"Uh, I apologize for what happened before."
By the woods at the edge of town,
Roman clasped his hands together and sincerely apologized to the dejected Usopp.
"Let me treat your injuries as compensation. But—"
"I wasn't joking before. The butler by Miss Kaya's side is 'Hundred Plans' Kuro himself. It would be perfectly normal for Miss Kaya to suddenly 'die of illness' with someone like him around."
Maybe because he had spent so much time with Luffy and the others, Roman had gradually picked up a habit of joking around. But this was not the time for antics, because:
"No one believes me... Nobody..."
Usopp stood before Roman and the others, clutching the Bounty Poster tightly as he fought back tears! He had also been shot in the arm, but Roman had cleaned the wound with the Surgical Paper Blade and wrapped it with a Paper Bandage, so he was fine now.
"Not even Kaya..."
"Alright, Usopp." Nami, unable to bear watching any longer, comforted him. "Maybe Roman got it wrong; maybe Captain Kuro really did turn over a new leaf..."
Poor Usopp. Because he usually lied so much, no one believed him when he told the truth this time. Even when he showed them Kuro's Bounty Poster, they angrily accused him of going to any lengths to frame the man.
Yes, that was right.
Though the boy named Usopp was full of lies, he actually had three other talents: marksmanship, engineering, and art.
People had mistaken that Bounty Poster for something he had drawn himself...
With that talent, he could easily get rich just by becoming an artist.
"Actually, proving whether that really is Captain Kuro is simple."
Roman, standing nearby, clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention.
"I just need to slash him once."
Anyone who could dodge one of Roman's slashes had to be the captain of the Black Cat Pirates; as for anyone who could not...
"Don't worry, trust my skills. There definitely won't be some absurd accident where I chop someone to death."
"Hey, hey, hey, you said 'chop someone to death,' didn't you...?"
"Then what idea do you have?"
Faced with Roman throwing the question back at them, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and even Usopp all shook their heads. Even if that butler truly was a ruthless pirate, who would believe anything the people present said?
What they faced now was not a problem that could be solved by beating someone up, cutting someone down, robbing someone, or tricking someone...
"Then... are we just not going to do anything?"
"Absolutely not!"
Facing Luffy's immediate refusal, Roman spread his hands. "So, you can't come up with a solution, but you still want to get involved. Then how about this:"
"Everyone listens to me."
"Usopp, honestly..."
In the mansion's backyard, the frail Kaya, who could only remain in bed for long periods due to her illness, flipped through the book in her hands but could not take in a single line.
"Saying Klahadore is a pirate, and even confidently producing a 'Bounty Poster'..."
"That joke went way too far!"
Yet as she recalled the boy who persisted in telling her stories every day to cheer her up, the anger on her face gradually faded into a warm smile.
"...Yes, if Usopp apologizes to Klahadore, then I'll forgive—"
"Kaya,"
A familiar voice snapped the conflicted girl out of her thoughts. She turned toward the boy outside the window, who stood with his head lowered, and put down her book in surprise.
"Usopp? Your injury... Cough, cough."
Realizing she had looked too happy, the girl stiffened her expression and solemnly advised him:
"I know you and Klahadore don't get along very... well, but you shouldn't do this..."
"Good afternoon, Miss Kaya."
A voice interrupted the frail girl. Roman stood beside the downcast Usopp with a smile on his face.
"You are...?"
"My name is Roman," the handsome boy introduced himself. "Torkovich Roman."
"I'm a pirate."
?
"Ah..."
"Then, Miss Kaya."
Roman raised his hand, and sheets of white paper fluttered from his palm.
"Please cooperate,"
"It's kidnapping time!"
The butler named Klahadore had a room of his own. First, Usopp had caused a scene with his Bounty Poster, then he discovered that those rather capable pirates were still wandering around the town, making him feel a trace of agitation.
Should he postpone the plan?
Bang!
"Something terrible has happened, Klahadore!"
The door was violently shoved open, and a butler with sheep-shaped hair rushed in anxiously. He was the household's other butler, Merry.
"Miss Kaya has been kidnapped!"
?
"What?!"
