The city arena is filled with numerous buildings, leaving only some wide streets for passage.
The buildings are not particularly realistic in detail; Arceus's abilities extend to the environment but do not include any Wood Release City Building Technique. These structures only vaguely resemble houses and serve as cover, yet are sufficient for an arena.
This is the area Elizabeth chose. Although possessing Water-type Pokemon abilities, and herself capable of running on water as a Snake Monster Lizard, she did not choose an oceanic setting but opted for this urban area.
Sniper, assassin, that is her true role. As Olga's partner, she has always been active under Olga's illusions, becoming the most terrifying blade in the shadows; direct combat is not her forte.
In the sky, several Altaria flew by, making the city arena's sky exceedingly clear. They served as weather handlers for the competition, adding more unpredictable elements.
Meanwhile, Queen flew over with a microphone. An had completed his task, and it was now Queen's turn to host.
Under Kaidou's requirement of fighting to the death, both the audience and the host faced certain risks, a job An couldn't handle due to the danger.
Even spectators must have some self-preservation ability, or at least their friends and family must be capable of self-protection.
Thus, those who could spectate here were either core members or their family members. The greatest risk was to those who came with affiliated pirate group captains for the experience.
However, they underwent meticulous scrutiny by Queen before arrival.
Since the arena was elevated, the Navy's surveillance ships were aware that regular activities of the Hundred Beasts were taking place, but they were clueless about the specifics above.
If anyone could indeed infiltrate, those surveillance ships wouldn't need to cautiously risk their lives to monitor the surroundings anxiously.
"Mwahahaha, your familiar Lord Queen is back. Now, let me look at the battlefield; Olga's partner Elizabeth and our brother Jack are ready to duel. Let's... Hey!! Pay attention, avoid misfiring on the judges, or I'll disqualify you!"
Flying over the arena, Queen commented on various points of the battle while dodging random attacks, suspecting some were deliberately aimed at him.
...
At this moment, Jack and Elizabeth's battle had begun, but it wasn't very intense. Compared to the fiery atmosphere of other arenas, it was unusually quiet here. The moment the fight began, Elizabeth disappeared from Jack's sight.
Armament and Observation Haki aren't exclusive to humans. With enough talent and opportunity, any creature could develop Haki. Jack was not strong in Observation Haki, and he failed to sense Elizabeth's position.
The strategy with Observation Haki isn't about predicting an opponent, having them predict you, and endlessly countering each other's predictions. Otherwise, combat would become a staring contest, both parties remaining motionless.
Observation Haki not only senses others but can also be used to dodge being sensed. In combat between two evenly matched individuals in Observation Haki, it equates to neither having it, relying instead on physical instincts.
Transformed into Copperajah, Jack surveyed his surroundings. Suddenly, a fierce Hydro Pump was fired from a building's window, but due to Jack's defensive power, it merely pushed him back a few steps.
His Armament Haki was much stronger than his Observation Haki, and with Copperajah's defense, it caused no significant effect. However, when Jack retaliated in the attack's direction, he found only an empty structure.
Simultaneously, Elizabeth's attacks from another direction struck again but unfortunately had the same insignificant effect.
After several probes, both frowned, displeased with each other's combat style.
Elizabeth was adept at guerrilla tactics, utilizing her invisibility and high mobility to seek lethal opportunities. Against a high-defense Heavy Armor Warrior like Jack, her attacks struggled to be effective, severely limiting her efficiency.
Initially, this was how she defeated Babanuki. No matter how strong your offense was, if you couldn't land a hit, it was useless. She inflicted minor damage but could eventually wear opponents down, though it was time-consuming.
Thud!
A crisp sound came from the back of Jack's neck; his strong defense deflected Elizabeth's tail blade. As he turned, his agile trunk swung back again, but he hit nothing but air.
He preferred raw, brute-force confrontation, finding agile opponents equally frustrating, entrapping them both in a standoff phase.
"These buildings... such a bother."
After several attacks, Jack changed his approach. Instead of pursuing Elizabeth, he entered Beast Form, beginning to systematically demolish the arena.
Buildings crumbled under his steps, adopting a scorched earth strategy to compress Elizabeth's combat space. If he could force her into an open area for a direct confrontation, he would have the upper hand.
...
"Hmm, this kid Jack is pretty clever, but it seems like it'll take quite some time to determine a winner."
Above, Kaidou observed the battle below, occasionally offering his thoughts.
"But if they continue like this, the arena you prepared might need reconstruction."
"No worries, it's effortless anyway."
Nobody minded the arena's destruction; in a sense, it was a "Divine Arena" crafted by Arceus, capable of repairing itself within breaths after a fight.
Kaidou then shifted positions. Sorting out the victory between Jack and Elizabeth might take one to two days, as the arena's size wouldn't be easily destroyed entirely, and Elizabeth simultaneously wore down Jack's health.
Yet, as Kaidou moved, he noticed something peculiar: Olga, also spectating nearby, adjusted her position with Kaidou's movements, ensuring Arceus always separated them.
"Yamato, what are you doing?"
"Huh? Watching the match. It seems it's Maria's turn now. Father, do you think Maria can win?"
Changing the topic, Yamato further adjusted her position, utilizing experience gathered from past switch-out battles to prevent Kaidou from acting impulsively. She aimed to remain in a safe environment.
And the safest condition was being separated by Arceus.