The pirates looked at her in shock. Was it justhis imagination or had the girl's arm actually just stretched? They knew itwasn't human. She's a monster! Finally some of them managed to break out oftheir state of shock and shouted in panic: "What the hell was that?!" "How didshe do that?!" "Her arm just straightened!" "But how did she do it?!" Had shemade a deal with the devil? "She really hit Captain Kuro!" Luffyignored the shouts of the pirates and just looked in the direction of heropponent. Just because she was able to knock him down didn't mean she won. Sheraised her hand a little and cracked each of her fingers. The rubber woman wasprepared for anything. Kuro lay on his back and looked down the slope at theblack-haired woman who had hit him. Not only were his glasses crooked, one ofthe lenses was also cracked. Anger built up inside him. How dare this bratinterfere?! "I'll let you do the rest," Nami said quietly beforewincing at the pain. However, she immediately smiled again. "I will now save mytreasure!"

Usopp was still looking at the black-hairedwoman in shock when he suddenly heard three very familiar voices shouting:"The Usopp pirates have arrived!" The three of them held makeshiftweapons, a shovel, a baseball bat and a frying pan, in their hands and hit thepirate lying on the ground. Usopp looked at the three in shock. What were theydoing here? Kaya's eyes narrowed in horror and shouted: "Stop it!"The three of them are going to kill themselves! But the children didn't hearthem. Pepper shouted: "Give up!" "Finish him! Finish him!" shouted Carrot."You dare..." Onion began, "...to disturb the peace in thisvillage?!" "Stop it!" shouted the long-nosed man. The piratesalso seemed to panic. "What are these brats doing there?!" Even Zoro looked atthe three in disbelief. "What the hell are they thinking?" "Stopit," Usopp said again, the fear clearly audible in his voice, "Heyguys, stop it!" The three children breathed heavily and looked down at Kuro."I think he's had enough," Pepper said. Now Kuro's other lens also had cracksand injuries were spread all over his face. Jango looked nervously up theslope, sweat running down his body as he said, "They've really madeCaptain Kuro mad. Those stupid brats!" Carrot, Pepper and Onion ran towardstheir trembling captain, but they didn't seem to notice. "Captain!"said Carrot, "Just as we thought, our captain is fighting against thesehalloos." "Why didn't you tell us the truth?! "Aren't we part ofyou're crew?" said Pepper, a reproachful tone was clearly audible in his voice."Or are we outsiders?" Onion added. Usopp really didn't know what to say, whichis why he shouted, "Whatever! You have to get out of here right now! Run!"No one noticed how Kuro looked at them darkly. "Absolutely not!" protestedCarrot. "We will fight too!" said Pepper. "If we run away we would bringshame to the Usopp pirates!" said Onion. An uneasy feeling spread throughthe glasses wearer and he slowly turned around. Kuro stood behind them. Headjusted his glasses, the glass on the right side shattered and fell to thefloor. The children and Usopp looked at him in shock, sweat running down theirbodies. In fright, the three fell on their buttocks and began to scream likecrazy. "You idiots, hurry up and get out of here!" shouted Usopp. He would notallow the lives of the three to end on this day. Kuro came closer and closer.The boys' hearts were racing and their lives were flashing before their eyes. Butthe former captain simply walked past them and continued towards Usopp. Helooked up when Kuro stood in front of him. Without warning he kicked. Groaning,he flew a few meters down the slope before crashing. He doubled over in painand held his stomach. The guy had a real good kick.

Kuro's gaze turned back to the straw hat weareras he said, "Not bad. That was a pretty impressive punch you gave me. Youhave devil fruit powers, don't you?!" A mischievous grin spreads acrossLuffy's face before she said, "Yes, those of the Gomu Gomu no Mi."Once again, the pirates broke into a sweat when they heard this and theirmouths closed expanded. "I'm a rubber human." "What?! That's badnews!" "These things REALLY exist?!" "No wonder she's sostrange!" the pirates shouted in confusion. "So she's a rubber human,"Jango muttered, "So I wasn't imagining her arm stretching.""Jango!" Kuro shouted. Said person jumped and turned around. "I'lltake care of this brat. You take care of Miss Kaya." He pointed his blades atLuffy. "She will write the will as planned..." He opened his handsand the blades formed a deadly circle. "...then kill her! And the three thereshould disappear!" The children had turned to him when Kuro had spoken. Theyunderstood WHO he meant and what he meant by "disappearing". Usopp didn't knowwhat to do. What should he do to get the three of them to leave?And how couldhe protect Kaya when he could barely move anymore?

