Sword Technique lv.5

"Spoon."

Kuro uttered the final word, then his entire body began swaying from side to side. When he raised his head again, his eyes had turned a ghastly white!

Seeing this, Roronoa Zoro leaped up like a ferocious lion, baring his sharp fangs and claws as he pounced, only to miss completely.

Kuro had vanished!

"Zoro, he's on your right."

Hearing Zero's warning, Roronoa Zoro quickly raised his swords to his right. With a crisp clang of metal, Kuro vanished once again!

"What was that?"

When Nami turned to ask him, Zero replied, "It's a type of footwork. He uses Silent Step to attack indiscriminately. It's not much worse than Soru, but that's all it is. It has a flaw—it's easy to lose track of friend and foe."

Listening to Zero calmly break down Kuro's technique, Nami was curious about what Soru was, but she still nodded as if she half understood.

"Then they won't be in danger, right?"

"Mm, they'll definitely be fine. They were only a little unaccustomed to it at first. Look, aren't they handling it easily now?"

At that, Nami looked back at the two fighting.

Sure enough, Luffy and Roronoa Zoro rapidly adapted to the rhythm of Kuro's technique. Not only did they interrupt Kuro's Spoon several times, they gradually gained the upper hand in battle.

"Damn it!"

Veins bulged on Kuro's forehead.

The two men's attacks were simply too overwhelming. He could not find an opening at all. The wolf among sheep he had envisioned had turned into a farce. It was truly laughable!

He had considered fleeing, but escaping with Silent Step was no longer realistic. Besides, there was someone nearby watching him like a tiger eyeing its prey.

"Ah—"

Kuro suddenly caught sight of a frail figure by the window. An idea struck him, and in the next instant, he shot forward at tremendous speed. When he appeared again, he was standing beneath Kaya's window!

Hmph, if I take her hostage, won't you all have to surrender obediently?

With that thought, he moved again. In the blink of an eye, he appeared on the branch directly opposite Kaya's window, just one meter away from her!

His Ten Blades, Cat Claws, gleamed with a cold light as they reached for Kaya. Yet he discovered that she was facing him with a resolute expression.

Was she not afraid?

Just as a trace of doubt flashed through Kuro's mind, a piercing whistle tore through the air beside his ear!

"Kuro, get away from Kaya! Deadly Shot: Gunpowder Star!"

Boom!

As a dazzling burst of fire exploded above Kuro's head, he instantly lost consciousness midair. His footing slipped, and he crashed heavily to the ground, unable to rise again!

Black Cat Pirates captain Kuro VS Straw Hat Pirates + Usopp: Kuro suffered a crushing defeat!

"Take care of yourselves too! I hope we'll have a chance to meet again!"

After saying goodbye to Kaya, Usopp spoke to Luffy and the others aboard the ship.

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? You're really cold, you know. From now on, I'm a pirate too, so we might run into each other at sea!"

Roronoa Zoro waved a hand. "What are you talking about? Hurry up and get on board!"

Luffy added, "Aren't we already partners?"

Zero and Nami exchanged glances, then smiled and nodded as well.

Usopp paused, seemingly not expecting such an answer. But his hesitation did not last long. He raised his fist and shouted excitedly at them, "Captain! I should be the captain!"

"What are you talking about? I'm the captain!"

And so, Usopp became a member of the Straw Hat Pirates. The Straw Hat Pirates also traded up, receiving the massive sailing ship gifted by Kaya's family—

The Going Merry!

It was worth mentioning that once the villagers learned Kaya's butler had been a pirate, and heard that Usopp had bravely protected Kaya when the pirates tried to harm her, they forgave all his past pranks. Later, when they learned Usopp had set off to pursue his dream, they gave him their heartfelt blessings!

"Ding! Congratulations on completing a side quest. You have received 400 experience points and Skill Lottery Ticket ×1!"

On the ship, Zero lay in the sun and checked the system history before opening his status panel.

His current attributes were as follows—

Character: Zero

Title: Enemy of Ten Thousand

Level: LV.4 (0/800)

Strength: 80

Stamina: 80

Agility: 80

Skills: Conqueror's Haki lv.3 (Mastered), Armament Haki lv.2, Observation Haki lv.2, Hand-to-Hand Combat lv.4, Swordsmanship lv.4

Other than his unchanged skill levels, his attributes had skyrocketed. They had increased eightfold compared to when he first crossed over, and the power of his skills must have undergone a qualitative leap as well!

It was just that Skill Lottery Ticket—

Zero hesitated for a moment before choosing to use it.

"Ding! Using Skill Lottery Ticket for you. 3, 2, 1... Congratulations! You have obtained Skill Level Upgrade +1. You may unconditionally raise any skill that has not reached its maximum level by one level!"

That's it?

Zero was somewhat disappointed. Compared to raising a skill level, he had wanted to draw a new skill. After all, his level limited the performance of his skills. He was still far too weak!

But since he had drawn it, he could not leave it unused. Zero considered the upcoming plot, then decisively used the opportunity on his Swordsmanship skill!

"Swordsmanship skill level increased. It is now lv.5!"

"It still hasn't reached max level? Looks like this Swordsmanship has even greater potential than I imagined..."

As all kinds of insights into Swordsmanship continuously surfaced in his mind, Zero realized that a unique Sword Technique had already formed within his thoughts. He looked around, wanting to try it out, but in the next moment, his attention was drawn to Luffy and Usopp, who were aiming at a distant reef.

What are those two doing?

As the sound of a cannonball striking something rang out, Zero remembered that two idiots seemed about to make their entrance.

Sure enough, just as Luffy appointed Usopp as the ship's sniper, a man wearing black sunglasses jumped out and kicked over a barrel on the ship.

"Come out, pirates!"

His arrogance ended there. Luffy promptly gave him a brutal beating, and Roronoa Zoro emerged from the cabin at that moment. Only then did everyone learn that the man was named Johnny, and that he had a companion named Joseph, one of Roronoa Zoro's old friends.

According to Johnny, Joseph had suddenly fallen ill. They had intended to rest on the reef, but unfortunately, the reef had been destroyed by the cannonball from the ship. Luffy and Usopp were deeply ashamed when they heard this.

Fortunately, Nami seemed accustomed to such situations and promptly treated Joseph. As they continued chatting, the group brought up the need to find a cook for the ship.

And so, everyone settled on their next destination—the sea restaurant Baratie!