"Hundred Plans" Kuro!

Night fell.

In the waters south of Syrup Village, the Hundred Plans Buraku rose and fell with the waves, its crew already deep in slumber.

Inside the captain's quarters, Kuro flipped through a book. Only after the noise outside had completely faded, leaving nothing but the crew's snores, did he rise to his feet.

Silently, without alerting anyone.

Beneath the dim moonlight, Kuro rowed a small boat toward the island.

Before carrying out his plan, he would not let his subordinates know his objective. In the future, he would kill every last one of them as well, ensuring that "Kuro" truly died.

Caution was his creed!

However, he did not know that the 153rd Branch had long since noticed his movements.

Syrup Family Estate.

Within the "World" space, shouts of battle rose one after another as more than a dozen pirates wielding swords and blades desperately surrounded and attacked Luo Ya.

Strangely, Luo Ya did not retaliate at all. He focused entirely on dodging and blocking the blades coming at him from every direction.

His sturdy body was already covered in bloody wounds.

"Ha... ha..."

Luo Ya gasped heavily, raising his sword to block the blade in front of him. Before he even had time to think, pain erupted across his back again, blood spraying everywhere.

The bone-deep pain and massive blood loss left Luo Ya's mind blank. He could only watch as several blades pierced his body.

Time stopped at that moment.

When Luo Ya regained consciousness, he had already returned to the real world. The wounds all over his body had vanished, but the gnawing hunger told him that he had been killed by pirates once again.

During practical combat training in the "World," once he suffered a fatal injury, the world would immediately stop functioning. After restoring his fatigue and injuries, it would kick him back out.

"Not enough."

Luo Ya walked to the table, picked up the meat that had been prepared beforehand, and wolfed it down to recover his strength as quickly as possible.

He was training his ability to survive.

According to his memories and the branch's intelligence, Kuro's strongest move was called Silent Step, an incredibly fast movement technique that could kill enemies without a sound.

At his current level, even defeating Morgue would be extremely difficult, let alone Kuro. The only thing he could do was improve his reactions to danger as much as possible.

Bang!

The door was violently shoved open!

Fullbody barged in, his eyes bloodshot.

"Luo Ya, the wolf is here!"

"Good!"

Luo Ya's gaze sharpened. He immediately put on all his equipment. With things having reached this point, retreat was no longer an option.

As the one who had planned this incident, he had even less reason to back down.

"Let's go!"

Syrup Village, southern forest.

There were two landing slopes along the coastline, but no matter which route one took, anyone heading for the village had to pass through this forest.

Time ticked by little by little. The forest was terrifyingly quiet; even the usual chirping of insects had vanished.

Tap... tap...

The sound of leather shoes stepping on the ground was faint, but in such a silent environment, it carried clearly for a great distance, as if it were treading on the hearts of every ambushed Marine.

He was here!

Under the faint moonlight, a seemingly frail figure approached from afar.

Tap... tap...

The newcomer stopped. Under the moonlight, two round lenses reflected the forest's cold glint.

"Too quiet."

Kuro raised a hand and pushed up his glasses. A long-forgotten unease welled up in his heart. The surroundings were far too quiet—so quiet that it was strange.

Go back!

Kuro immediately turned around.

Bang! Bang! Bang bang bang!

In an instant, dozens of searchlights lit up throughout the surrounding forest, all converging on Kuro. The glare was so piercing that he could not open his eyes.

An ambush!

The next moment, Marines from the 153rd Branch surged out of the forest and surrounded Kuro. Nearly a hundred Rifles were aimed at him, with several cannons positioned behind them.

Without hesitation or a single unnecessary word, the Captains gave the order to attack the instant they confirmed Kuro's identity.

"Fire!"

The Marines pulled their triggers!

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang!"

A dense barrage of bullets and shells swallowed Kuro whole!

"BOOM!!!"

Flames shot into the sky!

"Until we confirm Kuro is dead, nobody lets their guard down!"

An officer roared.

It was precisely because they had faced Kuro before and knew how terrifying he was that this ambush gave him no chance to react, launching an immediate assault.

Because the officers knew very well that once Kuro started "moving," it would be nearly impossible to catch sight of him again.

This was the "shadow" Kuro had left upon them!

The Marines held their Rifles up, aiming rigidly at the heart of the flames. The Captains were drenched in cold sweat as well, their nerves stretched tight.

The smoke and dust slowly dispersed.

Everyone's pupils contracted.

There was nothing at the center of the explosion!

Where was Kuro?

"Drip... drip..."

Blood dripped onto the ground.

"Up there!"

The searchlights immediately followed the trail of blood upward, locking onto Kuro standing atop a tree trunk. The Marines hurriedly raised their Rifles.

"Whoosh!"

Before they could pull the trigger, the Marines' vision blurred. Kuro vanished from the tree trunk, then appeared directly at the center of the encirclement.

Under the gaze of every Marine, Kuro calmly raised his Cat Claw Blades and used his palm to push up his glasses. Endless fury lurked within his icy stare.

Someone had betrayed him!

Kuro felt the pain coursing through his body.

Though he had responded as appropriately as possible in time, he had still suffered severe injuries under such a dense barrage of bullets. Nearly ten lead rounds had entered his body.

Who was it?!

For the first time in his life, Kuro felt that his mind was not enough.

He had never revealed his intentions to anyone, and tonight's operation had been carried out with utmost caution. There was no way he could have drawn his companions' attention.

Then who had betrayed him?

And why had the Navy seen through his objective and laid an ambush On the Island, as though they had calculated that he would definitely fall for it?

Where did the Navy get such confidence?!

The less he understood, the angrier he became.

He had been toyed with by his enemy. He had not even realized something was wrong until the attack came, like a complete idiot.

Compared to the slight pain in his body, the frustration of having his intellect utterly crushed was far more unbearable.

He was Kuro of a Hundred Plans!

"Kuro!"

Colonel Rhode appeared from the Coast, with Luo Ya and Fullbody at his sides, blocking off his retreat.

"You have nowhere left to run!"

"Run?"

Kuro lowered his head and let out a chilling laugh, his entire body beginning to sway faintly from side to side.

"Mere Navy fools, don't get carried away."

"I have no need to run."

"Because tonight, every last one of you will die here!"

Terror filled the Captains' eyes, and even Colonel Rhode's expression changed drastically.

"That stance... could it be?!"

During the pursuit half a year ago, he had used this terrifying technique to slaughter nearly half the Marines of the 153rd Branch!

In that special state, any attack became meaningless. All they could do then was wait for death to descend.

Even though they had come prepared this time, that fear still shrouded the 153rd Branch. No one knew whether they would be lucky enough to survive.

"Everyone, defensive formation!"

Colonel Rhode and the officers roared with every ounce of strength they had.

The next second.

Kuro disappeared!

"Spoon Death!"