Capone: Fortress of Ambition

The massive shockwave, like paper, effortlessly tore apart the ring that had already been reduced to ruins.

"Ahhhhh!"

Jack and Mike Feyton, who were closest, were instantly swept up, thrown into the air, and crashed into the distant spectator stands.

The shockwave surged majestically, sweeping through the entire fighting arena. Countless pieces of rubble were sent flying high into the air, dancing and scattering across the arena grounds. It was as if a rain of stones had begun to fall from the sky. People outside the fighting arena scrambled even further away in panic.

Dust billowed out. The original ring area had transformed into a massive, deep pit. The entire fighting arena was riddled with cracks, and some sections had already collapsed. That single punch had nearly demolished the entire structure.

In the ring area, the massive figure rapidly shrank. Streams of shadows flew out of Moria's mouth. Moria waved his hands, catching most of those shadows, and crudely squeezed them into a shadow ball, stuffing it into his pocket.

"Huff… huff!"

Heavy panting sounds arose. Moria had used all his strength in that last punch. His body was now severely drained, and coupled with his existing injuries, he felt even weaker at this moment.

But despite this, he was exceptionally exhilarated.

Moria took a deep breath, stood up, and looked towards several areas of the former ring. Mike Feyton, leaning on his greatsword, climbed out of the rubble, bent over, and spewed a large mouthful of blood.

He had been closest to that last punch, almost grazed by it. His left arm was now completely numb, and he had then borne the brunt of the shockwave, suffering the most violent impact.

Jack was in an equally miserable state. Already heavily injured, he had been hit by the shockwave, adding injury upon injury. He lay in the ruins, unable to move.

Taku had been thrown even further, into an area enveloped by countless plumes of poison smoke. He crawled out, looking thoroughly disheveled, staring blankly at Moria in the center of the ring, his body trembling slightly.

Jozu had been closest to the ring. When the shockwave hit, he had defended with all his might. Although he was blasted out of the ring area by the shockwave, his injuries were the lightest; only his internal organs had suffered some impact, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but most of his combat strength remained intact.

"Captain, I didn't disappoint you, did I?" Moria turned his head to look at Bege and chuckled.

Bege had been standing behind him the whole time, never moving. At this moment, a smile appeared on Bege's face. "Very good. Very well done."

Moria laughed heartily, his body staggering. He forced himself to stay upright. Bege walked over, placed a hand on his shoulder, and brought Moria into his body-castle for treatment.

Bege, puffing on his cigar, looked towards Mike Feyton and the others.

"Anyone else want to continue? I'll spar with you."

Jozu looked at Bege, intense fighting spirit appearing in his eyes. But the next moment, the diamonds on his body receded. He said solemnly, "Rules are rules. We were all knocked out of the ring, so naturally, we lost. If I were to still contend with you for the winning spot, it would be disrespectful to Gecko Moria."

Jozu turned and left. Mike Feyton, who had just mustered his fighting spirit, froze, the step he was about to take retracting.

"Poison Smoke Giant Snake!" Suddenly, a large cloud of black poison mist appeared in the air. The poison smoke condensed into a black smoke-snake tens of meters long, which swooped down from the sky, biting at Bege.

"Go to hell, Capone Bege!" Taku roared, his eyes wide with a savage grin.

The Poison Smoke Giant Snake instantly arrived above Bege's head. Taku's laughter grew louder, but in a flash, the Poison Smoke Giant Snake seemed to be frozen by a binding spell, fixed in mid-air. Its fanged mouth was merely ten centimeters away from Bege.

"Impossible! Impossible!" Taku couldn't believe it. He desperately urged the Poison Smoke Giant Snake forward, but it couldn't move at all. That ten-centimeter distance seemed like an insurmountable chasm between heaven and earth; it couldn't advance an inch.

Taku once again manipulated the poison smoke in the sky, forming more Poison Smoke Giant Snakes that bit at Bege from all directions. But they all stopped ten centimeters away from Bege. No matter how the Poison Smoke Giant Snakes thrashed and struck, they couldn't get any closer to Bege's body.

The ten-centimeter distance outside Bege's body was the external interference space of the Castle-Castle Fruit; within this ten-centimeter range, Bege had absolute control.

The attack power of these Poison Smoke Giant Snakes wasn't very strong either; his mental strength easily stopped them.

Bege, puffing on his cigar with an air of effortless ease, waved his hand. The heads of all the Poison Smoke Giant Snakes disintegrated. Then, a terrifying wave of Conqueror's Haki swept through the entire arena, dispersing the poison smoke.

Taku's supposedly lethal attack was so childishly laughable in Bege's eyes.

"Such ferocious Conqueror's Haki… completely different from the Old Man's," Jozu, who hadn't gone far, took a deep breath, his gaze towards Bege becoming even graver.

"The winner of this match is Capone Bege!" At this moment, Bisacchi Louis walked out and announced the result.

Bege left the ring with a smile.

Taku smashed a spectator seat with an enraged fist. He was furious beyond measure. His original plan to kill Bege in the ring had been completely thwarted. As it turned out, Bege hadn't even needed to lift a finger; they had all been eliminated by Moria alone. This huge gap between reality and his plan nearly drove the arrogant Son of Terror mad. Especially when, at the end, he had attacked Bege with all his might, only for Bege to neutralize his attack with a mere wave of his hand – this made him even more resentful, jealous, and furious.

"Die! Die! I will definitely kill you, Capone Bege!" Taku gritted his teeth, his heart filled with hatred and murderous intent for Bege.

"This Capone Bege will be the biggest trouble in the championship match later," Bisacchi Louis thought, his heart heavy as he watched Bege's retreating figure.

In their lodgings, Moria, wrapped in bandages, was laughing boisterously. Beside him, Riki's face was extremely grim.

Moria had stolen the show this time by eliminating all the contestants single-handedly. As soon as he came out, he had been winking and nudging Riki, as if to say, "See? I'm still a bit stronger."

Riki's face was as dark as thunder, and he drank his alcohol in silence.

"Captain, you must be careful of that Undefeated Boxing King Lisen in the championship match the day after tomorrow. He is strong, terrifyingly strong," Riki said, his expression grave and extremely serious.

Moria also stopped smiling at this. His teasing of Riki was just friendly banter; he was well aware of Riki's actual strength.

For Lisen to have defeated Riki so decisively, his strength was definitely immense.

Bege drained his cup of wine in one gulp, a smile on his face. He lit a cigar for himself, leaned back on the sofa, his gaze imperious, exuding an air of dominance. "No matter how strong he is, I am determined to get that Dragon-Eating Giant Eagle Fruit. I've already chosen an owner for it."

"Brother, is that fruit for me? An Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit sounds really powerful," Weevil looked up, swallowed the large piece of meat in his mouth, and looked at Bege expectantly.

Bege patted his shoulder and laughed. "Weevil, don't be anxious. I've already scouted out a fruit for you. I'll give it to you when I find it."

"Okay, brother! You have to find it quickly!" Weevil nodded, showing no disappointment, and then buried his head again, happily continuing to eat his meat.