Chainsaw and Blade

"Whoosh—"

The Chainsaw Devil and Sword Devil charged out in a single stride. The Sword Devil was swift as lightning, reaching the Nyaban Brothers in the blink of an eye and crossing his arms as he slashed horizontally.

Caught off guard, the Nyaban Brothers reacted on instinct. The huge Butchie raised his claws across his chest, while the smaller Sam reflexively leaped into the air.

"Clang—"

The claw blades collided with the longswords, sending sparks flying.

Butchie used all his strength to clamp down on the blades, a harsh grinding sound coming from his hands.

"Now, Sam!"

Feeling the opponent's overwhelming strength and knowing he could not hold on for more than a few seconds, he hurriedly shouted to his partner.

A fierce glint appeared in Sam's eyes as he swiftly swung his blade at the opponent's throat.

However, someone moved even faster. The Sword Devil let Sam attack without dodging. While Sam was restraining him, he was also being restrained by him.

"Bzzz—bzzz—"

Behind the Sword Devil, the Chainsaw Devil suddenly burst up from below. His hideous chainsaw slashed toward Butchie's massive body.

"Rip—"

"Urgh!"

Two massive sprays of blood burst forth. In an instant, two horrifying gashes were carved across Butchie's chest, and his grip loosened.

The Sword Devil pulled his blades free and swept them upward at Sam, who was still airborne with his claws outstretched.

"Clang—"

Sparks flashed.

"Butchie!!!"

Sam cried out in panic, but he had no time to spare another glance at his companion. The Sword Devil's arms seemed to carry immense force as they sent him flying.

Sam redirected the force, using his powerful core to roll through the air and leap behind the Sword Devil.

Before he could land, he heard the piercing whine of a chainsaw behind him. The Chainsaw Devil had somehow caught up from behind, and Sam spun around, raking out with his claws.

Just as his clawed gloves were about to strike the chainsaw, the Chainsaw Devil abruptly changed moves. He spun around and swept both saws horizontally, one high and one low.

"Ahhh!!!"

A shrill scream rang out. Though Sam instinctively twisted aside, one of his arms was still viciously torn off by the rapidly spinning chainsaw.

Sam was terrified. Before he could strike back at the Chainsaw Devil in front of him, the Sword Devil had already rushed to his side.

"Wait!" Sam shouted in panic.

Stab! Stab!

Ignoring his cries, the two longswords flashed coldly and slid into Sam's body as smoothly as knives through tofu.

Sam lowered his head and stood frozen, staring in disbelief at the icy twin blades piercing through his body as blood dripped endlessly onto the deck.

For a moment, the silence was suffocating.

Shing—!

The longswords were pulled free, and Sam's body went limp as he collapsed onto the deck.

Only a few breaths had passed since the fight began, yet both Nyaban Brothers lay in pools of blood. The deck was dyed crimson, and the two demonic figures stood there with blood coating their blades and saws.

"See? I told you that laugh wouldn't last long."

Reiner's calm voice broke the silence.

He slowly walked toward Nami, looking down at the trembling, terrified girl slumped on the ground, then held out his hand.

"Me! Pirate, robbery!"

"O-okay, I'll give you everything."

"Please don't kill me!"

Nami's voice trembled. Her palms were soaked with sweat as she tightly clutched a bag of treasure and held it out to him.

The Nyaban Brothers, worth seven million Berries, had been cut down in the blink of an eye. Faced with such a horrifying scene, she could not muster even the thought of resisting.

After holding out the treasure, she saw that he did not take it. Nami immediately let go and placed it on the ground, then quickly pulled her arms back against her chest.

"Oh my, I'm not here to rob money. I'm here to rob people."

Reiner chuckled, kicked aside the bag of treasure at his feet, took a drag of his cigarette, and put away the two deceased blade-and-saw spirits.

He withdrew his hand and sat down cross-legged. "You said your name was Nami, right? Do you know Navigation Skill?"

"A little."

Nami replied softly. Although she was shocked when the two demonic figures vanished for no apparent reason, she still breathed a sigh of relief.

Reiner became friendlier. Of course, he knew Nami had Navigation Skill. "We're pirates, and we're heading for the Grand Line. Come be our navigator."

"I..." Nami hesitated. She did not dare refuse, but then she thought of Cocoyasi Village.

Her hometown was still under Arlong's brutal rule. She needed to save one hundred million Berries to buy the village back from Arlong. If she left like this, the people of Cocoyasi Village would never see the light of day again.

What should I do? Maybe I should agree first, then find a chance to escape? Nami's thoughts churned.

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

After weighing her options for a moment, Nami was about to pretend to agree when Reiner interrupted her.

"Are you secretly planning something?"

Reiner looked at the pensive Nami, resting his chin on his hand. "Pretend to agree first, then find a chance to escape? Maybe even figure out a way to stab us in the back?"

Nami's pupils shrank in shock.

Reiner understood Nami's little schemes far too well, because...

He was exactly that kind of person!

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

Reiner pointed at Nami and called out to them, "Hey, Luffy! I found a navigator."

"Huh? Really?!"

Luffy stared at Nami excitedly, his eyes sparkling. "Hi, my name's Luffy."

"H-hello." Nami was like a startled little lamb. She had seen firsthand the strength Luffy and Zoro had displayed just now.

Of the three, only Reiner did not seem particularly strong, but he appeared capable of commanding two terrifying demons.

Now that all three were here, she had no ability to resist whatsoever. Nami only felt that her luck today had been terrible.

"Oh, right, Reiner."

As if remembering something, Luffy lifted up Jango, whom he had been carrying in his hand. "This guy seems to be heading to Syrup Village too. He said he has a secret to tell us."

Jango, bruised and swollen, wore a fawning grin. Reiner remembered that this guy seemed to know hypnosis.

Three years ago, he had hypnotized Morgan into believing he had captured Kuro of a Hundred Plans. Morgan used that achievement to rise to the rank of captain, while Kuro used the opportunity to hide in Syrup Village and spend three years plotting against Kaya's family fortune.

"As long as you let me go, I guarantee you'll get a handsome reward."

Jango rubbed his hands together and grinned at them.

"Let's hear it." Reiner roughly knew what secret he meant. It was nothing more than Kuro's little scheme.

Under the group's unfriendly stares, Jango proceeded to reveal all of Kuro's plans.

Kuro intended to use Jango's hypnosis to make Kaya write a will leaving all her property to Kuro, then kill her.

"In short, you can work with Captain Kuro to divide Kaya's family fortune, or report Kuro to the Marines and stop him. I'm sure Kaya's family will offer you a pretty good reward too."

Jango wore a sly expression and even began offering advice on their behalf.

It would have been better if he had said nothing. Once he finished, Luffy became even angrier.

Bang!

"That bastard! How could he do something so awful?!" Luffy knocked Jango unconscious with a single punch, raising his fist indignantly.

Reiner had no interest at all in whatever Kuro was planning, but he wanted Kuro himself. With or without this matter, he was going to find Kuro.

Besides, Kaya's family had a ship. That would become their first pirate ship. And there was Usopp too, the Man in Charge of Despair in Ancient Greece.

There was still one day of travel to Syrup Village. This was a dungeon packed with rewards, and Reiner could barely wait to farm Kuro for loot.