Mox’s voice suddenly rose, his undisguised sarcasm exploding through the quiet mansion’s sitting room.
“Pirate blood is filthy?
Shameful?
What kind of joke is that?”
He stepped forward, his gaze cutting across the man before him like a blade.
“What about those cowards who hide away from reality like rats in a gutter, scheming against others and stopping at nothing to achieve their goals?
“Are their actions not filthy?
Not shameful?”
The moment his words fell, Mox’s gaze locked onto the man.
He enunciated every word.
“Don’t you think I’m right, Butler Klahadore?
“Or should I call you… Kuro, Captain of the Black Cat Pirates?”
The sitting room instantly fell so silent that one could hear a pin drop.
Usopp asked in disbelief,
“Klahadore is actually Kuro, the captain of the Black Cat Pirates?
Then why is he doing all this?”
Nami hit the nail on the head.
“He wants Kaya’s fortune.
That’s all.”
Zoro chimed in.
“I know that name.
He’s from the East Blue.
He’s extremely cunning and vicious—Kuro of a Hundred Plans!”
Luffy added,
“I thought there was a tiger living in this mansion.
Turns out that was the source of that scary presence.”
Kuro calmly pulled another pair of gold-rimmed glasses from inside his coat and slowly put them on.
His eyes behind the lenses, however, were cold as ice.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
He deliberately slowed his speech, trying to maintain his composure.
“As far as I know, the captain of the Black Cat Pirates was captured and publicly executed long ago.”
He pointed toward the door, his tone suddenly turning harsh.
“Please leave this mansion immediately.
Suspicious intruders are not welcome here!”
“Don’t rush to throw us out.”
A playful smile appeared on Mox’s lips.
He leisurely pulled two objects from inside his coat— a newspaper with curled edges and a yellowed wanted poster.
“The ‘captain who was publicly executed’ you’re talking about… Is this him?”
The battered wanted poster showed a portrait identical to the Kuro standing before them.
Beside the sinister cat-paw emblem, the name Kuro was clearly printed, along with his 16 million Berries bounty.
The newspaper headline was even more striking:
BLACK CAT PIRATES CAPTAIN KURO CAPTURED — A GREAT MENACE TO THE EAST BLUE ELIMINATED
The composure on Kuro’s face instantly cracked.
His fingers tightened around the arm of his glasses.
He stared at the wanted poster, his Adam’s apple bobbing twice before he forced himself to remain calm.
“Are you saying someone who was publicly executed can come back to life?
What nonsense.
He simply happens to look like me!”
Mox quickly waved his hands.
“No, no.
The person publicly executed in that newspaper really wasn’t you.
“It was one of your subordinates pretending to be you.”
“That logic doesn’t hold up at all.”
Kuro immediately countered.
“I don’t have enough confidence to find a subordinate willing to die in my place.”
“Willing?”
Mox glanced at the newspaper article mentioning that the Black Cat Pirates’ vice captain and crew members had disappeared.
Then he changed direction.
“What if your subordinates were hypnotized?”
He suddenly turned toward the corner of the room and called out,
“Hey!
Had enough of eavesdropping?
“You’ve been hiding there for quite a while.
Isn’t it time you came out, Hypnotist Jango?”
“This was discovered too?
Looks like I’m still quite eye-catching!”
A moment later, a figure glided out from the corner.
It was none other than the hypnotist Jango.
He had originally come to discuss the next stage of Kuro’s plan.
After hearing the commotion inside the mansion, he had quietly hidden himself nearby to observe.
He hadn’t expected to have been exposed from the very beginning.
Now that he had been called out, he could only force himself to walk over to Kuro, his expression grim as he waited for instructions.
His hand unconsciously reached toward the hypnotic ring at his waist.
“If the information in the newspaper is correct, then you should be the Black Cat Pirates’ vice captain—
“Hypnotist Jango, right?
“That heart-shaped pair of glasses certainly catches the eye!”
Luffy immediately shouted excitedly,
“Cool!
Mox, I want to buy a pair of heart-shaped glasses just like those!”
Jango laughed.
“Yo!
Yo!
Straw Hat Boy, you’ve got good taste!
“But unfortunately, I’m afraid you won’t have a future to enjoy them!”
Mox glanced at Jango before turning his attention back to Kuro.
The mockery in his voice grew even stronger.
“Fake your own death to deceive the Marines, infiltrate Kaya’s household, and gradually scheme to seize her fortune…
“What a meticulously planned performance.”
