Chapter 9: Black Cat Showdown – The Truth Revealed
"They're here! It's Kuro and his crew!" Usopp's voice shot up an octave, long nose practically standing on end from fear. He shoved the three kids hard. "Go! Run to the village and warn everyone—now!"
As Onion-head, Pepper-head, and Carrot stumbled toward the village, Jango climbed onto a rock and spun his hypnotic rings. "Look at this disk~ When I count to three, you'll become invincible warriors~"
"Jango… 1… 2… 3!!"
"Raaargh—!" The Black Cat Pirates' eyes rolled back, muscles bulging unnaturally. One smashed his fist into a boulder—boom—shattering it completely. Shards rained toward the village like deadly hail!
Zoro's pupils narrowed. "These guys… they've been hypnotically powered up?"
"Aaah! I wanna get strong too!" Luffy's eyes suddenly glazed over, staring at the spinning rings while flailing. "Gum-Gum—"
"Idiot! How are you getting hypnotized too?!" Zoro smacked the back of Luffy's head with his sword hilt—but the rubber man had already rocketed into the enemy ranks like a cannonball.
"Gum-Gum Gatling!"
Luffy's fists blurred into countless afterimages, knocking pirates flying like bowling pins. He barreled straight through to the shore, ripped the cat figurehead off the Black Cat Pirates' ship with a crack, and hoisted it overhead.
"Take this—Figurehead Smash!" Luffy swung the massive cat head toward the enemy line.
Jango fumbled his rings in panic. "1… 2… 3! Sleep!!"
The hypnotic disk flashed eerily. Luffy froze mid-swing. The figurehead crashed at his own feet. He stood there snoring loudly. "Zzz… meat… gotta grill it…"
Zoro cleaved a pirate in half with a single slash and roared over his shoulder. "Whose side is this moron on?!"
"Fire Dragon's Talon Smash!"
Sol's arms erupted with roaring flames, forming three vicious dragon-claw phantoms that swept across the battlefield. Hit pirates had charred claw marks seared across their chests, the air thick with the scent of grilled meat.
"If you keep going like that, the Black Cat Pirates are gonna turn into roasted cat!" Sham and Buchi charged from both sides, claws gleaming. "Cat Willow Grand Assault!!"
Sol chuckled and leaped skyward, flames exploding under his feet for extra thrust. The Nyaban Brothers overcommitted—barreling straight toward Zoro, who was busy cutting down fodder.
"Sol, you bastard!!" Zoro barely blocked their combined strike, skidding back several steps and gouging twin furrows in the sand with his sandals.
Buchi's cat ears twitched. "Huh? Green algae-head?"
Sham's tail bristled. "Doesn't matter—take one down first!"
Sol flipped mid-air and landed gracefully, waving at Zoro. "Temporary tactical assist~"
"Assist my ass!" Zoro drew all three swords. "Oni Giri!"
Lightning-fast slashes flashed. The Nyaban Brothers didn't even see the blades before collapsing unconscious. Zoro flicked blood off his swords with a cold snort. "Trash should know their place."
Jango's trembling hand reached for his rings, sweat beading on his forehead. Not far away, Kuro calmly slipped on his ten-blade cat claws, metal glinting ominously.
"I have to… hypnotize myself to get stronger…" Jango shakily raised the rings toward his own face.
"Fireworks Star!"
Usopp's slingshot fired from behind a boulder—boom! The explosive shot nailed Jango square in the face. Shattered glass flew, and the hypnotist flopped face-first into the sand, eyes rolled back.
Kuro adjusted his glasses, ten-blade claws dripping blood. "Hmph. What a bunch of useless trash." His lenses flashed coldly. "Wiped out by fodder in five minutes… looks like I'll have to clean up myself."
"Shakushi."
The word barely left his mouth before his figure blurred. Only the sharp whoosh-whoosh of air remained. Deep claw marks erupted across the beach, rocks, even the mast—yet no one could track him!
"Wait—Captain Kuro! We're on your—"
A pirate's plea cut off as a blood line appeared across his throat. He clutched the gushing wound in disbelief, collapsing alongside his comrades one after another.
Zoro crossed his swords, sparks flying. "Damn it… I can't even see his movement path!"
Luffy finally snapped out of the hypnosis. The moment he stood, he saw Kuro slaughtering his own crew. Rage ignited under his straw hat like never before.
"You bastard! What do you think your crew's lives are?!" Luffy shouted.
Kuro's figure solidified. He pushed up his slipping glasses, blood droplets falling from his claws to pit the sand. "Those guys were nothing more than stepping stones on my path to success. That's the fate of being a pirate crewmate."
"What kind of nonsense is that?! I'm gonna send you flying to the horizon!!" Luffy clenched his fist, glaring at Kuro.
Kuro activated Shakushi again. His claws tore through the air with a piercing screech—heading straight for Usopp and Nami.
Clang!!
Sol's arm, now armored in dragon-scale flames, blocked the strike dead. Claws met scales in a blinding shower of sparks, illuminating Kuro's stunned pupils.
"Wha—?!"
"Your speed—" Luffy's fist had already slammed into Kuro's gut, "—doesn't even come close to Sol's!!!"
"Guh!" Kuro's glasses flew off. He doubled over like a shrimp. He stared in disbelief at the straw-hat kid suddenly in his path. "Impossible… my Silent Step is clearly…"
Sol shook smoke off his arm and grinned. "To a Dragon Slayer Mage's senses, that little speed of yours is nothing special."
Usopp collapsed on his butt, long nose rigid with shock. "D-Did I just see my life flash before my eyes…?"
"No… impossible!" Kuro staggered up from the rubble, blood streaming down his face, half his claws broken. He hysterically triggered Silent Step again, becoming a blurred afterimage. "I am… Hundred Plans Kuro—!!"
Luffy stood firm, right arm pulled back like a fully drawn bow. "Gum-Gum…"
Kuro's claws were three inches from Luffy's throat when the spinning fist exploded forward:
"Gum-Gum Whirlwind Bullet!!"
BOOM!!
The punch landed square on Kuro's face. His cheekbone visibly caved in, glass shards and blood spraying. His body flew backward like a broken kite, smashing into the rock wall and carving a spiderweb of cracks before sliding down.
Kaya arrived, supported by the three kids, her white dress hem dusted with sand. Seeing Kuro embedded in the rock, bloodied and unconscious, and the scattered defeated pirates, her parasol clattered to the ground.
"Usopp… was telling the truth…" She covered her mouth, trembling, tears welling up.
Merry the butler dropped to his knees. "Mr. Klahadore… all these three years…" He stared at the claw-slashed dock pilings, tears streaming. "We were all deceived…"
Onion-head puffed out his chest proudly. "See?! Captain Usopp wasn't lying this time!"
Radish-head: "He risked his life to protect the village!"
Pepper-head suddenly pointed. "Ah! Captain fainted!"
Usopp lay flat on the sand in a dramatic sprawl—he'd immediately started his "heroically wounded" act the moment Kaya appeared. But the performance turned real when he actually tripped and fell, clutching his nose in pain.
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