Chapter 7: The Second Pokémon Trainer

(At the north shore)

Jango was simply left standing as his crew of bloodthirsty men were on the ground, moaning in pain. As if Chiaki, Hoopa, and the newly summoned female martial artist named Edith weren't enough of a problem, Luffy and Zoro's appearances complicated things even further.

Well, it's about time." Nami commented.

"I know, right?" Chiaki said. "And here I was thinking about fighting without you guys. But, I'm glad you're here."

"Wow! That was great!" Usopp mouthed with excitement. "You guys are really strong! And I thought Chiaki, Hoopa, and the girl in the weird getup were something else!"

"A girl in what?" Zoro asked.

"He means me." Edith stepped forward, revealing herself to Zoro.

"Wait, you were fighting with Chiaki and the others?" Zoro asked.

"Yep. I'm Edith. Edith Wilson." Edith told him her name. "I may not look much but I'm very good at Kung Fu."

"So, that was it, huh?" Chiaki muttered. "That's really cool."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"Still, a girl who can do Kung Fu…" Nami remarked. "That's honestly not something you see everyday."

"If you're wondering how she is here, I'm the one who brought her here accidentally." Hoopa said.

"Oh, that's why…" Zoro stated, as he had witnessed Hoopa's powers over space himself. "Make sense."

"And I was in the middle of a mission too." Edith muttered. "Although it was a botched mission and I was running away before that whole summoning happened." She proceeded to look towards the others. "I'll tell you about it once this is over."

"Okay." Chiaki said. "Then I guess we both have something to explain."

"Yeah…"

Meanwhile, Luffy was glaring at Usopp.

"'Run straight north', he says." Luffy muttered while glaring at Usopp. "That's just great! I mean, how am I supposed to know which way north even is out here!?"

"Shut up! You're the one who ran, so sure of yourself!" Usopp retorted. "Ready to take on anyone!"

"Well, I just got so excited I started running, you know." Luffy defended.

"The sun rises high in the sky now…" Jango remarked as he looked up to the sky. "And that means, Captain Kuro, grows very impatient." He then shudders at the mere thought of what Kuro would do to him and the rest of the crew if they fail to follow his plan. "Men, don't just lie there! You can't tell you're going to let them win! They're just a couple of idiots!"

The Pirates barely mustered the strength to stand up at the hypnotist's voice. Some barely managed to stand up.

"The fact is that we don't have time to lollygag around here any longer." Jango said, pulling out his pendulum. "If our enemy is strong, then we must become stronger than them. Here, stare deeply into this ring." Then, the pendulum started swaying left and right as the Pirates had their eyes fixated to the object. "Now, I will count 'one, two, Jango' and after that, you all will begin to grow stronger! Your wounds will heal and you'll grow stronger still!"

"Wait, that looks kinda familiar…" Luffy muttered.

"He's gonna do that cheap imitation of Hypnosis again." Hoopa assumed.

"Yeah, right! There's no way he can get his men stronger that way!" Nami scoffed. "That'll never work."

"No, it will work." Edith stated. "Trust me, I've seen this sort of thing enough to know that it's no joke."

"Stronger, stronger!" Jango chanted. "One… two…" Before he uttered his name, he proceeded to push up the back brim of hat to cover his eyes. "Jango!"

It took a few minutes for the hypnosis to kick in as the entire Black Cat Pirates erupted with a tremendous roar.

"No way!" Nami exclaimed in disbelief.

One of the Pirates then slammed a fist to the side of the cliff, causing a huge chunk of it to fall off!

"That one guy completely destroyed the cliff! Now, that's what I call power!" Zoro exclaimed in disbelief.

"Unreal…" Chiaki mouthed.

"I always thought hypnotizing people was a bunch of crap!" Nami exclaimed.

"Few people don't know this, but hypnosis could do a lot more than they initially thought." Hoopa explained. "From brainwashing to suggestions that can tap into someone's unconscious side. That's sort of thing."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Edith stated. "And we're seeing it happen right now."

"That was just one of them…" Usopp muttered. "Imagine what the whole crew can do!"

"Now, go!" Jango ordered. "And strike down all who stand in your way!"

The Black Cat Pirates cheered before charging through the slope with the intent to trample anyone who got in their way.

"Nami, Usopp! You might wanna get out of the way!" Chiaki said before he turned towards his partner. "Hoopa, you stay with them."

"Alright!" Hoopa nodded as he turned towards Nami and Usopp. "Come on, let's go!"

"Okay." Nami said as she and Usopp followed after the Mischief Pokemon to go a safe distance.

"Luffy, Zoro, Edith! Let's try handling these Pirates!" Chiaki twirled his gun around before he readied himself.

"You got a plan?" Zoro asked, holding one of his swords.

"It's simple: Let's beat the living shit out of them!" Chiaki answered.

"Um… Chiaki, was it?" Edith called out to him. "Your other friend is awfully quiet for some reason."

And true to her words, Chiaki and Zoro realized their straw hat friend was indeed unresponsive.

"Uh, Luffy? Something wrong, buddy?" Chiaki asked.

"Hey, Luffy." Zoro called out to his Captain.

Luffy simply stood there with the Pokémon Trainer, the swordsman, and the martial artist. He made a low growling sound before he raised his arms high while letting a furious roar as his eyes were pupiless with fury.

"Don't tell me you let that freak hypnotize you too!?" Zoro screamed with shark teeth.

"Are you kidding me!? Again!?" Chiaki also screamed with shark teeth.

And with a loud battle cry, Luffy charged towards the Pirates.

"He really is a simple-minded idiot!" Nami stated.

