"Sister, lend me your sewing kit for a bit, I think I've just found something amazing."
Page One definitely wouldn't bring a fishing rod onto the arena, but Ulti always carried a sewing kit with her, which Page One knew very well.
Though she was short-tempered and her style of doing things was rough and direct, Ulti was actually quite dexterous. In fact, she had a hobby completely opposite to her outward personality, which is making small accessories.
Mending and sewing were no problem for her either. Things like her own cape, Page One's mask were all made by her. So, the sewing kit was naturally of utmost importance to her.
This was also a result of her living environment. Her and Page One's father was basically cut from the same cloth as Kaido; as long as the kids survived, what they turned into was entirely up to fate.
By the time Yamato was born, the Beasts Pirates were already on the rise, and their logistics were mostly well-developed. Yamato never had to worry about such matters.
But Ulti's father's pirate crew didn't have the Beasts Pirates' capabilities, nor did they have many who were good at sewing and mending things. Over time, Ulti was forced to start dealing with such tasks at a young age, and gradually developed a liking for them.
"What do you want this for? Just tell sister what you want to do."
"I'm gonna make a fishing rod. Otherwise, it'd be such a waste."
Taking Ulti's sewing kit, Page One picked out a relatively thick needle and bent it a few times into a makeshift fishhook, then casually pulled out a thread.
Using thread meant for sewing clothes to fish was already ridiculous, let alone for catching something as fierce as a fighting fish. Normally, trying to fish with that would be impossible. But he was different. Before long, both the thread and hook in his hands were tinged with black.
As the most versatile power in the New World, Haki had countless applications — it could strengthen weapons' hardness, or reinforce tools' hardness.
Wrapping the thread around his arm, Page One had finished preparing his gear for catching fighting fish.
Looking at that fishhook, which wasn't even as big as a fighting fish's tooth, Ulti sank into deep self-doubt.
"Pay-tan, I know you like fishing, but in this kind of situation, with this kind of gear, isn't that a bit unrealistic?"
"No problem, Sister. These fish aren't like normal ones."
Ordinary fish would get scared away by the slightest movement, and even carefully prepared bait wouldn't necessarily attract them. But these fighting fish, with their extreme aggression, were different. As long as a person stood in one place, they'd actively leap toward them.
If he wanted to, Page One could easily kill a Sea King. As long as those deep-sea monsters dared to stick their heads out, Page One could turn them into part of his "catch."
But that kind of fishing didn't satisfy him. Monsters dozens of meters long had nothing to do with the concept of "fish." These fighting fish, at least, still counted as fish.
"I don't believe you can actually catch one."
"Sister, just watch."
Then, Page One demonstrated his way of fishing. According to the habits of these fighting fish, they wouldn't bite the hook; they'd go straight for the fisherman instead. So Page One did something quite unorthodox.
Standing at the edge of the arena, he used his own body as bait. Then, as he spun the string in his hand, one of the fighting fish, unable to resist the temptation, leaped toward him, and Page One aimed precisely for the fighting fish's open mouth.
The hook shot into the fighting fish's mouth as precisely as a javelin, easily piercing through its lower jaw with the help of Haki. Page One then yanked hard, slamming it onto the arena floor.
"See? Caught it, didn't I?"
If you ignore the process and only look at the result: a fish with a hook in its mouth lying before a fisherman. If it counts as a successful "fishing", then this might be a question that could rise to a philosophical level.
But the spectators in the arena weren't there to watch people fish. The match had already begun long ago, it was just that no one dared to attack the brother-sister duo yet. That was the deterrent power of the Number system.
Numbers directly reflected one's status. Speed and the others in the 20s had already shown terrifying destructive power; so the audience could only imagine what those in the single digits were capable of. Most of the contestants were watching and waiting; none of them wanted to be the one to step on a landmine.
No one in the arena dared to move, but outside the arena it was different. Gatz had also noticed Page One's bizarre "fishing" behavior.
"Contestant Page One seems quite interested in the fighting fish! What's seen as a dangerous creature to most people seems to be nothing more than a toy to him. Is this the power of a single-digit Number? Even the bottom-ranked among them shows a composure far beyond that of ordinary people."
"Hey, hey! You can't attack the commentator! That's a serious violation of the rules!"
Just as Gatz was getting into his commentary, the fighting fish that had been knocked out suddenly came flying his way.
"You've gone too far! Can't you update your information before you start commentating?! Who are you calling the bottom rank?!"
Ulti glared furiously at Gatz up in the commentary booth, clearly displeased with his words.
Being No. 9 and No. 8 was old news. Ever since Jack was promoted, the No. 2 spot had been left vacant. Normally, Elizabeth would have filled that gap.
