"My apologies, young lady. The game of house has ended early."
Kuro, stone-faced, slipped on his ten claws. "All because of that Marine, all because of that bastard Hiroto."
"Every last plan of mine has been ruined. To keep the Marines from learning the truth, I'll simply have to kill you, the Marines, and everyone else in this mansion."
"Klahadore... no, Kuro, you won't lay a finger on the young lady." A burly servant stepped forward.
"Marine, we won't get in your way, we'll protect her ourselves."
He reached for Kaya, but she clearly refused to leave.
"Wait, Klahadore."
Kaya was frantic. "What's happening? Can you explain it to me? Why does she call you Kuro? Why are you fighting? Why..."
"For the sake of the year we spent together, I'll let you hear the truth before you die."
Kuro finished fitting his claws, tapped his glasses with his palm, and his gaze turned monstrous.
"Kaya, your parents were murdered by me. My name isn't Klahadore. Right now, I'm not the butler playing house with you. As she said, my name is Kuro."
"I slipped in as a shipwrecked sailor to claim your fortune, and I had a perfect plan to seize your wealth and live out the quiet life of a rich man I've always wanted."
"Infortunately, that man named Hiroto wrecked my scheme, and this Marine ruined my backup plan. So I'll simply kill every last one of you and start over."
"As long as I'm here, you won't take another step."
Tashigi gripped Shigure's hilt and shielded Kaya and the servants.
She'd alerted Smoker, he should be on his way back now. She only needed to stall a little longer to capture this hidden pirate.
Meanwhile, the servants shielded Kaya and retreated slowly toward the stairs.
"Block me? Don't make me laugh." Kuro grinned as if he had heard a hilarious joke, his face twisting.
"For the annoyance you've caused me, I'll make you watch as everything you want to protect is sliced to pieces."
His footwork shifted like droplets skittering across the floor, and he vanished.
Nukiashi!
The next instant, a crimson spray burst from Tashigi's chest.
Five deep, bone-baring wounds.
She was sent flying by the savage slash.
Only then did she realize it was Kuro's attack.
At the same time the servants guarding Kaya screamed and were hurled aside, their chests carved just as deeply.
Kaya saw none of it, blood spattered her dress and freckled her pale cheeks. The unprecedented horror froze her in place as something cold touched her neck.
Shigure spun through the air and lodged in Kaya's doorframe, its icy flat reflecting Kuro's twisted face.
Ten claws pressed against the neck of the still-disbelieving Kaya.
"Young lady, do you know how much I loathe you?"
"Your moods swing like a pendulum, impossible to predict. When you're unhappy, you snap orders, and I have to play the gentle butler, pandering to your every whim, caring about your feelings like a parent..."
Kuro rambled, venting years of resentment.
"And that idiot Usopp, piling extra chores on me every day—too bad he's in town or I'd kill him too."
He gave a sudden, manic laugh.
"No matter. When he sees your corpse, he'll suffer plenty."
Tashigi, half-embedded in the corridor wall, coughed blood, unable to believe she'd been felled in a single move.
She and Smoker had once caught a 15-million-berries bounty pirate. Kuro was much stronger than that pirate.
"Klahadore... how could you..."
Kaya finally accepted reality, emotions surging.
She wanted to dash to her room, grab the flintlock from her drawer, and shoot the monster who'd murdered her parents. But Kuro already had her, his paw-like gloved hand around her throat.
"Your tantrums end here, young lady. It's over, your sweet dream and my nightmare alike." His tone was as mild as ever, yet his eyes were glacial.
"No one can save you now."
"Question is, do I count as a person?" A sudden voice sounded from inside Kaya's room.
Hiroto stepped out, casually drawing Shigure from the floor.
"You are..."
Tashigi struggled upright, staring at the uninvited man.
She recognized him at once. "Head-Chopping Swordsman Hiroto!?"
The pirate with a 40-million-berries bounty?
Kaya's heart lurched, she had no idea why this man had emerged from her bedroom, but she knew the situation was dire: Klahadore had become the pirate Kuro, and now the pirate Hiroto the Marines hunted stood before them.
The mansion was in chaos, and the Marine who'd protected her lay gravely wounded. Even with her rudimentary medical skills, Kaya could see Tashigi was in no state to fight.
'Am I going to die here?'
Despair filled Kaya.
She thought of her murdered parents, of Kuro's savage face, of Merry, of the servants who'd shielded her.
Regret washed over her—for the times she'd thrown tantrums and worried her parents and Merry, for the trouble she'd given her servants with her whims.
'If only I could tell them I'm sorry...'
Resigned to what seemed inevitable death, Kaya closed her heart.
Then, Kuro's laughter rang out.
"It's you! You're actually here—perfect, absolutely perfect! Young lady, you get to live a little longer, don't die just yet."
Ecstatic, Kuro retracted his claws, tapped his glasses, and looked at the man before him.
"I don't know why you've come or why you showed up now, and I don't care. All that matters is that you're here. My dream, my long-cherished wish, will be fulfilled on this very island."
His voice turned cold at the end, ten gleaming claws leveling at Hiroto. "Since you've arrived so conveniently, I'll grant you a chance for last words."
"Last words? Should a 15 million berries bounty pirate be telling that to a 40 million berries bounty one?"
Hiroto tightened his grip on Shigure, pouring his will into the blade and fully claiming this masterpiece among Graded Blades.
[Sharp Sword] triggered.
Perception, reflex, presence—up↑
[Agility: E++ → D]