"Ahhhh!! Monster—"
The "Carpenter" finally woke up, screaming as he retreated backward, all the while commanding the remaining puppets, "Block it! Kill it! Hurry and kill it!"
Monster?
Are they talking about me?
It was the first time Shano heard someone call him that.
He didn't find it pleasant.
But upon thinking it over, he seemed to subconsciously enjoy this title.
"Call me whatever you like!"
He grinned viciously as he approached, throwing a few punches and knocking away all the puppets that came to stop him.
The one that came at him with a sword was caught directly by the neck with his elbow, and using the power of his waist and abdomen, he kneed it fiercely, ripping it into two with his hands.
Sawdust flew everywhere, and in the gaps of his vision, the "Carpenter's" face grew increasingly terrified.
Bang! Shano leaped up and jumped down from the high platform, landing right in front of the main entrance, blocking the other's escape route.
At this moment, the only ones still guarding him were the town sheriff and Major Tomte of the Navy Branch.
"Get lost!"
With two more punches, the two were sent flying several meters along with their guns, crashing to the ground unconscious.
This was the result of Shano deliberately holding back; these two hadn't been fully turned into puppets yet, and perhaps there was hope for them to return to humanity after dealing with the Carpenter.
Clack.
Shano extended his hand at a speed far beyond that of ordinary humans, making it impossible for the "Carpenter" to dodge. He was grabbed by the neck, lifted like a chick.
The "Carpenter" struggled fiercely, but the young man's grip was like iron, leaving him unable to move.
"Cough... cough..." The "Carpenter" breathed rapidly, forcing out words through clenched teeth, "I'm going to suffocate, let go! Let go of me!"
Shano did not let go, his gaze filled with disappointment.
"You're really weak."
"Even though you're a Devil Fruit Ability User, I thought you'd give me a thrill, but it turns out you're just a coward hiding behind others."
"Without your puppets, you have no confidence at all."
"Such a weak person, on what basis did you manage to control the head of the Eight Great Dojo?"
"What nonsense are you talking? Don't underestimate me!" The "Carpenter" gritted his teeth, "At first I couldn't beat them head on, but could I not ambush them? If it weren't for running into a freak like you, who on Asakura Island could oppose me..."
"Boss Shano!"
Junichi approached at some point, wiping tears from the corner of his eye, his eyes bloodshot, tightly gripping a sword he had picked up, "I'm begging you, give me a chance! Let me kill him with my own hands!"
"Don't rush."
Shano raised his hand to stop him, turning back to squint and scrutinize the middle-aged man in the luxurious coat, "There are still a few things I don't understand that I must clear up."
"Are you insulting me?"
The "Carpenter" shouted in shame and anger, "Who would answer your questions! Just give me a quick death! Besides, I'm running out of breath, how can I answer your questions if you don't let go of me!"
"See, this is one of the doubts."
When Shano wasn't fighting, his cellular vitality seemed to return from his muscles to his brain.
He glanced at his right hand, still tightly gripping, "I've been choking you for so long, have you really run out of breath?"
"..." The "Carpenter" was stunned, suddenly realizing that his breathing was still smooth, the initial feeling of suffocation seemed like an illusion.
Why is this?
How could this be?
"I don't know if you've noticed, but a lot of things you say don't match your actions logically."
Shano squinted his eyes and continued, "Let me ask you, why did you suddenly come here, exposing both yourself and the identities of the ten puppets under your control completely?"
"Weren't you always racking your brain to earn money crazily? You worked so hard for many years on Asakura Island to finally take control of it, so why the sudden self-destructive impulse today? Planning to run off and fleece money in another place?"
Yeah, why would this happen?
The "Carpenter" was in a daze, suddenly unable to understand it as well.
It seems like a long time ago, he had this similar feeling.
—When he was about to figure something out, it's as though a membrane deep in his brain would cause his thoughts to redirect in a daze when they collided.
The final actions he took were completely contrary to his original expectations and plans, yet he felt it was perfectly normal.
