At this time, the battle below had begun.
"Kid, if you don't want to die, surrender immediately!"
Marigold quickly swung her weapon and struck at Uchiha Itachi, but he dodged just in time.
"Kill him! Lord Marigold!!"
The crowd erupted with shouts.
"Come on, brother!"
Young Uchiha Sasuke cheered for his older brother, Uchiha Itachi, from the stands.
"Kid, can you only hide?"
Puff!!
Marigold spat a sticky glob of phlegm at Uchiha Itachi, but he managed to evade it again.
Bah!
The slime hit the ground, producing a harsh, corrosive sound.
"Poison?!"
"Yes, it's extremely poisonous!! What a pity!!"
Uchiha Itachi quickly pulled out several shurikens and threw them at Marigold.
Ding ding ding!!
When the shurikens struck Marigold, they made a sound as if they had hit metal, bouncing off harmlessly.
"What?!"
Uchiha Itachi was momentarily surprised, and the rest of the Uchiha clan was puzzled.
"Don't you understand? He's just a kid from a small, backwater town. That's Haki—Armament Haki. A brat who doesn't even know what Haki is can only tickle me with his attacks," Marigold boasted, raising her sword high to slash at Uchiha Itachi.
Uchiha Itachi quickly jumped out of the way, but Marigold spat a mouthful of venom at him.
He swiftly formed a hand seal:
Si-Wei-Shen-Hai-Wu-Yin
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Whoosh----!!
A giant fireball, two meters in diameter, erupted from Uchiha Itachi's mouth.
Bah!
The Great Fireball evaporated Marigold's venom instantly.
Although Marigold was shocked, she reacted quickly and ducked back to avoid the attack.
Boom----!!
A massive explosion followed.
"Uhhhhhh!!"
Marigold screamed in pain. Even though she managed to evade the fireball, the intense heat wave radiating from it still scorched her body. Despite her Armament Haki, she couldn't completely shield herself from the flames.
"Master Marigold!!"
"What is that?! People can actually spit out fire!!"
Gritting her teeth through the pain, Marigold glared at Uchiha Itachi. "What kind of power do you have?"
Uchiha Itachi replied calmly, "Ninjutsu. If you don't want to get hurt, just admit defeat."
"Kid, just because you want me to admit defeat doesn't mean I will! Don't think you're the only one who can use fire!!"
"Possessed by snake hair! The snake god of fire!!!"
Flames engulfed Marigold's body, and her hair transformed into two giant snakes wreathed in fire, creating a majestic and fearsome sight.
Seeing Marigold's transformation, the women of Amazon Lily in the audience erupted in excitement.
"Master Marigold is serious!!"
"That kid is dead!"
"Kill him! Lord Marigold!"
Marigold glared at Uchiha Itachi and declared, "You brat, your flames can no longer harm me!!"
Uchiha Itachi's expression remained calm, showing no sign of fear. "Fire? Then use water."
"Go to hell!!!"
Marigold commanded the fire snake to attack Uchiha Itachi, aiming to bite him.
Uchiha Itachi jumped high into the air and quickly formed seals with his hands.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bomb Technique!!"
He spat water from his mouth, summoning a massive water dragon.
The water dragon collided with the fire snake, swallowing it in an instant and creating a powerful steam explosion.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"
The hot, white steam spread through the area, affecting the entire auditorium.
After a moment, the fog began to clear. The flames on Marigold's body were extinguished, leaving her looking like a drowned rat with disheveled hair.
Uchiha Itachi appeared in front of Marigold without her noticing and calmly stated, "You lost."
Marigold opened her mouth to retort, but suddenly realized she couldn't move. Looking into Uchiha Itachi's eyes, she recalled what Kai had said earlier and understood she was likely trapped in an illusion.
She struggled with all her might, but no matter how hard she tried, her body remained frozen. It dawned on her just how terrifying the illusion Kai had mentioned truly was.
Continuing to fight would be futile. If Uchiha Itachi had truly wanted to kill her, she would already be dead.
With a heavy heart, Marigold finally lowered her head and said in despair, "I lost."
Boom!!
The audience erupted in chaos.
"What?!"
"Master Marigold actually gave in?!"
"That kid is amazing!"
"Spitting fire and water—how did he do that?!"
The female warriors in the stands were in shock. Who was this opponent? A teenager had actually defeated Lord Marigold, one of the three Gorgon sisters.
This was unbelievable; Lord Marigold was among the top three most powerful warriors in Amazon Lily.
"Brother is so awesome!"
Sasuke cheered happily, thrilled to see Itachi defeat such a formidable opponent.
The members of the Uchiha clan were also taken aback by Itachi's performance. They hadn't expected him to be so strong.
But it wasn't entirely surprising, considering Kai had already made a name for himself throughout the ninja world by the age of 11.
"I'm sorry, sister, I lost."
Marigold returned to the pirate empress, Boa Hancock, feeling ashamed.
Hancock's expression was dark. Her sister, whom she had high hopes for, had lost in the very first match, leaving her feeling humiliated.
"It's okay. You just weren't familiar with your opponent's abilities. Leave the rest to me."
The second sister, Gong Denghua, patted Marigold on the shoulder to comfort her before preparing to take the stage.
Marigold quickly warned, "Sister Sonia, you have to be careful of his eyes. Their illusions are incredibly powerful. I couldn't move after being hit."
Gong Denghua responded confidently, "An illusion? It's just a small trick. As long as you don't look at it, you'll be fine."