Collapsing Fist

For this brief standoff, it was as if all the air in the manor's backyard had been sucked away.

The sunlight remained bright, spilling over Kaya's carefully trimmed garden, where the blooming roses and lilies were still as vivid as ever.

But a nauseating bloody smell spread through the air—

It came from the corner of Kuro's mouth and the dust kicked up when he had wounded Usopp with that kick.

Kuro's hands, clad in "Cat Claws" gloves, hung at his sides. The ten sharp blades reflected cold, fragmented glints beneath the sunlight.

The refined patience on his face had completely vanished, replaced by a sickly madness on the verge of eruption.

A crafty gleam flickered in his eyes. He could already see the people before him collapsing into a blood pool.

"Just a little more... just a little more, and my plan would have been perfect..."

He muttered under his breath, as though talking to himself, yet also as though proclaiming his "genius" to the entire world.

"Since you want to know so badly, I'll tell you.

"After killing all of you, tomorrow, according to the original plan, my loyal Black Cat Pirates subordinates will 'attack' this village."

His voice rose, tinged with sick excitement.

"And I, as the devoted butler, will 'fight to the death' and finally 'tragically' kill every last pirate!

"That way, I'll prove my innocence. I'll be this village's hero—a pitiful man who has lost his beloved young mistress!"

He spread his arms wide, ten claws pointing straight at the sky as though embracing his twisted future.

"And then I will naturally inherit everything! I don't want anyone who knows that I am still 'alive' to exist in this world!"

Ronan swung the pitiful half-broken stick in his hand, its tip tracing a weak arc through the air.

He interrupted Kuro's fantasy. "Oh? So you're dead set on killing us all.

"But the people standing before you aren't ones you can deal with so easily."

To Kuro, his calmness was laughably ignorant.

Ronan ignored Kuro's contemptuous gaze. Turning his head, he spoke to Nami and Usopp, who had just struggled back to his feet with blood all over his face.

"Nami, Usopp, go upstairs and check on Kaya. Leave this place to us."

"Okay!" Nami did not hesitate in the slightest.

She knew perfectly well that the killing intent radiating from this Great Sea pirate with a bounty of sixteen million Belly was nearly suffocating her. He was not someone she could handle.

And when Usopp heard Kaya's name, he immediately thought of Kaya, who had fainted earlier.

His rage toward Kuro was overwhelmed by his concern for Kaya. Gritting his teeth, he ran into the manor with Nami.

Watching Nami and Usopp disappear through the doorway, Zoro grinned. "This isn't a fight they can take part in."

He turned, his sharp gaze sweeping over Ronan and the ridiculous weapon in his hand, a stick that was not even as good as a fire poker.

"Hey, Ronan. Are you really staying here without a proper weapon?"

This was a swordsman's final confirmation of his companion's strength.

Ronan smiled at that.

He glanced at the wooden stick that had accompanied him for several days, then casually tossed it onto the grass at his feet.

"Clatter."

It was a faint sound, yet it seemed to trigger some kind of ritual.

Ronan rolled his wrists, his knuckles cracking sharply.

Meeting Zoro's gaze, he gave a faint smile. "I don't only know how to use guns. Underestimate me, and you'll pay for it."

At that moment, the steadiness and restraint of a National Martial Arts warrior rose from him, standing in the courtyard like a towering mountain.

"Then which one of us goes first?"

Luffy had long since been itching for a fight. Ignoring Kuro's terror, he bounced excitedly in place, as though this were not a deathmatch but an interesting game.

"Hey, hey, hey..."

Kuro's expression darkened to the extreme.

The three kids he thought he had firmly under control were not taking him seriously at all. They were even discussing the humiliating question of "who goes first."

A fury even stronger than the rage of having his plan ruined surged from the depths of his heart.

"There's a limit to looking down on people, you little brats!!" Kuro let out a piercing roar.

His gaze locked firmly onto Ronan, the one who had first exposed his identity.

"I'll start with you!!"

The instant his words fell, Kuro moved.

No, he did not "move." He "vanished."

Whoosh—!

Kuro's figure became an afterimage where he stood, then disappeared completely.

There was no running motion, no process of acceleration. It was as if his entire body had been erased by the air itself.

This was Kuro's famed ultimate technique—Silent Step!

At a speed completely impossible for the naked eye to catch, he launched himself at Ronan!

The air in the courtyard seemed to freeze.

The smile on Luffy's face vanished instantly, replaced by utter bewilderment. "Huh? Where did he go?"

Zoro's pupils shrank to pinpoints!

As a swordsman, his perception of speed far surpassed that of ordinary people, but even in his eyes, Kuro had left behind only a faint afterimage, one so slight it was almost negligible.

He simply could not lock onto Kuro's real body!

All he could feel was deadly killing intent lunging toward Ronan like a venomous snake!

"Ronan, watch out!!"

Zoro shouted his most urgent warning. His hand had already clenched around Wado Ichimonji, but his body had no time to make any move to assist.

"Ronan!!" Luffy also sensed the danger and cried out in alarm.

However, in the blink of an eye—

Just as Luffy and Zoro's voices left their mouths, Kuro's figure had appeared at Ronan's right side as if through Teleportation!

He had appeared!

Kuro leaned slightly forward, a cruel, triumphant grin spreading across his face.

The five sharp Cat Claws blades on his hand carved ten silver trails of death through the air. Like a net from hell, they slashed viciously toward Ronan's neck and ribs!

He had poured all his strength into this attack! He wanted to tear this kid apart in an instant—the first to expose him and the first to dare look down on him!

He could practically imagine the wonderful sight of blood spraying and Ronan's body being sliced open!

But Ronan had been prepared.

From the very beginning, he had known everything about Kuro.

He knew full well that using his current speed attribute of 12 to compete against Kuro's Silent Step was no different from throwing an egg against a stone.

So he had not even tried to catch him with his eyes.

The moment Kuro vanished, Ronan's eyes closed slightly, and his mind sank into a state as still as an ancient well.

All his senses settled into his own body.

The thousandth of a second Kuro appeared to his right, Ronan's sixth sense erupted with a piercing warning!

Every pore along his right side contracted wildly! An icy chill shot up his spine and straight to the crown of his head!

It's here!

Just as the malice in Kuro's eyes confirmed that he was about to succeed and kill Ronan on the spot—

Ronan moved.

He did not retreat. He did not dodge.

Using his right foot as a pivot, he explosively twisted his waist!

This was the most basic, yet fiercest, stance of Xing Yi Quan—Collapsing Fist!

His right fist, prepared long ago and charged with power, shot out without the slightest flourish. Like a cannonball, it carried the strength of his entire body as it smashed fiercely toward Kuro!

This was an ultimate prediction!

Kuro was too fast, so fast that even he could not finely alter his direction midway through.

His only choice was to drive those ten claws into Ronan's body.

And Ronan's choice was to send him flying before he could strike him!

Boom—!!

An incredibly muffled explosion erupted through the garden!