"Gum Gum… Gatling!" Luffy charged towards the Pirates before unleashing a barrage of punches so fast it was as if he had multiple arms, causing the Pirates to stop charging and ended up getting hit by Luffy's fists. This sent the Pirates reeling backwards down the slope.

"No way! Am I seeing things!?" Edith exclaimed. "I think I just saw his arms stretching in a way normal people couldn't!"

"Long story short, he ate a fruit that gives him superpowers." Chiaki explained. "And the one he ate apparently gave him the ability to stretch like rubber. But it has the downside of him being unable to swim in the sea."

"Whoa… That's actually something."

Jango was caught off-guard with how his plan to hypnotize ended up being turned against him when Luffy also got himself hypnotized by him.

"Damn you, Captain Kuro!" Jango muttered as he saw his men lay down on the ground once more. "You made one HELL of a miscalculation! These are not your average, village idiots!"

It was then the Pirates realized that Luffy was in the same state as them. And when he charged forward once more, they immediately turned around and ran away from him. But the weirdest part was that the Pirates were not Luffy's targets as he passed through them and even went past Jango as the other Pirates fell down on the ground.

"Where's he going!?" Zoro asked.

"To their ship, maybe?" Chiaki said with uncertainty.

"I wonder what he's going to do?" Edith wondered.

When Luffy reached the ship, he immediately went to grab the front piece of said ship that had the figurehead with both of his hands.

"What is he doing?" A Pirate dared to ask.

"That's right! Tear it down!" Nami cheered from the top of the slope.

With his feet digging onto the sand and some muscles bulking out on the arms and the feet, Luffy managed to tear the front piece of the ship completely off from the ship. With now holding the piece of the ship, Luffy turned to the Pirates and growled angrily at them.

"Wow… This Luffy guy is insanely strong!" Edith exclaimed as she was impressed with Luffy's superhuman strength.

"Oh, no! He's going to crush us with it!" The same Pirate exclaimed. "Everybody, run!"

The Pirates immediately ran towards the slope to try and get away from Luffy.

"Captain, do something!" Another Pirate called out to Jango, who immediately snapped out of his stupor from watching Luffy going on a rampage.

'I suppose watching him isn't going to help anything!' Jango thought as he quickly pulled out his pendulum once more. "One, two, Jango! You will fall asleep! One, two, Jango!"

As he said that, Luffy's eyes closed as the guy began snoring. But just as Luffy fell over as he was sleeping, so too the front piece of the ship that he tore apart. The front piece of the ship crashed down and the shockwave knocked down the Pirates, including Jango, into the ground. Some piece of it was on top of Luffy due to holding it in the first place. Though the sleeping boy was unbothered by it as he was soundly sleeping.


(At Kaya's mansion)

Kaya snapped awake and got up due to experiencing a nightmare about Usopp actually being a scheming Pirate that "Klahadore" accused him of and was trying to kill her. She let out a cough a few times before she put on her slippers, put on a light brown overcoat, and then proceeded to leave her room. Slowly and steadily, she reached the room where the aforementioned butler usually was.

"Klahadore." Kaya called out while knocking on the door. "Klahadore, are you in there?" She let out another coughing fit before deciding to peek into the room. "Klahadore–"

Instead, she saw the room in a slightly messy state as well as seeing her other butler lying down on the ground in a way that was not normal.

"Merry!" Kaya shouted as she dropped her coat before rushing towards the butler. "What's going on!? What happened to you!?" She asked as she knelt down and gently shook him. "Please, wake up! Merry! Please, don't die!"

Fortunately for the girl, the other butler managed to wake up as he glanced towards her.

"Oh, thank goodness…" Merry stated. "You're… still alive. I was worried…"

"Merry!" Kaya then saw the curly haired butler attempting to get up but the wound he got from his treacherous colleague was too much, causing him to stumble and lie down on his back.

"You have to tell me who did this to you!" The blonde girl said.

"Klahadore… That's who!" Merry answered with tears formed in his eyes. "He attacked me!"

Kaya gasped at finding out that the culprit was someone she trusted.

"He's a… He's a Pirate! He's never been anything else!" Merry continued, with tears still streaming down on his face.

"But… How could that be!?" Kaya exclaimed.

"He got… close to you just so he can steal your fortune!" The injured butler explained. "That's all he ever wanted."

"He can't be! No, you're lying!"

"I'm telling you the truth!"

Just seeing her butler crying and the state he was in was enough to convince Kaya that it was, in fact, the truth.

"Then… what Usopp spoke about yesterday was the truth." Kaya realized.

"That's right. And that's what is most tragic." Merry confirmed. "When he learned the truth, he tried his hardest getting us to hear him out. But we were all too shallow minded, too confident in the closed-off world we lived in for so long to listen to a single word."

Kaya's mind then flashed to what happened yesterday, specifically a time where Usopp tried so hard to get her to safety only to be slapped away from him.

"Quick! Run, Kaya! They're gonna kill you!"

"I promise it all makes sense tomorrow!"

"In our blind protection of the villain in our midst, we drove away the one brave lad whose desperate resolve he enacted for the sake and safety of every person in the village!" Merry continued. "Including you and I!" Then, he coughed out some blood on the floor.

"SOMEONE, ANYONE! HELP!" Kaya pleaded. "MERRY NEEDS HELP!"

"No, Miss! It's of no use." Merry stated he mustered his strength to lean his back to a wall beneath the window. "The entire staff is on leave. No one has been here since yesterday."

"What… Then I just… I'll find–"

"You cannot let yourself get flustered, Miss!" Merry stated, calming his mistress down. "We know the attack has yet to begin. So, be calm and think clearly about what it is you have to do next. Because if Klahadore is the thief we understand him to be and his goal is your fortune and your mansion, then by all means let him have it! None of this is worth sacrificing your life over."