“No… No way…”
Kaya’s face turned deathly pale.
She stumbled backward repeatedly, her eyes shifting between Kuro and the wanted poster.
She didn’t want to believe that the refined and gentle butler she had known for years was actually the vicious pirate depicted on the wanted poster.
But the bounty printed in black and white, along with Jango’s appearance, ruthlessly shattered her illusions.
Mox pressed forward.
“Well, Captain Kuro?
“The evidence is conclusive.
Are you still going to deny it?”
Whoosh!
Before his words had even finished, Kuro suddenly moved.
His body shot forward like a ghost.
A pair of slender blades slid from his sleeves and instantly fitted over his fingers, transforming into deadly— cat claws.
They thrust straight toward Mox’s face.
The attack was incredibly fast and vicious, carrying murderous intent that chilled the bones.
“Hmph!”
Mox had been prepared.
He twisted his waist, performed a graceful backflip, and landed lightly, completely avoiding the lethal strike.
He brushed off his clothes and raised an eyebrow.
“Oh?
Did I hit a nerve?
“Giving up the act already?”
There was no trace of disguise left on Kuro’s face.
Only crazed hatred remained in his eyes.
“I want to tear you apart!”
He growled.
“My plan was already at its final stage!
“I’d escaped the Government’s dogs and that damn Pirate Hunter.
“For these three years, I’ve earned the trust of everyone on this island!
“I’ve spent every day painstakingly playing the role of a loyal butler and flattering that little blonde brat!”
Kuro pushed up his glasses.
“All I needed to do was make her sign the inheritance transfer before killing her!
“Then the world would become a better place.
“One more bloodthirsty monster would disappear!”
“This is all because of you!”
He abruptly pointed his cat claws at Mox.
“Why?
“Why did that bounty poster that should have been revoked long ago end up in your hands?”
“Who knows?”
Mox shrugged.
“Maybe Captain Morgan has a strange hobby of collecting wanted posters.”
“Since I’ve been exposed…”
Kuro took a deep breath.
“Then everything must be destroyed.”
He turned toward Jango and shouted,
“Jango!
Is everyone ready?”
“They’re all waiting outside the island, Captain!”
Jango immediately answered.
“Execute Plan B!”
Kuro pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold glint.
“Leave no one alive.
Kill them all.
“Make sure there are no loose ends!”
“Understood!”
Jango quickly pulled out a signal pistol, aimed it at the sky, and pulled the trigger.
Whoosh—BOOM!
An orange signal flare exploded overhead, transforming into a sinister black cat silhouette that was particularly striking against the twilight sky.
“Damn!
A signal flare!”
Nami’s expression changed.
She tightened her grip on her Clima-Tact.
“Are they planning to go all out?
“The ship… What about our ship…?”
Zoro drew Wado Ichimonji.
The blade reflected his cold gaze.
“This is perfect.
Saves us the trouble of looking for them.”
Mox rolled his wrists.
“Looks like they completely underestimated us, Luffy.”
Luffy nodded.
“I know!”
“Silent Step!”
Kuro lightly tapped the ground.
His body instantly became a blur and vanished.
The next second, he appeared behind Usopp, killing intent flashing in his eyes.
“You weren’t holding back when you punched me earlier, were you, Usopp?”
The sharp finger blades shot toward Usopp’s back.
“Watch out!”
Kaya cried out.
Without thinking, she threw herself in front of Usopp, using her own body to shield him from the lethal attack.
“Not a chance!”
Luffy was already moving.
A sharp glint flashed through his eyes.
His awakened Observation Haki precisely captured Kuro’s movement trajectory.
He instantly appeared in front of Usopp.
“Armament Haki!”
CLANG!
Fist and claw collided with a sharp metallic ring.
Kuro felt tremendous force surge through his claws.
His finger blades were forcibly stopped.
Before he could react, Luffy’s other foot was already swinging toward his face.
BAM!
Kuro was kicked away like a discarded sack, crashing into a distant flower trellis and sending splinters flying.
Zoro stared at the blackened surface of Luffy’s fist, surprise flashing in his eyes.
“So that’s Armament Haki?
“You can actually use your body to withstand blades?”
Luffy flexed his fist and grinned.
“Looks like you really like getting punched.
“In that case, I’ll punch you a hundred times!”
The moment he finished speaking, another barrage of lightning-fast punches erupted.
