Chapter 32: Ralph the Big Liar!
When Ralph's figure swept through the forest like a swift wind and finally arrived at the northern shore battlefield, the scene before him nearly made his heart stop.
The scenario he least wanted to see was laid out before his eyes.
Luffy lay collapsed in a pool of blood, her straw hat rolled to the side, the blood soaking through her simple red vest. Their enemy, Kuro, had long since disappeared without a trace.
As for Zoro and Usopp?
One leaned against the rock wall, several fresh wounds deep enough to reveal bone added to his body, three swords scattered on the ground, similarly fallen unconscious;
The other with the long nose was even more pitiful, slumped on the ground like a broken ragdoll, covered in blood, his condition unknown between life and death.
He forcibly suppressed his turbulent emotions, using [Soru] to flash to Luffy's side, gently picking her up.
"Ral...ph..." Feeling the familiar embrace, Luffy struggled to open a slit in her eyes, using her last bit of strength to speak in broken fragments,
"That... bastard... went to the mansion... Go quickly... save the young lady..."
Even injured like this, she still worried about protecting others in her heart...
"Don't worry," Ralph's voice was low and hoarse, yet carried an undeniable firmness, "Leave everything to me."
He gazed at Luffy's slightly furrowed brows from the pain, softening his voice as he whispered with the unique rhythm of hypnosis:
"Next, I'll count to three, and you'll fall asleep. When you wake up, your wounds won't hurt as much, and your body will be completely recovered..."
As the final number fell, Luffy's tense body gradually relaxed, her eyelids slowly closed, her breathing became even and long, the pained expression on her face also eased, as if she had truly fallen into a beautiful dream that could heal wounds.
Ralph carefully sensed her breathing—although weak, it was relatively stable.
Hypnosis couldn't heal injuries, but at least it could allow her to block the severe pain, reduce physical exertion, and buy time for the body's natural recovery.
Moreover, with Lufia's miraculous constitution, she might actually be healed when she woke up!
After completing this, Ralph's gaze swept over the severely injured Zoro and unconscious Usopp nearby.
As for these two guys...
Let them suffer properly!
They were all indestructible cockroaches anyway, enduring the pain brought by battle could be considered a form of training.
What doesn't kill them will make them stronger!
As for Lufia... that's completely different!
Then, Ralph's gaze fell on the three swords Zoro had dropped on the ground, finally settling on the white Wado Ichimonji.
His own ordinary dagger had long since been overwhelmed and completely shattered when clearing out the minions on the southern shore.
Now that he was at least a system-certified "swordsman," it was time to experience what a truly good sword felt like!
Moreover, this was currently the arrangement for maximizing combat power—it's not like you green-haired bastard could object right now anyway.
He walked over, bent down, and picked up Wado Ichimonji.
The sword felt slightly heavy in his hand, the scabbard ancient and simple, the touch warm and smooth, an indescribable sense of compatibility transmitting from his palm.
Without any further delay, Ralph's figure once again transformed into a swift wind, shooting like lightning toward the direction of the village mansion!
Wado Ichimonji swayed slightly at his waist, as if also thirsting to drink blood.
...
At the same time, in the mansion of the Kaya family.
The assault had already begun.
Jango was racing against time, his heart filled with fear of Kuro.
He dreaded that even a second's delay in completing his mission would result in Kuro arriving without seeing the will, and his fate would be far worse than death.
To avoid accidentally falling asleep again during hypnosis, he abandoned the most "civilized" method and opted for the most direct violence.
The ring blade in his hand was like a scythe of death, easily cutting down two bodyguards who tried to stop him.
When the old, goat-headed butler Merry arrived upon hearing the commotion, Jango showed no mercy, striking him down with a single blow from the ring blade, leaving him unconscious and his fate unknown.
Using the mansion's floor plan provided by Kuro, he effortlessly located the young lady's bedroom.
"Bang!"
The door was violently pushed open.
Kaya, who had been anxiously waiting in her room, turned pale with fright at the sight of this strangely dressed, weapon-wielding stranger barging in. She stumbled backward, exclaiming, "You... Who are you? What do you want?"
Jango adjusted his heart-shaped sunglasses and spoke urgently, "Who I am doesn't matter! What matters is that you, young lady, write a will for me right now, immediately!"
"A will?" Kaya suppressed her fear and retorted, "Why should I write a will? What kind of will do you want me to write?"
"You have no right to ask so many questions!"
Jango had no time for explanations; he only wanted to complete the mission quickly to save his own life. He immediately pulled out the hypnotic chakram, preparing to hypnotize Kaya directly and force her to write as instructed.
"Look here! When I say one, two..."
However, just as he began his hypnotic spiel, Kaya abruptly shut her eyes and tightly covered her ears with her hands, shouting:
"I know you're a hypnotist! If you don't explain clearly, I absolutely won't look at that strange thing of yours or listen to your hypnosis!"
Jango was stunned. This was the first time he had encountered such an "uncooperative" target.
Seeing his hypnosis fail, he grew even more anxious. Anger surged within him, and he decided to use force to make Kaya open her eyes.
Just then—
"Hey ya!"
"Beat the bad guy!"
"Protect Miss Kaya!"
Three small figures suddenly emerged from under Kaya's spacious bed—it was Piiman, Ninjin, and Tamanegi!
Brandishing the wooden sticks they usually played with, they launched a chaotic assault on Jango's shins, knees, and backside.
Unfortunately, given their height and strength, they could hardly inflict any real damage on Jango.
"Annoying brats!"
