On the high platform.
King's crossed arms had unknowingly been lowered.
He slightly tilted his head, looking at Kaido, a clear surprise in his deep voice:
"Governor, this kid's ability can play an immeasurable role on the battlefield! We must protect him."
Kaido, holding his sake gourd, grinned widely at the words and let out his signature "Worororo" laugh.
He took a big gulp of sake, which dripped down his chin, his eyes glinting with amusement: "Protect? King, just watch! This kid... might not necessarily lose!"
In the arena.
Who's-Who flicked the dust from the cuff of his white suit, his initially playful gaze completely darkening.
"Manipulating rocks? Humph, he's got some skill, no wonder the Governor made an exception. But..."
He licked his sharp canines, his ambition undisguised in his eyes,
"The All-Star position isn't something you can secure with tricks for clearing small fry. I'd like to see if your 'Lunar Calamity' bones are tough enough!"
Sasaki crossed his arms, his thick arm muscles bulging.
He glanced at the slightly disheveled Page One beside him, his lips almost imperceptibly turning down, showing his disdain.
His gaze refocused on the blue figure suspended in mid-air, battle intent flaring:
"Heh, interesting. This level of destructive power is barely enough to make me take you seriously. Hey, newbie, don't think you're safe just because you're hiding in the sky!"
Before he finished speaking, he pushed off the ground with a roar, the spot where he landed cracking like a spiderweb, his burly body shooting towards Ruun in the air like a cannonball.
"Ahhh! I'm so mad!"
Ulti leaped out of the pile of rubble, her pink dinosaur hat askew, her small face covered in dust.
She glared at Ruun in the sky, her small fists clenched tightly: "You! How dare you hurt Pepe! I'll crush you!"
Page One, who had been called out, silently got up from another pile of collapsed rubble, sighing helplessly.
That Moon Eclipse - Heavenly Fall strike just now was incredibly powerful; had it not been for the tough physique of his Ancient Zoan, Spinosaurus form, he would have long since lost all combat ability like the fallen fodder around him.
He pulled Ulti, saying in a low voice: "Sis, forget it. He's very strong, and injuries are unavoidable in a spar."
It wasn't that he was afraid of offending Ruun.
Within the Beasts Pirates, as long as no underhanded tricks were involved, sparring was a common occurrence, and Kaido even encouraged it.
But the power of that clearing strike had already demonstrated the gap in their strength; if his sister went head-to-head, she probably wouldn't be his opponent.
"Everything Pepe says is right!" Ulti instantly reined in her killing intent, hugging her brother and affectionately rubbing her cheek against his.
In the air.
Ruun watched Sasaki charging towards him, and with the index finger of one of his hands, he gently flicked it upwards in Sasaki's direction.
"Hm?!" Sasaki's forward momentum abruptly stopped.
An irresistible sense of weightlessness immediately seized him.
He was startled to find himself hovering in mid-air like a feather, still several meters away from Ruun.
Sasaki futilely kicked at the air, with nothing to push off, he could only wave his arms.
"What... what's going on?!" His face was etched with disbelief.
Ruun ignored his struggles, and his other three hands casually pointed at the three people below, and the gravity beneath their feet instantly vanished.
"Ah, fighting is so tiring... and more importantly, I'm hungry. Let's finish this quickly, everyone."
Before he finished speaking, four purple-black gravitational waves burst forth simultaneously from the palms of his four arms!
"Ugh ah!"
Who's-Who reacted the fastest, roaring: "Armament!"
Black Haki covered his entire body as he tried to block or evade.
But the feeling of weightlessness made his footing unstable, completely distorting his movements, making it impossible for him to effectively exert force or dodge!
"Pepe, be careful!" Ulti cried out in alarm, instinctively trying to pounce on her brother.
But she too lost her balance and floated up, her movements comically like a drowning kitten.
Page One hardened his skin, but his body was in an uncontrollable floating state, making him a complete sitting duck.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The gravitational waves hit all four of them squarely.
Even with Armament Haki protecting them, it seemed to be of little use.
"Wah!" Blood spilled from Who's-Who's mouth, and he was violently smashed into the shattered wall behind him, creating a deep crater.
"Ah—!" Ulti's small body was sent flying backward as if struck by a heavy blow, crashing into a pile of rubble, her pink dinosaur hat flying off, her face pale, struggling a few times before she could barely sit up.
Page One was pushed by the impact, plowing a long furrow in the ground, coughing violently while clutching his chest, his gaze towards the sky filled with shock and lingering fear.
Sasaki, floating in the air, suffered the worst; the gravitational wave slammed him to the ground like a broken sandbag, creating a shallow crater and raising a cloud of dust.
Although none of the four had completely lost consciousness, all of them had blood oozing from their mouths and noses, and their breathing was erratic, clearly having sustained considerable injuries.
They struggled to their feet, looking at the figure still suspended in the air, the anger, defiance, and contempt in their eyes long gone, replaced only by deep apprehension and a sense of powerlessness.
This was not a battle on the same level at all!
The opponent hadn't even moved, yet with a casual strike, he had utterly defeated all of them.
Unless their strength underwent a world-shattering transformation, otherwise... they had completely extinguished any thought of contending for that position.
Ruun slowly descended, returning to his human form.
He patted his clothes, looked up at Kaido, and said in a relaxed tone:
"Boss Kaido, is this good enough? Can we eat now? I'm starving."
"Worororororo—!" Kaido burst into wild laughter.
He took a big gulp of sake, which splattered, his face full of exhilaration and satisfaction,
"Good! Good kid! Strong enough! Satisfying enough! I wasn't wrong about you! Feast! Today we welcome our new All-Star!"
The pirates watching immediately cheered.
"All-Star!"
"All-Star!"
"Lunar Calamity!"
"Lunar Calamity!"
Seeing the surrounding onlookers so enthusiastic, Ruun also waved in response.
As for the pirates who died in battle?
No one cared.
As pirates, their business was to live with their heads on the line.
Moreover, this contest stemmed from their covetousness of the All-Star position.
Dying an untimely death could only be attributed to their own misjudgment of the power gap.
On the high platform, King looked at Ruun and exclaimed: "Without even touching... he can make people float at will... precise long-range strikes, while also suppressing the entire field..."
He paused, unable to find suitable words to describe such a heaven-defying existence that combined attack, control, and extremely wide-range clearing abilities.
Especially since the opponent hadn't used Haki at all from start to finish!
And Who's-Who and the others had genuinely used Armament Haki for defense, yet they were still severely injured by a single strike.
This pure strength made King's heart pound.
Queen's eyes behind his sunglasses were wide open, his cigar almost slipping from his mouth: "Ho~ho~ho~! This... this is truly unreasonable and overbearing!"
Jack silently stared at the composed Ruun in the arena, then glanced at the four disheveled figures below, letting out a heavy snort from his nostrils, and said in a muffled voice: "...Tough enough."