NBSC

[ 3/25/1482 ]

[ Word Count 2015 ]

" Hello" - Speech

' Hello' - Thoughts

*Boom* - Sounds

<<<<<<>>>>>>

( Achilles' Pov )

' Finally, the day we have been waiting for has arrived.'

" This better be worth the time," Bullet spoke to me, annoyed that we had to wait so long for the tournament to start.

" It should be fun. After all, this is a competition that only happens once every 10 years. Only the best snipers in the North Blue will be participating in it." Marco said sounding excited.

" Marco's right, you know. So no need to be so annoyed." I said to my first mate before we arrived at the arena where the NBSC would take place in.

The arena was absolutely massive and looked like an old roman colosseum. It had multiple, tall, pillar-like seating areas, roofed by multiple red sheets. In the middle was a circular arena where the battles would take place. The place also had a very rustic, ancient vibe to it, making it seem like a relic from the past.

[ Image of the Colosseum ]

After gapping at the old, but beautiful arena, we made our way to our seats.

" How long do you think it will take for the battles to start?" Marco asked impatiently.

" Just wait, I'm sure they'll start the competition soon," I informed Marco while sighing at his lack of patience, something that he would have to work on if he wanted to sail the seas. We could be out at seas for days, if not weeks at a time, so patience was something that was needed to be a Pirate.

<<<<<<>>>>>>

[ 20 Minutes Later ]

( 3rd Person POV )

If one viewed the arena now they would be shocked. It was full until the point that people had to stand up as there were not enough seats to encompass everyone.

This insane stadium had enough room to seat 250,000 people, but the turn-up for the event was even greater. There must've been over 300,000 people attending in-person, due to the fact that there were more people than the stadium could seat, some people were forced to stand up and watch.

Additionally, the hosts of this tournament had also acquired a projection-type Den-Den Mushi that they were using to broadcast this event to three major islands on the North Blue. The viewership total from the projections was three million, it was safe to say this event had the entire North Blue pumped up.

From Pirates to Marines, to Bounty Hunters, to Kings, there was nobody who wanted to miss this superb event. When held, it was without a doubt, the North Blue's greatest tourist attraction.

" Wow! Look how many people are here!" Marco shouted so Achilles, and Bullet could hear him over the rambling of the giant crowd.

" Ya, they really weren't kidding when they said it's the biggest event in all the North Blue." A voice behind Achilles, Bullet, and Marco drawled.

" Eh, who the hell are you?" Marco questioned surprised that someone replied to him when he was speaking to Achilles and Bullet.

" Oh me? I'm just a guy who came to meet my dealer." The man droned.

" Ay, Marco, the competition is starting." Achilles told Marco without looking away from the stadium, preventing Marco from talking to the shady-looking man and preventing Achilles from seeing the man.

[ A/N: Who do you think this guy is? If anyone gets it right I'll give the person who got it right, alike on their comment so everyone can see. BTW, this person is from this sea. If they are important or not in the story is up to your view on who it is. ]

Suddenly all the whispering between the audience members stopped, this was because a man had walked into the middle of the arena. Who turned out to be the announcer.

" Good evening, everyone! I thank you all for attending the NBSC! My name is Mandrid, and I will be your announcer for today's event."

" So make sure to make yourselves comfortable, have some popcorn, and some drinks as this will prove to be a joyous occasion for all who come."

" Now to start off, I will explain the format of this tournament. This tournament will have four parts and each part will serve to eliminate a good chunk of the competition. How the parts work will be explained right before each one starts."

" Does everyone understand!" The announcer shouted in question.

" Yes!" The crowd all simultaneously responded to the announcer's question.

" Well then since you all understand, let us not waste any more time and begin the 10th annual NBSC!"

*Clapping*

" Before we begin I want to introduce our 75 contestants for this competition. To make the competition more interesting for all the viewers, we invited the 75 best Marksmen in all of the Blue seas."

[ A/N: 75 names are far too many to list out, so I will describe only a little bit of people now, and I will give the rest of the contestant's names once we reach our final round. BTW they have only brought certain contestants over from the other blues but this does not mean that this competition or anything like it takes place in the other blues. ]

" Now, let me describe to you our first rounds challenge. The first round may prove to be somewhat basic, especially compared to the others, but this round is merely to show off the skill of our competitors, and to remove all who do not possess the skill to battle at such a high level."

" The first round will consist of five clay disks being thrown up into the air. The competitor must hit all of the five disks to make it to the next round."

As the announcer spoke he brought up a clay disk so the audience could see what they looked like.

[ Image of the Clay Disk ]

" Now let's welcome our first contestant Alonzo Mourning, a famous Marine Captain on these seas."

" Now Alonzo, are you ready?" The announcer questioned.

Alonzo merely responded by nodding his head.