Jango growled impatiently and casually kicked a few times, easily sending the three children tumbling to the ground. A murderous glint flashed in his eyes as he raised the sharp ring blade, intending to teach these reckless kids a lesson they would never forget.
"Stop! Don't hurt them!"
Seeing this, Kaya could no longer contain her fear and screamed to intervene, "You... Didn't you want me to write a will? I'll write it! I'll write it! Please, just let them go!"
Jango paused, thinking this was a more direct approach that would save him the trouble and risk of hypnosis.
He put away the ring blade and snarled impatiently, "Hurry up! Write what I say: 'I, Kaya, voluntarily bequeath all my property to my loyal butler, Klahadore, upon my death'! Write it now!"
Kaya felt as if struck by lightning upon hearing the name "Klahadore." Her delicate frame trembled violently, and her face instantly turned as pale as snow.
"..."
Her voice trembled uncontrollably as tears welled up in her eyes,
"So... it was all true... Usopp wasn't lying... what those Pirates said... was also true..."
She lifted her head to look at Jango, her eyes filled with the pain and despair of betrayal:
"Three years of plotting... three years of disguise... all to seize my family's fortune... My most 'loyal' butler... turned out to be... the notorious Pirate 'Captain' Kuro!"
Her voice twisted with extreme anguish.
Jango's voice trembled even more violently than Kaya's:
"Shut up! Stop... stop with this useless talk! I'm running out of time! Write! If I don't get the will before Captain Kuro arrives, my life will be over! Write now!"
He was so frantic he nearly jumped up and down, all his attention focused on forcing Kaya to write the will, completely unaware of the movement behind him.
Just as his words faded—
"Thud!"
A dull impact!
Jango only felt a sharp pain at the back of his head before his vision went dark. Without even seeing who had attacked him, he collapsed limply to the ground, completely unconscious.
His chakram clattered as it fell to the floor.
The person who had suddenly appeared behind Jango was none other than the orange-haired girl Nami.
It turned out Ralph had specifically assigned Nami this task before dividing their forces.
On one hand, it was to protect Kaya, who might become a target, as a precaution;
On the other hand, it was because Nami's direct combat ability was limited, making her less effective on the slope battlefield. This "spare move" was more practical.
To quickly gain Kaya's trust, Nami deliberately brought along Usopp's three young followers.
Sure enough, with the three familiar children present, Kaya didn't show much wariness toward this unfamiliar orange-haired sister. Instead, she felt a pang of guilt over her previous distrust of Usopp.
Though she still hadn't wanted to believe her butler was a Pirate at the time, she felt she shouldn't have so harshly dismissed Usopp's concern.
Then, the firework signal exploding in the sky, along with the faint sounds of battle Nami—as a Navigator—keenly detected from the coast, confirmed the Pirate attack.
After Nami shared this information, Kaya was mostly convinced of Usopp's words. After all, Pirate ships and battles couldn't be faked.
Just as Kaya was about to have Butler Merry notify the other guards to check the coast, Jango had already stormed to the door...
What followed unfolded naturally.
After Jango confessed everything and forced Kaya to write the will, Nami, who had been lying in wait, struck decisively, neutralizing the enemy in one blow!
"...Success!"
Nami looked at Jango lying on the ground, patted her chest, let out a long sigh of relief, and showed a triumphant smile, "Seems things went pretty smoothly on my end!"
She deftly used the rope she had prepared earlier to tie Jango up like an overstuffed parcel.
However, Jango, who was tied up, slowly regained consciousness amidst the excruciating pain. Realizing his plan had failed at the last moment, he plunged into an abyss of despair and began screaming hysterically:
"It's over! All over! You'll all die! Captain Kuro won't spare any of you! If the plan fails, he'll slaughter everyone! Every last one of us!"
"We're all going to die!!"
Nami, annoyed by his noise, poked him with her long staff:
"Shut up! So noisy! Your Captain Kuro won't succeed! Our captain and that green-haired fighter aren't pushovers! The fact that he hasn't shown up yet means... he might have already been defeated by our people!"
She tried to bolster her own courage and Kaya's with these words.
But before her voice faded, her gaze inadvertently drifted to the window, and her entire body froze instantly. All color drained from her face!
Outside the mansion's elegant wrought-iron gate stood a specter-like figure wearing glasses, with ten sharp blades extending from his fingers, waiting silently.
It was none other than Kuro!
He seemed to sense Nami's gaze, slowly raising his head. His icy, merciless eyes behind the lenses pierced through the distance, precisely locking onto Nami standing by the window.
The palpable, frigid killing intent made Nami feel as if she'd fallen into an ice cellar, her blood nearly freezing solid despite the distance!
...Those guys... really failed...
Kuro... had come to the mansion!
That liar Ralph! A damned liar! He'd specifically said the mansion was the safest place, which was why she agreed to come here! And now? After dealing with a hypnotist, she had to face this monster of a captain!
Who exactly was the fighter on that ship?! Why did she have to confront such a terrifying creature here?!
Boundless despair instantly engulfed Nami.
Almost instinctively, she wanted to grab Kaya and the three children to flee this mansion that was about to become a slaughterhouse.
But at that moment, another unexpected change occurred!
Kuro, standing outside the mansion gate, suddenly halted his steps.
A figure appeared before him as if teleporting, blocking his path to the mansion without any warning.
The person wore simple, slightly torn clothing from battle, yet it couldn't conceal the handsome aura of his upright posture.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile played on his lips—one that seemed to hold everything under control—while his profound eyes churned with a killing intent cold enough to freeze souls.
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