Black Cat Pirates!

Jango was originally the vice-captain of the Black Cat Pirates, and now, following Captain Kuro's plan, he had become the captain of the Black Cat Pirates, yet he still had to obey Captain Kuro's orders.

"Captain Jango, Captain Kuro has been holed up in this village for so long, his strength must have weakened. Why don't we just take him out!"

Buchi sneered. Now that Kuro had been missing for two years, the fear they once felt had faded, and during this time, the strength of the Cat Brothers had grown.

And as for Kuro, who had been in hiding for two years, his strength might have regressed significantly.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be summoning them so urgently now.

"Have you forgotten Captain Kuro's cruelty? He is a devil who could easily slaughter an entire Marine warship!"

Jango said with lingering fear. Even after two years, his memories remained vivid; he was the one who had personally hypnotized that Marine, Morgan.

"Captain Jango, we think you should be the captain now!"

Sham also said in a shrill voice. Jango could still hypnotize them into a berserk state, whereas that cold-blooded, heartless devil Kuro would wipe out his own crew in a heartbeat.

Working under Kuro offered absolutely no sense of security!

"Let's go see Captain Kuro's strength for ourselves first!"

Beneath his heart-shaped glasses, a flicker of ambition flashed in Jango's eyes, but he was cautious; he dared not provoke a madman like Kuro.

"Haha! Then let's test if Captain Kuro has really gotten weaker!"

Buchi wore a sinister expression. Kuro had left many shadows in their hearts, and today, they were going to see how much skill this captain still possessed.

The Bezan Black of the Black Cat Pirates slowly approached the shores of Syrup Village, and they immediately disembarked to rendezvous with Captain Kuro.

However, shortly after leaving the ship, their path was blocked by a swordsman with short green hair.

Both sides immediately clashed. Zoro, wielding two famous blades, did not give his opponents a chance, quickly cutting down Sham. Buchi, thanks to his layers of fat, managed to withstand Zoro's fierce 'Tiger Hunt' strike.

Under Jango's hypnosis, Buchi entered a berserk state and actually managed to trade dozens of blows with Zoro.

At this moment, Daddy appeared at the front of the battle with Kuro, watching the duel between Buchi and Zoro with an expressionless face.

Seeing the two of them appear, Zoro immediately became serious and quickly sent the fat cat flying with a single slash.

"Captain Kuro!!!"

Jango looked at his former captain with respect, while a terrified Sham and Buchi, having regained their senses, also stared at their captain in fear.

Had they not been injured by Zoro, they might have tried to test Captain Kuro's strength, but they were all wounded now.

"As useless as ever!"

Kuro said coldly, reaching for his Cat Claws to clean house.

"They are at least tools with bounties on their heads; they can serve as cannon fodder for the charge!"

Daddy said indifferently, and Kuro lowered his claws, looking coldly at his two underlings. Two years had passed, and the Cat Brothers' bounty was only 7 million Beli—a combined total for both of them.

"Captain Kuro, you...!"

Jango looked at the arrogant Kuro in disbelief, unable to fathom that he would obey the orders of a young man.

"I am no longer the captain; Daddy is the captain now!"

Kuro stood behind Daddy, adjusted his glasses with his palm, and said coldly, while wondering what Daddy was thinking—how could he even look at such trash!

"A few more people can be used to find things and die for the cause!"

Daddy said calmly. It didn't matter how many of these lackeys died.

"Suit yourself!"

Kuro wouldn't interfere with Daddy's decisions now; after all, he was just a subordinate.

"Daddy, what is the meaning of this? Are even these pirates allowed on the ship?"

Zoro said unhappily. These were just prey, pirates that could be turned in for money—how could they become crew members?!

"They are just subordinates, not crew members!"

Daddy looked at Jango and the others. Their strength was far from meeting his standards, and Daddy hadn't taken a liking to these lackeys at all!

"Submit, or die!"

Daddy walked toward Jango and his group, speaking as his eyes aimed at their necks. If they refused, he would immediately turn them into ghosts under the blade of his Sandai Kitetsu!

"We submit, Captain!"

The three of them glanced at Kuro and immediately surrendered to this new, devilish captain who had managed to subdue Kuro.

"I only need people who listen!"

Daddy's cold words made Jango and the others shiver, and they frantically nodded like chickens pecking at grain.

Kuro jumped onto the pirate ship and personally hacked the Black Cat Pirates' flag into shreds, destroying the crew he had built with his own hands.

"Daddy, where are we going next!"

Zoro, feeling unsatisfied with the fight, asked Daddy. He didn't understand the point of keeping these pirates; he should have just cut them down!

"We'll take down a couple more pirate crews, then move against the East Blue hegemon, the Krieg Pirates!"

Daddy had long planned to carve a path through the East Blue and recruit the top-tier crew members of the region. Although they were nothing but trash compared to the Grand Line and the New World, Daddy had to settle for these subordinates for now.

"That's more like it! Then let's go cut down the Overlord of the East Blue!"

There was no such thing as fear in Zoro's eyes, and a cold glint flashed across Kuro's glasses; he would use the blood of the East Blue's Overlord to consecrate the banner of his return!

Jango and the others, however, were already scared witless. The Krieg Pirates were a massive fleet with 50 ships and over 5,000 men; combined, their own group didn't even reach a hundred. How were they supposed to fight that?

"On the open sea, numbers are not an advantage!!"

Daddy wore a smile. He wanted to test the limits of his strength, and the Krieg Pirates—a group with plenty of men but no true experts—were the perfect place to grind for experience!

It was also a great place to feed the Sandai Kitetsu!

Daddy did not waste any time; he immediately left Syrup Village and set sail to slaughter the Krieg Pirates.

As for Usopp, he watched the pirate ship depart, but in the end, he lacked the courage to go to sea, silently returning to the mansion to look after Kaya.

During their time sailing on the ocean.

Daddy refrained from using the powers of the Barrier-Barrier Fruit, constantly sparring with Zoro and Kuro, aiming to suppress them in both taijutsu and swordsmanship.

The original pirates of the Black Cat Pirates, upon hearing that their new captain and his madmen intended to assault the East Blue's Overlord, the Krieg Pirates, were filled with terror, wishing they could jump ship and escape these lunatics.

But there was only one outcome for those who tried to flee: becoming a soul under the blade of the Sandai Kitetsu.

Indeed, no amount of underlings could compare to a single expert!

Hawkeye Mihawk could easily slice through the 5,000-man Krieg Pirates all by himself, as simply as crushing ants.

Straw Hat Luffy's Conqueror's Haki could instantly knock out tens of thousands of Fish-Men on Fish-Man Island; it was truly a weapon for clearing out mobs.

Daddy could barely tolerate the constant desertion of the pirate lackeys and nearly slaughtered them all to offer their blood to his blade.

In the end, he suppressed his killing intent and gave his small sailboat to Yosaku and Johnny, telling them to take these pirate lackeys to a Marine Branch to claim their bounties, rather than continuing to follow him and Zoro.

Because the battles to come were no place for these two soft-hearted, weakling bounty hunters!