"... Yes." Kaya agreed as she wiped away her tears.

"It's a cruel truth, but you're the only one who can stop Klahadore now, Kaya." Merry stated. "Can you do it? I know this is not your burden, but still… I must ask…"

"Yes, I understand." Kaya replied, having resolved to do what must be done. "I'll do it. This isn't a situation where I can run away from. I know what consequences I'll face! I will find Klahadore and I will finish this!"


(Back at the north shore)

Zoro, Chiaki, Hoopa, Nami, and Edith were staring at what was in front of them the entire time as they saw Luffy still sleeping under a piece of the Black Cat Pirates' ship as all of their Pirates were lying on the ground.

"Is he okay?" Edith asked them as she pointed her finger towards a certain straw hat boy. "Sleeping under a large piece of rubble doesn't seem comforting."

"He's fine. He's just sleeping." Chiaki answered.

"Yeah, it takes more than that to kill him." Zoro added.

"You know, you really should be worrying about yourself." Hoopa stated as he glanced towards Usopp, who was battered from whacked and kicked.

"Ugh…" Jango groaned as he got up as his men were still knocked out around him. "Damn that little brat! Now, our whole plan's shot to hell! What am I gonna do with this mess!? Captain Kuro sees this and he'll kill us!"

"Buchi, come check this out! There's some bad stuff going down!"

"What the hell!?"

Suddenly, The hypnotist heard two voices that he recognized and his panic immediately disappeared.

"Ah, I forgot we still have our 'trump card'!" Jango realized. "COME FORTH, NYABAN BROTHERS!"

Almost immediately, two figures jumped out from the ship and landed on the torn piece of said ship.

One is a skinny man with green hair that is curled at the end, having green pupils narrowed like a cat, hunched back, and a pair of black cat-like ears. He wore a navy blue shirt with light gray buttons and magenta bow tie, light blue shorts, dark brown gloves with claws growing on the end, and brown shoes. The second figure was an overweight man who had tiny eyes, two sharp fangs, and was wearing a black cat-like ears just like the other one. His outfit consisted of a light and dark purple cape, striped black and magenta pants with a yellow sash, and brown shoes. He also had a yellow bell hanging around his neck.

"Yes, Captain! Did you call for us?" The skinny man asked.

"Well, did you?" The other man added.

"Sham!" The green haired brother introduced.

"And Buchi!" The man with a bell collar added.

"Together, we are the Nyaban Brothers! At your service!" The pair said in unison while striking a pose.

Chiaki and the others were taken aback and confused by the sight of these two newcomers.

"So, those two are the 'trump card' that weirdo summoned, huh?" Edith muttered, having a feeling something was up with the two.

"Buchi! Sham!" Jango began as he saw two subordinates coming down to greet him. "We absolutely must get up this hill, but as you can plainly see our path is blocked! If you would be so kind as to remove this obstacle immediately."

The brothers took one look at Zoro, who was glaring down towards them, and they immediately got cold feet.

"No way! We couldn't do that!" Sham stated. "That guy looks too strong!" He then looked at his brother. "Right, Buchi?"

"Oh, yeah. He's strong! Way stronger than us!" Buchi said as he also noticed Chiaki, Hoopa, and Edith. "And I bet that guy, that little thing, and that girl is the same too!"

"Huh…?" Zoro mouthed in confusion as with Nami and Usopp.

"Hoopa, are they…" Chiaki began.

"Yep. They are." Hoopa told him.

"Besides, we just guard the ship, not fight people!" Sham continued.

"He's got a point! We're really not the guys you wanna send to battle." Buchi commented.

"So, they're a couple of pansies." Usopp remarked. "I guess they are not the trump card after all…"

"Sham, just do it already!" Jango stated.

"Ah! What!? Please, not me!" Sham shouted.

"AND HURRY!" Jango screamed at the man.

"Okay, I'll go! Just stop yelling!"

"The guy's crying like a baby! What're they doing down there?" Nami wondered as she saw Sham charging forward. "Of all people, why force that guy into a fight?"

"I'm gonna tear you up with these claws!" Sham declared while running like an idiot. "You just wait and see! I'm a vicious killing machine and I'm coming for you, you bad people!"

"This is just sad…" Edith muttered as she pulled out a familiar red and white ball-like object. "Mienfoo, take care of this second-rate actor for me!" She threw the Poke Ball into the air as a blue energy came out from it landed on Zoro.

"What the…" Zoro mouthed.

"What is that!?" Usopp exclaimed.

It is a yellow, bipedal mustelid-like creature. It has round ears, red eyes, and a pink nose with a whisker on each side. Its red arms look similar to flared sleeves, and the paws are yellow. Its chest has a small red band, and its pelt piles around its thighs resembling a tunic or robe. Its legs are red, and its yellow tail is also tipped red.

"Huh? What kind of weasel is that?" Jango questioned, taken aback with how it came out from a small ball.

"No way… Is that a Pokémon!?" Chiaki exclaimed.

"Let me see…" Hoopa used his portal to pull out a familiar book from his ring and proceeded to look for the entry. "Looks like it's Mienfoo, the Martial Arts Pokémon, a Fighting type. It says here that this Pokémon takes pride in the speed at which it can use moves. What it loses in power, it makes up for in quantity."

"Oh, wow…" Chiaki mouthed. "So, Edith's a Pokémon Trainer too…"

"What are the odds that she's someone like Chiaki too…" Nami mouthed.

"Wait, you mean Chiaki can really summon monsters too?" Usopp asked. "I thought he was kidding."

