Usopp's Resolve!

"You... you monster! What did you do to me?!" Kuro's mental defenses completely collapsed as he screamed hysterically at Rayson, his face twisted beyond recognition.

"Kuro—16 million Beli bounty. Your proudest trump card is the so-called Silent Step—a superior movement technique that lets you move at extreme speed, silently close in on an opponent, and assassinate them." Rayson stated it calmly. The moment his words fell, his entire body vanished like a phantom, leaving only a faint breeze across the lawn.

Though he had Plundered the secret technique Spoon, he could naturally use the Silent Step that formed its foundation at will.

"My... Silent Step..." Cold sweat rolled down Kuro's cheeks from his forehead.

Had everything he took pride in truly been stripped away by this man?!

"Amazing! So fast! Rayson, were you always this quick?!" Luffy's eyes went round with excitement, his face brimming with fervor.

"Give me back my power! Give me back my power!" Kuro shrieked without any concern for his appearance, utterly tearing apart the elegant, respectable facade he maintained as a butler.

Without the movement technique he had always been so proud of, forget legally inheriting the estate and living in comfort—tomorrow would be the day he lost his head!

Because according to the original plan, the Black Cat Pirates would enter the village tomorrow morning, spread panic, force Kaya to write a will, and then slaughter everyone.

As the former captain of the Black Cat Pirates, Kuro knew those profit-driven thugs all too well. Many of them had long harbored resentment toward the captain who had faked his death and disappeared.

Back when he had the strength to keep them suppressed, everything had been fine.

But now that he was powerless, those pirates would definitely be the first to tear him apart!

"This guy... really is Kuro!" Hearing that frenzied confession, Usopp finally came fully to his senses.

"How could this be..." The blonde girl covered her mouth, her eyes filled with despair.

The evidence was irrefutable. Though she was naturally gentle and timid, she was not a fool lacking in intelligence.

She finally understood that Klahadore truly was the wicked Kuro of a Hundred Plans.

"Don't panic, Usopp. I drained all of his power. Even you can handle him easily now." Rayson gave Kuro a contemptuous glance.

Kuro's talent for agility was certainly astonishing, having independently developed a movement technique in the resource-starved East Blue that rivaled Shave of the Navy Six Powers.

Unfortunately, he had grown weary of life on the run and had actually resorted to something as crooked as faking his death to retire.

He had even served as a butler in someone else's home for three whole years, all so he could seize an orphaned girl's inheritance through murder and theft in exchange for a peaceful life.

How shortsighted!

"Wow! Rayson, you can even take away other people's power?! Is that a Devil Fruit ability too?" Luffy asked in astonishment.

"No. It's an innate talent of mine. It has nothing to do with a Devil Fruit." Rayson did not choose to hide it.

Since he had decided to spend every day at sea with these companions, concealing his Plunder trait too much would only create distance between them and affect the progress of loading Luffy and the others' traits.

More importantly, in a core system where only Haki reigned supreme, constantly shrinking back and hiding one's abilities could never cultivate the bearing of a true overlord capable of sweeping aside everything.

If he kept thinking about playing the fool to catch others off guard, he would only end up ruining his own King's Disposition.

Besides, the more widely his fame spread across the seas, the more terrifying the titles and King's Bearing he accumulated would become, and the stronger the Conqueror's Haki within him could be tempered.

With Luffy's background, he had no need to fear any irresistible enemies in the early stages.

Even if he revealed his Plunder ability, it would only be before this small group of people.

By the time he no longer needed to conceal his strength and could use this great power to intimidate the world, he would already be standing at its very peak.

When that time came, such intimidation would instead become excellent nourishment for honing his Haki!

Take the Four Emperors who now shook the New World—whose trump cards and techniques were not known throughout the world?

Yet who dared provoke them? A far-reaching reputation was itself the ultimate boost to one's presence and Haki!

In battles between true peak powerhouses, Haki was the final foundation that stood above all Devil Fruits and tricks.

So what if one knew the intelligence? Before absolute Haki, every scheme was nothing more than decoration.

As someone with the Child of the Sea trait, Rayson possessed absolute confidence in his heart.

"Rayson... you really are pretty terrifying," Zoro muttered softly from the side. The ability to strip away another person's Life Crystal was enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.

Still, fortunately, such a monster was their companion.

"Convert." Rayson spoke silently to the system in his mind.

He had no intention of equipping himself with this indiscriminate, frenzied killing technique that required Cat Claws to use. Converting it into upgrade material was the most worthwhile deal.

Conversion successful—obtained Deep Purple Agility-type upgrade material ×1.

The system's cold notification sounded.

"It's over, Kuro." Rayson looked down at Kuro from above.

"Don't kill me! I have information! We can make a deal!" Kuro's former elegance and composure had completely crumbled. He begged with a twisted face, his eyes filled with terror.

Only someone who had truly had their power taken by Rayson could understand the despair of falling into an abyss.

The strength gained through years of harsh training and countless life-or-death battles had been stripped away completely in an instant.

All that remained was an empty shell riddled with holes, a body so weak that even standing was difficult.

For a pirate, losing strength meant losing everything!

Monster!

Kuro sat collapsed on the ground, staring up at Rayson in utter terror, having lost even the courage to meet his eyes.

He had once been a notorious pirate of the East Blue, yet he had never encountered such an unnatural existence.

Whether it was the terrifying pressure that had knocked him unconscious with nothing more than a glance earlier, or this unfathomable Plunder ability now—

Before Rayson, he was as insignificant as an ant that could be crushed at any moment.

He did not even have the right to look directly at him.

At that moment, Kuro was completely ruled by fear. Only one thought remained in his mind: survive.

"Information?" Rayson asked.

"Yes! I'm the former captain of the Black Cat Pirates! But I can still command them! Tomorrow! Tomorrow, the Black Cat Pirates will launch a full-scale attack on this village! No matter how strong you are, you can't guarantee the village will come through a melee like that unscathed, can you?! Spare my life, and I can help you wipe out those bastards!"

"Hey! Usopp! Aren't you friends?! You don't want to see the villagers get hurt either, right?! Hurry and tell them to let me go!" Kuro howled madly, then turned his pleading gaze toward Usopp.