Chapter 356: The Duel on Syrup Village’s Hillside

The moment his opponent tried to retreat, Zoro caught his intention. “One Sword Style Iai: Lion Song!”

The One Sword Style “Iai Slash” was a technique Zoro mastered during his fight against Mr. 1, powerful enough to slice through steel.

Among all of Zoro’s techniques, this one was specifically crafted for cutting. With just the word “draw,” its force struck as quick as lightning.

Not only could the enemy not read his movements, he couldn’t even catch the flash of Zoro’s blade.

In the blink of an eye, Zoro brushed past Kuro.

Drip. Drip.

Kuro felt a jolt of pain on his body. He looked down slowly, mouth falling open in disbelief—only to cough up a mouthful of blood. “How did your speed… suddenly get so fast?”

Thud!

Before he could finish, Kuro collapsed to his knees, lifeless.

On the other side, Zoro calmly sheathed his sword and straightened up.

“Meditation really does work,” he murmured.

Zoro had actually come up with this technique on the journey here, while meditating.

After a conversation with Ye Fan, he learned that many masters could attack and move with incredible speed. So Zoro kept searching for a move to counter them, until inspiration struck and he created this just now.

Back when Usopp announced the butler was a pirate, Merry whipped out a stack of pirate wanted posters from who-knows-where.

He compared them one by one and soon matched Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates—a bounty of sixteen million Berries.

“I can’t believe he really was a pirate.”

“I never would’ve guessed, not with the way he acted most days.”

“Miss Kaya, this was my oversight.”

After double-checking the wanted posters, Merry hurried to Kaya’s side and bowed in apology.

It really was his mistake—he’d been the one to recommend this butler, never suspecting he was a pirate. Did he just invite disaster into their home?

He could only hope the family wouldn’t hold this against him.

“It’s alright, Merry. I’m sure you didn’t know he was a pirate either.”

“Let’s just let this matter go.”

With just a couple of sentences, Kaya brushed the incident aside and turned to Usopp. “Usopp, did you come for something today?”

For years, Usopp had always come by to tell Kaya stories from this very novel.

In truth, Kaya had long harbored feelings for him, but Usopp never seemed to pick up on it.

Maybe he did understand, but since he couldn’t promise her anything, he kept his feelings hidden.

“Ah, hehe, well—see, they wanted to buy a ship.” Usopp scratched his head, looking embarrassed. Even knowing their butler was a pirate, he’d brought the group here and stirred up trouble, so he felt a little guilty toward Kaya.

“Oh, so you’re looking to get a ship?”

“To thank you all, I’ve decided to give you one of my ships!”

Merry had actually built a ship himself. But when he finished, Kaya’s parents passed away together, so the ship was never used.

“Usopp, this time there really are pirates.”

The shouts from the trio of kids brought the lively conversation to a stop.

Usopp hurried over, grinning. “Don’t worry, I know—they’re the ones, but they aren’t bad people.”

The boy with the watermelon haircut ran up first, panting for breath, fear in his eyes. “Not them—real pirates! Looks like there’s a hundred of them!”

Ye Fan hadn’t expected that even though they took out Locke early, they still couldn’t avoid a pitched battle with his Black Cat Pirates.

Was this the so-called force of fate at work?

Or maybe everything related to the protagonist gets pulled back on track, fixing itself real fast.

How long had it even been? Ten minutes?

“Alright, old man—let’s make a deal. If we chase off those pirates, you give us the ship as a reward. Sound good?”

“Haha, whether you drive those pirates away or not, the ship’s already yours. No worries.”

With Zoro alone taking down the Black Cat Pirates’ captain, there was no doubt these folks could wipe out the rest. That’s why Merry was so at ease.

It was only because of his confidence in them that Merry could say this without a second thought.

Luffy, reassured, grinned. “Alright, everyone—let’s go get our pirate ship!”

He pulled his hat low and turned to walk toward the shore.

“Since the captain’s made up his mind, let’s get to it,” Zoro said, drawing both his swords and falling in step behind Luffy.

Zoro drew his blades again, sticking close to Luffy.

Luffy and Nami flanked him on either side, following close.

“Count me in! I want to help defend our little island.” Usopp made a bold choice in front of his hometown. Clutching his slingshot, his legs shook, but his resolve was clear.

Kaya watched them heading for the coast and called out from behind, her voice gentle: “Be careful out there!”

Hearing the concern, Luffy turned and waved his hand in the air.

“Merry, they’ll be alright, won’t they?” Kaya asked.

“Don’t worry, Miss. They’re all more than capable.” Merry himself was worried too, but he’d never show it to her. He quickly ushered Kaya back into the manor, half-preparing for the worst.

“…”

“Drifting out at sea is so boring. Why would the captain ever pick this place?”

Dressed in a tailcoat, Jango grumbled as he strolled along the coast.

Nearby, nearly a hundred pirates lounged about—all members of the Black Cat Pirates. For them, this was just a temporary stop—they never dared enter Syrup Village proper.

The reason? To allow Kuro’s plan to run smoothly. He had to use legitimate means to steal Kaya’s fortune.

Normally, they’d be safe here, never discovered. But when Usopp sent the trio of kids back with a warning, Luffy and his friends landed on the island.

And thanks to Usopp leading the group straight to Kaya’s manor, he totally forgot about the trio.

The result? When the kids ran through the village crying ‘pirates are coming,’ nobody believed them.

A little while later, they wandered back to the shore and finally spotted the pirates themselves.

“Are you guys pirates?”

Standing tall and carefree on the hill, Luffy looked down at the crowd of pirates. Hands at his waist, he fixed his gaze on Jango and the others.

“Nani?! What’re people doing here at this hour?”

“First mate, have we been discovered?”

Seeing Luffy and the others appear overhead, the pirates leapt to their feet. One, looking like a minor leader, stepped up to Jango.

“Discovered or not, we can’t let anyone go. No witnesses. Go get them.”

Jango knew full well Captain Kuro hated leaving traces on this island.

They’d sometimes rest up here, but this was the first time anyone found them. To keep their secret safe, they had to silence anyone who saw them. So long as there were no witnesses, it’d be as if they’d never come.

“Should’ve done this in the first place.”

Zoro drew his blade and charged at the group like lightning.

After all his meditation lately, Zoro had dreamed up a whole arsenal of moves, but never got the chance to test them. Now, with this crowd lined up, it was the perfect opportunity.