In the ruins of the Gold Emperor's office, gold dust and debris hung thick in the air.
Tesoro slumped against the caved-in gold wall. Every breath pulled at his shattered ribs, a searing, bone-deep agony. He looked up at Ace, standing there without a scratch, and the arrogance was finally gone from his eyes.
"What kind of monster are you..." Tesoro gritted his teeth, his voice a ragged whisper. His prized awakened power hadn't even touched a single hair on the man's head. That strange black fog had swallowed everything. His gold armor had crumpled like wet paper.
"What I am doesn't matter." Ace stepped forward, planted a foot on Tesoro's blood-soaked pink suit, and leaned down. His eyes were ice. "What matters is the offer I just made. Ten billion Beli. Consider it the price of your life, plus the protection fee to keep this gold ship of yours floating for another day."
"Cough... robbing me. You've got guts." Tesoro spat a mouthful of bloody saliva. Even broken, his pride made him cling to defiance. "And if I refuse? Kill me, and every mechanism on this ship goes berserk. You won't walk away clean either."
Ace didn't get angry. He laughed.
Then he pressed down hard with his foot. A sickening crack echoed from Tesoro's chest. Tesoro gasped, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Tesoro, that punch still didn't wake you up. You think I'm some pirate begging for scraps? Or a World Government official groveling for pocket change? Let the ship go berserk. Let it sink. I don't care about Celestial Dragon lives. You think I'd shed a tear over a pile of scrap metal I can't even eat?"
Ace lifted his foot and stood over him, looking down. His tone was absolute.
"Every year, you pay those worthless Celestial Dragons a fortune just to buy a little fake security. Now I'm offering to kill a few extra for you. You give me their share. Seems like a fair deal."
"You dare rob me?!" Tesoro's whole body convulsed. He roared like a snake whose vital spot had been struck. "Portgas D. Ace! I am the Gold Emperor of the underworld! You think you can do whatever you want here?!"
"Looks like you've been in this shiny little cage too long." Ace's eyes turned utterly cold. "You're scared of those bubble-headed wastes of space. But you're not scared of me?"
A pitch-black, raging wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Ace. It didn't spread out. It crashed down on Tesoro alone, a crushing, invisible mountain. The remaining glass in the office shattered. Gold dust swirled and fell.
Tesoro felt like a war hammer had smashed into his brain. His breath stopped. The primal terror shaking his soul was a hundred times worse than when the Celestial Dragons enslaved him. In that moment, he was back in that helpless past. But this time, the man standing over him wasn't a noble in a bubble helmet. He was a true, lawless monster. This man's spirit was an abyss that could swallow everything.
"Ten billion. Cash. And you're covering our expenses while we're here." Ace pulled back his Haki. His tone was as casual as ordering a drink. "Have it ready. Now."
Tesoro clenched his jaw. Humiliation burned in his bloodshot eyes. His fists clenched and unclenched. As the man who controlled twenty percent of the world's wealth, money was just a number. Ten billion Beli was a lot, but against his vast assets, it was a drop in the bucket. Paying it to save his life was the smart move for a top-tier businessman.
"...Prepare ten billion in cash." He forced the words through the agony in his organs, speaking into the gold transponder on his wrist. His voice was hoarse, barely his own.
Minutes later, trembling Gran Tesoro guards wheeled in massive black suitcases stuffed with high-denomination Beli bills. They didn't dare look at Ace. They didn't even dare look at Tesoro on the floor. They dropped the cases and fled.
Ace hefted one of the cases, weighed it, flipped it open for a glance, and nodded, satisfied.
"Pleasure doing business, Gold Emperor."
Ace slung the bag over his shoulder and walked toward the massive hole he'd burned in the wall.
Just as he was about to Moonwalk away, Tesoro's voice stopped him.
"Ace."
Ace paused, glancing back.
"You said you'd kill a few extra Celestial Dragons for me." Tesoro's voice was low, tangled with complex emotions. Mockery, doubt, and a sliver of sick hope he refused to admit. "Do you really think a handful of people like you can topple Mary Geoise, the power that's ruled the world for eight hundred years?"
"What, spent a hundred billion and now you want a guarantee?" Ace turned around, facing the man twisted by money and fear. "I don't believe in eight hundred years of rule. All I know is, anyone who stands above me and tries to give me orders, I'll rip their head off."
There was no forced bravado in Ace's voice. Just a calm, matter-of-fact certainty. As if overthrowing the eight-hundred-year reign of the World Government was just another chore on his to-do list.
"As for whether I can do it..." Ace looked at Tesoro, his gaze deep. "Since you're clinging to life in this fake paradise, propped up by cold gold coins... then keep your eyes wide open. Watch what happens on these seas next. Watch me kick those self-righteous 'gods' off their clouds and straight into hell."
With those words, Ace didn't look back. He launched himself with Moonwalk, a dark red blur shooting out of the towering golden spire and down toward the city below.
Tesoro sat alone in the ruined gold office.
He stared at the spot where the man had vanished, Ace's calm, utterly arrogant words echoing in his mind.
"Kick the gods... off their clouds and into hell?"
Clutching his aching chest, Tesoro suddenly laughed. A low chuckle that grew louder, until it became a gut-wrenching, manic roar.
"Hahahaha... what a madman. A complete and utter madman!"
His laughter held a trace of indescribable madness. "Portgas D. Ace, I'll use these eyes of mine to watch just how far you can go!"
"If you can really drag the Celestial Dragons off their pedestal..."
A vicious, ruthless light flared in Tesoro's eyes. "Then betting this entire golden city of mine... what would that even matter?"
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