Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. I only own my OC, Aurora.

Guess who has two thumbs and pumped out another new chapter? THIS GIRL!


Chapter 16

The atmosphere was tense. No one knew what was going to happen next. The Kuro pirates lay defeated and Luffy was trapped under the bow of their ship fast asleep.

And yet… something was off.

Zoro stood at the ready, one sword drawn. "What's going to come out now…"

"Heh heh…" one of the pirates chuckled. "You'll all be killed…"

"COME DOWN, NYABAN BROTHERS!"

The voices rang out again. "Hey! The captain is calling for us!"

"What? They haven't gone to the village yet? Why are they still here?"

"Hey! Look! Everyone has been defeated!"

"That's weird… let's go down and check!"

"Okay! Let's go!"

At that moment, two figures jumped high up in the air, landing just behind where Jango stood.

"Hello, Nyaban Brothers." He greeted.

"Captain, you called for us?"

"What's up?"

With narrowed eyes, Aurora observed the two figures before them. The first was an overweight man. He wore striped pants with a sash and shoes that resembled cat's paws. On his head was a hat that, strangely enough, covered one of his eyes and had cat ears atop it. He wore a cape on his back with a fluffy brim, a shoulder pad on his left arm and gloves that appeared to have claws at the end.

The second man was skinny, a contrast to his companion. He had a hunched back, betraying how big he really was. His hair was green and parted to the side with curls at the end. Cat ears stuck out from the top of his head. He wore a shirt with a bow tie, shorts and the same shoes and gloves his partner had. The one feature that most disturbed Aurora though was his eyes. They were green and cat-like, and his grin did nothing to ease the half-angel's wariness.

"What are they?" Nami wondered.

"Wow… jumping from so high… they're like cats…" Usopp breathed.

'It would certainly explain why they dress the way they do.' Aurora thought.

"Buchi, Sham…" Jango began. "We couldn't pass through this slope because those guys are blocking our way! Now go and destroy them!"

"What?! How can we… Buchi, we can't beat them!" the green-haired one said.

"Yeah! Those guys looks really strong!" the overweight man, Buchi, agreed.

Aurora pursed her lips. Her powers were still roiling inside of her. Something was very wrong. Jango had made a big deal about these two and yet they were acting like cowards.

"What's going on? Aren't they good?" Usopp questioned, voicing Aurora's thoughts.

"I don't know…" Zoro replied.

"They both seem scared…" Nami piped up.

"We're just… the ship's watchmen!" Sham cried.

"Yea!" Buchi agreed. "We don't want to participate in these kinds of battles!"

"SHAM! GO NOW!" Jango ordered.

"Eh!? Why meee!?"

"GO!"

"Okay! I'm going!" he cried, tears leaking from his eyes.

"What's going on?" Nami wondered. "Aren't they supposed to be strong? Why are they making those cowards fight?"

"Prepare to die! My claws are really sharp!"

Zoro held his sword up as Sham charged. "If you don't stop now, I'll attack you!"

"Just you?"

Something in Sham's aura shifted. Aurora could feel her breath catch in her throat at the change. She knew something wasn't right before!

"You can't kill me!"

Zoro saw the change in personality. "What!?"

The two clashed, Zoro straining to keep Sham's claws at bay.

"You must be thinking… that I'm just a coward?" Sham said, sliding back when Zoro pushed him off. "I was just pretending to be a coward. If I didn't, then you wouldn't have left your guard down!"

"So he was just acting scared?!"

Nami jerked. "Zoro!? Your katanas!"

The swordsman patted his right side, taking notice of what Nami meant. "Eh!? Where did they go!"

Aurora whipped her gaze over to Sham, who had Zoro's katanas strapped to his back. "Oh no…"

"You look like you might have a few skills! But you underestimated me, Sham of the Nyaban Brothers! What? Are you missing something? I don't know where they went!"

"There it is!" Jango said.

"Cat burglar." Buchi declared proudly.

'That bastard… stole my katanas!' Zoro thought, both angered and shocked. "Give me back my katanas!"

"Give them back?" Sham drolled. "Isn't your katana already in your hand?"

Aurora's lips thinned. She didn't like how Sham was playing with Zoro. But it wasn't just for that reason. It reminded her of someone who used to do the same with her. He'd play with her, make her misera-

Aurora banished those thoughts from her mind. Now was not the time to be thinking of her past, especially not him.

"Oh right, before the battle starts…" Sham continued to taunt. "I should… get this junk out of the way!"

