Chapter 170: Arena Challenge, Victory
Westham, on the sea cliff.
On this cliff with a sweeping view stood a sturdy, rough-hewn wooden house, with wisps of steam drifting from a wide-open window.
"Ahh, that hits the spot. Nothing better than a hot soak first thing in the morning."
A gray-haired but still massively built old man lounged contentedly in the indoor hot spring, admiring the scenery outside.
The rising steam blurred the flame-shaped scar over his right eye. One solid arm rested along the rim, the lines of his muscles still sharply defined.
Clearly, time had not erased the power slumbering in that frame.
Opposite the hot spring sat an extra-wide dining room where a mother and son were finishing breakfast.
"Daddy, hurry up! The King's Arena is about to start!"
The little boy, Colon, battled the mountain of food in front of him while urging between mouthfuls, freckles dancing as his face scrunched with impatience.
Ripley did not answer her son right away. She stood, walked to the spring, and bent with a teasing smile toward the soaking man. "Ya-san, how's the water? Need me to add more hot?"
"Ahhhh!!!" Colon's face fell at once, letting out a dramatic wail.
Seeing her son's crushed expression, the man in the spring—Gaban—burst into hearty laughter, the booming sound startling a few seabirds off the cliff face.
"No need, Ripley. If I soak any longer, a certain little someone is going to get hopping mad. Haha."
"Still, it is a rare spectacle. Even though I've never seen it in person," Ripley said, standing straight, a little wonder in her tone. "I truly don't know how Kai convinced the elders."
"That's not our problem to worry about."
Gaban shrugged, ripples spreading. "Elder Jarul is a clear-sighted man. Any decision he makes is for Elbaf's greater good."
After a few more lazy minutes, Gaban climbed out of the pool.
He towel-dried briskly, slipped on small round sunglasses, and tossed on a bright floral shirt with loose shorts—transforming from a soaking elder to a spry, stylish old-timer in a blink.
"Come on. Let's see what Kai is really made of."
With a sweep of his hand, a note of anticipation slipped into his voice.
The three of them headed out toward the venue of the King's Arena—the Elbaf Coliseum.
Named for the nation itself, this was Elbaf's grandest and most colossal structure, stacked from titanic stones and radiating a raw, overwhelming force.
Only here could every giant warrior's fiercest clashes be contained.
By the time they arrived, the coliseum was already a sea of bodies.
Everywhere Ripley looked, giants packed the stands, their uproar deafening.
Some crossed their arms with "can't-wait" grins; some rolled their shoulders with battle roaring in their eyes, itching to leap down; others leaned together and gossiped, the entire arena a cauldron on the verge of boiling over.
Arriving late, the family could only find seats on the highest tier.
"Wow! So many people! It's so lively!"
Colon's big eyes darted everywhere, never tiring of the sight.
"It's spectacular," Ripley said quietly to Gaban, eyes on the crowd below. "Looks like everyone was drawn by the King's Arena and a human challenger named Kai."
Gaban nudged his sunglasses and nodded.
Down on the vast central ground, Jarul and several venerable elders had already taken their places with Kai's group.
"I declare the King's Arena, with a seven-day time limit, officially open!"
There were no long-winded speeches. With Jarul's bell-like announcement, this challenge that would shape Elbaf's future began at once.
"OOOH!"
The stands erupted in a tidal war cry that almost lifted the arena's roof.
Every giant warrior's blood thrummed. Their heavy breaths merged into a single churning wind.
The battle had not even started, but the atmosphere had reached fever pitch.
In the center, Kai felt the raw, savage energy and nodded inwardly.
This was the warrior nation he had pictured.
"I'll go first!"
A roar cut through the noise.
A giant dressed like a Viking leaped from the high stands, landing with a crash that sent dust billowing, a massive battle axe in his hand.
"It's Ogre Jason! One of East Village's strongest!"
Cheers went up from those who knew him.
"Human! Get ready! I'm coming!"
The giant gave a warning. Then he lifted the axe and brought it down, a furious cleave aimed for Kai.
Before the blade even reached him, the gouging wind pressure sent Kai's hair and cloak snapping, as if the gust alone would rip his slight frame to shreds.
Kai did not flinch. He simply raised his right hand, expression unchanged.
"Got him!" Seeing Kai stand there, the giant's face lit with savage delight. "Under my axe—uh—"
He froze mid-boast.
