Chapter 257: Fishy Heist

Chapter 257: Fishy Heist



Cherry planned to let Luffy know what happened with Bellamy and Dellinger since it involved him. She would also make sure that he's aware that his identity has been outed, in case it hasn't sunk into his thick skull yet.

On the way, however, she was going to make a pit stop at the holding area for the fighting fish. They were keeping the devil fruit there in preparation for the finals, but Cherry had a funny feeling that things were going to escalate either before or during the last match. As such, she was going to swipe the devil fruit beforehand so she wouldn't have to leave it behind in an emergency.

It was a bit cruel to let the old man and ex-king Riku fight over a nonexistent prize, but he would just have to deal with it. What good was being a pirate if she didn't take advantage of the perks, such as shameless burglary, after all?

Burrowing through the stone walls of the colosseum was a simple matter that was second nature to her at this point, requiring little to no thought on her part. Once she got close to the target's location, she dropped into a pool of water beneath the waterline of the arena's moat. It was connected to the moat via multiple thick portcullises that even fighting fish couldn't bash their way through.

The fighting fish immediately trained on her and charged with the intent to eat this tasty morsel that fell into their territory. Sadly for them, they were instantly pinned down by multiple massive tentacles that sprouted from Cherry's relatively diminutive body.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

'Courting death!' Takako exclaimed, or at least that was the impression the kraken gave off to Cherry.

Cherry had Takako draw the fighting fish she was looking for closer to her. After it was released, Cherry grappled it by the horns so it couldn't thrash about.

There was a small chest strapped to its back, just the right size to hold a devil fruit. Cherry carefully maneuvered herself, wrapping her legs halfway around the fighting fish's neck and squeezing threateningly, then letting go of its horns to reach for the chest. Luckily, the fighting fish wasn't suicidal, as it possessed just enough intelligence to know its life was in her hands.

Cherry didn't tamper with the lid, instead she directly unfused the top half of the chest from the bottom. The devil fruit was revealed... and it wasn't the same one shown in the video at the beginning of the tournament.

'Son of a bitch...' Cherry cursed inwardly.

She wouldn't just leave it here, of course. A devil fruit was still a devil fruit, after all. She still admonished herself for falling for the old switcheroo, as now that she had a close look at it she was sure that she had seen this fruit before.

'Whitebeard is having a tough time too, huh?' Cherry thought, feeling sorry for the old man.

"Why are you doing this? I can fight for myself!" Rebecca insisted.

The audience was never kind to her, but somehow the seething silence was worse than the usual vitriol. The fact that she was "cheating" by having someone defend her in the arena gave some justification to their hate towards her, however small that justification was.

Nevermind the fact that King Elizabello II had half the combatants defending him during Block B, when it came to Rebecca then she was always at fault.

"I'm not fighting for you. I'm just standing in front of you and attacking anyone that comes close." Sanji, aka Mr. Prince, told a boldfaced lie.

"I cannot forgive you!" A rapier pierced towards Sanji. "I have seen through your disguise, fiend! I will not let you steal my spotlight from right under my beautiful nose!"

Sanji diverted Cavendish's stab with a well placed kick and followed it up with the other leg aiming for Cavendish's face.

Cavendish ducked the kck just in time, but he wasn't expecting the first leg to come around again without even touching the ground first. It slammed into his face and smashed him between Sanji's shoe and the arena floor.

"I don't even know who you are." Sanji stated bluntly.

Strangely enough, it was that statement that dealt the final blow to the poor pretty boy, as he fainted on the spot.

"Oh, good going handsome. I don't think I could have taken Cavendish out myself." Acilia, the only other woman in Block D, praised. "We have to make sure Rebecca makes it to the

finals, yeah?"

Sanji was glad Acilia wasn't going to fight him. She might not be a supermodel, but that didn't mean he would allow himself to kick her. His chivalry transcended his sense of attraction.

Suddenly there was a blur of motion. Sanji barely repelled a deadly thrust of a rapier he couldn't even see before it pressed onwards into the crowd of gladiators, cutting down all in its path. Cavendish no longer lay where he had passed out.