Tesoro stared at Stella, completely spellbound.
The noise of the street faded away.
He felt like she was the piece he'd always felt missing in his life.
That vague hollow in his chest he could never name—
Filled.
Her face, her figure, her smile—
It all hit him at once.
He moved before he even realized it, striding forward with what he thought was a confident smile.
"Ladies," he said smoothly, "my name is Tesoro. Would I be honored enough to invite you both to dinner?"
He said "you both," but his eyes never left Stella's face.
Stella shrank back an instinctive step.
She was used to this sort of gaze by now.
Every time she went out, there were always men who looked at her like she was merchandise.
Ain immediately stepped in front of her, expression turning frosty.
"Golden Warrior Tesoro," she said coldly, "I suggest you watch your behavior."
"Oh?" Tesoro perked up, pleased. "Didn't expect such a beautiful lady to know my name."
Of course she did.
When a new mad dog rose in the area, Kuro had their files on Arakaki Jin's desk before the ink was dry.
"Since you know who I am, I'll be direct," Tesoro said. "I want to invite you both to dinner. Especially Miss Stella."
He gave what he thought was a gentlemanly bow.
Stella stared at him, her disgust plain.
"Sorry," she said calmly. "My man doesn't like me eating alone with other men."
"Ain, let's go."
Her words struck him like a hammer.
My man.
Boom.
Something cracked inside Tesoro.
His face twisted.
"Your man?" he repeated.
He flashed forward, moving to block their way again.
Before he could open his mouth—
Cold metal kissed his throat.
The point of a blade pressed just hard enough into his neck to bite.
"Boss!" his men shouted as they surrounded the two women. "Let go of Boss Tesoro!"
Passersby scattered instantly.
No one wanted to get caught between wolves.
Stella wrapped their shopping bags in bubbles and set them aside so she'd have both hands free.
She raised one palm, ready to fire.
Ain's eyes were flat and murderous.
"Think carefully, Tesoro," she said. "Or you can test for yourself whether my sword can slice through your gold and straight into your heart."
He hadn't even processed how fast she'd moved.
One moment he'd been in front of them.
The next, steel was at his neck.
He stared sideways at the blade, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"Heh. You think a little piece of metal like that can hurt me, beautiful?"
"Oh?" Ain smiled back. "Is that so?"
Tesoro reached for his power, willing all the gold nearby to burst forth and cover him in an instant.
He never got the chance.
The blade vanished from his throat and—
Smack.
Ain's sheathed sword slammed across his face like a steel bat.
Tesoro spun sideways like a rag doll and crashed into one of his own men, both of them tumbling to the ground.
"Boss!"
His thugs panicked and rushed forward, trying to grab the women from behind.
"Fwoom."
Bubbles blossomed around them, wrapping each man like floating, squeaking prisons.
Stella flicked her wrist and the bubble-wrapped men went rolling down the street, bouncing and tumbling along the cobblestones.
"Ahh—it hurts…"
Tesoro groaned, dragging himself back to his feet.
Ever since he'd eaten the Gold-Gold Fruit, he'd gotten used to walking through fights without a scratch.
Now he was actually bleeding.
He glared at Ain and coated his body in gold from head to toe, forming a full set of armor.
"You damn woman," he snarled. "Once I catch you, I'll pin you down and—uh—"
He never finished the sentence.
Ain vanished from in front of him.
Her voice came from behind his ear.
"Iai."
Click.
Her sword slid back into its sheath.
Boom.
Tesoro's golden armor shattered outward in a shower of fragments.
Blood sprayed from a long, deep cut carved across his chest.
Thud.
He passed out face-first on the cobblestones with a dull thump.
Ain didn't even look at him.
"Let's go, Sister Stella," she said lightly. "Nothing kills the mood like idiots with no self-awareness."
"Okay." Stella smiled gently and took her arm.
The two of them walked away together, skirts swaying.
Behind them, the street was littered with unconscious bodies and glittering shards of gold.