"No, he wasn't." Zoro confirmed.

"(Hmph! Such dishonorable tactics.)" Mienfoo said as she went into a fighting stance. "(How about a taste of my Kung Fu!)"

"Hey, girl! Your pet is gonna be clawed out by me! Get it out of the way before it gets hurt!" Sham shouted.

"Mienfoo, Force Palm." Edith commanded.

"(Right away, Edith! Hi-yah!)" The Fighting type Pokémon as she charged towards Sham before she thrusted her palm, which was glowing light blue, on Sham's chest with great force.

"GAAH!" Sham grunted as he was sent flying backwards until he landed on his back.

"Hey, you don't have to go hard on a wimp like that!" Zoro said.

"Oh, he's no wimp." Edith told him. "He's faking it. Him and fatso."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, Edith's right." Chiaki stated as he and Hoopa approached Zoro. "Those two were putting on an act just to lower our guard down."

"That might fool some people, but not me." Hoopa said. "And think about it, why would the Black Cat Pirates bother to keep those two around if they're just a bunch of cowards? I've seen their type before so I have an idea on what they are thinking."

"I can't believe it… They're actually figured it out!?" Jango exclaimed, taken aback with how the performance was seen through so easily.

"Sham! Are you okay?" Buchi called out his brother, who managed to get up.

"Dammit… How…!?" Sham muttered as he glared at Edith. "My little act was supposed to be perfect! How did you figure it out!?"

"So, they really are just acting…" Nami mouthed in astonishment.

"And those three actually managed to see it through… Amazing." Usopp added.

"Dammit, I feel stupid for falling for a cheap trick like that." Zoro muttered, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"You damn weasel! How dare you do that to Sham!" Buchi said as he charged towards Mienfoo.

But before his claws could get to the Martial Arts Pokemon, two blades suddenly got in between and blocked the claws.

"Huh!?" Buchi exclaimed.

"Hey, fatty! Why don't you pick on someone your own size? Someone like me!l" The one who intervened was none other than Zoro, who have unsheathed two swords

"You…!" Buchi exclaimed.

"You know, I was going to go easy on you. But now that I know it was a cheap performance…" Zoro then pushed Buchi backwards until he was by his brother's side. "That means I can cut you down without feeling bad about it."

"Grr! Don't you dare underestimate the Nyaban Brother!" Sham said as he looked towards Buchi. "Come on, Buchi! Let's go!"

"Okay, Sham!" Buchi complied.

"Let's do this! Pussywillow March!" The Nyaban Brothers declared in unison as they charged towards both Zoro and Mienfoo.

"Heads up, Mienfoo! Parry the attacks with Fury Swipes!" Edith told her Pokémon.

"(I'll try!)" Mienfoo stated before she and Zoro proceeded to parry away the continuous claw swipes from the Nyaban Brothers, with the former using her claws and the latter using his two swords.

"You know, for something so small that Pokemon sure can move fast." Nami commented, impressed with how the ermine-like Pokémon managed to keep up with Sham.

"Yeah." Usopp agreed.

"Well, Mienfoo's species can perform 100 chops in just one minute if they are properly trained." Edith explained. "And my Mienfoo is one of them."

"100 chops!? For just one minute!?" Chiaki exclaimed. "Wow, I'm surprised it can do that without getting tired."

"That's what training is for." Edith said before she focused her attention back to her Pokémon, who were fighting Sham.

"It looks like those two managed to keep those weird cat-men distracted!" Nami pointed out. "I'm gonna go see if I can get Luffy to wake up!"

"Wait, Nami!" Chiaki tried to stop her but it was too late as the Navigator jumped off from the ledge and ran off to reach Luffy.

Just as Nami was about to go past Jango, the latter used his chakram to slice her in the shoulders, causing her to gasp in pain as she fell to the ground.

"NAMI!" Chiaki shouted in worry.

"Oh, no! She got hit!" Usopp added.

"Now, what exactly are you trying to do?" Jango wondered before he looked up and saw something that quickly changed his expression. "AAHH!"

Zoro, Edith, Mienfoo, and the Nyaban Brothers stopped what they were doing as they, along with Chiaki, Hoopa, and Usopp, looked up at the top of the slope and saw that Kuro had entered the scene. And he did not seem pleased with the delay of his three years-long plan.

"No… I'm sorry!" Jango said. "I can… explain all of this!"

"I guess he's the real Captain of the Pirate crew from the looks of it." Edith muttered, feeling uneasy by Kuro's presence.

"The night has long since passed…" Kuro said as he pushed up his glasses. "So, why is it that you seem to have made no progress on the plan?"

Some of the Black Cat Pirates managed to regain consciousness and they were immediately frightened by the appearance of their real Captain.

"Captain Kuro! No!"

"He'll… He'll kill us all!"

"Well, look who decides to show up." Chiaki muttered as he glared towards Kuro.

"It's all over…" Usopp muttered as he stared at Kuro's furious look.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" Kuro screamed, causing Jango and the rest of the Black Cat Pirates to shudder in fear.

"I guess that answers my question…" Edith said.

"To think that these brats have held you back…" Kuro began as he dropped the bag he was holding with his left hand. "How the Black Cat Pirates have fallen. What have you got to say for yourself?" Then, two veins formed on Kuro's forehead. "JANGO!?"

"But, uh… well…" Jango stuttered. "I… you said… sorry, sir, but you said letting those kids go wouldn't cause any problems." He said before ending it with a nervous laughter.

"I did say that." Kuro admitted. "What's your point? Usopp's an idiot! I knew no one would listen to his warnings and that he would come stumbling back to take a stand against us along with a bunch of strangers. But the one thing I hadn't accounted for… was your inexcusable weakness!"

