Kuroobi, the Slayer

Year 1519 of the Sea Yuan Calendar!

East Blue, early morning.

Gentle sunlight spread across the azure sea, while seabirds occasionally cried out in the sky...

The morning breeze swept over the still slightly damp deck. Today was bound to be fine weather.

A warship sailed through these waters, flying a flag emblazoned with four open hands, each palm bearing an open eye.

Its destination: Cocoyasi Village!

On the ship's second deck lay a four-meter-long white dog. Rody, dressed in a black coat, leaned against its back, sipping watermelon juice as he gazed thoughtfully at the sea ahead.

Slaughter Points: 1

Looking at the Slaughter Points displayed by the system, Rody recalled that he had killed over a hundred pirates yesterday. Aside from the first pirate he had killed—the one with a ten-million bounty—the system had given him a prompt. Yet when he slaughtered the pirates afterward, the system had not reacted at all.

"Could it be because they were too weak?"

"This crappy system doesn't even come with an instruction manual. It doesn't even tell me what Slaughter Points are for."

Rody smiled. "But that just makes it more interesting!"

At the cabin entrance, Nami emerged from below deck, carrying a huge sack stuffed with jewelry and gold.

Casually tossing the sack full of jewelry and gold onto the deck, Nami dusted off her hands and called to Rody, who was lying on Jade Hound White's back, "Rody! I found quite a bit of treasure on this pirate ship. Do you want to take a look and see if there's anything you need?"

"Not interested. You can keep all that treasure," Rody said lazily.

As the sun slanted westward, Rody reclined against the white dog's back, gently stroking its head as he watched a stretch of coastline gradually emerge in the distance.

"Nami, is that the place ahead?"

Hearing Rody's voice, Nami reluctantly put down the treasure she had counted who knew how many times and hurried to the bow. Staring at the distant coast, she frowned tightly. "That's right. Once we go around this coastline and sail for a little while longer, we'll arrive."

"However, fish-men often patrol these waters."

The moment she finished speaking, there was a splash. A gray-skinned cartilaginous fish-man leaped from the sea onto the deck, followed by another seven or eight fish-men armed with swords and blades.

"Kuroobi?"

Kuroobi first shot a disdainful glance at Rody, who was still lazily reclining against Jade Hound White's back. Only then did he turn his gaze toward Nami. "Nami, it seems you've decided not to buy back Cocoyasi Village. You think you can defy us noble fish-men by relying on this weak human?"

The other fish-men who had jumped aboard waved their weapons and shouted, "Humans, we fish-men are born with ten times your strength! How dare you resist us? How could you possibly resist us!"

"We are noble fish-men!"

"I... I..." Nami stood on the deck, staring at the shouting fish-men before her, her face full of panic and helplessness.

"Oh! Noble."

Hearing that, Rody crossed his left leg over his right, propped his right elbow against Jade Hound White's back, rested his face on his fist, and looked at the fish-men with a mocking gaze.

"It seems that after following Arlong in fleeing from the Grand Line to East Blue all these years, you've forgotten that you were once nothing more than slaves and merchandise!"

At those words, Kuroobi's expression shifted from disdain to ferocity. The fish-men who had been waving their weapons and shouting on the deck instantly fell silent.

Nami looked at Rody with hope in her eyes.

Kuroobi clenched his fists, veins bulging on his arms, and snarled, "Good. Very good. Human, you have successfully enraged me."

"Human, I'll use the powerful Fish-Man Karate of our fish-men to smash that mouth of yours first and see if you still dare say such things. Then I'll kill you."

"Human, you're dead! Brother Kuroobi is a master of Fish-Man Karate in our pirate crew!"

"And Brother Kuroobi has a bounty of nine million Beli!"

"That's right! Brother Kuroobi is a great pirate with a nine-million-Beli bounty!" The fish-men on the deck resumed their shouting.

As the fish-men shouted, Kuroobi's leg muscles tensed. He bent his knees slightly, then kicked off the deck with all his strength, charging at Rody with a ferocious expression as he shouted, "Fish-Man Karate!"

Rody watched Kuroobi charge toward him with an amused look.

Suddenly, Kuroobi's head separated from his neck. His headless body ran two more steps before crashing onto the deck with a thud. Blood gushed from his severed neck, while his flying head rolled all the way to Rody's feet, his mouth still shouting, "Hundred-Watt... Fist..."

[Slaughter Points +1]

"Oh."

For the moment, however, Rody paid no attention to the system.

Rody stood up, grabbed Kuroobi's small braid, and lifted the head that had rolled to his feet.

Holding up Kuroobi's head, Rody examined it closely. Other than its gray color, it was no different from a human head. Even the blood flowing from it was red.

Glancing at the corpse on the deck, Rody figured that perhaps because Kuroobi was a cartilaginous fish-man, his head had few fish-like features, while his body had quite a lot of them.

The fish-men who had been shouting moments ago fell silent. Their eyes widened in disbelief as they stared at Kuroobi's headless corpse on the deck.

"N-No way... Brother Kuroobi."

"Brother Kuroobi was a master of Fish-Man Karate!"

"He... he just died like that!"

As the fish-men looked at Rody, who was still holding Kuroobi's head, their eyes revealed hatred, rage, and an undisguisable fear.

A relatively large great white shark fish-man among them struggled to control his trembling hand and tightly gripped the sword in it. The veins on his sword hand bulged from the sheer force of his grip.

The Dharma Shark Fish-Man watched Rody forcefully raise the blade in his hand and point it at Kuroobi's head.

"Don't be afraid! Let's attack together, kill that human, and avenge Brother Kuroobi!"

At those words, the other Fish-Men exchanged glances, then tightened their grips on their blades and charged at Rody.

Rody casually tossed Kuroobi's head beside his headless corpse.

Looking at the Fish-Men charging at him with blades in hand, Rody casually swung his hand. Aside from the Dharma Shark Fish-Man, every other Fish-Man was cut in half at the waist.

"Av... avenge... Kuro...!"

Seeing his companions split in two beside him, the Dharma Shark Fish-Man was finally crushed by his fear of death. He could no longer hold his blade, and it clanged onto the deck.

His face was covered in tears, his body trembled, and his legs seemed to have lost all strength. He sat dumbly on the deck, muttering, "H-How... could this be... E-Everyone...!"

Rody slowly walked over to the Dharma Shark Fish-Man and looked at the trembling Fish-Man kneeling on the deck.

Rody looked down at him coldly. "Oh! Fish-Man, do you still want to kill me?"