"Welcome! To the First Grand Tournament of Dressrosa!!! I am your host for the Event, Stella. We are thankful for your Presence and excited oy your response. Let me introduce you to the . . . "
.
.
.
"Now a quick word from the King of Dressrosa - King Riku Doldo III."
"Welcome to the nation of Dressrosa. I am very pleased about the changes we have made and the progress of this Tournament. I am looking forward to the spectacular fights I am going to witness today. And . . . "
.
.
.
"Thank You, Your Majesty, for your wonderful speech. Next, a quick word from the organizer and sponsor of this event, Mr. Shuunya"
Hmm, this will be my first public appearance, and also my first opportunity to be famous. More importantly, my first step to success.
"I wish you all a very warm welcome. I thank all of you for attending this event. We had a lot of work to do to make such a Grand Event happen. With all that said, Let me introduce you to some new products . . ."
.
.
.
Shuunya walked back to his seat after delivering his speech. He thought back to his speech, trying to find out if he had made any mistakes when he heard a displeased voice.
"You are advertising your products even now?! Honestly, until when will you learn to take take in moderation"
"You can't blame me for this king Riku, although we have a lot of money, this is an opportunity to advertise to most of the world. Moreover, because of this, we can also increase revenue."
Shuunya looked at Stella's presentation and felt that he found a good seed. Combined with Tezzelo, it was truly his best find to date in terms of talents.
"Kuwahaha, do you mind telling me how you would increase the revenue by doing this?"
Shuunya turned to look where the voice was coming from. He found a bird-man fashionably dressed, looking at him with an eager gaze.
It's a good thing I decided to invite Morgans for this. Come to think of it, I never knew how he looked normally. Maybe, I can use this opportunity to take a look at it.
"I wouldn't mind telling you about it, but what will I get in return? How about this, why don't you show me your true face, and i'll tell you more about this idea"
". . . I don't want to exchange it for information concerning my safety."
"I don't care much about your safety. I was just curious how you would look. And even If you agreed about it, I would have rejected this deal. You know, this will give a major boost to your newspaper's income."
". . . What do you want?"
"A column in your newspaper, indefinitely. In return, You get part of the profit from overseas sales and, I'll also make whatever you personally consume from our franchises which is less than 2000 belly, free. Don't rush to reject, we offer all goods and services required for your entire life."
". . ."
". . ."
Shuunya and Morgans looked at each other in silence. This was his goal, to secure a column in the newspaper for advertisement. Sure, not all those who read it would be able to afford it, but they will remember.
This is the vital part of his plan. He has enough capabilities to convince almost all of the world through his words, and they wouldn't even know it. But he can't reach every corner of the world. He wants to slowly expand his business.
After the serialization, even if people are curious, they won't be able to buy the products if they are not available, which is the case for most of the People in the World.
However, they will recognise them. As time passes by, the more people read his advertisements, the more they will subconsciously choose them when they find them.
And although marketing exists in this World, it is nowhere near the modern world. By the time anyone realizes what is happening, it will be too late to stop. Of course, it is not failproof. If someone realizes what is happening in advance and wants to do something about the issue, Shuunya can't stop him.
This is where the deal comes into play. With all the news and controversies Morgans publishes in his newspaper, it will be very difficult to leave space for Shuunya. So, even if someone realizes this, they wouldn't be able to afford it, and Morgans wouldn't allow himself to waste more space.
This will force them to make their own advertising work. But it will be a challenge to get enough publicity to generate enough revenue, which will take a lot of time, giving Shuunya enough time to make a move.
Shuunya looked at Morgans who was in deep thought. He didn't think that he would be rejected. The offer was too tempting, since the potential of the company is visible to all.
"No"
. . . What? Is he serious?
". . . I don't think I quite understand. I believe what I gave you is enough to tempt you. Please do tell me what you found wrong with it. And also your counter Offer."
"No, there is no mistake in your Offer, and I am quite tempted, but I also want a part of your domestic Profit"
"After 3 years. I need a lot of capital to expand outwards"
"Deal, we'll sign the agreement after the tournament."
Morgans and Shuunya are both happy with the outcome. They had a pleasant talk while the starting ceremony of the tournament was being performed.
This was what Shuunya requested the King to add at the last minute. Since he had Tezzelo with him, he hired some professional musicians to train Tezzelo and also to perform in the starting ceremony. Since it was a last minute Idea, there weren't many sub events to be performed.
But this was the Introduction of Tezzelo to the World. He would have the title of 'A Star in Making', attracting a lot of interested individuals from the entertainment market. This is also his ticket to start his involvement in entertainment.
". . . I should be leaving now, I have something to do"
Riku's eyes widened in disbelief of what he had heard. He looked at Shuunya who was slowly walking away and asked,
"Hmm? You are leaving? From the event you were trying your best to host? . . . Is something wrong?"
"Well, nothing is wrong. I am also a participant, so I need to prepare myself"
"What?! You are participating?! How come I've never heard of it?!"
"Well, Duh! I added it just yesterday. Although I made my mind a long time ago, I don't want people to know about this yet, since I want to catch those spying on me Off Guard"
"Who do you think is spying on you?"
