“DIE!!” Higuma smashed the smoke bomb directly onto the floor.
BOOM!!
Thick purple smoke exploded instantly throughout the inn.
Visibility vanished completely.
The smoke carried a nauseating chemical smell that burned the eyes and throat.
“Cough!
Cough!” Monkey D.
Luffy immediately started choking while tears streamed down his face.
Nearby, Portgas D.
Ace cursed loudly while covering his mouth.
“Damn it!” “He’s escaping!” Sabo clutched his injured stomach while forcing himself upright unsteadily.
His face filled with frustration.
Smoke bombs.
Classic outlaw escape tools.
Inside dense smoke like this, tracking someone normally became extremely difficult.
For a brief moment— Everyone assumed Higuma successfully fled.
Then— THUMP!!
A heavy impact echoed from within the smoke.
The sound resembled flesh colliding violently against flesh.
Immediately afterward— A horrifying scream tore through the inn.
Far worse than Higuma’s earlier cries from the burned hand.
This scream sounded raw.
Animalistic.
Like a pig being butchered alive.
Then Kahn’s calm voice echoed faintly through the smoke.
“Where exactly do you think you’re running?” “With your heartbeat pounding that loudly…” “…did you really think smoke could hide you from me?” A powerful gust suddenly swept through the room.
Whoosh!!
The purple smoke dispersed rapidly.
And finally— Everyone saw the scene clearly.
Kahn stood motionless at the center of the ruined inn.
One hand wrapped tightly around Higuma’s throat.
The massive bandit leader dangled helplessly in midair like a broken ragdoll.
His legs kicked wildly.
His face had already turned purple from oxygen deprivation.
More horrifying still— His left leg bent at a grotesque angle completely opposite normal anatomy.
Broken.
Completely shattered.
The earlier thump everyone heard?
That was Kahn casually kicking through the bone.
“L-Let…” “…let me go…” Higuma barely forced the words out.
His eyes bulged desperately.
His tongue nearly hung from his mouth.
The arrogant Mountain Bandit King from earlier no longer existed.
Only terror remained.
Kahn quietly looked at him.
No warmth existed within those black eyes.
“God may forgive ignorant believers.” His tone sounded calm.
Almost gentle.
Like stating an undeniable truth.
“But that doesn’t mean…” “…you can provoke me endlessly.” Then Kahn’s gaze sharpened slightly.
“Especially when you touched someone you shouldn’t have.” His fingers tightened gradually.
Crack… crack… The sound of strained cervical vertebrae echoed clearly.
Higuma desperately clawed at Kahn’s wrist using his uninjured hand.
Trying to pry free.
Trying to survive.
But despair consumed him quickly.
Because that seemingly fair young arm felt harder than iron itself.
Completely immovable.
“This kick…” Kahn raised his free fist slowly.
“…is for Luffy.” Then he punched forward casually.
BOOM!!
The impact landed directly against Higuma’s stomach.
His entire body convulsed violently.
“PFFFT—!!” Blood exploded from Higuma’s mouth.
Mixed within it— Small fragments of internal organs.
The punch had directly ruptured his spleen.
Even if emergency doctors appeared immediately, survival would remain unlikely.
Kahn released his grip afterward.
Thud.
Higuma collapsed onto the floor like discarded garbage.
Barely breathing.
The entire inn fell silent.
Ace stared blankly toward the scene.
This was the first time he truly witnessed Kahn’s brutality unleashed without restraint.
During training sessions, Kahn occasionally beat them badly.
But he always controlled himself.
Always stopped before permanent damage.
This— Was different.
Pure violence.
Cold.
Efficient.
Suffocating.
Kahn calmly removed a handkerchief from his pocket before wiping his hands.
Despite the fact no blood stained them.
“What?” “You’re shocked?” He looked calmly toward the three frozen children.
Then pointed toward Higuma’s nearly destroyed body.
“This…” “…is the sea.” “The world you idiots keep dreaming about.” Kahn’s voice remained emotionless.
“No strength?” “Then this happens.” “You get trampled.” “Humiliated.” “Or beaten until you resemble a dying dog.” Then he looked directly at Ace.
“Weakness…” “…is the original sin.” Those words struck harder than any punch.
Ace lowered his head silently.
His fists trembled.
Not from fear.
From frustration toward his own helplessness.
Meanwhile, Luffy quietly shrank backward slightly.
He looked toward the half-dead Higuma.
