying Devil Fruit user, his skills with dual swords were useless.

He couldn't even touch him!

Even though he had techniques to send out slashes of air, Lafitte's speed was too much. He dodged every time.

Plus, those techniques needed time to charge, and Lafitte would shoot at him whenever he tried. Osju was riddled with bullet holes, while Lafitte only had a few light wounds. He was getting exhausted and frustrated.

"Who said my goal was the Devil Fruit?"

"Osju, you think too small. Being able to follow these two is what matters most!" Lafitte taunted, flattering Blackbeard and Carlo. Whether it was true or not, who doesn't like flattery?

Carlo and Blackbeard were very pleased.

"Then come down here and fight me face to face! No guns! Let's see if you live up to your reputation as the Demon Sheriff of the West Blue!" Osju was furious. If this continued, he'd be kited to death.

Most importantly, Lafitte was the only one he could still fight. Van Augur and Doc Q were too tricky, and Burgess was too strong for his current condition.

"Without guns? Face to face?" Lafitte laughed from above. "Osju, I can't believe you're this naive."

"But since you want it, I'll grant your wish." He raised his gun and fired two shots, hitting Osju's swords and knocking them out of his hands.

"You..."

Before Osju could react, Lafitte descended, folding his wings and discarding his gun. He looked at Osju mockingly, clearly indicating a fair fight without weapons.

"Ha! You think you can beat me barehanded, you bird man?" Osju shouted, raising his fists, muscles bulging with power as he charged at Lafitte.

Watching, Lafitte kept his calm, professional smile.

Then, he raised his cane—

"With that stick? Do you think you can—"

'Bang!'

Osju's words were cut off by a deafening gunshot as the cane's tip opened, revealing a hidden gun barrel.

The loud shot echoed across the corpse-filled, silent square.