When Usopp and Nami arrived at the slope where Alex was fighting, they were shocked to see that nearly half the Black Cat Pirates had already been knocked out.

"Hey, Alex! You okay?"

Usopp stood at the top of the slope, slightly out of breath, calling down to him.

"Oh, it's you two."

Alex glanced up briefly, then casually kicked an oncoming pirate flying. His tone was flat.

"What kind of reaction is that? Are you disappointed it's us?"

Nami saw Alex was still full of fight and felt slightly relieved, but snapped at him.

Truthfully, Alex was a little disappointed. If it had been Luffy or Zoro, he could've taken a break.

"Forget the attitude. Answer me this: Why was I the only one guarding this place this morning?"

He asked as he continued pounding the pirates.

"You were sleeping like a log last night, so I figured you needed the rest. I moved you here so you wouldn't get involved."

Nami, surprisingly, told the truth.

"You're really something. Couldn't you have just woken me up?"

Alex wasn't having it.

"You idiot! That's the last time I do anything for you!"

Nami blew up when her goodwill went unappreciated.

Alex curled his lip, thinking, If all your help ends with me in a worse spot, I'd rather do without it.

"He's not just good at fishing... I thought he was bluffing during our duel yesterday, but he's actually this strong?"

Usopp stared in awe—Alex was injured and still flattened half the Black Cat Pirates. "I was planning to challenge him again after this was over, to restore my dignity as Captain Usopp."

"I suggest you drop that idea. He'll flatten you."

Nami saw Usopp's legs trembling and offered a sincere warning.

"Yeah, good thing I cleverly redirected my challenge to you yesterday. If I had gone through with it, I'd have been toast."

Usopp looked proud of his decision, not realizing Nami's face had turned dark.

Then, Usopp called out to the pirates:

"Hey, you lot! If you can't even handle one of my subordinates, you might as well give up! I've got a hundred million men behind me, and they won't be so nice!"

That nose… even a kid lies better than him.

That exact thought crossed both Alex's and the Black Cat Pirates' minds—except one person took it seriously.

"What?! He has a hundred million subordinates?!"

Jango broke out in a cold sweat, panicking.

"Captain, calm down! That's obviously a lie!"

"Don't fall for enemy propaganda!"

The crew tried to reassure their trembling leader. Alex could hardly believe this guy was a captain.

Then again… Luffy exists, so maybe he shouldn't be surprised.

"Who are you calling your subordinate? And if you're gonna lie, at least make it believable. That one fell apart immediately."

Alex genuinely felt like Usopp needed a crash course in bluffing.

"No way! I didn't expect it to fail so fast!"

Usopp held his head in shock.

"You actually thought that would fool them?"

Alex dodged another pirate's swing. This guy didn't just lie—he believed his own lies.

Truly the highest form of lying: not fooling others, but fooling yourself.

"Alex! My treasure—did they take it?"

Nami, now assured Alex was fine, shifted focus to her real priority.

"Yeah. They took it aboard their ship."

Alex had seen it when he woke up.

"What?! Why didn't you stop them, you idiot?!"

Nami bared her fangs at him.

"Why don't you stop whining and get down here and help?"

Annoyed, Alex punched a pirate harder than necessary.

"Stop fighting, you two!"

Usopp tried to wave off the squabble, then shouted at the pirates, "Actually, that treasure is mine! I gave it to you as a gift! Please leave in peace!"

"He's trying to bribe us!"

"What a low tactic!"

Some pirates paused, actually tempted.

"Idiots. The treasure's on our ship. How could it possibly be his?"

Jango adjusted his heart-shaped shades, exasperated.

At this rate, they should rename themselves the Dumb Cat Pirates.

Just then, Nami punched Usopp flat.

She pointed down the slope and declared fiercely:

"That treasure is mine! I won't give you a single coin! Guard it well—I'm taking it back myself!"

For a second, her determination made Alex think she was ready to take them on.

"Get 'em, Alex! Beat them all—for my treasure!"

Nami waved her little fists from above.

"Why the hell would I risk my life for your treasure? Go take a nap somewhere!"

Seriously, what was I thinking expecting better?

Alex refused flat out, flooring a few more pirates as he spoke.

"My treasure is very important to me! I'll punch you if you don't help!"

Nami shouted back, furious.

"Why'd you hit me earlier?! That really hurt!"

Usopp whined, rubbing a growing lump on his head.

So the three of them stood there—shouting, bickering, completely ignoring the dozens of pirates around them. Their voices were so loud they drowned out the battle cries.

"Are they seriously having a casual argument mid-battle?!"

"They're not even taking us seriously!"

The Black Cat Pirates were fuming. Not only was Alex soloing half their crew, he was doing it while chatting with two idiots above the slope.

To make things worse, Usopp stayed behind Alex, using his slingshot to harass them from a safe distance.

"You're mad we're talking? I'm still knocking your people out while I talk!"

Alex smashed another pirate. "You lot are supposed to be famous in the East Blue? What a joke."

Even injured, Alex found it easy to deal with these small fry.

The only person who caught his attention was Jango—with his goofy heart sunglasses, moonwalks, white gloves, and massive cowboy hat—clearly a weirdo.

"You dare mock us?! If Captain Kuro were here, he'd destroy you!"

"Get out of our way if you don't want to die!"

They were desperate. As long as Alex blocked their path, they couldn't reach Usopp or Nami, let alone execute Kuro's plan for Syrup Village.

"Kuro? That idiot who pretended to be a butler for three years? If he were here, I'd beat him down too."

Alex thought of the way Kuro had insulted Usopp's father—it made him sick.

"You talk big only because you don't know Captain Kuro's strength."

Jango raised his hypnotic ring-blades.

"You talk big only because you don't know how hard I punch."

Alex fired back.

Just then, two very familiar voices echoed down the slope:

"Usopp! You jerk! You didn't even tell me which way was north!"

"Nami! It's your fault for talking nonsense and wasting my time!"

Luffy and Zoro arrived at the top of the slope, both glaring.

"Who are they?"

"They look strong. This is bad…"

The pirates froze, intimidated.

"You guys sure took your time. I've nearly cleared them all."

Alex grinned, knocking another pirate away. Seeing the rest hesitate, he started walking up toward Luffy and Zoro.

But after just a few steps, he stopped.

Something was off.

Why was it suddenly so quiet behind him?

Alex turned—and saw that all the pirates he'd beaten earlier were now standing. They looked totally uninjured, but their eyes were burning with wild, unnatural frenzy.

What the hell?

Nami's voice answered his question:

"Watch out! That weirdo's a hypnotist—he put his whole crew under hypnosis!"

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