— — — — — —
"They're here!"
A minute later, the yacht had already approached to within a hundred meters of the pirate ship, slowing down as it steadily closed the distance.
Jango and his crew could finally get a good look at the people on board.
He wasn't sure if there were people inside the cabin, but on the deck...
There were only three kids who looked like they were barely ten years old.
One of them was even lounging casually on a beach chair, completely motionless — clearly ready to just sit back and watch the show.
The other two — a girl and a boy — looked like they were eight years old, each held a sword as they stood at the bow, staring them down with battle intent written all over their faces.
The pirates on Jango's side were stunned.
"You kidding me? Just three little kids? That's it?"
"No way... are they seriously planning to send two snot-nosed brats to fight against all of us, the crew of the great Captain Ku— cough cough... uh, Black Cat Pirates?! Hahahaha!"
"Hahaha! For real! They've completely overestimated themselves! I'm gonna beat the crap outta them!"
"Their ship looks awesome though... and damn fast! Should we snatch it?"
"Hell yeah, we're taking it!"
...
Seeing that there were only three little kids — and one of them not even getting up — all the pirates' earlier tension vanished. They burst out laughing, already discussing how to divide up the loot.
Only acting-captain Jango frowned slightly.
"What's going on here?" he wondered. "There's no way they're just being cocky, right? Is there some kind of trap? Are there others watching from inside the cabin?"
Jango couldn't figure it out.
---
"Let's go, Kuina!"
"Mm! Okay!"
In the next instant, Zoro and Kuina leapt high off the yacht, directly charging towards the pirate ship.
As they dived down, they slashed their swords at the pirates below.
"They've got guts, I'll give them that... wait, what—"
One pirate tried to laugh them off, but before he could finish, Zoro's sword swept across his neck in a flash.
"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
A cold gleam — and a clean decapitation.
"Flower Breathing: Sixth Form — Whirlpool Peach!"
Kuina twisted mid-air, her sword dancing like a flower petal as it cut cleanly through the throats of two pirates.
Without slowing down for even a second, she plunged straight into the crowd, slaughtering like a demon, moving as gracefully as if she were performing a dance.
Every motion carried a certain beauty — like an elegant executioner amidst a rain of petals. Even those dying under her blade seemed to glimpse falling flower petals in their final moments.
These ordinary pirates were absolutely no match for Zoro and Kuina.
"Were there really supposed to be strong pirates here?"
Within just a few seconds, they'd already cut down over a dozen pirates — yet still hadn't run into a worthy opponent. Both of them were starting to feel suspicious.
Still, staying cautious, they simultaneously charged at the two tallest pirates in the middle of the battlefield.
"Bastards! Go to hell!"
Sham and Butchi — the Nyaban Brothers — roared as they swung their clawed weapons at Zoro and Kuina.
CLANG!!
For the first time, Zoro and Kuina's attacks were blocked. But almost immediately after, they forced Sham and Butchi back with sheer power.
Not far away, Jango's expression turned grim. He pulled out a strange pendant and started swinging it while shouting, "Sham! Butchi! Look over here!"
The two instantly reacted, turning their eyes towards Jango.
"One, Two, Jango"
"Hypnosis: Berserk Mode!"
In the next second, Sham and Butchi's eyes turned blood-red. Their bodies swelled, muscles bulging, and killing intent surged around them.
"Get them!"
Jango wiped the sweat from his forehead and shouted.
"What the hell? They transformed?!"
Zoro eyed his now-raging opponents with confusion.
"Probably some kind of hypnosis technique! Be careful, Zoro! Don't lose to them!"
Kuina frowned slightly, reminding him.
SWOOSH!
In the blink of an eye, the berserk Sham and Butchi charged towards them, claws tearing through the air.
CLANG CLANG CLANG!!
Within just a few exchanges, Zoro and Kuina had already traded dozens of blows with them.
Gradually adapting to their opponents' wild attacks, they used the fight to temper their own offense and defense.
Once they realized their opponents had no new tricks left, and their usefulness as practice dummies had run its course — Zoro and Kuina exploded into action.
