Bombs Away!

by Vgn Golley

Growing up on Gaimon's island, Willis D. Asher had wished nothing more than to leave and explore the world as a pirate, and his wish came true when the straw hats showed up and offered him to join their crew. Now watch as he becomes the new bodyguard and later Vice Captain for the Straw Hat Pirates! (Currently at the Clockwork Island One Piece Movie)

3. Final Showdown with Captain Kuro!

Hey, guys! Welcome to the new chapter of Bomb's Away! I hope you guys will enjoy the chapter...also, I don't own anything, except for my OCs.

NOW LET'S GET ON WITH THE STORY!

{Bombs Away!-Season 1, Episode 3: Showdown between Captain Kuro and the Black Cat Pirates!/Heading off to see with a Lying Sniper!}

"Alright, they're going to attack from this shore at daybreak," Usopp explains to his new friends as they climb up a slope that leads to Usopp's village. "But the only route into the village is this one slope. Everything else is a cliff, making it tougher for them to come through." Usopp says before turning to the Strawhats as he crossed his arms and gave them a serious look. "This means, as long as we guard this slope with our lives, the village won't be harmed."

"Oh, that sounds easy." Luffy says as Usopp frowns subtly and shakes his head.

"Easier said than done, but the rest will depend...what can you guys do again?"

"Cutting." Zoro says bluntly.

"Stretching." Luffy says while stretching his arm.

"Stealing," Nami says with a cat-like grin as she places her hands on her hips.

"Exploding." Asher says proudly while crossing his arms.

"Flying." Cottontail says while perching on Asher's left shoulder.

"Hiding." Usopp admitted meekly as the group glared at him.

"YOU'RE FIGHTING TOO!" The Strawhats yelled angrily with Luffy going as far as to grab Usopp in a chokehold as the long-nosed boy gasped for air.

"I'm just kidding, guys! Jeez!" Usopp shouted as Luffy let go of him, and he fell on the floor as he coughed. After catching his breath, Usopp ran off and came back while carrying dozens of barrels in his arms as he dropped them on the ground. Curious, the teens watched as Usopp opened up each of the barrels and poured oil slick down the slope as Asher tilted his head confusedly.

"Uh, Usopp, what are you doing?" Asher asked as Usopp finished emptying the barrels and stood up as he smirked at the young pirates.

"Well, you see Asher, I'm pouring oil slick down the slope so that they won't be able to climb up and reach the village! We'll let them slip and slide on this slope, then we'll beat the crap out of them while they fail about!"

"Impressive strategy there, Usopp." Asher says while punching his shoulder playfully as Usopp yelped in pain, but smiled at him nonetheless as he discretely rubs his shoulder.

"Oil, huh?" Nami asked amusedly while inspecting the oil as Usopp's face hardened, and he crossed his arms.

"No matter what, we will protect this slope!"

"Just don't fall down there yourself, or you're screwed," Nami says as Luffy nodded while touching the oil with his feet as Cottontail flew down next to him, and licked the oil as he winced, and spits the oil out of his mouth.

"I'm amazed that you can think up stuff this sneaky." Luffy says to Usopp, who smirked proudly as he crossed his arms.

"But of course! When it comes to cheekiness and playing dirty, I'm utterly confident!"

"That's not really something to be proud of." Cottontail says with a sweatdrop as the Strawhats smile at Usopp amusedly, but then Zoro spots something in the distance that makes his eyes narrow as he grips his swords tightly.

"It's almost daybreak. They'll be coming."

"And we will be ready," Asher says while crossing his arms as he and the others wait for the pirates to show up.

{Bombs Away-Season 1 Theme Song!}

Wealth, fame, power

Gold Roger, the King of the Pirates,

Attained this and everything else the world had to offer,

And his dying words drove countless souls to the seas

At Loguetown, we see the King of Pirates himself, Captain Gold Roger, currently wearing shackles and kneeling down in a large stadium with two Marines standing beside him with a couple of swords in their arms as a huge crowd of people could be seen standing in front of them and were screaming at Roger to reveal where he had hidden all of the treasure and wealth that he had accumulated over the years as the King of Pirates heard this and, even though he was going to get executed soon, couldn't help but grin widely with excitement and glee.

"Oh, you all want my treasure?! You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place! Now you just have to find it~!" Captain Gold Roger exclaimed with a loud, joyful laugh.

These words lured men to the Grand Line

In pursuit of dreams greater than they've ever dared to imagine

This is the time known as 'The Great Pirate Era!'

Once the King of Pirates was executed, hundreds of Pirates immediately boarded their ships and set their sails as they all quickly sailed off into the dangerous ocean and began making their way to the Grand Line to find the Legendary One Piece as this officially issued, 'The Great Pirate Era!'.

Come aboard and bring along

All your hopes and dreams

Together, we will find everything

That we're looking for!

ONE PIECE!

Sharing an excited and determined grin, Luffy and Asher can be seen running up a hill as the Bombman then kneeled down and allowed the Rubberman to leap up to land on his back as Asher created a huge explosion underneath his legs, and it propelled them up high into the air as the Boys cheered loudly and numerous visions of all of the current members of the Straw Pirates appeared in front of them as a glaring and malnourished Zoro can be seen tied up against a post in Shells Town, a panting and panicking Nami can be seen running away from Three of Buggy's Henchmen in Orange Town, and a purring Cottontail eating a couple of mushrooms in Island of Rare Animals.

A smirking Usopp crossed his arms as he stood on top of a tall cliff in Syrup Village with Kaya standing beside him and wrapped her arms around him as the wind blew their hair away, a stoic Sanji walked through the Baratie while smoking a cigarette and carrying around a dish filled with food as he could be seen serving the food to Jack and a glaring Gin can be seen standing in the background as the Krief Pirates Flag can be seen waving behind him, Akira can be seen sitting on the chair and was being served food by a smiling Nojiko in Cocoyasi Village, and a giggling Apis flew through the air while being morphed into the form of a Dragon as she soared through Warship Island.

After the visions were done, the Future Pirate King and the Future Strongest Man In The World then perked up as they spotted the Going Merry sailing through the seas, and a laughing Luffy grabbed onto Asher's body as he then stretched his free arm to wrap over to latch onto the Straw Hat Pirates Flag and they propelled themselves forwards with the Duo laughing joyfully as they crashed right into the Going Merry's Deck.

Compass left behind

It'll only slow us down

Your heart will be your guide

Raise the sails and take the helm

The Going Merry can be seen sailing through the treacherous ocean of the East Blue with numerous Sea Kings swimming past it as huge waves of water rang out, and the Straw Hat Pirates can be seen either staring at them in awe, cheering loudly, or panicking as they continued sailing through the ocean.

That legendary place

That the end of the map reveals

Is only legendary

'Till someone proves it real

Zooming into the Going Merry, we see Nami drawing maps inside of her room, a glaring Zoro and Gin sparring with each other on the main deck, Jack sailing the Going Merry, Usopp fixing up the damages done to the ship, a blushing and heart-eyed Sanji serving some food that he had cooked to a smiling and bashful Kaya, Akira washing the deck with the help of some mop and soap, a grinning Luffy residing on his usual seat (The Going Merry's Sheep Figurehead) to enjoying the beautiful day, and a smirking Asher could be seen riding around on the masthead with Apis riding around on his shoulders, and the Duo went starry-eyed at the sight of the amazing journey laid before them as Cottontail can be seen flying ahead of them.

Through it all, through all the troubled times

Through the heartache and through the pain

Know that I will be there to stand by you

Just like I know you'll stand by me

Narrowing his eyes furiously, Zoro gripped his three swords tightly and swung them around as he was able to slash away a group of charging Pirates, a glaring Gin twirled his tonfa around and spun around elegantly as he was able to whack away various Pirates, a calm and collected Sanji smoke his cigarette as a horde of Pirates surrounded him and aimed their swords at him as he swiftly got down in a handstand and twirled around as the blonde-haired simp was able to kick them all away, Jack opened up his mouth and fired a hot torrent of hot flames at a group of charging Pirates and sets them on fire as Cottontail flew by and hardened himself as he proceeds to trip every single one of the burned and flaming Pirates out of the Going Merry.

Crouching down, a grunting Akira then jumped up into the air and began slashing and punching every Pirates that he saw, a gleeful Kaya can be seen running around at high speeds to knock away every single Pirates that was in her sight before she began running around in a circle and created a huge gust of wind that blew them out of the Going Merry and splashed down into the ocean, a giggling Apis dodged and weaved to avoid all of the incoming sword slashes as she then jumped up into the air and ran her hands across a nearby flying Cottontail as she was able to absorb his DNA and morphed herself into a Winged Cotton Lemur as Apis hardened herself and twirled around as she fire multiple white spikes that pieces through the Pirates body.

Standing back to back, a nervous yet determined Usopp fired various of his specially made explosive balls at all of the nearby Pirates as a scowling Nami used her staff to whack every Pirates she saw, and we see the Last Remaining Straw Hat Pirates standing near the end of the Going Merry and spotted the Enemy Pirates Ship floating beside them. Getting an idea, Asher then crouched down and jumped up high into the air as a smirking Luffy stretched up his arm and grabbed onto his leg as the Rubberman grunted and proceeded to swing the Bomberman down at the Pirates Ship with said person creating a huge explosion that blew apart the ship as the rest of the Straw Hat Pirate cheered loudly at what they did.

So come aboard and bring along

All your hopes and dreams

Together, we will find everything

That we're looking for

Multiple vast images of all of the Incoming Arc Villains appeared as we see Iron Mace Alvida, Axe-Hand Morgan, Buggy the Star Clown, Kuro of a Hundred Plans, Eldoraggo, Foul-Play Krieg, Arlong the Saw, Garp the Fist, Smoker the White Hunter, Bear King, and Eric the Whirlwind as all of the Straw Hat Pirates Villains posed menacingly and scowled stoically.

There's always room for you

If you wanna be my friend

We are, we are, on the cruise

WE ARE!

After arriving near the Grand Line, Luffy can be seen sitting at his usual favorite seat in the Going Merry with Asher standing behind him as Nami wraps her arms around him and places her hand on his shoulder as an annoyed Zoro stands near them on their right with Cottontail residing on top of his head as Gin can be seen resting on the edge of the boat lazily, Usopp stood beside the Lovebird on their left, and Sanji stands beside him as he smoked a cigarette and sighed heavily with Jack smiling widely and enjoying the sea breeze as Kaya stood behind them and smiled warmly while holding onto Apis and Akira in her arms as the logo of the story appeared in front of the readers.

{Bombs Away-Season 1 Theme Song Over!}

"Where are they? The sky's all bright now. What's the deal?" Luffy asked with an annoyed tone as he and the others were standing around with bored looks on their faces due to being forced to wait for thirty minutes.

"You don't suppose they slept in or something?" Zoro asked as Usopp and Asher shook their heads.

"No. They'll definitely show up. Lots of them." Usopp says as Asher nods.

"Yeah, I may not know Captain Kuro as Usopp here, but he seems rather serious with his plan. Trust me, they'll be here." Asher says before suddenly staying still as his sensitive ears picked up a weird sound coming from the distance. "Hey, guys, do you hear that?"

"Hear what? I don't hear anything." Usopp says as Nami suddenly shoots up and looks around in confusion.

"Hey, I'm hearing it too," Nami says before narrowing her eyes as she places her hands on her ears. "Hey, Asher, this may be my imagination, but do you hear a group of people chanting 'Go!' from the north side of the island?"

"I think I do." Asher says as Usopp suddenly went still, and sweated nervously.

"Did you say, 'North'?" Usopp asked as the Strawhats narrowed their eyes at him suspiciously.

"Yeah, why?" Nami asks as Usopp looks away with a thoughtful look.

"Well..."

"Spit it out, Usopp!" Zoro yelled, annoyed as Usopp placed his hands on his head panickily.

"There's a place just like this to the north, too!" Usopp shouted as everyone's jaw dropped in shock.

"What!? Do you mean to tell me that we're on the wrong slope?!" Asher yelled in disbelief as Usopp raised his hands in surrender.

"This is where they had their secret meeting, so I just assumed that they'll attack from this side!"

"Ah, that seems reasonable," Asher says calmly while nodding as Luffy suddenly grabs Usopp by his shoulders and gives him a serious look.

"Quick, which way are they going to attack the village from?" Luffy asked urgently as Usopp nodded and pointed ahead.

"If you run straight north here, you'll get there in three minutes! The terrain there is almost exactly the same, so we just need to stop them at the slope." Usopp explains as everyone nods in understandably.

"Got it. Don't worry, Usopp. Defeating those dorks will be a piece of cake!" Asher says with a confident smirk as Usopp smiles and nods as they are about to run off, but then-

"Oh, no!" Nami screamed panickily as the boys turned to her, and saw her grabbing in hair in horror. "The north shore is where our boats are!" Nami screamed as Asher gasped worriedly.

"Oh, crap! Do you think they're going to steal our boats or something?"

"No, you idiot!" Nami yelled while bonking him in the head as he yelped in pain. "They're going to steal my treasure!"

"That's what you're worried about?!" Cottontail asked in disbelief as Luffy narrowed his eyes in determination.

"I'll be there in 20 seconds!" Luffy screamed before running away as Usopp gasped, and held his head in realization.

"Ah, dammit! I just realized that my brilliant oil strategy was all for nothing!"

"Not the time, Usopp," Asher says while still rubbing his head as he runs off, and Usopp follows him.

"My treasure..." Nami says while looking down with an emotionless look as Zoro raises an eyebrow at her and elbows her slightly.

"What are you doing just standing around there? Let's go, you too, rat." Zoro says to Cottontail, who rolls his eyes as he forms his wings and begins flapping in the air.

"Right!" Nami shouted while shaking her head as she took one step forwards, and yelped as she began slipping in the oil slick. "Help! I'm falling!" Nami screamed while reflexively grabbing Zoro's boot as she started pulling him down.

"Hey! Let go, you moron!" Zoro screamed in annoyance as he reached out for something to grab onto and accidentally grabbed Cottontail's tail and he yanked him down to the floor.

"Ow! Hey! What are you doing!? Let go of my tail!" Cottontail squeaked in pain as he struggled to sit up, but got soaked up in oil as he slipped and fell down the slope as he knocks into Zoro, and drags him down. Nami gasped before reacting quickly as she leaped up and landed on Zoro's body as she traveled across his back and then jumped towards Cottontail's body as she used him as a springboard and jumped to safety as her screaming crewmates slid down the shore.

"Sorry about that, boys, but my treasure is in danger! I'm sure you two would find your own way up, so bye!" Nami says before running away as Zoro watches her go in disbelief before gritting his teeth in anger.

"Nami! I'm going to kill you!"

"And I'm going to kill you!" Cottontail screamed in anger while leaping toward Zoro as he tackled him to the floor, and began scratching his face.