"Sir, we're not weak…" Jango muttered. "It's just that–"

"Who are you to call us weak!?" Sham interrupted.

"Watch what you say, Captain Kuro!" Buchi added as he and his brother were glaring down at their Captain.

"You used to be quite the killer!" Sham continued. "But face it, Kuro, it's been three years and we haven't exactly been living the good life waiting on a rich girl's hand and foot!"

"Yeah, that's right!" Buchi agreed. "For three long years, we've been out sinking Pirate ships and massacring villages!"

"Very good. Finished?" Kuro replied calmly with a hint of sarcasm.

"No! You've done nothing this whole time!" Sham stated. "We've been killing!"

"You butler! There's no way you can beat the Nyaban Brothers!" Buchi added.

And with that, the pair zipped past through Zoro and the others as they lunged towards Kuro.

"Don't! Buchi! Sham! Stop!" Jango tried to warn his crew's trump card but to no avail.

"You are not our Captain anymore!" Sham shouted while charging towards Kuro along with his brother.

"So sorry, but we have to kill you!" Buchi added.

As Kuro lifted his bag up into the air, he suddenly did rapid footsteps in an odd way before vanishing into the air, causing the Nyaban Brothers to only slice through the bag.

"Unreal…" Chiaki muttered as he saw Kuro appeared abruptly behind his insolent subordinates, having worn his gloves with several sheaths of the glove falling off, revealing the "claws" of the gloves.

"What are those crazy weapons?" Zoro wondered.

"Whoa… That guy moves so fast." Edith muttered, having never seen something like this before in her life.

"Who… Who are you going to kill?" Kuro repeated as the duo immediately turned around to attack.

"He snuck up–"

"Behind us!"

Despite the attempt, Kuro evaded their attacks yet again and vanished with his bizarre technique.

"He did it again!" Chiaki exclaimed. 'It's almost like Silent Step.'

"Pussy Foot Maneuver…" Jango muttered.

"Pussy Foot…?" Nami repeated as she laid down on the ground.

And with the technique, Kuro kept vanishing and walking around the Nyaban Brothers as if he was a ghost.

"You know, you're right." Kuro agreed as he appeared behind the Nyaban Brothers, with the blade of each of his thumbs pointing at the duo's faces white the rest were aimed at their bodies. "I do feel… a bit sluggish after all these years."

'He's handling them like babies!' Nami thought. 'And those two were able to keep up with Zoro and Edith's Mienfoo!'

'With his Pussy Foot Maneuver, Captain Kuro could shred everyone on this beach before we drew our next breath!' Jango thought. 'And we won't even see it coming! There's no escape from a killing machine like him!' His mind then flashed back to a point where he saw a peculiar quirk of his Captain when he met him for the first time in three years. 'I knew he hadn't grown soft when I saw that old habit of his! That strange way of lifting his glasses so that he won't cut his face. It's like he never stopped wearing those Cat Claws. They're almost a part of his body, of course he hasn't forgotten how to fight!'

"That's some neat trick there." Hoopa muttered. 'I wonder who would win? His Pussy Foot Maneuver or Chiaki's Silent Step?'

"You're very lucky." Kuro said. "I'm feeling somewhat… merciful. Maybe these years on dry land have made me soft. I'll give you five minutes." He then pulled back his blade away from Sham and Buchi. "If you can't deal with the situation here in five minutes, then I'll kill every last one of you!" He proceeded to take a few steps back before folding his arms in a way that did not cut his body. "Now, do I make myself clear?"

"Oh, yes!" Jango answered while sweating. "Yes, of course! That's perfectly clear! Thank you for being so forgiving! All we have to do is take care of those five!" He said, referring to Zoro, Chiaki, Hoopa, Edith, and Mienfoo. "That's all! Five minutes will be more than enough time for them!"

Almost immediately Sham and Buchi went towards their adversaries.

"Don't worry! We'll finish these two along with the rest!" Buchi exclaimed.

"We only need one minute to finish them this time!" Sham stated.

"We're counting on you! Kill them! Kill them dead!" Jango ordered.

"That's it. I'm ending this." Zoro said as he unsheathed his third sword and put it in front of his mouth before doing his signature pose.

"Huh… That's a weird way of holding a sword…" Edith mouthed as her attention was now back on her Mienfoo. "Okay, Mienfoo! Let's finish this!"

"(Agreed. These scoundrels will soon learn the folly of their ways.)" Mienfoo declared as she went back into her fighting stance.

"You silly girl!" Sham screeched. "That freaky weasel of youre isn't going to make any difference! You're gonna die along with the rest!"

"And as for the guy with the three swords, it doesn't matter how many swords you're holding because you're gonna die holding three of them!" Buchi added.

"Mienfoo! You use Acrobatics!"

"You don't get it, do you? Tiger Trap!"

Mienfoo's body began surrounded in light blue aura before striking Sham several times with a few times before sending him flying with a kick. With Zoro, he used his three swords to slice through Buchi's body, leaving large slash marks on his body.

"The clock is ticking." Kuro stated as he saw his two subordinates were sent flying.

"Carrying three swords won't help you at all…" Zoro admitted. "Unless you know Three Swords Style."

"Three Swords Style, huh? That's new…" Edith muttered.

"Oh, no…" Jango muttered as the Nyaban Brothers fell to the ground before him. "This is bad!"

Buchi attempted to get up but failed as he fell down, right near Jango's feet.

'That swordsman took down the Buchi with one attack!' Jango thought as he looked towards Mienfoo. 'And I can't believe a weird creature like that one managed to defeat Sham!'