Kuro struggled back to his feet and activated Silent Step again.
His body vanished.
But this time, Luffy’s Observation Haki firmly tracked him.
The instant Kuro’s figure appeared on the left—
Luffy’s fist was already there.
BAM!
Another solid punch slammed into Kuro’s face.
His glasses shattered once again, fragments scattering through the air.
Luffy instantly appeared beside him.
His arm stretched backward like a compressed spring.
“Gum-Gum Rocket!”
The enormous force sent Kuro flying again like a cannonball.
He smashed through the mansion’s outer wall and flew toward the shore.
“Captain!”
Jango shouted in alarm and immediately chased after him.
“Let’s go!”
Luffy, Nami, Mox, and Zoro immediately followed.
Even Usopp ran after them.
On the beach, Kuro struggled to his feet.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
He was already on the verge of collapse.
He looked toward Jango and spoke in a hoarse voice that brooked no argument.
“Jango.
“Hypnotize me.”
“Captain… That will put an enormous strain on your life!”
Jango’s expression changed drastically as he tried to dissuade him.
“Enough talking!
“That’s an order!”
Kuro roared.
Jango gritted his teeth.
He pulled the hypnotic ring from his waist and began spinning it rapidly in front of Kuro’s eyes while muttering the hypnotic words.
The ring emitted a strange glow that reflected in Kuro’s eyes.
“ROAAAAR!”
Kuro suddenly released a beast-like roar.
His muscles swelled violently.
Veins bulged across his body like coiling dragons.
His eyes turned blood red.
His reason was completely consumed by savage bloodlust.
His figure vanished again.
The next moment, he appeared behind Zoro.
His sharp finger blades slashed toward Zoro’s back.
SLASH!
Zoro reacted incredibly quickly, but the claws still cut across his chest, leaving three deep wounds.
The pain made him grunt as he immediately drew his swords.
Kuro, however, blindly followed up with another attack.
His body blurred as he lunged toward Nami.
“Don’t even think about hurting her!”
Zoro’s eyes sharpened.
Two swords instantly left their sheaths.
“Two-Sword Style: Tiger Hunt!”
Crossing blades swept through the air with fierce force, precisely blocking Kuro’s attack.
Sparks flew as Zoro placed himself between Kuro and Nami.
“This guy has completely lost his mind.
“He’s turned into a killing machine!”
Mox said grimly.
“Right now, all he wants to do is kill everyone!”
“His strength got stronger?
“Even better!”
Fighting spirit surged through Luffy’s eyes.
He suddenly pushed off the ground and moved at incredible speed, using a technique similar to Kuro’s Silent Step.
Apparently, he had just learned Kuro’s technique on the spot.
He appeared beside Kuro like a ghost, his fist coated in Armament Haki as it slammed into Kuro’s stomach.
“Guh—!”
Kuro spat out a large mouthful of blood.
His body convulsed violently, yet he still didn’t fall.
Instead, his murderous instincts became even more ferocious.
He turned and clawed toward Luffy’s throat.
The two instantly became locked in close combat.
The sounds of fists and claws colliding rang out without end.
Kuro’s speed and strength had reached their peak under Jango’s hypnosis.
Luffy, meanwhile, relied on his incredible willpower and ever-changing Devil Fruit abilities to fight him head-on without giving an inch.
At that moment, chaotic footsteps came from the opposite end of the shore.
Jango had brought the entire Black Cat Pirates ashore!
Apparently, he had slipped away while hypnotizing Kuro and summoned the rest of the crew.
Now he stood among the pirates, watching Luffy and Kuro battle in the distance.
A vicious glint flashed through his eyes.
He had known all along that hypnotizing Kuro would turn him into an uncontrollable killing machine.
He was simply waiting for Kuro to kill everyone so that he could reap the rewards afterward.
“Vice Captain!
Look!”
One of the pirates suddenly boarded Luffy’s little boat and shouted in surprise.
“There are treasures beneath the deck!
“Whoa!
There’s so much!
“At least five million Berries worth!”
“Five million Berries?!”
Jango’s eyes instantly lit up.
He greedily stared at the ship.
“Excellent!
It all belongs to the Black Cat Pirates!”
“That’s my money!”
Nami instantly exploded.
She pulled out her Clima-Tact and charged forward.
“Put my treasure down!”
“Don’t be reckless!”
Mox grabbed her and said helplessly,
“I told you to let me keep the treasure for you, but you insisted on sleeping while hugging it!