"Get off me, you stupid rat!" Zoro yelled while trying to push Cottontail off of his face as the small animal continued scratching him.

"Dammit! Where did Luffy go!?" Asher asked in annoyance while running across the island at fast speeds as Usopp struggled to catch up to him.

"I don't know, but Asher, we can't allow them to enter the village! The villager's lives depend on us!" Usopp yelled as Asher nodded.

"Right!" Asher says before slowing down as he grabbed Usoop's arm and running off at max speed as Usopp screams in fright.

"Straight north! Straight north! Straight north!" Luffy chanted while running across a forest as he panted slightly.

"They're in big trouble if they touch my treasure!" Nami shouted angrily as she ran across the shoreside.

Meanwhile, on the north side of the island, we see a giant cat-like ship docking on the beach as Jango leaps down with a group of cat-themed pirates following right behind him as they land beside him. Jango stood up as he grinned sinisterly and commanded the group of pirates to raid the village as they complied with his orders and ran up a slope as they were about to enter the village when suddenly, Asher appeared with his hands glowing bright pink as he leaped into the air and pulled out 6 shurikens in his hands as he infused them with his explosive energy.

"Bomu Bomu no...Bombs Away!" Asher screamed while throwing the small projectiles toward the running pirates as they exploded upon impact, and half of the pirates screamed in pain as they were blown away from the explosion.

"What the!?" Jango asked in disbelief just as Usopp showed up as he pulled out his slingshot and sent out a volley of pachinkos that took out the half of the pirates that survived Asher's attack. "What the hell is going on!?"

"There are two people standing on top of the hill!" A small pirate says while pointing as Jango looks up and gasps as he sees Usopp glaring down at him while trembling slightly in fear.

"You!" Jango shouted while narrowing his eyes as Asher dropped down from the sky and landed beside Usopp as he smirked at him, and Jango gasped in surprise. "You! How are you alive!? I saw you falling off a cliff!"

"Oh, I survived because I'm strong." Asher explained bluntly as Jango grits his teeth in annoyance

"THAT DOESN'T EXACTLY EXPLAIN ANYTHING!" He shouted as Usopp narrowed his eyes and stepped forward.

"Enough! My name is Captain Usopp! And this is my first mate, Asher!"

"Excuse me?" Asher asked with a raised eyebrow as Usopp shushed him, and turned back to the Black Cat Pirates as he glared at them.

"We've been waiting for you all this time, and we're completely ready to fight! Right, Asher?" Usopp asked Asher while trembling in fear as Asher raised an eyebrow, but nodded hesitantly as Usopp smirked at the evil pirates nervously. "Turn back now if you don't want to die!" Usopp shouted as the pirates stared at him, unimpressed as the sniper panicked and leaned over to Asher's side. "Why are we the first ones here!? Luffy was running way ahead of us, where is he?" He whispered as Asher shrugs.

"Don't know, maybe he got lost."

"Damm it, let go off me, you dumb rat!" Zoro yelled as he managed to grab hold of Cottontail and threw him to the ground as Cottontail hissed at him, and Zoro raised his hands in surrender. "Look, I'm sorry for pulling our tail and whatnot, but all of this is Nami's fault, so why don't we work together to find a way up this slope and kick Nami's ass?" Zoro suggested as Cottontail stopped hissing and thought carefully as he nodded.

"Good. So, got any ideas on how we get up that slope without slipping?" Zoro asked amusedly, only to blink in surprise as Cottontail nodded and grew spikes on his body as he wrapped up into a ball and rolled up the slope as he cleared a pathway for Zoro to walk on. "...Okay, so, you're not a dumb rat after all." Zoro says with a mildly impressed look on his face as Cottontail unrolled on the top of the cliff and smirked at the swordsman as Zoro smirked back and ran up the cliff.

"Eh!? How the hell did I arrive at the village!? I thought I was running to the north shore?!" Luffy exclaimed in surprise/disbelief as he ran out of the forest and somehow appeared in the village. Back with Usopp and Asher, we see them glaring at the Black Cat Pirates as Jango narrows his eyes and steps forwards as he glares at the boys.

"I know you," Jango says while pointing at Usopp, who flinched at being called out. "You're that boy who overheard our plan," Jango says before turning to Asher as he narrowed his eyes. "And, your one of the boys that I hypnotized. What are you two doing here?" He asked as Asher smirked and crossed his arms.

"We're here to beat you up." He says as Usopp nods shakily.

"Y-Yeah! So turn back now or else me, my first mate, and my 100 million crewmen will destroy you all!" Usopp shouted as Asher raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Wait, I thought you didn't have a crew of 100 million men."

"Shut up, you idiot!" Usopp hissed at him as the Black Eye Pirates stared at the sniper blankly.

"...What a stupid lie." One of the pirates says, voicing what everyone was thinking, except for Jango as he gasped in horror.

"WHAT!? 100 MILLION!?" He exclaimed in surprise/awe as his crew stared at him blankly while sweatdropping.

"He's obviously lying, Captain!" One of his crew members yelled.

"He's so naïve." Another pirate says while shaking his head at his gullible captain.

"Yikes! They saw right through my lie!" Usopp thought to himself panicky as the pirates glared at him.

"That kid is really trying to trick us!" A tall Black Cat Pirate shouted as Jango composed himself and glared at the boys.

"How dare you trick me?!" Jango shouted as a small, ugly pirate walked over to his captain.

"Captain Jango! Shocking news!"

"Really!? That bad?!" Jango asked in surprise/horror while turning to him as the pirate shook his head.

"No! It's not bad! We found treasure in those weird boats!" He says while pointing at the boat that Asher and the others arrived in as another pirate found a bag filled with a money sign on it. "It's filled with maybe 4 or 5 million berries!"

"What!?" Jango screamed in surprise/delight as Usopp's jaw dropped.

"F-Five million berries!? Why is there so much money on your boats!?" Usopp asked Asher, who shrugs.

"It's mostly come from Nami. She likes to steal a lot of money and keep it for herself. She doesn't allow us to touch it. The one time I try to grab a couple of berries, she threw me overboard. I nearly drowned if it wasn't for Zoro." Asher says while laughing nervously as he sweatdropped. Usopp stared at him silently for a few seconds before gasping as an idea came into his head, and he turned to Jango and his crew.

"That's my treasure! But you can have it!" Usopp says as Asher's eyes widen in surprise, and the pirates gasp in shock.

"What!? You'll just give us the treasure?!" Jango asked as Usopp nodded.

"That's right, but only if you leave this island alone and never come back again!"

"Uh, Usopp, I don't think its a smart idea to negotiate with Nami's money. She gets really mad if someone messes with her money." Asher says nervously as Usopp shushes him.

"What!? You think you can buy us off with money!?"

"What a disgraceful guy!"

"Yeah, screw that twerp!" Numerous pirates muttered in anger as Jango smirked with shadows covering his eyes.

"...Are you stupid? You do realize we have your money, right? We can just take it and raid the village anyway."

"...Huh, he's actually right. You didn't really think this through." Asher says to Usopp, who nods meekly as Jango pulls out his hypnotizing ring and swings it back and forth.

"Alright, then. We don't have time for a fight, so on 'One...two...Jango!', you two will let us pass by." Jango says as Usopp and Asher gasps.

"It's that weapon from before! Asher, cover your eyes!"

"On it!" Asher says as he and Usopp cover their eyes, not noticing a familiar orange-haired girl running up to them.

"One...two...Jan-"

"You idiot!" Nami shouted while appearing behind the boys with her bo staff as she whacked Usopp upside his head, and he yelped in pain as he was sent flying to the floor.

"Who the heck is that girl?!" A pirate asked as a blonde pirate turned to his captain and sweatdropped as he realized that his captain had once again hypnotized himself.

"Captain, this is no time to hypnotize yourself and let people by!" He screamed, snapping Jango out of his trance as Nami rose up and glared at the group of pirates as she gripped her bo staff tightly.

"Listen up, you filthy pirates! That boat's treasure is mine! I won't let you have a single Berry! Put everything you stole back right now!" She shouted with a fierce aura covering her body as the pirates shrank back in fear.

"How is it that Nami is scarier than anything I've ever seen in my life?" Asher thought to himself with a sweatdrop as Nami turned to Usopp, who had recovered from her surprise attack as she glared at him. "How could you give away someone else's treasure?"

"Ugh, ow, you could've told me that. Why did you hit me and not Asher?" Usopp asked while standing up as Nami glared at him.

"Because he knows his place, unlike you, maybe I should beat it into you!" Nami says while raising his staff as Usopp panicked and raised his arms in surrender.

"No, please, I'm sorry! I will never give away your treasure again!" Usopp says, causing Nami to calm down as she looks around.

"Where's Luffy? Wasn't he running ahead of you guys?" Nami asked as Usopp shrugged.

"Dunno. He either chickened out or got lost." Usopp says as Asher shakes his head.

"Chickened out? Not likely, it makes more sense if he got lost." Asher says as Nami groans.

"He's lost? Great, and when we need him too." Nami thought to herself as she shook her head in annoyance.

"Well, I'm going to take command here, go kick their butts, you two! I'll cover you!" Usopp says while taking a few steps back as Asher nods.

"Sure thing." Asher says as he takes a few steps forward but then yelped as Nami yanked him back.

"Hold on a minute," Nami says to Asher before turning to Usopp as she glared at him. "How the hell do you expect me to fight them!? I'm weak as shit!" Nami shouted as Usopp glared back at her.

"Ha, ha, ha, don't underestimate me just because I'm a guy! I'm so scared my legs are shaking like crazy! See?!" Usopp says while pointing at his trembling legs as Nami scoffed.

"Big deal! See look! I'm so scared that I have tears in my eyes!" Nami says while leaning closer to Usopp as Asher and the other pirates stare at the cowards confusedly.

"Your eyes are bone dry! If your gonna lie, lie more realistically!" Usopp says as Nami growled at him in annoyance.

"They forgot about us!" The Black Cat Pirates thought to themselves while sweatdropping as Asher stepped forward.

"Uh, guys?" Asher asked as Nami and Usopp turned to him. "Why don't I just fight them myself?" Asher asked as they blinked in shock.

"You will do that?" They asked as Asher nodded.

"Sure, besides, I've been itching for a fight all day." Asher says with a grin as Usopp and Nami nod dumbly, and step aside as Asher marches over to the pirates.

"Ha, ha, ha, you have to be stupid if you think only one person can stop the Black Cat pirate crew!" Jango shouted before turning to his crew. "Men! Storm the village! Destroy everything!" He commanded as they nodded and charged up the slope towards Asher, who grinned as he cracked his knuckles.

"This is going to be fun." Asher says before sprinting towards the pirates as his body is covered in a pink aura.

"Bomu Bomu no...Bomb Throw!" Asher yelled as he grabbed a short bearded pirate by his arm and infused him with his aura as he started twirling him around, and then threw him to a couple of other pirates as the bearded pirate exploded upon impact with their bodies, and they were sent flying through the air.

"What the hell?" A pirate with an eyepatch asked as Asher turned to him and grinned as the one-eyed pirate shook in fear.

"Bomu Bomu no...Missle Strike!" Asher shouted as his feet blew up, and sent him flying to the pirate as he delivered a devasting headbutt to his stomach that caused the evil pirate to kneel over in agonizing pain as Asher stood up, and glanced over to see a group of pirates charging at him as he grinned and leaped up as he pulled out multiple shurikens.

"Bomu Bomu no...Landmine!" Asher shouted as he used his inhuman strength to throw his shurikens so hard that they buried themselves against the slope. The oblivious pirates didn't have time to reach as one of them accidentally stepped over a shuriken, and set off a chain reaction that blew away half of the Black Cat's pirate crew.

"What the hell is going on!?"

"This kid is a monster!"

"He's going to kill us!" Multiple pirates said as Asher landed on the ground, and then cartwheeled over to an unsuspecting pirate as he appeared in front of him, and readied his next attack.

"Bomu Bomu no...Kangaroo Grenade kick!" Asher yelled as he gave the surprised pirate a double kangaroo kick with his foot detonating upon impact with his chin as he let out an explosion that sent him flying through the air before crashing down on the ocean below as Asher leaped up to his feet and slowly turned to look at his next victims, who shook in fear as he grinned like the devil and charged at them.

"Which way is North!?" Zoro asked while running across the forest as Cottontail flew after him.

"I'm trying to tell you, you idiot! You're going the wrong way!" Cottontail shouted, but of course, Zoro couldn't understand him as they continued running/flying until-

"WHICH WAY IS NORTH!?" A familiar frustrated yell rang out as Zoro and Cottontail eyed each other, and nodded as they ran towards the direction of the voice, and found Luffy angrily kicking a large rock.

"OI, Luffy! You got lost, too?" Zoro asked as Luffy turned to him and nodded.

"Oh, hey, Zoro, Cottontail, yeah, I got lost. Who knew it was so hard to find which way is North?" Luffy asked as Zoro nodded, and Cottontail sweatdropped at them as he facepalmed.

"You guys are idiots. I know where North is, just follow me." Cottontail says as Luffy beamed.

"Really? That's great!" Luffy says ecstatically as Zoro eyed them confusedly.

"OI, Luffy, what the hell are you talking about?" Zoro asked as Luffy smiled at him.

"Cottontail says that he knows where North is." He says before turning to the cotton-filled animal. "Lead the way, little buddy." Luffy says excitedly as Cottontail nods and flies off as Luffy follows after him.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Zoro says as he runs after the duo.

"Bomu Bomu no...Bomb Kick!" Asher shouted as he delivered a kick to a pirate's back, and his foot detonated upon impact as the pirate screamed in pain and was sent flying to the cliff as he crashed against it and moaned in pain. "Man, this is easy. I thought pirates were tough to beat?" Asher asked, kind of disappointed as Nami and Usopp watched on in awe.

"W-Whoa, your friend is pretty powerful," Usopp says, kind of scared of Asher's power and skill in battle as Nami nods numbly.

"I know, and I thought he was a monster before." Nami says as she and Usopp continued watching Asher beating the crap out of the pirates, not noticing the blonde pirate, who had sneaked away from Asher's sight, creeping up to them as he raised his sledgehammer.

"Die!" He shouted, spooking the heck out of the teenagers as the old pirate slammed his sledgehammer against the back of Usopp's head, causing blood to spill out as Usopp grunted in pain while Nami gasped in horror as the long-nosed boy crashed on the floor.

"Usopp!" Asher shouted, hearing Usopp grunt of pain and Nami's gasp as he turned to them, and gritted his teeth in anger as he was about to march over to the blonde pirate, but was stopped by his colleagues as Asher groaned in annoyance before narrowing his eyes as he rushed over to fight them.

