Kouta did not kill anyone in front of the boss and the young waiter.
After Tesoro's downfall, these guards who followed him and oppressed countless people in the city would naturally be torn apart by countless resentments.
Dismissing the guards, Kouta turned and entered the private room, continuing his meal as if nothing had happened.
His companions, who had already come to understand Kouta well, knew that a great battle might be imminent, so they noticeably sped up their eating.
After the meal, the group left the restaurant amidst the boss's timid yet grateful gaze.
Looking back, at the small, fleeting figure standing inside the restaurant's entrance, clutching the food tray tightly, a gentle smile appeared on Kouta's usually calm face.
He nodded at the young waiter, then turned, his smile vanishing.
Standing on the neon-lit street, he looked up at the top of the city's tallest and most luxurious building, a flash of killing intent briefly flickering in his azure eyes.
Actually, when he first came here, he hadn't intended to kill Tesoro.
After all, most people who came here were wealthy, and these gamblers were not worth sympathizing with.
But in this restaurant, he had seen another side of this city.
And beneath this city lay an even more brutal reality.
It made sense; this city had many people, and not all of them could be rich. A large portion of them were actually sailors.
These sailors, following their captains, found themselves trapped in an endless swamp, unable to escape.
Not only could they not leave, but neither could their descendants.
Generations of them were forced to work here, repaying Tesoro's gambling debts.
It was like being a slave.
And Kouta detested slaves the most.
Human joys and sorrows could not be shared, just as Kouta could not understand Tesoro's joys and sorrows.
If Kouta remembered correctly, Tesoro had once been a man of dreams, upright and kind.
But...
In this world, not everyone was like Robin, who could hold onto their principles and dreams despite a harsh life and carry their burdens forward.
While Kouta sympathized with Tesoro's past, he could not condone his present.
Whether evil or good, he had his own scales.
Clearly, in his eyes, the current Tesoro was evil.
And worse, he was the very kind of evil that Tesoro himself had once despised.
Tesoro's life had ultimately proven the saying, "He who slays dragons eventually becomes one."
"Let's go!"
Lowering his head, Kouta took the lead, heading towards the casino.
Having decided to kill Tesoro, there was no longer any room for hesitation.
Ahua and the other two exchanged glances, a spark of excitement in their eyes. They clenched their fists and quickly followed Kouta.
"Let's go too!"
Kuina's left hand held the scabbard of Wado Ichimonji, a coldness flickering in her calm eyes.
"I hate this place. I hated it from the moment I arrived."
With that, she quickly stepped forward, appearing instantly to Kouta's right.
"Yohoho! Ready for another big ruckus?"
Brook stood ramrod straight, twirled his cane, and then laughed as he followed.
Robin and Indigo then exchanged a look, a smile appearing in their eyes, and they shook their heads, moving forward slowly.
Whatever the captain decided, they would follow.
"I wonder if the man who controls twenty percent of the world's Berries has any Poneglyphs?"
Looking up at the casino's summit, anticipation flickered in Robin's eyes.
She didn't doubt whether Kouta could kill Tesoro. If the world's strongest couldn't kill Tesoro, then no one in this world could.
So, at this moment, she was already considering whether Tesoro's treasure vault held anything of interest to her.
She wasn't interested in Berries, but history was different.
...
At the entrance to the gambling hall.
A large circle of guards surrounded the area.
Ever since the guard who returned to the Marineford from the restaurant brought back news of Kouta, the security here had been significantly increased.
Seeing Kouta and his group arrive.
The guards were all on high alert.
"Who's in charge?"
Ignoring the gamblers whispering around them, Kouta calmly asked the guards.
"I, I am..."
Feeling the gazes of the guards around him, a guard in a suit, noticeably bulkier than the others, had no choice but to step forward.
"Welcome, Silver Hair-sama, to Gran Tesoro."
As the guard stepped forward, he immediately bowed to Kouta and his group.
Honestly, both in the past and present, the most powerful person he had ever met was his master, Tesoro.
Of course, in terms of status, above that was the Celestial Dragons.
However, although Celestial Dragons held high status, they rarely appeared before guards like them, especially in the lower gambling halls.
Celestial Dragons had dedicated elevators, private gambling rooms, and exclusive entertainment areas.
He, as one of the head guards, had only seen a Celestial Dragon from afar in all these years.
And all of them, his master included, added together, did not possess the same inherent nobility as the person before him.
It wasn't the nobility of status, but the nobility of power.
He was a pirate, and a pirate from the New World at that. Among pirates, he was a seasoned veteran, and no one understood the terror of the world's strongest better than him.
Even if he couldn't grasp the actual meaning of that title, anyone with a sliver of intelligence would understand how formidable someone who could kill Celestial Dragons and two Yonko truly was.
Looking up at the respectfully standing strongman before him, Kouta spoke without preamble.
"Take me to Tesoro."
"Uh!"
The captain of the guard stiffened.
Although Tesoro usually appeared approachable, only they knew what was hidden beneath his warm, singer-like demeanor.
Therefore, hearing Kouta's request, the guard captain clearly hesitated for a moment.
But it was only a brief pause before he quickly nodded.
"Yes, sir."
He had no choice but to agree. Kouta's azure eyes, though devoid of emotion, exuded a subtle pressure that constantly bore down on his spirit.
The feeling of facing the unknown, with a constant sense of mortal peril, left him with no inclination to resist.
"This should be handled by Mr. Tanaka and Lord Tesoro."
The head guard turned and dismissed his men before leading Kouta and his group into the gambling hall.
"Who is that?"
In a corner of the gambling hall.
Standing beside the somewhat aged-looking Kake was a tall, black-haired beauty in a pink tight-fitting top and a Marine coat.
The female Marine wore shorts, revealing her long legs, with a black spider tattoo on the left thigh. She wore black high heels and a large katana hung at her waist. At this moment, she was gazing with a slight daze at Kouta and his group, who were walking towards the elevator inside the hall with the guard captain from the side.
Although she had already learned of the silver-haired group's arrival from Kake.
Seeing them in person still caused Gion to momentarily lose herself.
"Hmm!"
At that moment, Kouta's emotionless azure eyes, as if sensing their gaze, also turned towards them.
"Marines."
Kouta's lips parted slightly, his voice a thin line that, amidst the noisy gambling hall, clearly reached Gion and Kake, who were instantly on guard.
"Stay put and don't go looking for trouble."
After saying this, Kouta withdrew his gaze and stepped into the elevator.