Jango had once been the Black Cat Pirates' vice-captain. Now, according to Captain Kuro's plan, he had become their captain, but he still had to obey Kuro's orders.
"Captain Jango, Captain Kuro's been holed up in this village for so long that he must've gotten weaker. Why don't we take him out?"
Buchi sneered. Kuro had been gone for two years now, and their old fear of him had faded. Besides, the Cat Brothers had gotten stronger during that time.
As for Kuro, who had spent two years in hiding, there was a chance he'd lost a lot of his strength.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have summoned them so urgently.
"Have you forgotten how cruel Captain Kuro is? He's a demon who can slaughter an entire warship's crew of Marines without breaking a sweat!"
Jango said with lingering fear. Even after two years, the memory was still vivid. He had personally hypnotized that Marine, Morgan.
"Captain Jango, we think you're the real captain now!"
Sham chimed in sharply. Jango could hypnotize them and send them into a frenzy, while Kuro, that cold-blooded demon, might kill even his own crew in an instant.
Working under Kuro gave them no sense of security at all!
"Let's see how strong Captain Kuro is first!"
A trace of ambition flickered behind Jango's heart-shaped glasses, but he was cautious. He wouldn't dare provoke a madman like Kuro.
"Ha-ha! Then let's find out if Captain Kuro's gotten weaker!"
Buchi's face turned vicious. Kuro had left a deep shadow in their hearts, and today they'd see how much their captain still had in him.
The Black Cat Pirates' Bezan Black slowly approached the shore of Syrup Village. They disembarked at once to meet up with Captain Kuro.
But soon after leaving the ship, they were blocked by a swordsman with short green hair.
The two sides immediately clashed. Zoro, who wielded two famous swords, gave his opponents no chance. He quickly cut Sham down, while Buchi's layers of fat let him withstand Zoro's fierce Tiger Hunt.
Under Jango's hypnosis, Buchi entered a frenzied state and managed to trade dozens of blows with Zoro.
Just then, Daddy appeared at the front of the fight with Kuro. He watched Zoro and Buchi battle, his expression blank.
When Daddy and Kuro appeared, Zoro immediately got serious. He soon sent the fat cat flying with a single slash.
"Captain Kuro!!!"
Jango looked respectfully at his former captain. Sham and Buchi, having come to their senses, also stared at Kuro in fear.
If they hadn't been injured by Zoro, they might have tried to test Captain Kuro's strength. But they were both hurt now.
"Useless as ever!"
Kuro said coldly. He reached for his Cat Claws, ready to clean house.
"They're still useful as long as they have bounties. They can charge in and die for us."
Daddy remarked calmly. Kuro lowered his Cat Claws and looked coldly at the two lackeys. Two years had passed, and the Cat Brothers' bounty was still seven million Beli—for both of them together.
"Captain Kuro, you...!"
Jango stared in disbelief at the proud Kuro. He couldn't believe he would obey a young man's orders.
"I'm not the captain anymore. Daddy is."
Standing behind Daddy, Kuro nudged his glasses up with his palm and spoke coldly. At the same time, he tried to guess what Daddy was thinking. Why would he want trash like these men?
"More people means more hands to search for things—and more people to die."
Daddy said indifferently. These lowlifes could die by the dozen for all he cared.
"Do as you like!"
Kuro had no say in Daddy's decisions now. He was just a lackey.
"Daddy, what's this supposed to mean? You're letting even these pirates onto the ship?"
Zoro said with displeasure. They were just prey—pirates they could turn in for money. How could they become crew members?
"They're underlings, not crew members!"
Daddy looked at Jango and the others. They were nowhere near strong enough, and he had no interest in these nobodies.
"Submit, or die!"
Daddy walked toward Jango and the others. His eyes fixed on their necks. If they refused, he would send them to their deaths at the edge of Sandai Kitetsu.
"We submit, Captain!"
The three glanced at Kuro, then immediately swore allegiance to the new demon captain who had brought Kuro to heel.
"I only need people who obey."
Daddy's casual remark sent a chill through all three. They hurriedly nodded like pecking chickens.
Kuro leapt onto the pirate ship and personally hacked the Black Cat Pirates' flag to pieces, destroying the crew he had founded with his own hands.
"Daddy, where are we going next?"
Zoro hadn't had enough of the fight. He didn't see the point of keeping these pirates around. They could just kill them!
"We'll take on a couple more pirate crews, then go after the East Blue Overlord Krieg's crew!"
Daddy had long planned to cut his way across the East Blue and recruit some of its top fighters. They were nothing compared to the Grand Line and the New World, but they were the best subordinates he could get.
"Now you're talking! Let's go cut down the East Blue Overlord!"
There wasn't a trace of fear in Zoro's eyes. A cold glint flashed across Kuro's glasses. He would use the East Blue Overlord's blood to herald his return!
Jango and the others were already scared stiff. Krieg's crew had fifty pirate ships and more than five thousand men. Their own group didn't even number a hundred. How could they possibly fight them?
"Out at sea, numbers aren't an advantage!"
Daddy smiled. He wanted to test the limits of his strength, and Krieg's crew—large, numerous, and lacking strong fighters—was the perfect place to rack up kills!
It was also the perfect place to feed Sandai Kitetsu!
Daddy wasted no time. He immediately left Syrup Village and set off to hunt down Krieg's crew.
Watching the pirates leave, Usopp ultimately couldn't summon the courage to go out to sea. He returned quietly to the mansion to look after Kaya.
While they sailed across the sea, Daddy didn't use the Barrier-Barrier Fruit. Instead, he kept fighting Zoro and Kuro, determined to overpower them in hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship.
When the former Black Cat Pirates heard that their new captain and his lunatic companions planned to take on Krieg's crew, the East Blue Overlord, they were terrified. Every one of them wished they could escape the ship and get away from the madman.
But there was only one outcome for anyone who tried to escape: death at the edge of Sandai Kitetsu.
Sure enough, even a thousand subordinates were no match for one expert!
Hawkeye Mihawk could easily cut through Krieg's five-thousand-man crew all by himself. It was as effortless as crushing ants.
Straw Hat Luffy's Conqueror's Haki could knock tens of thousands of Fish-Men on Fish-Man Island unconscious in an instant. What a weapon for clearing out the enemy!
Daddy couldn't stand the pirate lackeys constantly trying to run away. He nearly slaughtered them all to offer their blood to the sword.
In the end, he restrained his bloodlust and gave his small sailboat to Yosaku and Johnny. He sent them off with the pirate lackeys to collect their bounties at a Marine Branch, so they wouldn't have to keep following him and Zoro.
The battles ahead were no place for two kindhearted weakling bounty hunters!
A novel by Great Wildfire.
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