Chapter 10: Kuro
Luffy and his crew stood at the entrance of the village.
Luffy mumbled in wonder,"Is this village abandoned? Where are the villagers?"
The village was eerily silent. Objects were scattered everywhere, as if the residents had encountered something terrifying and fled in a hurry.
Zala tightened her grip on her katana. She could feel eyes watching them from behind the houses—eyes filled with fear and suspicion.
Nami's expression darkened, her teeth comically sharpening into shark-like fangs."You idiot, are you pretending to be clueless? Wasn't it you who scared the villagers?!"
Her eyes drifted unconsciously toward Luffy's hand.
There, he held a poor, battered figure. His face was swollen, twisted into pig-like features. If it weren't for his cracked glasses and butler uniform, it would have been hard to recognize him.
He was being grasped by Luffy like a chicken, clearly having been dragged from the coast all the way to the village in a humiliating fashion.
Kuina looked speechless. She also wanted to protest Luffy's treatment of a powerless villager, but she didn't want to upset her captain. She could only sigh.
Zala remained cold. She was more sensitive than the others, and she had a hunch that this man, who looked like a helpless chicken in Luffy's grip, wasn't actually as weak as he appeared.Even if Luffy was bullying the weak, she would only feel a little uncomfortable, but she would still help him. After all, he was her captain.
Luffy, who seemed to snap out of deep thought, looked amused by the reactions of his three crewmates.
Nami was still rebellious as ever. Although she complained about his actions, she still trusted him a little.
Kuina seemed like she wanted to advise him, but chose silence as her way of showing support.
Zala, on the other hand, was even more extreme. Luffy felt that if he asked her to attack the village, she would probably do it—albeit with a slightly miserable expression.
'Interesting…''The way these three show their trust and loyalty is intriguing.'
Meanwhile, the villagers, hidden in their homes, were terrified. After all, they recognized the roughed-up butler—Klahadore.
That was exactly why they had run away and hidden. To them, it was clear that these four people were trouble. Although Klahadore was just a butler, everyone in the village knew he was also Kaya's family bodyguard—and the strongest fighter around. He'd beaten many pirates and bandits before.
Yasha was also hiding, peeking from behind a house, watching the four figures with interest.
Actually, she had been the first to spot them. She had followed Klahadore from the mansion to the coast, suspicious of his sneaky behavior.
She always felt that guy was hiding something shady.(Definitely not because he always looked down on her and stopped her from befriending Kaya… She just hated his guts! Definitely not jealousy. Nope.)
A small boat had appeared at the coast, and the straw-hatted guy had suddenly moved at a speed she couldn't even register. Before she knew it, Klahadore was beaten into a pulp without even getting a chance to react.
At that moment, she had instinctively run back to the village to warn everyone.
Though the villagers usually brushed off Yasha's bragging, she wasn't like the liar Usopp. This time, there were no false alarms or "the pirates are coming!" stunts.
Which led to the current scene.
Yasha was smart. She could tell that these people weren't normal pirates. She'd seen pirates before—they were usually hideous, brutal, and savage. These guys, on the other hand, looked more like teenagers running away from home to experience freedom on the sea.
Still, the fact that they attacked Klahadore made her hesitate.
But soon, she couldn't stay out of it because—
"Yo, what are you doing hiding here?"
A sudden voice sounded beside her. Yasha's body shivered as she backed away quickly.
Right next to her, the boy in the straw hat stood calmly—still holding Klahadore like a sack of potatoes.
Luffy looked at the beautiful, tanned girl with interest.
Yasha's face twitched as she forced a smile back.
"Yo…"
'Quite brave,' Luffy thought.
If it weren't for the [Mastermind] concept he'd taken from Kuro—an ability filled with strategy tricks, cunning conspiracies, and, most importantly, partial omniscience—he might've missed the connection.
Without the second part of that ability, it would have been useless to him. With his strength, what use were conspiracies? But the omniscience aspect provided him with critical knowledge.
For example, if he wanted to scheme against the Celestial Dragons, he would instinctively know about Imu, the Five Elders, the Holy Knights, CP0, the Marines—their abilities, information, weaknesses, and more.
It was thanks to that power that he could link Yasha to Usopp.
After all, how did a crooked Usopp turn into a short, black-haired version of Baccarat?
Later, inside a small house:
Yasha sat on the ground, looking at Luffy and his crew with relief and gratitude.
