Chapter 355: The Pirate’s Deception at the Manor

“Don’t underestimate me, you guys.”

“Swoosh!”

Usopp, startled by Zoro’s fierce expression, instinctively released the grip on his slingshot.

A pebble shot swiftly in their direction.

“Not good! Dodge, quick!”

Honestly, Luffy and his crew hardly looked like pirates, so Usopp really just wanted to scare them off.

Besides, he’d never been in a real fight before, so this kind of situation made him a bit nervous.

“Oh, this is pretty interesting.”

*Clang!*

With a single swipe, Zoro sliced the incoming pebble clean in half.

And as he heard Usopp crying out to watch out, Zoro realized this guy probably wasn’t a bad person after all and let his guard down.

“Hey, do you know where we can buy a boat?”

“We came to this island just to buy a small ship. That big one behind us is really too much.”

Hearing what Luffy said, Usopp finally dropped his guard and ran down from the hillside.

“You’re really here to buy a boat?”

Luffy smiled. “Yeah, of course! We’re just missing a pirate ship to set out to sea!”

“Since you’re here to buy a boat, then follow me. But don’t cause any trouble on this island, all right? I’ll have you know—I’m a great pirate with 8,000 men under me.”

Usopp kept up a tough front, but everyone could tell his so-called 8,000 men were mostly hot air.

That’s the weird thing about the pirate world. Sometimes just meeting a person a few times is enough to see who’s good-hearted and who’s not.

With Usopp—a local—guiding them, the crew quickly reached a manor halfway up the mountain.

“Kaya! I’m here to visit you!”

“Sorry, Miss Kaya isn’t feeling well and can’t receive visitors at the moment.”

“If I may ask, what brings you here today?”

Disguised as the butler, Kuro adjusted his glasses in an odd motion as he looked at Luffy and the group standing before him.

With his careful plotting, Kaya’s fortune would soon be his. So, he couldn’t allow anyone to mess things up now—he had to nip any trouble in the bud.

“They’re just here to buy a ship, and the only place that has ships around here is right here at your estate.”

Usopp answered honestly. At this point, he only knew the butler didn’t like him visiting Kaya so often but had no clue Kuro was a pirate in disguise.

Kuro, quietly sizing up Luffy’s crew, frowned slightly when he heard their purpose and spoke quickly.

“If you want to buy a ship, go somewhere else. The ones here aren’t for sale.”

“What? How come?”

“Don’t you have ships here? Just sell us one!”

Luffy looked annoyed. He thought they could just buy a ship here, but this butler turned out to be so unreasonable.

Still, Luffy wasn’t the type to snatch what he wanted by force. After a quick complaint, he turned to leave.

“Oh, I recognize you! You’re that… What was it? Good Friend Ice Parlor?”

Hearing Ye Fan’s voice, Kuro instantly panicked, suspecting his identity was about to be exposed. A touch of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

That tiny detail didn’t escape Zoro, who put a hand casually on the hilt at his waist.

“Wait, Ye Fan—you know him?”

“If you two are acquaintances, could you talk him into selling us a boat?”

Luffy was still a bit naive. Right now, he wasn’t the Luffy from two and a half years later—he hadn’t experienced all the world’s trickery and hardships yet. He was still pretty innocent.

Ye Fan knew it was time to drop the act. His playful smile vanished as he said solemnly, “Kuro—the former captain of the Black Cat Pirates. You came here to steal someone’s fortune, didn’t you?”

As soon as Ye Fan exposed the butler as a pirate, Zoro drew both swords from his waist.

Nami, on the other hand, scrunched up her nose in disgust. “He’s a pirate too?” she muttered.

Ye Fan’s words left everyone in shock—but no one was more stunned than Usopp. “What? He’s really a pirate?”

“He’s been working as the butler here for three years!”

Usopp never thought he’d been so close to a real pirate. He always talked about going to sea and becoming a pirate like his father, but he’d never managed to leave this island. Maybe it was just because he was too timid inside.

He’d grown up alone with his mother, and his father was as good as gone.

Ever since he was a kid, the neighborhood kids shunned and excluded him, calling him an unwanted child. But somehow, he still managed to keep a good heart. That was a miracle in itself.

“So, you found out?”

“I thought I hid myself pretty well. How did you see through me?”

Kuro clasped his hands behind his back. When he brought them forward again, each finger wore a deadly steel claw, ten centimeters long. His eyes grew colder, and a chilling killing aura swept through him.

“Uh… sorry. I was bluffing! Honestly, I had no idea you were Kuro—just thought you looked a little familiar.” Ye Fan scratched his head awkwardly, as if apologizing for getting it wrong.

“You—!”

Kuro was furious, feeling completely played.

His anger lasted only a second before he returned to his gentle, polite look. But if you ignored the steel claws on his hands… “As long as I get rid of you all, nobody will ever know my secret.”

“Silent Step!”

Kuro vanished from sight, his form flickering around the group at blinding speed.

“Leave this to me, Captain.”

Zoro took the initiative, drawing both swords and stepping in front of the group.

Days spent drifting on the open sea had left him bored out of his mind—no training, no sparring, nothing. Now, finally, he had an opponent, and it was a perfect opportunity to cut loose.

During the voyage, Ye Fan had secretly given the crew some Great Revitalizing Pill powder, and Zoro could clearly feel his stamina had increased by a third. That was a massive boost for him.

Maybe Silent Step used to be quick, but now—at his new strength—it didn’t seem all that special to Zoro.

“Got you!”

“Two-Sword Style: Second Slash!”

The principle behind this technique was to minimize the gaps between attacks, unleashing a high-speed barrage of strikes.

It was made for opponents like Kuro, who moved so fast.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

The two clashed fiercely. Sparks flew in the air, and Zoro matched Kuro move for move with his own swift footwork.

“Usopp, what are you doing here?”

The sounds of their battle startled Kaya from her rest.

She came out, led by the real butler, Merry.

“Kaya, stay back! That new butler is a pirate—it’s too dangerous to come over!”

Kuro heard Usopp’s shout and finally spotted Kaya coming out.

Take the leader to seize the treasure. Kuro’s true goal was Kaya’s fortune. Now that his cover was blown, he wasn’t about to play nice anymore.