108 No II
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Chapter 107: No II
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"Sure sure, I'm not here for a fight anyway. I just want my paintings back." Yovan shrugged.
"Huh?" It finally dawned on her, what Yovan actually wanted, "Then I'll contact Doflamingo to let him know you're here." And she walked away, but not before leaving a few pink flowers beside the grave.
Yovan stood up, stretching a bit. If he was afraid of the Marines knowing he was here, he showed none of it.
He threw his painting into the air, and it flew away within a shroud of feathers, but something came back, a simple white robe.
He followed by putting on a silver mask, one very similar to the one he had before except it didn't have any eyeholes, denying him eyesight.
The only thing missing from the transformation was his golden hair, something many would recognize.
So somehow, his hair started growing longer, slowly but surely until it reached his waist, and if that wasn't enough, it turned grey as if he had grown decades older in the span of minutes.
Such is the miraculous nature of Life Return, one of the Cipher Pol's greatest techniques, but few can master it to gain near perfect control over their bodies... Yovan did, and he was even pushing it further.
[Life Return: 2096/∞]
His control over his body was so ridiculous to the point that steam started flaring from his body as he slowly turned thinner and a little bit shorter.
From the sky, a sword fell on his hands, a gorgeous emerald sword. It was indeed the Seven-Star Sword. His 'hands' were well hidden beneath thin white gloves, concealing a left hand not of flesh and bones but of feathers.
Then he vanished before anyone can see his new form, specifically Viola. She was quite the strange girl because Yovan felt weird around her, like she was seeing him. He didn't quite understand it, so he remained cautious.
That's the reason why he didn't wait for her to come back, or try to talk to Doflamingo through a Den Den Mushi in her presence.
Dressrosa has many landmarks, but its most famous landmark is a building that is mainly used to host fighting competitions, located in the town of Acacia. It's the Corrida Colosseum.
The Colosseum is colossal and features a round stage surrounded by water, with four cardinal walkways leading to the stage.
There are three levels of seating for the audience all around the Colosseum. On one of the cardinal edges is three monitors for the participants' announcements and presentation.
Yovan found himself in the said Colosseum, in his disguised form of course. He was in the entry room for wannabe fighters.
"You mute? Speak! What's your name." One of the Colosseum workers asked with a yell, annoyed at Yovan ignoring him and just looking around, but with no eyes?
"Hades." Yovan or Hades now responded in a very fleeing voice, a low barely audible voice like someone on their deathbed.
"Go in, and wait for your name to be called." The worker didn't question him much nor did he make any remark about Hades' peculiar looks, or the fact that there was nothing to look at.
The Colosseum workers are used to people of all shapes and sizes because as a rule laid out by the Donquixote Pirates, the police and Marines alike cannot enter the Colosseum.
They can not enter even if a criminal is clearly within its walls, rendering their authority null and void so long as the criminal in question has at least one foot inside.
Anyone who violates this law will be deemed criminals themselves, so plenty of strange individuals visit the Colosseum.
Hades was then allowed to enter the Fighters' preparation room, a place where gladiators go to prepare for matches of the Colosseum.
There are almost always events taking place in the Colosseum with the winners earning plenty of rewards, so there were plenty of contestants about, and the room was large enough to house them.
The place was even a bit crowded which is unusual despite the Colosseum's popularity. Something must've happened that guided many to the Colosseum.
Whatever it was, Yovan only side-glanced the many armors and weapons for the gladiators to choose from, before starting to tour the area.
He found his way amidst the crowd and reached a statue at the very center of the room, a nice bronze statue of a muscular man.
"Yo!" A green boy version 2.0 approached Hades, drawing his attention. In contrast to version 1.0, version 2.0 was very burly with short green hair, carrying an axe on his back, "You heard of Kyros?"
"No," Hades responded.
"Gwahahahaha, how come? Wait, you new here, boi?" The green boy laughed out loud as he patted Yovan on the shoulders, "Then again, very few know who he is, all I even know is that Kyros is a legendary gladiator who fought in the Corrida Colosseum for about 3000 fights, leaving it undefeated."
Hades asked the most obvious of questions, but it didn't seem so obvious to the green boy, "Very few know him despite his legendary stature?"
"Y-yeah?" Even the green boy was confused as if he didn't expect such an obvious question, "I... I don't understand it myself."
Yovan had already deemed the place to be very strange the moment he set foot on the Island, especially after sensing the living Toys, but things were getting even more interesting.
"Anyway! Are you here for the Devil Fruit? It was a surprise to the entirety of Dressrosa. Like, it's not every day that someone just donates a Devil Fruit to the Colosseum." The green boy remarked with a wide grin.
"No," Hades responded, an answer that startled the green boy.
"No? Why not? It's a Devil Fruit! And there are rumors that it's a Logia! Moreover, it was donated by one of the Stranger's crew members! You know him, right? The Legendary Stranger?" He was so startled that he started trying to convince Hades to become a contestant for the prize that he desires.
"No," Hades responded as usual.
"Huh? Why not?" Green boy was genuinely perplexed.
"No," Hades responded as usual, starting to make his way out of the preparation to the Colosseum hall, a hall for contestants to watch ongoing battles.
The hall extends all around the area in the form of a circle, giving the contestants plenty of room to watch the show, and it was quite the show.
Yovan was impressed. The Colosseum had everything as on one of the cardinal edges are three monitors for the participants' announcements and presentations.
"Hoi! If you're not here for the Devil Fruit, then what is that you want?" Green boy followed after Hades, curiosity getting the better of him, not something Green boy v1.0 would do.
"Who is she?" Hades completely ignored his question and instead pointed toward a child. Indeed, a child, the only child in the entire hall.
It was a fair-skinned and thin teenage girl who is of average height. She has long, light pink hair, which she was wearing in a braid.
Strangely, she seemed to be a gladiator as she wore a yellow scale armor bikini, with a turquoise paludamentum, as well as a ridge helmet, a pair of greaves and gloves, a high-heeled armor, and a necklace.
"She... She is the Undefeated Woman, a criminal who went against the King and was forced to basically live in the Colosseum for the sake of people's amusement. Not much is known about her, but she's strong." Green boy said with pity.
The girl looks young, very young, not someone anyone would assume to be a criminal, 'So what's the real reason Doflamingo sent her here? She must've been someone important, perhaps?'
He has an assumption. After all, he knows that Doflamingo took over the Kingdom overnight, and the only reason he succeeded may be his celestial heritage among other things.
The girl turned her head to look at Hades, almost like she sensed his sight on her. She eyed him with confusion, seeing nothing but a silverly mask, no eyes to be seen, something that confused Green boy also.
"Come to think of it, are you blind?" Green boy asked.
"No," Hades... As usual.
"Then how do you see? Isn't the mask inconvenient, or..." Green boy eyed Hades with suspicion. Hades does look a little bit intimidating, but his voice and hair speak of old age.
"No," Hades' focus returned to the stage, ignoring all the noise around him as he observed the stage, the ongoing fight.
Well, it wasn't just a fight, it was a battle royal. The battle was a mess because they were about 100 individuals on the stage, most of them were unconscious or dead by one.
The Colosseum was packed with spectators, and they wanted to see blood, so they got blood.
The Corrida Colosseum works in such a way that it doesn't allow participants to sport too much armor. Only that way can there be more blood.
Soon, the Commentator who never shuts up, seeming more excited than anyone, announced the end of the first round, "Block One has come to an end! And we have the four last gladiators standing!"
