Kuro's Arrogance, Feel Despair

Usopp had never expected that the story he had casually made up earlier

would actually play out right before his eyes at this moment.

He had to tell Kaya!

With that thought, Usopp turned and ran, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Ka...!!!"

But before he could finish, Kuro's Ten-Blade Cat Claws suddenly stabbed out through his chest.

The blades were covered in his blood.

Intense pain shot straight into his brain.

Darkness seemed ready to swallow him at any moment.

But even at a time like this!

He absolutely could not

shrink back like he had before!

His dream was to become a warrior of the sea.

He had cowered for so long. Even if he could only be brave once before dying, that would be enough!

"Kaya! Run!!!"

His voice was heart-wrenching.

Everyone who heard it broke out in goosebumps.

Without the slightest hesitation, Usopp threw himself backward.

Letting Kuro's Ten-Blade Cat Claws tear deeper wounds into his body.

He had to buy Kaya and the others more time!

Kuro clearly had not expected Usopp to make such a choice.

Staggering, he was knocked to the ground by Usopp's backward crash.

But Usopp's voice had already reached Kaya and her parents.

Kuro pulled his Ten-Blade Cat Claws from Usopp's body.

Blood slid down the blades.

After pushing up his glasses, Kuro muttered, "My identity has been exposed. It seems I can only kill you all."

Kuro looked at Kaya's parents as they came out of the mansion, cold light flashing in his eyes.

"I... I won't let you touch a single hair on Kaya's head!"

Though badly wounded, Usopp seemed to possess an incredibly tenacious will.

Forcing himself through the dizziness, he stretched out a bloody hand and grabbed Kuro's ankle.

At that moment, Kaya came downstairs as well.

She had never imagined that the man who had seemed so gentle just moments ago would turn into a murderer in the blink of an eye!

Kaya, already pale to begin with, looked even whiter now.

Kuro raised his foot high, then stomped hard on Usopp's hand, crushing it out of shape.

Without a trace of emotion, Kuro walked toward Kaya and her parents.

His Ten-Blade Cat Claws dragged across the ground, their sound pouring into Kaya and the others' ears like the call of death.

Kuro then raised his claws high. The sunlight reflected off the blades, yet they gleamed with a chilling coldness.

In an instant, the blades came down.

Bloody flowers immediately blossomed across Kaya's parents' chests.

They collapsed to the ground.

Kaya was frozen with terror.

She wanted to run.

But her legs refused to obey her.

They were as heavy as lead.

She could not take a single step.

"If you want to blame someone, blame that long-nosed guy. If he hadn't revealed this, I wouldn't have acted so soon."

Kuro grinned viciously and added, "You and your parents could have lived a little longer!"

As he spoke, Kuro raised his arm high once more and brought it down toward Kaya!

Elsewhere, Roya and Jango were rapidly heading toward Kaya's location.

Suddenly, they heard a heart-rending cry.

Roya frowned and, after confirming its direction,

his legs instantly turned into afterimages as they struck the ground in rapid succession.

The powerful recoil propelled Roya's body forward.

"Soru!"

Jango only saw a blur flash past him, followed by dust filling the air.

The cracks in the ground beside him

left Jango utterly dumbfounded.

"So this is the strength of Admiral White Dove? That speed alone can crush countless people!"

"Clang!!!"

A crisp sound rang out through Syrup Village.

Roya's figure had already arrived before Kaya.

Peak Armament Haki coated his arm as he directly blocked Kuro's attack.

Kuro felt his arm go numb.

The Cat Claws on his right hand shattered completely against Roya's defense.

They turned into broken blades and fell to the ground.

His white cape fluttered.

Roya shielded Kaya behind him.

When he saw the blood covering the ground, and Usopp and Kaya's parents lying there,

Roya's aura erupted!

"Kuro of a Hundred Plans, you've successfully angered me!"

Ever since arriving in the world of pirates, Roya had never truly been angry.

As if on cue, violent winds rose, and dark clouds covered the sky in an instant.

Thunder rumbled angrily overhead, creating a terrifying sight.

"Pay the price for what you've done!"

As Roya's words fell, he kicked out.

The speed was so great that Kuro had no chance to react.

"Bang!"

Kuro flew hundreds of meters away from Roya's kick like a kite with its string cut.

Yet Roya directly used Soru to appear behind Kuro.

He gave Kuro no chance to react.

"Shigan: Coptis!"

Roya first bent his index finger, then used its ultra-high-speed thrust to stab into Kuro's body, changing the position of his next strike up, down, left, and right.

Roya was venting his fury.

Letting Kuro die too quickly would be far too merciful!

Roya wanted him to feel what despair was!

In an instant, Kuro felt as though countless bullets were firing into his back, piercing through it again and again.

Blood sprayed out, splattering the ground.

When Roya stopped attacking, Kuro dropped to his knees and continuously coughed up blood.

Using his shattered Cat Claws, Kuro wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Forcing himself to stand, Kuro said to Roya, "You forced me to do this! Once I use this move, no one here will be able to escape!"

"Shakushi!"

Kuro was incomparably confident. This was his strongest technique. He used high-speed movement and the Cat Claws on his hands to attack, capable of killing large numbers of enemies. It was so fast that even the user did not know what he would cut!

It was an indiscriminate attack!

Kuro began moving at high speed.

"Slash, slash, slash~"

Trees, the ground, rocks...

All bore the claw marks left by Kuro.

Kaya could feel Kuro's overwhelming presence as well.

She immediately warned Roya, "Be careful!"

A ruthless glint flashed through Roya's eyes. "I'm in a bad mood, so I won't stand around and watch you use Shakushi. Now, please die!"

As his words fell, Roya appeared directly in front of Kuro.

So-called "speed" was nothing more than child's play in Roya's eyes.

"Bang!"

Roya stretched out his hand and grabbed Kuro directly by the head.

Before Kuro could react,

he felt his body rise into the air before slamming heavily into the ground.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The ground cracked apart, the fissures stretching for hundreds of meters.

Every tree within that range shattered.

Jango, who had just arrived, happened to witness the scene.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

He had never expected that the captain he had always thought invincible and unmatched

would be directly crushed to death by Roya after using his strongest technique.

It was as easy as crushing an ant.

"This is way too terrifying!!!"

"Is this the strength of an admiral?"

"Too... too strong!"

Jango felt his entire worldview completely overturned.

Only...