Theodore rotated his arm, the pain subsiding slightly. He wiped the soup and vegetable leaves from his upper body and struck a charging pose.
"Here I come!"
The pirates in the hall watched as Theodore disappeared from sight, silently counting in their heads: "One second… one second… one second…"
The ones who had placed bets whispered anxiously, "Just hold out a few more seconds… just a few more seconds!"
Bang!
This time, Weiss threw a punch—fist meeting fist in a thunderous clash. The dull thud echoed like a muffled war drum, rattling the hearts of the gambling pirates.
"One second… two… three… four—!"
Boom!
Theodore was sent flying once more. One of the betting pirates jumped up in excitement, shouting, "I'm rich! Hahaha!"
He didn't notice that the other pirates around him had bloodshot eyes. By the time he realized it, he was already being swallowed by the enraged crowd.
…
…
And his lackey? Already gone, running off with the money.
Weiss looked at Theodore, who had been knocked back again, and sighed with some regret. Why couldn't I hold back my strength again? But then he shrugged it off. Karina had probably already bought everything they needed. As long as the goods were in transit, they were as good as his.
"Well, you've seen it for yourself. You can't beat me. Just give up," Weiss said, kindly offering advice. He was starting to feel bad about going too hard.
Even though he had been restraining his strength, the guy just couldn't take a hit!
"No worries. I knew the outcome before the fight even started. But still… part of me just couldn't accept it. So this is the gap between me and one of the world's top fighters, huh?"
Though Theodore's words sounded discouraged, his expression wasn't the least bit defeated. Clearly, he had expected this. After all, he knew his own capabilities.
"Why are you so obsessed with challenging the strong?" Weiss asked, walking over and pulling him up from the ground.
"Because this is a world where only the strong survive, isn't it? The powerful have everything. The weak can only scrape by in the shadows. Becoming strong… is my only goal."
"How did your crew manage to rescue you from the Admiral's ship?"
"They went easy on us, that's all."
Weiss hadn't expected that answer at all.
Theodore dusted himself off and waved as he turned to leave. On the way, he called out to the manager who had run over with Karina, "Put everything they ordered on my tab. You know where my ship is docked."
"You see? I told you it would work out, but you didn't believe me." Karina said smugly to the manager.
The manager smiled awkwardly. "Yes, yes, I understand now. The goods are already on the way."
Honestly, if no one had paid, the manager wouldn't have dared to say anything. Both sides were too dangerous to provoke. One was a reckless hothead who still played by some rules, and the other… an unknown butcher.
In such situations, of course, you pick the easier target to deal with.
As long as I don't suffer any losses, that's all that matters!
"Wait. I have a question for you," Weiss called out to the manager.
The manager straightened up immediately, professional smile back in place. "Yes, Sword Demon sir. What would you like to know?"
"What's that guy's deal?"
Weiss hadn't known Theodore for long, but he could tell that despite the man's flashy behavior, he wasn't inherently bad. If he had a 90-million bounty, it was probably due to his strength.
Hearing the question, the manager sighed in relief. So it's something simple after all.
"That's Theodore Carmeline—the heir to the Carmeline family. Their main business is medicinal herbs. Around thirty percent of all herbs in the Grand Line pass through their hands."
"They even supply to the Holy Land and the New World."
"They have a few other businesses too, but nothing major."
"But their family's facing a huge problem: they have no top-tier combatants. He's already the strongest they have."
"With that level of strength, there's no way to protect the family's entire business. Over the years, their share of the market has been gradually taken over by others."
"During the incident at Canopy Island, they sent people too—but they didn't even leave with a scratch, just a pile of corpses."
"So now, he's desperate to get stronger. He doesn't expect to bring the family back to its peak. Just keeping what they have would be enough."
Listening to this, Weiss couldn't help but feel that it was eerily similar to the situation with the Groo family on Canopy Island. Or maybe, it was just how the world worked: without strength, any group would inevitably decline.
The Groo family had used a Devil Fruit as bait to lure ambitious people into killing their rivals and clearing out competition. But even if they successfully took over the market, what strength did they have to keep it?
In the end, someone else would always swoop in and reap the rewards.
What puzzled Weiss most was—why didn't Groo eat the Devil Fruit himself? Not even Matt had touched it.
Meanwhile, Theodore chose to improve his own strength, solving the issue at the root… though it seemed he'd taken the wrong path.
"So, it's not just Marines and pirates out here on the seas. There are all sorts of mysterious families and underground mafia lords too."
"They just don't have the top-tier combat strength to match the Marines or the pirates. That's why pirates dominate the stage."
"Seems like the Great Pirate Era isn't just hurting the Marines—it's also thinning out the new blood in these centuries-old families."
"Anyone with foresight is doing their best to grow stronger. This world order won't last much longer."
"In the end, it all comes down to personal strength. On these seas, no matter how strong you are, you still have to contend with the three mountains: the Marines, the Four Emperors, and the Shichibukai."
But Weiss was confident—he could take on five of the Shichibukai.
(Though common sense said there were only six of them!)
"All right, if you're done eating, let's split up and explore the island. This is a thriving commercial hub—anything you can imagine, you'll find here." As Weiss said this, he gave a pointed look at Kadun, their older crewmate.
"Captain, what kind of look is that?" Kadun blushed furiously.
"I didn't say anything. You're the one turning red," Weiss said, heading for the door.
"Wimp."
"Disgusting."
"I didn't do anything! What are you all imagining?!" Kadun protested as he followed, deciding to stick close to Jack to avoid more misunderstandings.
---
Meanwhile, at the port—
"What did you say?! How can it be this expensive? There were only four of them! How did they eat this much?! You want me to pay? Do I look like a rich pretty boy to you?!"
Theodore's face turned ashen as he flipped through the bill in his hands. It was packed with a long list of supplies and food, but all he could see were the words: "Giant sucker!"
"Ten million Berries—for one meal?! How do you people not choke on it?!"
But he'd already made the promise. Seeing the manager beside him still smiling politely, he decided not to make a scene.
Even though the Carmeline family had declined, they still wouldn't consider ten million a major loss. But being treated like a sucker left a really bad taste in his mouth.
Then a sly smile crept onto Theodore's face as if a thought had occurred to him.
"You think this ten million is easy money? Heh… we'll see about that…"
---
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