Kuro, who went by the alias Klahadore but was actually the captain of the Black Cat Pirates—formerly—shot to his feet! His plan was about to succeed, and his chance to sever his past and become a respected gentleman was within reach, yet—
"What happened?"
Merry, grabbed and lifted up by him, assumed his colleague was simply worried about Miss Kaya and immediately explained everything:
"It was Usopp!"
"He joined forces with those outsider pirates and kidnapped Miss Kaya. They want us to prepare a ransom—"
Smack,
Kuro threw the butler named Merry aside, then anxiously turned, grabbed a long narrow briefcase from the room, and strode out the door! Of course, he was not worried about Miss Kaya, the mistress of this house, but rather:
Damn it, I have to find those pirates first!
If someone else finds them first, they might take all the property here to exchange for that sickly worthless girl!
He rushed off at full speed,
But this was a bustling town after all. No matter how anxious he was, the man named Kuro had no choice but to slow down. Amid calls of "Mr. Klahadore!" and "Mr. Butler, where are you going...?" he silently tracked them onward. Thus:
Merry, desperately chasing after him, had been given a target.
"Miss Kaya."
"Please don't get agitated. It would be bad for your health."
In a clearing in the woods, Miss Kaya was tied to a chair with long strips of paper, and a paper strip was pasted over her mouth as well. Rather than being afraid at Roman's words, she looked painfully at Usopp, who had turned his face away and did not dare look at her.
Beside her stood Luffy in a captain's coat, Nami wearing an eyepatch, and Zoro wiping down his katana. Together with Roman's cold smile, the aura of pirates hit her full force!
"Don't worry, we only need a ship."
Playing the role of a villain in full character, Roman folded white paper into paper cranes while sneering at the resentful, frail Kaya.
"Once we receive the ransom, we'll naturally let you go."
"Roman..."
"Don't speak!"
Roman glared back at Luffy, who was striking a miserable-looking pose. He was afraid that the moment this guy opened his mouth, the tense atmosphere would vanish completely.
"He's here."
Not long after, Roman paused in the middle of folding a paper crane. A figure had already passed through the woods and arrived before the clearing.
It was a man in a suit, with slicked-back hair and glasses. The pattern on his suit appeared to be... poop. He carried a long narrow briefcase in one hand and adjusted his glasses with the wrist of the other.
"Miss Kaya! I've come to save—"
"Klahadore... no, Captain Kuro."
Roman waved a hand and cut off the man's performance. The fact that he had found this place so quickly showed that he was nimble and skilled at tracking! Yet now, with those heavy footsteps and that panting appearance...
Who was he trying to fool?
"Although I'm curious why a pirate captain like you has hidden away in a place like this, still:"
"One hundred million Beli." Roman held up one finger and wagged it. "As long as you hand over that sum, we'll pretend none of this ever happened. And:"
With a flick of his other wrist, the paper crane in his hand transformed like a magic trick into a dagger.
Roman placed the dagger beside Kaya's slender neck, making Usopp on the other side nearly pull out his weapon and point it at him.
Silence—
The man opposite them, who had just looked so agitated, wiped the expression off his face and turned gloomy.
"Huh? What does Captain Kuro mean? Don't tell me you can't bear to—"
"W-wait!"
"Ha, ha, hahaha..."
Just then, a man with sheep-like hair ran over, also dressed in a suit. At a glance, he was clearly some wealthy household's butler.
"Please don't hurt Miss Kaya,"
The panting sheep-haired man braced his hands on his knees and urgently looked at Roman's group of kidnappers, not even sparing a glance for Usopp, the supposed accomplice.
"Please give me some time. Whether I sell off the estate or borrow from loan sharks, we will definitely gather one hundred million Beli—"
Pfft!!
Before the loyal sheep-haired butler could finish, several flashes streaked past him. Blood sprayed from his chest as he collapsed to the ground! And the attacker was:
"That money is all mine,"
The bespectacled butler had somehow taken the weapon from his briefcase and put it on his hands. Captain Kuro raised his head, his eyes filled with nothing but endless coldness and killing intent!
"Who gave you permission to use it to save that worthless thing, hmm?"
Before you continue