Thinking of Nothing

Ruidio drove a shovel into the ground by the shore. Without using his foot, he relied on arm strength alone to bury the solid iron shovel completely, then slowly and forcefully dug out a clump of earth weighing several hundred jin.

Nami watched from the side, shaking her head. "How did you train to get that kind of monstrous strength?"

As he dug, Ruidio suddenly said, "The human brain actually has an instinct to protect itself. When the force in your muscles reaches a dangerous threshold, your brain makes you feel like giving up to keep your muscles from tearing and getting injured."

Nami raised a hand, closed her eyes, and summed it up. "That's called 'I'm tired.' Thank you."

Ruidio felt that he was in a similar situation now.

He could withstand ten tons of pressure. Granted, that was his limit, and he couldn't move under it, but he had no trouble walking freely with five tons on him.

Five tons ought to be the normal amount of strength he could exert at his current stage.

But perhaps some subconscious remnant of his previous life as an Earthling kept his body from gathering that strength. Whenever he exceeded roughly two or three tons, his muscles seemed to clamor for a strike, refusing to obey him at all.

At first, Ruidio had consulted Zoro about the problem.

Moss Head had answered as though it were obvious: "Don't know. Never thought about it. As long as I have a sword in my hand, I can put all my strength into a slash."

Well, thanks a lot, Enma Sword Rack.

Ruidio became even more determined not to specialize so narrowly. Having his strength drop sharply without a sword in hand was far too unreliable. Though as things stood, his strength was hampered whether he had a sword or not...

He wouldn't get hurt even if he drew on more strength. He had already proven that time and again while training under 5x Gravity!

But his brain seemed to be going through a rebellious phase: Never mind the facts, this brain has other ideas. You're still young; you'll understand when you're older. Take care of your body, or you'll regret it when you're old...

Ruidio shuddered and shook his head. He had been mulling this over so much lately that he was almost going mad.

He quickly dug a large hole, buried the lion's corpse, and put up a simple marker.

The lion had helped him catch Nezumi once, after all. It deserved credit for that.

"Syrup Village should be at the very southern end of this island..."

Recalling the information on the map, Nami led the way along a deserted country path.

Ruidio smiled. "Then let's hurry and run. Bet you can't outrun me."

Nami was speechless. "I'm weak! What's so surprising about me not being able to outrun a monster like you?"

Even so, she had spent years traveling the seas and sneaking around stealing things. She had some confidence in her ability to run away, so, not quite willing to concede, she ran after Ruidio.

Nami soon noticed that Ruidio's running movements, posture, and even his footsteps had a comfortable rhythm to them. Even when she sped up, Ruidio could easily keep pace. After they had run some distance, it was clear that, covering the same distance at the same speed, Ruidio was definitely using less stamina than she was.

"Hey... stop... slow down..."

Jango, his hands locked together, followed behind them, already exhausted as a dog! Sweat poured down his face, which was twisted in pain, as Ruidio pulled him along by a rope. He stumbled rapidly southward, half crawling and half rolling.

After running for only a little over an hour and passing through two towns, they suddenly saw a group of five ahead, also heading south along the same path.

The five consisted of a little girl, a refined couple, a man in a butler-like suit with hair like a sheep's, and another man in a loose, old trench coat, who looked as though he belonged in an entirely different picture.

The oddly matched group carried bags and parcels of all sizes and chatted and laughed as they walked. Clearly, they had enjoyed a major shopping spree in the town they had just left.

The handsome young man in the old trench coat was chatting pleasantly with Miss Kaya, her family, and their butler Merry. He had seen much at sea and was knowledgeable himself, so dealing with the foolish rich people, foolish young lady, and foolish butler of a small place like this couldn't have been easier.

But suddenly, someone nearby called out, "Kuro!"

"Huh?" Kaya and her family stopped and looked toward the voice. A strange group of three was approaching along the road: a tall young man in front, a cute and beautiful orange-haired girl beside him, and a man with very strange-looking eyes, his hands bound and his tongue hanging out from exhaustion.

"Kuro?" Kaya, a young lady of good family only fourteen years old, looked curious as she asked the man in the trench coat, "Klahadore, are they calling you?"

"..." Kuro said, "Of course not, miss."

"Really?"

Smiling, Ruidio walked up to them and whisked Captain Kuro's wanted poster out of his coat. He held the large photograph on it beside Kuro's face for comparison. "Is that you in this picture?"

Kuro said calmly, "No."

Since he hadn't altered his face, he was confident that the dim, blurry photograph on the wanted poster couldn't conclusively prove his identity. He could brush it off as a slight resemblance. It was no big deal.

