— — — — — —
Boom!!!
Renzo had zero interest in chit-chat. With precise control over his Conqueror's Haki, he unleashed a sweeping blast that hit every target within the mansion.
Thud! Thud!
In an instant, dozens of guards at the gate and in the yard collapsed unconscious.
"Huh?"
Inside the house, Kuro was listening to Kaya's parents explain something when he suddenly sensed something strange.
He turned and saw several guards at the door suddenly drop to the floor.
But Kaya, her parents, and the old butler Merry were all perfectly fine—just confused and shocked at what had just happened.
"What's going on?"
Butler Merry quickly moved to check outside.
Tap tap tap!
Footsteps echoed from beyond the door.
Then, a teenager strolled in with a boy and a girl at his side.
Renzo flashed a bright grin. "Yo! Afternoon, folks!"
His eyes immediately locked on Kuro. "Especially you, Captain Kuro! Didn't expect to find you hiding out in a rich merchant's house."
He nodded toward the couple in the bed. "Looks like Kaya's parents are still heavily poisoned. If they don't get help soon, they're done for."
"So that's your grand plan, huh? Secretly kill off the merchant family, inherit all their wealth, and get yourself a clean new identity?"
Clap clap clap!
Renzo started clapping. "Not gonna lie, pretty smart plan! If I hadn't stumbled across the truth while checking into the 'new Black Cat Pirates,' and got the full scoop from Jango, I might not have figured it out."
Behind him, Kuina and Zoro both rolled their eyes.
"Yeah, right. Jango my ass. Didn't you already know all of this ages ago?"
...
"What?!" x4
Everyone in the room—Merry, young Kaya, even her ailing parents—turned to stare at Kuro in shock and fear.
But Kuro... the guy was a true Oscar-worthy actor.
Cool as ever, he calmly adjusted his glasses with a slow flick of his wrist, his eyes flashing coldly.
He looked straight at Renzo and said in a low voice, "I don't know what you're talking about, sir. But attacking the guards and falsely accusing me? That's a crime. I'll have to ask you to leave."
Renzo didn't move an inch.
Instead, he tilted his head and smiled. "That weird little glasses push of yours... it's a habit you formed so you wouldn't cut yourself with those claw-blades, right? Makes sense. So where are they? Let me see."
Kuro's eyes narrowed dangerously.
He could feel Kaya and her family starting to doubt him. He knew this was going south fast. His entire infiltration plan—ruined.
Sighing, he reached into his coat like a magician and pulled out a set of long, sharp finger blades.
As he calmly slid them onto his fingers, he kept his head low, voice cold and steady. "Since you know my name and reputation, why would you still come here to ruin everything? Why force my hand? I was this close to success!"
"All I wanted was a fresh start! A clean life! Is that so wrong?!"
"Just one little merchant family—just three people—and the world gets rid of a dangerous pirate. Isn't that a good trade?!"
The sheer nonsense of it made Renzo and his friends collectively roll their eyes.
What kind of trash logic was that?
You murder, lie, steal, and now you think you're entitled to someone else's fortune in exchange for a redemption arc?
"Klahadore... You... you really are Pirate Captain Kuro? Did you really poison Master and Madam?"
Butler Merry was trembling with rage and disbelief. "How could you? After everything they did for you? They took you in when you were dying! They saved your life!"
"Hahahahahaha!!"
Kuro suddenly threw back his head and laughed maniacally. "How pathetic! You actually believed that story? That I was some dying stray you rescued?"
"It was all fake! A performance! You were all just pawns!"
"There was no life-saving favor. I was never dying. I just needed a cover to change my identity—and maybe pick up a fat inheritance while I was at it."
"Why should someone as strong as me be chased like a dog by the Marines, while that weak old man gets to live in luxury? Where's the fairness in that?!"
Kuro's voice was icy as he spoke, his finger blades pointing right at Kaya's father, who was still lying weakly in bed.
"Cough... You... cough cough!"
Kaya's father turned beet red, his frail body trembling as he was overtaken by a fit of violent coughing, barely able to breathe.
"K-Klahador—how could you...!" Little Kaya's eyes welled up with tears as she pointed a trembling finger at Kuro, her expression a mess of disbelief, sadness, and betrayal.
"Miss Kaya! He's not Klahador—he's Kuro! The pirate Kuro! Stay away from him!!"
Old butler Merry quickly pulled Kaya behind him, shielding her with his arms.
"Annoying fool. Get out of my way and die!"
A cold light flashed in Kuro's eyes as he swung his finger blades straight at Merry.
Swish!
In a blink, Renzo appeared right next to Kuro, casually resting a hand on his shoulder. He gave Kaya a wink before the two of them vanished from the room—
—and reappeared outside in the villa's courtyard.
In a flash, Renzo leapt back several meters, now facing Kuro with a calm grin. "Bullying regular people? That's no fun. Fight me instead. Let's see what you've really got. If you can kill me, maybe your whole plan won't be a complete waste."
He didn't kill Kuro right away. He was curious about that infamous technique—(Nukiashi) Pussyfoot Maneuver. He wanted to see if it had any value.
Renzo respected anyone who could develop his move.
"You... what did you just do? Are you one of those Devil Fruit users from the legends?"
Kuro glared at Renzo, suspicion and disbelief mixing in his gaze.
But that only showed how small his world was.
When did Devil Fruit powers become some kind of rare legend? Even in the weakest of the Four Seas, East Blue, there were still Devil Fruit users around.
No wonder this guy wanted to quit pirating halfway through.
"Beat me. Do that, and I'll tell you everything."
Renzo drew the dragon-spine blade from his waist, pointing it at Kuro with a challenging smirk.
"Fine. Let's do this."
Kuro's eyes went cold. He adjusted his glasses with a flick of the wrist, then suddenly slumped forward like a puppet with its strings cut, his torso and arms swinging weirdly, almost like he was convulsing.
Renzo activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, watching with great interest.
"Shakushi (Out of the Bag Attack)!!"
In a flash, Kuro vanished.
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!
Three claw marks suddenly slashed across the ground in front of Renzo.
In the next second, Kuro was already beside him, his finger blades slashing viciously at Renzo's chest and stomach with terrifying force.
"DIE!!"
Kuro's face twisted into a mad grin.
But that was only Kuro's perspective.
From Renzo's view, Kuro was fast, sure—but not nearly fast enough. Even without using the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Renzo could easily track his movements. With it? Kuro looked like a turtle trying to sneak up on him.
Still, Renzo carefully observed the move's structure with his enhanced dynamic vision and deep analysis skills.
With a knowing nod, Renzo muttered, "Not bad. One second it's your move, the next—it's mine."
Then, faster than a blink, he raised his hand and calmly caught both of Kuro's finger blades with pinpoint accuracy.
He didn't even need to use Haki.
.
.
.