"Understood." Jango began to walk upthe slope when Zoro blocked his path with his sword. "Stop. I won't letyou pass," Zoro said calmly. "Buchi!!" Said man was still under hypnosisand bared his teeth. He jumped high into the air and shouted: "Cat the Funjyatta!" "That again?!" atthe last moment the green-haired man was able to dodge. The ground shook as Buchilanded and the ground began to crack. It wasn't easy for Zoro and Usopp to keeptheir footing on the resulting fragments. It didn't help that boulders wereraining down on them from the slopes. Luffy and Kuro, however, stood therequietly, staring at each other. Even the resulting dust didn't stop this. Zoro,however, stood in the middle of the dust cloud and couldn't see anything. Hehad his sword ready. He had to be careful, Buchi could come from anywhere toattack him. "Ahhh!" To his left, a clawed hand suddenly burst through thecloud. He quickly blocked the attack. However, he was pushed back and crashedinto the stone wall behind him. Cracks formed in the rock around the resultingcrater. Zorro not only blocked the claws with his sword but also kept Buchi ata distance with his foot by kicking and pushing it into the giant's face. Usopplay on the ground and watched the spectacle. "His strength has completelychanged," he murmured. Jango relaxed and walked past the man lying on theground. "Damned. Kaya!" Painfully, he began to turn slightly until hecould see Jango. "Damned. I do nothave any strength any more. Damn, damn, damn!" An idea suddenly occurred tohim. He took a deep breath and shouted: "Usopp pirates!" His voice carriedeasily through the gorge and attracted the attention of those present. "Aye!""Listen to me!" "We won't run away!" said Carrot immediately. "He went too far!We will get our revenge!" said Pepper. The next words Usopp said surprised thema little, as you could hear the seriousness in his voice: "Protect Kaya! Listencarefully. I will now give you the most important task. Get Kaya out of here!Don't say you can't do this! Because the reason we formed this crew was toprotect those closest to us!" "Usopp," Kaya breathed. Shecouldn't believe what she had just heard. The children clawed at the ground,trying to hold back the tears that wanted to form. The black-haired man addedin a gentle voice: "That is your captain's order." "Aye, captain!" the threeboys shouted. "Quickly, Kaya!" "This way!" Zoro looked over his shoulder atUsopp while he continued to block Buchi. "Thosewere well-chosen words. It's the same as telling them to run away.""Into the forest, I know it as well as my own garden!" said Onion ashe led Kaya by the hand into the forest. "Jango!" "Oh damn! Iwas absent." He twirled one of his blade discs on each finger. "Are you stupid?You won't be able to escape me so easily...!" He screamed when somethinghit him on the back. It was a Panchinko ball that Usopp had fired. Even thoughhe was shaking, he had hit his target. A satisfied smile was on his lips as heasked, "How was that?" Jango turned around angrily. "You bastard!" Hereally dares to make him look like a fool? He would pay for that! He was aboutto pounce on the long-nosed man when Kuro said angrily: "Hurry up and get her,you idiot!" Jango gritted his teeth, backed away a little, turned around andran after the fleeing woman. "Is good."

Luffy began to slowly climb up the slope when Kurosaid, "It's useless. I know exactly how Miss Kaya's health is. She won'tbe able to escape Jango. You might want to follow them if you can get past thatpath." He looked down at Luffy condescendingly as she approached. "Buchi!"He was unable to speak, even if he hadn't been under hypnosis, because Zoro'sfoot was pressing against his jaw. The green-haired man spoke calmly to hisopponent. "You already lost to me once. Didn't I tell you to stop annoying me?!Get out of the way!" Since Zoro was pressed with his back against the stonewall, he was able to kick Buchi in the chin with his other leg. He screamed andno longer had any cover. Zoro grabbed the handles of his swords, which werestill in their sheaths, and struck. His opponent is knocked to the ground.Meanwhile Luffy had stopped a few meters from Kuro. Part of her vision was inthe shadow of her straw hat as she looked at Kuro with a serious expression.Zoro threw his swords into the air and stretched out his arms, holding thescabbards of the swords in his hands. These fell directly into their sheathsbefore the green-haired man attached them to his hip again. Kuro had watchedthis calmly without any emotion. Usopp slowly tried to push himself up againwhen there was a noise from the forest. "What...what was that?" Hiswhole body was shaking from the exertion. "Who knows? Jango probablyalready caught her. You should go check for yourself," Kuro saidemotionlessly, "Whatever. It might already be too late." Usopp gritted histeeth. "You bastard. You lived under the same roof as her for three years.Don't you have the slightest sympathy for her?" "Not the slightest.Like I said, Kaya is just part of my plan. After her death, I will certainly begrateful to her." "Why you..." "Hopeless bastard,"said Zoro. Such people were the kind he disliked the most. Guys like that hadno honor. "I didn't plan on saving him either," Luffy said to him,"Usopp!" The chatty-haired man looked up. "You go after them andcheck on them. Leave this to us," said Zoro, a grin on his lips. It was clearthat he was already looking forward to the fight. Usopp looked at them for awhile before his gaze shifted to Kuro and he gritted his teeth. With greateffort he slowly, tremblingly began to push himself up. Luffy smiled as Usoppgot back to his feet. "Oh, so you can still move?" Kuro asked behindhim, "Not bad." "Shut up! I won't let you do whatever you want here!You dare to betray the village and Kaya's feelings! Do you really think you cando whatever you want?!" Usopp gritted out. He took a step forward but collapsedagain. "Usopp!" the black-haired woman shouted in horror. He was lying on hisstomach, his face turned to the side and his bottom stretched up. "Damned.I can't move a muscle." Why did it have to happen now?! If he had his way,it could happened AFTER he had saved Kaya. 

