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Chapter 29: I Won't Give Up on You
"They're all dead, they're all dead..."
At this moment, Usopp and Nami, who had been thrown to the ground by Kuro, spoke in terror, as if they had received a great shock.
Ganyu looked at the two, whose injuries were not serious, confirming that Kuro hadn't actually attacked them. The coldness in her eyes gradually dissipated. "What happened?"
"That lunatic killed all his own men! Waaah... Ganyu, it was terrifying..."
Hearing Ganyu's voice, Nami's eyes lit up again, and she looked at Ganyu with a pleading expression, hoping she would rescue her from this evil monster's clutches.
"His speed was astonishing, like a ghost. We didn't even see them clearly before they were all dead!"
Usopp was still in shock, his voice filled with fear.
A few minutes ago.
After he and Nami had used all their strength to defeat the ten pirates, Kuro had appeared soundlessly, his ghostly figure flashing past. The ten pirates who had been on the ground were all decapitated, their blood splashing onto Usopp and Nami's faces...
The two were terrified by the sight and immediately turned to run towards the shore where Ganyu and the others were, but they were caught in the end.
"You are pirates, correct?"
Kuro's hands hung naturally at his sides. A pair of sharp, nearly half-meter-long steel claws extended from his sleeves, the tips aimed at Usopp's and Nami's throats, respectively.
His gaze swept over Ganyu and Zoro, then landed on Luffy.
Luffy took two steps forward and said in a low voice, "That's right. My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be the King of the Pirates!"
"King of the Pirates?"
Kuro chuckled softly but didn't say more, just stared at Luffy coldly. "It doesn't matter who you are or what you want to do. What happens on this island has nothing to do with you. As long as you leave this island now, I can let these two go."
"Really? Then please, let me go... waaah..." Nami burst into tears, terrified, looking at Luffy and the others with pleading eyes.
"No! He's definitely going to do something bad to Kaya and the people on the island!" Usopp, scared out of his wits, suddenly sat up and shouted.
"You're looking to die!" Hearing this, Kuro's eyes instantly turned cold, and his extremely sharp steel claws were about to pierce the man who had repeatedly ruined his plans.
"Stop!"
Luffy hurriedly shouted, stopping Kuro's raised hand.
"We can leave this island, but you have to promise not to do anything bad to the people on the island!"
Luffy's voice was a bit hoarse as he spoke.
"I can."
Kuro adjusted his glasses, instantly reverting to his usual refined butler persona, his voice as warm as a gentle breeze. "I promise not to harm anyone on the island. In the days to come, I will truly integrate into their lives and become the honest, kind, and trustworthy Klahadore they have known for the past three years."
"But..."
At this point, his tone changed abruptly. His expression was still gentle, but his eyes became cold and cruel. "All of this is on the condition that one person must die!"
"You're talking about Kaya, right?"
Ganyu answered calmly. "Everything you've done on this island for the past three years was to properly inherit her property."
"That is correct."
Kuro readily admitted it, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather.
"But she's a complete stranger to you, isn't she? We're all pirates, why fight over a stranger? I heard you need a big ship? If you leave now, after I inherit my property, I'll give you one. How about it?"
"Don't believe him! He's lying!" Hearing his childhood friend's life was in danger, Usopp could no longer control himself, roaring in defiance of the steel claws at his throat.
He was worried that Luffy and his companions would actually accept Kuro's terms.
"Lies? For those two words to come from the mouth of someone like you, who loves to lie the most, is truly absurd!"
Kuro sneered, his gaze towards Usopp becoming even colder.
"Even if I've told countless lies, they are more believable than the lies of a pirate like you!" Usopp glared at him.
Kuro seized on the loophole in his words and said, "What a joke! I'm a pirate, but aren't they pirates too? Are you saying you don't trust them either?"
"No... I didn't mean that, Luffy... Zoro, Ganyu, you have to believe me..." Usopp looked up in a panic, his eyes pleading with the three of them, his voice gradually fading.
"Please help me... I'm begging you..."
"Shut up!"
Luffy suddenly shouted sharply, cutting off Usopp's pleading.
"Stand up, Usopp! We're not helping you out of pity! That kind of person doesn't deserve our help at all!"
"Then... why is this..." Usopp was startled.
