Under the onslaught of two rampaging Tyrannosauruses, the number of participants in the arena dwindled at a visibly rapid pace.
Fortunately, the arena was spacious enough to provide ample room for dodging.
Even Bailey, along with the other beasts, was scrambling to escape.
The largest beast on the field, a mammoth with tusks the size of battering rams, was fleeing faster than a rabbit.
Amid the excited cheers of the audience, time ticked away second by second.
By the fourteenth minute, only nine beasts remained in the arena.
To everyone's surprise, the diminutive Bailey—initially mocked by the crowd—had not yet been trampled into a pancake.
At that moment, Bailey was being relentlessly pursued by one of the Tyrannosauruses.
The Den Den Mushi camera timely captured the scene, displaying Bailey's panicked, ferret-like face on the giant screen, its mouth agape as it emitted incoherent shrieks of terror.
Behind Bailey, the Tyrannosaurus was in hot pursuit, snapping its jaws repeatedly but always missing its target.
For the 15-meter-long predator, the less-than-one-meter Bailey was clearly a challenging target to capture.
It wasn't until the audience saw the broadcast on the screen that they realized the true reason behind Bailey's survival.
"Small size actually makes it harder for the T-Rex to catch him."
"Turns out it's just luck."
"Look at that little thing, running scared out of its mind."
The crowd burst into laughter again as they watched Bailey's frantic attempts to evade the dinosaur.
On the arena stage, Bailey fully committed to his performance to inflate the betting odds for the upcoming duels.
The sense of helplessness and vulnerability of a small creature facing a gigantic predator was portrayed with perfection by Bailey.
"That Bailey…"
On the spectator platform, Maude feigned a serious expression but inwardly gave Bailey a thumbs-up.
Through the broadcast on the massive screen, Law clearly saw Bailey's "miserable state" as he was chased by the Tyrannosaurus. He glanced at Maude, whose face was full of feigned concern.
Is he really worried about that little guy…
If that's the case, why make him participate in such an event in the first place?
Law silently pondered this, unaware of the scheming intentions shared by Maude and Bailey.
The final minute quickly passed.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Bailey "miraculously" survived and became one of the three remaining contestants in the arena.
However, after the preliminary round ended, the two Tyrannosauruses continued chasing the three surviving beasts, including Bailey.
Then, a staff member pressed a detonation button.
"Boom! Boom!"
The collars around the necks of the Tyrannosauruses exploded almost simultaneously.
Amid the thick smoke, the Tyrannosauruses, their necks bloodied and mangled, collapsed one after the other.
"Let's give a big round of applause to our trial supervisors for their spectacular performance, giving us a thrilling preliminary round!"
As the Tyrannosauruses fell, the commentator's voice rang out at just the right moment.
"At the same time, congratulations to the three contestants who have advanced from the first preliminary round!"
As the commentator's words fell, the images on the giant screen switched one by one.
First, a white tiger covered in blood appeared.
Next was a panting, spotted yellow leopard.
Both were three to five times larger than their usual counterparts.
Finally, the camera zoomed in on Bailey, who was curled up over the corpse of another beast, trembling with his head buried in his arms.
Seeing Bailey's weak, pitiful, and helpless appearance, the arena erupted in boos.
In a place like the coliseum, weakness was despised.
On the spectator platform, Maude turned and left.
He had no interest in the subsequent preliminaries.
Law watched Maude leave.
Bepo was scheduled to participate in the third preliminary round, meaning Law still had to sit through two more tedious rounds.
For a moment, Law envied Maude's ability to leave early.
Maude left the spectator platform and walked through a series of corridors to the coliseum's exit, waiting for Bailey and the others to arrive.
After a few minutes, Lafitte and the others arrived at the rendezvous point.
"Bailey isn't out yet?"
Gaya glanced around.
Before her words had even faded, Bailey was led out by the staff.
Maude took a big stride forward, scooping up the trembling Bailey, who was still caught up in the act, and said in a mock-serious tone:
"I never thought someone as weak as you could make it through the preliminaries."
"Whimper!"
Bailey shook even more violently, letting out a sorrowful cry, looking utterly pitiful.
The staff member who had brought Bailey over, as well as the nearby contestants who had just been eliminated, all gave Maude a strange look.
To think someone would send such a weak little creature into the beast combat arena for the sake of the champion's prize—what a heartless act.
If not for the preliminary round's theme favoring small animals, this creature, which looked like a raccoon dog, would have long perished in the arena.
The onlookers silently reached this conclusion in their hearts.
Perhaps sensing the crowd's sympathetic gazes, Bailey's cries became even louder, resembling a small beast utterly terrified out of its wits.
While comforting Bailey, Maude led the group toward the exit.
Watching the overly dramatic Bailey, Lafitte and the others couldn't help but feel impressed.
Bailey really had gone all out for the sake of raking in money.
After leaving the arena, the group headed straight for the Purple Orchid Hotel.
The moment they returned to their room, Bailey dropped the act, propping his legs up on the sofa and pointing toward the fridge.
"Jim, get me a beer."
"..."
Jim, who had just sat down, got up silently and fetched a chilled beer from the fridge for Bailey.
Bailey took several hearty gulps before letting out a satisfied belch, entirely shedding the pitiful appearance from earlier.
Maude glanced at Bailey, who was now lounging like a king, and said seriously, "Next, we just have to wait for the betting pool to open after the preliminaries. I can't wait to see Bailey's odds."
"Hoho, no matter who Bailey faces in the first match, it must end with a narrow victory."
"Of course. If he's too strong, it'll ruin the betting odds."
Maude and Lafitte were earnestly discussing the script.
Perhaps due to the meticulous attention to detail, Maude even brought out a notebook to jot down key points they had discussed, refining them further.
Under Maude's influence, Lafitte had gradually adopted a similar mindset, showing great enthusiasm for Bailey's upcoming act.
After all, it promised a fortune.
Even Jim, slowly drawn into their ways, joined the discussion, occasionally offering a suggestion or two.
Unable to bear watching any longer, Gaya got up and went to the suite's kitchen to prepare lunch for the group.
After enjoying the lunch Gaya made, Maude intended to continue discussing the script. However, Keynes from the Thomas Shipyard suddenly paid a visit, bringing two pieces of good news.
One was that the design blueprint was complete, and the other was news about the Treasure Tree Adam.
"Currently, there's a batch of Treasure Tree Adam available on the black market. However, the seller is asking for 650 million berries, three times the normal price," Keynes reported while seated on the sofa.
"650 million…"
Maude frowned.
Even though the Treasure Tree Adam was exceptionally rare, this price far exceeded his expectations.
Noticing Maude's reaction, Keynes calmly added, "There's no bargaining in black market trades, and the price is indeed inflated. If you're not in a hurry, you could wait a bit longer."
"We'll take it at this price," Maude decided firmly.
Waiting could mean delays of two or three months, or even half a year or more.
He didn't want to linger in one place for too long.
If Marine Headquarters sent troops specifically to hunt him down, he wouldn't have anywhere to run.
Seeing Maude agree to the price, Keynes wisely refrained from pointing out that Maude didn't have enough money, instead taking out the new ship's blueprint.
"This is the design that grandfather Edward just finished. Take a look. If there's anything you're not satisfied with, we can make adjustments before construction begins."
"Alright."
Maude took the blueprint.
Lafitte and Gaya, both equally invested in the new ship, leaned over from either side to look at the blueprint in Maude's hands.
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