The Bonus Round Begins

[ Stussy POV ]

Pirates Festival

Buena, Boris and I slowly walked back to our seats on the top floor. Evening had already set in and the whole arena was slowly beginning to light multiple torches for proper vision. 

I had to admit, Buena Festa was a very calculative and well put together individual when it came to the festival. Well, to be clear, this was my first time in the festival. Back in CP0 and even before I had joined them, I had always heard some stories about a young individual throwing rowdy festivals exclusively for Pirates. 

It was a small time gig by then, but over time, the name Buena Festa had slowly began to integrate with festivities and parties when it came to piracy. 

Now being here in person, I got to see how huge these festivals could be. Festa had organized stalls within the Arena, so the audience wouldn't have to go out of the arena to get more snacks and food.

We breezed through countless pirates who were out and about. Buena's presence, along with my beauty, was more than enough to pass through the crowds. Boris didn't seem to impose an intimidating kind of aura, but they gave way for him nonetheless.

When we finally reached the room that we had been watching the tournament in. I immediately approached the assistants who had been taking care of us so far.

"Could you get us some more drinks? Thank you~" The assistance immediately bowed before heading off to acquire some more drinks. Meanwhile, Festa seemed to be making some small talk with Boris.

"How're you enjoying my Pirate Festival? Great, Right?" Festa asked proudly.

"You sure do know how to throw a party. I'll give you that," Boris responded.

"How about it, hm? Why don't you join me in my crew? I'll make sure to throw parties even grander than this!" Festa proposed.

"I'm good, I'll be staying with the Old man for a long time," Boris responded.

"What's so good about him? All he does is destroy and reek havoc! I'm just throwing fun parties!! I'll never get why you pirates are so driven towards a career that only gets you in trouble with the World Government," Festa complained.

"Well, if we ever did in trouble with the World Government. We'd handle it accordingly, but for now, we don't have to;" Boris responded, "Besides, what's wrong with causing a bit of trouble? You do it all the time by hosting these pirates."

"It's not the same!!" Festa suddenly boomed, "don't compare me to you scummy pirates! What I'm doing will be remembered for generations to come!"

Boris could only light a cigarette after and give out a mysterious smile. Almost as if Festa's declaration was nothing more than it was.

"Are you sure about that?"

"What?! Of course I am! And don't come asking me to join when that happens!" Festa announced.

"I had no intention of doing so," Boris responded aloofly before blowing out some smoke.

Buena took in a deep breathe before approaching the arena, which was now slowly beginning to be occupied with the audience after they had left for a quick break.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.....ARE! YOU! READY?!?!?!?!"

The arena boomed in response, there were still a steady stream of pirates making their way back to their seats. However, even they were cheering while on the way there. 

"IT IS NOW TIME FOR THE BONUS ROUND!! LET'S MEET OUR CONTESTANTS!!!!"

The gate to the arena slowly opened. As it opened. A huge holographic image was displayed in the middle of the arena. It was like a big screen for the event. Moreover, at the arena's field, there was a huge ring of fire that simply illuminated the entire arena. Making it more easier for the audience to see the contestants as the battle slowly began.

Buena went on to highlight each competitor the moment that they stepped out. The audience would roar for their favorite competitor, adding even more excitement to the bonus round.

Eventually, all five competitors stood in the middle of the arena. They all looked at each other with analytical gazes, almost as if they were sizing each other up. 

Looking at Ken and Pato, you could tell that they were determined not to lose either. I almost felt bad for Pato, but I knew that this would be a great experience for my furry little one. 

As for Ken, I had no sympathy for him. I was going to punish him even if he won at this event. Only thing was I just didn't know how severely I was going to punish him.

As soon as all the formalities were finished. Buena immediately gave the signal to start the fight.

The three fighters wasted no time ganging up on Ken and Pato. Carla handled Pato, while the other two immediately engaged with Ken. Pato was holding up quite well against Carla.

He would dodge her attacks while holding his position so that he could draw one of his images. One thing that I had to admit about Pato was that his Devil Fruit abilities were quite strong. His images had more combat experience than the average Pirate in the New World. As a result, they could cause quite a bit of damage should enough of them be created. 

That accompanied with his new combat capabilities, wouldn't make him such an easy pushover when we got back to the New World.

On the other hand, Ken was having a bit of a struggle battling Bubble Jack and Mont. Fiore. One of the main problems being that the two of them seemed to be well versed in Armament Haki. 

He tried to turn himself to lightning to dodge the first attack coming from the two individuals. However, Mont. Fiore immediately slashed down at him, almost causing him to take a heavy slash on his back. 

If he wasn't so well versed in Observation Haki, I think that one hit would have been more than enough to immediately take him out of commission.

He dodged Mont. Fiore's attack before landing on the ground. It was then that Bubble Jack immediately made an appearance right in front of him before landing a right hook right on Ken's stomach. 

I promptly managed to see Ken coat his stomach with Armament Haki before the punch landed. Sending Ken flying into the walls of the arena. 

The crowd roared as they saw Ken emerge from the rubble. He looked relatively unscathed, but looking at his face; I could tell that he was pissed off.

Meanwhile, Carla had now found herself on the defensive end as Pato had just finished making his image. The image was of the Red Count, the previous user of my ability, and he wasted no time making quick work of Carla. 

I kind of felt bad for her. When she had came to us back in the floor trying to wager a spot in the 0 Division. I kind of wanted her to join us, I was the only woman in the entire division. I missed having a friend who I could share the same problems that I faced with on the daily.

However, looking at how things were going, it was painfully beginning to show that Carla wasn't going to be strong enough to win the entire competition. That was unless she had a card in her sleeve that she hadn't revealed to us so far. 

Pato, on the other hand, was simply catching his breath as he watched his creation applying pressure to Carla. Carla was barely able to block the majority of the Red Count's attacks. She could only raise up her arms as she desperately hung on for dear life.

Ken was now slowly to get the upper hand as he found a pace in which he could handle the two pirates. He would often dodge Mont. Fiore's attacks while focusing on Bubble Jack. His goal was to knock Bubble Jack out out before he could turn to Mont. Fiore. However, that would take a lot of work and skill to make sure that he wouldn't be the one to get knocked out instead.