"I want these pirates!"
Just as Eric happily finished tying up Jango and the Cat Brothers, Wang Shi tossed him ten million Belly.
A single bill was worth ten thousand Belly, so ten million was only ten bundles of cash.
"No problem, no problem!"
Eric eagerly took the money. After all, Jango's bounty was nine million Belly, while the Cat Brothers were worth only seven million together.
The greedy Eric didn't even give Van Augur a share, choosing to pocket all ten million Belly himself.
Van Augur said nothing, merely watching Eric's actions with a cool gaze.
But when Eric saw the three Black Cat Pirates being fitted with Slave Collars,
he couldn't help feeling that Wang Shi and Van Augur were looking at him strangely, too.
A chill crept up his neck.
After dealing with the Black Cat Pirates, three warships and one pirate ship, now flying the flag of the Goa Kingdom instead of its pirate flag, sailed toward Syrup Village.
Not long after they left, the cannon fire and Wind Blades Wang Shi had previously exiled flew out of thin air and slammed into the sea, sending up a succession of splashes.
The scene was incredibly bizarre.
Syrup Village.
All four warships sailed straight into the harbor.
Wang Shi, who had been cultivating the entire time, finally disembarked. He intended to personally meet Kuro, the man with the Silent Step.
"Is His Majesty going to take him on personally?"
"Then I'll miss out on a big catch. Kuro's head is worth sixteen million Belly."
Seeing Wang Shi disembark, Eric looked a little disappointed, but he also wanted to see Wang Shi's true strength.
Kuro, with his sixteen-million-Belly bounty, was among the top pirates in the East Blue.
Just how strong was Wang Shi? Where was his limit?
"Kuro's wanted poster was canceled long ago."
Van Augur said coolly, his rifle resting on his shoulder. Eric had already become one of Wang Shi's targets, and he still didn't know it.
If Eric didn't join Wang Shi's ranks,
Van Augur knew the man would end up wearing a Slave Collar.
His king wouldn't tolerate even the slightest disrespect.
If someone refused to show him proper respect, they would probably be exiled.
Meanwhile, Usopp and the others on the island saw strangers landing and hurried back to Kaya's house to report it.
Wang Shi and the others followed close behind, while the rest of the Guard Army had already surrounded all of Syrup Village.
"This is bad! This is bad!"
Usopp ran along the road, shouting in a panic and startling the villagers.
"The army's landing isn't the same as pirates landing. What are you afraid of?"
One villager yelled at Usopp.
"Oh, right. They're not pirates. Why am I shouting?"
"No, wait! Onion, hurry and hide our pirate flag!"
Usopp came to his senses and anxiously shouted at one of his underlings.
In the village, he was the captain of the Usopp Pirates, with "eight thousand men under his command."
Maybe the army had come to arrest him.
The thought made him break out in a cold sweat.
As Usopp ran through the village, Kuro—who had been living under the alias Klahadore, Kaya's butler—appeared at the mansion's entrance, his expression dark.
Was that long-nosed little liar bothering Kaya again?
Could the brat have noticed something was wrong with her?
But when Kuro saw the figures following Usopp, his expression changed dramatically.
He had faked his death to escape the relentless pursuit of the Marines and bounty hunters, then gone into hiding in Syrup Village to seize Kaya's family fortune.
He hadn't expected those powerful bounty hunters to track him down again so soon.
He recognized Whirlwind Eric and Supersonic Van Augur, two famous bounty hunters in the East Blue.
Eric, in particular, was a mad dog.
"Damn it! Who exposed me?"
"Was it those bastards like Jango?"
Without a word, Kuro turned and ran, his eyes icy.
To all pirates in the East Blue, Whirlwind Eric, who had spent years around the entrance to the Grand Line, was an extraordinarily powerful enemy.
Even Kuro wasn't confident he could handle the powerful user of an ability.
And Van Augur was a renowned sniper, too.
"Jango, if you really sold me out, I'll tear you to pieces!"
Gritting his teeth, Kuro made his first mate Jango the target of his rage.
He had been hiding in Syrup Village for over a year without being discovered.
Other than Jango betraying him, he couldn't think of any other explanation.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Don't move, Kuro!"
As a sniper, Van Augur fired first, opening the fight without hesitation.
Just as he would one day be the first to attack Fire Fist Ace when Ace came after them.
Two shots to the chest, one to the head— even the King of Hell would shake his head.
"Damn it!"
Kuro narrowly dodged Van Augur's three shots, but blood trickled from his shoulder.
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
At the sound of gunfire, Usopp covered his head and dropped to his knees, terror in his eyes.
The bullets whistled past his ears, and the gusting air sent cold sweat streaming down his face as his crotch grew warm.
This "sniper," who used a slingshot, was actually afraid when he heard gunshots.
Usopp thought he was going to die there that day.
But the others ignored him and headed for Kuro and the mansion.
Wounded, Kuro raced back to his room and retrieved his Cat Claws from a secret cabinet.
"You're all going to die!"
Kuro swiftly put on the Cat Claws, his eyes blazing with madness and murderous intent.
If he couldn't get away, he'd fight.
If these bounty hunters dared to underestimate him, they would die for it.
He only needed to get close to Van Augur, the sniper. He was sure he could cut the bastard down.
"Silent Step!"
As the bounty hunters entered the mansion, Kuro launched an attack straight at Van Augur, the most dangerous sniper.
Van Augur quickly raised his rifle but didn't fire. Even Eric stayed his hand and simply watched Wang Shi.
"Silent Step?"
"But you've already entered my domain."
Wang Shi drawled, and Kuro, who had turned into a blur, vanished completely.
As expected, even Kuro's Silent Step couldn't escape Wang Shi's Exile Ability.
Eric grew more and more wary of Wang Shi's power. He was genuinely afraid the king might exile him somewhere awful on a whim.
He didn't want to disappear from this world!
Wang Shi slowly drew the Golden Flintlock and fired at empty air.
"Bang!"
At the gunshot, Kuro suddenly appeared ahead of them.
Pfft!
Kuro was shot in the thigh. The tremendous impact sent him crashing to the ground.
"The Celestial Dragon's Golden Royal Gun. Not bad, right?"
Wang Shi blew the smoke from the barrel and asked Van Augur with a light smile.
"It's more than five times as powerful as the flintlocks on the market."
Van Augur gave his assessment coolly. The Celestial Dragons' specially supplied gunpowder and bullets were indeed the finest quality.
"How is this possible? You hit me!"
Kuro couldn't believe those bastards had managed to shoot him while he was using Silent Step.
Back then, he had faced a shipful of soldiers' gunfire and slaughtered every soldier aboard a warship.
"Don't believe me? Then take another shot!"
Wang Shi raised his hand and fired again. Kuro tensed all over, flickered in and out of sight—and was hit once more, with no time to react.
"Ah!"
With both legs shot, Kuro roared in frustration.
Why was this happening?
Had hiding for over a year made him so rusty that he couldn't even dodge bullets anymore?