At that moment, the green-haired pirate threw the katana down the slope. This only served to piss the swordsman off.

"Okay… now that's better."

"Don't treat others' katanas with disrespect!" Zoro roared, charging at the Nyaban Brother and slicing right through him.

"Wow, powerful!" Usopp raved.

"Damn it!" Zoro grunted, reaching for his discarded katanas. "How could he treat my katanas like this!"

From the corner of her eye, Aurora saw movement. Knowing it wasn't Zoro that left only one other person. Eyes wide in distress, the woman called out to her crewmate. "Zoro, behind you!"

The warning came too late.

"Did you think you actually cut me just now?" Sham pounced on the swordsman's back, grabbing hold of both his arms. "Too bad… I have a very thin waist!"

"What?!"

"That guy… he's actually very thin!" Usopp realized.

"Go, Buchi!" Sham called out. "It's your turn!"

"Okay! Got it, Sham!"

As Zoro was forced down, Aurora clenched her fists, her wings stretching out behind her. 'I have to time this right!'

"Cat technique! Buchi's…" the man jumped high in the air, raising his leg.

Nami screamed "Look out!"

'NOW!'

Aurora surged forward, ramming her shoulder into Sham. The force of the attack caused Sham to tumble off of Zoro, allowing the swordsman to roll out of harm's way.

"DROP KICK!"

Landing next to her fellow crewmate, Aurora tried not to gape at the large crack that Buchi had created in the ground.

"Damn! He got away!"

"You should hold him down properly, Sham!" Buchi berated.

"Sorry, sorry! But I wasn't expecting that bird woman to attack!"

Aurora felt her eye twitch. 'Did he just call me a bird woman?'

Huffing next to her, Zoro eyed their opponents. 'That was close! It'll be no joke if I get hit by him! Even my bones would be shattered!'

"This time I won't let him escape! And I'll be sure to clip that little birdie's wings!"

"Of course!"

"I'm not used to fighting with only one katana, but I have no choice." Zoro muttered, holding his sole weapon up.

Aurora leant closer to her companion, speaking in hushed tones. "If you can keep them distracted, I might be able to fly over and retrieve your katanas. Think you can do that?"

Zoro glanced at the half-angel. "Might be hard now that you've made yourself a target."

"We have to try."

"Let's do it, Buchi!"

"Give it to em, Sham!"

The Nyaban Brothers charged. "CAT ATTACK!"

Placing himself in front of the half-angel, Zoro took the brunt of the attack. As the brothers continued to try and scratch the swordsman with their claws, Aurora took flight, heading for the two katana that lay abandoned.

"Eat this!" a voice cried out. "NAMARIIBOSHI!"

"UGH!"

Aurora stuttered to a halt, recognizing the voice in distress. Turning back to the fight, Aurora could only watch as the Nyaban Brothers finally landed a hit on the swordsman.

"UWAHH!"

"How could you hit him!?" Nami roared.

"He… he deliberately blocked it with his body!" Usopp realized.

"What is he doing?" Aurora wondered, her mission temporarily forgotten.

"Usopp, baka! Do you wanna die!?"

"Huh?!"

"He's protecting him!" Aurora realized. "If Usopp had hit those two they might have changed target and attacked them."

So distracted by the fight and battling the urge to find a way to heal Zoro from afar, Aurora almost missed the figure dashing past her.

"Hey!" Usopp cried.

Zoro noticed as well. "What's she doing?!"

"If only I can pass him the katanas!"

Nami was so focused on the katanas, she didn't notice the figure moving towards her… but Aurora did. Taking flight once more, the half-angel stayed low, grabbing the navigator around the waist. The berry-haired teen cried out in pain, feeling a sharp object slice through her shoulder. She plummeted to the ground, both her and Nami rolling to a stop.

"Aurora!"

The navigator crawled over to the half-angel, sending a glare over her shoulder at Jango, who had been the one behind the attack. Aurora grit her teeth, placing a glowing hand over her shoulder.

Nami propped the girl up, letting the berry-haired teen lean against her side. "Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine." Aurora reassured the orange-haired teen, allowing her wings to disappear. "I just need a few minutes to heal myself."

Nami nodded in understanding. "Okay… but how exactly are you doi-"

She paused when Aurora's form tensed next to her. Following the half-angel's gaze, Nami could see that Jango and the Nyaban Brothers had frozen as well.

"I… I… I can explain!" Jango stuttered.

