—CLAAANG!!
This is the worst. The absolute worst.
"Damn... even that kick didn't work."
"My whole body is blades, you see."
"So your whole body is steel then."
Why did I have to meet Mr. 1 after he ate his Devil Fruit?!
And why did he casually find and eat a Devil Fruit?!
That's not fair! I want one too!
...Actually, never mind. I feel like I'd fall into the sea somewhere and it'd be a disaster.
It'd be better to sell it somewhere and use it as startup capital.
"What's wrong, distracted?"
That was close!
I kick upward to deflect the thrust from his arm that turned into a spear-like blade.
Good thing I put steel plates in the soles of my shoes! They were equipment for efficiently stomping on enemies' faces and crotches, but they're coming in handy!
It's okay, at least he's not at a level where I'd be killed helplessly.
It really seems like he hasn't eaten the fruit for that long.
Since some time has passed, he seems to have grasped his abilities to some extent, but it's probably still a trial-and-error period.
He's not using any of those techniques he showed against Zoro in Alabasta—especially that drill-like one—and he's only doing normal combat by turning parts of his body into blades.
Plus, I noticed from that last exchange that his blades aren't yet at that insanely sharp level.
Even when he becomes steel with his ability, a kick that hits dead center seems to do some damage... I think I feel that. Even with his new ability, he's not completely invincible.
That's understandable.
I've never eaten one so I don't know, but there's no way you could master it immediately after your body suddenly changes.
CP9's Kaku and Kalifa, who could use their powers in combat right after eating their Devil Fruits and go toe-to-toe with the Straw Hat crew while still figuring things out—their talent was just abnormal.
"Silent Step."
"...! He disappeared?!"
And in terms of speed, I have the advantage.
After all, I'm Captain... well, not yet, but I'm that hundred-plan Kuro.
I should be one of the top characters in terms of speed in the One Piece world... I think.
And unlike Logia types, Paramecia types don't make your body intangible.
And I have one trump card.
"No matter how much you accelerate, you can't put a single scratch on this body!"
That's what you'd think, right?
Here, catch.
"!!?"
I hastily throw my trump card, making it touch Daz's body.
"Brace yourself."
I don't really want to kill this guy, or rather, even though he's a kid, I don't feel like I could kill him.
However, I don't feel like I'd be killed by the current Daz either.
With a roundhouse kick accelerated by Silent Step, I stomp down on my thrown trump card—seastone I'd recovered from that wrecked Navy ship—with enough force to embed it into Daz's body.
—THUD!!
The metallic sounds that had been echoing until now changed to the sound of impact hitting flesh for the first time.
"Gaha...!?"
The expression that had barely changed no matter how many kicks I landed wherever finally changed to one of pain.
I kick up and recover the pressed seastone.
If I lose this, I'll just be a small fry who's fast and crushes faces and crotches with shoes that have steel plates in them.
Originally, it wasn't for fighting ability users—I collected as much as I could back then to line the bottom of a ship and create one that could cross the Calm Belt.
Thanks to that, while I was repeatedly carrying large amounts, hiding them, carrying more, and hiding more, I got spotted by other Navy personnel and had a terrible time.
Anyway, this is good.
"Ugh... I see, that stone is your trump card."
"Yeah."
Seastone.
Having the means to fight back against devil fruit users is really nice.
"In other words, I just need to avoid touching that stone."
If only it were an opponent my low-spec combat ability could handle.
And my opponent is the future powerful enemy Mr. 1.
Hmm, this might be bad.
My opponent is also on guard without letting his guard down.
Actually, his stance is cleaner than before.
This guy grew during the battle!
That's why original story powerhouses are...!!
"That's right, with my current skills, I can't damage you without this stone. If I kept kicking endlessly, I might be able to defeat you with accumulated damage, but I can't estimate how much time and stamina that would require."
"..."
"But at the same time, you can't quite catch me either. Am I wrong?"
Honestly speaking, if I wanted to run, I could.
Part of why I specifically trained my legs was because I judged that as Kuro, my legs would definitely develop, but it was also to increase my escape probability in emergencies.
Laugh at me for being a pathetic man if you want!
To increase my survival probability in a shonen manga and pirate world full of death flags, I'll do anything!
"Daz, was it?"
When I asked, Daz nodded slightly in a surprisingly honest manner.
"What happened to your parents?"
"...They were killed by a Family. I don't know what they did, but it was supposedly retaliation. I escaped from there and have been alone since."
...
My memory's hazy, but I think this guy's dream was to be a hero or something.
Could it be that... that's what this was about?
"How old are you now?"
"...10... I think."
Seriously?
Unlike me, he's actually 10 years old inside and still this strong?
"You're strong but slower than me."
"..."
"I'm fast but weaker than you."
"You're saying that about yourself?"
"Am I wrong?"
"...I don't know."
This composure at this age. Daz is amazing.
Normally you'd be more... excited, right?
No wonder Crocodile recruited him. This guy's way too reliable.
"Then, if you and I were together, we could do much more. Right?"
If he's an ally—he'd be as reliable as they come.
"Come with me, Daz Bones."
"...I'm a bounty hunter, and you're a wanted man."
That's fine for now. I think it's still too early for me to raise a proper flag anyway.
"You and I can hunt wanted criminals together. I can't appear publicly, but you can cash them in. With your ability and my speed, we can earn much more efficiently than now."
"..."
"You know how I scattered a large number of mountain bandits in such a short time before coming here, right? You also know how much it would have been worth if I'd cashed them in."
It's a scoundrel's deed to try to talk a child into something with smooth words, but at this point I can't afford to care about appearances.
Exceptionally talented personnel has just rolled right in front of me.
And he's a devil fruit user too.
I can't help but recruit him.
"I don't know this sea well, but I understand very well how strong the Mafia's influence is. Including the matter with your parents."
"..."
"Your parents were killed for incurring the displeasure of the Mafia—some Family, right? And what about you?"
Most Mafias have information networks.
From our earlier conversation, I noticed that they knew I'd come to the west side, so they're probably pretty serious.
"They probably know about you too, being their son, right? That rumor about fighting back against thugs the other day—wasn't that it?"
His eyebrow twitched slightly.
Seems like a hit.
No, maybe not a hit, but he thinks that might be the case.
"You're strong. You can probably fight back against most enemies. But at this rate, won't you end up fighting pursuers forever?"
I know this man will eventually head out to the Grand Line.
I can't imagine him as someone aiming for the Pirate King or One Piece.
Probably Crocodile—or rather, Baroque Works—put him on their recruitment list and he went along with their offer and entered the Grand Line... something like that, I think.
The reason doesn't matter.
The important fact is that he left the West Blue.
In other words, he doesn't have attachments to the West Blue like Baratie for Sanji or Kaya for Usopp.
Probably.
"But what good does running do? The world isn't kind to the weak. They just get exploited. ...Like my family."
"Then we should gain power together."
No matter what, getting this wall—cough cough—excellent combat personnel candidate on my side here will be a huge advantage later.
Work, my brain!
"The weak are oppressed because the strong are forgetting respect."
Work, my tongue!
"The strong are forgetting respect because they're forgetting they were once weak too."
Sink into the sea of thought!
"Daz Bones! Let's turn the world upside down together!!"
Couldn't you have chosen more moderate words, my brain?
"This meeting is fate!"
Who told you to sink my life into a quagmire, my mouth?
No good. With this brain that falls far short of a hundred plans and my hazy knowledge of the original story, I can only produce inferior rip-offs of the legendary scenes between the Pirate King and Dark King.
Young Daz Bones just stares with wide eyes in bewilderment.
Help me. Help me please.