Silent Step

"Klahadore, what's wrong?"

"Nothing... Where is that young man?"

"He's waiting for you outside."

"Oh, Merry, please ask him to wait a moment. I'll change my clothes and come out."

Kuro turned and left with a somewhat gloomy expression.

No matter who had come, he absolutely could not be allowed to disrupt his plan. Nor could the people of this village learn his real name.

While living under the alias Klahadore, hearing someone call him Kuro and specifically ask to see him had to be connected to the Black Cat Pirates.

No matter what, he would meet the other party first.

However... he had to bring his weapon.

Carrying the black briefcase in his hand, Kuro walked out through the gates of the estate.

"Who are you? How did you learn that name?" Kuro's voice was dark.

When he saw Mark, confusion flashed through Kuro's eyes.

He did not know this man. Had someone within the Black Cat Pirates leaked the information? Either way, after dealing with this person, he would need to thoroughly purge the Black Cat Pirates.

Mark looked at the refined man before him and secretly marveled at how convincingly he played the part.

"Come with me. This isn't a suitable place for us to talk!" Mark turned and walked away.

They were beside the estate, after all. If they started fighting here, ordinary people would inevitably get hurt.

Kuro's gaze paused briefly on the massive axe on Mark's back. Then he sneered and followed.

To the east of Syrup Village lay a forest.

Few people came here normally. Mark had specifically chosen this place for what he intended to do next.

Mark turned to look at Kuro, who had followed him, and spoke bluntly.

"I came to get something from you."

"Heh!" Kuro sneered, taking his cat claws from the black briefcase and calmly putting them on.

"Though I don't know what I have that caught your eye, nor how you learned that name, since you know things you shouldn't know..." Sparks scattered as Kuro's cat claws scraped together.

"Then stay here forever."

The Ten-Blade Cat Claws flashed toward Mark.

Mark shifted slightly and dodged Kuro's strike.

"Hand over the training method for Silent Step, and I'll let you leave." As Kuro attacked, Mark calmly spoke while dodging.

"So you're after my Silent Step..." Kuro swung his claws again. "But you won't be taking Silent Step with you. Leave your life here instead!"

Swish, swish, swish!

Kuro tapped the ground with his toes, his feet moving rapidly.

His figure gradually vanished, leaving only the sound of the Ten-Blade Cat Claws cutting through the air. The surrounding trees were carved with slash marks by the claws.

Swish!

Five bright slashes appeared above Mark's head.

"Die!"

Boom!

Mark sensed the cat claws' attack path in advance. He tilted slightly to the right, black energy rising around his right fist. The instant the claws missed, he drove a punch into Kuro's lower abdomen. The tremendous force sent him flying, smashing through more than a dozen trees.

"Hand... over the training method for Silent Step, and I... will let you leave!"

Mark slowly walked over and stopped beside Kuro. Looking at his pained expression, he repeated what he had just said.

Cold sweat covered Kuro's forehead. Mark's punch had broken several of his ribs, and that dark power was still coursing through his abdomen, worsening his injuries.

"In your dreams!" Kuro endured the pain and flipped to his feet.

No matter what, he could not let Mark leave today. He did not want the efforts of more than two years to go to waste. He wanted to live the life he desired.

"Shakushi!"

Kuro was suspicious by nature. He did not believe Mark's goal was as simple as his Silent Step. And his secret had already fallen into Mark's hands...

In his view, only the dead could keep secrets.

Moreover, he had already sentenced every member of the Black Cat Pirates to death in his heart.

Leaving them alive would ultimately be a hidden danger.

Swish, swish, swish!

He was incredibly fast. Mark's naked eye could not catch Kuro's figure at all; he could only see the slash marks left along Kuro's path.

"What incredible speed!"

Mark exclaimed, then activated Observation Haki.

Under the perception of Observation Haki, Mark clearly saw Kuro's attack route.

Chaotic!

Utterly chaotic!

Kuro could not control such extreme speed at all. His entire body was attacking according to its momentum.

"His visual nerves can't keep up with his body's speed?"

Mark shifted aside and evaded Kuro's slashing claws.

Observation Haki continued to observe, with Mark's attention focused mainly on Kuro's feet.

Swish, swish, swish!

He dodged three attacks, but could not completely evade the fourth. Mark touched his left arm, where five wounds deep enough to expose bone had appeared.

Kuro was quite strong. It was a pity he had been born in a place like the East Blue.

Black energy rose around Mark's left arm. The Dark-Dark Fruit's power activated and devoured the injury.

Observation Haki continued studying Kuro's footwork.

"So that's how it is..."

Mark tried to imitate Kuro's steps. At first, they felt unfamiliar, and when his body failed to react in time, Kuro's attacks would catch him.

But gradually... he became accustomed to the feeling of his toes touching the ground and his heels accelerating.

Accelerate!

Accelerate!

Keep accelerating!

As he gradually mastered that feeling, the frequency with which Mark's feet struck the ground steadily increased.

His figure also gradually vanished as he accelerated.

The sound of air splitting changed from one streak to two.

Unlike Kuro, Mark's Shakushi was stronger. With Observation Haki's assistance, his visual nerves could keep up with his body's speed, unlike Kuro, whose uncontrolled speed made him attack wildly.

He could control this speed, and with physical abilities that surpassed Kuro's in every respect, he could unleash even greater speed than Kuro.

"I've learned it!"

Mark suddenly stopped, then raised a leg and kicked heavily into the air.

Bang!

A black shadow was suddenly kicked flying by Mark.

Kuro panted heavily, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth as he stared at Mark with an uncertain expression.

"How is that possible? You actually learned my Silent Step!"

"This footwork?" Mark said blandly.

Swish, swish, swish!

Mark's footsteps left afterimages as he suddenly appeared before Kuro.

"So Silent Step is this simple!"

"How is that possible... You even learned Shakushi!"

Kuro's expression went blank. Silent Step was a footwork technique he had developed through countless battles, and he had used it to create the killing move Shakushi.

Yet Mark had learned it after seeing him perform it only a few times.

"Your footwork... should be similar to the Marines' Soru. But how should I put it... it seems even stronger than Soru. Kuro... you really are a genius."

If Kuro had not been born in the East Blue, but in a place like the New World, then he would certainly have become a powerhouse of the seas.