Teach's Rage

She ran towards the man, who was Teach. He had already noticed the commotion throughout the entire royal city but paid it no mind. However, he hadn't expected the figure being chased to run directly towards him.

Upon closer inspection, it was a little girl, about eight or nine years old, wearing a thin black bodysuit. What surprised Teach was her running posture; she moved like an animal, using all fours. Her movements were fluid and practiced, something that would take years to achieve.

From a distance, she looked like a small wildcat. Yet, Teach felt a strange sense of unease, a feeling that something was off, though he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

She reached Teach, her small figure and innocent face showing panic. Her gem-red eyes were pure and clear. She glanced behind her, pointed, as if to say pursuers were coming, then tugged at Teach's clothes, seemingly asking for his protection.

For some reason, Teach didn't refuse. He wasn't one to meddle in others' affairs. Perhaps it was curiosity, or perhaps a desire to resolve the strange feeling he had.

The little girl was very small and burrowed into Teach's coat, hiding behind him. She clutched his waist tightly with her hands, clinging to his thigh. Teach, carrying his belongings, felt the approaching figures and didn't want to linger. "Hold on tight," Teach said, and vanished from the spot.

"Woof woof woof! Whimper!" Not long after, some guards, followed by hounds, arrived at the spot where Teach had been. They stopped, circling the area. "What's going on? The pet's scent just disappears here? How is that possible?"

"Keep searching. She's definitely still in the royal city. We must catch her, or we'll all be in trouble," one guard said. "Spread out. Each of you take a section. We'll definitely find her."

"Okay." "Understood." With that, they dispersed, heading in different directions.

In a secluded corner, Teach stood there. The little girl was still clinging to him, not getting down. She seemed to feel very safe with Teach. This was understandable; Teach could use Observation Haki to mask his presence, and her scent was hidden by him, so the hounds couldn't track them.

"Where are we going next?" Teach asked. The little girl didn't speak. After a moment, she quietly peeked her head out from his coat. "Meow," she vocalized. Teach frowned. This was getting stranger and stranger. The little girl could understand him, but she couldn't speak.

"Home?" Teach's Observation Haki understood her intention. This longing, warm expectation, and yearning – wasn't that home?

"Meow!" Hearing Teach, the little girl nodded, a smile appearing on her face, looking expectant.

Teach seemed to be infected by her mood and nodded. "I'll take you. Do you know the way home?"

The little girl shook her head, then closed her eyes, as if contemplating the path home. After a while, she opened them, her pupils shining. She pointed in a direction east of the royal city.

"Take it," Teach nodded slightly. The little girl retracted her head.

He couldn't help but feel a bit strange. Why was he always getting involved with children these days? Thinking of Loya, Anne, and now Mobius, who was beside him.

Then, Teach couldn't help but chuckle at himself. What was he thinking? He wasn't even fifteen yet. He wasn't much older than them, yet he was calling them children.

In the wilderness east of the royal city stood a secluded base for raising pet cats. Teach and the little girl arrived there. The girl seemed to smell a familiar scent and jumped off Teach. Her expression was one of confusion rather than joy.

Entering the base, she found it covered in dust. Yet, the girl moved around with familiarity, searching for her usual spot. It was a soft mat, now blackened. The girl lay down on it as if it were normal, not minding the dirt at all. She also found a dust-covered fur ball and began playing happily, rolling around, tossing it into the distance, then joyfully chasing after it to catch it.

After a long time, she seemed to tire of playing. She noticed her surroundings. Besides them, there was no one. Where were her companions? Where had they all gone?

This was an abandoned cat-raising base, abandoned for at least three years. Teach stood quietly, seemingly suppressing something. His Observation Haki continuously expanded, covering the entire base, analyzing, as if rewinding time.

A scene seemed to unfold before Teach's eyes: the little girl, very young, before she could remember, was brought here. She lived here, playing with many kittens, talking to them, eating their food, playing their games.

Around her, many people were observing her, training her, training her like a cat, or rather, training her to be a cat. This base was built specifically to train her. After she was taken away, the base was abandoned.

Traces of cat life were everywhere, along with traces left by the little girl. Some were covered by dust, but Teach found them all.

This world had slaves, but now, a word Teach had never even considered appeared in his mind: "pet-person."

In this country, this "Pet Kingdom," they were secretly training "pet-people," raising humans as pets. Teach felt as if he could see how they did it: they would take young children who couldn't remember anything and let them live with animals they liked, mastering the animals' habits until they considered themselves part of the animal.

They trained "pet-people" the same way they trained pets. For some reason, Teach felt like a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment.

"Pet-people." Teach had never imagined such a thing. No wonder the little girl's behavior had been so strange earlier, and that sense of unease he felt.

Teach had treated her as a person, while the little girl saw herself as a cat. She was trained to be a cat.

Teach felt immense rage. He never expected to encounter such inhumane acts. He could face slavery with equanimity, but "pet-people" were beyond mere evil.

This was the first time Teach felt such intense anger. He wanted to destroy this country. His Observation Haki expanded, covering almost the entire royal city. In the homes of many nobles, they kept numerous pets, and also "pet-people."

Before, he might have dismissed it as a peculiar fetish or role-playing. But with each discovery, Teach's rage burned hotter.