It felt like his axe head had lodged in the trunk of the Treasure Tree Adam itself. It would not budge. A grip like iron clamped it in place.
Move! Move!
Veins stood out on his temple as his arm muscles bunched like rock. He hauled with everything he had—but the axe hung there, welded in midair.
A cold bead of sweat slipped down his face.
The crowd burst into uproar.
Countless giants sprang to their feet, eyes wide.
What did they just see?
That tiny human stopped Jason's full-power cleave with one hand?
No. That was wrong.
Sharp-eyed giants noticed the truth: only two fingers stood between Jason's axe and Kai.
Two tiny fingers.
"Skipped breakfast? That strength is enough to put me to sleep."
Kai tossed out some trash talk. In front of him, the giant's face went from white to red to slate in an instant.
Kai chuckled and released his grip.
Freed, the axe swung on past Kai on momentum alone. Jason managed a flicker of relief—then a mountain-smash of force rushed back up the handle.
Pain shot through the giant's hands. Numbness cracked his grip. His fingers opened.
As the axe crashed to the ground, a ghost-quick shadow flashed up at the side of his skull.
"Bye."
A fist far too small for a giant's body landed on Jason's left cheek with power entirely too great.
"Guck..."
His eyes rolled back. Consciousness snapped. His massive body flew, as if smashed by a charging dump truck, teeth scattering through the air.
Kai touched down lightly.
He swept a glance across the restive mass of giants and called out, clear as a bell, "Next."
Watching a comrade fall so swiftly did not cow the giants—it inflamed them.
A warrior larger than Jason threw himself in with a roar.
And left just as fast.
The instant he moved, Kai met him with an immaculate shoulder throw and spiked him into the ground. Lights out.
With two quick defeats, cheers began to ripple through the stands.
"Kai! Kai! Kai!"
No one yelled harder than little Colon, bouncing in place.
Gaban did not stop his son from "rooting for the enemy." He only said to Ripley with a sigh, "No wonder Shanks lost to Kaido. If even Kaido's All-Stars are this strong, he cannot complain."
In the arena, Kai's face did not change even after two easy wins.
"Those were not even a warm-up."
He shook his head, a trace of disappointment there, then looked up. His gaze crackled as it swept the howling stands, a teasing smile tugging at his mouth.
"One by one wastes time. You—"
He raised his voice so it carried to every corner. "Come together."
"What?!"
"Arrogant!"
"You think those two represent Elbaf's best?!"
The stands roared like an explosion, anger and scorn surging through them.
Kai ignored it. He turned to Jarul and the elders. "One against many doesn't break any rules, right?"
Jarul stroked his snowy beard, thinking. "The rules only require challengers to take the field one at a time. They do not restrict the defender."
"But, Kai, are you sure?"
The old man's eyes searched him.
"Of course," Kai said, easy as a breeze.
"In that case—have it your way."
With Jarul's nod, the giants conferred briefly and decided in a heartbeat.
"Send the Brown Bear Brothers! They survived seven days in the Nether Realm and came back alive. They'll win!"
Two twin giant warriors thundered down into the ring.
They bore massive twin-bladed greatswords as long as half a man, eyes fierce, presence crushing.
Without a wasted word, they raised their blades together. Power howled along the edges as it gathered.
"Hakoku Sovereignty!"
With nearly perfect synchronicity, both brought their swords down.
Boom.
One red, one blue. Two massive energy waves roared off their weapons, twisting and fusing into a single shock pillar of terrifying breadth.
Where it passed, the air shrieked. The ground was carved into deep ruts. It would erase anything in its path.
"Good."
Facing a joint technique that could punch through a warship, Kai's expression finally turned serious.
Armament Haki coated his body in an instant. Then he did the one thing that made every giant's jaw hang.
He did not dodge. He stomped down hard, turned himself into a black meteor that tore the air, and charged straight into destruction.
"Take Down!"
Before a hundred shocked eyes, that black figure drilled into the shock pillar and shattered it as he went.
"How—"
The twins never saw what happened.
Something slammed their chests. Blackness swallowed their vision. Two mountains fell in unison as they dropped, lights out.
With even the Brown Bear Brothers losing in a heartbeat, the giants finally understood—the human before them could not be beaten one-on-one.
"All together!"
