Jango's spinning chakram sliced through the air, a silver harbinger of death aimed directly at Nami's back. There was no time to dodge, no room to run.
Desperate, Nami did the only thing she could. She saw Luffy's face sticking out from under the massive figurehead and, without a second thought, she stepped hard on it, using her captain's head as a springboard to launch herself to safety.
"HEY! WHO'S STEPPING ON MY FACE?!"
The pressure and the shout were enough to jolt Luffy awake. He sat up abruptly, his head emerging from the wreckage, a furious and confused expression on his face.
It was at that exact moment that the chakram arrived.
SHIIING!
The razor-sharp ring, which would have struck Nami, embedded itself deep in the back of Luffy's rubbery skull.
From his position on the clifftop, Captain Kuro's eyes narrowed in fury. "He was still alive?!" His perfect plan was unraveling into a chaotic mess.
Luffy sat there for a moment, a strange spinning ring sticking out of his head. He reached back, his fingers closing around the metal. "Okay… who threw this?" he asked, his voice dangerously calm. He pulled the ring out with a wet, squelching sound. The wound in his rubber head sealed up instantly, leaving not even a scar.
He stood up, unharmed, and held the weapon. The sight was too much for the remaining Black Cat Pirates. Their hypnotically-induced strength was nothing against this kind of monstrous resilience. They had seen him get crushed and now stabbed in the head, and he was completely fine. Their morale shattered completely.
Luffy's angry gaze fell on Nami. "Was it you?!"
"I'm the victim here, you idiot!" Nami shrieked, pointing to her own bleeding wound from Jango's earlier attack. She then pointed towards the real threat. "Stop messing around and get on with it! This is a battle we absolutely cannot afford to lose!"
Luffy's attention finally turned to Kuro, who stood watching from above, his expression unreadable.
"Three minutes," Kuro's cold voice drifted down. "Your deadline has been reduced. You have three minutes to kill them all, or I will kill you."
Jango, with terror in his eyes. "Buchi! You take the swordsman! I'll handle Straw Hat!"
The hypnotized Buchi roared and charged towards Zoro. Jango prepared to attack Luffy. The final battle was about to begin.
But a new voice, clear and determined, cut through the tension.
"Klahadore!"
All heads turned. Standing at the entrance to the village was Kaya, pale and frail, but with a fire in her eyes they had never seen before.
Usopp's blood ran cold. "Kaya! What are you doing here?! Run away!"
Kuro, still on the cliff, seemed surprised to see her. "Miss Kaya. You should be resting in your room."
"Merry told me everything… Captain Kuro," she said, the name leaving her lips like a curse. She then turned her gaze to Usopp, her eyes filling with tears of regret. "Usopp-san… I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry I didn't believe you."
"That doesn't matter now!" Usopp screamed, his fear for her safety overriding everything else. "Why did you come here?! You should have run away!"
"Why?" Kaya asked, her voice growing stronger. "Why are you fighting for this village, Usopp-san? They called you a liar. They ran you out of town. Why are you still trying to protect them?"
Before he could answer, she turned back to Kuro, her expression hardening. "Kuro! I will give you everything. My entire fortune, every last Beli. Just take it and leave this village and its people in peace."
It was her final, desperate gambit.
Kuro let out a low, condescending chuckle. "Treasure? You think this was ever just about treasure?" He began to walk slowly down the slope, his presence commanding the absolute attention of everyone present.
"For the past three years, I have built a new life here. A reputation of peace and loyalty. The villagers trust 'Klahadore'. The world believes Captain Kuro is dead. My plan was not simply to take your money; it was to inherit it, to claim it as my own after your 'tragic accident', and to live out the rest of my days in the quiet, peaceful luxury that I have earned. Your fortune is merely a component of my perfect plan."
He was now standing just a few feet from her.
"I cannot simply take the money and leave. That would make me a pirate again. And I am tired of being a pirate."
Kaya, realizing that there was no reasoning with this monster, pulled a pistol from the folds of her dress. Merry must have given it to her. She aimed it at Kuro, her hands trembling.
"Leave," she demanded. "Leave my village now."
Kuro looked at the gun, then at her, and a strange, almost fond smile touched his lips. "You've become stronger over these past three years, Miss Kaya. I am almost proud."
He reminisced, his voice soft. "Remember all those books we read together? The walks in the garden? The silly little games we played?" His tone then turned to venom. "All those stupid, mind-numbingly boring things I had to endure… all of it was for this day. The day you die."
Kaya's resolve shattered. The gun slipped from her trembling fingers and clattered to the ground. Her last hope was gone. The man she had trusted, the man who had been like a father to her, had been playing a long, cruel game, and she was the final piece to be discarded.
Usopp, seeing the utter despair on her face, snapped. The emotional betrayal was too much to bear.
"KURO, YOU BASTARD!"
He charged, firing his slingshot, but Kuro dodged the pellet with contemptuous ease, a blur of motion. He appeared behind Usopp, his Cat Claws extended.
"This is for the punch you gave me earlier, you little brat."
He swiped his claws, aiming to end Usopp's life.
But just as the blades were about to connect, a red blur intervened.
BAM!
Luffy's fist slammed squarely into Kuro's jaw, sending the pirate captain staggering back, a look of shock on his face.
Luffy cracking his knuckles. He glared at Kuro, his usual goofy grin completely gone, replaced by a look of cold, hard anger.
"You're going to have a really bad day," Luffy said, his voice low.
"You know why?"
"Because there's nothing I hate more… than getting punched."