"I can't talk them out of it~" Merry said with a shrug. "After all, I'm just a child."
Since it was impossible for Meiser and the others to give up on participating in this competition, there was no need for her to waste her breath.
The lady: "..."
The lady opened her mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.
Did this little girl even know what the Corrida Colosseum was?
"Alright, enough talk!" Meiser waved his large hand and said, "The two of us are definitely participating."
Seeing that even Meiser had said so, the lady stopped trying to persuade them.
After all... good advice is lost on those seeking death, isn't it?
Thinking of this, the lady turned to fetch the registration forms.
"Hey, you two, remember this," Franky leaned in close to Meiser and Luffy, whispering, "It's fine to go all out, but make sure to hide yourselves. Don't reveal your identities easily, got it?"
"At least try to keep your identities hidden until the factory is destroyed."
"Got it," Luffy said with a wide grin.
Meiser also nodded. He wouldn't expose himself easily anyway; with his strength, he could beat enemies to a pulp using only Haki and martial arts.
As for Luffy?
Well... one could only pray that the guy remembered Franky's words.
"You two, please fill out the registration forms," the lady said.
Glancing at the registration form on the table, Meiser sat down and began pondering what kind of name he should give himself.
Luffy, on the other hand, asked, "What should I write?"
"Your name."
"Oh, I'm Lu—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Franky punched him hard on the head, making his eyeballs bulge out.
Thwack!
"Is your head full of water?!" Franky roared with his Shark Mouth wide open.
"What was that for?!"
"The name! Use a name!"
Luffy blinked, then remembered what Franky had mentioned earlier, his expression turning slightly awkward.
"Oh, right, the name..."
"I'll do it."
Franky took the pen from Luffy with a look of annoyance and wrote down the name "Lucy" on the form. The lady's mouth twitched as she watched.
This old man had probably intended to write his real name, only to be stopped by the other old man.
Could they be wanted criminals?
Well, that was certainly possible.
However, the lady didn't meddle. Countless wanted criminals had come to participate in this competition, so she was long used to it.
She then shifted her gaze to the other person's registration form, curious to see what he was called.
"Wanhao?"
"That's right, Wanhao," Meiser said with a grin. "This old man was quite a legendary brawler back in the day~"
As he spoke, a look of nostalgia appeared on Meiser's face, as if he were seeing himself once again in the top lane, clashing with the opposing top laner.
One could say this champion was his absolute favorite back when he played the game.
The lady fell silent upon hearing this. A legendary brawler?
No matter how legendary, one wouldn't continue fighting in their seventies or eighties.
But since he had already registered, she couldn't say much more. She simply smiled and picked up the two registration forms.
"I'll confirm one last time," the lady said seriously. "Old gentlemen, do you really intend to participate in this tournament?"
Although the reward this time was indeed incredibly generous, she felt it necessary to remind these two one last time.
"You're so naggy," Luffy said. "Hurry up and take us to the match!"
"Fine..."
Seeing that Luffy had put it that way, the lady said no more. She turned and led Luffy and Meiser toward the entrance of the tournament, and they soon entered the arena through the main gates.
"Alright, you two stop here," the lady said to Franky and Merry. "Only participants are allowed past this point. If you want to watch the matches, go to the spectator stands inside."
With that, she closed the large gates behind her, completely separating the two areas.
Then, she turned and walked away.
"Follow me, you two," the lady said without looking back.
"Okay!"
After glancing at her departing back, Franky looked toward Meiser and Luffy and said softly, "Take them out quickly and cleanly, but remember not to go overboard."
"Especially your abilities—don't use them if you can help it."
Luffy's Devil Fruit ability was manageable; he could use it on a small scale.
But Meiser was different. This guy's Wood Release ability covered a massive area the moment he used it. It would be impossible for others not to notice.
So, Franky felt it necessary to remind him.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Meiser said.
Although Fujitora might have already discovered them, Doflamingo might not have received that shared intel yet. So, before they succeeded, they had to hide their identities as much as possible.
Luffy, meanwhile, bared his teeth in a grin. "We'll definitely get our hands on the Diamond-Diamond Fruit!"
"Stay safe," Merry urged.
"Got it!"
"You two, keep up! I'm taking you to the competition!"
Hearing the lady's urging from a distance, Luffy and Meiser said no more. They nodded to Franky and Merry before turning to leave.
Watching the two depart, Merry whispered to Franky, "Should we get to work too?"
"Yeah."
Franky nodded, then began pondering where to search for the factory.
"Meiser's clones haven't been able to find the factory's location for this long, which means its location is far from ordinary," Franky muttered to himself.
It seemed their best bet was to find someone in a management position within the Donquixote Family to find the factory's location. He just didn't know where to find such a person.
"Well, let's go check the spectator stands. Maybe we can snag an officer or something, and we can watch the tournament Meiser and the others are in while we're at it."
Thinking this, Franky led Merry away.
However, before they had gone far, he noticed the toy soldier, Kyros, looking at a list nearby.
"Huh?"
"Isn't that the toy soldier from before?" Merry asked curiously. "Why is he here?"
"I don't know."
Franky shook his head. He didn't know why this guy had followed them in. Could it be that he also had his own people inside?
"Rebecca..." Kyros looked at the list before him with a complicated expression. "So you really did enter the competition."
At the thought of his only daughter participating in such a dangerous match, Kyros felt a heavy weight in his heart.
What should he do?
"Hey."
"Hmm?"
Startled by Franky's call, Kyros froze for a moment before returning to his toy-like demeanor. "Oh my, is there something you need?"
"Are you a native of this country?"
"Of course," Kyros nodded and said. "I am a born-and-bred Dressrosan man."
"A man?"