The butler Merry glanced at the wanted poster and was startled by the sixteen-million-Beli bounty. He hurriedly explained, "Please don't joke about this. How could Klahadore possibly be such a vicious pirate? Two months ago, the master and mistress found him starving to death by the roadside and took him in. If he were such a vicious pirate, how could he have been so desperate?"

Your family was the way out he was looking for.

Ruidio put away the wanted poster and called out, "Hey! Hypnotist over there, who is this man?"

A cold gleam flashed in Kuro's eyes.

Trembling, Jango shouted back, "He's Captain Kuro! He said he was sick of being chased by the navy, so he used my hypnosis to give them a scapegoat. He... he... he... he carefully picked out a wealthy family and planned to take their fortune and live under a hidden identity from then on Captain Kuro I'm sorry I hypnotized myself and can only tell the truth I'm really sorry please don't kill me!!!"

Kaya's parents were terrified and pulled their bewildered daughter close. Kuro stood where he was, expressionless.

"Klahadore, is that true?" Kaya asked fearfully.

Kuro pushed up his glasses with a strange gesture and looked coldly at the terrified Jango. "Jango, don't get it wrong. It wasn't just about taking their fortune. What I wanted was a peaceful life away from crime. You had to use your hypnosis to make them write a will leaving their entire estate to me. It had to be flawless."

"You..." Kaya's parents and the butler Merry glared at him. Fortunately, they had only known him a short time and hadn't grown very attached, but they were still shaken by how close they had come to danger.

"But it doesn't matter. You're not the only hypnotist on the seas. Once I kill you, I can find another. Besides, there's an even better kind of hypnosis in this world..."

A cold light flashed across his glasses as he suddenly lunged at Miss Kaya. "And that is 'love'!"

Clang!

Ruidio raised his sword and blocked Kuro. He smiled at Kaya and her parents, whose legs had gone weak with fright, and at the butler Merry. "Sorry for the trouble, but please move aside. There's about to be a fight here."

Chapter 20: Thinking of Nothing

Kuro's agility was indeed something. Muttering incomprehensible things like "love is a stronger form of hypnosis," he pulled a pair of special gloves from the lining of his trench coat. Ten sharp blades were attached to their fingers: the Cat Claws. He moved so quickly that even Ruidio had nearly failed to see it.

But from the moment Ruidio had decided to expose Kuro's identity, he had been on guard against Kuro lashing out in desperation. He swiftly drew Malevolent Shrine and blocked the claw striking at Kaya with a clang.

Against the sharpness and hardness of a Great Grade Sword, the five blades attached to Kuro's right hand immediately developed several chips. The middle blade, which had taken the worst of the impact, snapped clean off.

Ruidio said, "So when the subtle approach failed, you resorted to force? Taking a little girl hostage and forcing her parents to leave you their fortune—isn't that still a crime? Isn't that still what a pirate would do?"

"..." Kuro looked coldly at Ruidio.

Kaya's face was pale, and she still found it hard to believe. How had Klahadore, who had been so courteous and kind just moments ago, suddenly become so frightening?

The butler Merry took Kaya by the hand and ushered the master and mistress away, hurrying them to safety.

"I didn't expect my plan to fail completely just as it was getting started."

Kuro looked at the ten blades on his hands... now nine blades, then cast a cold glance at the ashen-faced Jango. "I only wanted to live like an ordinary person. Why did you have to force me?"

With a metallic ring, Ruidio actually sheathed Malevolent Shrine.

Kuro looked up at him. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you afraid? I have no intention of letting you or anyone else here leave alive."

Nami raised her hand in protest. "I didn't do anything to you!"

Ruidio smiled. "My sword's too good. I might accidentally cut all your claws off, and that won't do. Hmm... I'd better not use this either. Your claws probably couldn't take it." With that, he also took off Playful Cloud, the three-section staff made of Seastone, and tossed it aside along with Malevolent Shrine.

Kuro's face remained calm, but his eyes grew bloodshot. He had clearly taken serious offense. Just as he was about to step forward and attack, the brat opposite him suddenly held out a hand. "Wait, wait, wait!"

"I almost forgot."

He turned and called out, "Sir, ladies, would you like me to help you deal with this hateful Captain Kuro, who has a bounty of sixteen million Beli?"

Nami couldn't believe him. At a time like this, he still hadn't forgotten that strange habit of his?

"..."

A vein bulged on Kuro's forehead. His figure flickered, and he vanished before everyone's eyes.

So fast!

Ruidio's pupils contracted. He caught only a blurry shadow before the distinctive rush of blades slicing through the air reached his ears. He hurriedly twisted aside, but the Cat Claws still slashed his arm.