"Because. We saw the incredible effort you put in to protect this village. As long as you don't give up, we will never give up on you!"
Luffy's powerful words echoed across the beach, each word striking deep into Usopp's heart.
As long as I don't give up, they will never give up on me...
These words echoed in Usopp's mind, seeming to touch the deepest string in his heart.
Two streams of tears welled up in his eyes, and under Kuro's increasingly severe gaze, he gradually straightened his body.
Usopp stared straight at Kuro, the fear and cowardice in his eyes completely gone.
"Kuro, I won't let you hurt Kaya!"
Seeing this, Luffy, Zoro, and Ganyu all laughed.
Usopp certainly hadn't disappointed them.
"Good, very good..."
Kuro covered his forehead with one hand, his expression unreadable, and let out a sickening sneer.
A fierce killing intent surged in his eyes, and the steel claws on his arms slowly pressed down towards Usopp's and Nami's throats.
"Since you won't accept, then I have no choice but to..."
"Hey."
Zoro, who had been silent, suddenly smiled, his sharp gaze fixed on Kuro. "You're actually terrified of fighting us, aren't you?"
"..."
These words seemed to hit a sore spot for Kuro. He immediately fell silent, and a drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
He raised his head slightly, looking at Luffy, Zoro, and Ganyu with a tense expression.
Three of them, three whole monsters!
Why, just when his plan was about to succeed, did three such powerful pirates appear?
Even someone as confident as him didn't believe he could defeat these three single-handedly.
"How about we change the terms?"
Zoro smiled, pointing at Kuro, then at the silent Luffy.
"Let our people go, and we'll give you a one-on-one duel with our captain!"
Hearing this, Kuro was silent for a moment, then nodded. "If I win, you must leave this island immediately!"
"Done."
Luffy took two steps forward, rubbing his hands together. "But if you lose, you'd better leave here now and never come back!"
"It's a deal."
...
Splash... Splash...
The sea breeze blew gently across the beach, and the waves lapped rhythmically against the shore.
On the beach.
Luffy slowly took off his straw hat and gently placed it on Ganyu's head.
"Ganyu, please hold on to this for me for a bit."
Feeling the warmth and weight of the straw hat, Ganyu was caught off guard and quickly grabbed the hat with both hands, nearly letting the sea breeze blow it away.
She glanced at Luffy with a hint of reproach. "This idiot, how could he just put something so precious on her head like that?"
"Gum-Gum..."
Luffy didn't notice Ganyu's resentful gaze. He walked straight towards Kuro, his pace quickening until he broke into a run, stretching both arms far behind him, building up power.
"...Rocket!"
The outstretched arms suddenly snapped back, propelling him forward like two rockets fired from a cannon, straight at Kuro!
"I saw through your ability long ago!"
Kuro snorted and elegantly took a few dance-like steps, dodging the attack of the rubber arms.
Swish!
Almost at the same time as he dodged, his two steel claws slashed down like lightning, aiming straight for the two outstretched rubber arms.
Luffy planted his feet firmly on the ground and used his rubber elasticity to fly forward, not only catching up to his outstretched arms but also slamming his head hard into Kuro's face.
Crack! The glasses shattered instantly.
In a spray of blood, Kuro flew backward wretchedly, crashing hard into the rock wall more than ten meters away.
"Gum-Gum Machine Gun!"
Luffy pressed his advantage, appearing in front of Kuro in an instant, unleashing a storm of fists.
Each punch carried the sound of tearing air, the dense attack like the continuous fire of a machine gun.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The impact caused the rock wall to crack, and layers of soil peeled off the cliff, sending dust flying everywhere.
Amidst the dust, a figure slowly stood up. He moved like a ghost, his speed astonishing, each step crossing several meters in an instant.
"This is..."
Luffy's expression turned serious.
That figure had perfectly dodged all his punches, his speed even exceeding the frequency of his strikes!
"What is this move? How can it be so fast?" Zoro, watching from the sidelines, frowned, his expression becoming serious.
The figure flashing across the battlefield was moving so fast it was almost beyond the perception of the naked eye.
"It's a bit like the 'Shave' technique from the Marines' Rokushiki."
Ganyu observed for a moment before answering.