Merry was visibly stunned. Wasn't it said that this guy was a toy created by some Devil Fruit Ability User?
Why would he call himself a man?
Could it be... he didn't know he was a product created by a Devil Fruit ability?
Kyros fell silent upon hearing this, his gaze becoming somewhat complicated.
However, he did not reveal the fact that he was human. After all, that was a taboo subject that would bring disaster upon the listener, so Kyros resolutely chose to keep his mouth shut.
Franky didn't dwell on it, treating it as a peculiarity of the Devil Fruit ability.
"Hey, let me ask you," Franky said, squatting down to look at Kyros. "Will the big shots of the Donquixote Family be coming here today?"
"Donquixote—"
"Quiet!"
Franky slapped a hand over Kyros's mouth. "Don't make a scene."
"Now tell me, do you know or not?"
With that, Franky released his hand.
"Why do you want to know something like that?" Kyros asked suspiciously.
"I can't say."
Franky shook his head and continued, "Second question... do you know anything about a factory or something similar?"
"A factory?!"
"I told you not to shout!"
Franky covered Kyros's mouth again, exasperated. Was this guy even listening to him?
Forget it. This guy probably didn't know what was going on either; there was no point asking him.
Shaking his head, Franky released Kyros and turned to leave with Merry.
After a moment of hesitation, Kyros chose to follow Franky.
He was curious to see what this old man was planning to do.
"There are so many people."
Luffy looked at the contestants still preparing in the distance and said excitedly, "Are these all the participants?"
"Yes, all of them."
The lady nodded and said, "This is the preparation room. You are free to move around until your match starts."
"Okay, I got it," Luffy nodded, then grinned. "It's really lively here~"
The lady shook her head helplessly. Lively?
Once you witness how terrifying these guys are, you'll regret those words.
Shaking her head, the lady turned and left.
As for what would happen to these two?
That wasn't something for a mere staff member like her to worry about. After all, she had given all the warnings she could, hadn't she?
After glancing at her departing back, Meiser scanned the surrounding contestants to see if he could find anyone from the Donquixote Family.
But unfortunately, after looking for a while, he didn't see anyone with those specific tattoos.
"Could it be they only come to participate during the finals?" Meiser wondered.
If that was the case, they would just have to fight their way into the finals first.
"The Diamond-Diamond Fruit is mine!" a boxer roared.
"Bullshit! The Diamond-Diamond Fruit should be mine!"
"What did you say?!"
Two angry men slammed their heads together, trying to force the other to back down, but neither would give an inch.
"I suggest you two behave yourselves," a man nearby said flatly. "Don't forget that fighting before the match results in disqualification."
As soon as those words were spoken, the two men about to fight immediately stopped. They snorted coldly and turned away.
It was at this moment that these brawny men noticed Luffy and Meiser walking inside.
These were... two old men who looked to be in their seventies or eighties?
They actually dared to come and compete?
"Hey, what's the deal with those two old men?"
"No idea..."
Though they didn't know the story, these people still found it laughable that two old men had come to participate.
Against guys like them, a single punch would be enough to lay them out.
"Hey, what's the background of these two geezers?" Sparta said.
Out of caution, he decided to ask around.
"No clue. All I know is that they were the last ones to sign up," someone nearby said.
Upon hearing this, Sparta immediately understood what was going on.
These were two people who didn't know the heights of the heavens or the depths of the earth!!
As a gladiator with 51 wins in this month's tournament in Dressrosa, he felt it his duty to teach them what kind of place this was!
With that thought, he turned and walked toward the two.
"Hmm?"
Glancing at the nearly five-meter-tall brute, Meiser subconsciously raised an eyebrow. Was this guy coming to pick a fight?
"Hey, is this a place for you two to be?" Sparta said, eyes glaring. "This is a colosseum! A place only for the strong!!"
"Who are you?"
Luffy looked at Sparta in confusion. Was this guy looking for trouble?
"Stop it, Sparta."
Another gladiator approached and said, "Fighting here will get you disqualified."
But unfortunately, Sparta was in no mood to listen to such things. He just wanted to make these two idiots back off.
Thinking of this, Sparta shoved aside the gladiator blocking him and closed in on Luffy and Meiser step by step.
"Did you hear me, hey!" Sparta looked coldly at the two and said, "The audience wants to see a duel between the strong, not the crushing of ants!"
"So you'd better give up and get the hell out of here!"
Hearing his words, a look of surprise appeared in Meiser's eyes. Could it be that this guy thought they were just old men and wanted them to quit for their own safety?
Put that way... was this guy actually a good person?
However, that thought was instantly crushed when he saw this man named Sparta move to strike them.
A massive fist swung toward the two without mercy, looking as though he intended to execute them on the spot.
This made Meiser realize he had overthought things. This guy simply didn't want "weaklings" like them to be seen by the audience.
After sidestepping the attack, Meiser said, "Hey, big guy, aren't you afraid of being disqualified?"
"Heh, who's going to blab about it?" Sparta sneered.
Although the rules forbade fighting before the match, as long as no one reported it, it wasn't a problem.
Meiser glanced at the people surrounding them, then gave a cold laugh. "Heh, interesting."
It seemed these people were more than happy to see the two of them eliminated early.
Luffy, meanwhile, had a look of sudden realization. "Oh, I see. So as long as no one says anything, it's fine."
Luffy understood Sparta's meaning. He lunged forward, grabbed Sparta's arm, and slammed him into the ground with a shoulder throw.
BOOM!!
With a single strike, Sparta was slammed into unconsciousness.
This scene deeply shocked the surrounding gladiators.
"S-Sparta was taken out?"
Taking out the nearly five-meter-tall Sparta in just one blow?
Was this really the strength that an old man in his seventies or eighties could exert?