“See what happened?”
“Mox!”
Nami was furious.
“Teach them a lesson!”
“Don’t order me around.”
Mox coldly looked at Jango.
How did this trash ever manage to get a job with the Government later?
By then, the Black Cat Pirates had already charged onto the beach.
Jango once again pulled out his hypnotic ring and aimed it at the Nyaban Brothers.
The hypnotized brothers’ eyes turned blood red.
Their muscles bulged, and their strength surged several times over.
They looked like two beasts ready to pounce.
“Brothers!
Kill them all!”
Jango shouted, pointing toward the Straw Hat crew.
“Finally, someone to sharpen my blades against!”
Ignoring his injuries, Zoro licked the blood from the corner of his mouth.
His three swords came out once more as he charged toward the Nyaban Brothers.
“You with the hypnosis!
“I’m going to play with you!”
Mox’s figure blurred as he intercepted Jango.
“Usopp, cover me!”
Nami tightened her grip on her Clima-Tact and charged toward the ordinary pirates.
“Y-Yes… Captain Usopp!”
Usopp pulled out his slingshot.
This was his territory.
These pirates had come to slaughter everyone on the island.
And then he thought of Kaya.
Today, he wouldn’t be a coward.
Today, he would risk his life and become a brave warrior.
“Take this!
Special Attack: Fire Star!”
A genuine all-out battle officially erupted along the raging shoreline.
The Nyaban Brothers fighting Zoro were incredibly fast under the effects of hypnosis.
Their claws flashed coldly as they tore through the air.
The elder brother charged low from the left, his claws aimed at Zoro’s legs.
The younger brother leaped high into the air, his claws descending like a waterfall and cutting off Zoro’s retreat.
“Hmph.
Not bad.”
Zoro’s eyes narrowed.
His footsteps shifted.
His body began spinning like a top.
The three swords in his hands transformed into a seamless wall of blades.
The violent wind generated by his rotation blocked all of the Nyaban Brothers’ attacks.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
The sound of claws colliding with blades fell like a torrential rain.
Sparks flew everywhere.
The Nyaban Brothers were forced backward by the tremendous force of the sword wind.
Yet they refused to give up and once again charged forward with low growls.
“Enough playing around.”
Zoro abruptly stopped spinning.
His three swords crossed into the shape of a cross.
“Three-Sword Style: Onigiri!”
Two fierce flashes of sword light poured forth like a sudden rainstorm, instantly engulfing the Nyaban Brothers.
When the sword light faded, several fine wounds covered the brothers’ bodies.
The hypnosis was forcibly broken.
Their bodies went limp.
They collapsed onto the beach and stopped breathing.
Zoro sheathed his swords and shook the blood droplets from their blades before scanning the other battlefields.
Mox’s battle with Jango was considerably stranger.
Jango held his hypnotic ring in both hands.
One hand constantly waved it in front of Mox’s eyes while he muttered,
“Sleep… sleep…
“Give up resistance…”
His other hand manipulated the ring, using its sharpened edge to launch surprise attacks at Mox.
“This little trick won’t work on me.”
Mox’s Observation Haki had already captured Jango’s movements perfectly.
His body flickered left and right like a ghost, always dodging the moment the ring was about to flash before his eyes.
“Your hypnosis is nothing but a joke in the face of overwhelming strength.”
Mox suddenly accelerated.
He closed the distance in an instant and swept out with a powerful kick.
Jango hurriedly leaned backward to dodge.
But Mox seized the opportunity and drove his elbow heavily into Jango’s chest.
“Ugh!”
Jango grunted and was sent flying.
The hypnotic ring slipped from his hands.
Mox quickly followed.
He planted one foot on Jango’s chest, pinning him firmly to the sand.
Then he picked up the hypnotic ring and waved it in front of Jango’s eyes.
“Let me try it too.”
He began waving it back and forth.
“Sleep!
Sleep!”
Then he stopped.
“Huh?
Still awake?”
Mox punched Jango in the head, making blood gush from his nose.
Then he continued waving the ring.
And punched him again.
After more than a dozen repetitions, Jango finally fell into a deep sleep.
“I told you.
“Hypnosis is way too easy.”
Meanwhile, Nami and Usopp were having an intense battle of their own against the ordinary pirates.
Nami wielded her Clima-Tact, moving as nimbly as a swallow and targeting the pirates’ joints.
