"Heh heh."
Facing Kuro, the bespectacled man whose hands bore ten claws and who had 'sacrificed his teammate to the heavens,' Roman merely feigned surprise.
"So the bag you were carrying held weapons, not Berries~~ Looks like you never cared about your young lady's safety at all."
The dagger in Roman's hand had already left the throat of the frail girl named Kaya. Now that the other side had 'dropped the pretense,' there was no need to keep acting.
"Oh my, Captain Kuro."
Roman stepped forward, shielding Kaya, who was still 'tied' to the chair behind him.
"With all that killing intent, are you planning to kill everyone here?"
"Of course."
With things having come this far, Captain Kuro, who had disguised himself as a butler, had no need to hide anything anymore. While everyone else was still frozen in shock, he openly admitted it.
"Everyone here will die today."
"Merry!"
A frail cry shattered the silence. Roman had removed the paper strip over Miss Kaya's mouth.
"Klahadore, how could you—"
"Even now, you still don't understand, Miss?"
However, the man wearing glasses, blades extending from all ten fingers, merely replied coldly.
"My name is Kuro, not Klahadore."
"B-but... if you wanted money, then all the money in this house was clearly yours..."
"No, you're wrong."
Because he wore the weapon known as the Ten Blades on his hands, Kuro could only use his palm to push up his glasses.
"I don't just want money."
"I also want a peaceful gentleman's life."
"Though there has been a slight accident, it doesn't matter, Miss."
"Once I kill these meddlesome idiot thieves, I'll have Jango hypnotize you and make you draw up a will stating that your property will be inherited by Klahadore—that is, me."
The man across from them directly laid out his plan, wholly unconcerned by the shock, disappointment, and disbelief on everyone's faces.
"Then I'll kill you too, Miss."
"After that, I'll pin these 'tragedies' on these outsider pirates. Naturally, Usopp, as an 'accomplice,' will also..."
"Enough!!!"
Rustle, rustle~~
The paper strips binding Kaya turned into actual paper and fell away, while the girl raised the weapon in her hand:
A short-barreled flintlock pistol.
"Don't say another word, Klahadore."
The barrel pointed at the man who had once laughed and cried with her, cared for her, and whom she had regarded as family.
"I didn't believe it at first... but:"
"Please leave this place, or I'll shoot!"
"Looks like you've become stronger too, Miss."
"Three years. Do you know how I spent those three years?"
"Every day, taking care of a little girl still wet behind the ears, staying by her side all night when she was sick, running myself ragged as a servant..."
"Captain Kuro, once feared by countless people, humbling himself to endure all this..." Having recalled the 'hardships' of the past, killing intent poured from the man named Kuro!
"It was all to kill you!"
Clack.
The short-barreled flintlock fell from Kaya's hand. The girl lowered her head, tears falling like pearls from a broken string!
"You bastard—!"
Usopp furiously stepped forward, only to be stopped by a hand.
"You have something else to do." Roman, who had stopped Usopp, tilted his head toward the weeping Kaya behind him, wearing an expression that clearly said, 'Why aren't you comforting her already?'
"As for the fight, leave it to me."
Roman walked toward Captain Kuro. "After all, this was my 'idea.' It's only right that I finish it."
"Roman, what about us?"
Luffy, who had been 'watching the show' nearby, shouted in dissatisfaction.
"There's only one enemy. That's nowhere near enough to share~~"
"Ten Blades? Crooked tricks. He doesn't count as a swordsman."
"Go, Roman..."
"You lot—"
Veins bulged across Kuro's forehead as the arrogant young men and women before him enraged him.
Bold newcomers, you actually don't take Captain Kuro seriously at all...
"What do you take Captain Kuro for?"
Clang!
Amid scattered sparks, Roman and Captain Kuro's figures both suddenly 'shuddered'! Nami was so startled that she tore off the decorative eyepatch.
So fast!
If not for where they stood and the direction of their weapons, she would not even have realized that the two men, who had been several meters apart, had already exchanged a blow.
"Don't rush."
Roman casually tossed something behind him. A white paper crane landed before Luffy and the other two, then slowly rose into the air.
"Luffy, your job has arrived."
"One of the paper cranes I sent out spotted a cat-shaped ship flying a pirate flag on the northern shore."
"Looks like our Captain Kuro invited some other 'helpers.'" Roman pointed in the direction the paper crane was flying. "Luffy, Zoro, Nami, the enemies on that ship are yours."
"Alright, leave it to me!"
"Hmph, I've wiped my swords several times already~~"
"Why do I have to go too..."
"All the treasure on that ship is yours."
That one sentence sent Nami into action like she had been injected with adrenaline. She dragged Luffy and Zoro, her two laborers, after the flying paper crane toward the north.
"Then, Captain Kuro."
Roman looked at Hundred Plans Kuro, who had remained motionless across from him.
"Looks like you have a lot of confidence in your subordinates, but..."
"I have never had anything like confidence in those pieces of trash." The man across from him merely used his palm to adjust his glasses.
"I only have confidence in my own strength."
"Even if they fail in the end,"
"I can still kill everyone."
Facing Captain Kuro, whose calmness contained boundless killing intent, Roman merely smiled.
"What a coincidence, so do I—"
Whoosh!