"Heh, do you seriously think you can stop us? Your friend may be strong, but even he can't defeat all of us at once." Blonde Pirate says smugly as Nami gasps in terror while staring at Usopp's seemingly dead body lying on the floor as the Blonde Pirate turns to his comrades. "Let's go, guys! Captain Kuro is waiting!"

"But what about him?" A scared pirate asked while pointing at Asher, who was still fighting the other Black Cat Pirates as the Blonde-haired man smirked.

"He's too distracted to stop us, let's go men!" The Blonde Pirate says as the remaining pirates who survived Asher's onslaught nod, and begin running out of the slope. "Yes! Go before Captain Kuro-" He says before shutting up as the old man feels someone grab his ankle and looks down to see bloodied Usopp holding him in place firmly as the young teenager glares at him. "What the!? Let you, you bastard! Let the hell go!" He shouted while pounding on Usopp's head relentlessly with his sledgehammer, but even after suffering his brutal assault, Usopp's grip never faltered as he continued glaring at the evil pirate.

"I...will never...let you go...BECAUSE I WANT THE VILLAGERS TO BELIEVE THAT I AM A LIAR, AND THE VILLAGE STAY PEACEFUL AS ALWAYS!" Usopp yelled to the heavens, shocking everyone on the slope as the long-nosed boy looked at the surprised evil pirate furiously. "I WON'T LET YOU PASS!"

"I'm gonna shut you up!" A long-haired pirate shouted as he appeared out of nowhere and pulled out his sword as he aimed for Usopp's neck, but Nami wouldn't let him as she pulled out her compactable bo staff from her bra, and smacked him away from Usopp.

"Damm, girl!" Another pirate shouted while thrusting his sword at her as Nami managed to block him, but the force of the attack sent her flying as she crashed against and moaned in pain. "That will show you too-"

"Bomu Bomu no...Warhead Strike!" Asher screamed in the background as a giant explosion occurred that blew away the remaining pirates on the slope, and the pirates slowly turned around to see an angry Asher flying towards them as he delivered a headbutt to his stomach, and detonated upon impact as he sent the screaming pirate into the forest, and collided with a tree as he got knocked out.

"What the fuck!?" The Blonde Pirate screamed, scared beyond belief before shaking his head as he dropped his hammer and pulled out a sword as he then rushed over to a nonmoving Asher, and thrust his sword at him, only for Asher to catch the blade with ease and he glared at him and pushed him off. "You little-"

"Bomu Bomu no..." Asher says quietly as the blonde pirate slowly turns his head, and his eyes widen in terror as he notices his sword covered in a pink aura. "...Boom!" He shouted as the sword went off and created a mild explosion that destroyed his sword and sent the flying pieces of shards into his face as he screamed bloody murder.

"My face! My face!" He screamed as Asher lifted his leg and kicked him away as he rolled down the slope while screaming in pain along the way.

"Nobody hurts my crew," Asher says firmly as he turns to Nami, and holds out his hand. "Need any help?" He asked, who nodded numbly as Asher helped her up to her feet before walking over to Usopp as he slowly raised him up to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, my head feels a little woozy, but other than that, I'm fine." Usopp says as Asher smiles before frowning as he hears Jango let out a frustrated yell.

"You idiots!" Jango yelled to what little men he had left as he gritted his teeth in anger/fear. "Stop being scared of that Bomb Freak and get going already! Did you forget about Captain Kuro's plan to attack the village?! We can't mess it up, or else, he will kill us! Do you hear me, you morons!?" Jango shouted, reminding them of their mission as the pirates steeled their nerves, and reluctantly ran up the slope as Asher narrowed his eyes at them.

"Nami, hold Usopp for me." Asher says as Nami nods and grabs onto Usopp as Asher pulls out his shurikens, and is about to throw them when suddenly Asher and the others saw all of the other pirates that managed to escape the slope fly past their heads as they crashed against their comrades and rolled down the slope as they crashed landed near their shocked Captain.

"What the?" Usopp says as he, Nami, and Asher turn around, and gasp as they see an angry Luffy, Zoro, and Cottontail standing behind them as they panted slightly.

"What took you guys so long?" Nami asked with an exasperated sigh as the Black Cat Pirates panicked.

"What's going on, Captain!?"

"We didn't know they had these kinds of people in the village!?" Numerous pirates said as Zoro looked at the pirates confusedly.

"What were those unchallenging guys just now?" He asked Luffy, who shrugs.

"Don't look at me. I'm not satisfied, though." Luffy says as Zoro nods before turning to Nami as he and Cottontail glared at her.

"NAMI! HOW DARE YOU KICK ME DOWN THE SLOPE!" Zoro yelled at a surprised Nami angrily as Cottontail nodded.

"AND, GETTING ME CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE!" He yelled while Luffy turned to Usopp.

"USOPP, YOU JERK! YOU DIDN'T SAY WHICH WAY WAS NORTH!" Luffy yelled furiously.

"Who are these idiots?" Captain Jango asked with a sweatdrop as his men still lay on the beach either unconscious or in a lot of pain.

"You guys are strong," Usopp says, amazed.

"Yeah!" Luffy grunted out, still pissed.

"What took you guys so long?!" Nami asked the boys as Zoro and Cottontail turned their heads towards her so fast that they almost got whiplash.

"You're the one who got us stuck back there!" Zoro shouted, equally as pissed as Luffy as Nami waved off his anger.

"That was an accident! It couldn't be helped! It's better for one person to be saved than for three to stay down there."

"THEN YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN THE ONE TO FALL!/THEN WHY THE HELL WERE YOU SAVED INSTEAD OF US?!" Zoro and Cottontail both shouted.

"SERIOUSLY! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHICH WAY IS NORTH IS AND ISN'T?!" Luffy yelled at Usopp, who grew angry as well as he glared at him.

"What!? You're the one who ran off first, all full of confidence!"

"I WAS TRYING TO HELP YOU!" Luffy yelled back as Asher looked at all of his friends dumbfounded.

"I will feel like I lost something here," Asher says while scratching his head in confusion as he continues watching his friends bicker among themselves.

"Night is long gone." Captain Jango says to his men while staring at the sky as he shuddered. "Captain Kuro has a short temper, we better wrap this up fast." He says before flinching as the hypnotist realizes that his men are still lying on the floor, half unconscious. "Hey, men! Don't tell me that those brats did you all in already?!" He yelled, causing his men to grunt in pain as they slowly got up from the floor.

"Ah! They're still alive! They're pretty tough!" Luffy says with a surprised look as Jango pulls out his ring, and turns to his men.

"Listen! We don't have time to be dilly-dallying here! If our enemy is strong, we just need to be stronger! Now watch this ring closely! On, 'One...two...Jango!', you guys will grow strong with your wounds completely healed, and you will grow stronger and stronger!" Jango says as his men nod while watching the ring closely as it moves back and forth.

"What are they doing?" Luffy says while scratching his head as Nami gasps.

"It's hypnosis! He's trying to convince them to be stronger! How ridiculous!" Nami says as the boys nod while Luffy is watching the ring closely.

"One...two...Jango!" He screamed as the Black Cat pirates suddenly sprang into life and let out a battle cry as the Straw Hats, minus Luffy who was shaking in his place watched them in disbelief.

"No way! They were badly injured a few minutes ago, and now they are standing up like it's nothing!" Nami exclaimed in shock as one of the pirates tightened his fist and punched the cliff so hard that he split it in half, and broke down as Zoro gasped.

"H-He gouged out the cliff! What strength!" Zoro shouted as Asher narrowed his eyes at the Black Cat Pirates angrily.

"That's not strength, that's cheating! Hey, you bastards! You can't cheat your way to getting power by hypnotism! You have to gain your strength naturally like a real warrior!" Asher shouted at the pirates before yelping as Nami bonked him in his head.

"You idiot! Don't aggregate them!" Nami yelled, but it was too late as the Black Cat Pirates slowly turned to him, and Jango pointed at them.

"Go! Crush anyone who gets in your way!" He shouted as his men cheered and began running up the slope.

"You guys get back! We'll handle this!" Zoro shouted to Usopp, Nami, and Cottontail, who nodded as they took a couple of steps back, and Zoro pulled out his swords. "Asher! Luffy! Get ready!"

"On it!" Asher says before noticing how quiet his captain has been lately as he turns to Luffy and sees him trembling in anger with his hat covering his face. "Uh, Captain? What's wrong?" Asher asked as Zoro heard him, and turned to his rubbery captain.

"OI, Luffy! What the hell is the matter with you?" Zoro asked as Luffy lifted his head and let out a fierce roar as Zoro's eyes twitched in annoyance. "You got hypnotized too!?" Zoro asked in disbelief as a yelling Luffy ignored him and ran past his friends as he made his way to the charging Black Cat pirates.

"W-What a simple-minded person!" Nami says with Usopp nodding in agreement as Luffy reaches the Black Cat pirates and pulls back his arms.

"GOMU GOMU NO...GATLING!" Luffy roared out as he stretched out his arms and punched the incoming army so fast that it looked like he had multiple arms. The pirates didn't stand a chance as the force and power of Luffy's punches sent them flying to the sky as they then crashed landed on the beach, and groaned in extreme pain.

"Whoa! Luffy's like crazy strong!" Asher says, amazed as Luffy brought back his fists and growled at the terrified pirates like a dog as he rushed towards them, and they flinched as they covered their eyes and ducked down...only for Luffy to run past them as he made his way to their ship.

"Where's he going?!" Zoro asked as Luffy reached the Black Cat's Pirate Ship, and, with a tremendous amount of superhuman strength, Luffy then proceeded to rip the bow from the ship as the injured pirates cried out in fear/horror.

"Go! Luffy!" Nami and Asher cheered while Zoro, Usopp, and Cottontail could only watch in shock/amazement as they watched their captain perform a miracle and rip the bow from the ship as he then slowly turned to the shaking pirates angrily and got into a throwing position as they panicked.

"HE'S GONNA CRUSH US WITH THAT!"

"HE'S TRYING TO KILL US!"

"PLEASE DO SOMETHING, CAPTAIN!"

"Crap! Crap! This is no time to be gawking!" Jango chided himself as he pulled out his ring and aimed it towards a snarling Luffy. "On, 'One...two...Jango', you'll get sleepy!" Jango says nervously while waving his ring back and forth frantically as Luffy watches him. "One...two...Jango!" He says just as Luffy was about to throw the bow as he immediately went to sleep, and crashed down to the floor. The evil pirates cheered until they noticed that Luffy dropped the bow and was falling towards them as they screamed in terror, and covered themselves as the bow fell on top of them, knocking down all of the Black Cat pirates in one fell swoop.

"Looks like they're just about wiped out!" Nami says while eyeing the unconscious pirates lying on the floor as Zoro nods.

"Hey! Nevermind that, Luffy's trapped under there!" Usopp says worriedly.

"He won't die," Zoro says bluntly, waving off his concern as Asher nods.

"Yeah, our Captain is made of rubber, so he won't die that easily, but you, on the other hand, are quite injured," Asher says while eyeing Usopp's injuries as he is still leaning on Nami for support since he couldn't stand yet on his own.

"Damm, that brat! Now the plan is really screwed up! If Captain Kuro caught sight of this, he'd slaughter all of us, too!" Jango says frighteningly.

"Hey, Buchie! Come look! Our ship's head is wrecked!"

"What!? Wrecked!? How did that happen?!" Two voices yelled out from the Black Cat Pirate ship as Jango turned around and smirked sinisterly as he chuckled.

"We still have a trump card! Come forth, Meowban Brothers!" Jango shouted as two mysterious people leaped out of the ship and twirled around as they landed in front of a grinning Jango.

One of the mysterious people is a 21-year-old overweight man with short black hair, pale skin, sharp teeth, tiny black eyes, and wears fake cat ears on his head. His outfit consisted of a stripped light/dark purple cape with a white fluffy brim, a shoulder pad on his left arm, and pale blue gloves with claws at the end. His name is Buchi.

The other mysterious person is a 21-year-old extremely skinny man with green hair that is parted to the side and curls at the end, green cat-like eyes, and also has a hunched back that makes him look smaller than he actually is. His outfit consisted of a navy blue shirt with light grey buttons, a magenta bow tie, dark brown gloves with claws growing out at the end, light blue shorts, and brown shoes. His name is Sham.

"You called Captain Jango?" Sham asked with a feline-like grin.

"What's up?" Buchi asked bluntly as Asher stared at them confusedly.

"I don't get it. Are these guys like half-cats or something?" Asher asked.

"No, just freaks." Cottontail answered as Asher nodded.

"Buchie! Sham! We absolutely must get past this hill, but as you can see, an obstacle is in the way!" Jango says while pointing at Asher and the others. "Get rid of these pests." He says sinisterly as the Meowban Brothers turned to Zoro and Asher, and saw them glaring at them as they panicked.

"W-We can't possibly do that! Right, Buchie?!" Sham asked Buchie, who nodded while sweating bullets.

"Yeah, they look strong!"

"What's going on with them?" Usopp asked as he and the others stared at the Meowban Brothers with huge sweatdrops, except for Asher, who was studying them closely.

"And besides, we're just supposed to guard the ship!" Sham shouted as Buchie nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, yeah! We don't participate in these kinds of battles!"

"Sham! Get going already!" Jango ordered with a serious look as Sham panicked.

"Eh?! Me?!"

"Hurry!" Jango shouted as Sham flinched, but nodded as he followed his captain's orders, and tearfully ran over to the Strawhats.

"What's going on? Didn't he say something about them being their trump cards? Why are they making those cowards fight?" Nami asked, beyond confused as they watched a sobbing Sham rushing towards them.

"Prepare to die! I'm gonna scratch you to pieces with my claws!" Sham pathetically screamed as he made his way towards Zoro while Asher watched him go carefully.

"What are we supposed to do, Asher? This guy is pathetic." Zoro says to Asher, who remains silent as Zoro raises an eyebrow at him, but doesn't say anything as he turns to a screaming Sham. "Hey, you! Stop, or I'll kill you!" Zoro yelled as Sham suddenly stopped screaming and smirked evilly as he popped out his claws.

"If you can!"

"What!?" Zoro says in shock as Shazam rushes towards him and is about to slash him, but then-

"Bomu Bomu no...Bombs Away!" Asher yelled while throwing his glowing pink shurikens at Sham, who barely dodged out of the way as the shurikens collided against the cliff and blew up as Sham angrily turned to Asher. "Did you think that you will trick with me with that pathetic acting?" He asked cooly as Sham gasped in shock.

"But how did you-"

"I can see bullshit coming from a mile away. I sensed your killer intents the minute you and that fatty jumped out of the ship." Asher says as Sham grits his teeth in anger while Zoro stares at Asher in disbelief.