"No way!"
"Carpenter" suddenly yelled, "Almost got fooled by you, kid. When did I reveal my identity? Wasn't it that bastard Sakuraba Itsuki who wanted to die and exposed everything himself!"
"But when you came in, he hadn't revealed that the heads of the Seven Great Dojo had already become puppets!"
Shano's voice suddenly rose, "The sheriff and that Navy Major, weren't they brought in by you as well? When you came in, you could have directly controlled him, stopped him from saying more! Then there were ten thousand ways to make the public believe he was a fake! Why didn't you do that!"
Why?
"Carpenter" became more and more confused, yes, why indeed?
There were so many ways to cover it up, continue making dirty money happily, why suddenly tear off the mask?
He suddenly vaguely recalled something even more strange from his past.
Knowing that among all the puppets, Sakuraba Itsuki's puppet was the hardest to control, constantly having its own opinions and ideas.
But he never thought about turning it into a complete puppet, even kept it by his side, handling the most secret and important matters.
"Come." Shano suddenly reached out the other hand and grabbed the other's right hand.
"What are you doing?"
"Control me." Shano said coldly, "You've lost eight puppets, can't you use your free fingers to recruit new ones? Use your power, try to control me!"
"But, but powerful people aren't that easy to control, you're even harder to control than Sakuraba Itsuki back then..."
"Carpenter" stammered, hadn't even finished speaking when Shano suddenly pulled Junichi over, "Then try him!"
"Huh? Boss Shano!"
Junichi was initially engrossed in listening, but had calmed down, starting to ponder the doubts in the matter, when suddenly he was dragged to the Carpenter, he was dumbfounded.
"..."
"Carpenter" trembled as he extended his hand and grabbed Junichi's arm, but soon became bewildered again.
Planting puppet strings, controlling others... He knew the principles of the Devil Fruit, but how exactly to do it?
"You see, simply controlling these few puppets, is the greatest authority you've gained."
Shano then single-handedly pulled Junichi back, looking at the luxuriously dressed middle-aged man, "Do you really still believe you're the 'Carpenter' who can create puppets?"
As his voice fell, Shano suddenly slapped the other's chest hard,
Bang! The sound was crisp and short, like hitting an empty bamboo tube.
This meant something, and "Carpenter" understood it better than anyone else.
Shano finally let go, letting the middle-aged man slide softly to the ground, sitting there dejectedly.
"I'm not the Carpenter..."
He looked dazed, unable to accept reality, his voice hoarse, "I, turns out, I'm just a puppet too?"
...
"So, the real 'Carpenter' is actually someone else?"
Junichi felt his brain swelling, almost crashing, "Then... who could it be? And what grudge do they have with my father to target him?"
Shano looked at Junichi with pity, finally sighed:
"Whoever started this farce today is the Carpenter."
He suddenly punched, collapsing the middle-aged man's chest, then turned to look at the corpse on the stage, speaking in a low voice:
"Am I right, Mr. Sakuraba Itsuki?"
No one answered.
The ticking of the wall clock moved second by second, the pin-drop silence lasted over ten seconds, and finally, there was movement on the stage.
Crack, crack.
The teeth-grinding sound of wood creaking suddenly rang out, the limbs of the corpse suddenly bent backward to ninety degrees, lifting itself up, standing straight again in an anatomically impossible posture.
Amidst the dense clicking sounds, Sakuraba Itsuki's body remained with its back to them, but the head slowly twisted 180 degrees, revealing a gaunt, mournful face, as if on the verge of tears.
Junichi froze in place.
His hands and feet were icy, feeling an unprecedented chill rushing straight from his spine to the top of his head.
"Why..."
The gaunt face finally spoke sorrowfully, the voice from his throat like a stuck old phonograph tape, the human voice and the tremor of wood eerily overlapping, "Why, indeed..."
"Why must you find out, and why must you speak out?"
"Why... won't you let me give Sakuraba Itsuki's identity a perfect curtain call, and leave peacefully?"