Afterward, Maude stayed at the Colosseum to watch the remaining three matches of the 11-to-6 elimination round.
Comparatively, the most troublesome opponent remained the Zoan-type Devil Fruit user.
If Bailey were to face him, he might not necessarily lose, but the risk would undoubtedly be high.
After the five elimination matches concluded, the audience gradually dispersed.
According to the schedule, the next round—the 6-to-3 matches—would take place three days later.
After that, it would be about a week before the finals.
In other words, the remaining tournament schedule spanned about ten days.
By then, it would also coincide with the time when Thomas Shipyard would begin construction on the new ship.
But as Keynes had mentioned, once the precious Adam Wood for the ship arrived, the shipyard would allocate all its production capacity and focus entirely on the project.
With the shipyard's efficiency, the work might be completed within three days.
Either way, fast or slow, it would all unfold in about ten days.
Maude, however, needed to pay the remaining balance for the new ship within the next five days. Even with the current principal, he was still short about 100 million beri.
For now, he could only wait for the draw results in two days to see who Bailey would face in the 6-to-3 matches.
If luck turned against him and Bailey ended up matched with the Zoan-type user, the odds would likely skyrocket.
But if Bailey couldn't secure a solid win, the manipulation plan would fail.
If that happened, Maude would have to figure out another way.
Regardless of the outcome, however, he was determined to claim the experience points from that Zoan user.
Once most of the audience had left the Colosseum, Maude and his group finally departed.
Before leaving, Maude invited Law to the tavern, but the latter declined and left with Bepo for parts unknown.
Gaya wasn't interested in heading to the East Street tavern and returned to the hotel early.
Thinking it better for Gaya to prepare food at the hotel, Maude changed his plans, and everyone went back to the hotel directly.
Two days passed.
During this time, Maude and Lafitte visited East Street a few times.
They noticed that even as the tournament approached its final stages, the number of outsiders on Leviathan Island hadn't diminished. Instead, it seemed to have increased.
Apparently, even those eliminated in the preliminaries were unwilling to give up on their desire for the Devil Fruit.
Perhaps due to this, the dark horse champion contender from the Savage Fang Pirates was keeping a low profile. Before the main event began, they even requested military protection from the Colosseum.
Such precautions bordered on extreme cowardice, much to Maude's annoyance.
On this day, the draw ceremony was broadcast live via Den Den Mushi.
The person presiding over the draw was the king of the Ahab Kingdom, Ahab Degarth.
Through the broadcast, Maude saw the peculiar king responsible for the current state of Dick City for the first time.
He was just as Maude had imagined—a portly middle-aged man with a handlebar mustache.
However, the king exuded a certain vitality, clearly not a mere glutton but someone of considerable capability.
The draw results were announced swiftly.
In the 6-to-3 matches, Bailey was paired against Bepo.
"Perfect!"
Upon seeing the draw, Bepo excitedly shadowboxed a few quick combos.
Bailey shot a sideways glance at Bepo and inwardly cursed him for an idiot.
Law initially considered having Bepo forfeit, but with the draw as it was, he let it be. After all, win or lose, this would be Bepo's last Colosseum match.
Compared to Law's indifference, Maude's thoughts turned immediately to the betting pools.
Currently, in the audience's eyes, Bailey was seen as a weak contestant who had only made it into the 6-to-3 by sheer luck.
Given this perception, even though Bepo wasn't overwhelmingly intimidating, the audience clearly favored him.
After all, Bepo had defeated a formidable opponent in the 11-to-6 round.
As for Bailey, he had either fled or cowered in the preliminaries, eventually advancing by a lucky bye.
The contrast was stark in the audience's eyes.
Maude was eager to see the final odds.
Late that night, to learn the odds, Maude sent Lafitte to investigate.
"Five to one," Lafitte reported upon his return.
"Lower than expected," Maude remarked without much disappointment.
These odds would suffice.
With nearly twenty hours remaining before the match, Maude wasn't in a hurry to place bets.
The next day, Maude instructed Lafitte to bet 50 million berries.
A few hours later, Bailey's odds dropped to three to one.
