Under the sun, the father and daughter, facing a youth, bowed deeply and remained that way for a long time.
Only by truly falling into despair could they understand the excitement in their hearts at this reunion, and their gratitude towards the one who saved them.
Although they still didn't know why the youth before them had sought them out or why he had saved them, this did not diminish their gratitude at that moment.
"Alright, get up!"
Kong Tai spoke gently.
Then, with a thought, he helped the father and daughter to their feet.
Kyros and Rebecca felt an irresistible force coming from below, forcefully lifting them and making them straighten their backs.
"Let's go!"
Kong Tai, holding Kuina's hand, turned and headed towards the arena.
As they walked, he said, "Whatever you need to discuss, I'll tell you once we've met the other person."
The father and daughter exchanged glances, then stepped forward, following behind Kong Tai.
"Mr. Kong Tai," Kyros said quickly as Kong Tai stopped at the entrance of the arena, "This is the territory of the Shichibukai, Doflamingo. There are many guards inside."
"Mm!"
Kong Tai nodded, indicating he understood.
Then, to Kyros's astonished gaze, he swung his right hand through the air towards the front.
An oppressive pressure, so intense it made one feel suffocated, emanated from the palm of Kong Tai's hand.
Everyone then saw a transparent palm formed by distorted space fly out from Kong Tai's hand.
The palm grew rapidly as it flew, and by the time it reached the massive gate, it was already as large as the gate itself.
Then...
Boom—!
The colossal gate, as if struck by a boulder, instantly caved in, then shattered from the inside out into several pieces. It broke free from its frame and flew inward.
The immense sound alerted the guards watching within the arena.
"Who dares to be so audacious on the territory of our Donquixote family?"
Squads of soldiers, clad in armor and holding spears, poured out from surrounding rooms and rushed towards the gate.
These soldiers looked like real soldiers, but the ferocity emanating from their very core revealed their true identity: pirates.
With the end of King Riku's reign and Doflamingo's ascension to power,
He had, silently and without anyone's knowledge, turned the former Royal Army and the guards of Dressrosa into toys.
A significant portion of the toys in the underground weapons factory were, in fact, former Royal Army soldiers of Dressrosa.
Gazing at the shattered gate before them, Kong Tai waved his right hand.
A gust of wind materialized from nowhere, easily dispersing the dust at the entrance. Kong Tai then stepped forward, with Kuina alongside him, leading the way into the ancient arena.
The arena was circular, with tiered seating spiraling upwards from the lowest level.
In the center was a large, flat fighting platform.
A moat of water surrounded the fighting platform.
Upon closer inspection, one could see large, dark shadows moving faintly in the water.
These were fighting fish. Whether they existed before was unknown, but they appeared once Doflamingo took over.
They were deliberately bred to make battles more thrilling and to prevent contestants from escaping.
As Kong Tai and the others entered the gate, they saw a group of soldiers holding weapons, waiting for them behind the entrance.
"Who are you? How dare you cause trouble in the arena of the great King Doflamingo? You are courting death!"
Without giving Kong Tai and his companions a chance to speak, the soldiers, who were pirates in disguise, seeing only a few children, unhesitatingly raised their weapons and lunged towards Kong Tai and Kuina, who were at the front of the group.
"Die, you brats!"
It was then that the pirates revealed their ferocious nature.
They imagined Kong Tai and Kuina being pierced by their spears, crying out in agony.
Their faces twisted with madness, and their eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty red light.
They were all pirates, devoid of any morality and lawless.
Even after following Doflamingo and becoming soldiers of Dressrosa, it did not change the wickedness in their hearts.
"Hmph!"
Kong Tai's brow furrowed as he stared at the approaching spears. He then let out a light snort.
As the sound escaped his lips, an unparalleled aura of dominance emanated from Kong Tai's body, not affecting those behind him, but sweeping forward.
It instantly washed over the pirates.
Their forward momentum ceased as if they had been struck by a paralyzing spell, or as if time had stopped, and they froze in place.
Then, their eyes rolled back, and their bodies seemed to lose all strength, causing them to fall backward.
For a moment, the inside of the gate was filled with the sounds of people collapsing.
His brow relaxed.
Kong Tai continued forward. He approached a pirate blocking the path, extended his foot, and kicked him forward with the force of kicking a ball.
Crack—!
The sound of breaking bones was piercing in the passageway of the gate.
The intense pain instantly brought the pirate to his senses. He let out a cry, spat out a mouthful of blood, and hunched over, pushing the pirate behind him all the way into the water in the center of the arena.
Gurgle gurgle!!
Bubbles rose, and the numerous dark shadows beneath the water, as if sharks smelling blood, surged directly towards the pirate who had fallen in.
Silently, even though the pirate had fallen into the water and was already unconscious, he was immediately torn to shreds by the charging fighting fish. In a short while, a patch of water was stained red.
Following suit, Ah Hua and the other two stepped forward and, mimicking Kong Tai's actions, kicked the pirates, one by one, into the water.
Standing by the edge of the pool, no one showed any pity as they gazed at the reddened water.
Even thirteen or fourteen-year-old Rebecca did not.
Regardless of whether she had regained her memories or not, she knew that these individuals, who were soldiers in name but pirates at heart, were the subordinates of those who had killed her mother.
Her life of hiding since childhood had long since changed her from a naive little girl.
The life and death experiences she had endured over the years had taught her that not everyone deserved sympathy.
Moreover, these were, fundamentally, her enemies.
"Did something happen outside?"
Inside the arena, there were four doors, leading in four directions from the central fighting platform.
Behind these doors were rows of iron cages.
Some were empty, some held a few people, and some held just one person.
They were all wanted criminals of Dressrosa, as well as pirates who had invaded the Kingdom of Dressrosa.
They were brought here because the arena held a special status in Dressrosa, frequently hosting gladiatorial combat.
And they were the performers.
Their purpose was to entertain Doflamingo, his subordinates, the wealthy islanders, and the nobles who visited the island from other countries.
In one of the iron cages sat an old man.
Unlike the other pirates in their cages who were in a panic or discussing the commotion,
He sat quietly on the bench, polishing a helmet with an iron head and a long sword without a blade.