Someone roared first. In the next beat, giant warriors jumped like dumplings from the stands.
In a blink, half the seats emptied, leaving behind only those too old, too young, too injured, or unwilling to fight.
Kai was ringed in an instant by a crowd of giants like walking hills, packed shoulder to shoulder.
Hundreds of eyes burned down at him. Their combined breathing became a bellows. The pressure pressed like lead.
And in the eye of the storm, before that crushing gaze, Kai slowly closed his eyes.
He tapped the ground, bounced lightly, and stretched out his arms and legs—warming up.
Goku-style.
Not a hint of tension. If anything, a hint of enjoyment.
He held that personal routine for half a minute.
Then his eyes snapped open. Light flared. His mouth curved into a wild grin. "That's it. Come on. Don't waste time."
He lunged first, smashing into the living wall of giants.
"Dragon Claw. Dragon Tail. Iron Head. Brick Break."
With each named technique, Kai streaked through the forest of legs and weapons at impossible speed.
Fist, foot, elbow, knee—even his head. Every part of his body became a killing tool.
No giant could withstand his brute rush. One exchange, one unconscious body. They fell like trees in a storm.
Fortunately, Kai held back, and giants were born thick-skinned and stubbornly vital—or today might have been Elbaf's Ragnarok.
"So strong."
"This absolute power—I've only seen it in King Harald and… Loki."
The elders watched the blood-and-thunder below and could not help their awe.
Now they understood why Jarul allowed the King's Arena to be invoked for Kai.
This was not a challenge. It was a rout.
This human truly had the power to flatten Elbaf alone.
"No surprise that it's Brother Kai. A super pirate worth 2.4 billion."
Colon's eyes gleamed, his little arms pumping with worship written all over him.
Ripley glanced at her husband's complicated face and asked softly, "Ya-san, if… if it were you, could you beat him?"
Silence.
Then a flicker of age and regret crossed Gaban's face. "If I were twenty years younger, I might trade blows with him. Now… even if I spent this old life, I would not last long."
Ripley nodded in understanding and let it lie, though her eyes grew more sober as she watched the unstoppable figure below.
"Damn, I'm so jealous," Yamato said, slumped over the rail like a salted fish with no dreams left, gazing at Kai cutting through giants with a face full of longing. "To fight that many giants."
Reiju patted her shoulder gently. "There will be chances."
Elsewhere, Enel gnawed his favorite apple without enthusiasm, frustration leaking into every chew.
Damn him—he looks even stronger again.
At this rate, how long would it take this god to wipe out that shame?
Beside Robin, Saul's massive face was all astonishment. "Robin, your friends are terrifyingly strong."
"Of course." Robin smiled sweetly, pride in her voice. "Not long ago, Admirals Sakazuki and Kuzan both fell to him."
"Oh? Really? That is incredible."
Saul's shock deepened.
Back when they entered training, Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino had been called monsters from day one.
Even as graduates, they were seen as future admirals—perhaps even future fleet admiral.
Time flew as thoughts filled the stands.
Below, the battle ran like an assembly line.
One giant charged in with a roar; one giant toppled in a heap.
Medical teams ran themselves ragged, dragging bodies out for emergency treatment.
At the same time, new giant warriors poured in from across Elbaf as the news spread.
The sun sank. Rose again.
To limit casualties, Kai avoided wide-area, high-lethality attacks.
Even so, he inevitably got bogged down.
Monster physique or no, under the revolving press of hundreds and thousands of giants, he could not avoid a few wounds. His clothes tore. He looked far rougher than at the start.
But giants who fell did not return, even after waking.
This endless-seeming war did have an end.
Bang!
Kai drove a clean, straight punch.
The last giant left standing crashed down and was whisked away by a medical team.
The raging melee that had lasted a full day and night finally paused.
By now, the stands that had emptied as fighters leapt had refilled.
Unlike yesterday, most faces wore bandages and bruises—giant warriors who had tried him and lost.
"Anyone else?"
Kai drew a deep breath, tamped down his fatigue, and raised his arm.
His answer was no longer a challenger's roar, but a single, thunderous cheer, hot and unified, shaking the clouds.
"Kai! Kai! Kai!"
"King! King! King!"
After a day and night of non-stop, head-on, epic brawling, Kai's unquestionable power and unbending will had won the heartfelt respect of the vast majority of Elbaf's warriors.