"We have confirmed the identities of all 32 remaining members of the Black Cat Pirates!"
One Marine stepped forward with his report.
"Hmm! Good work! Have you confirmed whether anyone is missing?"
"Well..."
"What is it?"
"Since they were only remnants to begin with, we don’t have accurate information on their full original numbers. For now, though, the number of survivors matches the report from when Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates was captured."
"Then we can’t rule out the possibility that new recruits joined and the original members ran off!"
At Rengoku’s point, the reporting Marine broke out in a cold sweat.
Seeing that, Rengoku patted his shoulder and said,
"Do not worry! We will know the details once we investigate!"
"Yes, sir!"
After dealing with the Black Cat Pirates, another report came in during the process of dismantling their pirate ship.
"Vice Admiral! Near the area where the Black Cat Pirates were wiped out, we found a small rowboat bearing Buggy the Clown’s Jolly Roger!"
"Oh? Any unusual details?"
"Well... aside from about 5 million berries, nothing at all!"
5 million berries?
Once again, the theory was raised that the boys and girls had been Buggy’s crew and had simply stolen the money and fled midway through.
"Hmm! Even if it was a civilian’s property, if it was found aboard a pirate ship, it counts as stolen goods! We’ll confiscate the whole amount!"
"Yes, sir! Understood! How should we handle Buggy the Clown’s rowboat?"
"Take it apart. Store any usable lumber in the supply warehouse, and burn the rest."
"Yes, sir!"
"It is now 19:29, so let us complete our tasks by 21:00 and then move to Chiroro Island to rest."
"Understood!"
"Also, inform Lieutenant Tashigi that she is to remain in the village for now, and make sure we can depart on schedule at 10:00 tomorrow morning!"
"Yes, sir!"
*
Meanwhile, somewhere along the coast of Syrup Village.
"Puhah!"
The Black Cat Pirates’ strange captain, Jango, whose clothes were half-burned and in tatters, finally managed to steady himself and appear on the shore.
"Huff... still, I brought one new recruit aboard, so the numbers should match. They won’t be chasing me. I do have a wanted poster, though... I wonder if that new guy got hypnotized properly?
I never thought I’d get to use Captain Kuro’s experience like this... and even swap in a shadow warrior in my place... Excellent! Jango!"
Breathing hard, Jango slipped into a coastal cave.
This had originally been where the Black Cat Pirates hid their ship.
"I really messed up. In my excitement, I sent the ship out early and got caught by the Marines... what a blunder. And I don’t even have a Den Den Mushi... For now, I’ll have to go to Captain Kuro as soon as day breaks."
*
And so Kuro’s plan was, in effect, ruined.
But that news never reached Kuro himself, nor the Straw Hat crew who had already learned of his scheme.
"What do we do? Tomorrow, the Black Cat Pirates are going to attack this village..."
Usopp’s legs were shaking violently.
"I told you not to worry! We’ll protect you! Shishishi!"
"I shouldn’t have lived my whole life as a liar... at the important moment, nobody believes a word I say."
"That’s exactly why this time, you should turn the whole thing into a lie too. We just need to stop them at the shore."
Zoro spoke up.
At Luffy and Zoro’s words, Usopp barely managed to steady himself and said to them,
"F-For now, let’s all go to my house. We can think of a plan there!"
At the same time, in Kaya’s mansion.
"Honestly, that boy Usopp really does seem hopeless. Mr. Klahadore, to think he’d accuse you of being a pirate... Hahaha, his lies are getting more and more outrageous. Someone ought to stop him before he goes too far."
"Indeed, indeed. Fufufu... hmm?"
The butler Klahadore smiled as he looked out the window at the crescent moon.
Then something new caught his eye.
"Merry, what is this?"
Holding a small gift box in his hand, Klahadore heard Merry’s explanation.
"That’s a present Miss Kaya bought specially for tomorrow, since it will be the third anniversary of you working here. She said your glasses always seem to slip down, so she wanted to get you a new pair. Ah! What a kind young lady!"
At Merry’s explanation, Klahadore tore off the wrapping and took out the violet glasses inside.
"A third-anniversary gift, you say... indeed, tomorrow is a special day, fufufu..."
He removed the glasses he had been wearing and replaced them with the ones Kaya had bought.
"Ah... I see. How is it now? Merry, do they suit me?"
"Oh~ Miss Kaya’s eye for these things is as sharp as ever! They suit you very well, Mr. Klahadore!"
"Fufufu... Merry, come here and look out this window. It’s a crescent moon."
At Klahadore’s call, Merry went to the window and looked up at the sky.
"Isn’t it beautiful?"
"Yes, it really is a beautiful crescent moon."
"Fufu. On nights when that moon rises... how should I put it? My blood boils? I can’t seem to control my emotions..."
"Pardon?"
Crack!
From behind Merry, Klahadore casually snapped his neck and knocked him unconscious.
Thud.
"Hah... it seems I’ve grown soft as well. Merry, I’d love to kill you if I could, but if I do that, I’ll probably ruin tomorrow’s operation for no reason. Still, you’ll have to stay quiet until tomorrow morning."
When he finished speaking, Klahadore dragged the unconscious Merry into his room.
The next morning, at the scheduled time of the Black Cat Pirates’ assault.
"What the hell? Why isn’t anyone coming?"
"Exactly. We even smeared ourselves with oil and prepared our secret weapons for this..."
"Hey, Usopp, is this the right place?"