The other pirates began to rouse, taking note of the figure at the top of the slope. "Cap… Cap… Captain… Kuro!"

"We… We're done for!"

"It's him." Aurora muttered. "The man with the dark aura…"

"Dark aura?" Nami repeated. "What do you mean?"

"I promise I'll tell you, but now's not the time."

Kuro began to speak. "It has been pretty long since dawn. I was wondering why the plan wasn't carried out… WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!"

All was silent. Nobody dared to answer lest they incur the man's wrath further.

"I didn't expect you to be held up by these kids… the Kuro pirate fleet has been reduced to a truly sad state… isn't that right, Jango?!"

"But… but…" Jango stuttered. "That day, you said that we could let that kid go… cause he couldn't affect our plans!"

"Yes, I did say that…" Kuro agreed. "So what?! He indeed still cannot affect our plans. I expected that he would come after us… I just didn't expect your uselessness! I don't want any more excuses!"

"You said we're useless?!" Sham spoke up.

"Don't look down on us, Captain Kuro…"

Sham spoke again. "Indeed, you were very powerful. But that's in the past…"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Hey!" Jango called out. "Shut up, Buchi! Sham!"

"That was three years ago! You've been pampering yourself in this village! But we've never stopped our attacks!"

"We've attacked quite a lot of villages… and sank many ships!" Buchi chimed in.

"Are they rebelling?" Aurora wondered, watching the Nyaban Brothers closely. She shifted against Nami, her wound nearly healed. The navigator glanced at her companion, silently wondering the same thing.

"We won't all ourselves to be killed… for a stupid reason like "a failed plan"!"

"You've been inactive for three years! Do you think you can still beat us, the "Nyaban Brothers"?!"

"That's true…" one of the Kuro pirates agreed.

"If those two gang up, even Captain Jango can't beat them…"

"It's a fact that they are our strongest team…"

Kuro pushed his glasses up with the palm of his hand, not seeming to be worried.

The Nyaban Brothers charged. "You're no longer our Captain! Instead of being killed by you silently, we might as well kill you first!"

The duo sliced in the man's direction, but only made contact with the bag he had been holding.

Kuro spoke up from behind them. "Who did you say… you were going to kill?"

"When did he get behind them?!" Usopp gaped.

"Ah… it's… it's the "Silent Step"!"

"What a weird looking weapon…" Zoro observed.

It was true. Kuro had a glove on each hand with katana blades extending from the end of each finger. Aurora could agree with Zoro that it was a strange weapon. It was unlike anything she'd seen before.

"He's behind us?!" the brothers cried, turning around. "Huh? Dis… disappeared!?"

An arm came around the necks of both men. "You're right… I really don't feel too active." Kuro positioned a blade against each man's neck. "You're also right, that I'm no longer your captain… I am only the "client" in this plan! A client who will kill if the plan fails!"

"This is the first time I've seen the Nyaban Brothers get caught!" one of the Kuro pirates chimed.

"Even though he does have swords on his hands, the Nyaban Brothers who can take on Zoro are just like babies in his hands!" Nami observed.

"What are you still hoping for…?" Jango questioned. "His "Silent Step"… is a soundless moving technique. Even if he faces 50 assassins, he can still kill them all silently… we can't escape from his plans. Plus… when I met up with him, he sent a shiver down my spine when I saw that he still kept that "habit". In order to avoid scratching himself with his "Cat's Claws"… he picked up that habit of pushing his glasses up… this proves that he hasn't forgotten how to fight!"

Kuro's blades began to puncture the Nyaban Brothers necks. "After three quiet years… it seems that I've become more generous… I give you five minutes. If you can't settle this in five minutes… none will escape my wrath. I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!"

"I DON"T WANNA DIE!" the Kuro pirates shrieked.

Zoro grunted. "Ugh…"

"Damn it!" Usopp cursed. "We actually let this guy stay in our village for three years?!"

"Five minutes!?" Jango cried out. "With five minutes, we can settle this!" The hypnotist zeroed in on Zoro. "HIM! WE CAN FINISH HIM OFF! WE CAN GET UP THE SLOPE!"

"That's right!" Buchi agreed. "He was no match for us just now!"

"No problem!" Sham also agreed. "We can take care of him in five seconds!"

Nudging the navigator, Aurora nodded her head in the direction of the swordsman's katanas. Getting the silent message, Nami ran towards the weapons, kicking them in Zoro's direction.

"Zoro! Your katanas!"

"Stupid girll!" Zoro griped. "How dare you kick my katanas!"

