Your Father Will Repay This Life!

The moment Kuro appeared, Roronoa Zoro's beast-like intuition immediately sensed the strength of the man before him; he was a worthy opponent.

"The East Blue's up-and-coming pirate hunter, known as the beast in human skin! Roronoa Zoro!"

Kuro pushed up his glasses with his palm and spoke emotionlessly. Even though he had gone into hiding, he still kept tabs on the various events unfolding across the East Blue.

This was the importance a clever man placed on information; after all, he had considered the possibility of being tracked down like this.

"Butler Klahadore, you... are you really a pirate?"

The servant Merry looked at his old acquaintance, whose demeanor had completely changed, with a nervous expression. The kind butler had instantly transformed into a cold, terrifying, and brutal pirate.

"Once I kill all of you, I won't be a pirate anymore! Mr. Merry, I will kill these two pirates to avenge you!"

Kuro's dagger instantly thrust toward Merry without a hint of mercy, despite having spent two years living alongside this gentle servant.

Clang!

"Hey, killing someone right in front of me? That won't do!"

Zoro instantly drew his sword to block Kuro's dagger, saving the terrified Merry.

"Ten minutes, Zoro! Otherwise, I'm taking over!"

Daddy grabbed the trembling Merry, tossed him aside, and found a spot to sit down, watching the two of them fight in silence.

"Hey, Kuro, don't you want to call the Black Cat Pirates for backup? Aren't you going to take out your Cat Claws?"

For a man as highly intelligent and arrogant as Kuro, Daddy intended to crush him head-on and give him plenty of face. If he couldn't be subdued, he would show him what true cruelty meant!

"Are you looking down on me? Or are you overestimating yourselves?"

Kuro's eyes had turned completely cold. Two years ago, his bounty had already reached 16 million berries. Had he not faked his death to escape, he would certainly be higher than that so-called 'East Blue Overlord' Krieg, who only had a bounty of 17 million now.

And these two greenhorn pirate hunters before him—what right did they have to be his opponents?

"Then let's make a bet. If you lose, you join us. If we lose, our lives are yours!"

Daddy chuckled, looking at Kuro of a Hundred Plans with a provocative gaze, his eyes filled with seemingly endless contempt.

"Hmph! A crude taunt! You wet-behind-the-ears brats!"

Kuro didn't take the two of them seriously at all. He wanted to finish off these pirate hunters quickly, dispose of Merry, and get back to his original plan.

He lunged rapidly at the pirate hunter Zoro, but within a dozen moves, he realized that without his Cat Claws, he couldn't suppress this green-haired brat at all!

Kuro feinted, his figure turning into a blur as he vanished from the doorway. He dashed back to his room to retrieve his Cat Claws, simultaneously dialing Jango's Den Den Mushi to order him to rush to Syrup Village immediately.

Even though he suspected Jango might have leaked information, he needed to confirm it now. If he discovered that Jango had truly betrayed him, he would hunt him down to the ends of the earth!

Meanwhile, Zoro, who had just been getting into the swing of the fight, chased after him while cursing, only to get lost the moment he stepped inside and run off in the wrong direction.

Seeing this scene made Daddy's eyelids twitch—the directionally challenged Zoro was truly terrifying!

However, I can't blame myself for stepping in now!

On the other side, the servant Merry frantically found the young mistress Kaya and told her the whole truth. Usopp, who had been climbing up from outside the window, happened to overhear that Butler Klahadore was a pirate.

"Kaya, let's run! We need to get out of the line of fire!"

Usopp jumped into Kaya's room in a panic, desperately urging the frail young mistress to flee; the battle between pirates and bounty hunters was far too dangerous.

Kaya did not refuse the advice of the servant Merry and her friend Usopp; she decided to leave first. She never imagined that the Butler Klahadore, who had been so attentive to her, would be a pirate.

Yet, she still wanted to confront Butler Klahadore in person—why had he deceived her?

They had just run out of Kaya's room and reached the hall when they encountered that familiar figure.

But the butler they thought was gentle had already turned into a cold-blooded demon.

"I didn't expect you to find out after all! What a nuisance!"

Captain Kuro, wearing his Cat Claws on both hands, pushed up his glasses with his palm and spoke in a sinister tone.

His appearance made both Usopp and Merry tremble with fear, but the frail and sickly Kaya stood her ground.

"Why? Klahadore, was all the care and protection you showed me over these two years just an act?"

Kaya asked with a pale face; she had truly trusted this butler completely until now.

"Young mistress, Merry and this brat Usopp are colluding with pirates. Once I finish off these people, I will explain everything clearly to you!"

Kuro smiled faintly. He prepared to kill everyone and have Jango hypnotize Kaya into writing a will, allowing him to inherit all of her assets. Even if some villagers were suspicious, he had no choice but to execute the plan.

Originally, he had wanted to let Kaya's health deteriorate further before inheriting the estate in a more logical manner.

Two years ago, he had assassinated Kaya's parents, and after she fell ill, he had added substances to her medicine to make her even weaker, requiring long-term treatment.

"You pirate, get out of the way! I am Captain Usopp, commander of eight thousand men!"

Feeling Kuro's icy killing intent, Usopp stood in front of Kaya, trembling all over but refusing to back down, determined to protect his beloved young mistress.

"Hah! Trash!"

Kuro stopped wasting words. His Cat Claws glinted with a cold light as he instantly charged toward Usopp, who was blocking his path. He had to kill this liar and Merry; he had to finish his plan.

"No!"

Kaya wept in terror and closed her eyes, while Usopp and Merry were so frightened they couldn't even move.

"Clang!"

"Usopp, remember this: you owe me your life. You can have your father Yasopp pay me back later!"

A transparent barrier shield appeared abruptly before Usopp and the other two. Daddy walked in at a leisurely pace, while Kuro was sent flying backward by the immense recoil of his own force.

"It's you!" x2.

Merry and Usopp spoke in unison. Both of them had seen Daddy before, but they never expected this stranger to step in and save them.

"A Devil Fruit user!!"

Kuro narrowed his eyes, staring at this bounty hunter with a grave expression. He hadn't expected Roronoa Zoro to be so strong, yet this guy seemed even stronger.

In a backwater place like the East Blue, there weren't many Devil Fruit users. According to his intelligence, he only knew of Buggy the Clown and White Hunter Smoker.

"Kuro, the bet still stands! Either get beaten to death or join me! Let me see your strength and your ambition!"

Daddy slowly drew the Sandai Kitetsu. The atmosphere on the field instantly turned eerie and cold, as if everyone could feel the ominous aura radiating from this cursed blade.