One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 126 The Dragon-Slaying Hero May Not Become the Dragon Himself

Yu didn't expect that she would slap him in a fit of anger, nor did she expect that this slap would become the last straw that broke him.

The change in emotion happened in an instant. After being slapped, Tesoro's face turned to one side and he didn't turn back for a long time. Instead, he started sobbing, his face covered with a mixture of tears and blood.

Bepo walked over to Yu, looking bewildered. "What should we do now?"

“I don’t know…” Yu had no idea what was going on. Tesoro suddenly broke down and started crying. Given his current appearance, anyone would think that Yu was the one abusing him.

Hateful people must have pity.

Tezzolo was no exception.

“I used to love singing. But my mother didn’t like it. Whenever she heard me sing, she would slap me repeatedly until I shut up.”

“After escaping my mother, I used money to befriend a group of bad friends. When I lost all my money and was being chased and beaten by human traffickers, they all abandoned me and ran away.”

"At that time, I had lost all hope in this world. Then I met a girl named Stella, who was a slave."

A slave without freedom can only be locked in a cell every day, watching people come and go on the street.

Tesoro was badly beaten by human traffickers. After escaping their clutches, he met Stella, the only person in the world who would ask him if he was in pain.

Tesoro was only sixteen years old at that time, and after sixteen years of darkness, he was greeted by his first ray of light.

Stella was the first person to compliment my voice.

They got along very well.

Tesoro also decided to set Stella free. From that day on, he secretly vowed never to do anything bad again. He would work day and night to earn enough money to rescue Stella.

Once you have a goal, everything in the world seems to become hopeful and something to look forward to.

Although making money was difficult, Tesoro was not discouraged. He worked during the day and had long talks with Stella through the iron cage at night.

Three years passed in this way before he knew it. Nineteen-year-old Tesoro had enough money; just a little more and he could rescue Stella.

In the future, Tezzolo will no longer be alone; he will have companions and people who will listen to his songs.

He will be with Stella.

"Later, the Celestial Dragons appeared and bought Stella." Yu listened to Tesoro's story without any emotional fluctuation.

However, she had met someone with the same name as Stella, a beautiful and gentle blonde woman.

Tesoro looked up in surprise and asked Yu, "How did you know? Could it be that you...!"

"Just guessing. Good times are always broken by unexpected events." Tesoro's words confirmed Yu's suspicion that the Stella Tesoro knew was the same Stella she knew.

Tesoro's heart sank again. He thought that Yu's testimony of being present might mean she had saved Stella. But reality is always cruel.

"You know what? I was so angry that I actually shot at a Celestial Dragon. But unfortunately, I couldn't save Stella. Instead, I was taken away and enslaved."

"Stella said that she felt happy from the bottom of her heart because of my existence. It is this sentence that has supported me to escape Mary Geoise and to this day."

Yu couldn't listen anymore and coldly interrupted him, "What do you want by telling me all this? To make me let you go?"

"No, I just..." Tesoro opened his mouth but didn't say anything, but Yu's gaze made him finally speak, "I also wanted to be saved, so why did you kill me?" When we first met, you even praised my voice and saved me. Why couldn't you understand me? Why did you kill me?

"Shouldn't you reflect on yourself?" Yu didn't feel sympathy for Tesoro's words, but instead asked him in return.

"The dragon-slaying hero eventually becomes the dragon himself. You should have known when you put on the dragon mask that there would be another dragon-slaying hero. Your fate was already sealed."

"But not all dragon-slaying heroes become dragons themselves; there will always be exceptions. You also have the right to choose not to become a dragon."

"When you received the fruits of your labor and my help, when you achieved small successes, you had a choice, but you chose to make others experience your pain."

"If Stella knew that you would become the creator of slaves, would she still feel happy from the bottom of her heart?"

There was no sympathy, no disgust, nothing in Yu's eyes. Tesoro was not worthy of any emotional expression from her.

Having said all that, Yu left with Bepo.

Before leaving, she released Tezzolo.

Her intuition told her that she could trust Tesoro one more time. If things went wrong this time, she would never let him go again.

When Bepo brought Yu back to the Polar Diving Ship, Luo and the others had already rescued the slave children, stolen the gambling den's treasure, and were waiting on the ship.

Luo was not at all surprised by Yu's complete victory; his strength was almost beyond doubt.

"What happened to those children?" You didn't see the children, but she trusted Luo's abilities.

"He was killed," Luo replied seriously.

With a dull thud, Luo felt a terrible headache even through the woolen hat, and looked utterly hopeless. "Uncle, can you please not be so violent!"

You raised her fist and smiled, "Luo Bao, can't you speak properly? Is dark humor really that funny?"

"..." I was wrong, but I couldn't help it. "There aren't many of them, so they're temporarily housed on the ship. We'll find a welfare home tomorrow."

Yu could accept this arrangement. However, she had other plans now, "Let's wait a few days and see."

Luo didn't understand, but since it was You who said it, he would listen.

Three days later, the director of the welfare home approached them and said that they could adopt the children and that they would take good care of them and never let them suffer any injustice.

Yu and Law asked the children for their opinions. Except for one older child who wanted to stay with the Heart Pirates, the others went with the headmaster.

The one who stayed behind was named Bai Yan. He wasn't abandoned by his parents. He was originally a helmsman, but after an accident, he ended up working as a waiter at the gambling den.

That day, I was slacking off and sleeping, and by some twist of fate, I ended up on the Polar Submarine. Then I decided to stay and become the helmsman of the pirate crew, returning to my old ways.

The pirate crew happened to be short of a helmsman, so Luo Xinran accepted the job. Now, Shakky was free.

With the children's destination sorted out, You felt the weather was exceptionally nice today. She stretched on the deck, basking in the sunshine and enjoying the sea breeze.

“Nesan, as far as I know, that director doesn’t have the guts to take these children away.” After all, they are slave children of the gambling den. Everyone on this island knows Tesoro and doesn’t dare to go against him.

Yet, the director dared to proactively approach them and take in these children. His claim of a sudden change of heart is utterly unconvincing.

"Then what do you think is going on, Luo Bao?" You asked calmly, not as if he were thinking about the question.

Luo glanced at Yu and continued, "He changed his mind so quickly, doesn't Nai-san have any doubts?"

He refers to Tezzolo.

You shook her head. "Saving one more person isn't a bad thing."

"Tch, Nai-san is only after his money..." Luo hit Nai-san right where it hurts. He knew Nai-san's personality well. "If we cooperate with him, we probably won't be short of money in the future."

"Saying it so bluntly makes me seem shallow," You stuck out her tongue, not denying it.

Tesoro's ability to develop to this level in just two years demonstrates his exceptional talent, which is something Yu clearly recognized. Money talks, even for Celestial Dragons; in many ways, money truly is very useful.

Of course, this is only one of the reasons; the main reason is Stella.

Before the Heart Pirates set sail, Tesoro came to see Yu. He wanted to go with Yu, but was refused.

However, Yu accepted his Vivre Card.