"Those women are insane…"
Hidden watchers who'd been peeking out from alleys had seen everything.
Tesoro's side hadn't landed a single clean hit.
And the Golden Warrior himself had been one-shot.
When his loyal men finally arrived in force, they found their boss bleeding out in the street.
"Get him inside!" the trusted underling—Himi, now Tesoro's right hand—shouted. "Move!"
Word spread fast.
Every enemy Tesoro had ever made heard that he'd been cut down by a woman.
They laughed until they cried.
"Hahahaha! That arrogant bastard—brought down by a girl? Gather the boys. We're ending him tonight!"
Strike while the iron's hot.
Strike while the enemy's weak.
They all knew the rule.
And more than a few were eager to pile on.
"Cough… where is this…?"
Tesoro woke up groggily, staring at a familiar ceiling.
"Boss, you're awake!" a voice said beside him.
He turned his head.
Himi.
"What happened?" Tesoro rasped.
"While you were out, the guys you pissed off sent people after us," Himi said quickly. "The brothers are holding them back outside, but… we're barely hanging on."
"What? Those worms dare to attack me?" Tesoro tried to bolt upright.
Pain ripped through his chest.
He hissed and looked down.
Bandages wrapped his torso tight. His fresh wound had torn open again, blood seeping through the cloth.
"Boss! Don't move! That cut is huge," Himi stammered.
Tesoro gritted his teeth, summoned his gold, and wrapped the wound from the inside, sealing it in a crude armor cast.
"Let's go," he growled. "I want to see which trash thinks they can challenge me."
Before they even reached the door—
Bang bang bang bang!
Gunfire thundered outside.
Another man rushed in, eyes wide.
"Bad news, Boss! The Marines showed up too!"
"The Marines?" Tesoro snapped. "Why the hell are they here? I've never broken the rules that badly."
"I heard the big guy leading them say… you messed with someone you shouldn't have," the man said nervously.
"Someone I shouldn't…"
Himi paled.
"Boss," he cut in, "could it be those two women from earlier?"
Tesoro froze.
The woman he couldn't stop thinking about.
And the one who'd dropped him in a single stroke.
"They're Marine?" he muttered.
"Boss, there's no time. We have to escape through the back," Himi said. "That's Unit 62."
Tesoro limped to the window and peered outside.
On the street below, a big Marine with handcuffs hanging from his belt shouted, "Power Punch!"
His fist slammed into the crowd, sending pirates flying like bowling pins.
The other Marines were just as ferocious.
They fired in coordinated volleys, then drew swords and charged, cutting through Tesoro's men as if they were made of paper.
"Move," Tesoro said. "We're leaving. Now."
He knew when he'd kicked an iron wall.
He swept whatever cash and gold he could stuff into bags and headed for the hidden passage.
This place was finished.
When the Marines put a target on you, there were only two outcomes—
Death, or a window seat on the auction block at No. 1.
And Tesoro had no interest in either.
He fled.
—
Jango kicked the front door open, Marines pouring in behind him like a tide.
He frowned.
His Observation Haki tasted only empty air.
"No one? They ran…" he muttered. "Search. Every corner, every crawlspace. Don't miss a thing."
"Yes, sir!"
Before long, a Marine came sprinting back.
"Colonel Jango, we found a hidden passage!"
Jango followed it out, cutting through dust and shadows, and emerged near the rocky shore.
In the distance, just at the limit of his vision, a small ship was already fleeing into open water.
"…Got away, huh," he said.
He thought about it for a second, then shrugged.
"Whatever. Clean the place up. We'll turn in half the spoils. The rest gets split between the men."
"Yes, sir!"
The messenger's grin split his face.
Since their new boss had arrived, life had been good.
Very good.
Loot shares. Hazard pay. Combat bonuses.
And Marine HQ?
HQ pretended not to see it.
As long as the streets stayed clean and the reports looked good, Arakaki Jin's people could make their own kind of justice.
Black Justice.
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