Teach never considered himself a good person. He was very selfish, and most of his actions were for his own benefit. However, this was something he could not tolerate, something that should not exist. Therefore, this country must be annihilated. Its royalty, its nobles, all of them must die. His Conqueror's Haki was barely contained, threatening to erupt.

The little girl looked dejected. This familiar yet strange place, it was her home, yet it wasn't her home.

Teach walked up to her and gently stroked her head. The little girl looked up in confusion. "From now on, you'll stay with me," Teach said gently, his expression soft. For the first time, a trace of pity appeared in his heart.

"Meow!" The little girl understood and nodded. She nuzzled her small head against Teach's leg.

"Do you have a name?" Teach asked, lowering his head. "Pito?" Hearing this, the little girl made a strange sound, as if she understood what Teach meant. She first shook her head, then looked at Teach with expectant eyes.

Teach understood. "You don't? Then I'll give you one." Naming someone was a bit troublesome. As he thought, no suitable name came to mind. Suddenly, he recalled the sound the little girl had made earlier. He ruffled her hair. "How about Pitou? Neferpitou."

"Pitou, Neferpitou?" Pitou repeated her name, and then her face lit up with a smile. She nuzzled his palm affectionately. It seemed she was very pleased.

Teach smiled. Pitou's pronunciation was a bit off. It seemed he would have to teach her to speak, as well as how to stand upright and be human again.

At this moment, Teach's mood was good, but it couldn't quell his rage. Teach sensed a large troop approaching. It seemed they had searched the entire royal city and guessed that Pitou might be here.

"Hide in here first. They're coming," Teach said softly. The little girl nodded. Her short, wavy white hair, she burrowed into Teach's coat again, settling securely on his body.

Teach knew she had eaten a Devil Fruit, and its abilities were likely related to cats, given how she was raised.

His rage erupted again. Seeing the guards approaching, he had no intention of escaping. He needed to vent, to vent fiercely. They had come at this moment, so they would make a final contribution to Teach.

He flickered and vanished from the spot. Outside, hundreds, nearly a thousand, guards had arrived. The hounds caught Pitou's scent, stopped, turned their heads, and barked twice at the troops behind them. Then they looked towards the base, indicating that what they were looking for was inside this abandoned facility.

"As expected, she ran here," the captain of the guards said, a slight smile on his lips. "I was a guard here once, and I know this place well. This is where she grew up."

"As expected of you, Captain. What do we do next? Go in directly?" a guard behind him asked, flattering him.

"First, surround the base to prevent her from escaping again. This is the Prince's mission, and it must be completed with utmost caution," the guard captain said.

Suddenly, the hounds in front took two steps back, as if in fear, sensing something terrifying.

"What's going on?" the guard asked, then his body froze. A voice suddenly echoed in his ear, "Is that so? You've angered me, so you'll all stay here!"

Teach's figure suddenly appeared. His hands turned into claws, and with one swipe, he pierced the chest of the guard captain. The captain's eyes widened, seemingly trying to see Teach's face, but he couldn't help but close his eyes. "Cap, Captain!" the guards behind him cried out in alarm, their hearts filled with fear of Teach. The person before them was a powerful being, not someone they could handle.

The strongest captain was dead, and it was as if their backbone had been broken. The formation that had been tightly knit instantly scattered like loose sand. They wanted to flee; in their eyes, their own lives were more important. As for the final responsibility, let the dead captain bear it.

One by one, they couldn't help but retreat, their footsteps growing faster, then they turned and ran. The sound of their chaotic footsteps was immediately drowned out by a whistling sound that blew the horn of their deaths.

Teach made his move. He decided not to let a single one of them go.

Teach's speed surpassed the limits of their eyesight. "Demon Claws: Bloody Slaughter." A faint, cold voice flashed, and in an instant, dozens of people fell. On their necks, identical, deep bloody claw marks remained.

Teach didn't stop. How could his rage be so easily quelled? Once he decided to act, their fate was sealed. He wouldn't even spare the dogs.

Teach's demon claws ripped out streaks of bloody light, which were sword-like slashes, pure sword light, carrying an unstoppable sharpness. In an instant, they pierced through the bodies of the guards and continued to slaughter the ones behind them. Their armor, their weapons, their flesh and blood – nothing could resist.

In the darkness of the night, Teach was like a god of death, his movements tracery. All that could be heard was the sound of rapid movement cutting through the air, filling them with dread. The sharp claws on his hands continuously reaped their lives.

In just two minutes, the ground was covered with corpses. Not a single person was alive. Teach's killing speed was too fast; every second, dozens of people fell. Their deaths were tragic, their faces etched with fear, panic, and pain. Some of the guards' bodies were directly split in half, some were cut at the waist, and some had their necks severed.

The hunting dogs had also become dead dogs.

Teach was a merciless executioner, showing no mercy. Such ruthless slaughter, however, allowed him to gain a deeper understanding of his claw techniques.

The air was filled with a thick, bloody stench. The blood on the ground flowed, converging into small streams. The bright moonlight shone down on this land, and the scarlet blood glistened under the moonlight, sending chills down one's spine. Teach's blood-stained claws dripped continuously, immersed in rage and slaughter, forgetting to control the blood falling from his hands.

This place was like hell!