A breeze carrying the scent of the sea brushed gently across his cheeks. The wind was mild, the sunlight warm, and a hint of drowsiness crept over him.
Rodney kept watching below. Kuro walked without making a sound, just like a cat.
A bespectacled man walked out. He wore a black suit patterned with feces, distinctive ringed leather shoes, and slicked-back hair that gleamed under the sunlight. He smiled amiably, yet gave off an extremely dangerous feeling.
"Kaya, it's lovely weather today." Kuro walked out through the back door. A young girl in a white dress, with short pale-golden hair and fair skin, followed him out happily. She said cheerfully, "Mm-hmm, Kuroobi, the weather is wonderful today."
The girl gave a sweet, adorable smile.
Rodney, perched in the tree, found this troublesome. He couldn't let a child see such a bloody scene.
He used the Transformation Technique to change his body and take on Scarface Locke's appearance, then jumped straight down.
Kuro, who had still been a pirate a year ago, sensed the danger and immediately carried Kaya away. He moved with great agility, reaching the back door in the span of a breath. Smiling, he said, "Kaya, an unwelcome guest has arrived today. Merry, take good care of her." He spoke to the servant with the sheep-shaped hairstyle.
"Understood." Merry nodded and picked Kaya up.
After closing the door, he pushed his glasses up with his palm facing upward. It was a habit left over from his days as a pirate, one he had retained all this time. He had never forgotten how to fight.
He turned to look at Rodney. "Scarface Locke? What are you doing here?"
Syrup Village was isolated, and news of Scarface Locke's downfall had not reached it yet.
"Oh? I never expected the famous Kuro the Hundred Plans to still be alive—and to have become a little girl's butler. Tsk, tsk. Have you decided to turn over a new leaf?"
Kuro snorted coldly. He hadn't expected to be recognized today. He had faked his death and found a way to come here precisely to scheme for Kaya's family fortune. In his plan, Kaya couldn't die yet. Both her parents were still alive. If she died now, his plan to seize the family fortune would collapse.
"I've thought things through. I don't want to be a pirate anymore," Kuro said. "You and I have no connection, nor do we have any grudges. Why have you come here?"
Why? Of course, he had come to kill him!
Rodney chuckled and said, "Once a pirate, always a pirate. You can't change that. Kuro the Hundred Plans, plotting to seize these two people's fortune. I came today to take care of you. Konoha Whirlwind!"
A powerful, incredibly fast low kick shot toward Kuro's head.
Kuro was no pushover. Before faking his death, he had been a pirate with a bounty of sixteen million Berries, and he was just as skilled with speed. He retreated, then vanished between several leaps.
Rodney: "..." Damn, can he run any faster?
Then he heard hurried footsteps. A group of bodyguards came rushing over, carrying guns and clubs.
He curled his lip, leaped onto the roof, and cackled. "Kuro the Hundred Plans, I'll give you an hour. If you don't come out, I'll spread your name throughout the East Blue. Believe me, I can do it. The East Blue newspaper people will absolutely love this big scoop."
"I've even thought of the headline: 'Shocking! Kuro the Hundred Plans Faked His Death and Retired, All for the Sake of...' Hahaha! I'll be waiting for you in the forest to the north. You've only got an hour."
With that, he left the roof and headed for the forest.
In Kuro's room, his expression turned ugly as he listened to Rodney. He had worked hard to earn Kaya's parents' trust, draw closer to Kaya, and mingle with the villagers. All those seemingly foolish actions had been for the sake of seizing Kaya's family fortune.
He knew that robbing people as a pirate was illegal, but robbing people as a rich man was legal.
So he could endure any humiliation, all for the sake of that enormous fortune.
Now Rodney's arrival had thrown his plan off course. He had to find a way to eliminate this deviation and put his plan back on track.
He dragged a bundle out from beneath the bed. Inside was the weapon that had made him famous—Ten Blades: Cat Claws!
After putting on Ten Blades: Cat Claws, he flexed his fingers. The sharp blades on all ten fingers glittered with a cold light. Those blades, sharp enough to cut hair with a breath, would tear that bastard apart and restore his perfect plan.