Kuro couldn't help but laugh darkly at thesight. "You really amuse me," he said, turning to the long-nosed man. It wastoo delicious. First he make big speeches and then he dosn't even have thestrength to stand up anymore. "I am supposed to have betrayed her? Are youtrying to play me for a fool? Everything was planned from the start! This isn'tone of your pirate games where you pretend to be the captain!" Luffy bither bottom lip. She thought about how Usopp could manage to help Kaya and thechildren despite his condition, but she couldn't think of anything. The black-hairedwoman already noticed how her head was slowly starting to hurt. "So stay thereand don't move. Now even IF you managed to catch up with Jango you wouldn'thave a chance against him. You're a lot safer here," Kuro finished his sentencesarcastically before starting to laugh again. "Even if I can't doit..." Usopp began, Kuro stopped laughing again and looked at him insilence. "Even if I can't, I want to protect her. I still want to protect her."Tears began to form in his eyes and his voice began to shake. "I am, after all,the captain of the Usopp Pirates. I am a brave warrior of the seas! I won'tallow you to lay a finger on the villagers!!' He shouted the last sentenceloudly, his voice echoing from the hillsides. "What's wrong with him?" "What'she screaming about?" "Yes, look at him. He's even crying!" the pirates on thebeach said at once again before they started laughing at the one lying on theground. Luffy began to wonder whether they were really pirates or just a bunchof gossips who were just playing pirates. Seriously, they were worse than theones from her home and she found them annoying! On top of that, they also madefun of Usopp, even though she made them cry just a few minutes ago. Theblack-haired man also showed courage! She wasn't blind and when she and Zorroreached the slope she noticed how scared he was. Nevertheless, for the safetyof the village and its residents, whom he loved so much, he did not allowhimself to be dominated by it and risked his life to protect them. She slowlyturned her head towards the cackling crowd. Her eyes were dark and brimmingwith disgust. Zoro's hackles stood up when he saw that look, even though hewould never admit it. But in such moments, the straw hat wearer's otherwisechildish self was completely gone and nothing reminded you that it existed. Sheseemed like a completely different person. She grabbed one of the boulderslying around and hit the spot where the pirates were standing with it. Theyimmediately stopped laughing and jumped to the side in panic before they werekilled. Luffy now stood on the rock and looked down at the shaking heap."What's so funny?!" she asked angrily. Some of the pirates felt like theirhearts would stop when they looked into the black-haired woman's eyes. Some cringedat her gaze and wished they could hide under some rock. "Luffy!" Shelooked over her shoulder. Zoro had thrown Usopp over his shoulder beforecontinuing. "I'll grab Usopp and chase the hypnotist. Anything againstthat?" "No, just go." "I'm sorry," Usopp said to Zoro."It would be quicker if I went alone, but without your help I wouldn't beable to find my way in the forest and find her in time," the green-hairedman replied as he walked past Kuro. "Hey you fools. Who allowed you to pass theslope?" Kuro said coldly. "That would probably be me!" Luffy shouted and lether arm swing out. Kuro moved out of the way but had to make room for the twoyoung men. "Go! Zoro, Usopp!"

Kuro looked at her out of the corner of his eyeas her arm tightened again and she flew towards him, shouting, "Anotherpunch!" Once again Kuro managed to dodge as the straw hat wearer flewpast, stumbling as she struggled to keep her balance. when she landed. Kurowanted to take advantage of that. He appeared behind her, lashed out with onehand and struck. Luffy fell forward and did a kind of handstand with his legsbent. The man wearing glasses looked at her in surprise. He didn't expect suchreflexes. She grinned at him as she pressed her feet together and pulled her legsup. "Gomu Gomu no Yari!"Her feet shot towards Kuro, but he dodged again as her legs continued tostretch. "Damn, he's disappeared again," she cursed. Her legs pulled togetheragain. She used the resulting momentum to get back to her feet from the handstand."Well, at least they got away," she mumbled as she looked aroundbriefly and couldn't see any of the boys. "Before we fight, I'd like toask you something," Kuro said, standing a few feet away from her. "Asan outsider, why did you get yourself involved?" Luffy grinned at himbefore answering, "Because there's one person here that I don't wantdead." "That was simple. However, is it okay with you? Because itwill be the reason for your death!" Luffy looked at him a little offended. Hecan't care less what her reason for all this is. Just because hers was "simple"didn't mean it was stupid! She liked Usopp and that was reason enough for her.She was modest in such things; after all, she didn't know any other way. Noteveryone needed an earth-shattering reason to fight for something, as Kuro himselfprobably thinks. However, her expression quickly brightened again as she beganto grin and replied, "It's fine, but I'm not going to die!" Sheclenched her hand into a fist and looked straight at him. Her eyes were alreadyshimmering with excitement. "Then let me disabuse you!" He kept his claws readyfor the next attack. Luffy grabbed him by his shoulders as he was about to runtowards her and pulled herself towards him, feet first. However, Kuro twistedhis upper body so that Luffy hit the ground before she could even reach him.She let go of him, her arms pulled together again and used them to supportherself on the ground as she shouted: "Gomu Gomu no Muchi!" Kuro jumped over her leg before he landon the ground and she hit again. "Pistol!"Once again the person wearing glasses, who had touched the ground again onlyseconds before, jumped over her blow. The straw hat wearer's eyes widened inshock as Kuro landed on her arm and adjusted his glasses. He crossed his armsover his chest and said, "I'm getting bored." "Youbastard!" What was she supposed to do? At any moment her arm would tightenagain and send the guy straight to her. However, Kuro was already running alongit and towards her. A nasty grin on his face before he kicked the black-hairedwoman in the face and she fell to the ground, moaning. Her straw hat flew offher head. "Damn, my mouth is torn," she muttered as she wiped some of the bloodaway with her hand and knelt on the ground. "This straw hat girl is reallystrong, but..." "T...that's Captain Kuro!" The pirates said onthe beach and watched the action eagerly. They looked at each other for amoment before starting to cheer for Kuro. "Kill her!" "Captain Kuro!" "Cheersto the Captain!" "The great Captain Kuro!" He adjusted his glasses again andlooked angrily at his former crew. "Don't call me that!" he growled. Thepirates fell silent and looked at him somewhat frightened. "You still don't getit, do you? The plan only serves to finally get rid of ''Captain Kuro!'' Luffylooked at him calmly. Was he just saying what she thought he was saying?"I have enough. The days when I planned EVERYTHING for you who only knowhow to cause a ruckus! Enough of the government dogs hunting me for my bounty!I can not stand this anymore!"