"That's some good work, Mienfoo." Edith praised her Pokemon. "Not bad for your first fight in another world."

"(Thank you, Edith.)" Mienfoo replied. "(Even if this is another world, I shall welcome any challenges!)"

"Hey, your Pokémon's not bad." The summoned girl turned around and saw that Zoro was looking towards her. "Must be taking after you."

"I could say the same about you and your swordsmanship." She retorted.

Zoro proceeded to turn towards Kuro before pointing one of his blades at him.

"Don't worry…" He began. "I promise you, everything will be taken care of in less than five minutes!"

Kuro simply grinned at the boast as he pushed up his glasses and his expression went back to neutral.

"Three. Three minutes left." Kuro said, reminding his crew.

Jango felt something grab onto one of his legs as he looked down, realizing that Buchi barely managed to stay conscious this whole time.

"I-I'll… I'll slaughter them…!" Buchi said as he coughed a little. "Please… Captain!"

"Yes, Captain…" Jango turned around to his left and saw that Sham was also conscious as well. "We… can take them…! The Nyaban Brothers… will kill them all…!"

"Do it, Captain…! Hypnotize us…!" Buchi pleaded.

"They're still alive." Kuro remarked. "You and that girl's weasel do sloppy work."

"For a skinny guy, he's surprisingly durable. That I admit. Him and tubby." Edith said as Zoro glanced towards his back.

"So, he is." Zoro stated as he saw that Jango was kneeling down and was in the middle of hypnotizing the Nyaban Brothers. "I guess all that blubber protected his vitals."

The moment that Zoro, Chiaki, Hoopa, Edith, and Mienfoo turned around, they were taken back by the sudden transformation that the Nyaban Brothers underwent. The Nyaban Brothers became slightly burlier with their strength becoming increasingly evident with the ground cracking beneath them as they took a step forward and roared. Their demeanor has become like that of wild animals.

"That is not good…" Hoopa commented.

"Sham! Buchi! Kill them!" Jango ordered as Nami was right behind him. She glanced back to Luffy, who was still sleeping under the figurehead.

"What, really? You're back for more?" Zoro stated. 'This guy means business! He was trouble when he was half his size. And now Jango had to flip his and that other one's psycho switch!'

"Careful, Mienfoo. Looks like we're not quite done yet." Edith warned.

"(Yes, I suspect that he will be more ruthless in his attack.)" Mienfoo stated as she readied herself. "(I shall remain vigilant.)"

Just as Sham and Buchi took another step forward, Nami decided to use this chance to run towards Luffy. But this did not go unnoticed by Jango yet again.

"What is that girl up to?" Jango wondered as he started spinning his pendulum. "Something tricky, I'm sure."

"Ah, shit!" Chiaki said as he realized that Jango was going to attack Nami again as he saw the guy increase the velocity of the spinning. "Sorry, Hoopa. Be back in a sec!"

"Be careful!" Hoopa replied as he saw his best friend run off and jumped over the hypnotized Nyaban Brothers to protect Nami.

"Everyone else's busy fighting for their lives and he's just sleeping!" Nami said as she ran forward while holding on to her wounded shoulder.

After gathering enough momentum, Jango proceeded to throw the bladed ring towards Nami, who had no clue that she was in danger of being beheaded.

"GET UP, YOU BUM!" Nami shouted as she planted the heel of her boot onto Luffy's face, which was just enough to wake him up.

"Hey, Nami! Look out!" Hoopa shouted as Nami heard his warning and turned around.

'I thought it was just his hypnotic charm…' Nami thought. 'But it's also his weapon!?'

"Shit! I gotta pick up the paste then! Silent Step!" Chiaki said as he proceeded to use his signature technique and vanished into thin air.

As Nami was sure that she was done for, Chiaki suddenly appeared behind her.

"Get down, idiot!" Chiaki stated as he shoved himself into Nami,causing the two to fall on the ground, just in time for Luffy to sprung up to his feet.

"Nami! You can't go around stepping on people's eyes–" It was around that moment that Luffy ended up catching the attack that was meant for Nami with his teeth.

"No! How's that twerp still alive!?" Jango exclaimed worriedly.

"It's either the best timing or the worst timing in the world…" Zoro commented. "I can't tell."

"Ow, that smarts… Again." Chiaki muttered before looking towards Nami, who was beneath him. "Hey! You okay?"

"More or less…" Nami replied as Chiaki stepped aside, allowing her to get up. "Anyway, thanks for the save, Chiaki."

"You're welcome…" The male Pokemon Trainer said with a smile.

The two then looked up towards Luffy, who was finally awake and still got the ring clenched with his teeth.

"Uh, Luffy…?" Nami asked.

"Uh, buddy…" Chiaki said as he and Nami saw the guy bent backwards before leaning forward, where he shattered the bladed ring with his teeth.

"Luffy!" Nami exclaimed happily.

Luffy touched the left corner of his mouth before he screamed in pain.

"Crap! That guy's back in the battle!" One of the Black Cat Pirates exclaimed.

"No! This is terrible!" The second Pirate stated.

"Five minutes will never be enough time!" A third Pirate added.

"Yep, he's back." Chiaki said with a smile.

"Ugh! That hurts, you jerk!" Luffy shouted at Nami. "Why'd you do that!?"

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty! That wasn't me!" Nami retorted before she felt lightheaded. "It wasn't… me…" She repeated weakly before Nami fell on her back while wincing from the pain.

"You okay, Nami? Did you get hurt?" Luffy questioned. "Let me see it."

