Chapter 148: Round Two Battle! The Teamwork Named "Brainless" and "Unhappy"
Following the victory in the first round, the morale of the Straw Hat Pirates was high.
Immediately after, Foxy announced the event for the second round with a sinister smile — the "Groggy Ring" match.
This was a barbaric game imitating American football, where both sides sent out three people each (because Chopper, Luffy's side's "ball," was too small, he counted as two people).
The rules were simple and brutal: as long as you kicked the opponent's designated "ball" player into that huge ring goal, you scored.
The contestants sent out by the Straw Hat Pirates were — Zoro and Sanji.
"Tweet —!"
With a whistle from the referee, the match began.
However, the spectacular teamwork the audience expected did not appear.
On the field, Zoro and Sanji were butting heads like fighting cocks.
They completely ignored the three huge "Groggy Monsters" on the opposite side.
"Hey, Marimo." Sanji looked disgusted. "You almost ran to the wrong goal just now, didn't you? If you kicked yourself into our own goal, I'd laugh for an entire year."
"Huh? What did you say, you love-sick cook?" Blue veins popped out on Zoro's forehead, his hand pressing on the hilt of his sword.
"Wasn't it you who got distracted staring at the cheerleaders just now? You guy with a head full of lewd thoughts."
"Want to fight?! You bastard!"
"Bring it on! Just what I wanted!"
The two immediately started brawling, dust rising everywhere.
The Groggy Monsters opposite — Hamburg, Porche, and that huge Pickles, looked at each other in dismay.
Then, they revealed sinister smiles.
Taking advantage of the referee's blind spot as he deliberately looked away, these monsters quietly pulled out metal bats, daggers, and iron knuckles from their protective gear.
"Go to hell! You bickering idiots!"
"Bang! Clang!"
Before Zoro and Sanji could decide a winner, both were knocked stumbling by the sneak attacks from behind.
"Despicable! Using weapons!" Chopper shouted.
But the referee turned a blind eye to this: "Oh my, sand got in my eyes just now, I didn't see anything."
Faced with such an obvious biased refereeing and sneak attack, Zoro and Sanji didn't unite against the enemy.
Instead, they blamed each other for being a burden, and the scene was incredibly chaotic and shameful.
On the sidelines.
Nami stomped her feet anxiously, cupping her hands around her mouth to shout: "You two idiots!! Is this the time to be arguing?! Cooperate already!! We're going to lose!!"
"Don't worry, Nami."
Tatsuya sat on a wooden crate nearby, watching the farce on the field with a calm expression:
"Those two guys... are typical stubborn donkeys; the more you try to persuade them, the more energetic they get, and the more they'll do the opposite."
After saying that, Tatsuya slowly picked up a megaphone and turned it to maximum volume.
He cleared his throat, and his charismatic yet slightly mocking voice resonated throughout the arena:
"Hey—!! That Marimo over there, and that love-sick cook—!!"
"Listen to me carefully!!"
The two who were currently getting beaten up paused their movements.
Tatsuya continued to shout with a smile:
"If you lose this round and make me lose face... I'll have Luffy pack you both up and send you to Foxy as laborers!"
"And then..." Tatsuya deliberately dragged out the tone.
"I'll use the saved food money to recruit a beautiful swordswoman in a bikini! And a gentle, lovely female chef to join the ship!!"
"Anyway... without you two idiots, the air on the ship will be much fresher!"
Nami felt a bit dissatisfied when she heard this.
"Oh? A beautiful swordswoman in a bikini! And a gentle, lovely female chef to join the ship."
"Are you dissatisfied with me?" As she spoke, her little hand climbed onto Tatsuya's waist.
Tatsuya smiled and pulled her into his arms. "I told you, it's just a joke."
The effect of this sentence was incredibly outstanding.
Zoro and Sanji's movements instantly froze, as if they had been petrified.
The next second.
Both turned their heads at the same time, burning with fury in their eyes, and roared in unison at Tatsuya on the sidelines:
"Don't you dare!!!!"
"You bastard Vice Captain! Keep dreaming!!"
The huge sense of crisis and anger instantly synchronized the two's thought processes.
Provoked by Tatsuya, and also fed up with the opponents' underhanded tactics, the two finally decided to put aside their personal grudges for the moment.
Sanji took a deep breath, adjusted his tie, and his gaze turned sharp: "Hey, Marimo. Lend me your back for a second."
Zoro lowered his body, assuming a starting stance, his eyes fierce like a demon: "Only ten seconds. After ten seconds, I'll slice you up."
"That's enough."
Before the Groggy Monsters could react, they felt a terrifying aura rushing towards them.
"Let's go!!"
Zoro roared, the muscles in his legs exploding, and his whole body transformed into a stable "Great Swordsman Launchpad."
Sanji took a running start, stepped on Zoro's back, and using the thrust from Zoro's sudden upward push, he leaped high into the air, spinning, his right foot igniting with angry flames.
The two's power perfectly combined at this moment!
"Special Move · Air Force — Power Shoot!!!!"
Boom!!!!
Sanji's kick carried a sonic boom, slamming fiercely into the face of the largest monster, Hamburg.
The terrifying impact sent Hamburg's massive body flying away like a cannonball.
"Waaaaaah!!"
Hamburg screamed, drawing a straight line in the air, crashing through the opposite ring goal, and embedding himself into the rock behind it.
"Goal... goal?!" The whole arena was dead silent.
Just then, that referee with the biased tendencies suddenly blew his whistle, wanting to make a call:
"Wait a minute! That move just now was too dangerous! Foul! The goal is not..."
"Whoosh—"
Before the referee could finish, an inconspicuous little pebble flew through the air.
It was shot by Tatsuya, who was sitting on the sidelines, with a light flick of his finger.
"Plop."
The pebble hit the back of the referee's head with extreme precision.
"Uh..." The referee rolled his eyes back, not even spitting out the whistle, and collapsed to the ground foaming at the mouth on the spot.
The whole arena was dead silent again.
Tatsuya withdrew his finger, spread his hands with an innocent face, and said to the stunned audience around him:
"Oh my, the referee must have been so excited by such a spectacular goal that he fainted."
He said with a smile:
"Since the referee didn't say anything, that means... the goal counts!"
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