And so he began to talk about his plan. The dayhe decided to leave his pirate life behind. How he appointed Jango as the newcaptain and used the Navy's attack to further his plan. How he began toimplement his plan by having Jango hypnotize one of the men into believing hewas Kuro and also a Marine cadet who had survived his massacre, badly injured. Jangosent him to the nearest naval base to execute the Kuro Doppelganger. "...and somy plan will be successful today. I will achieve my goal. I will have money anda peaceful life. Do you finally understand it now, little girl? This plan,which took three years to implement, will not fail! My plans never fail!" Withthat, he brought his claws back into position and ran towards Luffy. Shereached out with her arms and grabbed the boulder with which she had previouslyattacked the pirates. With a scream, she pulled it towards her and slammed itinto the ground in front of her. Just in time, Kuro struck with his right hand.The blades dug into the rock. A vein began to throb in his forehead as he said,"It looks like you can do more than just stretch." He tried to pullhis hand back, but it was stuck and wasen't moveing a millimeter. "Ofcourse, I trained to be a pirate after all!" She tightened her grip on therock. Cracks appeared and a good bit of it crumbled away so she could grip itbetter. With a strong movement to the side, she broke off the blades. Kuro'seyes widened in shock before Luffy, still holding the rock in her arms, saidwith a grin, "You said you couldn't take it anymore? If you're so afraidof the glory of the sea, you're not qualified to be a pirate!" She smashedthe chunk onto Kuro's head. "If you want to compare ambition, mine is muchbigger!!" Kuro lay face down on the ground, holding his head with hisdestroyed clawed hand. "That's impossible!" "Captain Kuro's catclaws..." Luffy's grin widened before she said in an innocent voice:"Are there only five of your strange blades left?" She dropped theboulder between them and looked down at Kuro. He began to stir again."It's all right. He can still fight!" "That's right, he stillhas his other hand. Take out the brat, Captain Kuro!" "Hey, weshouldn't call him that anymore." "I'm sure he's known around here asKlawa- something." "Then let's just call him 'Mr. Klaw'" "Take herdown, Mr. Klaw!" "'Mr. Klaw'!" "You idiots," Kuro growledas he slowly stood up again. Blood flowed from the gash on his forehead. Theveins in his forehead pulsed again. "Shut up!" he shouted, his eyes sparklingwith anger. The pirates immediately fell silent. He slowly got back to his feetas he continued, "I'll finish you off later too." His voice was calmand cold as he held his claws in front of his body. "Of course it will happento Jango too." Luffy listened. He didn't really mean what she thought he meant.No self-respecting captain would do THAT to his crew. Especially when you haveexperienced a lot together! "Why do you want to kill us?" "Don'tjoke like that, Captain Kuro." "We can still attack the village, it'snot too late for that." "By the way, as long as Captain Jango getsthe girl to write the will the plan will be successful!" Kuro adjusted hisglasses, a cocky smile on his lips as he said, "You don't have to worryabout the plan anymore. As long as your bodies are here, I can prove myinnocence." The pirates were frightened. "I never planned for you to leave thisvillage alive. It would only lead to problems. I don't want anyone to find outthat I'm still alive and ruin everything." "That can't beright!" "So you've already planned to kill us?" "Hmm,that's right. I had already planned it three years ago, when I was stillCaptain Kuro. Everything. Everything was planned from the beginning!"

Luffy had her hands on her hips and looked downat the pirates, standing sideways to Kuro as she said, "Are you allstupid? What a stupid pirate crew." "'Stupid' you say? A pirate crew is nothingmore than a bunch of mutts who are incapable of living in civilized society.Without someone to plan everything for them, what can they do? It was always MYplans that they followed. A crew is no further to the captain than pawns at hisdisposal. Whether they live or die is entirely up to me! No matter how big theobstacle is, my plan comes first. They are expected to die in order to fulfillmy plan." He looked at the black-haired woman to see her reaction, but wassurprised that she looked at him without any emotion. Her dark brown eyesseemed to bore into his. He saw no anger, no disgust, no...fear. Not theslightest emotion. Not the realization that he was right. That the pirate lifeis nothing but arduous, tiring and a dream of freedom and adventure. But he hadseen the truth, lived it. The look she gave him only made him angrier. Was shemaking fun of him like that? Did she not take him seriously? He would show her,he would show her like he had already shown the world! He looked at her grimlyas he shouted, "This is the fate of pirates! Don't you dare lecture me, girl!!"His face was twisted into an angry mask and his teeth were clenched. "Evenif a captain like you had thousands of men," Luffy began before looking atKuro with a smile, "you could never win against Usopp!" The pirateson the beach swallowed hard before Kuro growled, "What did you say? Icouldn't take on this wannabe captain?" "That's right." Hestarted laughing. "That's really funny. Don't think too highly of yourself justbecause you disabled one of my hands. How could he surpass me?" He startedmaking this movement with his feet again. "Tell me!" Luffy grinned.She had to admit Kuro was quick. She couldn't see him, but she felt he wasnear. "Control." He had appeared behind her, his remaining claw ready tostrike. His eyes widened. What did the brat mean by that? "What?""You don't know the true meaning of being a pirate!" she shoutedbefore throwing her arm back and twisting slightly. It stretched, hitting Kuroand throwing him against the stone wall. Her arm contracted, causing her bodyto twist and somersault backwards before she stood firmly on the ground again."That brat, she can seriously keep up with the speed of the Nukiashi?!" "Youdare insult me. If you really want to know what a real pirate is like, let meshow you." Kuro looked down as he spoke and brushed the strands of hair fromhis face back into his hairstyle. "How scary...how scary a pirate is whenhe's already been to hell and back countless times!" Luffy wondered whathe was doing as he looked down, his arms hanging in front of his body and hesuddenly started back and forth to sway. "Hey that pose...could it be...?" shesuddenly heard one of the pirates say in fear. "He really wants to useTHAT?" "He only has one opponent, but...there's no doubt about it!It's the Shakushi! He's going to use the Shakushi!" "We shouldn'tjust stand here. Otherwise we'll get caught too!" "Will he kill ustoo?" "Didn't he say that before?!" "Please stop, Captain Kuro!Don't do it! We'll do anything you want!" "Please, Captain Kuro!""What's wrong? Isn't he just swaying back and forth?" murmured theblack-haired woman. Luffy didn't know what this 'Shakushi' was or why thepirates were so panicked, but her instincts told her that it couldn't beanything good. She turned her gaze back to the person wearing glasses. Whateverhe had in mind, she was ready...she hoped.

