Blades and Saws

"Whoosh—"

The Chainsaw Devil and the Blade Devil sprang forward. The Blade Devil was as fast as lightning, reaching the Cat Brothers in the blink of an eye and slashing across with both arms.

In the heat of the moment, the Cat Brothers reacted instinctively. The towering Buchi crossed his claws in front of his chest, while the scrawny Sam leaped into the air without thinking.

"Clang—"

The blades of their cat claws collided with the long swords, sending sparks flying.

Buchi gripped the long sword with all his might, a grinding hiss coming from their weapons.

"Now, Sam!"

Feeling the opponent's immense strength and knowing he wouldn't last more than a few seconds, Buchi hurriedly shouted to his partner.

A fiery gleam appeared in Sam's eyes. He swiftly swung his blades, aiming for the opponent's throat.

But someone moved even faster. The Blade Devil let Sam attack without dodging or evading. While Sam held him in place, he was holding Sam in place, too.

"Rrrr—rrr—"

Right behind the Blade Devil, the Chainsaw Devil emerged from below in the blink of an eye, its menacing chainsaw slashing toward Buchi's bulky body.

"Slash—"

"Ugh..."

Two great sprays of blood burst into the air. In an instant, two ghastly gashes were carved across Buchi's chest, and his grip loosened.

The Blade Devil pulled his swords free and thrust them toward Sam as he swung his claws in midair.

"Clang—"

Sparks flew.

"Buchi!!!"

Sam shouted in alarm, but he had no time to spare even a glance for his partner. The Blade Devil's arm, carrying tremendous force, sent him flying.

Sam rolled with the force, using his powerful core to flip through the air and land behind the Blade Devil.

Before he could even touch down, he heard the shrill roar of a chainsaw behind him. The Chainsaw Devil had somehow caught up from behind. Sam whipped around and reached out with his claws.

Just as his cat-claw gloves were about to touch the chainsaw, the Chainsaw Devil abruptly changed its move, turning around and slashing with both saws, one high and one low.

"Ah!!!"

A piercing scream rang out. Though Sam instinctively twisted aside, the rapidly spinning chainsaw still tore off one of his arms.

Sam was terrified. Before he could counterattack the Chainsaw Devil in front of him, the Blade Devil had already rushed to his side.

"Wait!", Sam cried in panic.

Stab! Stab!

Ignoring his cries, the two long swords flashed with cold light and slid into Sam's body as smoothly as knives through tofu.

Sam stood frozen, staring down in disbelief at the gleaming swords that had pierced through him. Blood dripped uncontrollably onto the deck.

For a moment, the scene fell so quiet it was suffocating.

Shing—!

The swords were pulled free, and Sam's body went limp, collapsing onto the deck.

The fight had lasted no more than a few breaths, yet both Cat Brothers lay in pools of blood. The deck was awash in red, and the two demonic figures stood before them, their blades and chainsaws stained with blood.

"I told you that laugh wouldn't keep him alive for long."

Lina's calm voice broke the silence.

He lit a cigarette and slowly walked over to Nami. Looking down at the trembling girl slumped on the ground, her face filled with terror, he held out his hand.

"I'm a pirate! This is a robbery!"

"O-okay... Take... take it all."

"Just don't kill me!"

Nami's voice trembled. Her palm was already damp with sweat as she clutched a bag of treasure and held it out.

The Cat Brothers, with a combined bounty of seven million, had been cut down in the blink of an eye. After seeing the horrifying scene, she no longer had the will to resist.

When he didn't take the treasure, Nami let go and set it on the ground, quickly drawing her arm back and holding it against her chest.

"Oh, no, no. I'm not robbing you of your money. I'm robbing you of you."

Lina chuckled, kicked the bag of treasure away, took a drag of his cigarette, and recalled the two demonic undead, the Blade Devil and the Chainsaw Devil.

He drew his hand back and sat cross-legged. "You said your name was Nami, right? Do you know navigation?"

"A little."

Nami answered softly. Seeing the two demonic figures vanish without a trace, she was shocked, but still breathed a sigh of relief.

Lina's manner turned friendly. He already knew Nami could navigate. "We're pirates, and we're heading for the Grand Line. Come be our navigator."

"I..." Nami hesitated. She didn't dare refuse, but when she thought of Cocoyasi Village...

Her home was still under Arlong's brutal rule. She had to save up a hundred million to buy the village from him. If she left just like that, the people of Cocoyasi Village would never see the light of day again.

What should I do? Maybe I should agree for now, then look for a chance to escape? Nami's thoughts churned as she wondered in secret.

That should work. There are only a few of them. They can't watch me every second. I'll find a chance to get away.

After weighing her options for a moment, Nami was about to pretend to agree, but Lina cut her off.

"Are you secretly planning something?"

Watching Nami lost in thought, Lina rested his chin on his hand. "Pretend to agree, then look for a chance to escape? Maybe even figure out a way to double-cross us?"

Nami's pupils shrank, and surprise showed on her face.

Lina understood Nami's little schemes all too well, because...

He was just like that himself!

By now, Luffy and Zoro had also dealt with the Black Cat Pirates and brought Jango back with them.

Lina pointed at Nami and called to them, "Hey, Luffy! I found our navigator!"

"Huh? Really?!"

Luffy looked at Nami excitedly, his eyes shining. "Hi, I'm Luffy."

"H-hello," Nami replied. At that moment, she was like a startled lamb. She had witnessed the fighting strength Luffy and Zoro had just displayed with her own eyes.

Of the three, only Lina didn't look particularly strong, but he seemed able to command two terrifying devils.

Now that all three of them were here, Nami had no ability to resist at all. She felt like she'd had the worst luck in the world today.

"Oh, right, Lina."

As if remembering something, Luffy lifted Jango, whom he had been carrying by the scruff. "This guy was heading to Syrup Village, too. He said he knows a secret he can tell us."

Jango's face was bruised and swollen, but he was grinning obsequiously. Lina recalled that the guy knew hypnosis.

Three years ago, Jango had hypnotized Morgan, making him believe he had captured Captain Kuro. Morgan had been promoted to captain as a result, while Kuro took the opportunity to hide in Syrup Village and spend the next three years plotting to seize Kaya's family fortune.

"If you let me go, I guarantee you'll get a handsome reward."

Jango rubbed his hands together, grinning at them.

"Let's hear it," Lina said. He had a pretty good idea what secret Jango meant: the whole business with Kuro.

With the three of them glaring at him, Jango proceeded to reveal Kuro's entire plan.

It turned out Kuro wanted to use Jango's hypnotic ability to make Kaya write a will leaving all her wealth to Kuro, then kill her.

"In short, you can team up with Captain Kuro and split the Kaya family fortune, or report him to the Marines and stop him. I'm sure the Kaya family would give you a nice reward, too."

Jango had a shifty look on his face. He had even started helping them come up with a plan.

That only made Luffy angrier.

Bam!

"That jerk! How could he do something so awful?!" Luffy knocked Jango unconscious with one punch, raising his fist in anger.

Lina had no interest in Kuro's schemes, but he did want Kuro for himself. He would go after Kuro whether this scheme existed or not.

Besides, the Kaya family had a ship. It was going to be their first pirate ship. And then there was Usopp, the man who ruled over desperate situations in ancient Greece.

It was still a day's journey to Syrup Village. This was a treasure trove of a side quest, and Lina had long been itching to go farm Kuro for loot...