"Amazing. This kid's instincts are top-notch, he was able to sense Sham and Buchi's killer intent while I couldn't. This kid may be a good crewmate after all." Zoro thought to himself with a smirk before dodging Sham's claw attack as he responded by kicking him back. "This is getting annoying." Zoro says before charging at the cat-like villain with his swords as Sham panicked.

"Oni..." Zoro starts as Sham screams in terror and Buchi reacts quickly as he rushes over to his partner's aid, and holds out his hands. "...Giri!" Zoro shouted as he sliced Buchi's stomach, causing blood to spill out as Buchi groaned in pain and fell down as Zoro appeared behind him while crouched down.

"Buchi!" Sham screamed before turning to Zoro angrily as he charged at him with his claws popped out, ready to slash. "You will pay for-"

"Bomu Bomu no...Bomb Punch!" Asher yelled while suddenly appearing beside the cat-themed pirate as he punched his face and set off an explosion that sent him flying to a cliff as he groaned in pain.

"I had that covered, Asher." Zoro says with a grin as Asher grins back.

"Yeah, but the guy was annoying, so I punched him." He explains as Zoro nods understandably.

"Wow, these guys are beasts!" Usopp says as Nami nods numbly, and Cottontail's ears twitch as he turns around, and screeches.

"What's wrong?" Nami asked as she turned around her face paled as Captain Kuro slowly making his way to the slope. Captain Jango gritted his teeth at Asher and Zoro angrily before panicking as he saw Captain Kuro standing on top of the slope with a pissed-off look on his face.

"Captain Kuro!" Jango yelled panickily, causing Sham's face to pale as he turned his head and saw his captain standing a few feet away from him as he flinched. "No! Uhh! I-I can explain!" Jango shouted as Kuro sighed, and dropped the black bag he was carrying with him as he adjusted his glasses, and took a deep breath as he glared at Jango.

"Night is long gone now, so it seemed odd that the plan wasn't making any progress..."

"C-Captain Kuro!" One of the Black Cat Pirates says fearfully while waking up from his unconscious state as his crewmates do the same.

"We're dead!" Another pirate yelled as Usopp turned to an angry Kuro nervously.

"Oh, no! We were doing good so far, but now that he's here, things are going to become extremely difficult." Usopp thought to himself as Kuro took a deep breath before growing furious as he glared at his former crewmates.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING!?" Captain Kuro's angry yell rang out the slope as the Black Cat Pirates, Nami, Cottontail, and Usopp trembled in fear while Asher and Zoro narrowed their eyes at him. "To think that these brats have held you back. Oh, how the Black Cats have fallen. What do you got to say to yourself...Jango!?" He yelled furiously as Jango trembled in fear.

"B-But, you said letting that kid go wouldn't cause any problems!"

"Yes, I did say that...what's your point? He's an idiot! I knew no one would listen to his warnings, and he would come stumbling over here to take a stand against us. But the one thing I haven't taken account for was you guys feebleness!" Kuro shouted as Sham heard him and grew angry as he stood up and walked towards him.

"Us, feeble? Who are you calling feeble?!" Sham shouted at him angrily as Kuro raised an eyebrow at him, unimpressed. "Yeah, you were powerful in the past, but face it Kuro, it's been three years, and we haven't exactly lived the good life being a servant to a snotty rich girl!" He shouted as Kuro narrowed his eyes at him.

"What are you trying to say, Sham?" He says while adjusting his glasses.

"Huh? Internal conflict." Usopp says with Nami and Cottontail agreeing as Jango panics.

"Hey! Shut up, Sham!" He screamed, but Sham ignored him as he popped out his claws.

"While you have been pampering yourself, we have all been fighting out there for three long years, sinking pirate ships, stealing treasure, and massacring villages!" He yelled as Kuro slowly blinked at him.

"Your point being..." Kuro says calmly as Sham's eye twitched in annoyance.

"You've been doing nothing for three years! There's no way you can defeat one of the Meowban Brothers of today!" Sham shouted as he ran towards him with the intent to kill. "You're not our captain anymore! Prepare to die!" He shouted as Kuro nonchalantly grabbed his bag, and pulled out a couple of weird gauntlets with claws just as Sham reached him, and slashed him...only to gasp in shock as he slashed his bag. "What the!?" Sham says as Kuro appears behind him, surprising everyone with his speed as he raises his hands and shows off the gauntlets that he was wearing as they glinted against the sunlight.

"Who did you say...you were going to kill?" Kuro asked ominously as Sham stared at him in shock/horror.

"When did he get behind him!?" Usopp asked as the others shrugged.

"H-He moved so fast, I could barely see him! He was like a blur!" Nami says while hugging Cottontail tightly as they both tremble in fear.

"What strange-looking weapons," Zoro said while gesturing to the gauntlets as Asher nodded.

"H-How did he get behind me?!" Sham asked himself before composing himself as he was about to charge at Kuro but stopped as he saw that he was nowhere in sight. "Where did he-" Sham says before shutting up as he feels multiple claws pointed at his neck, and shakily looks up to see Kuro hanging on his shoulder with a cold look on his face.

"You're right...I don't feel active." He says calmly while enjoying the sight of Sham trembling in terror as Kuro grins. "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!"

"T-This is the first time I see one of the Meowban Brothers getting caught!" One of the pirates says as Jango scoffed.

"What are you still hoping for?" Jango asked, surprising the pirate as Jango placed his hand on his hat and grimaced. "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." Jango says, rather solemnly as he looks up at his former captain hauntingly, and sees him adjusting his glasses as he flinches. "And, I got chills after seeing that habit of his again after three years! His odd way of lifting his glasses to avoid cutting his own face, it's like if he never stopped wearing those damm cat claws! They're almost a part of his body, so of course, he didn't forget to fight!" Jango ranted as Nami heard him and grew scared as she looked across the battlefield, and grew angry as she noticed Luffy STILL sleeping on the beach.

"Godammit, that idiot! We need him now more than ever, and he's still asleep?!" Nami thought mentally before calming down as she placed Usopp down on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Usopp asked as Nami smirked at him.

"I'm going to go and wake up that lazy bum." Nami says before running off as she travels down the slope while making sure to move along quietly to not be spotted by Kuro or Jango.

"It seems I've grown a bit good-natured myself, maybe these years on dryland had made me soft," Kuro says to a trembling Shem before pushing him forward as he gave the cat man a stern look. "So, let's make a deal. I'll give you five minutes to deal with the situation, but if you fail...I will kill every single one of you here. Do I make myself clear?" He asked threateningly as everyone stared at him in shock/disbelief at his proclamation.

"F-Five minutes, that sounds-"

"Just enough time!" Jango shouted, interrupting the dumb pirate who nearly got them killed as Jango gave him a look, and he backed away fearfully. "Five minutes to kill the Bomb Freak and the Swordsman will be more than enough, Captain! Thank you for your generosity!" Jango says while laughing nervously as Kuro nods, and puts away his claws as Shem narrowed his cat-like eyes at Asher and Zoro, and charged at them.

"Five minutes will be no problem, Captain! These brats only caught me off guard, that's all! I will cut them up to pieces in less than one minute!" Sham shouted with a malicious grin as the Black Cat Pirates cheered for him.

"We're counting on you, Shem! Don't fail us! Kill them!" Jango shouted before noticing Nami sneaking past him. "What is that girl think she's doing?" Shem thought to himself as he slowly reached for his ring.

"Die, brats!" Sham says while leaping toward the duo, who stares back at him boredly as Asher turns to Zoro.

"You want me to handle him, or do you want a swing?" He asked as Zoro thought carefully before shrugging.

"Eh, knock yourself out." Zoro says as Asher grins and leaps towards a surprised Shem as he pulls back his leg.

"Bomu Bomu no...Bomb Kick!" Asher yelled as he kicked Shem's stomach and set off an explosion that caused Shem to cough out blood and scream as he was sent flying to his ship, and crashed inside as he was knocked out.

"Four minutes." Kuro says, annoyed that his best men were taken out by a kick as the Black Cat Pirates panicked.

"He's strong," Jango says with a sweatdrop as he turns to look at the ship, and his eyes widen as he sees Shem's unconscious body lying on the deck. "H-He took out Shem like it was nothing! Who the hell are these brats!?" Jango asked out in frustration as Asher turned to look at the angry Kuro, and smirked as he cracked his knuckles.

"Don't worry, Kuro, I will take you out in less than five minutes." Asher says with a determined look as Kuro stares at him blankly before his eyes widen as he recognizes who he is.

"Wait a minute, wasn't he one of those kids who fell off the cliff yesterday? Interesting. He must've survived. I wonder if the other one did as well." Kuro thought to himself before shaking his head as he glared at the young human bomb. "Three minutes." Kuro says, and instead of feeling fear like he thought he would, the former pirate was surprised to see Asher's grin widen as he cracked his neck.

"Bring it on." Asher says as he was about to attack him when suddenly he heard a grunt behind him as he turned around and was surprised to see a weakened Buchi crawling over to Jango, who was likewise surprised to see him alive.

"Buchi!? How did you-"

"I-Ill...slaughter them..." Buchi says before pausing as he barfed out blood, and cleaned his mouth as he looked up at Jango with a glare. "C-Captain, I can do it! Hypnotize me! Just do it, Captain!"

"Huh, he's alive. I thought you killed him?" Asher asked Zoro, who shrugs.

"I thought, I did, his blubber must've protected his vital organs, and my attack must've knocked him out briefly," Zoro says before sighing as he pulled out his swords. "Now, this won't do, I can't let any of my enemies undefeated, so I must fight him again. Don't get in my way, Asher." Zoro said as Asher nodded, and stepped aside as Zoro marched over to Butchi, only to blink in surprise as he saw Jango hypnotizing Buchi as the fat man growled like an animal and his muscles bulged out as he turned to a shocked Zoro, and roared.

"Get them, Butchi!" Jango shouted as Butchi roared again and charged at the duo as Zoro got ready to slice him.

"This guy means business. If he's as strong as the other hypnotized people from before, then I need to kill him quickly before he kills me." Zoro thought to himself as Butchi continued rushing towards him.

"Yes! Finally, things are going according to plan! Butchi will kill these freaks, and then we will be on our way." Jango says before hearing grunts behind him as he turns around, and his eyes widen as he sees Nami kicking Luffy's sleeping body. "Shit! I forgot about the girl!"

"Wake up, you idiot! Everyone is fighting out here, and you're just sleeping?! Wake up!" Nami shouted while kicking Luffy's head repeatedly as he groaned and groggily opened his eyes.

"Two minutes," Kuro says, causing Jango to flinch as he turns to the girl and pulls out his ring.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Jango shouted mentally as he tossed his ring over directly at Nami.

"Nami! Look out!" All of the Straw Hats yelled as Nami turned to them confusedly and panicked as she saw a ring heading towards her, and accidentally stepped on the now-awaked Luffy's eyes.

"It was nice knowing you!" Jango says with a laugh as the blade flies closer and closer to Nami.

"Dodge it! Dodge it! Dodge it!" The Straw Hats yelled as Nami was stuck in place, too overridden by fear to move, when suddenly she was pulled down by an angry Luffy as he stood up and glared down at her.

"NAMI! HOW DARE YOU STOMP ON MY FACE?!" Luffy screamed before yelping as the ring hit him in the back of his head and caused him to stumble in his steps as blood spewed out from his head.

"Eh?! The kid is still alive!?" Jango asked in shock.

"Whoa, Luffy woke up just in time to save Nami, but at the same time got hurt himself." Asher says, wincing as he sees Luffy's blood staining the beach below him.

"Huh, can't tell if he has bad or good timing." Zoro mused while Usopp and Cottontail were still staring at Luffy in shock/horror. Everyone watched as Luffy stumbled a bit from the unexpected blow before grunting as he caught his balance while planting his feet firmly on the ground and gritted his teeth.

"Impossible! He's still standing!" Jango asked in disbelief as well as his remaining crew.

"L-Luffy?" Nami asked quietly as Luffy went still and, with no warning, brutally ripped the ring from his head as even more blood spilled out.

"He's really something." Zoro says with a smirk as Asher nods.

"Our Captain is a badass." Asher says with a huge grin as Luffy slowly touches his head, and winces as he feels a sharp pain journey across his body, and screams.

"THAT HURTS!" Luffy screamed as the Black Cat Pirates panicked.

"Crap! That guy's back in the battle! Now with three monsters, we don't stand a chance!"

"There's no way we can defeat them all in 5 minutes!"

"Captain Kuro is going to murder us!" Numerous pirates yelled out as Luffy ignored their muttering, and turned to Nami as he glared at her.

"NAMI! THAT HURTS, YOU JERK!"

"HEY, SLEEPING BEAUTY, IT WASN'T ME!" Nami yelled back, slightly terrified of how easily Luffy recovered from the lethal attack as she pointed at Kuro and the Black Cat Pirates. "IT WAS THEM!" Nami yelled as Luffy turned to them and narrowed his eyes as he saw Usopp's injuries.

"Did they hurt Usopp?" Luffy asks as Nami nods. "Then, I will handle them," Luffy says as Nami nods before spotting the Black Cat Pirate's ship as a glint appears in her eyes.

"And while you're fighting them, I'm going to swipe their treasure," Nami says while running off as Luffy watches her go with a sweatdrop.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Luffy says unsurely as he adjusts his hat and turns to his enemies, who flinch as they turn to Kuro.

"One minute." He says blankly as everyone screams out in terror.

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! NOT EVEN CAPTAIN JANGO AND THE MEOWBAN BROTHERS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DEFEAT THEM! WHAT CHANCE DO WE HAVE!?"

"HOW CAN WE FINISH OFF THESE PEOPLE?!"

"WE'RE DOOMED!" Numerous Black Cat Pirates screamed as Jango gritted his teeth in frustration/fear, and turned to Buchi.

"BUCHI! QUICKLY, THERE'S NO TIME TO WASTE! KILL THAT THREE-SWORD BASTARD AND THE BOMB BRAT, AND I'LL HANDLE THE STRAW HAT WEARING PRICK!" Jango shouted while pulling out his rings as he glared at Luffy. "I'M COMING FOR YOU, STRAW HAT!" Jango yelled at Luffy, who looked back at him without fear as he began walking towards him.

"Times up." Kuro suddenly announced, causing everyone to freeze as he pulled out his claws, and held out his arms. "You know the deal. You're times up, and now it's time for you all to die." Kuro says calmly to his frightened men as Luffy looks up at him, and gasps.

"Huh? That butler is here too!" Luffy says, finally noticing his presence as Kuro hears him and narrows his eyes at the young pirate.

"Ah, so he did survive. These kids are stronger than they look." Kuro says with an amused grin as he is about to go to attack, when suddenly-

"KLAHADORE! STOP!" Kaya yelled out, suddenly appearing on the slope as she ran towards Kuro while wearing a long brown coat to cover her thin clothes.