"Captain Kuro! Captain! Please stop!" But hedidn't seem to listen and even if he did, he didn't seem to care. A breeze wasblowing down the slope when Kuro looked up again. Luffy was surprised. His eyesseemed to show complete absence, as if he were in a trance-like state. "Shakushi!" In the blink of an eye hewas gone. The black-haired woman tensed up. Now the only question was where hewould attack from. Suddenly a scream broke the silence, making her spin around.Her eyes widened as she saw one of the pirates fall dead to the ground beforeanother shouted in panic, "He's here!" "H...how did he getkilled?" she said in horror. That wasn't... Another scream interrupted hertrain of thought as another of the pirates fell to the ground. A noise made herlook to the side. There were five deep furrows that resembled claw marks, andshe was sure they hadn't been there a few seconds ago. "This time it's therock." Another scream from the pirates. What was going on here? That waseven scarier than the scary stories Ace had told her in the past. Like the oneabout the meat thief who came to bandits' hideouts at night and stole all themeat he could find. She hadn't been able to sleep for days and had been lyingin wait to catch the meat thief until Ace told her that he had made it all up.More and more of the pirates fell to the ground. "Please stop this,Captain Kuro!" "It's pointless. He is currently using the Nukiashicompletely blindly. He moves so fast that he doesn't even know WHO he'skilling." "In the past, he's taken out many of our own men with thismove...Ahhhh!" "Hey!" Luffy didn't know what to think, as alwaysmore of the pirates fell to the ground dead or injured. That...that was crazy!She felt her anger rising with every second. She was so focused on the piratesthat she only casually noticed that she herself had been hit. At the top of hercleavage, some hair from her bangs, she didn't care. Her eyes had narrowed. "Show yourself...butler!" She lowered herhead, her eyes were in the shadows. Her vest was torn a little as the claws hither and blood ran from the wounds on her arm. She began to tremble and grit herteeth. The screams of the pirates slowly began to echo in her ears. It becametoo much. She looked up and exploded. "Why are you attacking your own people!"Now Kuro had pushed things too far. Every muscle in her body was tense, readyto strike. The rocks were hit again. Luffy groaned as she was hit in the sideagain. It came from behind, meaning he was now in front of her. She swayed alittle to the side before snapping her arm forward and to grab."AHHHH!" Luffy grabbed her shoulder with her other hand, turned herupper body a little and threw Kuro over it. His back crashed into the ground."Found you," Luffy said happily. Kuro straightened up again. "Youbastard. You should have stood still and let me deal with them. Just look!Because of you, my beloved men are half dead! It would have been more humane tokill them quickly." She looked at him emotionlessly again. "What now? Youlook like you have something to say." Luffy looked to the side, where herstraw hat had been since the start of the fight, before saying, "I willnever...become a person like you." "It's not that you don't wantto..." She looked back at him as he held his claws in front of her face."...it's because you can't. Not with this talent." She still looked at himwithout any emotion, even when the claws were only a few centimeters away fromher face she didn't pay them the slightest attention. Kuro didn't know why, buthe really felt that the girl in front of him was different than any opponent hehad fought up to that day. Everyone who had managed to survive against him upto this point had looked at his blades with concern or even fear. But not her.What made her so different from the others? Was it her devil fruit? Or was shesimply not afraid of death? He didn't show it, but this behavior unsettled hima little. "Besides, you're going to die here anyway," he said, dropping hishand and slowly walking back. "You will feel the agony of being cut into piecesand dying. I will take special care of you." He adjusted his glasses again."I won't hold back while I deal with you." He began to sway again.Luffy knew what he was planning to do and she ran towards him and shouted:"Don't even think about it!" "Shakushi!" She had almost reached him when he disappearedagain. She looked around, sweat running down her face. That was not good. Notat all.