"I guess that slice on the shoulder is really bad." Chiaki stated as he and Luffy saw the wound. He pulled what appeared to be a red and orange spray bottle with a small Poke Ball symbol on the side. "Hold still." He proceeded to spray at the wound, causing Nami to wince at the stinging.

"What is that…?" Nami asked.

"A Super Potion. Hoopa gave me some a while back." Chiaki explained. "Usually, this thing only works for Pokémon. But I found out that it also works on people too."

It was then that Nami felt that the pain lessened.

"Thanks, Chiaki. Again." Nami said with a smile.

"Like I said, you're welcome." Chiaki replied. "Anyway, you should take it easy."

"Yeah, I will." Nami said. "Well, I've done everything I can. The rest is up to you and the others."

"Just leave it to us, Nami." Luffy said with a smile.

"Look, you have to win no matter what…" The Navigator continued. "Do it for the treasure…!"

"Really, now?" Chiaki muttered as he and Luffy were dumbfounded by Nami's priority.

"Well, alright. Sure." Luffy added as he picked up his hat that was lying on the ground.

"Okay, go! Win this and protect my treasure!" Nami stated.

"The hell's with you and money? Oh, fine. Whatever. Sure." As much as he wanted to ask about his friend's obsession with treasure, Chiaki opted to ignore that for now.

"Yeah, yeah. The treasure, I get it." Luffy stated as he walked towards the slope with Chiaki.

"One minute and counting." Kuro reminded his crew, which only made them panic.

"Kuro can't be serious! We can't possibly finish this in one minute!" One of the Pirates exclaimed.

"Come on, guys! Stop messing around and end this already!" The second Pirate pleaded.

As Luffy and Chiaki walked forward, the other members of the Black Cat Pirates distanced themselves from them, especially from Luffy.

"Sham! Buchi! Quickly, there's no time to waste!" Jango told his hypnotized men. "Kill that three sword bastard, the girl, her pet weasel, and that freakish ghost thing! I'll take care of that freaky, bendable kid and his friend!" He said while pulling two more chakrams. "I'm coming for you, Straw Hat and friend!"

But before Jango could fight both Luffy and Chiaki…

"Time's up. You knew the deal." Kuro announced as he readied his Cat Claws to cut down his incompetent men. "Now, you die."

"Hey, wait. Why is that shady butler here?" Luffy wondered, having noticed Kuro at the top of the slope.

"You see, Luffy. The guy got tired of waiting and he decided to come out to play." Chiaki said before he glared towards the scheming Pirate. "Which is fine by me, either way."

Luffy then saw Edith and her Mienfoo.

"Huh? I don't think I've seen a girl like her before." Luffy wondered. "And that's a weird-looking weasel."

"That's Edith. Hoopa summoned her from his portal. I'm surprised you didn't notice her when you first got here." Chiaki explained. "On top of being a martial artist, she's also a Pokémon Trainer just like me. And her 'weasel' is a Pokémon."

"Wait, really!?" Luffy said with an excited tone. "So, not only can she fight with her fists and kicks but she can also call out Pokémon just like you? She can join my crew!"

"Try asking her after this whole thing is over, okay?"

But then, something unexpected happened. Usopp, who was at the top of the slope all by himself, saw someone that he never expected to meet. Kuro also sensed a presence behind him but upon reflex, he readied to retaliate with his claws.

"Don't ever sneak up on me unless you want to die!" Kuro said as he turned around and slash whoever was behind him.

"KAYA!" Usopp shouted as he jumped between him and the newcomer, who was none other than Kaya, and shielded her from the attack and he fell on top of her.

Kuro was surprised to see his "mistress" arriving on the scene, but he managed to regain his composure.

"No, Usopp! Are you okay?" Kaya asked with concern.

"Kaya… What are you doing here…?" Usopp asked weakly.

"Oh, Usopp. I'm so sorry." Kaya began. "I don't know how you'll ever forgive me. I just couldn't believe it. That Klahadore is a scheming, murdering Pirate."

"Never mind that! Why are you here!?" Usopp asked. "Kaya, your life is in danger! I told you to run somewhere safe!"

"I won't!" Kaya refused with tears forming in her eyes. "You're still here fighting! I won't run!"

Usopp was taken aback by just how emotional his friend had become.

"You fought for me after I treated you so badly." The rich girl stated. "Look at you, you're barely alive but you're still brave! I just–"

"This is no place for a lady." Kuro interrupted, using his Klahadore tone. "Madam, please leave."

Just hearing the voice changed the girl's expression into one of anger.

"Please, stop… Don't do this…" Kaya said before she glared towards "Klahadore". "STOP! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW! KLAHADORE!"

Kuro was once again taken aback by the outburst that was displayed by the supposedly sick girl.

"I know what you're up to." Kaya said as she stood up. "Merry already told me about everything."

By doing so, everyone noticed Kaya's presence as she was confronting Kuro.

"Hmm? What's the girl from the mansion doing down here?" Jango wondered.

"Who is that?" Edith asked, not recognizing Kaya.

"That's Kaya." Hoopa answered. "Long story short, Kuro and his men are planning to kill her in order to get her entire fortune."

"I see…"

"It's that girl…" Chiaki mouthed as his eyes were fixated on Kaya.

"The whole reason that we're here is to murder that little girl." One of the Black Cat Pirates stated.

"If she's here, then we don't have to go to the village." The second Pirate assumed.

"All we gotta do is kill her, right?" The third one asked.

"(I suppose that answers your question, Edith.)" Mienfoo told her Trainer.

"I guess so…" Edith said. Just like Chiaki, she can somewhat understand what her Pokemon was saying.

"Klahadore, please! If you want my fortune, you can have it!" Kaya stated. "Take it all and leave this village alone right now! I'm begging you!"