"Kaya! Why are you here!?" Usopp asked in horror, causing everyone to look up at them as they saw Kaya approaching Kuro, and glared at him while shaking lightly.

"Oh! Isn't that the girl from the mansion!? Oh, this is not good!" Jango says while sweating nervously as Luffy looks up at her curiously.

"Wait. That's the girl we were supposed to kill?"

"If she's here, then that means we don't have to go to the village!"

"All we got to do is kill her, right?" Numerous pirates said Asher heard them and narrowed his eyes as he then turned back to Kaya worriedly and discretely took out one of his shurikens.

"You surprised me, Miss Kaya. What are you doing here?" Kuro asked while adjusting his glasses as Kaya glared at him.

"Merry told me everything." She says as he smirked.

"Oh, did he now? Heh, maybe I should've killed him right away, instead of showing mercy. I really have gone soft." Kuro says with a chuckle as Kaya stares at him with a wide-eyed, horrified look.

"No...he really...isn't the Klahadore I know." Kaya realized with a shudder as she tightened her fists tightly before turning to Usopp as she gave him a regretful look. "I'm really sorry for not believing, Usopp." Kaya apologized, surprising Usopp as she started crying. "I just never could've thought that Klahadore is a pirate, but now..."

"Nevermind that! Why are you here!? You have to run away, Kaya! These pirates want to kill you!" Usopp shouted, scared for Kaya's life as the rich girl grew angry and turned to him with tears running down her eyes.

"Aren't you fighting as well!?" Kaya asked, surprising Usopp again as the rich girl looked down at the floor guiltily. "We treated you horribly, and yet you're here fighting for us, even with those wounds, so I want to be brave like you and stop this once and for all!"

"Kaya..." Usopp said as softly as Kaya turned to Kuro, who was watching the interaction between them boredly as she gave him a pleading look.

"Klahadore, please! If you want my fortune, you can have it all! Just please leave this village! Right now!" Kaya shouted as Kuro stared at her silently for a few seconds before smirking as the sun glinted against his glasses.

"I will gladly accept it...but...there's one other thing I want, you see...what I want above all else is...peace." Kuro says softly, surprising everyone on the slope as Kuro looks up to the sky with a small smile on his face. "I've spent the last three years earning the trust of the entire village, and to be honest, I find this new sense of peace and tranquility quite comforting. When my plan comes to fruition, I will live with this sublime peace of mind. Yes, glorious comfort of a peaceful life will be mind forever and ever. In short, these pirates are coming!" Kuro shouted while gesturing to his faithful pirates below them as Kaya stared at him in shock before gritting her teeth in anger as she reached over to pull something out of her coat. "And you will leave your fortune to me and die. Miss Kaya, these things will happen, and there's nothing you can do to stop it." Kuro says with a sadistic grin as Kaya begins trembling in terror.

"No, you can't be..."

"Kaya, run! Don't bother negotiating with him! He's not the butler you knew!" Usopp shouted, causing Kaya to narrow her eyes as she nodded.

"You're right," Kaya says before suddenly pulling out a gun as she pointed it at Kuro's head. "You're not Klahadore! Leave this village, or I will shoot!" Kaya threatened, surprising everyone on the slope as Kuro stared at her with an emotionless look before chuckling as he adjusted his glasses.

"So, you've become stronger over the years, I'm impressed Miss Kaya that you go to these extreme lengths to protect the ones you love, but...will you really shoot me? Even, after all we've been through all these years?" Kuro asked, causing Kaya to gasp in surprise while Luffy and Asher narrowed their eyes at Kuro suspiciously, wondering where he was getting at as they watched him look at Kaya with a fond look.

"We spent so much time together. Even before your poor sweet parents passed away." Kuro says softly as tears appear in Kaya's eyes, but the rich girl shakes away her tears as she continues aiming at her former butler's face. "You were more than my master, you were my best friend. We had so many memories together, together we suffered, and together we had rejoiced. Like family." Kuro says while taking off one of his gauntlets as he adjusts his glasses.

"Klahadore..." Kaya says with tears running down her face again as her grip on her gun loosened a bit.

"I took you out shopping trips to the city, I looked after you when you were ill, and we used to talk for hours and hours. Kaya, listen to me, I was devoted to you for so long...yes, for so very long." Kuro says before reaching over to grab Kaya's hand as it seems like he wanted to grab her hand, but it turned out to be a ruse as he snatched her gun away, and pushed Kaya to the ground as he looked at her with a really pissed off look on his face. "For years, I had to put up with this crap, Miss Kaya. I quietly suffered, so today I can end your life, and take everything that I deserve!"

"That prick..." Asher says through gritted teeth as he watches Kaya staring at Kuro in disbelief/sadness while being loomed over by an angry Kuro as he gripped the gun tightly in silent rage.

"I, a man once known as the feared and respected Captain Kuro, had to smile humbly for some snot-nosed little girl. It went against every fiber of my being." Kuro says in disdain as Kaya is full-on sobbing by this point, causing Usopp to stare at Kuro in rage as he clenches his fists in frustration.

"That bastard! I got to do something!" Usopp yelled mentally as he began crawling over to an unsuspecting Kuro, not noticing Cottontail watching him go worriedly as he then quietly followed after him.

"Do you understand the depth of these daily insults?! Do you understand the rage created by those transcriptions against my pride!?" Kuro yelled out furiously as the Devil-Fruit users stared at the former pirate with either disgust/anger before gasping as they saw Usopp grabbing Kaya's gun, and pointing at Kuro, who looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"KURO!" Usopp shouted as he stood up and aimed the gun at Kuro's face as he fired...only to miss as Kuro easily dodged the gunshot, and put on his gauntlet as he then appeared behind the young teenager.

"Thank you for reminding me..." Kuro says while unsheathing his claws as he aims towards Usopp's neck. "...I still owe you for the punch you gave me yesterday. If I recall, you hit me as hard as you could, right?" Kuro asks sinisterly as Usopp shivered in fear.

"Usopp!" Kaya screamed out in horror as Kuro was about to slice off his head when suddenly, Cottontail appeared as he wrapped around Usopp's head and grew his fur hard and spikey as he protected Usopp from getting decapitated.

"What the!?-Ugh!" Kuro asked in shock before grunting in pain as Luffy's fist and one of Asher's shurikens appeared as Luffy's fist connected with his face while Asher's throwing weapon connected with his stomach and blew up as both attacks sent him flying through the air.

"If he hates getting hit that much, then he's about to have a really bad day..." Luffy quipped while stretching back his arm back to his body as Asher grins and cracks his knuckles.

"Because now he's about to face us!" Asher says, finishing Luffy's sentence as everyone stares at the boys in utter disbelief/shock, and watches as Kuro crashes against the ground with newfound terror.

"They knocked down, Captain Kuro!? They sent him flying!"

"Did that kid just stretched?!"

"First, the bomb freak, then the sword demon, and now there's a kid who can stretch!? What the hell is going on?!" Numerous pirates screamed out as Luffy and Asher ignored them as they were staring at the knocked-down Kuro, who stared back at them in silent rage as Cottontail unwrapped himself, and turned his fur back to normal as he laid perched on a grateful Usopp's shoulder.

"Thanks, little buddy." Usopp says while scratching his cheek as Cottontail purred before screeching in horror as he pointed behind them. Confused, Usopp and Kaya turned around, and their eyes widened in terror as they saw the little veggies running towards Kuro with weapons in their little hands as they leaped towards the downed pirate.

"THE USOPP PIRATES HAVE ARRIVED!" They shouted before dropping down on the former pirate as they began beating him up.

"NO, DON'T!" Usopp shouted.

"STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" Kaya screamed.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE, YOU STUPID BRATS!" Cottontail yelled.

"Say your prayers, butler!"

"Take that! And that!"

"Game over, you lousy, no good pirate!" All of the veggies yelled in unison as they continued beating up the non-moving pirate, much to the horror of everyone on the slope.

"Damm it! Those stupid brats! They're going to get themselves killed!" Asher says through gritted teeth as Zoro nods.

"Those Rugrats have a deathwish." He says while Luffy remains silent, but there is a touch of worry in his eyes.

"You don't know what you're doing! Stop! Stop!" Usopp shouted as the little veggies finally stopped beating up Kuro, and panted heavily as they stared at his ruffed-up appearance.

"Alright, this time, we will let you off without any more brutality." Onion says to Kuro, who still remains silent as Jango panics.

"Uh, oh, Kuro is not saying a word. This is bad! Those stupid brats had really done it now! Captain Kuro is going to be so mad and take his anger out on us!" Jango says while shaking in fear as the little veggies run over to a trembling Usopp and smile at him innocently.

"Captain! I knew you were fighting! You were so awesome!" Pepper screamed.

"I thought there were no secrets between us, why didn't you tell us?" Carrot asked.

"Yeah, he's right! We were supposed to tell each other everything!" Onion shouted as Usopp grew angry and glared at them.

"Who cares about that?! You guys just gottta get out of here, now! Run!" Usopp ordered as the little veggies shook their heads, not noticing Kuro slowly turning to them as he sat up.

"No! We're gonna fight, too!" Pepper says determinedly as Onion nods.

"Yeah, the Usopp Pirates will be shamed if we just run in fear!" Onion says before he and the others feel a cold shiver run up their spines as they slowly turn around and see an emotionless Kuro looking down at them as he then wordlessly adjusts his glasses, only for his eye to twitch in annoyance as his lenses break, thanks to the kid's assaults as the little veggies screamed in fear.

"YOU IDIOTS! DON'T SCREAM, RUN!" Usopp shouted, but the kids were too scared to run as Kuro walked towards them, and they prepared for the worst...only for Kuro to walk past them as he stood beside Usopp, and the others as Kuro glared at them but didn't do anything as he turned to our favorite Devil Fruit users.

"That hurt," Kuro says bluntly while pointing at the bruise on his cheek, and then at the scorch mark on his stomach. "My, my, those are a couple of strange techniques that you two have developed. Tell me something, did you both gained powers by eating a couple of Devil Fruit?" Kuro asked as Luffy and Asher grinned as they nodded.

"Yep! I ate the Gomu Gomu Fruit! I'm a Rubber Man." Luffy says while stretching his cheek to demonstrate.

"And, I ate the Bomu Bomu Fruit, and became a Bomb Man." Asher says while setting off a minor explosion with his hands to demonstrate as the Black Cat Pirates panicked.

"They ate Devil Fruits!"

"No wonder they were so powerful!"

"We are doomed!"

"I see. No wonder we were having so much trouble with them," Jango says as Kuro narrows his eyes at the teens before turning to Jango.

"Jango!" Kuro shouted, getting the Hypnotist's attention as Kuro unsheathed his claws. "I will deal with the boys. You take care of Miss Kaya as we planned. Have her butler written in her will, then kill her."

"What about the kids?" Jango asked as Kuro eyed the kids with a sneer.

"They're an eyesore, eliminate them." Kuro says, causing the kids to tremble in fear as Usopp and Kaya gasped in horror.

"I'm on it," Jango says as he takes a few steps forward before stopping as Zoro stops him.

"Stop," Zoro says, without turning to him as Jango eyes him warily. "I won't let you get through me!"

"Buchi!" Jango shouted as Buchi, who had remained silent until up to this point, let out a fierce roar and leaped up.

"Cat...astrophe!" Buchi shouted as he then drops down towards Zoro, who managed to jump back in time as Buchi crashed landed on the spot that he used to occupy, and caused a mini-crater to appear as he produced a minor earthquake that shook the entire slope. Everyone yelped in fear, except for Luffy and Asher, who were still glaring at Kuro as he glared back at them.

"This guy is way stronger than when the others when hypnotized! It must've been because of his mass and size!" Zoro thought mentally while trying to look through the smoke cloud that Buchi produced as suddenly his claw hand popped out, and grabbed Zoro's neck as the rest of Buchi's body came out of the smoke, and he then proceeded to slam the swordsman against the cliff with the force of a wild and raging elephant.

"So, powerful! Who is he?" Luffy asked Asher, who was staring at Buch with disdain.

"His name is Buchi. One of the Meowban Brothers. He and this guy named Sham works for Kuro. They were pretty weak, so me and Zoro managed to defeat them, but now Buchi's strength increased immensely...although he got it by cheating." Asher says, annoyed as Luffy nods understandably.

"Get the hell off of me, you damm cat!" Zoro says before using his own strength to kick Buchi away as he looks ahead and curses as he sees Jango walking up the cliff casually. "Dammit! He got past me!" Zoro shouted mentally in annoyance.

"Damm! I feel dizzy, I can't get up, but I must stop them!" Usopp yelled mentally, still haven't recovered from his injuries as an idea popped into his head, and he turned to his tiny crewmates. "USOPP PIRATES!" Usopp screamed at the top of his lungs, causing Jango to stop walking as he and the others turned to Usopp curiously.

"Yes, sir!" The little veggies shouted.

"Listen carefully! Protect Kaya!" Usopp screamed, surprising them as he continued. "Do as I say, don't argue with me! I'm giving you the most important task there is right now! It's absolutely critical that you succeed! Take Kaya and get away from here! You must keep her safe! This is the reason we wanted to be pirates! To protect what's dear to us! So do as I say, and run!" Usopp shouted as the little veggies stared at him with tears and trembling lips. "You mustn't refuse! This is the Captain Orders!"

"Yes, sir!" They shouted while saluting them as they then grabbed a surprised Kaya's hand and ran off with her into the forest.

"He sure has a way with words. He made running away sound brave." Zoro thought mentally as he was feeling slightly impressed with Usopp's actions.

"Jango!" Kuro shouted at Jango, who flinched as he gave his captain a sheepish look.

"Oh, sorry, I was gawking," Jango says before pulling out two rings as he twirled them around with his fingers. "Those fools! Did they really think that they can escape from me that easi-"

"SPECIAL TECHNIQUE...NAMARII-ROSHI!" Usopp shouted while launching a dense pachinko at Jango's back with his slingshot, nearly breaking his spine as Usopp smirked. "He, he, serves you right," Usopp says as he is satisfied to hear Jango cry out in pain.

"DAMM, YOU!" Jango shouted in extreme anger as he was about to throw his ring at Usopp, but stopped as Kuro held out his hand.

"HE'S NOT OUR PRIORITY RIGHT NOW! GO GET KAYA BEFORE SHE HEADS INTO THE VILLAGE AND TELLS EVERYONE WHAT'S GOING ON!" Kuro shouted as Jango gritted his teeth, but nodded as he ran off into the forest while rubbing his sore back in the process. "You all do realize that their escape is meaningless?" Kuro asked the Strawhats rhetorically as he smirked arrogantly. "I know how weak Kaya is, she won't be able to outrun Jango. If you want to help her, go right ahead, but first, you have to get off this hill-"

"Bored now." Asher says suddenly, cutting him off as Kuro's eyes widen in surprise.

