"This rain... it couldn't have come at a better time," William murmured, tilting his head back to gaze at the sky.
The young men from Red Leaf Village had already dispersed, leaving William alone in the empty street. His scimitar was back at his side, and the rain poured relentlessly, washing over the heap of corpses scattered around him.
Kuro approached cautiously from behind, his steps light but his unease evident. During the earlier fight between William and Reis, Kuro had hesitated, unsure of what to do. He hadn't expected William to be so powerful, capable of severely injuring Reis in such a short time.
William paid no attention to Kuro. Instead, he walked into the rain, stopping in front of a scimitar discarded on the ground. With a flick of his foot, he sent the blade into his hand.
Returning to the visibly confused Kuro, William gave him a faint smile. "So, will you do it yourself, or should I?"
Kuro opened his mouth but didn't speak. His mind raced. Though William's words were vague, Kuro was quick-witted enough to grasp his meaning in an instant.
Reis was dead, yet both William and Kuro were unharmed. It would be hard to explain such a scenario.
Caught off guard, Kuro stumbled back a step as William suddenly quickened his pace, closing the distance between them. Pressing Kuro against a support beam, William covered his mouth with one hand while driving the scimitar into his abdomen with the other.
Kuro's eyes widened in shock, but William whispered calmly, "Relax. Don't move."
The blade pierced through Kuro's stomach. Only when William was certain the wound was deep enough did he slowly withdraw the weapon and release Kuro.
As Kuro slid weakly to the ground, leaning against the beam, his face pale, William grinned. "Looks bad, doesn't it? But don't worry—I avoided your vital organs. You'll live."
William wasn't lying. With his mastery of swordsmanship, inflicting a non-lethal wound was child's play.
Kuro glanced at William, unsure if the stab was purely for show or if it carried an element of punishment.
Squatting down, William briefly discussed their alibi with Kuro before watching him stagger away, clutching the wall for support. Once Kuro disappeared from view, William turned the scimitar on himself. With a deliberate motion, he slashed diagonally from his left chest to his right rib, wincing as the blade bit into his flesh. He then made two additional cuts on his right arm before tossing the bloodied weapon into the rain, letting the downpour wash it clean.
Kuro eventually stumbled into the group led by Barbarossa, the captain of the Red-Beard Pirates. Seeing Barbarossa's towering, shaggy head, Kuro sighed in relief before collapsing unconscious.
Barbarossa's crew scrambled to carry Kuro into a nearby building. The ship's doctor, Wood, who had been accompanying Barbarossa, immediately stepped forward to examine Kuro's injuries.
Although William's stab had avoided Kuro's vital organs, the blood loss from his trek through the rain had left him pale and shivering. The performance was convincing—he truly looked as though he were on the brink of death.
Barbarossa's expression darkened as he approached. Thinking of Reis, who had been with Kuro, he barked at Wood, "Wake him up!"
Wood dared not defy Barbarossa's orders. Even as a doctor, he wouldn't risk showing defiance in front of such a fearsome man. Obediently, he pressed on several pressure points on Kuro's body. Kuro groaned in pain before slowly opening his eyes.
Barbarossa wasted no time. "What happened to you?" he demanded.
"We were ambushed," Kuro rasped. "Several of our men were shot dead before they even saw the enemy. I was at the back of the group, near the street corner, when someone snuck up and stabbed me. I managed to kill him while he was distracted, which gave me a chance to escape."
Barbarossa frowned at the mention of Kuro fleeing but said nothing. He knew Kuro was a representative of the Buendía family and not entirely under his command. In such uncertain circumstances, it wasn't surprising that Kuro hadn't risked his life to fight.
"And Reis?" Barbarossa pressed.
"The first mate and Stolt moved quickly. They took cover in a nearby building and avoided the initial gunfire. But after that... I don't know what happened."
Barbarossa's heart sank. Without hesitation, he called for his crew. Despite Kuro's injuries, he ordered him to lead the way back to the ambush site.
As they walked, Barbarossa asked, "Was it the Cook Pirates?"
Recalling William's warning, Kuro avoided placing direct blame. "The attackers didn't have any clear markings from the Cook Pirates, so I can't say for sure."
When they arrived at the scene, Barbarossa ignored the corpses littering the street and headed straight for the building with the collapsed wall. Inside, his eyes immediately fell on Reis's mutilated body.
Crack!
A faint noise came from behind a sofa. Hatcheson and another crewman, Harden, who had followed Barbarossa into the room, tensed up and cautiously approached the source of the sound.
Behind the sofa, they found William lying on the floor, his face pale. His left hand loosely gripped a pistol, which was pointed at Hatcheson. Blood from the wounds on his chest and arm pooled beneath him.
William gave a weak, bitter smile and lowered the pistol. "You're finally here..."
Barbarossa, who had been silently staring at Reis's corpse, stormed over. With a single motion, he flipped the sofa aside, his crimson, one-eyed gaze locking onto William. "Where did the attackers go?" he demanded coldly.
Hatcheson and Harden shivered at their captain's fury. It was the first time they had seen Barbarossa so enraged.
William, despite having prepared a web of lies, found himself unable to use any of them. Instead, he feigned weakness and replied, "I heard them heading east..."
Barbarossa didn't waste another second on William. Striding out into the street, he barked orders to his men. "Wood, stay here and tend to Kuro and Stolt. Everyone else, follow me!"
At that moment, in a shabby room within the slums, Zeff leaned back in his chair, his legs crossed on the table. He watched with satisfaction as his crew devoured the meal he had prepared.
For Zeff, a chef-turned-captain, the greatest joy wasn't the gold and treasure from raids but moments like these, when others appreciated his cooking.
The members of the Cook Pirates were rowdy as usual, their laughter filling the cramped space. Despite their surroundings, the atmosphere was warm and lively.
Bang!
The door suddenly burst open, letting in a gust of cold wind and rain that dampened the room's cheerful mood.
Several crew members near the door shivered and glared at the drenched figure who had barged in. "Close the door already!"
The rain-soaked pirate ignored their complaints, scanning the room anxiously. Spotting Zeff, he rushed over.
Before Zeff could ask what was going on, the man blurted out in a panic, "Captain, I just got word—the Red-Beard Pirates are combing the slums looking for us!"
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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