"Of course it is! Luffy and I saw those guys meeting here yesterday with our own eyes!"
At Zoro’s question, Usopp answered with confidence.
"W-Wait a minute!"
Nami noticed something odd.
"Just because they met here yesterday doesn’t mean they have to come here, does it? Isn’t there another shore leading into Syrup Village?"
"Huh? Is there? Usopp, is there another one?"
"Luffy, don’t ask Usopp that kind of thing—think about it properly! This isn’t even where we docked the ship!"
"So this isn’t the only route?"
Zoro said with a frown.
"Usopp, think carefully. Are you sure this is the only place?"
At Nami’s question, Usopp finally remembered one more spot.
"Now that you mention it, there’s another shoreline three minutes north from here that’s exactly the same! Damn it! Then maybe they’re coming from there?"
"Hmm... what should we do, Captain?"
Zoro asked Luffy.
"Maybe they were originally coming here but overslept, or maybe they’re coming from the north instead. But if we try to block both, we’re too outnumbered."
Luffy, now burdened with the captain’s responsibility, did not really think... much at all.
"Then let’s go north! If it’s only three minutes away, we should be able to cover anywhere they come from!"
"Got it, Captain."
"All right! Let’s go!"
At the same time, in Kaya’s mansion, Kuro was cursing the idiots who still hadn’t shown up even though the appointed time had already come.
"Useless fools. Can’t they even keep one simple appointment? It’s already an hour past the scheduled time!"
His growing impatience made him more and more sharp and violent.
"Tch... no choice. I’ll have to go check it myself."
Kuro rose to his feet and immediately headed for the planned attack site.
As he crossed through Syrup Village, the annoying greetings of the villagers made him want to tear them apart on the spot, but for the sake of his plan he forced down the urge and returned their greetings.
Then, as Kuro reached the outskirts of the village, several irritating figures came into view.
Usopp with the long nose... and the straw hat...
The troublemakers from yesterday.
"Hm?"
And then another unexpected figure was approaching from the other side.
"Jango...? Why are you coming alone? And what the hell happened to you?"
*
Meanwhile, Jango also saw Usopp and Luffy’s group, and his heart sank.
Didn’t that straw hat fall off a cliff yesterday?
Why is that lying long-nosed bastard here?
And what the hell is that lunatic carrying three swords around for?
Huh? A cute girl.
Though mixed with some rather strange emotions, it was still the worst possible moment for Jango.
"Ah! That weird person from yesterday!"
"The hypnotist!"
"What is it? Why are you alone?"
"Why are your clothes like that? Did you get beaten up somewhere?"
Luffy’s group tossed out one remark after another as they looked at Jango.
"W-Well, this is..."
Jango seemed about to explain something, but soon shut his mouth.
"So that’s how it is... Jango... what exactly is going on here?"
Behind Luffy’s group, an extremely angry Kuro was approaching.
"Captain Kuro! T-There’s been a disaster!"
"A disaster?"
"The pirate crew has been wiped out!"
At Jango’s shocking declaration, not only Kuro but Usopp and Luffy’s group also looked stunned.
"What? How could they be wiped out? Say something that makes sense!"
"I-It’s true! The Marines came straight from Marine Headquarters! The ship was burned to ashes, and every last crew member was arrested!"
At the shocking news, Kuro, already prone to snapping, exploded on the spot.
"How is that even possible! You worthless piece of trash!"
[Thrust Kill].
A technique that moved at blinding speed and indiscriminately sliced apart everything nearby.
If you were caught unaware, no one could defend against it.
Just like Luffy’s group and Usopp right now.
Even Luffy and Zoro, who were not the sort to play around in East Blue, were slashed by Kuro’s [Thrust Kill] at point-blank range and sent flying.
Usopp was completely covered in blood, and Nami’s wooden weapon was shattered as she tumbled down the slope toward the shore.
Kuro immediately grabbed Jango by the collar and strode straight into Syrup Village.
"W-Wait! Captain Kuro! What are you doing now?"
"Shut up! You incompetent fool! Since the plan is ruined anyway, we have no choice but to massacre the villagers of Syrup Village and seize all of Kaya’s wealth!"
"That’s too dangerous! It would be better to wait for another chance!"
"Another chance? You want me to wait another three years? If I’m going to spend six years doing this, I might as well just be a pirate from the start!"
From the beginning, he had no retreat.
He had never expected that getting too excited yesterday and attacking Merry would come back to bite him like this.
At least one thing was fortunate: the village’s security forces were pitifully few, and the villagers themselves approached him without any guard at all.
"Mr. Klahadore? This person is... eek!"
Several villagers approached Kuro, who was dragging along the battered Jango, but all of them were cut by Kuro’s blade.
"H-Hey! Are you crazy? Are you really going to attack the villagers too? The Marine warship that came yesterday might still be nearby!"
"Not my problem... no, Jango, hypnotize me."
"What?"
"Put me under an enhancement hypnosis!"
"Captain Kuro... you..."
"Hurry up!"
Unable to defy Captain Kuro’s authority, Jango had no choice but to pull out his chakram and begin the hypnosis while showing it to Kuro.
"Now, look at this ring."
"One, two, Jango will make you stronger!"
"Make it stronger!"
"Uh... your muscles grow stronger, you feel no pain, and every wound heals in the blink of an eye!
As time passes, you grow stronger and stronger, and all the stress you’ve ever endured becomes your power!
Stronger... stronger..."
"One!"
"Two!"
"Jango!"
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