"What?"

"I said, I'm bored. You've been talking all day about killing us, and yet, we're still here standing. Just get to the point and fight us already." Asher says, annoyed as Kuro blinks before glaring at him as he growled.

"Fine! If you want to fight me head-on, then be my guest!" Kuro shouted angrily as Usopp panicked.

"Oh, no, Asher really pissed him off. The situation just got worse." Usopp thought to himself grimly.

"Usopp!" Zoro yelled, getting his attention as Usopp saw the Monster Trio standing in fighting stances with looks of confidence and bravery on their faces. "Leave this to us!" He shouted as Usopp gasped, but nodded as the trio turned to Kuro to glare at him.

"Is the Hypnotist still after us?" Pepper asked as he and the others were running across the forest, making sure to get enough distance from the evil pirates.

"No, I don't see him! Maybe we've lost him?" Onion says as Carrot smirks.

"He must be dreaming if he thinks he can catch us in this forest!" He said arrogantly as Onion turned to Kaya.

"Don't worry, Miss Kaya, we'll protect you!" He says reassuringly as Kaya smiles at him slightly.

"Thank you for this, kids," Kaya says sweetly as the kids beamed before yelping as a pair of rings flew past them and chopped off a couple of trees as they panicked.

"Not here, either," Jango says while twirling more rings as he looks around the forest. "Where the hell are you, brats!? Don't think that you can go away! I will clear this whole forest to find you if I have to!" Jango's angry yell rang out of the forest as the gang trembled in fear and quickly ran off to find a hiding spot as Jango continued looking for them.

"What was that noise?" Usopp asked, hearing a weird noise coming from the forest as Kuro smirked.

"That's probably Jango losing his temper again. You can see for yourself, but by the time you get there, it will be too late." Kuro says with a sinister grin as Zoro gritted his teeth in anger.

"We better hurry." Zoro says as Usopp shakily sat up, and tightened his fists in anger as he turned to Kuro.

"Damm it, Kuro! You and Kaya had spent three years together! Don't you have any feelings for her at all?!"

"No." Kuro says bluntly. "As I said before, Kaya is just a pawn in my plan. And if she dies, I might actually thank her."

"This guy's beyond saving!" Zoro says angrily as Luffy huffs out in anger.

"I never thought of saving him!"

"This guy is getting on my nerves! Let's beat him up already!" Asher shouted, anxious to fight the former pirate as Usopp glared at Kuro.

"I can't let you do whatever you want!" Usopp shouted before standing up as he ran towards the forest while ignoring his body's pleas to stop as he hadn't recovered yet.

"Oh, you can still move? Impressive. Buchi!" Kuro yelled at Buchi, who nodded as he charged over to him and unsheathed his claws.

"Don't get in the way..." Zoro says, suddenly appearing beside Buchi as he gave him a sucker punch that sends him flying away. "...we're..." Zoro says before leaping toward Buchi as he pins him down, and pointed his swords at his neck. "...in a hurry. You've messed around enough! I won't kill you if you just lie down quietly." Zoro says with a sadistic grin as Buchi whimpers in fear and stands still just as Usopp suddenly freezes and falls down.

"Usopp!" Luffy yelled worriedly as Usopp cursed.

"Damm! I can't move my body anymore!" Usopp yells as Kuro laughs.

"You're a joke! It's probably safer for you to lie down here, anyway. Even if you can catch up with Jango, your still no match for him," Kuro says with another laugh as tears run down Usopp's face, and he gritted his teeth as he looked up at Kuro.

"Even if I'm no match for him...I'll still protect them!" Usopp shouted, surprising Kuro and the Strawhats. "I will protect them all!"

"Usopp..." Zoro says while looking at him as Buchi takes the distraction to push him off as he flung him to the cliff.

"I'm the Captain of the Usopp Pirates! I'm a brave warrior of the sea! I won't let you hurt the villagers!" Usopp shouted passionately as the Black Cat Pirates stared at him for a few seconds before laughing as Asher and Luffy slowly turned to them with emotionless looks.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Look at him spouting crap!"

"He's so pathetic! Check it out, he's crying!"

"Brave warrior of the sea, my ass!" All of the pirates shouted before screaming in pain as both Luffy and Asher grabbed a giant boulder, and the Bomb Man infused his pink aura around it as they then slammed it on top of the Black Cat Pirates, and Asher set it off as a big explosion occurred that sends the pirates flying to the beach, near their ship.

"What's so damm funny, huh?!" Asher asked, looking absolutely livid as Luffy had a calm, yet furious look on his face.

"If you dare laugh at Usopp again, we will kill you all!" Luffy yelled, causing the pirates to piss their pants in fear as they nodded and kept their mouths shuts as they cried like pansies.

"Hey, Buchi," Zoro says to Buchi casually while blocking his attacks as the swordsman narrowed his eyes at him. "I thought I warned you to get out of my way already!" Zoro shouted before pushing him off as he then charged at him and cut his stomach as Buchi cried out in pain, and blood spilled out his stomach as it stained the beach. "Luffy! I'm going to take Usopp and go after that bastard hypnotist! Is that a problem?"

"Nope! Hurry!" Luffy shouted, still pissed off as Zoro turned to Asher.

"Asher, you want to come?" He asked as Asher shook his head.

"No, I want to deal with that Kuro bastard, but you can take Cottontail along for backup." He says as Zoro sighs tiredly.

"Fine, whatever. Follow me, rat." Zoro says while walking over to Usopp as he grabs him, and makes his way up the slope.

"Thanks." Usopp says to Zoro, who rolls his eyes.

"I will go a lot faster if I went in alone, but I don't know those woods, so if we're going to catch up to them then I'm going to need your help," Zoro said as Usopp nodded, and they walked past Kuro, who stops them with his claws.

"Hold it, you two. Who gave you the permission to pass this hill?"

"I did!" Luffy yelled out as he stretched out his fist and threw a punch at Kuro, who dodged it as Asher leaped up and pulled out his shurikens.

"Go, guys!" Asher yells before throwing his glowing pink shurikens at Kuro, who leaped up to dodge them, only to grunt in surprise as the shurikens blew up and the shockwave of the blast sent him flying through the air.

"On it!" Zoro yelled before running into the forest with Usopp as Cottontail followed after them.

"Come here!" Luffy yelled while grabbing Kuro with his stretched-out arm as he brought him in to throw another punch, only to punch air as Kuro composed himself, and disappeared from sight. "He disappeared!?" Luffy says before freezing up as he ducks down just as Kuro appears and slashes him. "Gomu Gomu No...Spear!" Luffy yelled as he dropped down to the floor in a headstand and joined his feet together as he then thrust them at Kuro like a spear, but missed as he disappeared again.

"Damm, where did he go?" Asher asked while landing on the ground as Kuro appeared behind him.

"Behind you!" Luffy shouted as Asher ducked down and winced as he saw that Kuro had cut off his eyepatch, and gritted his teeth in anger as he saw it fall on the ground.

"Dammit! My eyepatch! Do you know how long it's going to take for me to get a new one!?" Asher asked, annoyed as Kuro jumped back a couple of feet.

"Whoa, so that's how your eye looks like under that eyepatch," Luffy says, noticing a gaping hole where Asher's right eye and trying to poke it.

"Don't touch it, you asshole!" Asher yelled angrily while slapping his hand away as Kuro coughed.

"Before I kill you brats, I feel compelled to ask. What are a couple of outsiders like you budding into this village business for?" Kuro asked as the kids smirked.

"I have a friend in the village that I don't wanna see die." Luffy says as Asher nods.

"Yeah, and this gives me the perfect opportunity to fight a real human being for once, so this is going to be interesting." Asher says while cracking his knuckles as Kuro smirks deviously.

"Heh, what simple reasons...are you two really okay with that? After all, it will be the reason you both will die."

"Yep, but I'm not gonna die, though!" Luffy says with a laugh as Asher nods.

"Yeah, and I just started my adventure, so it will pretty suck if I die now, especially to the likes of you." Asher says with a smirk as Kuro smirks back.

"We'll see about that!" Kuro shouted as Luffy went into action and stretched out his arms as he grabbed Kuro by his shoulders. Grinning, Luffy pulled himself over to the former pirate as he was about to deliver a double kick, but Kuro managed to evade it by grabbing onto Luffy's arm and twirled him around as he slammed the Rubber Man into a tree.

"Gomu Gomu No...Whip..." Luffy says while recovering from being slammed against a tree as he drops down, and extends his leg as it reaches towards Kuro, who leaped up to avoid it just as Luffy planned. "And...Pistol!" Luffy shouted as Kuro once again dodged his attack easily and landed on his outstretched arm as he smirked at the surprised Luffy.

"This is quite boring. Give me a real-"

"Bomu Bomu No...Missile Strike!" Asher screamed while launching himself over to Kuro like a missile as the former pirate reacted quickly and leaped over Asher, who grabbed onto Luffy's hand and he infused him with a pink aura.

"Oh! This feels tingly!" Luffy says while staring at his hand in slight awe as Asher turns to him with a grin.

"Hey, Captain! Let's combo attack this pussy cat!" He yelled as Luffy grinned back and nodded.

"Right!" Luffy shouted as Asher held out his hand and set off an explosion that sent him and Luffy spirling through the air as they spun around like a propeller.

"Gomu-Bomu No...Bomb Stamp!" Luffy and Asher shouted in unison as Asher slammed Luffy onto the ground with him growing out his feet a bit as they produced an explosive shockwave that pushed back Kuro and sent him flying to a tree as he slammed against, and cracked the tree as it fell down.

"Ugh." Kuro groaned while rubbing his back as he shakily stood up and glared at the boys as they landed on the ground, and smirked at him.

"They have Captain Kuro on the wraps!"

"Oh, no!"

"Don't worry, Captain Kuro, you can kill them!" Various pirates screamed as Kuro's eye twitched, and he turned to his former crew angrily.

"Shut up! Don't call me by that name!" Kuro screamed in outrage, confusing the dumb pirates. "Do you morons still not get it?! You fools! This whole plan was devised, so that I may be rid of that name, once and for all! I'm tired...of devising plans every day for you men who only care about mayhem...being relentlessly attacked by the government dogs and bounty hunters...I AM ABSOLUTELY SICK OF IT ALL! I HATE BEING A PIRATE!" Kuro shouted at the top of his lungs, causing Luffy and Asher to gasp and narrow their eyes at him as he began explaining how he came up with the plan, and how it came to fruition, but the boys weren't listening to him as they stared at him furiously.

"...and when my plan succeeds, my goal will be fully achieved, wealth and peace of mind will be mine!" Kuro finished as he then turned to the boys, who were staring at him silently as the former captain smirked at them. "Do you understand, brats? I've spent three years making sure this plan of mine will work, and I'm not going to let you two ruin it!" Kuro yelled furiously as he charged over to the teens to slash them, but Luffy reacted quickly as he stretched out his hands and grabbed a nearby boulder as he then proceeded to use it as a shield, and Kuro accidentally stabbed it with one of his claw gauntlets. "Seems you can do more than just stretch!" Kuro says to Luffy mockingly as he grins back at him.

"That's right! I've toughened myself up to be a pirate!" Luffy yelled as Asher appeared and grabbed the boulder with one hand as he yanked it up, ripping out Kuro's claws as the former pirate gasped in shock, and flinched as he saw Asher glaring at him.

"And he wasn't the only one! I've spent a decade perfecting my body and my Devil Fruit to become a real pirate! But if you can't handle being a pirate..." Asher says before infusion his Devil Fruit magic onto the boulder as he then swings it over to a scared Kuro. "...THEN DON'T BECOME A PIRATE, DIPSHIT!" Asher screamed as he slammed the boulder onto his body while setting off a huge explosion that destroyed the boulder, and sent Kuro flying to the cliff as he cracked the wall behind him and fell down as his injured body was covered in bruises, burns, and blood.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Luffy says proudly before turning to an extremely hurt Kuro as he smirked at him. "Our ambition is much better than yours, Captain Kuro," Luffy says mockingly as Kuro glared at him weakly, but didn't do anything as he was still too hurt to move. Meanwhile, elsewhere, we see Kaya and the little veggies hiding behind a giant log as Jango is still out looking for them while cutting down trees in his wake.

"Come out! Come out! Where ever you are!?" Jango's voice rang out, spooking the group as they trembled in fear.

"Go East! East! I said, go East, already!" Usopp yelled at Zoro, who was running at the west side of the forest with an exasperated Cottontail flying above them.

"Fine! Where is East!?"

"On your right!"

"But that's where we came from!"

"That's left, you dingus!"

"Oh, for the love of-I got to help this idiot," Cottontail says as he swoops in and bites on Zoro's ear as he pulls him in the right direction.

"Hey, let me go, you dumb rat!" Zoro yelled as Cottontail ignored him and continued pulling towards the East side of the forest. Back with the group, we see Kaya trying to catch her breath from the long run as she lays her head on the log and gives the boys a guilty look.

"I'm sorry, boys, but I can't keep going. Go on ahead and leave me. Save yourselves." Kaya says as the kids shake their heads.

"No way! We're here to protect you, Miss Kaya, under our Captain Orders." Carrot says firmly before panicking as he and the others see Kaya's face pale as she looks to be struggling to catch her breath. "What's going on, Miss Kaya? Are you hurt? We must take her to the doctors, you guys."

"Idiot! Don't you realize that we're running for our lives right now?" Pepper says.

"But it's too dangerous to let her go on." Onion says as Carrot grips his shovel tightly, and gains a determined look.

"Then, as the Usopp Pirates, we must take a stand!" Carrot says with the others nod just as Jango appears as he cuts down the log they were hiding behind, and smirks at the terrified children.

"There you are." He says as the kids scream. Meanwhile, elsewhere, we see Luffy and Asher looking over at the non-moving Kuro victoriously as they smirked.

"Now, you only have five of those weird claws left." Luffy says as Kuro continues to remain silent.

"That kid broke Captain Kuro's 'Clat Claw'!"

"And the other kid smashed the boulder against the captain's body and blew it up!"

"It's amazing that Captain Kuro wasn't blown into pieces by that attack!"

"Come on, guys, there's no need to worry! Captain Kuro still has five claws left! That's plenty enough! Kill those brats, Captain Kuro!"

"Hey! That name is taboo now!"

"Oh, right, sorry...uh, what is he called now?"

"I think it was Klaha...something."

"Klaha...something...yeah! Get them, Klaha-something!" All of the pirates then proceeded to cheer as Kuro shakily stood up with his body still banged up as he glared at the screaming pirates.

"Shut, your mouths! All of you!" He yelled, causing them to shut up as Kuro glared at them. "After this is all done, all of you will die...including, Jango!" He declared, causing his former crew to flinch back in surprise as they gave him confused/scared looks.

"W-Why us, Captain?!"

