In One Piece, as Hashirama Senju

[142] Fight For Authority (2)

Chapter 142: Fight For Authority (2)

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In one corner of the recovering Dressrosa, surrounded by huts, along with sand, bricks, and cement– ready for new constructions– a scene was growing big. Workers who had been busy building houses, pirates, guards, and common people were circling a battle that was just about to happen.

Being the country of Gladiators, everyone was used to watching battles like this and also used to betting big chunks of money on these things. Under the blue sky with spots of cloud fleeting slowly, people did what they were best at, betting on the potential of the winner.

"Who's that? He looks familiar," an old man asked, pointing at Hashirama. "Why is he fighting a two-against-five battle when all his opponents are big shots?"

"You don't know, old man? I guess it's hard to recognize him since you're old, and he's not wearing that mask. That's Ra." Another man beside the old man said, and that news caused the crowd to pause.

Who'd win in a match between the Hero of Dressrosa, and Don Chinjao? People would say the hero would win; they had seen his fight in the Colosseum. However, would that change if Chinjao had backups?

Besides Chinjao, there were his grandsons. There was even Baby 5 there; a few people were glaring at her, wondering why one of the Doflamingo rats was walking freely, but there was a rumor circulating that she was taken as a slave by the Happo Navy, so people didn't actively throw stuff at her.

Other than these four, Princess Vivi was there too. Her small stature wasn't to be underestimated, she had basically beaten Chinjao into submission during the war, and out of all the Senju Pirates, even Hashirama, the crowd had seen her fights the most. So they had a gauge of her strength in their heads.

"You think he can win...?" A gambler asked his friend.

"I mean he's not weak, but didn't his sister beat Doflamingo?"

"I heard he made King the Wildfire flee, though."

"Hashirama and his sister probably teamed up for that." The crowd got busy with their theories.

In the end, they realized that while it was true that Hashirama was a beast in solo battles, he was against a team of five right now. Sure, he had Beidou, but she didn't look to be in a fighting condition.

"Are the bets done?!" Hashirama suddenly yelled at the gathering of gamblers.

"Yes, dear, we are done." A feminine voice replied from within the gathering, wearing robes that covered her face.

Everyone turned to her, and when she took off her hood, everyone jumped a few steps back and let her space.

"P-princess Viola, good morning!" The guards and citizens bowed their heads, and Viola waved her hand.

She didn't like betting, but she had just bet a large chunk on Hashirama. The Kingdom needed the money, and since most of the gamblers here were foreign pirates and the citizens of Dressrosa didn't have the money to spare in this dire situation, winning the bet would allow Viola to bag a large amount that she could use to fix the country faster.

"You can begin anytime," Viola said and smooched at the air, and an invisible flying heart flew to Hashirama. He caught it with two of his fingers and kissed it while winking at her.

Everyone else in the area shot him jealous looks, while Vivi glared murderous daggers at him. Vivi had a "talk" with Tsunade about his lifestyle, but it still angered her to see him cheat so openly.

"Enough!" Vivi yelled aloud, "Let's start the match!"

"Ah, a second please," suddenly, a voice said and everyone turned to find a blind man walking to the scene.