Some pirates, watching Nami openly tally the treasure she had stolen from them right on the deck of their own ship, felt a wave of fury. Their faces soured as if they'd swallowed a fly. But when they recalled how Alex had beaten even the dreaded Captain Kuro into coughing up blood, they were gripped with fear. None of them dared interfere—pretending not to see Nami's brazen actions was the only option.

"You're not even from this village. You're an outsider. So why are you so determined to ruin my plan?"

Kuro sat up from the ground, his face shadowed as he looked up at Alex, who stood on the slope above him.

"Me? I'm just a fisherman, honestly. I don't really like meddling. But our captain promised to help Usopp, and yeah, I was paid a bit for my trouble too. But the biggest reason—" Alex yanked the thin line of his fishing rod, his dark crimson eyes dimming slightly— "is that you pissed me off. I don't care about your damn plan. I just want to beat the crap out of you!"

"He's a fisherman?"

"No wonder he uses a fishing rod as a weapon…"

The pirates nearby exchanged weird glances. It was hard to stomach that a mere fisherman had single-handedly held them all at bay.

"Beat me to a pulp?"

Kuro sneered. "Your punches aren't much. If that's all you've got, then get ready to die."

But as soon as he said that, his eyes widened. Alex had torn away the blood-soaked bandages from his body, including the ones wrapped tightly around his right arm—revealing deep, gruesome wounds sustained during his clash with Luffy back in Orange Town.

Those near-bone-deep gashes between Alex's knuckles were seared into Kuro's mind. He finally understood why Alex's earlier punch had felt weak—his dominant hand was already seriously injured.

After more than twenty days of healing, new flesh had begun to form, and the once bone-exposing injuries had greatly improved. Even so, they still limited the power behind his punches. Especially after clashing fists with Luffy at full force earlier—Alex had aggravated the barely recovered wounds.

"You're really dumb, aren't you?" Alex smirked. "If one punch isn't enough to drop you, I'll just punch you hundreds more times."

Holding the fishing rod in his left hand and clenching his right into a fist, Alex locked his blood-moon-colored eyes on Kuro below. He spoke slowly, clearly, and with a deadly edge.

Kuro didn't reply, but his face twisted with a vicious grin. He resumed his signature "Shakushi" stance—arms limp and swaying side to side.

"Same tricks again? You're still just target practice."

As Alex flung the fishing hook, Kuro vanished.

But just as Alex hooked Kuro mid-flash step, preparing to reel him in, Kuro barked,

"Jango! How long are you gonna lie there?! Go kill that woman who stole our treasure!"

What!?

Alex's momentary distraction dulled the force and speed of his punch to Kuro's face. Though Kuro still smashed into a rock wall, the damage wasn't serious.

"If you dare steal from pirates, you should be ready to die for it!"

Jango hurled his razor-sharp ring blade at Nami, who had just climbed off the Black Cat Pirates' ship.

Nami, thinking no one was paying attention to her, had intended to sneak down and check on Luffy—who was pinned beneath the massive figurehead of the Black Cat ship—to see if she could wake him and lighten Alex's load. She never expected Jango to attack her the moment she stepped off.

I'm going to die!

She turned back to see the spinning blade already closing in. Instinctively, she wanted to scream for Alex's help—but remembering that he was still fighting Kuro, she hesitated.

That hesitation nearly cost her. The blade shrieked through the air, just inches from slicing her down.

But then—a silhouette stepped in front of her. A hand caught the lethal spinning ring.

She recognized that back. First came relief. Then panic.

"Alex! Your hand—"

CLANG!

Alex crushed the blade barehanded. Blood dripped from between his fingers and hit the ground. The sight made Nami's heart twist with guilt. If only she had stayed on the ship, he wouldn't have had to get hurt saving her.

"If you get me in trouble again, I swear I'll knock you into the sky."

Alex tossed the shattered metal to the ground, then used his fishing rod to yank Jango—who stood ten meters away, stunned—right to him.

His bloodied right fist smashed into Jango's face, shattering the heart-shaped glasses and warping his whole face.

"You're annoying. Get lost."

BOOM!

Jango flew backward, crashing into a rock formation over twenty meters away, reducing it to rubble.

But Alex stumbled forward slightly after the strike, nearly falling.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen."

Nami rushed to support him. She noticed his left foot seemed twisted.

In truth, Alex had sprained it. To reach Nami in time, he'd used the "Shakushi" technique—Kuro's ultra-fast movement style he had avoided using until now.

Alex knew his body couldn't fully handle the strain of such extreme speed. He also didn't want to blindly slash like Kuro did. That's why he used his fishing rod instead.

But Kuro had predicted this. By having Jango attack Nami, he forced Alex to use Shakushi without preparation—causing the injury.

"You'll be surprised how many things you don't expect," Alex muttered grumpily, spitting to the side. "If you want to survive, don't leave my side again. Next time, I won't save you."

Spraining his foot was a serious problem, especially when facing a speed-type enemy like Kuro. It was a critical blow.

"You really are a fool. Using Shakushi to save her and then stopping abruptly without mastering the technique? No wonder you hurt yourself."

Kuro sneered from the slope. "So? How's that twisted ankle feel?"

"All you do is play dirty tricks," Alex growled. "Even with one foot down, I've got more than enough to take you out!"

He loosened up his right hand, then suddenly wrapped an arm around Nami's slim waist. Before she could react, he hurled his fishing rod toward the cliffside.

The hook latched onto the cliff wall. Alex retracted the line to just twenty centimeters, gripped the shortened rod, and swung upward like a grappling hook—taking Nami with him.

They soared up the slope, landing right in front of Kuro.

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