But then she saw Zoro, Usopp, and Nami looking at her blankly, and she sighed.
"Alright, it seems you don't know what the Rokushiki are yet. The Rokushiki, or Six Powers, are martial arts that only high-ranking Marine officers can master. There are six techniques in total: Shave, Iron Body, Paper Art, Moon Walk, Tempest Kick, and Finger Pistol. Each one surpasses the limits of human physical ability and is incredibly powerful. If you can master them, you can even fight against Devil Fruit users..."
It was a good thing she had paid close attention when watching the anime in her previous life, or she really wouldn't have been able to explain these details clearly.
Usopp frowned, his eyes full of worry. "Kuro has mastered such a powerful move, Luffy won't lose, will he?"
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at Zoro and Ganyu, whispering a suggestion.
"Why don't you two make a move in secret? There's no need to talk about morals with this guy anyway..."
"No!"
Before he could finish, Zoro flatly refused. He looked at Usopp with extreme seriousness, his tone carrying an unquestionable warning.
"This is a fight that Luffy must face alone. I will not allow anyone to get in his way!"
"I... I understand..." Usopp was startled by his unexpected reaction and immediately fell silent.
"Don't underestimate our captain, Usopp."
Seeing the situation, Ganyu smiled and said, "Just wait and see. It won't take long for Luffy to catch up to his speed."
The "Pussyfoot Maneuver" was Kuro's famous killing move in the East Blue. It was said that its speed was comparable to the "Shave" technique of the Rokushiki.
However, this move had a fatal flaw: even Kuro himself could not control the trajectory of his attacks.
"Ah...!"
Luffy grunted as blood blossomed on his body like a flower.
His pupils contracted sharply, staring at the figure that had just attacked him. That figure then leaped ten meters away at astonishing speed. With a crack, a large tree several meters tall was torn to shreds.
"This guy is so fast!"
Luffy's gaze followed the constantly flickering figure as it wreaked havoc on the surrounding environment, but he remained vigilant, as his opponent would attack him from time to time.
Swish!
Without warning, a ghostly figure flashed in front of him, sharp steel claws cutting through the air at extreme speed!
"Ah!"
Luffy only had time to glimpse a shadow before a sharp pain shot through his arm.
In a spray of blood, three wounds deep enough to see the bone were left on his arm.
"Gum-Gum Pistol!"
His rubber arm shot out, hitting the spot where the figure was just disappearing, but he was a beat too late, hitting only an afterimage.
Kuro had already teleported more than ten meters away again.
"My eyes are blurring, I can't hit him at all!"
"D*mn it, what should I do?!"
Luffy clutched his bleeding arm in pain, anxiously tracking the elusive figure in the distance.
This feeling of only being able to take hits without being able to fight back was a frustrating experience he had never had before.
"Luffy, if you can't see clearly, why don't you try not using your eyes?"
Just then, a clear and pleasant voice came from the woods.
It was Ganyu...
Luffy recognized the voice without even looking.
Because the speaker was Ganyu, he subconsciously pondered the meaning of those words.
Not using my eyes... What does that mean?
Wait...
Since I can't see his movements at all, I might as well not use my eyes!
Luffy was overjoyed. He closed his eyes without hesitation, his breathing gradually steadied, his ears twitched slightly with the wind, and his body entered a calm state...
Just then.
Kuro attacked again, crossing ten meters at an astonishing speed. His two steel claws crossed in the air, whistling as they aimed straight for Luffy's heart!
However.
Just as the steel claws were about to pierce Luffy's chest, he suddenly turned slightly to the side. The claws scraped past his chest, only tearing the fabric of his shirt.
"I... I caught you!"
At the same time, a hand suddenly shot out, its palm clamping down on a wrist like an iron vise.
"What!" Kuro's eyes widened in disbelief. His body suddenly stopped in mid-air, dragged to the ground by an immense force.
Boom!
A rubber fist, which had been building up power, tore through the air, heading straight for his face!
Smack!
Kuro's chin was struck by the heavy punch, and he flew backward into the air on his back.
Suffering from a severe concussion, he was somewhat disoriented. He slowly opened his eyes, only to see the ground receding far below, and the afterimage of a fist flying towards him...
"Gum-Gum Machine Gun!"
(To Be Continued)
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