Kuro's weapon, with a blade attached to each finger, was practically a crude version of the Six Meridian Divine Swords. A slight sweep of his fingers greatly widened the area covered by his attacks. Combined with his movement speed, which exceeded what the naked eye could follow, it was truly an extraordinary threat.

"Captain Kuro's swift legs are a silent killing technique..." Jango muttered, his face grim. "Even if he faced fifty assassins, he could take them all out without a sound. Your friend is courting death by challenging him..."

Nami couldn't tell who was stronger. She knew Ruidio was strong, but Kuro was moving so fast it looked like he was teleporting. Hearing Jango say that made her nervous, and once she was nervous, her mouth seemed to move on its own as she whispered something to Kaya and her family.

The butler Merry shouted, "Mr. Ruidio! You can do it! Please help us defeat this Captain Kuro!"

[Merry has commissioned you: Defeat Kuro]

[Estimated difficulty: ★★]

Having failed to land a decisive blow, Kuro flickered and vanished again. He kept appearing in front of, behind, and on either side of Ruidio, striking with his Cat Claws from every angle.

[Task accepted]

Since Ruidio couldn't match him in agility, he gave up trying and fixed his eyes on Kuro's footwork each time he briefly appeared.

He hadn't forgotten his original purpose. He had banned himself from using Malevolent Shrine and Playful Cloud so he could prolong this one-on-one fight as much as possible and carefully observe as many of Kuro's body movements as he could.

In just a few minutes, Kuro's Silent Step had left dozens of bloody wounds all over Ruidio's body.

He was gradually getting used to the speed...

Ruidio suddenly raised an arm to one side, his muscles bulging. The Cat Claws stabbed into his forearm just then, but penetrated only a few centimeters before his muscles clamped down on them, holding them fast.

"They really didn't give you the wrong nickname," Ruidio said with a smile. "You, the captain of the Black Cat Pirates, really do attack like a harmless little kitten. What's wrong? Are you all speed and no strength?"

"...?!" The five blades on Kuro's left hand were trapped in the muscles of Ruidio's forearm, and he couldn't pull them out. As he reeled at the brat's strength, a heavy blow struck his abdomen.

"You say you're sick of being a pirate, that you want to wash your hands of it and settle down as a respectable rich man. But really, you just realized what you were capable of and got scared, didn't you?"

Ruidio relaxed his muscles, and the five-bladed Cat Claw glove lodged in his arm fell free. He casually tossed it to the Black Cat captain, whom he had sent flying with a kick.

"Gah!" Kuro clutched his stomach and spat out a mouthful of blood. His once immaculately combed black hair was a complete mess, and his eyes were bloodshot. He had attacked the boy so many times, yet all those blows had done less damage than that single kick.

The left glove landed in front of him.

"..."

Kuro wiped the blood from his mouth and put the glove on. His crimson eyes stared coldly at the boy opposite him, whose clothes were in tatters and body was covered in wounds. "What exactly are you trying to do?"

Ruidio spread his legs, braced his hands on his knees, and rolled his shoulders from side to side. "I want to learn as much as I can from you before I kill you."

"It's amazing that you can burst out with that much speed with so little muscle strength. Can you feel it? How do you do it? I'm really curious!"

He grasped at the air with both hands, his knuckles cracking. Staring fixedly at Kuro's feet, he smiled. "Come on. I'll... treasure you."

"..."

Kuro said nothing. He took a deep breath, then suddenly lowered his head and let both arms hang naturally. His feet began taking small steps in a strange rhythm, as though unconsciously.

Jango said fearfully, "That's Captain Kuro's ultimate move, Shakushi! It's his fastest silent killing step! He's so fast that even he doesn't know who he'll slash... Hey, stop watching and get farther away!"

He turned and saw that Nami and Kaya's family had already retreated more than fifty meters.

"Don't leave me here alone!!!" Jango's hands were locked together, and he was tied to a tree by the road. He shouted in desperation, then suddenly heard the rushing howl of blades tearing through the air beside him. The hair on his body stood on end.

"..."

Watching from a distance, Nami saw that although Captain Kuro was still moving too quickly for the naked eye to follow, Ruidio's defensive moves and counterattacks were more agile than they had been at the start.

Ruidio seemed to be gradually seeing Kuro's movements clearly, or working out the pattern of his footwork... He even gradually stopped standing rooted to the spot, defending passively, and began moving in a similar way himself. He looked very clumsy, however, and fell at a disadvantage for the moment, more blood spraying from his body.

Rather than shrink back from the pain, Ruidio seemed to grow more excited the longer he fought.