"Please, stop joking around, Captain Kuro!"

"It's still not too late for us to attack the village, right?!"

"Yeah, and if Captain Jango gets that rich girl from earlier to write her will, the plan will still work perfectly!"

"This plan is no longer your concern," Kuro said while adjusting his glasses as he smirked. "When you are all dead, the village will know who to blame for this atrocity. I never intended for any of you mongrels to leave this village alive. No one and I mean no one, who knows my real identity could be alive to live to tell about it!"

"N-No, way! You were planning to kill us from the start?" A pirate asked nervously as Kuro smirked and nodded.

"Three years ago, I planned to erase, Captain Kuro, and every last person who ever knew him, it's all part of my plan." Kuro says with an evil chuckle.

"You guys are dumb." Luffy says bluntly while shaking his head in disappointment as Asher turns to Kuro and glares at him.

"You're a poor excuse of a pirate." Asher says as Kuro glares back at him.

"It's that supposed to hurt me? I'm glad to not be compared to these collections of social outcasts! Without my plans, what could these simpletons possibly do?! A crew is nothing to me, they are simply a means to an end. Crew members are just pawns at a Captain's game. Whether my men live or die, it's up to me and me alone. If I tell them to fight, they will fight. If I order them to jump, they will ask, 'How high?'. And they know the punishment for disobedience." Kuro says with a smirk before frowning as he notices that the boys are once again staring at him silently. "What? Why are you guys staring at me like that?"

"..."

"What? You think staring at me is going to make me feel bad for my actions?"

"..."

"Because it's not working!"

"..."

"I'm serious!"

"..."

"Grrr!"

"..."

"Stop, mocking me! This is how pirates are, you idiots! Don't you dare talk down to me, you foolish children!" Kuro screamed out furiously as he was about to attack them, but stopped as the teens spoke up.

"No matter how many hundreds or thousands of men follow you as their Captain...you'll never be better than Usopp!" Luffy says as Kuro stares at him in disbelief.

"What?" He asked as Asher nodded.

"Hmm-hmm! Usopp is way better than you at being a pirate. There's no comparison." Asher says matter-of-factly as Kuro blinks before gritting his teeth as he snarls at the teenagers.

"What!? Are you saying that I'm inferior to a kid pretending to be a pirate Captain!?"

"That's right."

"Yep."

"...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Well, aren't you funny?! Don't get cocky just because you snapped one of my claws, and smashed a boulder on my head!" Kuro says before disappearing from sight as he appears behind the young pirates. "How exactly am I inferior to him?" Kuro asked with a sadistic grin as he was about to cut down the boys, but stopped as he saw the boys grinning.

"Because he has character." Luffy and Asher said in unison.

"What?!"

"A guy like you doesn't know what a true pirate is!" The boys shouted as Luffy brought back his fist and stretched out as he grabbed Kuro's by his neck and flung the former pirate back to him as Asher then clotheslined him to the floor while setting off an explosion as Kuro let out a painful, gut-wrenching scream.

"No way! Those boys kept up with the 'Silent Step' maneuver!" A pirate shouted as the boys then turned to Kuro, who was really injured at that point as his neck was bruised, he lost one of his teeth, half of his hair was blown away, and his shirt was ripped apart.

"You insult me, brats," Kuro says calmly while stepping out of the crater he was in, albeit shakily, as he glared at the boys. "If you want to know about real pirates that much, I will be happy to oblige. For our first lesson, I will show you what real terror looks like. A lesson I learned very as I stared Death in its face, time and time again!" Kuro says before suddenly freezing up as he hunches back, and begins waving back and forth slightly as his former crewmates scream in absolute terror.

"WAH! THAT STANCE!"

"THIS IS BAD!"

"WHY IS HE USING THAT TECHNIQUE! HE'S ONLY FIGHTING TWO GUYS! THERE'S NO REASON TO USE THE, 'OUT OF THE BACK ATTACK!'."

"ISN'T IT BAD FOR US TO BE HERE!? HE'LL GET US, TOO!"

"Y-YEAH, HE DID PLAN TO KILL US TOO, REMEMBER?!"

"PLEASE, CAPTAIN KURO! ANYTHING, BUT THAT TECHNIQUE!"

"WE'LL DO ANYTHING! PLEASE, CAPTAIN!"

"This technique must be powerful if it's causing these weaklings to panic that much." Asher thought mentally before feeling a cold shiver travel down his spine as he turned around, and was surprised to see that Kuro disappeared. "Huh? Where did he-"

"Out of the Back Attack!" Kuro's voice rang out as a small purple gas rang out across the slope.

"Ah, how disappointing. I spent the last two hours looking for treasure, and they only have this stuff." Nami says while walking across the deck as she was carrying a rather small bag filled with treasure. Sighing in disappointment, Nami continued walking as she walked past the still-knocked Sham and reached the end of the deck, overlooking the slope. "I wonder if the battle is over." Nami says curiously as she looks down and is confused to see everyone froze up. "Huh. I wonder why-" She says before her eyes widen as she sees that one of the pirates was suddenly slashed apart as his entrails and blood raining down on his frightened crewmates.

"What's he doing over there!?" Luffy asked in shock while Asher remained silent as he stared at the dead corpse of the pirate in utter disbelief/horror, and was even more in shock as more and more pirates were seen either having their throats slip, cut in half, or worse!

"Whoa!" Asher says while backing his head away as a shockwave blew past him, and cut the wall beside him in two as his eyes widen in surprise. "What the!?"

"That guy's everywhere!" Luffy shouted as more and more men were killed by their backstabbing captain.

"DON'T DO THIS, CAPTAIN! PLEASE, STOOOoooooooo..." Blonde Pirate screamed before trailing off as his head was cut off, and it fell down on the ground, lifeless.

"IT'S NO USE! WHEN USING HIS 'SILENT STEP' MANEUVER, NOT EVEN HE KNOWS WHERE HE'S GOING! HE WON'T STOP UNTIL HE'S TIRED, OR WE ARE ALL DEEEeeeeaaaadd..." A small pirate trailed as he was cut in two, and both sides of his lifeless body fell down as massive amounts of blood spewed out.

"W-What's happening out there!? Those people are getting slaughtered!" Nami yelled with a terrified, haunted look as she continued watching Kuro cut down his men one by one until only 10 men were remaining...oh, now it's 8.

"Stop it..." Asher says while getting a cut on his shoulder, but he doesn't even flinch as he is shaking in anger. "...this isn't right..." Asher says as he got slashed at his back, but once again, he didn't flinch.

"Show yourself...butler!" Luffy says, equally as furious as he was getting cuts left and right, but he took it like a champ as he gritted his teeth.

"You are all supposed to be like family...stop this madness...NOW!" Asher yelled out at the top of his lungs with his body glowing pink as pink soundwaves came out of his mouth and blew up the area around them, demolishing the slope as the boys spotted a surprised, scorched Kuro flying through the sky.

"YOU, BASTARD!" Luffy and Asher yelled in absolute fury while leaping towards him as Kuro gasped in fear at seeing their livid, red faces. "DON'T YOU HAVE ANY HONOR!? THOSE PEOPLE ARE YOUR FRIENDS/FAMILY!"

"Luffy...Asher..." Nami says softly as the boys reach Kuro, and reared back their fists.

"GOMU GOMU NO...PISTOL!" Luffy yelled as he launched his fist at Kuro like a pistol, and punched him so hard that he sent him flying to the floor as the ground below him cracked, and he coughed out blood.

"BOMU BOMU NO...EXPLOSIVE...BOMB SLAM!" Asher shouted as he used his bomb powers to launch himself towards Kuro, who screamed in fear at the sight of the furious teen as Asher formed himself into a ball, and crashed landed on Kuro's chest as he set off an explosion that shook the area lightly before dying down as Asher stood up, and narrowed his eyes at the near-beaten to death Kuro, who looks like he was about to pass out anytime soon.

"Captain Kuro, no matter what happens to us..." Luffy says while landing beside Asher as they both stare at the beaten body of Kuro in disgust. "...we will never be like you," Luffy says with Asher nodding, too angry to say something as Kuro glared at them weakly before groaning as he was knocked out.

"Please, stop it! I'll write the will just stop hurting the boys!" Kaya yelled at Jango, who was beating up the children as he turned to her and smirked as he dropped a groaning Pepper, and walked over to her.

"No!"

"Miss Kaya!"

"Run!" All of the Veggies' yells rang out across the forest as Usopp and the others heard it, and beamed as they ran over to the direction of the screams.

"Please stop this, leave them alone, and I will write the will." Kaya says with a glare as the kid's eyes widen in fear.

"No, Kaya! He will kill you as soon as you finish writing your will!" They yelled as she gave the scared children a solemn look.

"I'm sorry." She says as Jango smirks.

"Silly girl, don't you know that you can't bargain with me? Captain Kuro specifically told me to get rid of everyone. That includes the children."

"No..." Kaya says before eyeing his ring hanging by his belt as she rushes over to him and grabs the ring as she then points it at her neck. "If you don't do as I say, then you won't get to kill me, and I won't write my will, either!" Kaya says while pressing the neck closer to her neck, to the point of drawing blood as Jango panicked.

"H-Hold on! Don't act hastily! I absolutely must get you to write that will!" Jango shouted as Kaya pressed the ring closer, and he flinched as the hypnotist pirate sighed tiredly. "Alright! I'll let the brats go! Though they're really in no condition to run..." Jango says the last part quietly to himself as he walks over to Kaya, who puts down his ring as he pulls out her will from his coat. "Here." He says while handing her the will and a pen as Kaya stares at it for a few seconds before sighing as she lays the will on a log, and begins writing it. "Don't forget to sign your name!"

"Yeah, yeah," Kaya says tiredly, and the little veggies can only look in horror as she writes her name on the paper. "Here." She says bitterly while handing him the paper as he snatches it, and begins reading it.

"Let's see, I leave my entire fortune, yadda, yadda, yadda, to my butler, Klahadore. Yes! Yes! Excellent! This saved me the trouble of hypnotizing you!" Jango says with a laugh as he folds up the will and hides it in his jacket.

"Now, remember, you promised not to kill them, right?" Kaya asked.

"Oh, yeah, don't worry..." Jango says before grabbing Kaya by her neck as he then slammed her against a tree. "...I'm a man who keeps his word." He says with a grin while twirling another ring as Kara whimpers and closes her eyes as she waits for the inevitable.

"KAYA!" The little veggies screamed in terror as Jango smirked and was about to decapitate the rich girl, but then-

"THERE THEY ARE!" Usopp yelled while appearing near Kaya and the others with Zoro, and Cottontail as the sniper noticed that Jango was about to kill Kaya, and his eyes widened. "OH, NO, SHE'S IN DANGER!" Usopp screamed before looking up at the flying Cottontail with a serious look. "COTTONTAIL! BUY US SOME TIME!"

"On it!" Cottontail shouted as he turned right and flew straight towards Kaya and the others.

"Oh, no! They caught up to me!" Jango screamed, noticing Usopp and Zoro running towards him as he turned to Kaya and narrowed his eyes. "Then I suppose I better hurry up and-"

"Leeeeeeeerrrrrooooyyyy Jeeeeeeeeenkkkkkkiiiiiiinnnggggssss!" Cottontail shouted as he flew in and landed on Jango's face as he began humping his face. "Taste my 4-inch dick, Hypno-Freak!" He yelled as Jango gagged.

"AGH! GROSS! GET OFF ME YOU LITTLE-"

"USOPP PIRATES ATTACK!" The little veggies screamed as they appeared out of nowhere while holding a giant shovel as they then shoved the shovel up Jango's eyes, causing his eyes to pop out of his skull as he let out a loud painful scream.

"AAAAAAAHHHH, YOU FUCKING, RAT!" Jango screamed while grabbing onto Cottontail as he threw him off before turning to the kids. "YOU DAMM BRATS!" Jango shouted while kicking the boys away as he then grabbed Kaya and placed her ring at her neck as he looked up at the running kids with a sadistic grin. "IT'S TOO LATE NOW, BRATS!" Jango shouted as Zoro smirked.

"Oh, yeah?" Zoro asked as he threw his sword through the air, and it cut down a tree branch.

"Why did you-"

"Thanks, Zoro! That branch was getting on my way!" Usopp shouted, from Zoro's back as he pulled out his slingshot, and aimed at the hypnotist. "Eat this, Hyonitist!" Usopp shouted as he launched the pachinko through the air and hit Jango across his forehead as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he let go of Kara as he fell back against the ground, unconscious.

"Whew, we managed to save her. That was too close." Usopp says as he and Zoro approach a trembling Kaya, and cheering children as Cottontail lands near them, and Zoro looks down at him.

"Did you shoved your dick down his throat?" Zoro asked as the small animal nodded. "Heh, you're alright, Cottontail," Zoro says with a smirk, using his name for the first time as Cottontail purred in delight. Meanwhile, with the duo, we see Luffy and Asher still glaring at Kuro as the Black Cat Pirates stare at them in disbelief/awe.

"T-They did it...they defeated, Captain Kuro! Not even the Marines have been able to catch him! Who are you two?" A pirate asked as the boys turned to them with stern glares.

"I am Monkey D. Luffy."

"And, I'm Asher D. Willis."

"The only time a pirate abandons his name is when he dies. We would never lose to a coward who ditches his name, betrays his friends, and runs from the sea!" Luffy says passionately as everyone blinks.

"Monkey D. Luffy, and Asher D. Willis? We've never heard of those names." A pirate says as Luffy and Asher smirked

"Well, you should remember our names because I'm going to be King of the Pirates!"

"And I will be by his side as the Strongest Man in the world!" Asher says proudly as the pirates blink at them in shock

"Y-You are?" He asked as they nodded.

"Yeah, now, take your shit..." Asher says while grabbing Kuro's unconscious body of Kuro as he then tossed him over to the shocked group of pirates. "...AND GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE WE BUST YOUR SKULLS!"

"AND NEVER COME BACK!" Luffy shouted as the scared group of pirates nodded and retreated back to their ship as they swam away. Luffy and Asher huffed at them before feeling dizzy as they were about to fall down but were caught by Nami as she set them gently on the ground.

"You two fought hard," Nami says with a small smile on her face as the boys remain silent, causing her to frown as she notices their scarred bodies. "Man, Kuro got you guys good. By the way, why did you two get so angry like that earlier?"

"Cause, I truly hate people like them. They're so wrong" Luffy says with Asher nodding angrily as Nami scowled.

"I hate to break it to you guys, but that's how most pirates are in the world." Nami says while looking off into the distance with a faraway look on her face.

"Then, I will promise myself that no matter what, I will never become like them. And, if I did, I give you guys permission to kill me." Asher says as Luffy nods understandably, while Nami looks at the Bomb Man in surprise before smiling softly as she ruffles his hair.

