Chapter 443: The Reason for Disgust
Hachinosu · Port
The sea breeze howled, the thick smell of gunpowder permeating the air as the port fell into a deathly silence.
Ace's cold interrogation was like a blazing flame, instantly igniting the atmosphere.
Teach, however, merely threw his head back and laughed: "Ze—hahahaha!"
His laughter was exaggerated and grating, as if intentionally mocking the flames of justice standing before him.
He raised a hand and waved it casually.
Two members of the Blackbeard crew immediately dragged a man out from the shadows. He was covered in wounds and barely clinging to life—
It was none other than the squad leader who had unauthorizedly attacked the civilian cargo ship a few days prior.
The man was dragged in front of everyone. His skull was nearly caved in, blood gushing from his nose and mouth, his face so mangled his original features were barely recognizable.
Teach looked down at him. His expression was flat, yet it exuded a chilling cruelty.
He planted a foot on the man's back, his smile cold and sinister: "About that incident—we were indeed in the wrong."
"This subordinate of mine lacked discipline and stirred up trouble he shouldn't have."
He extended his large hand, covered in rings, and patted the man's bloody, mangled head. His movements were almost gentle—
"I have already... 'handled' him for the Marines."
With that, Teach raised his head, revealing that malicious, smiling face.
"I will make sure to properly discipline my subordinates from now on, honorable Marines."
He grinned widely, bearing his stark white teeth: "So—is this resolution satisfactory?"
His smile was chilling. Respectful on the surface, but practically dripping with provocation in reality.
That "lowly" tone only made the air feel even more oppressive.
Though his words were full of humility, they revealed naked defiance.
Ace's gaze was like a knife. Staring at the dying captain and his shattered skull, flames faintly ignited in his palms.
"You're quite ruthless to your own people, aren't you, Teach..."
"In that regard, you're exactly the same as before." His tone was flat, but held hidden mockery.
Teach's smile stiffened slightly.
In that split second, a dangerous glint flashed through his eyes.
—"Exactly the same as before."
He obviously knew which scar Ace was digging at.
The Whitebeard Pirates.
The death of Thatch.
His "undisciplined" act of betrayal and defection.
That casual mockery was tantamount to directly ripping open those past events that should have long been buried.
The air froze instantly, the atmospheric pressure plummeting. Even the sound of the crashing waves grew muffled.
However, Teach only froze for half a second before letting out that signature maniacal laugh again—
"Ze—hahahahaha!!!"
He spread his arms, tilting his head back and laughing exaggeratedly: "My rules are the rules!"
"Since they've been set, they must be followed. Otherwise, what's the point of having rules?!"
Ace's eyes grew slightly cold: "When you were in the Whitebeard Pirates, I never saw you follow any rules."
"Especially—the most important one."
His voice was very low, yet it exploded like thunder in everyone's hearts.
The officers of the Blackbeard crew looked at each other, the tension peaking.
Some of the younger members didn't even understand the meaning behind those words, yet they instinctively felt a suffocating oppressive pressure.
Teach's laughter slowly dissipated, the curve of his lips gradually vanishing.
His gaze clashed with Ace's in mid-air—
In that moment, flames and shadows intertwined, as if even the air was being ripped in half.
Laffitte turned slightly sideways, his fingertips tapping lightly against his cane. His eyes darted between the two, ready to strike at any moment.
But Teach suddenly smiled again.
Only this time, his laughter was deep, like mockery and threats squeezed from the depths of his throat.
"Ze—hahaha... Ace."
He looked up, ambition and madness flickering in his pitch-black pupils.
"Times have changed."
"Back then, I was just a pirate."
"Now—I am the leader of the Blackbeard Alliance."
He spread his arms, his smile full of arrogance: "Did you think the Marines could just waltz in and step all over this place?"
Flames burned along Ace's arms, and a storm brewed.
Zoro and Kuina's hands, resting quietly on their sword hilts, tightened slightly.
The smile completely vanished from Luffy's face. His aura dropped low, and Haki silently rippled around him.
But Ace's eyes burned hotter than any flame.
He spoke in a low voice: "Do you know why I hate you so much, Teach?"
"It's not because you're a pirate, nor is it because you betrayed your crew—"
His voice was deep, the flames on his chest crackling.
"It's because you—"
"Fundamentally don't care about your brothers or comrades."
Those burning eyes carried suppressed fury and utter contempt.
"Brothers you spent decades with, you killed without a second thought."
"Whitebeard, Thatch, that entire crew... in your eyes, they were nothing but tools."
"But I'm different." Ace clenched his fists, his flames surging like a tidal wave.
"Roy is the older brother I respect the most."
"Luffy, Sabo, Nami... they are my most important family."
"And so, people like you, who treat 'brothers' like a joke—"
"I despise them the most!!!"
The air abruptly stagnated.
Teach's smile slowly faded, a cold glint flashing in the depths of his eyes.
And then—he laughed aloud.
"Ze—hahahahaha!!!"
His laughter was unrestrained, arrogant, carrying mockery and disregard.
"As long as I can survive until the end, I will seize any opportunity I can!"
"It was just a measly cargo ship—"
"And the young masters of the Marines actually went out of their way to come here and condemn us?"
He spread his hands, grinning mockingly: "I've already 'handled' the culprit, and I've stated it won't happen again. What more do you want? Do you want to go to war with me?!"
As his words fell, the newly joined scoundrels of the Blackbeard crew behind him were instantly ignited by his speech.
They looked at each other, arrogant laughter rising and falling.
"Hahaha! The Marines sure put on grand airs!"
"Just four little brats, and they dare come to Hachinosu and run their mouths?"
"With the Boss here, do they think they'll walk out of here alive? Hahahaha!"
More and more people joined the jeering, their arrogant laughter spreading like a tide.
Yet Ace, Luffy, Zoro, and Kuina simply stood there quietly.
They weren't angry, nor did they attack.
Because they could tell—these people were nothing but trash.
—Until.
From the back of the crowd, a drunken scoundrel staggered out.
He wore a twisted smile on his face, clearly heavily intoxicated and completely swept up in the fervent atmosphere.
"Hahahaha—this is hilarious!"
He waved the liquor bottle in his hand, pointing mockingly at Ace and the others, his tone full of contempt:
"With subordinates this soft, your superior—what was his name again?"
He deliberately put on a face as if "he couldn't remember," then his mouth split into a grin, revealing a row of yellowed teeth: "Oh right—Roy!"
The moment those words were spoken, Teach immediately reacted, his arm stretching out, intending to smash his mouth to pieces. But he was too late—
"That superior of yours, Roy—must be a complete piece of trash too!!!"
—In an instant, the port fell dead silent.
All laughter was thoroughly shredded in that exact split second.
Teach also froze in that moment, the smile completely vanishing from his face.
The outstretched hand finally slapped the man, sending him flying and crashing into the pile of cargo behind them. But he didn't need to look to know—
That sentence had thoroughly ignited the fuse to hell.
The same thought flashed through the minds of all the Blackbeard Alliance officers simultaneously—
We're dead.
In the next instant—
"——BOOM!!!"
Above the port, four berserk auras soared into the sky!
Flames, sword aura, Conqueror's Haki, and the power of a Mythical Zoan intertwined into a storm of violent gales and raging waves!
The sky above all of Hachinosu was instantly torn open, the clouds churning violently, and the ocean waves frantically rolling backwards!
That oppressive force even caused the rocky cliffs of Hachinosu to tremble!
In this moment, the entirety of Hachinosu.
Plunged into true—silence and terror.
♧♧♧
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