One Piece: Killing Devour

"Lance!!!"

The tall, skinny man waved his hand while shouting loudly.

Everyone nearby turned with confused expressions.

Lance?

Who's that?

But the moment Lance heard someone calling his name, his body froze slightly. He turned his head and looked directly at the man.

"A stranger?"

Lance frowned.

He had no idea why someone would know his name.

After all, no one else even knew that name… Even Kyros and Rebecca always called him "Benefactor," completely unaware of his real name.

The Donquixote family and the people of Dressrosa all referred to him as the "man-eating monster" or the "devil." They knew his face but not his name.

In other words, no one in this world should know the name Lance—except himself.

Yet this man had shouted it out with certainty.

"Bring him here, Kuro."

Lance gave the order.

The tall man suddenly felt himself restrained by an invisible force, his entire body lifted off the ground and rapidly pulled through the air toward Lance.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

Lance stared into the man's eyes and asked coldly.

"Lance, it's me! It's Daniu! Don't you recognize me?!"

The skinny man quickly replied.

"Daniu?"

Lance had no memory of this man whatsoever. And the name "Daniu" certainly didn't match the man's current appearance.

"Lance, we grew up together in Angel Town! We were childhood friends! Best buds!"

"How could you not recognize me now?"

Daniu's face was full of desperation when Lance just looked at him like a total stranger.

"Then tell me something—why would I be here in Dressrosa with you?"

Lance asked.

At that question, Daniu's expression crumbled. Hatred surged in his eyes.

"It was all because of Kaidō of the Beasts!"

Daniu clenched his teeth.

"One of the Four Emperors? Kaidō?"

"What business would a tiny, nameless village have with someone like that?"

Lance of course knew who Kaidō was.

The suicidal monster that just wouldn't die. Known as the "Strongest Creature in the World." He constantly launched solo attacks on Navy headquarters, intercepted military fleets, and sometimes, just for fun, challenged the other three Emperors.

Though he lost more often than he won, Kaidō never gave up—relentlessly traveling the world in his never-ending quest for death, provoking the strongest at every opportunity.

And now, he aimed to ignite the grandest war the world had ever seen. The ultimate showdown between the strong.

But such a man… connected to a nobody from some backwater village?

"Have you forgotten?"

"It was Jack the Drought, one of Kaidō's top men. He said the Beasts Pirates were low on funds and demanded we hand over 500 million Berries. Gave us three days. Or else… he'd destroy Angel Town."

"We scraped together every last coin. Every household gave up all they had. The mayor even mortgaged the land and his own home. Somehow, we managed to raise the 500 million."

"But that bastard Jack… destroyed Angel Town anyway."

"I still remember how furious you were. You shouted at him, asked why he'd destroy the town after taking the money. And Jack…"

Daniu's voice trembled.

"What did he say?"

A glint of cold fury appeared in Lance's eyes.

"He said something I'll never forget… I hear it in my nightmares almost every night."

"'Destroy you? What does that have to do with me?'"

"That's what he said!"

"He's a monster! A true devil! Born to destroy! He never intended to spare us. The 500 million was a lie! He leveled the town, killed the mayor, even butchered the four-year-old kid next door!"

Daniu broke down into tears as he spoke. Even Kyros, listening nearby, was moved.

A simple town… completely wiped out by evil.

They had done everything possible, given everything they had… and were still utterly crushed by fate.

That sense of powerlessness was all too familiar to Kyros, who remembered when Doflamingo seized control of Dressrosa. He could imagine Daniu's despair.

"'Destroy you? What does that have to do with me?'"

"What a fine phrase."

Lance's eyes turned colder.

Yes—destroy you. And what of it?

If I'm strong, if my fists are bigger, then I can kill you when I want, destroy your home when I please… What does that have to do with you?

The weak… have no right to demand anything from the strong.

Before the strong, the weak can only accept their fate. They have no right to question. No right to defy.

If they do…

They only invite a more merciless end.

"How did we survive the Beasts Pirates' attack?"

Lance was nearly convinced now that he truly did come from Angel Town.

"It was Uncle Longte! He sacrificed himself to hold them off. Otherwise, we wouldn't have escaped. We'd never have made it to Dressrosa alive!"

"After we arrived, you were in a daze. One day, you bumped into Dressrosa's king—Doflamingo—on the street and got thrown into prison. We searched the entire city for you, but no one could find you… Everyone assumed you were dead. Even I thought so."

"But then, I saw a wanted poster with the man-eating monster… and it was you."

"Still, no one believed me. They said it was just someone who looked like you. That there was no way you could be that monster."

"But I was right… The one who turned Dressrosa upside down, who wiped out the entire Donquixote Family… was really you!"

"Lance, I'm so happy to see you again!"

Daniu's voice trembled with emotion.

"So… this is my past."

Lance nodded slowly.

"Kaidō of the Beasts… Jack the Drought…"

"In this endless life of mine… things are finally getting interesting."

(End of Chapter)

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