More and more claw marks appeared around her. Onthe slopes and on the ground. She bit her lip and suppressed a groan as she washit in the shoulder. Now it would be a lot harder to catch him if he focusedentirely on the area around her. She remained motionless until her instinctstold her to lean back. Not a second later, Kuro appeared in front of her andpunched her. The two looked into each other's eyes for a moment before theperson wearing glasses disappeared again and reappeared behind her. "Areyou tired?" she asked over her shoulder and turned to him, "TheShakushi just has too many uselessmovements." "Don't get cocky." He pushed his glasses into placewith both hands he grinned at her. Even though he wouldn't admit it, this wasthe most interesting fight he had fought so far. "So far I've only played withyou. You will receive special treatment." He lowered his hands again. "Iwill introduce you to the taste of fear, then I will slowly take care ofyou." He lowered his head and began to sway again. "Shakushi!" Once again Kuro disappeared and his aimless attack beganagain. Well, he disappeared from the eyes of the others, but Luffy had to blinkfirst. Was she just imagining it or was she really just beginning to see him slightlydespite his speed? There was probably only one way to find out. She tried tograb Kuro, but he seemed to have noticed this and avoided her first attempt.However, with her other arm she managed to grab him by the ankle. He fell andbecame visible to everyone again as her arms retreated again. Dust swirled and Kurostood up. Luffy immediately took advantage of this. She wrapped her arms underhis armpits and slightly around his and crossed her legs behind his back. Hisfreedom of movement was now severely restricted. She looked into his eyes andgrinned. "And what now? Was that it?" "Let me go now or I'll flattenyou!" Kuro fanned as he tried to wriggle out of her grip. "Oh yes?Right now it looks like your plan wouldn't be worth a Berry anymore, greatCaptain Kuro." "What did you say?!" he growled. "The rubber girlhas Captain Kuro in a headlock," said one of the pirates on the beach."Maybe we won't get killed IF she wins." The pirates looked at eachother before they started cheering for Luffy: "Finish him, rubber girl!""Kill Captain Kuro!" Luffy gritted her teeth and looked slightly over hershoulder when she heard this. Were they serious!?! First they tried to kill herand her friends and attack the village because Kuro had ordered them to, andnow they were cheering her on just because she was about to defeat their formercaptain, who they still listened to? Where was the loyalty that had broughtthem here in the first place? Well, he had threatened and tried to kill them,but still. Cheering on the enemy just because they were winning? This was thebiggest hypocrisy she had ever encountered in her life, and she hoped no biggerones would come up during her adventure. "I said get down!" she heard the angryKuro. She banged her head against his before saying, "Shut up!" Shesnapped her neck back, putting her at somewhat eye level with the pirates. Thepirates backed away, a little frightened, before she shouted: "YOU have noright to cheer me on!" "Let go of me, you burr!" "Gomu Gomu no..." "My beautifulplan! It can not fail! This can't be happening!" Her head shot forward as Kuroshouted this. "...Kane!"Her skull hit his and he slowly fell to the ground, unconscious. She releasedher legs and arms before catching herself so as not to fall to the ground too.Only then did she notice how her clothes were being arranged. Not only did hervest show claw marks, but so did her pants. Luckily there were only light marksthere otherwise she would have had to throw them away and they are her favoritepants.

The pirates looked at her in shock. They werepretty shocked considering they had been cheering for the black-haired womanjust a few seconds ago. Her hair shadowed her eyes as she stood up again andlooked down at the unconscious man. "It's over," she said quietly. "Shedefeated Captain Kuro. Even the navy couldn't do anything against "Kuro ofthethaosend plans." "But she really defeated him!" Nervousnessspread among the pirates. It was impossible for a normal human to have a chanceagainst Kuro, let alone defeat him. That left the question: What was that girl?One of the pirates gathered his courage and asked the question that was on thetip of their tongues: "Who on earth are you?" She turned slightly tothem. "Portgas D. Luffy. I will never lose against a pirate who denies his nameand flees the sea!", her voice sent a cold shiver down the pirates'spines, "A TRUE pirate would never give up his name, until the last breathhe takes." "Luffy? I'm sure I've never heard that name before.""Remember my name well for the rest of your life!" She turned fullyto them. She grinned at them and her eyes beamed at them in a friendly way."Because I'm the one who will become Pirat King!" "You..."Luffy grabbed Kuro's collar, pulled him up and threw him towards the pirates asshe shouted: "Get out of here and take him with you!" The Pirateslooked confused between her and the one lying on the floor. "Don't you dareever come back!" The pirates didn't need to be told this twice. Panicked, theyturned on their heel and ran toward their ship. Those closest to Kuro grabbedhim and ran after their comrades.

Between the fleeing ones, the black-haired woman spotted a shock of orange hair that made its way to her. It was Nami and she was holding a small bag in her hand. Luffy guessed that this was the thief's spoils. Nami looked at her for a while, Luffy could feel her eyes on her. She tried to fight the oncoming tiredness and lost. She fell forward. However, before she even got close to the stone floor, Nami caught her with her other arm. "Thank you for your hard work." She carefully helped the black-haired woman to lie down on the floor. She lay on her back and looked up at the sky, while Nami stood next to her, one hand on her hip and looking down at her. "Even someone like you is probably exhausted after a fight like that, aren't you?" She sat down next to Luffy with her loot. "Hey, what were you so angry about earlier?" Luffy looked stubbornly at the sky as she answered her: "I can't stand those guys. They are just wrong." Nami gritted her teeth and looked at the sky herself. The clouds passed peacefully as the younger one continued, "Comrades shouldn't be seen this way." The orange-haired woman saw a familiar hat in the corner of her eye and reached for it as she spoke, "What are you talking about? That's how it is. Pirates are not as noble as you dream them to be. Captain Kuro is a prime example of this." Luffy looked at Nami from the side, the corners of her mouth turned down almost noticeably. The black-haired woman had the feeling that Nami's dislike of pirates had a deeper meaning. Maybe a bad experience at a young age? She would like to know, but didn't want to pressure Nami. When she was ready to talk about it, she would be there to listen. She looked up at the sky again and felt her stomach slowly return. "I want meat." Nami rolled her eyes and pushed her straw hat onto the rubber woman's face. Luffy began to fidget as the thief said grumpily, "Why am I not surprised?" However, Luffy couldn't see the small smile that appeared on Nami's lips.