"Flower Breathing: First Form — Flower Flash!"
In that moment, it was as if flower petals drifted down from the sky. Kuina's figure seemed to scatter like petals, surrounding her enemy from all directions.
Butchi only saw a flash of light in front of him, then felt a sharp pain in his neck. The world spun upside down. He even caught a glimpse of his own body still standing in place... before everything went black, and his consciousness faded away.
"Water Breathing, First Form: Surface Slash!"
Almost at the same time, Zoro unleashed one of his signature moves. He slipped past Sham's claw attack — which had been boosted in power — and closed in on the opening in Sham's defense. With a single clean slash, Zoro cut across Sham's chest.
A huge gash split open.
Blood spurted wildly.
"Im...Impossible..."
Sham, reeling from the intense pain, collapsed to the ground, his face twisted in shock and disbelief.
He couldn't believe it — he'd been one-shot... by a brat barely seven or eight years old?
After that, Zoro and Kuina made quick work of the remaining pirates, cutting them down like vegetables, leaving only Captain Jango standing.
The two of them casually rested their swords on their shoulders and slowly walked towards Jango, step by step, like reapers closing in.
"Kuina, I took down 19 of them! How about you?" Zoro asked coolly.
"20! Looks like I win again, Zoro!" Kuina replied smugly with a triumphant grin.
"Tch! There's still this guy left, right? And he's the captain. He should at least count as two regular pirates. If I take him down, I win for sure. So this isn't over yet!" Zoro argued stubbornly.
"You think I'm gonna let you have him? He's mine!" Kuina shot back.
Zoro wants to win? Keep dreaming!
"Ahahaha..."
Forced to retreat step by step, Jango raised both hands with an awkward laugh. "H-Hey now... let's not be so hasty, okay? Can't we talk this out like civilized people?"
"Seriously, let's just talk. No need to be so crazy like murder machines, right?"
He tried to reason with them, desperate. "Look, we didn't even offend you guys, right? We don't even know you! You just showed up and started killing everyone! Isn't that a bit unreasonable?"
"We are just a peaceful cat pirates."
Jango was honestly feeling victimized.
Who did they mess with to deserve this?
All because their captain suddenly had a change of heart, didn't want to be a pirate anymore, and faked his death just to go after some rich merchant's fortune.
As the vice-captain, what was Jango supposed to do?
All he could do was hold down the fort here, wait for his captain's call, and maybe help out with the plan behind the scenes.
Honestly, if he wasn't scared shitless of Kuro — who was both terrifying and insanely strong — Jango would've quit this pirate life ages ago.
He thought following a cold-blooded, ruthless captain like Kuro might lead to success. Maybe even fame and fortune as a great pirate.
But what happened instead?
The captain quit pirating and ran off to play butler!
Where was the justice in that?
"You're a pirate, right?" Zoro suddenly asked, staring at Jango like a wolf eyeing its prey.
"Uh... yeah, technically speaking... but..." Jango nodded awkwardly, still trying to explain.
"That's all I needed to hear."
Zoro interrupted him coldly, tightening his grip on his sword. "Pirates are asking for death. Especially you guys — no way you're clean."
"If our senior brother didn't give us the green light to go all out, we wouldn't be here cutting you down like this. You all wouldn't even last for five seconds. Hmph!"
Jango broke into a cold sweat, waving his hands frantically. "Isn't that a little one-sided? I don't think your senior is necessarily right, you know?"
"Oh?"
Right then, a voice came from behind Jango.
"Are you saying I'm lying?"
"Guh..."
Jango's neck stiffened as he slowly turned around.
It was him — that laid-back kid who'd just been lounging around watching everything like a spectator.
"What the hell kind of speed is that?!"
Jango hadn't even noticed when or how Renzo appeared behind him — not even a whisper of movement. Like a ghost.
"N-No! Of course not!" Jango practically broke down on the spot. In the next second — thud! — he dropped to his knees in front of Renzo, begging for his life.
"Boss! I was wrong! Please, spare me!"
Renzo: "..."
Zoro: "..."
Kuina: "..."
.
.
.