Chapter 11

As expected—just like Kuro said.

At first, Zoro and Sanji couldn't keep up with Klahadore's speed. However, Zoro had already seen Klahadore's "Nukiashi." The speed of "Soru" was the same—it was the control that differed.

After getting ambushed a few times, Zoro and Sanji began to adapt to Klahadore's speed and started counterattacking.

Clang!

Klahadore dashed in again, but his claw blades were blocked and deflected by Zoro.

"Santōryū: Tora Gari!"

Zoro swung his two swords back, then slashed forward in unison with the one held in his mouth.

Clang!!

Klahadore's blades blocked the strike, but the sheer force shattered his stance.

"Collier!"

Sanji attacked from the side, a kick aimed at Klahadore's neck.

"Santōryū: Oni Giri!"

Zoro seized the opening and followed up—his three swords surging forward like a demon god.

Klahadore's hair stood on end. If he got hit by that...

He forced his body apart, and just before the blows landed, he suddenly vanished.

"Soru: Nukiashi!"

A circular shockwave burst out around them, and with a flurry of slashes, deep wounds tore into Zoro and Sanji.

Klahadore reappeared behind them, half-kneeling, glasses gleaming coldly.

"Oh?"

Watching from above, Kuro let out a sound of mild surprise. "A combo of 'Soru' and 'Nukiashi'—so you had that up your sleeve, huh?"

Zoro coughed, slowly stood, and took a deep breath. "Looks like we've gotta take you down before we move on."

"Yeah, Moss Head, this guy's a real pain," Sanji muttered, rising to his feet between gasps.

Their fighting spirit kept building.

"Tch. Still not dead?"

Klahadore spat in disdain, his expression dark and unsettled.

"I was planning to keep training and surprise Kuro, but I guess I can't hide it anymore."

He hadn't fully mastered the technique, but it was enough to deal with these two.

"Santōryū: Ushi Bari!"

"Épaule Shoot!"

The two charged in again.

"It's useless. Soru: Nukiashi!"

Once more, fresh gashes appeared on Zoro and Sanji. They collapsed again.

"Moss Head…"

After getting up, Sanji looked at Zoro.

"Yeah, I get it, Curly-Brow."

Zoro clenched the sword in his mouth, eyes sharp as a demon's, and charged ahead.

"Santōryū: Oni Giri!"

As he rushed in, he suddenly veered aside. His three swords spun in a deadly spiral, slashing toward Klahadore.

"I said it's useless."

Klahadore again used "Soru: Nukiashi," circling briefly around Zoro and reappearing behind him.

Slash!

Blood spurted. Zoro collapsed.

Klahadore adjusted his glasses. "With just the two of you..."

"Côtelette!"

Bam!

Klahadore froze. Just as he moved to stand, a kick brought him to his knees.

"You—"

"Selle!"

Another kick struck the back of his thigh. Sanji leapt up and knocked away Klahadore's claw blades and gloves.

"Poitrine!"

A powerful thrust kick smashed into Klahadore's chest.

"Why...?"

Klahadore coughed, blood on his lips, staring at him in disbelief.

"When you use that move, your body stalls for just a moment."

Zoro stood again, grinning viciously. "That's all we needed."

Sanji launched a kick to Klahadore's chin, sending him airborne. "Get ready for the counterattack, glasses-boy!"

He planted his hands on the ground and unleashed a rapid barrage of kicks.

"Poitrine Shoot!"

"Oni—Giri!"

Zoro dashed in full-speed, crossing his two swords as he slashed with the third—all aimed at the airborne Klahadore.

At the same moment, Sanji followed up with a finishing kick, pivoting off the ground to slam his foot toward Klahadore's head.

"See? They found his weakness."

Kuro stole a chip from Lida's hand and popped it into his mouth.

"Hey! Don't eat my stuff!"

Like a cat guarding its food, Lida growled.

"Go save him. Otherwise, he'll be out of commission for a while." Kuro crunched on the chip.

"Oh. Soru."

In a flash, Lida vanished and reappeared in front of Klahadore, one hand still holding a chip, the other blocking Zoro's Oni Giri, her foot raised high to stop Sanji's kick.

Clang!

Boom!

With a push of her hand and foot, she knocked both men back with incredible force.

"Damn it, another one?!"

Zoro's face tensed. This woman had just blocked his sword—barehanded?!

"Who's this now—wait, a beautiful lady?!"

Sanji shouted. The moment he saw Lida, hearts practically popped from his eyes.

