Stripped of Everything!

"What? What are you laughing at?" Kuro's gaze turned sharp as blades, locking tightly onto Rayson.

Luffy and the others also looked at the laughing Rayson in surprise. But out of unconditional trust in their companion, they did not interrupt, merely watching silently as Rayson strolled forward.

"Are you too deep into your role, Mr. Butler? Captain of the Black Cat Pirates, Kuro of a Hundred Plans, with a bounty of sixteen million Beli." A teasing expression appeared on Rayson's face.

Kuro's facial muscles immediately stiffened, and his expression went completely cold.

"What?! This guy is a pirate?! Sixteen million Beli? That's even higher than Buggy the Clown's?!" Luffy's eyes widened in shock.

"Kuro? I think I've heard that name before... but wasn't that guy executed by the Marines years ago?" Sweat poured down Usopp's forehead, and he even began to stammer.

"Even if you are Usopp's friends, those remarks are far too rude!" The mistress of the manor glared angrily at Rayson, clearly unable to tolerate someone slandering the old butler who had been by her side for three years.

"That's right. I have no idea what nonsense you are talking about. The pirate Kuro was taken to the execution grounds by the Marines years ago." Kuro's expression did not change in the slightest as he adjusted his glasses with his palm again.

"I'll produce evidence that leaves you speechless." Rayson gave the girl a gentle smile.

He did not mind the sickly beauty's slight anger.

The girl had been frail and sickly since childhood. Having lived under oppression and pain for so long, it was only natural for her to have a little temper now and then.

At heart, she was an exceptionally kind girl.

She had merely been deceived by Kuro's hypocritical mask for too long.

Then Rayson shifted his gaze back to Kuro.

"Are you an idiot? You went into hiding, changed only your name, and could not even be bothered to alter your hairstyle or appearance?" Rayson leisurely pulled a yellowed wanted poster from his pocket.

He had casually taken it from the Marine branch base in Shells Town.

Back then, the most dazzling achievement that had allowed "Axe-Hand" Morgan to rise smoothly to the position of branch captain was the capture of Kuro of a Hundred Plans.

In truth, Kuro had simply grown tired of the endless pursuit by the Marines and bounty hunters. He had his first mate Jango hypnotize Morgan into believing that he had personally captured Kuro.

After that, the Marines executed an innocent scapegoat, while the real Kuro disguised himself as a butler and hid here, plotting to legally inherit the young lady's estate.

But the hypnotized Morgan had always considered it the greatest glory of his life. He had even wanted to erect a monument and statue of himself in front of the branch headquarters.

Right under that arrogant fool's nose, it had been easier than drinking water for Rayson to find Kuro's wanted poster.

"This... the picture on the poster looks exactly like Mr. Butler." Nami leaned over to compare them, her face filled with astonishment.

"Klahadore..." Looking at the wanted poster, the blonde girl was utterly shaken and took half a step back in disbelief.

"People with similar appearances are commonplace at sea. That proves nothing." Kuro's face darkened as he desperately argued.

"Is that so? I hope you can remain rational in the next second." Rayson looked down at him calmly. A savage smile rose on his face, while crimson and black lightning seemed to surge rapidly in the depths of his eyes.

A violent aura, as though Mount Tai were crushing down from above, erupted fiercely from Rayson and swallowed Kuro whole like raging waves.

"Urgh?!"

Kuro's pupils shrank to pinpoints, and cold sweat drenched his entire body.

He did not even last a second before his eyes rolled back. He collapsed like a puddle of mud and fell unconscious.

Conqueror's Haki!

A pirate with a bounty of sixteen million Beli was indeed a noteworthy figure in the East Blue's little pond.

But before Rayson's Haki pressure, he was nothing more than an ant that could be crushed at will.

"Klahadore!" The blonde girl cried out in alarm.

"Don't worry, he's only temporarily unconscious." Rayson reassured her casually, then silently issued a command in his heart.

Plunder!

Rayson focused his attention on Kuro.

Buzz!

A streak of purple radiance, visible only to Rayson, shot out of Kuro's limp body and quickly merged into Rayson's body.

Plunder successful. Obtained deep-purple Secret Technique trait: Secret Technique: Shakushi.

The next moment—

"Wheeze... hiss..."

Though Kuro had already lost consciousness, the muscles throughout his body began twisting in an extremely grotesque manner. Then his entire body went limp like a deflated ball, completely losing the strength to support itself.

Since what Rayson had plundered were physical combat traits such as speed and movement techniques, the moment those traits were stripped away, all the physical strength Kuro had accumulated through harsh training was erased.

"Th-This... what is going on? His body looks so strange." Seeing Kuro's limbs suddenly shrivel, Nami felt cold sweat rising down her back, her face filled with shock.

"I merely collected a little interest from him." A sinister smile lingered on Rayson's lips.

"Hey, Usopp, find a way to wake him up." Rayson turned and gestured to the long-nosed boy.

"Huh? Okay." Usopp rubbed his eyes and hurriedly crawled over to Kuro's side on all fours.

"Wake up! Hurry and wake up! You'll catch a cold lying on the ground!" Although Usopp's words sounded concerned, his actions were anything but gentle. He immediately began raining loud slaps across Kuro's face.

After all, he had yet to settle the score for the butler insulting his father.

Under Usopp's brutal physical method of waking him, Kuro painfully regained consciousness.

"Klahadore! Are you all right?" Even now, the blonde girl still struggled to accept that the old butler who had devotedly cared for her for three years was actually a pirate who killed without blinking.

"Awake, Kuro? Or rather, even if you admit that you are Kuro of a Hundred Plans now, you can no longer prove it to anyone, can you?" Rayson folded his arms and looked down at the miserable man from above.

"That pressure just now... Urgh?!" Kuro was still trembling from the terror of Conqueror's Haki. He frantically shook his throbbing head, then his pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints.

"My... my physical strength... my Silent Step..." Kuro stared at his hands in utter disbelief. He used every ounce of strength to rise from the ground, but his legs were as useless as mud. Again and again, he crashed heavily back down.

"After losing the strength you relied on to survive, it is perfectly normal that you cannot freely control your frail body. Stop struggling." Rayson deliberately put on the arrogant bearing of a tyrannical villain.