Captain Kuro's body suddenly blurred before silently 'melting' into the air. Roman, whose hands held two Sailor's Knives formed from paper, likewise moved at extreme speed in an instant, his entire body becoming a blurry afterimage indistinguishable to the naked eye.
Whoosh!!
To Usopp and Kaya watching from the side, they could only vaguely see two rapidly circling figures, completely blurred together, entangled in battle. Threads of light drifted through the air, incredibly slow yet seemingly incredibly fast!
They were the afterimages left by blades swinging at extreme speed. Whenever one of those streaks of 'light' swept past, the ground, trees, rocks—everything in its path—was silently sliced apart.
The two fought speed with speed, sweeping across the battlefield like a raging gale! Then came:
"Clang, clang, clang, clang!" Amid a string of impacts, sparks burst in every direction, like countless fireflies suddenly dancing through the forest clearing.
Crack, crack, crack!!
Countless fractures suddenly appeared in every direction, covering the entire battlefield! It was as though more than a dozen swordsmen had just fought there. Cuts and slashes covered everything, trees slowly fell around them, and leaves shattered into fragments while still in the air.
Then the two men reappeared, four meters apart and standing back-to-back. Black strips of cloth and blood littered the ground between them, clearly revealing the victor of this battle!
"You—"
Kuro, his black suit covered in tears, turned around. Patches of crimson began spreading across the white shirt beneath it. His face darkened as he stared at Roman, who had also turned around, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"A Devil Fruit."
"That's right." Roman casually twirled the Sailor's Knives in his hands, flicking the blood from them.
"Don't talk to me about fairness."
In that intense exchange of blows, they should theoretically have been evenly matched. However:
"My Devil Fruit ability is also my power. I don't want to hear any nonsense about making me 'take off my armor' before we fight."
Paper Dance—Iron Armor
Against an opponent like Captain Kuro, whose speed was absurdly high but whose killing power was not particularly impressive, he might have been excellent at bullying weaker foes, but someone with high defense like Roman countered him completely! He could only spend the entire fight scratching at armor...
"Hah, it seems I can only use that move."
Captain Kuro lowered his head and spread his arms. However:
In truth, he no longer held much hope that he could defeat Roman. The opening in his next move was simply too great... He could only gamble on whether his stamina would run out first, or Roman's defense would give way first.
"Spooning!"
Whoosh—
Having made up his mind to unleash his ultimate move, his entire body immediately:
"H-he vanished??"
Usopp rubbed his eyes and looked ahead again, even scanning the surroundings, but:
"R-Roman, did Captain Kuro run away?"
"Run?"
Roman pointed around them.
"If you call this running, then it certainly is—"
Slash!
With a sharp sound, a large tree suddenly slowly slid sideways! Four smooth cuts had appeared out of nowhere across its trunk.
"What... what is happening..."
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Trees, the ground, even the ruins from their earlier battle, were suddenly covered in 'wounds'! It looked as if invisible blades had swept past—
Captain Kuro was nearby. He was attacking!
It was simply that he was so fast that even Roman could only catch a trace of an 'afterimage.' To everyone else, he had completely 'disappeared'! It truly was a fierce technique, but:
"What a shame."
He had managed to train himself in a technique similar to the Rokushiki's Soru, yet he had feared the sea and powerful enemies, choosing to hide here for the rest of his life. Even so, he could not let go of his inexplicable pride and greed.
But judging from the way he was attacking wildly, he probably couldn't control it...
?!
Just as Roman focused all his senses on detecting his opponent, he suddenly felt a gust of 'wind' brush past him! And along that path...
Oh no, Miss Kaya!
With a thought, the 'chair' behind the frail girl immediately writhed and stretched like a living creature, about to cover her body and form a defense. But:
Slash!!
Blood sprayed! Drops of crimson landed on Kaya's face, making her pupils tremble.
"U-Usopp..."
At the critical moment, no one knew how Usopp had detected that the enemy, already moving beyond the range of human sight, was speeding toward Kaya. In any case, he lunged forward and shielded the frail girl with his body!
"J-just a small wound..."
Blood sprayed high from his entire back, yet facing the girl in his arms, the long-nosed Usopp still struggled to smile and chose to tell a 'lie.'
Well done.
Roman, who had nearly suffered a disastrous upset, first let out a breath of relief, then his expression turned stern.
No more playing around—
Clap.
He brought his hands together, and sheets of paper that had long been arranged rose into the air out of nowhere.
"Paper Dance—Crimson Maple Hunt."
Slash!!!
At Roman's command, a huge spray of scarlet suddenly burst through the air! It dyed the white sheets of paper red, along with:
Chunks of flesh scattered across the ground!
"As expected, the greatest weakness of this kind of all-or-nothing high-speed movement is losing control of the brakes."
If Kuro had chosen to fight Roman properly, Roman would probably have needed to put in some effort.
But since he had used an uncontrollable 'ultimate move,' Roman simply activated the prepared 'field technique.' All he had to do was place sharp sheets of 'paper' throughout the air, then wait for Kuro to crash into them himself!
As for the result:
Captain Kuro, reduced to hundreds of pieces on the ground, was the clearest example.
"Speed that cannot be freely controlled is nothing but Death's summons."
Before you continue