As time passed, the odds fluctuated, eventually stabilizing at four to one before the betting pool closed.
Maude's 50-million berries bet meant that if Bailey won, he would net a profit of 150 million berries.
This would not only cover the remaining ship payment but also leave a 50-million berries surplus for purchasing essentials like furniture.
Before the match…
In the Colosseum's contestant lounge…
"Bailey, don't mess this up at the critical moment," Maude cautioned, watching Bailey feast.
"Boss, don't worry! Watch me hang that bear up and beat him down!" Bailey replied confidently.
If he had to face the Zoan user, Bailey would've been uncertain. But against Bepo, he felt unstoppable.
Seeing Bailey's confidence, Maude nodded.
Initially, the plan was for Bailey to feign a narrow victory to manipulate the odds for the next round. But plans changed—Bailey's bye in the first match and the current odds made it unnecessary.
Winning this match was now the top priority.
Half an hour later…
Amid the deafening cheers of the Colosseum crowd, Bailey and Bepo stepped onto the stage.
Maude and Law, as their respective handlers, observed from opposite sides of the arena.
The two exchanged a calm glance, showing no particular reaction.
Onstage, however, Bailey and Bepo were raring to go.
The moment the whistle blew, both would unleash their full strength, aiming to defeat the other as quickly as possible.
In the audience, Buffalo coldly stared at Law on the stage.
Moments later, he shifted his gaze to Maude.
The reinforcements his family had dispatched would take about seven days to reach Leviathan Island.
Once Lao G and the others arrived, seizing the Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit would be child's play.
As for how? By force, of course.
Buffalo smirked, revealing his family crest on his teeth.
In his eyes, capturing the Devil Fruit and Law would be no challenge once reinforcements arrived.
What concerned him more was Maude's presence.
To be precise, the Marine Vice Admiral he had drawn to Leviathan Island—"Pink Rabbit" Gion.
Rumor had it she was a formidable Marine.
"Let's hope everything goes smoothly," Buffalo muttered, his gaze sharp as a blade.
If the Vice Admiral arrived first, things could get complicated.
In a secluded building on East Street…
Catherine held a multi-shot rifled flintlock with a scope, pressing its barrel into the mouth of a man lying on the floor, sweating profusely.
"I don't see why Mr. Maude would want these pirates' information," Catherine remarked, glancing at Foot, who was writing at a nearby desk.
Even though her attention shifted, the man with the gun in his mouth dared not move.
Around them lay over a dozen corpses, the man's former comrades.
A few Revolutionary Army members stood guard by the doors and windows.
This hidden intelligence hub in Dick City couldn't escape the Revolutionary Army's watchful eyes.
To fulfill Maude's request, Foot and his team struck during the semi-finals, obtaining several pieces of valuable intelligence.
With their own findings, they hoped it would suffice to meet Maude's expectations.
If not, they would continue gathering information until Maude was satisfied.
Foot stopped writing abruptly and looked at the last remaining survivor.
"Maude's motivation for wanting information about these abilities... without a doubt, it's to eliminate these pirates who only know how to pillage and plunder."
At this point, Foot looked up and gazed at Catherine.
"Don't forget Maude's origins..."
"Indeed," Catherine replied with a slight smile, speaking earnestly. "If Maude knew his family was still alive, I wonder how he would react."
Meanwhile.
In the coliseum.
The battle between Bailey and Bepo was about to erupt.
Countless eyes were fixed on the scene.
Unable to hold back any longer, Bepo was the first to act.
"Ayi!"
Accompanied by an incomprehensible cry, Bepo took a large stride forward, charging straight at the calm and composed Bailey.
The arena was spacious.
To land a solid hit on Bailey, Bepo first had to close the distance.
Before long.
Bepo reached Bailey.
"Aiyo!"
With another spirited exclamation, Bepo leaped into the air confidently, raising his right leg to deliver a diagonal kick aimed at Bailey's face.
In that moment, Bepo seemed to envision Bailey's face swollen and bruised from his strike.
But just as he relished the thought, he saw Bailey calmly pull a handful of small nails from his fur and scatter them across the ground.