"Well, many. This event has attracted the attention of the whole world. And with how you were before my company started, it's easy to realize that whoever started the Conglomerate is behind all this. So, basically the Government, the Underworld emperors, not many pirates but almost all the nations existing. . . You are underestimating the Hype we have generated, King Riku"
"Ah?! Do you have any precautions? How do you want to solve this?!"
"Of course, since they want to see what I am capable of, I'll show it to them myself. That takes care of the active ones. For those who want to wait and see, don't we have the perfect help for that?"
Shuunya looked at the bird man who was watching the show. Being stared at all of a sudden, Morgans got goosebumps, but he also understood the meaning in those words.
Shuunya will show only the strength to the world that he wants them to see, and he wants his Brand to support the news.
"Although I can take care of the news, I cannot say many will believe it in the long run. The strong who look at the fights will figure out that you are hiding your strength."
"I'll take care of that, don't worry. And I don't want to hide forever, either. 5 years. In a minimum of 5 years, I will show my Fangs"
Saying that, Shuunya walked out of the VIP viewing deck, not before waving his hand at his closest partner in business, Umit. But all he got in return was a cold stare.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shuunya walked towards the waiting area. This is the place where all the contestants gather around before their matches. Currently, there are a lot of people here.
The tournament has a very simple procedure. 8 rings for 8 contestants. Those who stand till the end will be the final participant for the Quarter Finals. He originally wanted to make it 16, but he realized that it would be too stressful to organize it.
As Shuunya entered the waiting area, he felt that the atmosphere here was wrong. Generally, with such a large number of fighters, there would be a lot of friends and enemies. Whether discussing martial arts or just cursing each other, it is inevitable that it would be noisy.
But he could only hear some murmuring. All of them were looking focused towards the center of the room. Shuunya looked at the guards stationed outside to keep things in order. They were too focused on watching the show that they didn't realize that Shuunya had come.
"What happened?"
"Ah? Ah! Boss! Vice Admiral Garp is confronting three other Pirates, Gol D. Roger, Douglas Bullet and Chinjao"
Shit!!
Shuunya quickly made his way to look at the situation. He saw four people sitting in a circle around a wooden table. The table itself was on the verge of collapse. Sure, the tables in the waiting rooms are always under pressure since this is where the participants vent their emotions, but it's also constantly being replaced with a newer one.
Although the one in the center is not new, It was supposed to be relatively sturdy. The fact that it now has cracks all over its body and vibrating is enough reason for the silence is the room.
Shuunya was surprised to see Roger. While it's true that he promised to participate in the event, he left shortly after to who knows where. Shuunya was worried whether he would turn up, but looks like he kept up his end of the bargain.
It seems I have to keep my end of the bargain too.
Shuunya walked towards them and stood in between Garp and Chinjao. He clapped his hands, gaining their attention, though they already knew he was there from their Haki.
"I get it that you are eager to swing you arms at each other, but this is an event. You are scaring the other participants. Why don't you just not see each other? Sit apart and make this place lively again?"
"Why should we listen to you?!"
Shuunya turned to look at the only person here who could talk to him that way. Douglas Bullet, as someone who deeply respects Roger, he sure wasn't going to take this lying down.
"Bullet!"
"But captain-"
"Bullet!!!"
". . . "
Man, he got scolded huh? And that too, because of me. Looks like my fight in the Quarter Final is going to be hard.
Shuunya didn't want it to be a hard fight. He is here just for the experience. He wants to make up for his lack of combat techniques. He learned a lot of techniques in the past year, but none truly felt as his own. He doesn't even know what style of fighting would suit him.
That's exactly why he enrolled for this, to get himself proficient in all those techniques and find his own path of combat.
But it's not as If I can't give up.
"Contestants, to your arenas!!!"
Shuunya looked at the announcer and looked at the arenas. He used the same method for elimination as Doflamingo's in the original, A Battle Royale. He looked carefully at the contestants now that he has a chance. To his surprise, he found quite a few strong ones, not too strong but enough to give a performance.
Seeing the crowd moving towards the arenas of their choice, Shuunya randomly chose an arena to go to. Bullet wanted to follow him but he was stopped by Roger. This was their understanding. Roger knows that although he is confident to escape this place, he cannot guarantee everyone's safety, especially Shanks and Buggy.
He knows that having Shuunya's support will make their chances soar, and his Voice of All Things is telling him that Shuunya isn't a bad guy. Shuunya himself needs Roger's support to keep the pirate's side under control. So both of them have a tactic understanding.
Bullet listened to Roger and understood the circumstances of their situation. He now doesn't hate Shuunya as much as he did, but he would still bash his head if they met in the arena.
Soon all the contestants were slowly arranged to the 8 arenas. There were less strong ones in the four arenas where the Heavyweights of this tournament were present. Although Shuunya stood up to all those 4, his strength is unknown, and they heard rumors about the fact that he and Garp are close to each other. So, there were quite a few strong ones over his side too.
Although I wanted to fight a lot, I didn't want to fight so many strong ones at the same time. Well, on a positive note, I will gain a lot of experience.
"Start!!!!"