Kouta frowned slightly, confused by the extreme reaction Coolby Rudd showed when he heard the phrase "ally of justice."
"This guy… Judging from how much he hates the word 'justice,' could it be that he was once harmed by the Marines?"
Kouta rubbed his chin and thought for a moment before raising his voice.
"Hey!"
"Hurry up and make your move! Stop dragging it out, I want to see what your ability looks like!"
The thick stench of blood wafting from this man was proof enough—he had killed a lot of people.
No wonder this guy never showed up in the manga. He'd probably already been executed by the Marines long ago.
"If you're so eager to die, then I'll grant your wish."
With that, Coolby Rudd transformed into a humanoid yak, his massive body covered in thick black hair.
Seeing their captain transform, the pirates behind him instantly regained their confidence.
Their captain possessed the power of a Devil Fruit—he was a monster.
As Kouta watched him take on this monstrous form, he suddenly burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahaha!!"
"You should've stuck a metal ring through your nose! Then you'd really look like the Ox King!"
"Hahahahaha…"
"Metal ring?"
"Ox King?"
Though he had no idea what the "Ox King" was, just hearing the word "metal ring" was enough to trigger something in Coolby Rudd. Especially Kouta's blatant laughter—completely unrestrained—it pushed him over the edge.
"RAAAAAARGH!!"
Coolby Rudd let out a furious roar, white mist billowing from his nostrils as he bellowed at the sky.
Behind him, the lackey pirates turned red with excitement and shouted loudly.
"Go, Captain!"
"Tear that arrogant brat to pieces!"
In their eyes, an enraged Coolby Rudd was the strongest being in the world. Even the Marines who had come to capture them had been wiped out with ease.
Hearing the roar of his men, Coolby Rudd stopped shouting. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Kouta. Then, he crouched low and, like a cannonball, launched himself forward, tearing across the deck with terrifying speed.
From the moment this brat stepped onto their ship, he had shown nothing but cold indifference and disdain, wearing a smug, superior expression the whole time.
And now he dared to laugh at him?
He hadn't seen eyes like that—or heard laughter like that—since he'd been a slave.
And just like back then, he'd make sure no one survived.
As the gap between them closed and Kouta's figure filled his vision, bloodlust surged in Coolby Rudd's eyes. He roared out:
"Look at me when you die, bastard!"
He clenched his massive right fist, thick veins bulging along his swollen arm, and threw it at Kouta's head with all his strength.
This punch, he thought, would shatter the boy's skull and spray blood across the deck.
The thought filled him with euphoric anticipation.
But then—bam—a sudden impact shattered his fantasy.
It didn't feel like hitting a person. It felt like his fist had struck solid steel.
His vision snapped back into focus. In front of his massive fist, a smaller hand calmly held it in place, completely unmoving.
It hadn't budged an inch.
"No way!"
"He stopped the captain's full-force punch—just like that?!"
The lackey pirates' excited grins froze.
They'd seen people block Coolby Rudd's punches before—but even those high-ranking Marine officers would be left coughing blood afterward.
Yet Kouta stood there with the same smile, completely relaxed, as if he had swatted away a falling leaf.
Not only that, he was still laughing.
"Is that all you've got?"
Kouta finally stopped laughing and looked at Coolby Rudd with disdain. "You're seriously getting this full of yourself with that level of strength?"
"Don't get cocky, brat!"
Coolby Rudd's expression turned grim. He could feel it—this kid wasn't normal. The difference in power between them was huge.
But he refused to back down.
Since the day he set out to sea, he swore he would never bow to anyone again.
He pulled back his fist and stepped back a few paces. Then he ripped off his shirt, revealing a body crisscrossed with deep scars.
"Hm?"
Kouta's eyes narrowed. The second he saw those scars, he understood.
This guy wasn't just a killer—he was once a slave.
The scars weren't from battle. No, these were the kind of wounds only years of torture and abuse could leave.
Only a noble could inflict that many injuries on someone without killing them.
Kouta's expression changed. He stopped smiling and furrowed his brow.
He didn't want to waste any more time on this.
He had planned to toy with the guy a little, but after seeing those scars, he changed his mind.
He could mock the current Coolby Rudd, but not the person he used to be.
Coolby Rudd let out a wild roar as his black hair surged wildly, his body fully transforming into a massive yak.
He bellowed with rage, jaws wide open, and shouted:
"Brat! I'm a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user. I ate the Yak-Yak Fruit, Model: Yak! Not only do I have endless strength, I've also got a pair of horns that can pierce through anything!"
With that, he dropped to all fours, lowered his head, and charged at Kouta like a raging beast.
"Die, brat!"
BOOM—!!
But again, Kouta met him with the same hand, in the exact same position, and stopped him just as effortlessly.
Without a word, he snapped his palm forward and sent Coolby Rudd flying back with a loud crash, slamming him into the deck.
Coolby Rudd groaned on the ground, clutching his spinning head.
It felt like his brain had just been struck by a meteor. His vision blurred, his thoughts in chaos.
The lackey pirates watched in stunned silence. Not one of them dared to breathe.
They stared at Kouta in horror, screaming silently in their minds.
"What kind of monster is this guy?!"
"To him, the captain is nothing more than a toy!"
Kouta stepped off the railing and approached the collapsed Coolby Rudd.
As he walked, every pirate on the ship fainted one by one, eyes rolled back in unconscious terror.
"I don't care what your past was. I don't even want to know."
"All I know is that what you've done in these last few months is more than enough to send you straight to hell."
Spatial Domain.
He activated his Spatial Domain and locked Coolby Rudd in place, giving him no chance to speak.
This game was over.
Wasn't it a bit boring, though?
In this world, tragedies unfolded every day. There were plenty of people who had suffered worse than him.
But you didn't see them turning into twisted killers, did you?
Using your newfound power to take revenge on the world? Kouta didn't care to comment.
After all, "Don't advise others to be kind if you haven't lived their suffering."
But he knew this: we all walk the path we choose. Once you've chosen, you take the pain that comes with it—right up to death.
Besides, the things Coolby Rudd had done were far worse than what his former master did to him.
There was no sympathy to be found.
Kouta drew his sword, Zankū, and brought it down across Coolby Rudd's neck in a clean strike.
Then he sheathed it, turned, and calmly leapt back onto the Freedom.
He didn't look back at the Mad Bull Pirates.
Sensing his somber mood, Awa and the others didn't ask questions. They quickly lit torches and tossed them onto the enemy ship before setting sail again.
Kuina stayed by Kouta's side, gently holding his hand in silence, her eyes soft and understanding.
By the time Kouta came back to his senses, the Freedom had already sailed a good distance.
Behind them, the Mad Bull Pirates' ship burned brightly in the open sea.
He turned to look at Kuina, then reached out and ruffled her hair, a smile slowly returning to his face.
"Don't worry. I'm fine."
He had always known how disgusting the noble class of this world could be. He was prepared for it.
But this was the first time he had witnessed a slave's torment up close.
And he had never seen a body so covered in scars before.
*********
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