Kuro's Defeat (1)

"I can't tell, but beating him shouldn't be difficult," Fanxin Xin said, shaking his head.

"Yes, that's true. This guy's speed is a bit slower than those special agents, so taking him out would be quite easy," Ren Fang said, undeniably.

She had fought against the agents before, so she naturally knew how strong the agents were, and how strong this Kuro was. Only through comparison could one determine the difference in strength. Compared to the agents, Kuro naturally a step weaker.

"Alright, let's just watch! Let's see if Kuro or Straw Hat Luffy wins this battle," Fanxin said with a smile.

Ren Fang nodded and said no more. Zoro and Nami sat to the side without interrupting.

Ahead, Kuro and Luffy were locked in a fierce battle. However, Luffy seemed a bit slow and couldn't keep up with Kuro, who slashed Kuro several times.

While the Gum-Gum Fruit grants immunity to physical blows, it does not protect against slashes. Consequently, Luffy bears numerous gruesome sword wounds, from which blood continuously oozes.

However, Luffy didn't shout out. He glanced at his wounds, grinned, and said, "Pretty fast, huh? But with that, you still can't kill me."

"Is that so? In that case, I'll let you taste my power. Don't despair then." Kuro licked his lips and said. A bloodthirsty glint flashed in his eyes; clearly, he had a peculiar fondness for killing.

Straw Hat Luffy also saw the bloodthirsty glint in Kuro's eyes, but he wasn't afraid, because he was determined to defeat Kuro. Therefore, no matter what method Kuro used, he wouldn't back down.

Kuro glanced at Luffy, then stomped his feet on the ground several times, and his figure disappeared again.

This is Kuro's movement technique, called the Silent Step. He learned it from cats, mainly using cat-like steps to move at high speed, making it impossible for opponents to catch his figure, and then he takes the opportunity to assassinate them.

Kuro's Black Cat Pirates were able to achieve such a formidable reputation, largely due to his unique footwork.

Kuro disappeared. Luffy didn't panic; he stood still and waited patiently.

Kuro disappeared for a moment and then reappeared. This time he appeared behind Luffy, and without the slightest hesitation, he swung his right hand, ready to slash at Luffy's back.

Luffy didn't dodge. However, he also didn't just stand there and take the hits.

He kicked backward with his right foot. Although there was some distance between him and Captain Kuro, he was Devil Fruit User, which allowed him to stretch his entire body. Therefore, he didn't need to deliberately get close to his opponent to attack him.

Kuro's five swords are about to Luffy. However, Luffy's foot is also almost at Kuro's chest.

Unless Kuro withdraws his attack, even if he manages to slash Luffy's back, Luffy will still kick him. That's Luffy's goal: if you hit me, I'll hit you; if you don't hit me, I won't hit you either.

Kuro did not retract his attack; he slashed at Luffy's back.

Luffy still couldn't dodge and took the hit squarely on Kuro's attack. However, his kick did land Kuro Kuro Luffy crashing into a rock behind him.

Luffy pressed his advantage, attacking Kuro again. This time Kuro guard. Kuro was hit many times by Luffy, his face swollen and the lenses of his glasses shattered.

Kuro knew that if he continued to be beaten like this, he would be beaten to death. He parried with the five swords in his right hand, then dodged to another spot.

"Damn it, how dare you hurt me? You're asking for death!" Kuro was furious. He had hardly ever suffered a loss since he debuted. Now, he had actually been beaten by some nobody, so naturally he was very unhappy.

"So what if I hurt you? I still want to kill you." Luffy snorted, then launched another attack.

However, Kuro was cunning, constantly changing his position, Luffy's punches to miss and fail to hit him.

Luffy was immediately annoyed. After hesitating for a long time, he stood still, not moving. His eyes darted around, watching Kuro's every move.

After Luffy a few times, Kuro attacked Luffy again.

Luffy still didn't dodge, letting Kuro attack him.

However, this time he didn't kick, but punched. At the cost of injury, he grabbed Kuro. He wrapped his hands around Kuro's shoulders and waist. Luffy didn't spare Kuro's hands either. He used his feet to bind Kuro's hands, so that Kuro couldn't attack him with his sword.

Now, there was no way for Kuro to escape. He was entangled with Kuro, following him wherever Kuro went. Kuro simply couldn't shake him off.