" Good, then we shall begin in 3, 2, 1, go!" As the announcer spoke 5 clay disks were launched into the air at a fast speed, and Alonzo wasted no time and drawing his pistol and he managed to shoot all 5 of them effortlessly.

" What a showing folks! Alonzo has just hit all 5 of the disks without even trying, a true marksman that one is."

Alonzo smirked as he walked off to sit on the bench for people who had made it to the next round.

" That was pretty impressive wasn't it?" Achilles asked Marco and Bullet.

" It wasn't bad."

" It was totally awesome!"

" Now let's welcome our second contestant, Ezra."

" Now then, Ezra, you may begin in 3, 2, 1, shoot!"

" Oh, he only manages to hit 3, eliminating him from further participation."

<<<<<<>>>>>>

[A/N: I'm going to skip the rest of the contestants mainly because doing even just 10 would be boring to read. So we're moving on to the second round.]

*Applause*

*Cheering*

" What an exciting first round! From our original 75 participants, we are brought down to just 30."

" Though now we are entering the second round so there is no doubt that, that number will be further dwindled down."

" The second round is a true challenge of precision. In this round, we will line up a bunch of criminals on death row in a crowd, and the person shooting must hit the specific target we give them. If the marksmen's bullet even grazes a person they were not ordered to shoot, then they will be removed from the competition."

*Cheering*

" That-that's messed up. They're glorifying executing people in such a terrible way."

" It's the world we live in, stuff like this is common. The fact that they aren't just using slaves is a surprise to me." Bullet informed Marco.

As those two were conversing Achilles looked unsure whether to be appalled or to be indifferent. He had killed people before so he was used to seeing it, but this was something even he wouldn't do. Executing someone like this was one of the worst ways to go, especially when it's done all for someone's entertainment.

Though Achilles was also appreciative of the fact that they were criminals and not innocents, or slaves. He wasn't exactly a good person, but that didn't mean he did not have a heart.

Elsewhere in the stadium, there was another conversation going on. In the VIP section where all the organizers sat.

" I can't believe we managed to buy all those slaves for such a low price, Hahahaha."

" Indeed, Mr. Paris certainly is a life-saver."

" And to think that we are able to fool everyone into thinking these are death row criminals, what idiots."

" It is better business for us that way, if there are any sympathetic folks out there, we can merely slander them by saying they are trying to protect criminals. Mr. Paris truly is a great man."

" We should enjoy the competition. We spent so much money on it, we can talk about trivial matters such as this another time." The man in charge spoke, silencing everyone in the room.

<<<<<<>>>>>>

" Our first contestant for the second round is Mr. Materson."

" Are you ready, Mr. Materson?"

The announcer's question was answered by a nod.

" Your target will be the man who has a red cloak draped on him."

" Then this round will commence in 3, 2, 1, fire!"

*Boom*

" Oh, what a superb shot! Mr. Materson has hit the target right in the head. He will definitely be moving on to the next round!"

*Applause*

" Next up is August, a famous bounty hunter from the West Blue. Your target will be the man draped in a black cloak in the fifth row, do you see him."

" Yes."

" Good. Then prepare to shoot in 3, 2, 1, fire!"

*Boom*

" Oh so close, yet so far away. August has hit the man right in front of his target, he is now disqualified."

" This is fucked up." The man behind Achilles spoke properly for once, compared to his usual drawl.

This time Marco did not respond to his claim.

[A/N: Sorry if these rounds feel too short, but I'm not trying to make it super repetitive.]

<<<<<<>>>>>>

On Clew Bay Island, one of the three major islands in the North Blue where the NBSC was benign projected, a young Marine could be seen watching the tournament in absolute disgust.

He was stationed here because of the recent raid on this island by the Spade Pirates, a new crew that had been rising in danger level exceptionally fast.

" You should stop making that face, we've already been given orders that prevent us from interfering in this." An older Marine commented.

" Just because we've been given an order, doesn't mean it's right." The younger Marine grunted.

" You should be careful with what you say if any of the higher-ups heard that you'd be removed from the Marines this instance."

The young Marine merely snorted in response.

" I won't interfere, but to let people die in such a way is wrong, and you know it as well."

" Maybe, but we are just grunts, our words hold no value."

The young Marine paused for a minute then got up, and as he was about to leave the room he called out to the older fellow.

" Then I'll make sure I become the Fleet-Admiral."

" Hahaha, that's a bit too ambitious even for you brat."

The young Marine never looked back, and merely walked back to his quarters.

<<<<<<>>>>>>

That's the end of the chapter folks.

I hope you enjoyed this one, it took quite a bit of time to write lol.

New characters are being introduced and some spicy events are starting to happen. BTW who do you think that young Marine was? The Marine will definitely be important going forward. That's all the clues I'll give lol.

Anyway, feel free to join the discord server

Discord Link: https://discord.gg/n9yH4qkf

Thanks for reading, and have a great rest of your day.