Nami merely smiled. "So how are you going to repay me?"

"Thanks!" Zoro responded, taking hold of his weapons.

"SHYAAAAAA!"

"STOP DREAMING! EVEN WITH THREE SWORDS, YOU'RE STILL NO MATCH FOR US!"

"You don't know the difference…" Zoro began, placing one katana in his mouth. "Between "using three swords" and "using three swords style"!"

"Nyaban Brothers!" the Kuro pirates cheered. "We're counting on you! Finish them off within these 5 minutes!"

Zoro held his katanas at the ready. " Tora… GARI!"

With that one move, the Nyaban Brothers went flying. Both landed on their backs, seemingly defeated in one blow.

"WITH… WITH ONLY ONE SLASH! THE NYABAN BROTHERS ARE…"

Zoro pointed a katana at Kuro. "Don't worry… within five minutes, I'll… kill all of you! With no exceptions!"

Kuro pushed his glasses up. "Let's see you try it."

"Hah… hah…" came a cough. "That guy… damn him… I… I will kill him!"

Whipping her head in the direction of the voice, Aurora found that Buchi wasn't as defeated as first thought. The man was injured, but he still had the strength to get back up.

"Cap… Captain! Captain Jango! Hypnotize me!"

"He's still alive!" Kuro commented. "You were too nice…"

'Must be because his blubber is too thick…' Zoro thought. The swordsman's eyes widened in shock when Buchi got to his feet, acting as if he'd never been hurt. "It's… it's hypnotism again?"

"UWAAAAH!"

'This guy is troublesome!' Zoro thought in alarm. 'He could crack the ground so easily before… what will happen after he's powered up?!'

At that moment, as everyone was distracted, Nami took off to wake Luffy. 'This is my chance! I have to go and wake him up! Really! How can he still be sleeping when we're in grave danger!'

"What do you think you're doing, sly little girl!" Jango growled, throwing one of his hypnotist rings. "DIE!"

"Everyone is fighting with wounds and this guy just sleeps!" Nami ranted, stomping on Luffy's head. "WAKE UP!"

"NAMI!" Zoro cried. "LOOK OUT! DUCK!"

"I'll split you into two!"

"That's… a blade!" Usopp realized. "Not just an ordinary pendulum for hypnotism!"

"Was that you, Nami!?" a familiar voice growled. "How dare you step on my face…"

A figure appeared before the two, giant white wings blocking their view of the battleground before them. The blade Jango had thrown fell harmlessly to the ground, bouncing off a glowing yellow shield that surrounded the group.

'If I'd been a second later, that blade would have embedded itself in the back of Luffy's head!' Aurora thought, glad she'd made it to the duo in time.

The half-angel could feel everyone's eye on her, some of the pirates muttering to themselves about what had just happened. It made sense that they were shocked. They'd probably never seen a being like Aurora before, or with powers like hers.

Lowering the shield, Aurora knelt down next to her companions. "Sorry about that. I was almost too late."

Nami said nothing at first, trying to contain her shock. "… That was way too close. Good thing you jumped in when you did, Aurora."

The teen gave the navigator a wry smile. "You forgot I could make shields, didn't you?"

Nami rubbed the back of her neck. "It has been a while since you last did that."

"AH!" Jango's voice rang out. "That kid is still alive!"

"It's him?!" Kuro breathed. 'I thought he fell of the cliff and died?!'

Luffy growled, finally getting up from his place on the ground. "GRRRR…"

"IMPOSSIBLE! HE'S STILL STANDING!"

Zoro let out a chuckle. "He's really something…"

"That… HURTS!" Luffy roared.

"We're doomed! Now it will be impossible to finish them off in 5 minutes!" the Kuro pirates whimpered.

"That really hurt!" Luffy shouted, getting right in Nami's face.

"Sorry!" she apologized. "But I had to wake you somehow!"

Luffy glanced at Aurora, who was still kneeling on the ground. He took note of the way she still clutched her shoulder and the blood on her shirt. "Your shoulder's injured?"

Aurora gave her captain a small smile, Nami kneeling down next to the half-angel to check her wound. "I'm alright… we've done our best, the rest is up to you!"

Nami agreed. "This is a battle that we definitely… CANNOT LOSE!"

Luffy smiled at the navigator. "You…"

"I'm doing it for the treasure!"