Lida had shifted into her girl form. After pushing them back, she calmly resumed munching her chips.

"Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine…"

Klahadore stood up, panting. Then he asked, "You never trained in it, so how are you using it better than me?"

"Soru? I only needed to see it once," Lida replied.

Rokushiki might be a Navy-exclusive martial art, but similar techniques existed. Klahadore already had "Soru"-level speed.

And Lida—having lived in the Grand Line, trained in martial arts and even Haki—was already past that threshold.

See it once—learn it instantly.

"Zoro, Sanji, run for it!"

Luffy's voice rang out from afar. A long, stretched arm shot past Lida, grabbing a distant building. Then, a fast-moving object zipped by, yanking the two away.

"Don't run!!"

Klahadore shouted, starting to chase.

But just then, a powerful gust of wind nearly swept him off his feet.

A fierce wind exploded out of nowhere, scattering crowds. Pirates that Smoker had just arrested—including Buggy—were blown who-knows-where.

Thunder roared. The wind howled.

Many buildings were flattened in an instant.

Kuro suddenly appeared in the square, hair whipping wildly in the storm.

"Hey, Kuro, you—"

Lida's voice caught in her throat. She swallowed hard, cold sweat sliding down her cheek.

Kuro's expression—cold and furious—was one she had never seen before.

"Notify the Navy. Prepare for disaster. Don't let any civilians get hurt," Kuro said flatly, his gaze locked in one direction.

"Understood."

Seeing him like this, Lida didn't dare talk back. It was the first time she'd ever seen him like this, and it terrified her. Her heart trembled.

"This is too much. Just a simple send-off, and they didn't even consider the people living nearby? Dragon… hmph!"

Kuro gripped the hilt of his sword and walked in the opposite direction of the one he sensed. Compared to Dragon, he had something more important to handle.

"This is our chance!"

A pirate, seeing the chaos unfold, pulled out a dagger and stabbed a frozen civilian.

"Things are crazy—we just need to loot and run!"

The town had been harboring many nameless pirates—ones Smoker had missed in past raids. Since they had no bounties or reputation, they blended in. As long as Smoker was around, they kept their heads down.

But in this chaos, it was their time to act.

A swarm of pirates poured into the streets, brandishing blades, attacking civilians, and looting everything they could.

In a town torn apart by hurricane winds, the manic laughter of pirates echoed alongside the cries of the innocent—

A living hell.

(***)

"Damn it, why did that man come here?!"

Watching the pirate ship disappear into the distance, Smoker smashed a flying boulder with one punch and growled in frustration.

He had already captured Straw Hat Luffy—until someone interfered.

"Damn you, Dragon!"

"Dragon? The most dangerous man in the world?!"

Tashigi's face turned pale. "Captain Smoker, why would Dragon come to Loguetown?"

"I don't know either. That man never makes a move. If he did, the World Government wouldn't have such a headache dealing with him."

Smoker exhaled a mouthful of smoke and sat on a large rock, his expression stormy as he stared at the sea.

"Captain Smoker, bad news! A group of pirates are rioting!"

A Marine ran over in a panic, shouting.

"What?!"

Smoker's eyes widened, and he gritted his teeth. "Those damn pirates! Organize the troops immediately—surround and eliminate them!"

"We've already given the order, but Captain Smoker... they've taken civilians hostage!" the Marine said anxiously.

Not far away, down a street, a group of pirates were surrounded by Marines. But the Marines didn't dare move in—over half the pirates were holding civilians at knifepoint.

"Hehehe, clear the way, or I'll kill her!"

One pirate held a woman at knifepoint, the blade pressed against her neck. As he spoke, he pushed the knife forward, the tip piercing her skin and drawing blood.

"No, please don't!" the woman cried out in terror.

The Marines clenched their teeth in frustration. If it weren't for the hostages, those pirates would've been taken down already.

"Move aside."

A voice came from behind. The Marines turned and saw what looked like a savior.

"Captain Smoker."

Smoker walked past the Marines with a furious expression, glaring at the pirates.

"Smoker!"

One of the pirates sneered. "Because of you, my captain got caught. I've been hiding here for so long, just waiting for this chance. Now give us a ship and food and let us go—or we'll kill these people!"

"Yeah, kill them!" the other pirates echoed.

"Damn pirates!"

Tashigi gripped her sword hilt tightly, her silver teeth clenched.

"Don't even dream, pirates. I'm a Marine—I'll never let you go!"

