Standing atop the slope, Captain Kuro adjusted his glasses as he heard Alex shout about knocking him into next week. Turning calmly to Jango below, he said, "To think someone so insignificant could slow you down. It seems the Black Cat Pirates have truly fallen."

"But you told me they wouldn't interfere with our plan," Jango said, trembling at the sight of Kuro's cold glare.

Indeed, back when Luffy and Usopp discovered their plot, Kuro had insisted that the Straw Hats weren't a threat.

While Kuro and Jango conversed, Alex covertly glanced at Zoro's two swords lying far off in the grass.

If I can just get those swords back to Zoro, this fight might shift in our favor.

But Jango was close—too close. Any sudden move would alert him. And given Alex's current condition, dodging those deadly spinning chakrams wouldn't be easy.

He had taken one of those rings to the back once already and knew all too well how fast they flew. After trading dozens of punches with Luffy and crashing into the prow of the Black Cat's ship, Alex's body was still aching. Despite days of rest, the deep wounds in his back and right arm had flared up again.

His hands were still numb from that brawl with the hypnotized Luffy. Just standing was a struggle—let alone fighting someone like Kuro. Luffy was pinned under the massive ship prow, and couldn't be counted on right now. Thankfully, he had already cleared out most of the grunts.

Aside from the heavily injured Usopp and Nami—who lacked combat strength—only he and Zoro remained. Meanwhile, their enemies included the acrobatic cat brothers, Jango, and Kuro.

Zoro, wielding just one blade, was being held down by the cat brothers. And Alex, barely able to fight, was staring down both Jango and Kuro. Things looked grim.

One cat brother was agile; the other, a powerhouse who could crack the ground with a single stomp. Neither Alex nor Zoro could fight at full strength.

Part of the blame lay with Luffy—his single-celled brain got hypnotized way too easily, and that led to Alex taking the brunt of the fallout.

Still, if I had prioritized taking out that hypnotist Jango from the start, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess.

Alex clenched his jaw.

From now on, whenever I face enemies, I'm going straight for the ringleader—no matter how many lackeys they have.

This battle in Syrup Village had planted the seeds of Alex's future combat style: take out the boss first—fast and hard.

Usopp, Nami… if you don't want to die, just stay down and stay still!

Alex took a deep breath, glancing at the bloodied Usopp lying on the slope and the terrified Nami sitting beside him. He forced himself to stay calm, waiting for a chance to turn the tide. He silently prayed they wouldn't provoke Kuro—because in their current condition, he and Zoro wouldn't be able to save them in time.

He had taunted Kuro to draw his attention, but Kuro stayed eerily calm—not even flinching at the bait.

"I said they wouldn't be a problem because I knew they'd try to interfere," Kuro said coldly to Jango. "What I didn't expect… was just how weak you all turned out to be. I don't want your excuses."

You didn't see it, but just minutes ago that kid and the straw hat boy were trading blows like madmen. If they kept going, they'd have torn this whole slope apart.

Jango clenched his teeth in frustration, but he didn't dare speak out.

"You're calling us weak?"

"Captain Kuro, that's not cool!" said the cat brothers, momentarily halting their assault on Zoro to glare up at the slope.

It was clear they didn't take kindly to being dismissed. After all, Kuro had been away from the crew for three years. His authority wasn't what it used to be.

Alex's eyes lit up. Internal conflict? That might be their opening.

Sure enough, Sham dropped his attack and charged toward Kuro.

"You were strong, sure—but that was three years ago," Sham yelled. "While you were playing house in this village, we were fighting for our lives!"

"That's right!" Buchi added. "We raided towns, crushed pirate crews—we earned our strength!"

"If you think you can just kill us over one failed plan, you're wrong. We won't go down that easy!"

"You've been out of the game too long. You really think you can beat us now?"

Their shouts echoed with defiance and fury. Kuro's eyes darkened.

"Shut up, both of you!" Jango hissed. Kuro's face was grim—any angrier, and he really might kill them all.

"They're not wrong," one wounded pirate on the ground muttered. "Sham and Buchi are our strongest duo."

While Jango scrambled to stop Sham from charging, Alex bolted for Zoro's discarded swords.

But just as he moved, something whizzed past from behind. He dove aside—barely in time.

He thought Jango had caught him already, but no—it was Sham, hurled like a cannonball through the air.

Kuro had intercepted him and flung him at Alex to stop the run.

No way… he's that fast?!

Alex stared at Kuro, now standing mid-slope. When had he even moved?

Still, Alex didn't hesitate—he sprinted again toward Zoro's swords.

"You think the cat brothers can save us if he fails?" Jango shouted. "Forget it. That man's Silent Step technique is a high-speed assassination style—we can't escape his grasp, let alone beat him."

Silent Step? High-speed movement? And what's in that bag he carries?

But Alex didn't have time to think. The swords were right in front of him. He reached—

—and someone landed squarely in front of him, cutting him off.

"I won't let you interfere," Sham growled. He still looked shaken by Kuro's strength, but his resolve hadn't faltered.

"I should've killed you two long ago," Kuro said, voice chilling. "But three years of pretending to be normal has softened me."

With a smirk, he added, "You've got five minutes to fix this. If you can't… I'll kill every one of you myself."

"We don't wanna die!"

The grunts on the ground panicked, scrambling to rise—but after the beatings from Luffy and Alex, none could stand.

"Five minutes is enough," Jango said. "If we take out the swordsman and that injured guy, the village is wide open."

"Die already!" Sham roared, punting Zoro's remaining swords away and lunging at Alex with razor-sharp claws aimed for his throat.

Damn it! If I wasn't injured, I could've handed those swords to Zoro already.

Alex narrowly dodged. He tried to strike back, but his arms still felt numb and sluggish.

With Kuro's threat hanging over them, the cat brothers doubled down on their assault. Jango launched spinning blades from the side, adding to the chaos.

Alex and Zoro were pushed into a desperate fight.

Buchi still struggled against one-sword Zoro—but with Jango's help, he held his own. The match evened out.

As the battle raged, Kuro calmly turned to walk back up the slope… until he stopped in his tracks.

Standing there was a delicate-looking blonde girl—Kaya.

"Klahadore… what are you doing?" she asked.

Kaya's face turned pale as she saw Usopp bloodied and broken. "I know what you're after now. Please stop. I'll give you whatever you want—just don't do this!"

"Kaya? What are you doing here?" Usopp managed to gasp, shocked to see her.

"Well, well… I didn't expect to see you here, my lady," Kuro said, face composed as he slowly approached.

Damn it! Not her!

Alex panicked. With Kaya here, things could spiral fast—but he was still locked in combat, unable to move.

"Merry told me everything," Kaya said, trembling but standing her ground. "I know your plan."

That morning, she had found Merry bleeding and near death. From his lips, she had learned the truth—and rushed to stop it.

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