"Don't worry, Asher, I'm sure you will never become one of them," Nami says as Asher smiles at her.

"Thanks, Nami." He says as Nami nods before noticing odd about him.

"Hey, where's your eyepatch?"

"It got cut off during the battle." Asher answered as Nami nodded, and then an idea popped into her head as she rummaged threw her treasure bag, and pulled out an eyepatch as she handed it to a surprised Asher.

"Here, I found this while I was looking for treasure. Thought you might need it when something like this happens." Nami says as Asher smiles and grabs the eyepatch from her hands.

"Thanks, Nami." Asher says while putting on his new eyepatch as he smirks. "Fits like a glove!" Asher says as Nami smiles before frowning in confusion as they hear Luffy's stomach growling.

"I'm hungry." Luffy says as Nami grows angry and grabs Luffy's hat from the ground as she suffocates him with it.

"YOU'RE UNBELIEVABLE! WE WERE HAVING A NICE MOMENT, AND THEN YOU HAVE TO RUIN IT!" Nami shouted with shark teeth as Asher laughed.

"Hey, guys. Think you can keep everything that just happened here a secret." Usopp says to his friends while Zoro and Cottontail are busy moving Jango's unconscious body around.

"What!? A secret?! But why would we do that!?" Pepper asked in total confusion.

"That's right! We fought for the village!" Carrot shouted while raising his wooden sword in the air heroically.

"Now, everyone will change their opinion about you! Instead of being 'Usopp the Liar', you will be 'Usopp the Hero'!" Onion says as Kaya turns to Usopp.

"Usopp, you need to clear up everyone's misunderstanding." She says as Usopp shakes his head with a calm smile.

"Misunderstanding? I was known as the village's liar because I lied all the time, Kaya. They were right not to believe me. Besides, there's no point in scaring people with something that's already over." Usopp says, surprising Kaya with his wise decision as he smiles at her. "And I doubt threats like Kuro and his men will show up again. There's no reason for pirates to attack our little village. So, listen up, let's all pretend this never happened, okay? It was all just one of my great big lies. Now, I won't force you to-"

"No, I can do that! If that's what best for this village!"

"Same here!"

"Me too! I won't tell a soul!" All of the little veggies promised as Usopp smiled and turned to Kaya as he gave her a serious look.

"Kaya, will it be hard for you?" He asked as Kaya smiled and shook her head as Usopp smirked before walking to find the others as he found all of them sitting on the slope, recovering from the battle. "Thanks, guys. I wouldn't have been able to protect the village without you guys."

"What are you talking about? If you just sit by and done nothing, I wouldn't have done anything either." Zoro says while resting on the floor with Cottontail sitting on his lap as the Swordsman was petting him.

"Me, too," Luffy says while still lying on the ground as he is staring at the sky.

"Me, three," Asher says while lying beside Nami, who was hugging her bag of treasure close to her chest.

"Who cares about that? I got myself some treasure!" Nami says as Asher stares at her with a sweatdrop before looking over at Zoro as he smirks at him.

"I see you and Cottontail are getting along," Asher says, causing Zoro to freeze as he looks away and coughs.

"Yeah, well, the rat had grown on me." Zoro says while still petting Cottontail as the small animal purred, and Asher smiles at him before hearing Usopp cough as everyone turns to him.

"Guys, everything that happened here has helped me finally come to a decision." Usopp says as everyone stares at him curiously.

"Captain Usopp! What did you want to talk about?" Pepper asked as he and the little veggies had arrived at their little hideout where they saw their captain sitting there with a serious look.

"You guys have fought well against those Black Cat Pirates! As Captain, I feel very proud!" Usopp says as the kids beamed and blushed in embarrassment.

"You're too kind."

"Yeah, we're nothing compared to you, Captain."

"You're embarrassing us." The little Veggies say as Usopp shakes his head and stands up.

"No, you really did great! You were scared to death, but you managed to keep Kaya safe as I asked. Thanks to you, we overcame our biggest and most important battle since we formed the Usopp Pirates five years ago. That's when you three were four-years-old, remember?"

"Yep!"

"So, I know this is sudden, but I decided to go to sea by myself!" Usopp says, shocking his crewmates as the long-nosed boy looks up at the sky with a smile on his face. "I'm gonna be a real pirate!" He says with a laugh as the little veggies continue staring at him in shock/disbelief. "At first, I wasn't sure what I would do, I couldn't decide if I wanted to stay here forever or not, but once I saw them, I finally made up my mind. I know deep in my heart, what I must do..." Usopp says before trailing off as he jumps onto the log and raises his arms in the air as he smirks. "I must go out to sea because when the great pirate flag beckons, you must heed his call!" Usopp shouted into the heavens, snapping the kids of their shocked states as they stared at their captain sadly.

"Captain! Say it isn't so!"

"You're just lying again, right?!"

"Isn't that a bit hasty!? There's no reason to leave, I thought you loved this village?!"

"And, what's going to happen to the Usopp Pirates?!" Onion asked as Usopp went silent and smiled solemnly as he turned to his friends.

"You've been so good to me, guys. I planned to leave the villagers without telling them. Give them my regards."

"No..."

"I don't want to!"

"Don't go, Captain!" All of the little veggies cried out with tears in their eyes as Usopp teared up, but smirked at them as he placed his hands on hips.

"Do you remember this place? This is where we first met, and a lot has happened since that day. From fending off a cerberus, capturing a dragon, and even practicing how to use our weapons from time to time. We had a lot of good memories together, haven't we?" Usopp asked as the kids shook their heads.

"No! We don't want to hear about the old days!"

"Yeah! We don't want to hear about that!"

"This isn't like you, Captain! Why are you saying this stuff now?!"

"It's almost like you're actually planning on leaving us!" Carrot shouted as Usopp remained silent, causing the kids to cry even more as they realized that he was serious.

"You're so stupid, Captain! Stupid!" Onion shouted while bawling with the rest of the kids as Usopp smiled at them, and entered his 'Captain Mode'.

"Alright, men! Tell me about your ambitions in life!" Usopp shouted as the kids nodded and sat up straight.

"When I grow up, I want to run a pub!" Carrot shouted.

"In my whole life, I always wanted to be a master carpenter!" Pepper screamed.

"My goal is to become a writer!" Onion yelled.

"Then swear here that you'll continue on each of your paths and never let the fires of your ambitions go out! Because as of today...the Usopp Pirates...are disbanded!" Usopp shouted while taking down his flag as the kids cried even more. Meanwhile, elsewhere, we see Asher and the gang sitting at Moshi's as they are enjoying their victory by eating.

"Man, that was good!" Luffy shouted while eating a turkey as he and Zoro were sitting on the left side of the booth while Asher and Nami were sitting on the right side with Cottontail lazily perched on Nami's shoulders.

"Well, we had our meal, defeated the big bad guy, we should probably leave now." Zoro says as Luffy burps and nods.

"Yeah, we should." Luffy says as the doors are flung open, and the gang turns to see Kaya, wearing a brown business suit, walking towards them as everyone beams.

"Oh, hey, Kaya." Luffy greeted as Nami gave her a worried look.

"Are you alright, being out of bed and all?" She asked as Kaya nodded.

"Yes...I think now I can truly recover. You see, my sickness this past year was caused by the mental dismay from having lost my parents, and Usopp's friendship really cheered me up, too. I couldn't stay coddled forever!" Kaya says with a cheery smile as everyone smiles back. "You've done so much for me. Thank you all."

"It was no problem, little miss." Asher says with a wink, causing her to blush slightly as Nami saw this, and for some reason, didn't like what she was seeing as she coughed.

"So, not too sound rude, but its that why you came here to see us?" Nami asked as Kaya shook her head.

"No, I also came here to give you all a present from the bottom of my heart! I'd bee honored if you accept it."

"Cool, what's the present?" Asher asked as Kaya smirked and motioned them to follow her as they obliged.

"YOU'RE GIVING US A SHIP!?" The Straw Hats stared at their new ship in awe as Kaya stepped forward.

"Yes, please, use it," Kaya says just as a man suddenly appears as he smiles at the teens. The man is a tall, 32-year-old, formally dressed butler with curly white hair, two lamb-like horns on his eyes, black eyes, and lamb-like lips. His name is Merry.

"The ship is a slightly older model, but I personally design it, and she sails like a dream!" Merry says as the gang nods while staring at the ship in awe. "She has a carvel-make caravel with lateen sails and a central stern rudder. She's a fine ship, and her name is...the Going Merry!" Merry announced as he then walked over to Luffy. "Let me explain the steering system. First of all, in order to adjust the yards in relation to the crew garnet-"

"No! No! Explain the ship stuff to me!" Nami says, noticing how lost Luffy is as the young pirate is thankful for her interference, and turns to look at the ship again as he admires the sheep-like figurehead.

"What a good ship! Especially the front, it's so cool!" Luffy says as Kaya smiles.

"We've loaded it with everything you might need on the voyage," Kaya says as Luffy smiles at her.

"Thanks! It leaves nothing to be tired!" Luffy says as Kaya stares at him confusedly.

"He means, 'Leaves nothing to be desired'," Zoro explained as Kaya nodded.

"Man, this ship is huge! It gives me plenty of enough space to train!" Asher says excitedly as he turned to Cottontail, who was sitting on his shoulder. "Don't you think so, little buddy?"

"Most definitely! Although, please refrain from using your Devil Fruit. We don't want you to accidentally blow it up." Cottontail says as Asher nods before hearing a loud yell coming from up the slope as everyone looks up and sees a screaming Usopp rolling down the slope as he was carrying a huge green bag.

"SOMEBODY STOP THIS THING!"

"Usopp!" Kaya yells worriedly as Asher turns to Cottontail.

"Go, save him." He says as Cottontail nods and flies off as he forms himself into a giant net that caught a grateful Usopp and formed himself back to normal.

"Thanks, little buddy." Usopp says dizzily as he nods and flies back to his owner's shoulders as Kaya walks up to Usopp, and gives him a sad frown.

"So, you're really doing it? You're going to take to the ocean?" Kaya asked as Usopp nodded with a serious look on his face.

"Yeah. I decided to get going before I start to change my mind. Please, don't stop me." Usopp says as Kaya smiles and shakes her head.

"I won't. I know it's time for you to go. It really makes me sad, though." She says as Usopp turned to her with a smile.

"Kaya, don't be sad about it! Just think, the next time I come back here, I will tell you adventure stories that seem even more lie-like than lies!" He says as Kaya smiles softly and leans in to kiss his cheek.

"Good. I look forward too it. Take care, Usopp." Kaya says to a shocked Usopp before walking away with Merry as Usopp watches her go with a blushing smile, and turns to Luffy and the others, who have already boarded the ship.

"You guys take care, too! Let's meet again sometime!" Usopp shouted as the Straw Hats stared at him confusedly.

"How come?"

"Huh? 'How come?' Man, your antisocial, I'm gonna be a pirate too, so we'll meet on the high seas eventually!" Usopp shouted as everyone stared at him as if he was an idiot.

"What are you talking about? Get on already." Zoro says bluntly.

"Eh!?"

"We're friends now, aren't we?" Luffy asked Usopp, who nodded as Asher popped in with a smile.

"So, come join us on the Going Merry, and become a Straw Hat like us!" Asher says cheerfully as Usopp stares at them with his jaw dropped before grinning madly as he leaps in the air and cheers.

"WHOO-HOO, YES! AND I GET TO BE THE CAPTAIN, RIGHT!?"

"HELL NO! I'M THE CAPTAIN!" Luffy yelled with white eyes and shark teeth as everyone laughed. After a few minutes of Luffy screaming at Usopp that he wasn't the Captain, the gang had finally set off on their new ship with the little veggies watching them go sadly from their hideout.

"There goes the captain." Carrot murmurs sadly as the others sigh.

"Yeah, but he's with those guys, so I feel less worried now." Onion says as Pepper nods.

"Yeah, I've never seen anyone as strong as them before, so Captain would be alright." He says as Carrot chuckles.

"He always talked about becoming a pirate, and now he is heading off to live his dreams."

"Yeah, but now the villagers are going to be sad when they find out that he left." Pepper says as Onion sighs.

"Our Captain was the only one who could lighten things up around here, but now he's gone." He says with the others nodding somberly, but then Pepper perked up as a lightbulb appeared over his head.

"Hey! I just got an idea! Follow me!" Pepper says before running off as the others follow.

"They were certainly a pleasant group." Merry says while standing with Kaya at a cliff as they were watching the Going Merry sail off to sea.

"Merry."

"Yes, Miss Kaya?"

"Lying hurts." Kaya said with a depressed look as Merry turned to her curiously.

"Are you referring to Klahadore?"

"No..." Kaya says bluntly as Merry smiles at her.

"Oh, then you mean when you wanted to stop Usopp, but refrain from doing so because you knew that he wanted to go?" He asked as she nodded sadly. "Miss Kaya, the villagers once told me a story from his childhood," Merry said as Kaya looked up at him curiously. "Shortly after Usopp's father left the village, his mother had fallen ill. From that day, Usopp started shouting, 'Pirates were coming!' in the hopes that his father will someday come back to help her, but sadly, his plan didn't work, and she passed away."

"Perhaps out of loneliness, he continues shouting it in the hope that one day his father does return home, ready to take him away to sea and give him a family that he never had. The villagers said that was the reason for his lies. And as someone who had lost his own family couldn't bear to see you hurt, so he decided to try and cheer you up as he saw you as a kindred spirit, and he couldn't sit back and watch your suffering anymore." Merry says as Kaya smiled softly and teared up as she looked off into the ocean.

"Usopp..." Kaya said with a blush on her face as Merry turned to her with a smirk.

"Now, it's time for you two to rise from the ashes of tragedy and live up to the example that Usopp worked so hard to set!" Merry exclaimed as Kaya nodded, and grew a determined look on her face as she nodded.

"You're right, Merry! No more being coddled! I'm going to be a doctor!" Kaya stated firmly as Merry grinned proudly.

"CHEERS TO OUR NEW SHIP AND CREWMATE!" Luffy shouted as he was having a celebratory drink with the gang, who cheered as well as they chugged down their drinks.

"Here we go!" Pepper says to his friends while standing near the entrance of the village as they give each other serious looks.

"Are we really gonna do this?!" Carrot asked as Pepper nodded.

"You bet! We're following in our Captain's footsteps!" He says as the others nod. "Okay, on the count of three. One..."

"Two..."

"Three!" The little veggies shouted as they began running towards the village.

"PIRATES ARE HERE!"

"PIRATES ARE HERE!"

"PIRATES ARE HERE!" All of the veggies shouted as they entered the village and ran around the streets, alerting the excited and happy villagers as they continued carrying on their captain's legacy.

---

And done! I hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter, and I can't wait to write the next one!

Anyway, as always, I will catch you all later.