Smoker shouted, "Even if I have to chase you to the ends of the earth, I'll catch every one of you!"

"Oh? You're not afraid these people will die?"

The pirate holding the woman licked the bloody knife with a menacing grin.

Smoker's face darkened. He had no good way to handle this.

There were radicals in the Marines who believed in defeating pirates regardless of civilian casualties—but he wasn't one of them.

Even with his Logia powers, it would take time to deal with the pirates. And if even one civilian was harmed during that time, Smoker wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

"Captain, maybe we should agree to their demands for now. Once they're on the ship, we can attack," a Marine suggested.

Smoker gritted his teeth. "That's the only way."

"Hehehe, then have your men back off—out of our sight. Otherwise, I'll kill someone."

Another pirate stepped forward, grinning.

"Don't push it, pirate!" Smoker growled.

But with hostages in hand, the pirates showed no fear.

"Back off! Go somewhere else—go after the other pirates!"

Smoker had no choice. He ordered the Marines to retreat, his face dark and grim.

Once the Marines were out of sight, Smoker said, "I'll follow your demands. But if a single civilian is harmed, the deal is off. I don't care if HQ punishes me—I'll take you all down!"

"Heh, I don't believe you."

A pirate stabbed a civilian in the leg with a knife, laughing viciously. "Smoker, always so full of yourself. Not so tough now, huh? Get on your knees!"

"Don't push it too far!"

"Hahaha! If you don't kneel, I'll kill someone right now!" the pirate cackled.

Tashigi's eyes filled with red veins of fury. These pirates were too much!

But she couldn't do anything either. With hostages involved, she was stuck.

"I…"

Looking at the terrified civilians begging for their lives, Smoker bit through his cigar, knees beginning to bend.

Tap… tap… tap…

Footsteps echoed.

Smoker looked up. Behind the pirates, Kuro was approaching slowly, one step at a time through the rain.

As he drew closer, even the falling rain seemed to pause.

"Kuro!" Smoker shouted in surprise. "Leave! They have hostages!"

"Another Marine? Smoker, didn't I tell you to pull your people back? If you break your word, I'll kill one now!"

A pirate stuck out his tongue exaggeratedly and pulled the trigger of his gun at the hostage.

Whoosh!

In that instant, Kuro's figure vanished into the rain.

The next moment, he appeared in front of Smoker, his back turned to the pirates.

The pirates were frozen in place—their expressions, their poses, all locked mid-action. The one about to pull the trigger had his finger suspended in mid-air.

Kuro calmly sheathed his blade and said to Smoker:

"Smoker, do you know why I've remained a Chief Petty Officer for ten years?

First, I like safety—I don't like drawing attention.

Second, when it comes to pirates who haven't done too much evil, I usually let them be. If I can catch them, I will. If I can't, I won't force it. Pirates looking for treasure—fine by me, as long as no one gets hurt.

But for scum like these who commit heinous crimes, I always create situations where I face them alone. Not to negotiate—and definitely not to beg.

Because for people like this, there's only one solution—

Kill them all. That way, no one knows I did it."

With a smooth motion, the blade clicked into the sheath.

Click.

"Ittōryū: Dotō Shōten."

Slice!!!

The pirates' heads flew into the sky, fountains of blood spraying from their necks.

Blood mixed with the rain, falling to the ground as a crimson shower.

Every pirate—decapitated cleanly. Not a single civilian harmed.

Smoker and Tashigi stared wide-eyed, gulping in unison, completely stunned.

That swordsmanship… even Smoker hadn't seen it happen!

"So scary…"

Kuro's subordinate Klahadore, who had just arrived, felt a chill run down his spine. The pirates' flying heads looked like they were falling from the sky. That scene etched itself deep into his memory.

Lida was so terrified she didn't even dare eat her snacks. Her face turned solemn, and she instinctively shifted into her younger girl form.

If they didn't do things right this time… things were going to get bad.

"Let's go.

There's no shortage of pirates who kidnap civilians like this.

Find them.

Kill them all. One by one.

Loguetown—the town of beginnings and ends—

From now on, let's make it truly the end."

Kuro turned and continued walking in one direction.

"That bloodlust… just how many people have you killed?!"

Smoker snapped out of it and shouted the question.

Kuro paused for a moment, then kept walking.

"Who knows?"

I am Luciru Kuro. 24 years old.

My biggest dream is to live a peaceful and safe life.

And I have another nickname—

The Man Slayer.

(*****)

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