"So tell me the truth," threatened Jack while his right arm are glowing with cosmic power.
Finally, Klahadore exhaled. "Fine," he said coldly. "You want the truth? You'll have it."
Kaya clutched her cane, her voice shaking. "Did you… did you do what Jack said?"
Klahadore expression twisted into something between contempt and pride. "Yes," he said flatly. "Your parents' deaths were no accident. It was the first step of my plan. I was tired of life as a pirate, tired of constant battles and bloodshed. So I staged my own death and assumed this identity."
He began to pace slowly, his tone turning almost nostalgic.
"I had a subordinate, a fool who looked just like me, die in my place. The Marines were convinced they had killed Captain Kuro. I came here to start over, to live a life of peace. But peace is worthless without power and wealth. I intended to take every last coin from this household.
"My plan was perfect. I would let my men raid this village at dawn. They would slaughter the riches family and villagers and then I would 'save' everyone by killing them in front of the villagers after Kaya died. You, Kaya, would die and I would inherit the wealth of this house."
Kaya cane slipped from her hand as she stumbled back into her chair. Her face turned pale.
"You… you would have killed me?" she whispered.
"Yes," Klahadore said, without remorse. "And you would have thanked me for it."
The room went still for a moment.
Then CRACK!
Luffy's fist smashed into Klahadore's face, sending him sprawling across the floor.
"You bastard!" Luffy snarled, his usually cheerful face twisted with fury. "You call yourself a captain? You tried to betray your own crew, betray the girl who trusted you!"
Klahadore spat blood, glaring. "A captain does what he must to survive."
"No," Luffy said, stepping forward, his voice low and deadly. "A captain protects his crew. A captain never betrays them."
Jack didn't even need to say anything, one sharp nod from him was enough.
"Zoro," Jack said calmly.
"On it."
Zoro stepped forward, pinning Klahadore down with a knee and the flat of his blade pressed against the pirate's throat.
Luffy grabbed Klahadore by the collar and forced him to his feet. "You're not running away from this."
Within the hour, Klahadore was locked in the town's small temporary prison, guarded by a few brave villagers.
Kaya sat quietly in the mansion, tears streaking her face. Usopp stood beside her, unusually serious.
Jack finally let out a breath. He'd done it, he had changed the story. No bloody raid, no last-minute desperation to save Kaya life.
"Guess we'll have to clean up the rest of his crew tomorrow," Zoro said, sheathing his swords.
"Yeah," Luffy said, his anger fading as his usual grin returned. "But first… I'm hungry."
Everyone sweatdropped.
Day passed by and it already night, its light spilling gently over the quiet mansion. Kaya sat by the window, staring out at the stars. Her cane rested against the chair, forgotten.
A soft knock broke the silence.
"Kaya?"
It was Usopp, he was at usual place hung on to the tree while Kaya inside her house.
Kaya quickly wiped her eyes, but her voice still trembled. "Wait usopp."
Kaya opened a window to talk with him.
"You know," Usopp said gently, "I used to lie about pirates coming to the village every day. I'd run through the streets shouting, 'Pirates are attacking!' just to make people look at me."
Kaya gave a small, sad smile. "I remember. It was always so noisy."
"Yeah." Usopp chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "But this time… Klahadore is the real pirate and I was scared. Scared that you might die. Scared that I wouldn't be able to do anything."
Kaya looked down, hands gripping her skirt.
"That's why I'm leaving," Usopp said after a pause. "Luffy asked me to join his crew. And I'm gonna go. I want to see the world, Kaya. I want to be a brave warrior of the sea for real this time."
Kaya breath hitched. "Usopp…"
He smiled gently. "I'll come back someday. And when I do, I want you to be smiling and be the best doctor, I might get a lot of injury after coming back from my trip, is that okay?"
For a moment, Kaya just stared at him. Then she laughed softly, though tears still clung to her eyelashes.
"Ok usopp, I will wait for you" she said.
"Yeah," usopp grin.
On the morning, the sun rose bright over Syrup Village. Kaya and the old butler met Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Jack, and Usopp by the shore.
"We owe you all a great debt," the old butler said solemnly. "You saved Kaya life, saved the village, and stopped Klahadore plot. We cannot thank you enough."
Kaya smiled softly despite the faint circles under her eyes. "That's why… we want to give you something. A gift worthy of true sailors please follow us."
Luffy, Zoro, Jack and Nami followed Kaya to another shore, then the old butler revealing a brand-new caravel, its figurehead carved like a sheep with a gentle smile.
"This is our finest ship," Old Butler said. "I love for someone like you to use the ship that I've been dreamed to build."
Luffy eyes sparkled. "A ship! A real ship!"
Nami gasped, stepping forward to run her hands along the polished wood. "It's beautiful…"
Jack stood straighter, pride shining in his eyes. "Kaya… thank you."
"This ship's name is Going Merry," said Old Butler. "My name is Merry and I hope you don't mind me naming this ship on my name."
Luffy grinned wide. "Thanks, This ship's perfect and we will named it going merry. "
As the crew was preparing for a celebration, Jack stayed quiet for a moment before stepping forward.
"Kaya," he said seriously, "you should still report Klahadore to the Marines. He's dangerous. If he escapes, he might try again somewhere else. The marine should capture him."
The old butler nodded grimly. "Agreed. We will send word immediately. This village will not harbor a pirate."
Kaya looked uneasy but determined. "You're right. Klahadore has to answer for what he's done."
Jack nodded, satisfied.
P/S: Is this story too fast? I feel this paced is ok. The next chapter might be a bit longer and the update instead of 3 chapter perday will become daily. I hope more info could be revealed maybe in Rocks D Xebec arc, imu will show himself, either she is girl or he is man.
I once read a story of one piece, where they didn't know the existence of imu, and end it after killing gorosei. So it feel distaste after a latest chapter being released.