Luffy watched everything unfold from the side. He did not fully understand what had happened, but he could clearly feel Usopp's determination to protect his village. He pressed down the brim of his straw hat, stepped beside Usopp, and let his rubber arms hang loosely as he assumed a fighting stance.
"Usopp, these bad guys are trying to hurt your village, right?" Luffy asked, his expression turning serious.
"Yeah. That's right!"
"Then let's send every last one of them flying!"
Luffy grinned, flashing a row of bright white teeth.
Usopp glanced at him.
What a strange guy...
"I don't care about listening to your schemes!"
Usopp's voice rang with absolute conviction.
Then he spoke words that the Usopp of the original story could never have said at this point in time.
"Anyone who threatens my family..."
His eyes locked firmly onto Kuro.
"...will stay in this forest forever!!"
Kuro looked at the two standing shoulder to shoulder and knew his plan had been completely exposed. There was no point talking anymore.
He slowly removed his glasses, carefully folded them, and slipped them into his pocket. When he raised his head again, a chilling aura radiated from him.
"So negotiations have failed..."
He stretched out both hands, revealing the long-bladed Cat Claws attached to his fingers. Their polished edges gleamed beneath the sunlight.
"Then I'll simply erase both of you... along with this troublesome village."
Without hesitation, Usopp pulled back his slingshot once again.
"Gunpowder Star: Dragon Flame Round!"
Another blazing projectile shot into the air, trailing a fiery tail before transforming into an enormous roaring dragon's head. It was even more solid and scorching than before as it lunged straight for Kuro's face.
Kuro watched the blazing dragon approach with undisguised contempt.
"Shakushi."
His figure instantly blurred.
Moving at an impossibly high speed with completely unpredictable footwork, he effortlessly slipped past the dragon's jaws.
Hidden in the shadows, Ritter watched with interest.
So that's how it works.
Kuro's Shakushi is basically frantic high-speed footwork...
A light bulb practically appeared over Ritter's head.
A crude prototype of Soru.
"Whoosh!"
Only an afterimage remained where Kuro had stood.
His real body had already closed the distance to Usopp, his razor-sharp Cat Claws thrusting straight toward Usopp's throat.
Why "straight toward" his throat?
Because even Kuro himself had no idea what his own Shakushi would hit. Once he entered that state, he simply attacked everything around him at blinding speed.
There was a reason his own crew always backed away the moment he started fighting.
This was exactly why a sniper being caught at close range by a top-tier assassin was so dangerous.
In an instant, dozens of tiny cuts appeared across Usopp's body.
Yet his eyes never wavered.
A careful observer would notice something.
Fortunately, Ritter was exactly that.
He realized Usopp's gaze never left Kuro for even a fraction of a second. Even though his body barely moved, his eyes continuously tracked Kuro's true position.
Observation Haki?
Ritter smiled.
Of course.
How could Yasopp possibly not teach his own son Observation Haki?
Usopp pushed his Observation Haki to its limit.
Instead of aiming at Kuro's afterimage, he suddenly swung his slingshot toward an apparently empty space to his right.
"Lead Star: Rapid Volley!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The lead bullets did not strike Kuro's illusion.
They intercepted exactly where Kuro would appear one second later.
Forced back into view, Kuro slashed the bullets aside with his claws.
For the first time, genuine surprise appeared in his eyes.
"You can predict my movements? Tch... what a nuisance."
"Don't underestimate me!"
Usopp roared as he retreated, widening the gap between them.
"I grew up in this forest! I know every inch of it! Your Shakushi may be fast, but it will never outrun my shots!"
"I am the man who will become the greatest Brave Warrior of the Sea... Usopp!"
His slingshot fired continuously.
Exploding Stars.
Smoke Stars.
Caltrop Stars.
Round after round poured out like a relentless storm.
None of them were fired randomly.
Every shot anticipated Kuro's next movement, forcing him to constantly change direction and preventing him from closing the distance.
Kuro's figure flashed wildly through the forest.
His claws sliced through the air with ear-piercing whistles.
Several times he nearly broke through the barrage.
The icy tips of his claws came within inches of Usopp's skin, only for Usopp to narrowly evade them or force him back with another perfectly timed shot.
A relentless game of spacing and pursuit.
"Damn brat!"
After failing to finish Usopp over and over again, Kuro grew increasingly irritated.
Usopp was simply too slippery.
Even now, Kuro constantly felt that if he were just a fraction faster, he could kill him.
That sensation had haunted him since the battle began.
He's doing it on purpose...
Shakushi consumed tremendous stamina.
He had to end this quickly.
Meanwhile, Luffy had engaged Jango.
Jango
Jango stared at the innocent-looking boy in the straw hat before pulling out his hypnotic ring.
"Hey, hey, hey. Look over here."
Luffy turned his head.
"Huh? What's that?"
"When I shout, 'One, Two, Jango,' you'll fall asleep, kid."
He confidently spun the ring.
"One... Two..."
Luffy stared curiously at the spinning ring.
"Ooh! What's that thing?"
"Jango!"
Jango suddenly thrust the ring toward Luffy.
Yet Luffy's brain operated on an entirely different wavelength.
Not only was he unaffected, he excitedly pointed at Jango and shouted,
"Ah! One, Two, Jango!"
Jango froze.
My ultimate technique... failed?
Unwilling to believe it, he fixed his eyes on the ring and spun it even harder.
"One... Two..."
Luffy enthusiastically copied him.
"One... Two..."
"JANGO!!"
Jango shouted with all his might.
"JANGO!!"
Luffy shouted back just as loudly.
Then something unbelievable happened.
Perhaps Luffy copied him too earnestly.
Perhaps Jango's hypnosis somehow backfired.
The two stared into each other's eyes.
Their eyelids slowly drooped.
"Zzz..."
Luffy and Jango both fell asleep standing upright, face to face.
They even started snoring.
Unable to break through Usopp's defenses, Kuro's frustration only deepened.
Then, from the corner of his eye, he noticed Luffy and Jango sleeping peacefully.
A cold gleam flashed in his eyes.
He immediately barked an order to Sham, Buchi, and the other members of the Black Cat Pirates.
"You three! Kill the straw hat brat while he's asleep!"
"Yes, Captain!"
The pirates grinned viciously as they rushed toward the defenseless Luffy with their blades raised.
"Luffy!"
Usopp's face changed dramatically.
He instinctively turned to help.
That single moment of distraction was exactly the opening Kuro had been waiting for.
"Your opponent is me."
Kuro's icy voice sounded right beside him.
"Shakushi!"
His figure blurred again.
In an instant he appeared at Usopp's side, his gleaming Cat Claws slicing downward with a shrill whistle.
Slash!
Usopp desperately tried to dodge.
It wasn't enough.
A deep wound tore across his shoulder, so severe that bone was visible beneath the flesh.
Blood burst from the gash.
The tremendous impact sent him crashing into a nearby tree.
His slingshot flew from his hands.
"Urgh!"
Usopp groaned, struggling to stand.
But the pain and the force of the blow left him temporarily unable to move.
Kuro slowly approached him.
Drops of blood dripped from the tips of his Cat Claws.
"Worthless."
"You can't stop anything."
"Just like you can't stop me from destroying this village."
He turned his eyes toward his subordinates, who were already bringing their swords down upon the completely defenseless Luffy.
A cruel smile slowly spread across his face.
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