One strike smashed into a pirate’s wrist, forcing him to drop his weapon.
Another swept into the back of his knee, making him lose his balance and collapse.
“Touch my money and you’ll face the wrath of the Cat Burglar!”
She shouted as she fought, her eyes blazing with an absolute desire to protect her treasure.
Usopp provided fire support from the rear.
“Special Attack: Fire Star!”
“Special Attack: Smoke Star!”
Specially prepared projectiles landed precisely among the pirates.
The smoke from the explosions disrupted their vision.
The small explosions weren’t particularly destructive, but they left the pirates scrambling in confusion.
“Hahahaha!
“Feel the might of Captain Usopp!”
He shouted while rapidly reloading his slingshot.
Every now and then, he would use it to precisely strike a pirate attempting to sneak up on Nami.
The two worked together seamlessly.
Before long, they had cleared out most of the cannon fodder.
At the center of the battlefield, Luffy and Kuro’s fight had reached its climax.
The hypnotized Kuro had completely lost his reason.
Only the desire to kill remained in his eyes.
His Silent Step reached its absolute limit, leaving a string of afterimages across the beach.
Every swing of his claws carried the sound of flesh being torn apart.
Luffy pushed his Observation Haki to its limit.
Every one of Kuro’s movements was laid bare within his perception.
“Gum-Gum Gatling!”
His fists erupted like a torrential storm.
Every punch was coated in Armament Haki and slammed heavily into Kuro’s body.
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
The violent impacts rang out without end.
Kuro was beaten into a bloody mess, yet he seemed incapable of feeling pain and continued attacking furiously.
His claws tore across Luffy’s arm, leaving deep bloody marks.
But Luffy didn’t care.
“Gum-Gum: Armament Haki Pistol!”
Luffy suddenly stretched his arm backward.
Then it snapped forward with explosive force.
His fist shot forward like a cannonball and slammed directly into Kuro’s chest.
BOOM!
Kuro’s body flew backward like a broken kite and smashed into a massive reef, shattering the rock.
He struggled to stand.
But his body had already reached its limit.
His muscles began shrinking.
The blood-red color slowly faded from his eyes.
Finally, he collapsed helplessly onto the beach.
His life was extinguished.
The battle was finally over.
The setting sun cast its golden afterglow across the sea.
The shoreline was a complete mess.
Pirates lay scattered across the sand.
Broken weapons and shattered pieces of reef littered the battlefield.
Everyone in the Straw Hat crew except Mox had suffered at least minor injuries.
They leaned against the rocks, panting heavily, yet every face was filled with the joy of victory.
Nami was the first to rush to the little boat.
She hugged her treasure tightly, her smile brighter than the setting sun.
“Thank goodness…
“My money is safe!”
Then she glanced toward the Black Cat Pirates’ ship.
“Now all we need is to collect some interest!”
Usopp dropped onto the beach with a heavy thump.
Although he was exhausted and breathing heavily, he couldn’t resist boasting.
“See that?!
“This is the power of Captain Usopp!
“Back in the day, I once…”
And so began another one of his long “adventure stories.”
Zoro leaned against a reef, using strips of cloth to loosely bandage the wounds across his chest.
A faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
Mox walked over to Luffy and patted him on the shoulder.
“Good job, Luffy.”
Luffy chuckled and scratched his head.
“Of course!”
In the distance, Kaya and Merry the butler anxiously watched from the direction of the mansion.
When they saw the Straw Hat crew’s silhouettes against the setting sun, tears of excitement filled Kaya’s eyes.
Night fell.
The sitting room of Kaya’s mansion was illuminated by warm lamplight.
A long table was covered with a sumptuous feast— grilled meat sizzling with fat, a colorful fruit platter, fragrant soup, and fruit wine specially prepared by Merry.
The air was filled with the aroma of food and a relaxed atmosphere.
Luffy sat cross-legged on his chair.
The empty plates in front of him had already formed a small mountain.
His mouth stuffed with grilled meat, he shouted indistinctly,
“Delicious!
Kaya’s chef is amazing!
“Ten more plates!”
Zoro held a wineglass, occasionally clinking it with Mox.
He glanced over the abundant dishes and, for once, wore a relaxed expression.
Nami was carefully stuffing a silver fork into her arms.
When she looked up and caught Kaya staring at her, she smiled awkwardly and sheepishly tore off a piece of bread and stuffed it into her mouth.