However, Elizabeth was still carrying out her sinister sniper plan and hadn't gone to take her former position.
Back then, the siblings were ranked last simply because they were too young. As time passed, they grew stronger, and the battle-inept Isuka remained at the bottom. All of that led to several shifts among the single-digit Numbers.
Talent, ambition, ability — all these factors meant that the brother and sister were no longer 9 and 8.
However, Gatz's intel came from the bounty posters. When those were filled out, only names were written, and since this wasn't an official ranking battle, there was no need to provide detailed information.
Their number markings were also unique. Unlike Speed and the others whose numbers were clearly visible, Page One's was written on his chest, hidden under his clothes, while Ulti's had been moved to her ankle.
As a result, Gatz's outdated information caused him to make a mistake in his commentary.
"Ahem, there was a little accident just now, but it wouldn't affect the match! Let's turn our attention back to the arena!"
The thrown fighting fish had already been knocked unconscious; at most, it just gave Gatz a scare and made the audience burst into laughter. Watching the commentator suffer humiliation was, after all, a rare kind of fun.
But Gatz himself didn't mind such things. As a commentator, he had seen plenty of such things.
Since his intel was outdated and he didn't know what exact number Page One and Ulti held now, he decided not to mention it at all. For a commentator, quick on-the-spot adaptation was crucial.
"The match is heating up, and it looks like contestant Page One couldn't stay out of it any longer! And his opponent... is a Marine!"
There were far more Marines who came to Dressrosa this time compared to the original timeline. Aside from Maynard, who participated under an alias, some Marines had even chosen to enter the tournament directly, without so much as removing their Justice cloaks.
"This is truly a rare sight! Marines directly participating in our tournament! Our beloved King has truly given us an incredible spectacle!"
"There's no doubt that Marines and pirates are natural enemies. Just what kind of sparks will fly between them in this Colosseum?!"
Gatz continued his commentary with his usual enthusiasm, narrating the developments on the battlefield in his own lively style.
"Pirates these days sure have grown bold, huh? They openly take part in a tournament like this now?"
"What are you talking about? In a place like this, it's you Marines who are the odd ones out."
Page One looked at the Marine officer standing before him. One had the lower half of his face covered by a mask, while the other wore a visor that concealed the upper half of his face. In a sense, they were quite the perfect pair.
"There's an order from Headquarters, but I suppose what's happening in the arena counts as a special case."
A Marine Vice Admiral with long reddish-brown hair drew a massive sword from his back. Marine Vice Admiral, Shark-Cutter Bastille.
The "order from Headquarters" he referred to was the standing command that Marines were not to engage in battle with any of the Emperors of the Sea without explicit orders, in order to avoid triggering uncontrollable consequences.
He hadn't originally planned to come here, but suddenly losing contact with Maynard, along with the unexpected number of powerful pirates appearing one after another, had made him change his plans. He needed intelligence from the later stages of the tournament.
As a Marine Vice Admiral, watching pirates who should be hunted down because of their bounties swaggering about here — even being cheered on by the crowd — naturally filled him with resentment.
The fights in the arena clearly didn't count as an act of war, so he directly locked onto his target.
"Come to think of it, our titles really do go well together, don't you think? Land Shark • Page One?"
"You can try. Let's see if your Shark Cleaver can cut me down."
The species of fighting fish greatly intrigued Page One. He even thought of raising a few back on Onigashima, which would make fishing much more entertaining. But it was obvious this was not the place for fishing.
As he saw the Marine who had set his sights on him, Page One pulled off his clothes and tossed them aside.
The upper half of his outfit resembled a suit. If he didn't take it off, it probably would rip apart from his expanding body. As his physique expanded, the tattoo of his name on his chest and the inverted "No. 9" beneath it became clearly visible.
As the youngest among the single-digit Numbers, he had been working tirelessly, and the No. 6 was proof of that effort.
"ROAR!!"
With a thunderous bellow, Garchomp appeared in front of Bastille, radiating a ferocious aura. The sheer sound of its roar caused many in the audience to stiffen, as though they'd just been locked onto by a top-tier predator.
Bastille's steps faltered for a moment, but he quickly recovered, raising his Shark Cleaver and swinging it down toward Page One. As a Vice Admiral, one who had even been assigned to serve as Fujitora's Vice-Captain, his strength far surpassed that of someone like Maynard.
Moreover, he was particularly skilled at hunting down large sea beasts, hence his epithet "Shark-Cutter." But this time, he made a fatal mistake.
He ignored the brother-con in front of him and even tried to attack the brother-con's younger brother.
"You b*stard, get lost! Don't you dare disturb me and Pay-tan!"
Ulti stepped on Page One to jump high, and the sharp axe blades embedded on her arms slashed toward Bastille before Page One could.
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