Immediately afterward, Bailey shifted several body lengths to the side with remarkable speed—an agility honed through rigorous leg training.
"???"
Staring at the nails on the ground, Bepo froze in disbelief before crashing down, stepping right onto the trap.
"Arghhh!"
Bepo let out a wail of pain, immediately sitting down, tears forming at the corners of his eyes as he looked at the two nails stuck in his foot.
Breathing heavily, he yanked the nails out one by one, then glared furiously at Bailey, who was nonchalantly picking his nose.
Shameless!
Bailey, however, merely smirked disdainfully.
Seeing this, Bepo sprang to his feet.
This time, he charged forward step by step, without attempting any aerial maneuvers.
"Bear's Stomp!"
Using his height advantage, Bepo brought his foot down heavily toward Bailey.
The latter rolled gracefully to the side, avoiding the stomp while letting out a casual yawn.
"Bear's Slapstorm!"
Bepo pressed forward, his palms casting a flurry of shadow strikes as they enveloped Bailey.
"Too slow."
Bailey smirked and leaped backward, easily evading the flurry of attacks.
"My ultimate move was dodged?!"
Bepo's expression grew tense as he clenched his fists, internally vowing to get serious.
"Let's see you handle this—my advanced ultimate move! Bear's Lightning Slapstorm!"
Kicking off the ground, Bepo darted in front of Bailey.
Whoosh—!
His powerful arms swelled slightly, and he launched another series of slaps, the speed and force noticeably stronger this time.
The flurry of strikes instantly engulfed Bailey.
Once again, Bepo imagined Bailey's face swollen and battered.
But reality didn't follow suit.
Within the whirlwind of strikes, Bailey deftly weaved left and right, dodging every attack.
"What? Impossible!"
Stunned, Bepo abruptly stopped his onslaught and switched tactics, delivering a swift kick instead.
"Huh?"
Bailey raised an eyebrow, surprised by Bepo's quick and decisive adaptation.
Simultaneously, he leaped into the air, avoiding the kick.
"You've fallen for it!"
Seeing Bailey leap into the air, where he had no foothold, Bepo's eyes lit up.
"Aiyo!"
Seizing the opportunity, Bepo aimed a rising uppercut at Bailey mid-air.
This time, the bear thought, there's no way you can dodge this!
Bepo's gaze bore into Bailey.
As if reading Bepo's mind, Bailey sneered internally.
Moonwalk.
Under everyone's stunned gaze, Bailey stomped on the air several times, ascending several meters higher and completely avoiding Bepo's seemingly guaranteed strike.
"???"
Bepo's face froze.
"You're nothing but a bumbling bear."
Bailey sneered quietly as Bepo's momentum faded and he began to fall back to the ground. Beily used two more Moonwalks to swiftly maneuver behind him.
Rocket Headbutt!
Still mid-air, Bailey launched himself like an arrow, smashing headfirst into Bepo's lower back.
Boom—!
Bepo's body bent into a "C" shape, then flew forward, rolling several times on the ground before coming to a stop. His eyes spun in a daze as he passed out.
Bailey landed with a cold smirk. "You thought you could beat me? Hmph."
In the observation tunnel, Law watched Bailey in shock.
"That was... Moonwalk from the Six Powers!"
Why would a weasel know how to use Moonwalk?
Law couldn't believe it.
Meanwhile, the audience fell into a stunned silence.
What was going on?
That tiny weasel actually...
And this... this didn't seem like a proper beast battle!
Maude couldn't care less about the audience's perception.
"Well done, Bailey," Maude said, grinning.
At that moment, he was about to pocket 150 million berries.
With this money, the remaining payments for the ship would be covered. From there, forfeiting the competition wouldn't matter.
As for the tournament's grand prize, the Devil Fruit, if he wanted it, he'd simply take it by force.
After all, he had already promised the Revolutionary Army he would create chaos before leaving.
Now, as long as Thomas Shipyard finished the new ship before the final battle, they would have no further concerns.
Thinking this, Maude's grin grew wider.
To others, it seemed like he was celebrating his victory.
Little did they know, he was planning a chaos-inducing scheme that would terrify them all.
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