Summary:
As Luffy leaves the ring after winning Block C of the tournament, he is attacked by Cavendish. Bartolomeo reveals his connection to Luffy and Chinjao attempts to thank Luffy for restoring his head. Luffy escapes and is found by Rebecca, who buys him food. As they hide, Luffy overhears Jesus Burgess talking to his captain, Blackbeard, and tells the Emperor that he won’t let him have Ace’s Devil Fruit. While Rebecca and Luffy talk, he reveals something from his past.
Once again, the winners from previous Corrida Colosseum blocks are mentioned: Jesus Burgess from Block A, Bartolomeo from Block B, and Luffy still disguised as Lucy. Due to repairs to the destroyed arena caused by the fight between Luffy and Chinjao, the start of the Block D competition is delayed by fifteen minutes.
As Luffy leaves the ring, Cavendish attacks him with Durandal, but Luffy dodges all of the attacks. The fight attracts the attention of Bartolomeo, who is angry at Cavendish for wanting to kill Luffy. A few competitors overheard Cavendish mention Luffy’s epithet and mocked Luffy for not being able to save Ace in “War of the Best”. Bartolomeo uses his devil fruit powers to crush the man against the wall as the man threatens that he is a noble. Bartolomeo grabs the contestants’ tongues and says that Luffy will become the future Pirate King. He begins to explain his past with the pirate.
Two years ago, Bartolomeo was in Loguetown when Luffy was about to be executed by Buggy on the same platform where Gol D. Roger was executed. At the last second, the sword hit a lightning strike, destroying the platform and saving Luffy’s life. This amazed and inspired Bartolomeo, who began reading every newspaper report about the Straw Hat’s actions in the Grand Line. Eventually, after the events of Marineford, he decided to become a pirate and founded the Barto Club. Bartolomeo then threatens the noble’s tongue with a knife before beating him.
Meanwhile, Luffy manages to grab Cavendish’s sword and the two try to outsmart each other. Bartolomeo tries to get Cavendish’s attention, but is too stunned by Luffy to speak properly. Chinjao, Sai and Boo exit the ring and call out to Luffy to thank him for returning Chinjao’s drill head. The old pirate says he will hold no more grudges against Garp and lowers his head, accidentally splitting the floor. Luffy, not paying attention and assuming Chinjao wants to fight him again, runs away amid the confusion, with Cavendish, Bartolomeo, and the Chinjao family following.
After escaping from them, Luffy is found by Rebecca, who takes him away. While running, Luffy spots Jesus Burgess talking to his captain, Blackbeard. Burgess tells Blackbeard that he can’t trust Aoki, to which Blackbeard notes that the same can be said for their associate Shiryu. After Burgess informs Blackbeard of Luffy’s presence, the Emperor tells Luffy that Burgess will win the Mera Mera no Mi and boasts that it will be like having Ace in his crew. As Rebecca leads Luffy away, he tells her that Burgess won’t win the fruit. He walks past the booth and starts eating, asking if there are any more free samples. Rebecca buys him some and Luffy thanks her. When they stop for food, Rebecca tells Luffy that they are in the gladiator quarters and mentions that some of them call it a prison.
When Luffy asks Rebecca if she’s hungry, Rebecca remembers something from her childhood. When she was little, she told her mother that she was hungry, and her mother replied that they had had nothing for two days. Remembering seeing her dead mother, Rebecca replies to Luffy that she is not hungry. One of the condemned gladiators grabs Luffy and he asks Rebecca what’s going on. Rebecca raises her sword and attacks Luffy. He dodges the attacks and grabs her without dropping the food. Rebecca tells Luffy that he can do whatever he wants and that her real intention is to kill him, but he says that she didn’t mean to kill him. Luffy is surprised by the doomed gladiators as they are all injured and covered in bandages. The condemned gladiators tell Luffy that they fought in the Colosseum because they were going against the Donquijote family and according to the king they will only be released if they win a thousand matches. After hearing this, Rebecca announces her desire to win the tournament and kill Donquixote Doflamingo.