"Damn it, let me go!" Kuro was furious. Kuro was holding him Luffy like this, preventing him from launching any attacks.

"No, no way!" Luffy chuckled and said, "I'm not as fast as you. If I let you go, I won't be able to hit you. Now that I can hit you, I'm not letting you go."

"Damn it, let go! Let go of me right now!" Kuro roared angrily.

However, Luffy remained unmoved. He flung his head back several meters, then quickly retracted it, slamming it hard into Kuro's head. Kuro wasn't like Luffy with his rubber body, impervious to blows. He was just an ordinary person, and after that impact, his head immediately started sparking.

Luffy pressed his advantage, ramming into Kuro more than twenty times in succession. Kuro was already dizzy and disoriented from the impact.

Only then did Luffy release Kuro.

Then, Luffy delivered a powerful punch to Kuro's face, sending him flying to the beach.

Meanwhile, the pirates who had been injured by Ren Fang and her group gradually regained consciousness. Seeing that their captain had been defeated, they no longer dared to hesitate. They stood up despite their pain, carried their captain back to the ship, and then sailed away.

"Hehe, it's a perfect ending." Fanxin smiled and said.

"Yes, now the village's crisis is over." Nami nodded and said, "Alright, our mission is complete. Let's pack up and leave!"

"That's true. There's no point in staying here any longer. Let's set sail!" Fanxin said. "As for the ship, we can find one elsewhere."

"Alright, let's go then!" Luffy nodded without objection. He came here to get a big ship, and since there wasn't one here, he didn't want to stay any longer.

Zoro remained silent, which presumably meant he agreed.

Seeing that no one objected, Fanxin smiled and led the way towards the sea. Ren Fang, Luffy, Zoro, and Nami followed behind.

"Everyone, wait a minute." Just as everyone was about to leave, a pleasant voice rang out.

Upon hearing this, Fanxin and the others immediately stopped and turned to look at the source of the voice.

The speaker was Kaya, who came out with Usopp. They showed no embarrassment, presumably having cleared up the misunderstanding.

"Is there anything else, Miss Kaya?" Fanxin walked over and asked, puzzled.

"Well, first of all, thank you for driving away the pirates. Without you, the villagers would have been in trouble. And I would have been in danger too," Kaya said, bowing slightly.

This wasn't flattery; it came from the bottom of her heart. This time, if it weren't for everyone present doing their utmost to help, she and the village would have suffered, and no one would have escaped unscathed.

"Let's skip that. We only intervened because we couldn't stand him, not because of you," Nami said with a smile.

"Well, thank you anyway." Kaya nodded and said, "Um, could you please wait a few more days?"

"Wait a few days, why?" Fanxin Xin asked, puzzled.

"You've done me such a big favor, I don't really have anything to repay you with. I heard you want a big ship, right? I can give you one." Kaya said with a smile, "That ship is huge, there won't be any problem for all of you to ride on it."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Luffy jumped up excitedly upon hearing this. He desperately needed a ship, and now that his wish had come true, he was naturally overjoyed.

"Okay then, we'll chatter here for a few days." Fanxin Xin nodded, without objection.

Then everyone nodded in agreement.

A short while later, everyone followed Kaya back to the village. Once back in the village, they didn't say anything, because they didn't want the villagers to know that pirates had just invaded. Now that the matter was resolved, there was no need to scare the villagers by telling them.

Kaya led everyone to the villa and instructed the servants to treat them well. She then went to discuss the boat with Merry.

Merry is a shipwright who often builds ships in his spare time. He owns several ships, Kaya plans to buy one from him to give to Straw Hat Luffy.

Upon learning that Straw Hat Luffy and his crew had driven Kuro away, Merry immediately agreed to give Luffy a ship, free of charge.

After staying at Kaya's house for three days, Fanxin and the others left. Kaya came to call them; the boat was ready, and they could set sail.

Everyone packed their things and followed Kaya towards the beach.

Upon reaching the sea, they saw a large ship, a "caravelle" with a skeletal frame, triangular sails, and a central stern steering system. The bow was shaped like a ram's head, making it quite adorable.

Straw Hat Luffy saw the ship, his eyes widened, and he jumped aboard without hesitation.

Zoro grinned, secretly pleased. Before, they only had a small boat, and every time they went out to sea, they were filled with anxiety, always worried about encountering a great storm. Now, with this big ship, even if they encountered a great storm, they wouldn't be able to capsize.