Aurora felt her eye twitch as Luffy placed his hat back atop his head. "Treasure shouldn't matter…"

The rubber man faced his opponents, finally ready for battle once more. "Heh… even the evil butler is here…"

"In three more minutes, all of you will be dead." Kuro reminded the group.

"What? There's no hope left! Even though we have Captain Jango and Buchi-san, but only three more minutes! HOW CAN WE FINISH OFF THESE PEOPLE!?"

"Buchi! We don't have anymore time! You go and kill the guy with the stomach band! I'll deal wit the straw hat kid!" Jango ordered.

"KLAHADORE! STOP IT!"

Everyone jerked their gazes to the top of the slope.

"Kaya!" Usopp shouted out in alarm. "Why… why are you here?!"

"Oh! Isn't that the Ojousama of the mansion?! She's the target of the mission!" Jango realized.

The Kuro pirates began to talk amongst themselves. "Then… we don't have to go to the village?!"

"If we can just kill her now…"

Kuro pushed his glasses back up. "You surprised me… ojousama… what are you doing here?"

"Merry told me everything."

"Oh? He didn't die?" Kuro asked. "I didn't… show any mercy to him…"

Kaya froze. 'No! He really… isn't the Klahadore I know!' The girl clenched her fists. "I'm really sorry… Usopp-san! Maybe you can't forgive me so easily, but… I… really can't believe… that Klahadore is a pirate!"

"Never mind that!" Usopp reassured Kaya. "Why are you here?! Didn't I tell you to run away?! These pirates are after your life!"

"Aren't you fighting as well?!" Kaya countered. "We treated you so badly… and yet, you're here fighting, even with those wounds…"

"We're different! I… I'm a brave warrior of…"

Kaya cut Usopp off. "Klahadore! If you want my money, I will give it all to you! Please leave the village!"

Kuro smirked. "You're wrong Ojousama… it's not the money I'm after… I also want "Peace of Mind". I spent three years here to gain the villager's trust. I feel at peach here. Only when I have obtained "peace" and "money"… will my plans be complete. That's why having my crew attack the village, and making you leave a will at your death is essential."

"Kaya, run!" Usopp cried. "Don't bother negotiating with him! He's no longer the butler you knew!"

What Kaya did next threw everyone for a loop. The sickly girl pulled a gun on Kuro.

"LEAVE THIS VILLAGE!"

"So…" Kuro began. "You've become stronger in these years… do you still remember? A lot has happened in the last three years. Since your parents passed away, we've been together for quite some time. We took boat rides together… went to town together… when you're down with a fever, I always stayed by you to take care of you. We've shared our troubles, and our joy… I've served your tirelessly! I suffered taking care of this nosy little ojousama… I suffered waiting for so long. All this is so that… I CAN KILL YOU TODAY!"

Tears began to stream down Kaya's face as Usopp growled at Kuro. "Bastard!"

"I was a captain in the past… and I had to serve such a young, naïve little girl obsequiously… deliberately to make her like me. Can you understand how demeaning my days have been?!"

"AGRHH!" Usopp charged at Kuro in anger, fist raised.

Kaya lost her grip on the gun, dissolving into tears. 'Usopp-san!?'

"Usopp-kun… now that I think of it, I…" Kuro twisted out of Usopp's path. "Still haven't thanked you for that punch you gave me last time… you hit me really hard!"

Just as Kuro was about to attack Usopp, an elongated arm shot out and punched him square in the face.

"Wha… what?!" Jango screeched. "Captain Kuro got knocked down?!"

Luffy had a grin on his face as his arm snapped back towards his body. "If you really hate being hit… I must make sure I hit you a few hundred more times!"

"What happened? How did he knock Captain Kuro down… from that position?!"

Even from this distance, Aurora could feel the anger seeping from Kuro's aura. Luffy had really pissed him off now.

"HERE'S OUR CHANCE!"

Usopp and Kaya gazed in alarm as Carrot, Pepper and Onion came charging from the treeline towards Kuro.

"You ingrate butler!"

"Die, you bastard!"

"Here comes Usopp's pirate group!"

"How did you all…" Usopp started.

Kaya cried out. "You can't come here!"

The three boys paid no heed, whacking Kuro with their weapons of choice.

"Hit him, hit him, hit him!"

"You damn pirate! Trying to disrupt the peach of our village!"

"Die, bastard!"

The Kuro pirates were freaking out. "Wah! What the hell are those kids doing?!"

"Stop it, all of you!" Usopp commanded. "Stop it!"

"What are those kids trying to do?" Zoro griped.

