Kuro had no interest in arguing with Zoro, whose brain was half muscle. He planned to rely on speed and finish his opponents with a single blow, focusing on being fast, precise, and ruthless. There'd be none of that mutual respect and fiery passion between opponents.
Still, he had enough stamina to fight for a day. He just couldn't keep fighting for several days straight—not yet.
"Daddy, are we really going to attack the Krieg Pirates? We could keep messing with them for a while and gradually chip away at their power!"
Kuro had plenty of ways to cripple the Krieg Pirates, but Daddy had suddenly lost his mind and wanted to fight them head-on to the death. Kuro couldn't understand it.
His reason told him this was the most brainless choice possible!
"The Worst Era has begun. Whitebeard, one of the Four Emperors, doesn't have many years left. We need to grow stronger quickly!
"The fastest way to grow is to stare death in the face!"
Daddy grinned. He knew he wasn't getting stronger fast enough.
If he spent all day playing around with these ants, he wouldn't even be pushed to his limits. How could he grow stronger that way?
"I thought you'd gotten reckless. Turns out you're still the same devil!"
Kuro immediately understood what Daddy meant and threw all his plans out the window.
The weaklings they'd slaughtered this past week really hadn't been much fun!
Then they'd have one glorious battle after another. With thousands of people protecting him, he'd take down Krieg, the East Blue Overlord!
"Krieg, with a bounty of 17 million Beli; Gin the Man-Demon, with a bounty of 12 million. That man-demon has a nice look in his eyes. He'll be my opponent!"
Zoro studied Gin the Man-Demon's wanted poster. The man's beastlike eyes made Zoro feel a little kinship with him.
He could tell Gin would make a fine opponent.
The man's strength was probably about equal to Krieg's—maybe even greater.
That was Zoro's gut feeling!
"Let's start by cutting our way through these pirate grunts!"
Kuro said calmly. Two years ago, he'd been a pirate with a bounty of 16 million Beli. He couldn't believe he couldn't even claim a decent opponent now!
Pearl, second division commander of the Krieg Pirates, had such a low bounty. He wasn't worthy of being Kuro's opponent!
Kuro wasn't afraid to face Krieg, the East Blue Overlord. Sixteen million two years ago against 17 million this year—he already had plenty of ideas for killing Krieg!
"Captain Daddy, there's a pirate ship up ahead!!! Looks like two pirate ships are fighting!"
Buchi, the spotted cat, shouted from his lookout post as he adjusted the sails. This time, he wasn't scared. There were only two pirate ships out there, and with all the tough fighters aboard, they had nothing to fear from two pirate crews.
But if they ran into dozens of pirate ships, he might get a little scared.
"Then let's get over there and cut them down!"
Zoro's eyes lit up. He hurried to the bow to see who they were dealing with.
"One of those ships looks familiar. I think I've seen it before!"
Zoro frowned, thinking for a moment. Then his eyes widened as he remembered.
He recalled that someone had once tried to recruit him, only to get beaten away.
"That ship and flag look like they belong to some outfit called Baroque Works. A guy named Mr. 7 tried to recruit me before. I told him I wanted to be their boss, so they got mad and attacked me. I had no choice but to cut them down!"
Zoro continued, watching the battle. This time, someone else had also failed to recruit them, and the two sides had started fighting!
"The other pirate crew should be the El Drago Pirates. Captain Daddy, their leader is also a Devil Fruit User. Interested in taking him down?"
Kuro's eyes gleamed. If even the captain of the Black Cat Pirates had been beaten into submission, there was no reason those guys shouldn't get a beating too!
"We've run into people from Baroque Works already?"
Daddy set down his one-ton dumbbell and stepped forward. He watched the Sonic Laser Cannon fire from the other ship, and his eyes lit up.
"What are we waiting for? Let's attack!"
Daddy had thought they'd run into Admiral Kizaru, but that couldn't be right. The other vessel was a pirate ship.
"Aye, Captain Daddy!"
The Cat Brothers shouted in unison. They hauled the sails, turned the rudder, and rowed, speeding toward the ships.
Meanwhile.
El Drago, captain of the El Drago Pirates, was a Paramecia-type Sound-Sound Fruit User with a bounty of 16.6 million Beli. He had a volatile temper, loved gold, and enjoyed exploring and plundering.
Today, he'd been heading straight for the location marked on a treasure map when a black-market merchant ship blocked his way. The people aboard claimed to work for Baroque Works in the Grand Line and wanted to recruit his crew.
El Drago had refused without a second thought. He was doing just fine as a captain. Why would he become someone else's underling? If he hadn't been wary of their influence in the Grand Line, he would've tried to take their ship on the spot!
Then they'd had the nerve to act high and mighty, even using the Shichibukai's name to threaten him and saying they'd take him back to the Grand Line.
The hot-tempered El Drago couldn't stand it any longer. He went straight on the attack. The hell with the Shichibukai—he'd never even heard of them!
The two sides had begun fighting, and El Drago hadn't expected his opponents to be any good. They kept hopping around like fleas.
The swordsman named Mr. 11 was several times stronger than Gollas, the swordsman in El Drago's crew. No wonder he'd made a name for himself in the Grand Line.
"Captain El Drago, someone else is coming!"
Even with the two sides fighting, one of El Drago's men kept an eye on the sea, afraid reinforcements might arrive—or the Marines might suddenly attack!
"Damn you bastards, drop dead!"
Blue light glowed in El Drago's mouth as he blasted apart the mast of the black-market merchant ship.
"El Drago! You'd better not enter the Grand Line. You'll die for sure!"
Seeing that the situation had turned against him, Mr. 11 could only retreat. These backwater pirates had no idea how powerful the Shichibukai were. What a bunch of ignorant bumpkins!
"Then I'll kill every last one of you!"
El Drago grew even angrier. In all his years sailing the East Blue, no one had ever dared threaten him like this!
Maybe Baroque Works' name carried weight in the Grand Line, but no one in the East Blue took them seriously. Call it ignorance or arrogance—either way, it made no difference.
The furious El Drago scared Mr. 11 into fleeing to his ship. This hothead was dangerous.
But the next moment, Mr. 11 spotted a sailing ship behind him. A green-haired man leaped aboard, then suddenly fixed his gaze on him, eyes shining.
"The Skillful Grade Sword Hana Shu, one of the fifty Skillful Grade Swords?"
As soon as Zoro jumped aboard the other ship, he spotted the long sword in Mr. 11's hand. It was a distinctive blade with a flame-like pattern running along its length.
"I've been needing another sword. Hana Shu is mine! Let's fight, swordsman!"
Zoro grinned at Mr. 11. He'd been looking for a good sword for ages. He'd even considered taking Daddy's Sandai Kitetsu.
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