A stunned silence fell over the slope, broken only by the crackling of distant fires and the pained groans of the Black Cat Pirates. They stared, their hypnotized eyes wide with a confusion that momentarily overrode their mindless rage.
"He… he hit Captain Kuro…" one of them stammered.
It was an unthinkable event. For three years, they had operated under the legend of their invincible, meticulous captain. To see him struck down, even for a moment, by a boy in a straw hat was like watching a god bleed.
Kuro did not move from where he lay, he was perfectly still. This silence, this lack of immediate, violent retaliation, was more terrifying to his crew than any roar. They knew this stillness. It was the calm at the center of a hurricane, the quiet moment before a predator's final, inescapable strike.
Before that terrifying silence could break, however, a new chaos erupted.
"CAPTAIN USOPP! WE'RE HERE TO HELP!"
Three small figures, the remaining members of the Usopp Pirates, came charging down the slope from the village. Ninjin brandished a shovel, Piiman swung a baseball bat, and Tamanegi held a frying pan like a mighty shield.
They were a comical sight, but their eyes burned with a fierce, unwavering loyalty.
"How dare you start the fight without us, Captain?!" Piiman yelled, angry tears in his eyes. "We're a crew! We fight together!"
Usopp, still on the ground, could only stare in horror. "No! You idiots, run away! Get out of here!"
But they didn't listen. They saw the man in the black suit who had hurt their captain, and they charged with a collective, squeaky war cry.
THWACK! Ninjin's shovel struck Kuro's forehead.
BONK! Piiman's bat connected with his cheek.
CLANG! Tamanegi bravely brought his frying pan down on the captain's shoulder.
The attacks were utterly ineffective. Kuro didn't even flinch.
He slowly, deliberately, rose to his feet, brushing off dust that wasn't there. He didn't even look at the boys.
Then, he vanished.
The three children froze, their makeshift weapons held high. The spot where their target had been was now empty.
"Behind you."
Kuro's voice was a cold whisper right behind them. They turned slowly, their faces pale with a terror that finally eclipsed their courage. Kuro stood there, his glasses glinting, his expression utterly blank. That blankness was the most terrifying thing they had ever seen.
It was all the encouragement they needed. With a collective scream, they dropped their weapons and fled back into the forest, their brave rescue mission having lasted all of ten seconds.
Kuro walked past them as if they were nothing more than insects. He stopped in front of Usopp and, with a dismissive air, delivered a single, vicious kick to his ribs, sending him rolling in the dirt.
Then, ignoring Usopp completely, he fixed his cold, analytical gaze on Luffy.
"You have powers," he stated, not a question but a fact. "A Devil Fruit."
Luffy, who had been watching the scene with a mixture of confusion and anger, simply nodded. "Yeah! I ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi! I'm a rubber man!"
Jango, who had been watching from the sidelines, gasped. "So the rumors are true… they really do exist."
Kuro's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. The variables of his plan were becoming increasingly annoying. He adjusted his strategy with cold precision.
"Jango," he commanded, his voice sharp. "Your task remains the same. The girl. The will. The 'accident'. Eliminate the three little pests if they get in your way."
He turned his full attention to Luffy. "I will deal with this one."
"Hold it right there!"
Zoro stepped forward, placing himself between Jango and the path to Kaya. "Your fight is with me."
But before Jango could respond, a hypnotized roar shook the air. Buchi, his eyes swirling with mindless power, charged Zoro from the side.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
The stout cat-man leaped into the air, his claws extended, aiming a powerful downward strike. Zoro knew the attack was coming, but the raw, hypnotically-induced strength behind it was far greater than before. He parried with his three swords, but the sheer force of the impact sent him staggering back.
"He doesn't even know his own strength," Kuro commented with detached interest, as if observing a science experiment.
Buchi pressed his advantage, his attacks now wild and monstrously powerful. He drove Zoro back, and back, until the swordsman's back was slammed against the hard rock of the cliff wall, pinning him there.
Zoro gritted his teeth, the muscles in his arms straining to hold off the relentless assault. 'I will not… lose to this guy again!' With a furious roar, he pushed back, forcing Buchi away from him, their battle now a brutal stalemate of strength.
Jango, seeing Zoro completely occupied, simply smirked and began to moonwalk past the struggle, his eyes fixed on his true target: Kaya.
Usopp could only watch in horror, his body refusing to move, frozen by pain and fear. Jango was going to get past them. He was going to reach Kaya.
Then, his gaze fell upon the three small figures peeking out from the edge of the forest. Piiman. Ninjin. Tamanegi. His crew.
His fear for himself was replaced by his duty as their captain. He found his voice.
"PIIMAN! NINJIN! TAMANEGI!" he roared, his voice filled with an authority they had never heard before.
The three boys snapped to attention.
"This is your captain's final and most important mission!" Usopp commanded, pointing a trembling finger towards Kaya. "Forget the pirates! Forget me! Your only job is to protect Miss Kaya! Get her into the forest and don't let that hypnotist catch you! GO! NOW!"
The boys, seeing the desperate fire in their captain's eyes, were filled with a new purpose. Their fear was still there, but their loyalty was stronger. They nodded in unison, ran to Kaya's side, and began escorting her into the safety of the woods.
Jango saw them fleeing and cursed. He broke into a glide, his strange backward run eating up the distance between them. He raised his chakram, preparing to throw it to cut down their escape.
WHIZ!
A small pellet exploded at Jango's feet, sending up a cloud of smoke and pepper.
"Kayaku Boshi!"
It was Usopp. Lying on the ground, he had fired his slingshot, a perfect shot to break the hypnotist's concentration.
Jango stumbled, coughing, his eyes watering. He turned, his face a mask of pure fury, ready to kill the long-nosed brat who was proving to be such a persistent annoyance.
But before he could take a step, Kuro's voice cut through the air again, cold and impatient.
"Jango. The girl."
Jango froze, caught between his desire for revenge and his terror of his captain.
The battlefield was now split. Jango was in pursuit of Kaya and the Usopp Pirates. Zoro was locked in a brutal power-struggle with the hypnotized Buchi. And Luffy now stood alone, facing down the silent, coiled menace that was Captain Kuro.