The Pleasure of Torment

"Men! Enjoy yourselves to the fullest!" A burly pirate captain laughed maniacally. Upon hearing their captain's words, the lackeys immediately erupted in cheers.

Their captain stood before them bare-chested, his powerful body covered in countless scars. One look at that vicious face was enough to tell that he was no good man.

"Ha ha! Kill everyone on this island!" The captain's words made every resident on the island go pale. Some even had unidentified liquid running down their legs. "I wonder how much my bounty will rise this time? As a pirate, of course I have to commit every evil imaginable! The feeling of slaughtering the weak is simply wonderful!"

"Scarface" Bandru! Captain of the Scarface Pirates! His favorite pastime was torturing and killing people weaker than himself. He was an exceedingly brutal and cruel pirate! His current bounty had reached 290 million Beli!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the island.

"Rear Admiral, please give the order!" "That's right, in the name of justice! We absolutely cannot let these pirates keep acting so arrogantly!" "Rear Admiral!"...

On a Marine warship, a rear admiral clad in a Justice coat gritted his teeth as he stared at the familiar emblem before him:

Two bones crossed in an X, with a white skull at their intersection. The skull wore a wide grin, and above its mouth was a white mustache shaped like a crescent moon!

One of the Four Emperors, the Whitebeard Pirates!

"Quick, notify headquarters! This is a Whitebeard Pirates ship! We're no match for them!" Though the rear admiral desperately wanted to bring these pirates to justice, he knew that even if this was not the Whitebeard Pirates' main ship, he still could not defeat them with his strength! Perhaps only someone of vice admiral rank could capture these criminals.

"Wait! That person is... the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander! Fire Fist Ace! Why would someone like him appear here?" The rear admiral swallowed hard.

"What? Fire Fist Ace, whose bounty is as high as 550 million Beli, is on that ship?!" "Whitebeard's Second Division Commander, wielder of the Logia Flame-Flame Fruit!" "Does that mean this ship belongs to the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division?" The rear admiral's words filled many Marines aboard the ship with fear. Everyone knew that an extraordinary figure had come from the Whitebeard Pirates—Fire Fist Ace!

"Reporting, Rear Admiral, headquarters has ordered us not to provoke a conflict with the Whitebeard Pirates for now!" The communications Marine showed a trace of anger. Everyone aboard this ship had been trained by Admiral Akainu, and they all believed in Absolute Justice!

A troubled look appeared on the rear admiral's face. He then looked toward the Whitebeard Pirates' flag before finally gritting his teeth and saying, "Retreat! Do not make needless sacrifices!"

Elsewhere.

"Zehahahaha! The Scarface Pirates are on this island?" Teach's distinctive laughter rang out.

"Yes, Vice Commander Teach! The Scarface Pirates' captain is named Bandru, with a bounty as high as 290 million Beli! Their vice captain is named Sind, with a bounty of 140 million Beli! Fourteen days ago, they raided an island under the protection of our Whitebeard Pirates! So..."

"So we just tear them apart! Right, Commander Ace?" Teach looked at Ace beside him. Ace nodded. "That's right! Those bastards dared provoke the Whitebeard Pirates! We absolutely cannot forgive them! Second Division, charge with me! Teach, their vice captain is yours!"

"A bounty of 140 million?" Teach looked thoughtful. "Leave him to me!" With that, the group headed toward the Scarface Pirates' location.

"Please spare us! You can have all our treasure! Please, leave us a way to live!" An old man knelt before Bandru and pleaded without end.

"Shut up! Do I need you to tell me what I can and cannot do?" Bandru's great blade was stained with blood. Clearly, quite a few people had already died beneath it.

The old man looked at the hellish scene around him, and a mournful cry rose from his heart. "Why? We only wanted to survive! We never provoked anyone, so why are you taking our lives?!" The old man lost control of his emotions and viciously lunged at Bandru, who stood over three meters tall.

"Why? Hmph! There aren't so many whys in this world! The weak have no right to live!" Bandru pulled his great blade from the old man's body, then casually flicked the blood from it. "Only the strong can control their own fate!"

"So, you think you're strong?" A strange laugh sounded amid this living hell. Then, a group of weapon-wielding pirates appeared before Bandru.

"By your logic, doesn't someone as weak as you have no right to live either?" Teach laughed heartily.

"You're... the Whitebeard Pirates!" Bandru's pupils suddenly contracted.

"What? Did you forget so quickly about raiding an island under the Whitebeard Pirates' protection?" Flames burned around Ace's body, and his eyes were filled with killing intent as he looked at Bandru.

"Th-this is a misunderstanding! We're willing to compensate you!" Bandru had clearly recognized Ace, and cold sweat poured down his body. The rest of the Scarface Pirates hurried to gather around their captain as well. Every one of them was deathly pale, utterly lacking the viciousness they had shown moments ago.

"Compensation? Of course. How much can you offer?" Teach stepped forward and asked. Ace looked at Teach in confusion, but Teach gave him a look, telling him to remain calm.

"600 million Beli! I can offer 600 million Beli to compensate you for your losses!" Bandru gritted his teeth. These 600 million Beli were half the Scarface Pirates' savings.

"You think a mere 600 million Beli can dismiss the Whitebeard Pirates? It seems you aren't very sincere." Teach's words chilled Bandru's heart.

"Wait! We can offer 1 billion Beli! There really isn't any more!" Bandru's face turned ashen. They had accumulated those 1 billion Beli only after raiding countless islands since setting sail.

Upon hearing their captain's words, the other crew members' expressions turned equally grim. If they truly handed over all 1 billion Beli, life would become very difficult for them.

"1 billion Beli? It truly is tempting!" Teach stroked his black beard, then looked at Ace.

"If I had come alone, then 1 billion Beli would indeed have been enough!" Teach wore a smile, but in the next instant his gaze turned sharp. "But our commander is here too! I'm afraid 1 billion Beli won't even catch his eye!"

"Then what do you want? We really only have 1 billion Beli!" A trace of anger appeared on Bandru's face.

"Have you ever heard a saying?" Teach said calmly. "If you have nothing left, then pay with your life! Shave!"

The moment Teach finished speaking, Bandru felt a burst of excruciating pain in his chest.

"Gah!" A great gush of blood spewed from Bandru's mouth. That punch truly hurt.

"Damn it, fight them! Scarface Pirates, attack!" Bandru endured the agonizing pain, his eyes filled with killing intent as he stared at Teach.

"Second Division, charge with me!" Ace fought back a smile. He had never expected Teach to have such a wicked sense of humor.

"Zehahahaha! Black Vortex!" Teach extended his left hand, and a dark ripple appeared in his palm. In the very next moment, the Scarface Pirates' vice captain, with his 140 million Beli bounty, was dragged toward Teach. In his terrified eyes, a fist wreathed in black energy slowly swung toward him!

Bang! Blood splattered all over Teach!