"Ok!" Carrot agreed. "We'll have mercy on him… our captain was really fighting!"

"Why didn't you tell us?!" Pepper whined. "That's disloyal!"

"Wrong!" Onion disagreed. "It should be dishonest!"

"It doesn't matter if it's disloyal or dishonest!" Usopp roared. "Just get out of here! RUN AWAY!"

"We won't leave you, captain!" Carrot vowed.

"Yeah!" Pepper agreed. "We wanna fight too!"

"If we run, we'll ruin the reputation of the Usopp Pirate Group!"

From behind the trio, Kuro had risen. The man pushed his glasses up his nose, the glass falling from the frames.

"WAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Idiots, run!" Usopp shouted.

Kuro paid no heed to the boys, continuing forward.

"Wha… what? Didn't he see us?"

As Kuro continued forward, he paused, leg lashing out to kick Usopp down the slope.

The boys cried out. "Captain!"

"I'm a bit curious… that was quite an odd attack you just used." Kuro commented. "Looks like you possess the power of the Devil's Fruit!"

"Yup!" Luffy replied. "I ate a Gomu Gomu Fruit! And I've become a rubberman!"

Luffy's response caused an uproar among the Kuro pirates. It gave them more reason to fear the boy.

"So, rubberman, then the stretch arm… wasn't an illusion." Jango realized. "But he can still stand up… after having the ship's bow land atop him. That's incredible!"

"JANGO!"

"Yes… yes!" he stuttered.

"I will take care of this kid!" Kuro declared. "You take care of Kaya ojousama… make her write her will, and then… KILL HER!" Kuro glanced back the the three children. "And also… those three puny ants… they irritate me."

"Got it."

"Stop!" Zoro ordered, extending a katana out to the side. "I won't let you… get through me!"

"BUCHI!"

The man responded to the call of his name, charging forward. "Cat technique…"

Zoro tensed. "Oh no! That again?!"

"FLYING DROP KICK!"

Zoro managed to dodge Buchi's attack once more, but the results were intimidating. Compared to before, Buchi had created a much larger crack in the ground, bits of rock flying everywhere. The attack was so powerful that it fissured into the Cliffside, decimating it.

"Damn! He's even more powerful than before!"

Kuro sighed. "Idiot… he can't even control his own strength…"

"So powerful!" Luffy gaped. "Who is he?!"

Aurora's teeth bit into her lower lip, worry clouding her gaze as she could only watch the fight Zoro was in. 'He's so strong and fast now. I don't know if I could get a shield up in time to protect Zoro or if it would even hold.'

Buchi charged at the swordsman, knocking him into the rock wall. Zoro held the man at bay, his sword countering Buchi's claws and his foot pressing against Buchi's face.

The green-haired swordsman smirked. "You lost to me before. Don't… get in my way!"

Zoro shoved the man away with his foot, but the damage had been done. Jango had managed to get past the swordsman in that time.

'Damn! I feel dizzy, I can't get up! But I must stop the enemies!' Usopp thought. "USOPP PIRATE GROUP!"

"Yes, Captain!" they replied.

"I… I told you… we won't run!"

"Captain, you're badly injured! We can't just run away!"

"We will destroy your enemies!"

"PROTECT KAYA!"

The girl in question gazed in shock. "Usopp-san…"

"I'm giving you the most important task! Take Kaya away from here safely!" he ordered. "You musn't refuse! This is the captain's order!"

"YES, CAPTAIN!"

"Idiots!" Jango growled. "You can't escape!"

Zoro shook his head. 'He puts it nicely… but basically, he's just telling them to run away.'

"Kaya-san, run!"

"Go in the forest! We know it really well!"

Jango began twirling his blades around his fingers. "Where can you run to?!"

"SPECIAL TECHNIQUE, NAMARIIBOSHI!"

Jango fell to the ground as Usopp's attack hit, Kaya and the boys able to get a head start.

"Heh heh! Serves you right!" Usopp cheered from his spot on the ground.

"You… you bastard!"

"Jango, quick! After them!" Kuro ordered.

"O… okay!"

"Kaya-san, this way!"

"It's no use, I know very well how weak Kaya is… they'll never be able to outrun Jango!" Kuro taunted. "If you want to help them, you can go. That is… if you can get through this slope alive!"

"Damn!" Usopp growled. "This situation's really bad!"

"Usopp!"

He paused, glancing over at Luffy and Zoro. The two had determined looks on their faces and were ready to go.

"Leave this to us!"