On the table lay a bounty poster featuring Kuro's face and a reward of 16 million berries. Luffy had seen it back in Shells Town, so it wasn't hard to copy.
It wasn't difficult to become friends with Yasha. All Luffy had to do was talk about his childhood and mention meeting her father. Even though she disliked her father, she still felt some connection to Luffy.
Nami looked at Luffy, slightly apologetic.
"I didn't expect this guy to be Kuro. I thought you'd gone crazy and started attacking innocent people…"
Kuina and Zala also looked relieved and in a good mood.
Luffy rolled his eyes.
"Why would I attack someone I just met? At least they have to provoke me first. Like that Helmeppo guy. Otherwise, I'm too lazy to even bother with pirates."
Nami's eyes lit up.
"No, you should attack pirates more! Pirates are rich! So those Black Cat Pirates we met before… they were this unlucky guy's crew?"
Even though Nami complained, she actually trusted him—just like Zala did. She'd seen him save people before, on the passenger cruise and back in Shells Town.
Zala nodded. They had met some weak pirates along the way, but their captain had never been interested in attacking them without reason.
Kuina lowered her head, embarrassed.While she'd felt Luffy must have a purpose, she had still doubted him a little. Now, all she felt was shame.
She was always like this—hesitant, indecisive. Even with a captain she should trust completely, she had wavered.
She envied Zala's unshakable will and Nami's boldness.
She felt pitiful…
At this moment, the crew gained a clearer understanding of their captain's personality. There would be no more suspicion like that again—at least not from Nami or Kuina. As for Zala, she was already a staunch loyalist.
Yasha stood up and grabbed the bounty poster.
"I'll explain to the villagers what happened, and I'll take you to meet Kaya later."
She left the house swiftly, and soon, she explained the truth to the villagers, showing them the bounty poster.
The villagers were shocked. Their gaze toward Luffy's crew changed—full of gratitude and awe.
After all, they had just saved their lives.
"What a huge mansion…"Nami exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with a greedy glint.
Luffy, Kuina, and Zala didn't seem to care much.
Yasha smirked, her expression nostalgic.
"Kaya's family is the wealthiest around. Her late parents were famous merchants. Sadly, they had an accident three years ago and died. Kaya is sickly, so I've always stayed by her side. Follow me."
She pulled some bushes aside, revealing a hidden passage.
Nami's expression turned suspicious.
"Are you sure you're Kaya's friend and not a thief?"
Yasha giggled.
"That Kuro guy hates me and doesn't let me approach Kaya, so I have to do things my own way."
She picked up a stone from the ground and skillfully shot it at the balcony window.
Click, click…
With a rhythmic sound, the window opened, and Kaya appeared.
She was pale and exhausted, but her eyes lit up with joy.Although Yasha was annoying and a big liar, she was still her best friend.
"Why are you here again? I don't want to hear another badly made-up story today…"
Then her gaze landed on Luffy and the three girls beside him. Her eyes paused on Luffy, her face gaining a faint blush.
"And who are these people? Are they your friends?"
Yasha blushed too.
Actually, she didn't know why her stories lately had been getting stranger and cooler. The words just came out of her mouth naturally—sometimes she didn't even know the story's ending until she finished telling it.
Yasha climbed a nearby tree and stood on a branch near the balcony. She pointed toward Luffy.
Kaya looked down and saw a man in a black butler suit lying on the ground. She couldn't see his face—only the back of his head.
He looked miserable.
Yasha handed Kaya the bounty poster and explained what had happened.
Luffy silently watched Kaya's expression break down.
Actually, through his Mastermind ability, he knew the truth—Kuro hadn't just been lurking around her for inheritance. He had arranged the "accident" that killed her parents. Even Kaya's worsening illness was his doing.
Seeing the girl sobbing while Yasha, Nami, and Kuina comforted her, Luffy chose to stay silent.
She was already this broken. There was no need to tell her more. After knowing Kuro's true identity, she could guess the rest herself.
Zala stood awkwardly next to Luffy.
Luffy teased,"Why aren't you comforting her with them?"
Zala blushed."I'm a man… Those are women's things to do."
Luffy chuckled and shook his head.'This Zala needs to get over this man vs woman stuff.'
"Nah, you're a woman—a beautiful one at that."
It seemed the crew had finally gained his complete trust. Maybe it was time to give them a little cheat.
After all, once potential is unlocked, the line between man and woman becomes meaningless. It changes beyond recognition.