"Stop it, Usopp!"
Kaya, watching from the window, let out a terrified cry. "No more violence, please!"
Kaya's voice was more effective than any physical barrier. Usopp froze, his raised fist trembling in mid-air. Slowly, his grip on Kuro's collar loosened. Kuro seized the opportunity to shove Usopp's hand away, coldly straightening his rumpled suit.
"Please leave this place," Kuro commanded. "And never approach this villa again."
Ronan looked at the trembling, grief-stricken Usopp and sighed heavily. While he disliked Yasopp's choices as a father, Usopp didn't deserve to be treated with such calculated malice. He looked at Luffy and Zoro; both were visibly seething with anger.
Ronan decided he had seen enough. He knew Kuro's secret—he was just a hollow pirate who had lost his ambition and was now masquerading as a butler to steal a fortune. He had no right to judge anyone. All of Kuro's self-righteousness was a mere smokescreen for his greed.
Ronan took a step forward, his gaze level and calm as he looked at Kuro. "Hey, Kuro. Aren't you a pirate yourself? Did you actually 'wash your hands' of it just to play house as a butler?"
The moment the words left Ronan's mouth, Kuro's pupils contracted sharply. His composed facade was instantly replaced by a look of panicked gravity. He pushed his glasses up, his gaze turning predatory. "What nonsense are you talking about? I am no pirate."
Luffy and the others looked at Ronan in confusion. "Ronan, do you know this guy?" Luffy asked.
"If I remember correctly," Ronan said, his voice quiet but carrying the weight of iron, "three years ago, there was a pirate named 'Kuro' with a bounty of sixteen million Berries who looked exactly like you. The Marines announced he was dead, but it seems he faked his death to slink away and play butler here."
"Captain of the Black Cat Pirates, Kuro of a Thousand Plans!" Nami cried out in shock. She suddenly remembered the notorious pirate who had once terrorized the East Blue. "I remember now! He was a huge name around here! You really do look just like him!"
Kaya, still at the window, turned deathly pale. She shook her head in disbelief. "That can't be... you must be mistaken!"
However, with Ronan and Nami's confirmation, the doubt vanished from Luffy and Zoro's faces. They locked their eyes on Kuro, their expressions hardening with battle intent.
Kuro realized the charade was over. He took a deep breath, and his refined, calm demeanor shattered completely, revealing a dark, vicious gaze. "I didn't expect... that after three years, someone would still recognize my face." He lowered his voice, his tone thick with the frustration of a ruined plan. "I was so close! My plan was almost perfect! Why... why must you force me to kill you all?"
His restrained aura exploded into a chilling, lethal presence. The submissive butler was gone; in his place stood the devious and bloodthirsty pirate captain. Yet, Kuro didn't take the group seriously. In his mind, these brats were no match for him.
Usopp stood by, dazed by the revelation. "Kuro... a pirate with a sixteen-million Berry bounty?"
Kuro took a step toward the window where Kaya stood, her face white with horror. "So much has happened over these three years," Kuro said with a twisted sense of self-pity. "Since your parents died and you were confined to your bed, we spent a long time together, didn't we? I often think back on those days we shared..."
His voice suddenly turned venomous. "I stayed by your bed to care for you, and you were so happy to listen to me speak. I devoted all my focus to you... and I was enduring it the entire time! Yes, it was all so I could kill you and legally inherit your fortune!"
"I, who was once called 'Captain Kuro,' had to force smiles for a snot-nosed little girl and find ways to please you against my own will... Can you even comprehend those years of humiliation?" Kuro's mockery cut like a knife. "Can you understand the feelings of the man once known as Captain Kuro!"
He looked up, revealing a smile of ultimate coldness. "And Kaya, did you know? Your parents—I was the one who killed them!"
That final sentence shattered Kaya's grip on reality. She let out a pained wail and collapsed, slipping into unconsciousness. Watching her suffer, Usopp was finally driven beyond the brink by Kuro's cruelty. He roared and swung a hate-filled punch at Kuro!
Kuro sneered and didn't even move his torso. Amidst Nami's scream of warning, he simply raised a leg and delivered a precise, merciless kick that sent Usopp flying several meters. Usopp crashed into the dirt in a cloud of dust.
Kuro's eyes were frigid. "Brat, did you really think you were a match for me? You've ruined my plans and made it impossible for me to take over this estate smoothly. For that, you will all die!" He raised a hand and used his fingertip to lightly brush the cheek where Usopp had punched him, his voice returning to a terrifyingly calm level. "By the way, kid. That punch actually hurt quite a bit."
Just as Kuro was about to move against the fallen Usopp, Luffy acted. Using his Rubber-Rubber powers, his arm stretched back. With a short shout of "Gum-Gum—" he launched a heavy punch that knocked Kuro to the ground!
Kuro scrambled back to his feet, his eyes now filled with surprise and caution. "A Devil Fruit user..."
Simultaneously, Zoro drew Wado Ichimonji. The sharp blade glinted in the sun, and an icy, lethal aura locked onto Kuro. Ronan gripped his broken wooden stick, his eyes focused on Kuro's every twitch. Though he only had a stick, his presence was dense and solid, like a stalking tiger.
Kuro's eyes darted between them. He adjusted his glasses with the heel of his palm. He realized that while they were young, they weren't opponents he could finish quickly with bare hands. Since his preferred weapons weren't on him, he didn't choose to trade blows. Instead, he kicked off the ground and blurred toward the villa at high speed.
Luffy and Zoro were stunned. "Did he run away?" Luffy asked.
"He's going for his weapons," Ronan said grimly. "After lurking here for three years and having his plan ruined, he won't let this go easily."
Just as Ronan finished, Kuro returned. He now wore gloves fitted with long, razor-sharp cat claws that shimmered with a deadly light. He faced Luffy, his voice murderous.
"That punch earlier... it really hurt. I didn't expect to run into a Devil Fruit user here."
Luffy didn't back down. "I'm a Rubber Human who ate the Gum-Gum Fruit!"
Kuro's ten claws flashed with killing intent:
"Since the plan has failed, I'll just slaughter you all and force Kaya to write her will!"