The Worst Rookie

Not long after "Galdino" left, a fire alarm rang out aboard the Twitch.

A blaze shot up from the direction of the storeroom, lighting the sky red.

The marines were jolted awake, and chaos erupted.

Only under Qiangsen and the others' direction did they remember to grab buckets and basins and rush to fight the fire. The scene was utter confusion.

Hidden in the darkness, Kuro scoffed at the quality of these marines.

Even so, Kuro could tell that they were indeed somewhat stronger and faster than the fodder marines from the East Blue's small branches.

Soon, just as "Galdino" had said, a tall, burly marine with an upright face hurried out of the cabin, protecting a shifty-eyed officer who was obviously an incompetent good-for-nothing.

It was hard to say whether the upright marine had the bearing of an Admiral, but he certainly looked like someone best not provoked.

Kuro felt threatened.

Just then, "Galdino" suddenly appeared. Taking advantage of the chaos, he went forward and engaged the upright marine in battle.

"For justice!"

"For Doflamingo!"

Both sides shouted their slogans and crashed into each other in the firelight.

Their exchange was accompanied by all kinds of dazzling light and shadow effects. At a glance, it was nothing like the weapon brawls of East Blue bumpkins.

At that moment, Kuro was completely convinced of "Galdino's" identity as a high-ranking agent for both sides.

He had no reason to deceive Kuro.

Besides, who would set the entire storeroom on fire just to deceive a small-time pirate like Kuro?

Since the high-ranking agent's identity was real, so was the threat from the two major criminal organizations.

Kuro knew there was no way he could simply extricate himself now.

He kept his cool and waited quietly for an opportunity.

His bad luck tonight seemed to have run its course.

Kuro soon discovered, to his delight, that the good-for-nothing officer from a powerful family was utterly useless.

Terrified out of his wits by the battle, he stumbled toward Kuro.

An opportunity!

Gritting his teeth, Kuro made his choice.

With a Silent Step, he flashed behind Nezumi, seized him by the throat, and threw him into a sack.

Glancing back at the high-ranking agent and the righteous marine, who were still locked in a fierce fight, Kuro quickly jumped off the warship and rowed away into the vast darkness.

One hour later.

The Black Cat Pirates' camp.

Kuro dismissed his subordinates, keeping only his vice captain, the hypnotist Jango, and a pirate crew officer whose build was very close to his own.

"Lieutenant Nezumi" lay on the ground, bound hand and foot.

The campfire flickered, and Kuro's expression shifted uncertainly.

Nezumi's treasure?

Half for me?

More likely, they'll split my corpse in half when the time comes!

Kuro sneered.

He wasn't naive enough to believe that criminal organizations from the Grand Line would keep their promises.

"Still, that 'Galdino' probably never imagined that he happened to help me complete my plan."

When Kuro thought of how he had nearly attacked a warship from the Grand Line so rashly, a warship that also carried a righteous marine with the "bearing of an Admiral," he couldn't help feeling a lingering fear.

If "Galdino" hadn't appeared, he might already have died beneath that righteous marine's greatsword.

Now, through an unexpected turn of events, he had achieved his goal, even though he hadn't killed every soldier aboard the warship.

"Jango, begin!"

Kuro spoke coldly. "Just as we planned before... well, except for one small change..."

East Blue, the sea restaurant Baratie.

A cruise ship slowly sailed away.

On deck, the little bourgeois travelers were holding an open-air dance, chatting and laughing.

Baratie truly deserved its reputation as a famous destination for fine food.

Aside from the somewhat fierce cooks, the culinary journey had been thoroughly satisfying.

Having eaten and drunk their fill, the little bourgeois passengers listened to music and talked about the food they had just enjoyed.

Among the crowd, Kuro had taken off his pirate clothes and ten-bladed Cat Claws, changing into the civilian attire of a middle-class man to blend in.

Leaning against the railing, he took a strange Den Den Mushi from his clothes, a faint sneer appearing on his face.

Kuro pushed up his glasses with the heel of his hand, then gently tossed the Den Den Mushi into the sea.

Two days had passed since that unsettling night.

Kuro could finally breathe a little easier.

That night, he had used Jango's hypnosis to make a subordinate impersonate him, then hypnotized Lieutenant Nezumi into believing he had captured "Captain Kuro" himself.

Once the fake Captain Kuro was executed, Kuro would take the alias Klahadore and start a new life as a fallen member of the middle class.

It was a plan he had been working on for a long time.

However, because of "Galdino's" appearance, Kuro had been forced to make a "slight" change to his plan.

In the original plan, the only subordinate he needed to sacrifice was the scapegoat who impersonated him.

This time, however, to avoid investigations by Baroque Works and the Donquixote Family, Kuro had unleashed his secret technique, Spoon, without hesitation after Jango finished the hypnosis. He killed all his subordinates, including Jango, leaving no survivors.

Kuro was just that sort of ruthless man, willing to sacrifice anything for his own sake.

On the other hand, he was also one of the few pirates who had grown tired of killing and wanted a peaceful life.

But the peaceful life Kuro wanted was not one of humble poverty.

He had long since set his wicked sights on Kaya's family, the wealthy magnates of Syrup Village.

Kuro planned to seize the Kaya family's vast fortune through three steps—gain their trust, murder them, and inherit—and live the rest of his life in respectable wealth.

By his reckoning, today should be the day news of "Captain Kuro's" capture appeared in the papers.

Kuro sat down in a chair at the outdoor café, leisurely ordered a coffee, then unhurriedly opened the newspaper.

"Farewell, Kuro!"

"From this day on, there is only Klahadore in this world!"

"Whether it's the annoying marines or those damned mysterious criminal organizations, they have nothing to do with me. Kuro is dead!"

A faint smile of relief appeared on Kuro's face.

However...

When he smiled and looked at the front-page headline of today's East Blue Daily, the coffee in his hand spilled onto the ground...

[The East Blue's long-hidden master criminal!]

[A worst rookie who surpasses Ace!]

[The outlaw who stole and burned military supplies worth 100 million Beli!]

[East Blue bounty record smashed—32 million Beli claims the new record!]

[Colonel Twitch, the 16th Branch's newly appointed commander, declares that he will bring Hundred Plans Kuro to justice, even if he must stake his honor as a marine!]

[Ulpo D. Kuro, bounty of 32 million Beli, dead or alive!]

An entire page of the East Blue Daily was filled with shocking headlines.

Besides the text and the wanted poster, the paper also featured numerous photos of the crime scene.

In one photo, Kuro stared at the burning warehouse, a sneer on his face.

In another, Kuro leaped over the side of the ship with a large sack slung over his shoulder.

His cold profile stood out with particular clarity against the waning moon...