A while later, Zoro and Usopp came back. The heavyweight was leaning against a rock while he sat, his swords placed next to him. Usopp had his hands on his hips as he said, "Thank you. Without you I wouldn't have been able to protect the village." "What are you talking about? If you hadn't risked your own life, I wouldn't have lifted a finger," said Zoro, looking at him from the side with a grin. "Same here," Luffy called from the ground. Nami happily hugged her loot as she said, "None of that matters. I have my treasure now." She almost purred the last part as she rubbed her face against the fabric. The long-nosed man had to laugh. They were quite a friendly bunch. His expression became serious as he looked out to sea. A decision slowly began to form in his heart. "Thanks to this incident, I've finally decided." Surprised, Luffy tilted her head back to see the black-haired man. She suspected what he had decided to do when she looked into his eyes. She knew that expression. From Ace, from Sa...from Sabo and also from her own reflection.

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~ Restaurant ''Meshi'' ~

Once again, Nami, Zoro and Luffy sat in the restaurant and filled their bellies. The straw hat-wearing woman sat contentedly cross-legged on the bench and chewed on a fish bone. "We've had our meal now, so it's time for us to get out of here," said Zoro. He had his arms crossed over his chest and looked at Nami. "Exactly," Luffy said with the fish bone between her teeth. The door to the house opened and a blonde they knew entered. "So here you are," Kaya said. She already looked a lot healthier. She wore an orange dress and a yellow jacket with small black stripes over it. Luffy raised her hand in greeting: "Hi, Kaya." Nami leaned a little to the side so that she could see Kaya as she asked with some concern: "Is it okay for you to get out of bed and walk around?" "Yes , last year my illness was only triggered by my depression over the loss of my parents. Usopp tried so hard to cheer me up. I just can't go on like this anymore," she said, smiling. "I have caused you many problems. Thank you very much." She had spread her arms a little before she continued speaking, "I have prepared a small gift for you. I hope you accept it." The three looked at each other briefly before getting up, paying for the food and following Kaya.

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~ On the north beach ~

A man in a suit stood in front of them. He had a white brim around his neck that reminded one of the wool of a sheep. His hair wasn't any better, it was curly like sheep's wool and just as white. On top of that, two small horns protruded from his hairstyle on his head. However, the man's attention shifted to what was behind him. The three looked impressed at the ship in front of them. "A caravel!" Nami shouted enthusiastically. A was a beautiful little ship. It had a large mast on which the crow's nest was located and a smaller mast at the stern, behind a room that had portholes for windows. The railing was white and had little curlicues at the ends. What was most striking, however, was the figurehead on the bow. It looked like a sheep's head with two horns curved backwards. A cannon protruded from beneath the figure as well as from the side. "Is it really for us?" Luffy asked. She almost couldn't believe that Kaya wanted to give them such a beautiful ship. "Yes, please accept it." "Even though it's a little old-fashioned, I was the one who designed it," said the horn man. Only then did Luffy realize that he had a bandage on his forehead. „The square sail and the lateen sail are part of the steering mechanism. I call her "Going Merry". Let me explain how to sail with her. First: How to make them run and adjust their speed..." Nami stood in front of Luffy with her arms outstretched, cutting the man off before saying, "Ah, no, no! You just need to explain to ME how to steer the ship." The black-haired woman said nothing. Nami was right. Even if she managed to listen to the man without letting her attention wander, she would soon forget it anyway. She walked past Nami and towards her new ship. She had one hand on her straw hat as she said, "That really is a beautiful ship. The figurehead is really cool!" If there was a nice view of the sea when they were sailing? "I've already had everything brought to the ship for your departure." "Thank you. You're sure adding insult to injury, Miss Kaya!" "Try 'adding icing to the cake', moron," said Zoro. Somehow he wasn't surprised that the younger one had made a pledge. A noise made them look towards the path. Usopp came rolling down screaming, literally. He had a huge green backpack on that carried him along like a snow ball. "Usopp!" Kaya shouted in shock. "What is that guy doing?" Luffy asked no one in particular. "I don't know, but we have to stop him otherwise he'll slam into the ship!" said Zoro. Luffy stood next to the green-haired man as Usopp came closer and closer. He had almost reached them when the two of them lifted one foot, Luffy her left, Zoro his right, and thus stopped the out of control. However, at that moment his face was up. "Thank you so much," Usopp's voice came from beneath their feet. "No problem," said the woman wearing the straw hat.

