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Chapter 10: Kuro and Klah
Chapter 10: Kuro and Klah
The same patrol ship. The same crew. The same bearded Kas barking orders on the deck as navy soldiers drilled.
Inside the office, Kuro slouched in his chair, utterly dejected.
Why? How did it come to this?
"Don’t be so gloomy", Lida chirped, holding out a bag of potato chips. "I’ll share my snacks with you!"
Kuro, clad in a black fur-lined coat emblazoned with the word "Justice" across his back, wore black slacks that hugged his legs and a messy middle-parted hairstyle that framed his sharp but lifeless face. His recent promotion to Ensign meant no cape, but at least he’d escaped the standard navy uniform.
"That’s my money buying those!" Kuro glared. "I asked for survival advice, not to fund your snack habit!"
"You’d let your little sister starve?" Lida batted her lashes.
"You’d let my wallet starve!" Kuro snapped. "You’ve been here days and already eaten through my savings!"
"You said to eat until I’m full! And you never actually got me into the navy", she pouted.
He had a point. Kuro had planned to expose her as a Devil Fruit user to recruit her under his command, but the opportunity slipped away. Now she mooched off him, devouring his hard-earned cash with her bottomless appetite.
"I’ll recommend you to headquarters", Kuro growled. "If I don’t survive, you’ll earn your fame dragging through hell with those perverted carnage types!"
"I’m sticking with you, big brother~", Lida simpered. "Would you really abandon your poor little me?"
"Cut the act", Kuro scoffed, though he sighed. "Just eat less at sea. You’ll stuff yourself silly at Baratie."
Their branch base lacked a Grand Line-capable ship. They’d proceed to Loguetown first, then borrow a specialized vessel and Log Pose from there to reach headquarters. Kas’ crew would only escort them as far as Loguetown.
Good riddance to this self-willed hothead.
Boom!
Gunfire echoed outside. Moments later, Kas barged in.
"Report! We’ve encountered the Black Cat Pirates! Ordered artillery fire!"
Black Cat Pirates? Kuro frowned. That was Klah’s crew.
Since Klah’s arrest by Mongar years ago, the Black Cat Pirates had gone quiet. But they still packed a punch.
Zangao the Hypnotist—nine million bounty. The Catman Brothers—seven million each. And Klah, still alive at sixteen million. A total bounty of thirty-nine million Beri. A major threat in the East Blue.
Could it be Luffy hasn’t met Usopp yet? Did I intercept the Black Cat Pirates instead?
Kuro grabbed his cutlass and ran topside. A navy handed him a spyglass. Peering through, he saw no wanted bounty hunters—just a skeleton crew scrambling.
The warship’s cannons tore into the pirates’ decrepit vessel. A mast shattered. The hull split open. The ship limped.
"Captain! Captain!" A panicked pirate burst into the cabin.
"Quiet", the seated figure intoned. Klah reclined in his captain’s coat, hair perfectly combed, round glasses perched—a picture of calm. "I’ll handle it. Leave."
The pirate stammered but fled under Klah’s icy glare. Klah adjusted his glasses, unmoved by the chaos.
"Let the navy take me", he murmured. "I’m done. Tired of piracy. Tired of fighting."
Three years of schemes undone by Luffy’s meddling. He’d had enough.
Boom!
A cannonball shattered the cabin. Klah flew across the deck.
His serenity shattered.
"Navy!" Klah roared, snapping open his briefcase. Ten curved blades—cat claws—glinted as he sheathed them. "You brought this on yourselves!"
"Klah?" Kuro’s spyglass captured the moment.
Another cannonball. Klah’s claws sliced it apart mid-air. He leapt onto the rail, ready to slaughter the navy boarding party.
"Trouble." Kuro glared at Kas. The bearded fool ignored his rule—no unnecessary engagements. If Klah boarded, bloodshed was inevitable.
No choice.
"I’m going over!"
As the warship closed in, Kuro’s figure hurtled from the deck, landing on the pirate ship.
A navy officer alone? Braver than I thought.
"Die first!" Klah vanished in a blur, reappearing behind Kuro with a claw strike.
"Save the dramatics, Klah."
The expected carnage didn’t come. Instead, Kuro’s voice cut through the air.
Klah turned, stunned to see the navy officer standing calm beside him.
He survived my attack? But I was declared dead years ago—
"Wrong answer." Kuro’s blade flashed.
"Single Sword Style."
A sudden gust swept the deck. Pirates caught in the wind lost all fight, dropping like flies.
Klah froze, his claws inches from Kuro’s throat, sweat beading his brow.
What is this pressure?
The blade’s descent felt like a tidal wave, stealing his breath. He’d lose. Die.
"Now can we talk?" Kuro sheathed his sword, grinning. "Straight offer: Join the navy, Klah. I need your mind."
This was Klah. Master of schemes. Three years of patience to topple a town’s petty tyrant. Now weary of piracy, yearning for peace.
Same dream.
Lida’s gluttony was a liability. He needed a strategist.
This man—Kuro would have him.
...
...
This recommendation ticket, collection, and chapter comments—I must have them!
(End of Chapter)
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