"Mr. Raymond, what are you talking about? My name is Klahadore, not Kuro!" Kuro once again pushed up his glasses with the heel of his hand, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead, his voice carrying a barely perceptible tremor.
"Kuro of a Hundred Plans, bounty sixteen million Beri, former captain of the Black Cat Pirates. Three years ago, you used Jango's hypnotism to fake your own death, having a subordinate take your place and be executed!
Finally, thinking you had escaped your pirate identity, you came to Syrup Village to live in seclusion... If I'm not mistaken, your current goal is to seize the Kaya family's fortune, isn't it?"
"You... What nonsense are you spouting?" At that moment, Kuro finally realized that this Marine wasn't here for some damn marriage contract—he was here for him!
"Nonsense? Then would Captain Kuro like to come back with me to verify his identity?"
Raymond slowly advanced a step, the sound of his military boots exceptionally clear in the deathly silent dining room. His right hand remained on the hilt of his sword, its tip still dripping with Major Leman's blood.
Kuro lowered his head, a hysterical madness showing in the corner of his eyes.
Then, he let out a low, cold laugh, a sound that seemed to emanate from the depths of hell.
"Why? Why are you forcing me!? I just want to abandon the past and live a peaceful life!"
His fingers trembled slightly, and the cat claws at his cuffs slid out silently, glinting with a cold light.
"Tell me, who betrayed me? Jango? Or the Meowban Brothers?"
A small smile played on Raymond's lips. "Heh, because you weren't ruthless enough! Back then, you pulled off that switch in front of the entire Black Cat crew... It's been three years, three long years. Do you know how many of them have left the crew since then? Do you really think they'd keep your secret out of fear of your authority after leaving? If I were you... I would have killed them all back then!"
"I see. It was indeed my oversight!" Kuro's pupils contracted sharply as he instantly understood everything.
"Thank you for the advice. In return, I'll tear you to shreds in the most brutal way possible!"
The moment he finished speaking, Kuro's figure suddenly blurred. His speed erupted in an instant, and like a phantom, he flashed behind Raymond. The sharp cat claws shot out from his cuffs, glinting as they aimed straight for Raymond's heart!
"Not bad at all!" Raymond's Observation Haki had already warned him. His body instinctively dodged to the side, and the cat claws scraped past his uniform, tearing a gash in the fabric.
He then swung his sword back towards Kuro's neck, but the other man dodged it with a bizarre posture.
"Good reaction, Marine!" Kuro pushed up his glasses, quite surprised that Raymond could dodge his attack.
Because he had witnessed Leman being killed in an instant, he knew Raymond was no pushover. That's why he had started with his signature technique, the Pussyfoot Maneuver, attempting to kill him in one blow. He never expected his opponent's reaction speed to be so far beyond his expectations.
"Was it luck, or did he see through my intentions? Again!" A savage grin spread across Kuro's face. He had an almost pathological confidence in his signature technique.
With a sound of tearing air, Kuro's figure suddenly vanished from the dining room. The resulting airflow blew out the candles, plunging the space into a state of semi-darkness.
Raymond held his breath, concentrating on every subtle change in the air currents around him. With his Observation Haki fully active, he could clearly sense Kuro moving at astonishing speeds within the dining room. But his opponent deliberately controlled his footsteps, making every movement as silent as a ghost.
The Pussyfoot Maneuver truly lived up to its name. In his past life, when he first watched the anime, he had been stunned by Kuro's god-like footwork, even thinking that Luffy couldn't possibly win.
To be honest, the quality of the Pussyfoot Maneuver was absolutely on par with the Grand Line version of the Marines' Six Powers.
It consumed little stamina, provided sustained speed, and most importantly, was extremely stealthy.
If Luffy hadn't suddenly powered up and practically cheated by tangling himself around Kuro, with his dull-witted reaction time back then, he could have stood there for a day and never landed a hit.
Unfortunately for Kuro, while his speed was great, his physical constitution was still within the range of an ordinary person; he held no overwhelming advantage over Raymond.
Against his low-frequency pattern of striking once and immediately retreating, and facing Raymond, who possessed an Observation Haki two whole versions ahead of the East Blue, the Pussyfoot Maneuver, no matter how fast or silent, could not escape being crushed by a superior version!
He raised his sword, parrying several attacks that came from all directions. Each clash of metal produced a dazzling shower of sparks.
Kuro's attacks grew faster and faster, his afterimages weaving a deadly net in the dim dining room.
"It's useless, Kuro," Raymond suddenly said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "I'm anticipating your every move!"
As his voice fell, Raymond suddenly spun around, swinging his sword at a bizarre angle towards the empty space behind him—
Schlick!
The sound of a blade slicing through flesh rang out. Kuro looked down in disbelief at the gruesome gash on his abdomen.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How can you see my movements!"
Kuro gritted his teeth and suddenly ripped off his blood-stained suit jacket, throwing it at Raymond. In the instant the fabric obscured Raymond's vision, Kuro's figure appeared ten paces away. His neck bent, his arms dropped, and his whole body began to sway in a strange rhythm.
"Shakushi!"
However, to his surprise, even the act of throwing his jacket was within Raymond's predictions!
"Useless!"
With a sliding tackle, Raymond dodged the jacket while precisely cutting into Kuro's movement path. He thrust the sword in his hand forward fiercely, plunging it directly into Kuro's shoulder and pinning him to the floor. Without another word, he pounced, delivering several punches until his opponent was completely unable to resist.
"I'm telling you, the wind-up for that move is way too damn long! Did your previous enemies just stand there like idiots and watch you sway?"
"Aaargh—"
Kuro let out a blood-curdling scream, his metal cat claws scratching deep gouges into the floorboards. Blood gushed from his wound, quickly forming a crimson pool on the floor.
"It's over!" Raymond looked down from above at the pirate who once struck fear into the hearts of the East Blue, his tone terrifyingly calm.
Kuro struggled to lift his head, his glasses long since shattered, revealing eyes full of unwillingness. "You... you win. Kill me!"
"Kill you? Why would I kill you?" Raymond suddenly revealed a meaningful smile. He slowly pulled the sword from Kuro's shoulder, then casually grabbed the nearby suit jacket and used it to crudely bandage the wound.
"What are you..." Kuro gasped weakly, his eyes filled with confusion and vigilance.
"You might not believe this... but I'm actually here to recruit you!"