The Gale set had only just landed when Nami and Nojiko leapt down in a hurry and rushed into Kaya's waiting arms.
The three sisters immediately hugged each other, pouring out their long-held longing. Kuina stood beside them with a smile, but Nami swept her up in an embrace as well.
After a long moment, noticing everyone around them watching, Kaya blushed and reluctantly let them go.
Nami, bubbling with excitement, dragged her over to Leno and the others to make introductions.
"Long time no see, Kaya. How have you been?" Leno was the first to greet her with a smile as he admired how she had grown into a graceful young woman.
"Long time no see, Mr. Leno."
"Don't be so formal—just call me Leno."
Seeing Leno still eyeing her after exchanging greetings, Nami pulled Kaya closer and scolded him in mock annoyance.
"Kaya, don't mind this big dummy. Let me introduce our new friends."
"Nami, you don't have to— I already know them all. I've been keeping up with your news."
"Kaya—" Nami was so touched that Kaya had been following them that tears sprang to her eyes; she stepped forward and hugged her again.
Robin and the others liked Kaya's quiet, intellectual air and came forward to greet her warmly.
It wasn't until Hancock walked up that Kaya's expression turned to shock—wasn't this the "World's Most Beautiful Woman," the Pirate Empress reported about in the papers? Why was she here...?
Kaya looked toward Nami with puzzled eyes.
"Hancock is joining us too. She helped us a lot when we rescued our family."
Nami graciously introduced Hancock, and the group chatted as they returned to the villa.
Once inside the villa, they finally noticed the unfamiliar man standing nearby and asked, curious, "Kaya, who is he?"
Kaya suddenly remembered and hurried to explain, "This is the new butler I recently hired—Klahadore."
"He encountered pirates and was badly injured; I rescued him on the shore, so he stayed. My parents passed away not long ago—I'm grateful for his care during that time."
As Kaya spoke, her voice dropped; the death of her parents had struck her hard, leaving her physically weak and prone to illness lately.
When the others heard that Kaya's parents had died, their hearts sank, and they stepped forward to comfort her.
Seeing how frail she looked, they realized her complexion was unnaturally pale—she was clearly ill.
Nami quickly called Chopper over to examine her. After a while, Chopper's face grew grave as he explained.
"Kaya's been overthinking and not sleeping enough. Combined with poor appetite, her immunity has dropped, which brought on these symptoms."
Nojiko, worried, reached for Kaya's hand. "Stay strong, Kaya. Take care of your health. Your parents wouldn't want to see you sink into despair over them."
"Yes, Kaya—take good care of yourself," Nami added, scanning the room before continuing, "Kaya, why don't you come with us? A change of scenery might help your condition."
At Nami's suggestion, Nojiko and Kuina brightened and nodded eagerly, hoping Kaya would agree.
Kaya felt torn—she wanted to see the wider world, but everything tied to her parents was here; she couldn't bear to leave it all behind.
"Big dummy, say something—are you going to allow Kaya to come aboard or not?" Nami, anxious at Kaya's hesitation, turned and vented at Leno. Kaya lifted her head to look at him.
"Of course I agree," Leno said. "It would be my pleasure to have such a lovely girl like Kaya join us. How could I refuse?"
Leno's words immediately flushed Kaya's face crimson; she bowed her head, too embarrassed to meet anyone's eyes.
Nami defended her friend. "You pervert! Don't you even think about making a move on Kaya—she's our good friend!"
Nami's outburst only made Kaya more awkward.
After a moment, Kaya still hesitated and pouted, saying reluctantly, "But... I can't bear to leave... the things here."
"Bah—no problem. We'll pack everything up and take it with us, villa and all!" Nami declared grandly, though she kept glancing at Leno and sending him meaningful looks.
"Really? Wouldn't that be too much trouble?"
"Not at all. We're planning to move our hometown anyway."
Nami told Kaya about Skypiea and the fantastic legends of the sky island ten thousand meters above the sea; her animated description painted a picture that captivated Kaya, and longing lit her face.
A little while later, the girls were eager to get going and began to urge Leno on.
"Hey, big dummy, we're ready—let's go."
Leno cast a glance at the quiet man at his side and smiled lightly. "Wait a moment. I need to deal with a little tail first."
"What 'tail'?" The group looked confused.
When Leno had glanced earlier, Kuro—who had been masquerading as the butler Klahadore —had felt as if all the blood in his body froze.
At that moment, every scrap of hope Kuro had clinged to vanished. He would never have imagined that this time his target would be entangled with such a terrifying figure.
If he'd known, he'd never have dared to meddle with Kaya.
Now, trembling with instinctive fear, Kuro's body went rigid. His usually nimble limbs refused to obey him; he couldn't even flee. He could only wait with wide eyes for Leno to speak and pronounce his fate.
"Captain of the 'Black Cat' Pirates, bounty 16,000,000 Berries—who recently faked his death to escape and has been masquerading as a butler to seize Kaya's inheritance. Am I right, Kuro of a Hundred Plans?"
"K-what?!" Kaya and the butler Merri were horrified at hearing this.
They hadn't expected the gentle, courteous man to be a pirate plotting to harm her.
"M-Mr. Leno, could there be a mistake? Klahadore... is he really a pirate? And he wants to kill me?"
Remembering his meticulous care for her recently, Kaya had been grateful to this 'big brother.' She couldn't connect the person before her with a vicious pirate. She looked at Leno with a glimmer of hope, wishing he was wrong about Klahadore.
But Leno's next words shattered that fantasy.
"Kaya, remember when I warned you before? I even circled the area and found nothing."
"But this time the Black Cat Pirates' ship lingered around your Syrup Village, precisely to coordinate with Kuro's actions."
Leno looked at the saddened Kaya and spoke plainly, "Actually, from the moment I saw him just now I recognized him. For your safety, I intended to quietly deal with him..."
Kaya's small hope evaporated. She slowly turned her back to them, and in a low voice said, "Mr. Leno, I'll leave it to you."