"So you're really setting sail, Usopp?" Kaya asked a little dejectedly after the black-haired man had been relieved of his burden. She and Usopp looked out at the vast sea as she spoke. "Yeah, I should go before I change my mind. Don't try to stop me." "I won't stop you. I had a feeling you would do this." "That's a little disappointing," he said, turning his head to her, "Next time I return to the village I'll tell you much more incredible stories than the previous ones." "I'm looking forward to it." He looked up at the stern of the Merry, where Nami and Luffy were standing ot the railing. "You guys take good care of yourselves too! I'll definitely see you again one day." Luffy looked at him confused. What was he talking about? "Why?" Now Usopp was the one who was confused. "'Why?' You're really slow, aren't you? I'll become a pirate just like you. So it's within the realm of possibility that we'll meet again at sea one day." Zorro had joined us in the meantime and was leaning on the railing a little behind the girls. "What are you talking about?" as he spoke he pointed to the ship, "Hurry up and come on board!" Luffy had put her arms on the railing and was leaning her head on it as she said: "We are already comrades ." The long-nosed man looked at her with his mouth open. Had she just said what he thought he had heard her say? Luffy looked at him with her brown eyes, friendly and inviting. "C...Captain..." he breathed as his suspicions were confirmed. "I am the captain!" he shouted and jumped enthusiastically into the air. "Forget it! I'm captain!" Luffy shouted indignantly. Nami and Zoro couldn't help it and started laughing. The two black-haired teens looked at each other before joining in the laughter. Somehow the young captain had the feeling that her journey would be a lot more fun from now on. After helping Usopp heave his luggage on board, they began to untie the lines and set the sails. The waves hit the wood as they moved further and further away from Gecko. "Come on, that has to be a reason to celebrated. We have a new ship and a new member for our crew!" Luffy says happily. Zoro got one of the barrels on deck and Nami got four jugs from the galley. These were quickly filled and they toasted together. "Cheers!" Luffy had enjoyed such a mood the last time when Shanks was still on Dawn. Sure, there were parties at Dadan from time to time, but they didn't come close to the Red Hair Pirates' parties.            

After a while, Nami put down her mug and becamea little more serious again. "Alright guys, let's set some ground rulesfirst!" The three others looked at each other confused before Nami spokeup. "Firstly: Luffy and I will occupy the cabin!" "What?! Why isthat?!" Usopp protested. "Very easy. On the one hand, the captain alwayshas his own room on his ship and on the other hand, we are girls! Please don'texpect me or her to sleep in the same room as you guys!" Usopp blushed alittle before he began to stammer, "What? No of course not! I mean...Iwould never...could never...would never expect..." Nami raised a hand tosilence him before he went on talking. "Secondly: If we are using the bathroomand one of you just comes in, you can take out your wallet! If it happens forthe first time, I'll see it as a mistake and be merciful with a fine of 20,000berries." Zoro almost spit out his beer in shock, which he had drunk withrelish just a few seconds ago. Usopp wasn't feeling any better. His jaw almostdropped to the floor. "And you call that merciful, you witch?!" Zoro shouted inhorror. Nami looked at him neutrally. "Yes, because if it happens againyou can pay 100,000 berries." "And why don't we just go to thebathroom together?" Luffy asks in surprise. Stunned faces looked at them.Funny now her friends looked just like the bandits when she had the bath talkwith Ace and Dadan. "You're can't be serious?" Usopp asked, hopingthat Luffy was just joking. "Yes, why don't we just bath together?" "Absolutelynot!" Nami shouted angrily, "Didn't anyone teach you that men and women no longerbath together after a certain age?!" "Said yes, but Dadan never told mewhy." Zoro hit his forehead with his hand. How naive and ignorant was she?This could cause some problems in the future. Nami massaged her forehead beforegrabbing Luffy by the wrist and heading towards the cabin. "Anyway, rememberrule number two!" the orange-haired woman called over her shoulder anddisappeared below deck with Luffy.

To get into the cabin the two had to go into the storage room and down a small staircase. The room wasn't too big but was really comfortably furnished. There was a bed, a sofa, a bookshelf, a desk and two strings hanging from the ceiling. Curious as she was, Luffy was about to pull on one of them when Nami began to speak. "We have clarified that this room is ours, but we still have to clarify who gets the bed and who..." "You can have it." The thief looked at the rubber woman in surprise. "Why do you want to give me the bed?" Luffy turned to her and smiled. "I'm just not used to beds anymore. The most comfortable thing I've slept on in the last 10 years was a futon. I also promised myself that when I got a ship I would sleep in a hammock." She turned back to the ropes and pulled on one. A flap in the ceiling opened and down came...a hammock. "How cool!" Nami watched the black-haired woman for a while and bit her lip. Did she have a right to ask her that or would it perhaps be too unpleasant for this childlike mind? She shook her head and asked the question that had been on her mind before they reached Gecko. "Tell me Luffy." The person being addressed turned back to her. "You said your mother died. Didn't you have some kind of foster mother or a woman that you looked up to?" Luffy thought for a moment before answering. "Well there were actually two women who looked after me. One was Makino, she owns the bar in the village where I grew up. She looked after me until I was seven. She was always nice and polite to everyone, but could also be strict if I messed up. Then Gramps took me to Dadan. She is the leader of a gang of mountain bandits who live on Mount Corbo. Shishishi, when I first met her I thought she was a man. It took a while until we understood each other to some extent. Firstly because of an event that had happened to me a while before I arrived there and secondly because of the tasks she wanted to give me. Even though she seems very rude and uninterested, her heart is in the right place." She gave Nami a big smile as she finished. She looked at this for a while. She had to process this information first. But, yes, that could be an explanation for Luffy's behavior. If you grew up with bandits during an important phase of your life, you could probably only end up like Luffy. Nami silently made a decision. She would teach her how to behave as a young woman, even if it made her despair. She would at least try!

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Usopp's arc is finally over and Sanji's is about to begin. *cheers* 

 In case you're wondering where Gaimon (the guy in the box) is. I didn't find his part of the story that relevant, which is why I left it out.

I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time.