Inside the tent was a horror scene.
Bodies lay everywhere, victims of a disaster that felled them with overwhelming power.
Everyone who stood in the way of the man with the bear mask was now unconscious. Everyone, including the secretary and the older woman. Even the iron support pillars were leaning askew.
“Zeha ha ha ha…”
“Makin’…a…killing…” gasped Oliva, who was on his last legs. He had some confidence in his own skill as a fighter. But him against Teech was truly a battle between a giant bear and a tiny monkey.
“I’m not in a friendly mood right now.” Teech’s fingertips squeezed. With his tremendous strength, he could crush a human neck like an apple.
“Urg…ghl…”
“What was that you were sayin’? The end of the era of strength? Was that it? Zeha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
“Gonna make a killing…starting with…you…”
With trembling hands, Oliva still managed to point his pistol at Teech.
“Zeha ha ha ha! Remember this!”
Bam!!
Teech slammed Oliva’s body to the floor.
“All you do is talk.”
“Brmf…!”
Oliva’s entire body twitched and shuddered, driven entirely through the stage below. Teech’s hand clenched harder around the man’s neck.
“Would be cruel to only leave you half-dead…”
“That’s it, Teech! We’re done! Stop!” shouted Ace, appearing at last.
He had returned to find a large man wearing a bear mask looming over the young power broker who ruled this town, his flashy suit all bloodied up, pounded right through the floor.
“Ace…” said Banshee.
“Captain Ace…” added Wallace, both of them looking stunned.
“Zeha ha ha ha, zeha ha ha ha!”
“That’s enough,” Ace repeated.
“I don’t think so. This one tried to serve two masters. He broke the code and insulted Pops. There needs to be a reckoning,” said Teech. Among pirates, this was the reasonable way.
“That’s true. But while he might have been in the slaving business, he didn’t try to steal what was Whitebeard’s. He doesn’t understand the code. He’s just a stupid kid. He should be allowed to apologize for what he’s done and make right.”
“Make right? Not even a kid would expect mercy after disrespecting the flag!”
“Eh?”
“See, a flag is like a god! Who’s been shedding blood to ensure Whitebeard’s flag means what it does? That’s right, we have! You gotta understand, money alone ain’t gonna win you any wars!” Teech roared.
Ace’s hands suddenly lit up with flame. “Right at the start, I said that anyone who didn’t want to follow my orders should stay home.”
He was dead serious. Teech recognized that, smirked…and released his death grip on Oliva’s neck. Then he took the bear mask off and grinned confidently. “What did I say earlier? I just got carried away.”
Or, in other words, Don’t get so hot and bothered.
“I’m your caretaker. I’ve seen what you’ve done from start to finish. All that’s left is for me to tell Pops exactly what I saw.”
“Oh, really?”
“Are you gonna challenge him again when we go back? It ain’t easy to get a leg up on others! Zeha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
The tent made a creaking sound. It wasn’t going to last long. Ace gave his crewmates orders to free the slaves and animals from their cages, and the group hurriedly made their way out of the circus tent.