Kuro, I Want You to Aid My Training

Usopp hurried to Kaya's mansion.

He slipped past the guards, made his way beneath the tree beside Kaya's room, and leaped onto a branch.

"Something terrible happened, Kaya!"

Usopp saw Kaya lying on the bed by the window, quietly reading a book in her hands.

The weight in his heart finally lifted.

There was still time. As long as he quickly told Kaya the truth and got her out of here...

"What is it, Usopp?"

Kaya brushed aside her golden hair and was delighted to see the boy. But when she noticed the panic on Usopp's face, she could not help worrying.

"Kaya, listen to me. Your butler, Kuro..."

"He's a pirate!"

Usopp hurriedly told Kaya the information he had just learned. "Come with me first. I'll explain everything later."

"Hahaha, what are you talking about, Usopp?"

Kaya was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "Is this today's story?"

After Kaya's parents passed away, she fell into depression, and her health worsened along with it.

Usopp had always kept her company, often coming over to tell her all sorts of exaggerated stories.

Kaya knew they were fake, because she had read some of those stories in books.

But she never exposed him. She simply played along with Usopp and smiled from time to time.

Sometimes it was because the stories were funny. Other times, it was because simply looking at the boy made her inexplicably happy.

The tension on Usopp's face deepened. He knew Kaya had taken his words as another story.

His voice inevitably grew louder. "No, Kaya! I'm telling you the truth!"

Suddenly, he remembered the wanted poster he had gotten from Reiner and hurriedly fumbled for it in his pouch.

Knock, knock, knock—

Someone knocked on Kaya's door.

"Miss Kaya, it's me, Kuro."

"I've brought you lunch."

The moment he heard Kuro's voice, Usopp was startled, and beads of cold sweat the size of soybeans formed on his forehead.

"Oh no, Usopp..."

Kaya panicked. "You need to leave quickly. If Kuro finds you, he'll have the guards chase you out again..."

"No!" Usopp's hands trembled as he spread the wanted poster before Kaya.

"Look! I wasn't lying! It's real! Hurry and come with me. I'll carry you out the window. Trust me, Kaya!"

"Th-This is...!" Kaya stared at the portrait on the wanted poster in disbelief.

Other than his slightly different attire, the face was practically identical to Kuro's!

"How could this be... Kuro, he..." Kaya found it hard to accept.

That refined and gentle butler had suddenly become a great pirate with a bounty of sixteen million Berries?

"Miss Kaya, are you all right?"

"I'm coming in."

Outside the door, Kuro sensed that something was wrong.

Today was the day he had arranged to meet Jango, yet the man had still not shown up. Kuro felt like tearing Jango to pieces.

And then there was Kaya's reaction...

He had clearly heard movement inside, but Kaya had yet to answer him.

Even if she was unable to let him in, she should at least have said something. A faintly ominous feeling rose within him.

"Could it be...?"

"Jango, you useless trash!"

Kuro truly deserved his reputation as a pirate famed for his cunning. He understood what had happened in an instant.

Bang!

With a loud crash, the room's door was violently kicked open.

Kuro gritted his teeth as he looked at Usopp by the window, carrying Kaya and preparing to flee.

His expression instantly darkened into something terrifying.

"K-Kuro!" Usopp and Kaya cried out.

As Kuro pulled a long clawed glove from his suit and put it on, Usopp began trembling uncontrollably.

"Why?" Kuro asked coldly.

"How did you find out? Don't tell me trash like you defeated Jango?"

"Yo, we told him."

A crisp voice suddenly came from outside the window.

Luffy squatted on a tree branch, holding a plate of half-eaten food.

Stuffing a piece of meat into his mouth, Luffy looked calmly at Kuro. "I beat up that weird guy with the glasses."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Luffy. I'm the man who'll become the Pirate King!"

"The Pirate King? Then you're a pirate too."

Kuro stared coldly at Luffy. "Why? I don't have any grudge against you. Or are you..."

"Trying to come here and play the hero?"

"A hero? No, I told you already, I want to become the Pirate King. As for why..."

Luffy set the plate on the windowsill, rubbed his fists together, and flashed a broad, toothy grin.

"I don't like the look of you, so I came to beat you up. It's that simple!"

As he spoke, Luffy stretched out his arms, wrapped up Usopp and Kaya, and lowered them to the ground.

"What is this?!"

"His arms got longer!!"

Usopp and Kaya stared at the arms wrapped around them in shock.

"Is that all?"

Kuro's expression gradually twisted. "Three years! Three years of painstaking planning!"

"Because of your ridiculous reason, it all went down the drain! Because you don't like the look of me, everything has been ruined!"

"You deserve to die!!!"

Kuro roared, spreading his Ten Blades and revealing a chilling glint.

Whoosh!

In the next moment, Kuro vanished from where he stood. This was his Silent Walk, a high-speed burst movement technique that made no sound.

When he appeared again, he was already in front of Luffy!

"So fast!"

Luffy was startled. The opponent's sudden burst of speed caught him off guard.

Slash!

Blood sprayed as Ten Claws carved several bloody wounds across Luffy's chest.

"Damn it!" Luffy gritted his teeth. Though he instinctively pulled back, he was still slashed and flipped backward onto the lawn.

But after landing a hit, Kuro did not stop. He pressed his advantage, closing in again the instant Luffy touched the ground.

His claws swung down viciously!

Clang—!

Sparks suddenly flashed through the air.

A black-clad figure with sharp fangs held up a blade and blocked Kuro's claws.

"What the hell is that?!"

Kuro stared at the Sword Devil in horror. This person looked...

No, no matter how he looked at it, that thing was not human, was it?!

That thing looked way too horrifying!

Screech—Screech—

A sharp, ear-piercing sound rang out as another bizarre figure emerged.

It looked even more ferocious than the Sword Devil, and the sight of its three rapidly spinning chainsaws made people shudder.

"Ahhh!!!"

Kaya screamed sharply, covering her face with both hands as though she had seen something terrifying.

"How rude."

Reiner walked up from behind, followed by Zoro and Nami.

Looking at the terrified and flustered Kaya, Reiner lit a cigarette and said blandly, "Little Blade and Little Saw will be sad."

"Those names are creepy on them, bastard!"

Nami rolled her eyes at him. "No matter how many times I see those things, they still make me sick!"

"Anyway, he's our target, right? He looks like a decent opponent."

Zoro drew his swords and looked at Kuro with interest.

"Roronoa Zoro?"

Kuro watched Zoro draw his swords. Though he had retired behind the scenes, he still kept an eye on information from the outside world.

He was no stranger to the Pirate Hunter who had risen to fame in the East Blue over the past two years—the Three-Sword Style Swordsman, Zoro.

Looking at Luffy, Zoro, and the two bizarre creatures...

Kuro's expression could not help turning grave. "This situation is truly not good!"

Reiner controlled the two devils as they surrounded Kuro, while he himself stayed in the back.

He casually took the rifle from his back and began loading bullets into it.

Four against one?

No, five against one!

This was not some duel. No one would think it was unfair.

Kuro, I want you to aid my training!