He pushed his glasses up with his furry palm. This habit had remained because of the weapon, and even after several years without fighting, his vigilance and fighting instincts were still intact.
He pushed open the window and, finding no one outside, immediately jumped out and hurried toward the eastern forest at top speed.
He recalled the information he had about "Scarface Locke."
A pirate with a bounty of four and a half million, skilled at using a saw to cut enemies in half, incredibly strong, and foul-mouthed. A saw... a saw?!
He suddenly stopped. Scarface Locke had been strange just now. Why hadn't he seen his weapon? And why would a pirate with only a four-and-a-half-million bounty, upon recognizing him, not flee, but instead threaten him? He had never heard that Scarface Locke was skilled at attacking enemies with his legs, either.
Kuro had discovered a massive number of blind spots!
"There must be traps in the forest, but if I don't go..."
Rodney had laid out an open stratagem for Kuro. Whether he went was up to him, but Rodney would definitely set traps. If he didn't come, he could wait for the Marines!
For the sake of his plan, Kuro could only let the other party lead him by the nose. The thought made him furious. Who was he? He was the dignified Kuro the Hundred Plans! Yet one day, someone had actually seized control of his Gate of Death!
He couldn't swallow this humiliation.
"Damn it, I'll definitely kill that bastard. If Jango were here, then..." If his vice-captain, Hypnotist Jango, were present, things would be much easier. Unfortunately, because of his orders, Jango absolutely wouldn't appear here.
The eastern forest wasn't far away. Kuro used his signature skill, Silent Step, walking across the ground without making the slightest sound, just like a feline hunting its prey.
Birdsong occasionally echoed through the forest. Sunlight passed through gaps in the leaves, scattering mottled spots of light across the grass and creating a peaceful atmosphere.
"Scarface Locke, I'm here." There was no one around, and the silence was eerie. Kuro decided to break it.
"Right on time."
Clink! Clink!
It sounded as though metal had collided in the air. Kuro saw a dark blur and twisted his body aside, dodging a Shuriken!
No, there had been two sounds just now!
Realizing something was wrong, he felt a pain in his back. Two Shuriken had pierced him, while another was embedded in the tree trunk.
Uchiha Shurikenjutsu changed the flight paths of Shuriken through collisions between them. It was an extremely practical technique.
Clink-clink!
The sound came again. Kuro swung Ten Blades: Cat Claws, knocking the Shuriken aside. He then blurred forward to a tree and slashed down with one claw, directly shearing off the treetop. A figure immediately flew out.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A scorching fireball the size of a house appeared from thin air and charged toward Kuro.
Kuro immediately stepped onto the tree he had just decapitated and retreated. The fireball slammed into the tree, setting it ablaze. The high-temperature flames formed from Chakra quickly burned the tree into charcoal.
"What terrifying power. Is he a Devil Fruit user?" Kuro began to consider retreating.
Rodney landed on the ground. Sure enough, like Amaterasu, the Great Fireball had never actually burned anyone to death.
"Silent Step!"
Seeing Rodney appear, Kuro decided to take a gamble.
Kuro was extremely fast. The next time he appeared, he was behind Rodney, with Ten Blades: Cat Claws aimed at the back of his neck. One slash was all it would take to separate this bastard's head from his body.
Substitution Technique!!
"I've won!"
His claw tore through Rodney's body with ease, but in the next moment, it turned into a wooden post, which he ripped into several pieces.
"What?!"
"Enough. The game is over. Earth Style: Heartless Beheading Technique!" A hand drilled out of the earth and clutched Kuro's ankle tightly.
With a powerful yank, it dragged Kuro into the soil. Not long afterward, Rodney crawled out of the ground, covered in dust. He shook himself hard, but remained filthy.
The soil around the place where Kuro had been dragged underground was dyed red with blood.
Using surprise to catch Kuro off guard, Rodney had dragged him into the earth and restricted the speed he took pride in. Kuro had died before he could even use his vaunted ultimate technique.
"Let's find somewhere to take a bath and change clothes." He transformed back into his original appearance as Rodney and headed toward the village.
Before you continue