Then toward Kahn’s indifferent face.
Compared to the constantly smiling Shanks— This older brother of his truly felt terrifying sometimes.
Yet strangely— Standing behind Kahn also created overwhelming safety.
As though even if the sky itself collapsed— Kahn would still crush it apart first.
Then suddenly— Footsteps echoed from the doorway.
Light.
Relaxed.
Accompanied by the lazy sound of sandals against wood.
“Yo.” “Looks like I’m late.” Everyone turned instinctively.
Shanks leaned casually against the shattered doorway while holding his iconic straw hat in one hand.
Rainwater still dripped lightly from his cloak.
His gaze swept across the ruined inn.
The unconscious bandits.
The destroyed walls.
The nearly dead Higuma.
Finally— His eyes settled on Kahn.
A brief flicker of surprise crossed his face.
Shanks originally intended intervening personally.
After all, Higuma’s killing intent earlier was genuine.
Yet before the Red-Haired Pirate captain even reached the inn— The fight had already ended completely.
And not merely ended.
It became a one-sided execution.
Shanks scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“Well…” “This got awkward.” “I was planning to play hero and save the kid.” Then he grinned helplessly.
“But you stole all the spotlight.” Kahn tossed the used handkerchief casually.
It landed directly across Higuma’s twisted face like a funeral cloth.
“This kind of garbage only bullies children.” “Not worth dirtying your hands.” Then Kahn looked toward Shanks directly.
Their gazes met silently.
One calm like deep still water.
The other vast like the open sea itself.
Shanks suddenly laughed softly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The red-haired pirate captain stepped fully inside without caring about the ruined floor or unconscious bodies.
Then he crouched beside Luffy.
“You alright?” Shanks gently rubbed Luffy’s messy hair.
That familiar touch instantly shattered the emotional wall Luffy held together.
“WAAAAAHHHH!!” Luffy burst into loud crying immediately.
“SHANKS!!” “I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE!!” Tears and snot smeared directly onto Shanks’s pants.
Shanks merely smiled helplessly while allowing the little rubber boy to cling onto him.
“Alright, alright.” “A real man shouldn’t cry so easily.” Then he glanced upward toward Kahn.
“Even if I didn’t save you this time…” “…you still learned something important today.” Kahn shrugged slightly.
He personally disliked sentimental speeches.
Instead, he walked toward Ace and Sabo.
Both boys lowered their heads in silence.
Defeated.
Ashamed.
Embarrassed.
“Can you still walk?” Ace immediately gritted his teeth stubbornly.
“Yes.” Despite the pain tearing through his body, he refused showing weakness before Kahn.
Especially not in front of pirates.
Sabo also forced himself upright against the wall.
His top hat tilted crookedly from the earlier beating.
“We’re skipping dinner tonight.” Kahn glanced around the destroyed inn calmly.
“Come on.” “Back to Mount Colubo.” “Extra training.” The moment those words appeared— Ace and Sabo visibly paled.
Their fear of Kahn’s training somehow exceeded their fear of death itself.
Meanwhile, Kahn ignored the rest of the room entirely.
Including Higuma.
That trash would not survive long anyway.
Kahn turned and walked outside first.
Seeing this— Luffy immediately released Shanks’s leg before chasing after him desperately.
“WAIT FOR ME!!” “I WANT EXTRA TRAINING TOO!” “I WANNA BECOME AS STRONG AS KAHN!” The four children gradually disappeared into the darkness outside.
Inside the ruined inn, silence returned briefly.
Then— Benn Beckman appeared beside Shanks soundlessly.
A cigarette burned quietly between his lips.
“That kid…” Beckman exhaled smoke slowly.
His expression looked more serious than ever before.
“The control.” “The mentality.” “And that arrogance…” “…it doesn’t belong in this world.” During the fight, Beckman observed everything clearly from outside.
That wasn’t combat.
It was execution.
Precise.
Ruthless.
Efficient.
Most disturbing of all— Kahn never showed excitement or bloodlust while doing it.
Only indifference.
Shanks slowly placed the straw hat back onto his head.
The shadow partially concealed his eyes.
“…Yeah.” “That’s a serious problem.” Then he remembered something.
The handkerchief Kahn casually tossed onto Higuma’s face afterward.
A small gesture.
Almost meaningless.
Yet strangely human.
Shanks smiled faintly.
“But as long as he doesn’t become our enemy…” “…it’s manageable.”