"I will gladly accept your fortune, Miss Kaya. Thank you…" Kuro said before he grinned and pushed up his glasses. "But I want more. You see, simply acquiring wealth isn't enough."

"Huh?" Kaya mouthed.

"More than anything else… what I want is peace." Kuro stated.

"You want peace?"

"Yes, just peace. Peace of mind." Kuro answered. "It's simple, really. I've spent the last three years earning the trust of the entire village and to be honest, I find this new peace and tranquility quite comforting." His mind flashed to the times he interacted with the villagers, be it they were adults or children. "When my plan comes to fruition, I will live with this sublime peace of mind."

Chiaki overheard the conversation using a big ear trumpet that Hoopa gave to him a month ago. It did not take him long for him to put together what Kuro was really after.

"He wants to retire, huh?" Chiaki muttered as he kept listening in on the conversation.

Kaya took a few steps back before reaching out for something inside her coat.

"Yes…" Kuro continued as he extended his arms. "The glorious comfort of a peaceful life will be mine, forever and ever!" He proceeded to point his claws to his men. "In short, these Pirates are coming! And you…" He then aimed the claws at Kaya. "Will leave your fortune to me and die! Miss Kaya, these things WILL happen."

'Okay, bozo. But, why went to the trouble of trying to kill her?' Chiaki pondered.

"Wow, he's really greedy." Hoopa commented. "I'm greedy myself but not even I'm willing to go that far for something. Which is very conflicting for me."

As Kaya began to pull out something from the pocket of her coat, Usopp reached out and grabbed her by the leg.

"Run away, Kaya!" Usopp pleaded. "There's no use talking to him! Please, get out of here!"

"You're not Klahadore…" Kaya pulled out a flintlock gun and aimed it at Kuro. "No, you're not!"

"Kaya…" Usopp mouthed.

Kuro simply blinked at the sight of his "mistress" pointing her gun at him, albeit shakily.

"Leave here right now! And never come back!" Kaya warned him.

"Oh? You'd point a gun at me?" Kuro inquired.

"Stop it! Just leave! Get out!" The blonde girl ordered.

"Yes, I see." Kuro stated before he looked towards Kaya with a gentle look on his face. "You're all grown up now. So much has happened in the last three years…"

'Now what is he up to now…?' Chiaki thought, wondering about Kuro.

"Miss Kaya. Don't you remember the things we went through? We've spent so much time together…" Kuro said as he took off his right glove. "Even before your dear, sweet parents passed away, you were more than my master. You were my best friend. So much time…"

Kaya tried to hold back the tears as Kuro put his glasses up once more.

"So many memories…" Kuro said, feeling nostalgic. "Together, we suffered. And together, we rejoiced. Like family."

"Klahadore…" Kaya muttered.

"I took you on shopping trips to the city, I looked after you so diligently when you were ill. And we used to talk for hours and hours." Kuro continued, listing off all of the things that he and Kaya spent together. "Kaya, listen to me. I was devoted to you. For so long…"

And with his ungloved hand, he reached out and grabbed Kaya's gun.

"For so long I endured it." It was then that Kuro's voice began to drip with resentment and anger. "I quietly suffered so that today I could end your life and take everything that I deserve!" Kuro finally took the gun away from Kaya's hand. "I, who was once the feared and respected Captain Kuro, had to bow and humble myself before some snot-nosed little girl." He proceeded to drop it on the ground. "It went against every fiber of my being!"

"Damn you…!" Usopp cursed as he was lying on the ground.

"Do you understand the depth of these daily insults?" Kuro questioned. "CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THE RAGE CREATED BY THOSE TRANSGRESSIONS AGAINST MY PRIDE!?"

It was then Chiaki dropped the ear trumpet as he slowly began seething in rage, finally understanding why Kuro did what he did.

'Why that no-good, ungrateful little leech of a bastard…!' Chiaki thought as he glared at Kuro with hate.

Usopp reached out for the gun and grabbed it just as he stood up. He proceeded to aim it at Kuro.

"KURO!" Usopp screamed as he opened fire, but Kuro evaded the shots with his Pussy Foot Maneuver while putting on the glove once more.

"Thank you for reminding me…" Kuro said as he placed his claws around Usopp's head from behind. "Usopp, I owe you for hitting me. Let's get even."

"Oh, no! Usopp!" Kaya stated.

"If I recall, you hit me as hard as you could. Right?" Kuro then peeled off the bandage using his claws.

But before the greedy Pirate could do anything, he was struck by something so hard that it sent him flying backwards until he landed on his back.

"Oh, man! I was about to hit him!" Luffy whined as he was just about to punch Kuro from afar.

The one who had done the deed before Luffy was none other than Chiaki, who had attacked Kuro with a knee strike.

"You don't like getting your ass beat, do you?" Chiaki asked as he readied his cutlass and gun. "Then you're about to have a really shitty day!"


Next...

H: Welp... They are so dead...

J: THOSE DUMMY BRATS!

E: This guy... is pure evil!

L: Looks tasty~

U: ON MY WORD, YOU WILL NEVER SET FOOT IN THAT VILLAGE!

K: Soon enough, I'll deal with you with the only appropriate manner: Extermination!

C/H/L: On the next chapter of The Straw Hats' Monster Tamer, Chapter 8: Cat vs Dog

L: I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!


That's all for today's chapter. The second to last chapter of the Syrup Village Arc will be posted later, either later today or tomorrow. Or it could be out on later date, depending on how I feel.

This time around, I made Sham stay conscious long enough for Jango to enhance him along with Buchi just so that Edith have someone to fight.

Leave a review as usual and I'll see you later at the next chapter.