Author's Note: Here we are again in the next chapter which will begin the fight against Kuro and the Black Cat Pirates. In the next chapter, we will be going over Owen Mercer's past.

Hope you enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.

The plan was said aloud between Klahadore and Django, but the part about killing Kaya still lingered in Usopp's mind. Once they were done, they left the beach the opposite direction from where the pirates watched. They emerged from their hiding place processing everything that was said.

"They're going to attack the village." Owen summarized. "And that hypnotist guy's going to make Kaya will everything to her butler before killing her and making it look like an accident."

"I heard." Nami said. "And apparently, the butler's real name is Kuro. Didn't think it'd be him."

"Who's Kuro?" Luffy asked.

"Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates." Owen said. "I've heard of him. He had a reputation for being a master tactician that always eluded the marines and bounty hunters that were after his head. But I heard that he was already caught and executed."

"Guess reports of his death were premature." Harley said. "He must have been laying low until he could make his big comeback."

"I've got to warn everybody!" Usopp shouted. He turned to run toward the village, but he was grabbed by the back of his outfit by Owen.

"Hold it, long nose! You can't go and tell everybody!"

"Why not?" Usopp asked turning to face his rival. "You heard them! They're going to attack the village and kill Miss Kaya! I've got to tell them…"

"What? That the pirates are coming?" Owen interrupted. "You've been saying that every day for years and it's always been a lie that the villagers chased you around for. And now, the one time there's actually going to be a pirate attack, and you think they're just going to believe you?"

"Well… Maybe you can help me!" Usopp said. "Yeah, that's it! You can vouch for me! After all, you heard them the same as me!"

"That's still a lot to chance." Owen said. "Remember, Klahadore is a beloved member of the community who's been faithful to Miss Kaya and her family for three years. No one wants a friend of theirs to be a secret villain plotting against them. Without legitimate proof, even Miss Kaya won't believe it!"

"I hate to say it, but he makes a good point." Zoro said. "Besides, this might be good for us."

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked.

"Right now, the Black Cat pirates don't know we're onto them." Zoro explained. "They've always had the element of surprise on their side for three years. But if they try to attack the village, we can take them by surprise. If we pull this off, the villagers will never even know."

"Really?" Usopp asked with tears beginning to build up in his eyes.. "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course." Luffy said. "I mean, you are Yasopp's son."

"Don't get fuzzy-wuzzy about it, needle nose." Owen said. "I'm only helping because I don't want my home to be destroyed."

"And if they have treasure, I call dibs." Nami said.

"All right." Usopp said wiping away his tears. "Let's go fight some pirates."

In the very early morning the following day, while it was still dark, Usopp and Owen lead the pirates right near another beach in between a couple of cliffs. They stood at the top of an uphill path that lead to the sand below.

"Okay. They'll have to attack the village from this beach." Usopp said. "The only way they can get to the village is through this path. It's here where we make our stand."

"Sounds easy enough." Luffy said.

"We're fighting an entire pirate crew. None of this is easy." Owen said. "We're likely going to need to use all our talents for this. You all know I'm pretty good at using my boomerang. What can the rest of you guys do?"

"I cut." Zoro said.

"I stretch." Luffy said.

"I steal." Nami said.

"I bash." Harley said.

"I hide." Usopp said.

"YOU'RE GONNA FIGHT!" everyone yelled at Usopp.

"Relax, guys! I was just making a funny!" Usopp said. "Anyway, I have a plan." He revealed a whole bucket and tipped it over. The top popped off letting a whole mess of oil spill all over the pass.

"What's this supposed to be?" Zoro asked.

"It's my plan." Usopp said. "The moment the pirates try to make it up this pass, they'll slip all over the oil I just spilled. We'll get them while they're down."

"Let's just hope we don't slip with them." Nami said.

Harley noticed a light that was slowly rising from the horizon. "Sun's coming up. The pirates should be here any minute."

All of a sudden, Owen widened his eyes as he realizing something. He shot an angry glare at Usopp. "Hey, Usopp."

"Yeah. What?" Usopp asked.

"Do you have a plan for if they come up from the other landing?" Owen's question made Usopp's eyes bulge.

"What other landing?" Harley asked.

"YOU DUNCE!" Owen shouted punshing the back of Usopp's head.

"I'm sorry! I thought they'd attack from her esince this is where their secret meeting was!" Usopp cried out.

"You mean we're on the wrong beach?!" Luffy yelled. "Where are they?!"

"Straight north!" Owen said. "There's another pass that's just like this one! If we leave now, we can can catch them before they get past!"

"So much for my oil slick plan!" Usopp yelled right as everyone began to run.

The Black Cat Pirates, lead by Django, reached the shores of the island and drew out their swords. They raced upwards to the pass until Usopp, Owen, and the pirates arrived at the top. Usopp fired a few rocks at them while Owen threw his boomerang knocking a few down.

"Who dares?" Django asked.

"That ain't how you tell a knock-knock joke, you dunce." Owen said. "First, I say 'knock-knock'. Then, you say 'who dares'."

"Don't come any closer!" Usopp warned. "I have 10 million men ready to stand up against you if you take one more step!"

"TEN MILLION?!" Django gasped.

"Django, he's obviously lying!" one of the pirates shouted.

"Did you honestly think that was going to work?" Harley asked.

"It was worth a shot." Usopp said.

"I've had enough of this." Django said before pulling out a coin tied to a string. He swung it side by side getting everyone's attention. "When I say 'one, two, Django', you'll let us pass. One… two…"

"NICE TRY!" Harley yelled throwing her bat. It made impact with Django's face just before he could finish.

"What was that for?" Luffy asked. "I wanted to know where that was going."

"You dodos! That man was a hypnotist!" Harley said. "He can make people do things that he wants them to do!"

Django growled as he slowly stood up. "All right. No more messing around. Get them, men!"

The pirates charged up the hill allowing the defenders to make their stand. Usopp took a bit of a beating making his head bleed, but he still stood proud. Owen threw his boomerang knocking down a number of pirates. Zoro took care of two elite pirates named Siam and Butchie. Nami did her best to stay as much of out of the action as she could. Any attempt at Luffy was met with his stretching arms. Harley cartwheeled into a group before swinging her bat at all their heads.

Eventually, most of the pirates were already taken out of the picture. That's when the leader made his appearance. Everyone looked at the disappointed look of Captain Kuro who came in from the top of the hill.

"What's going on?" Kuro asked. "Why didn't you show up to the mansion as scheduled?"

"Sorry, captain!" Django pleaded desperately. "We tried to get to the village, but these people blocked our path!"

"Hi! I'm Harley! We're here to stop you from hurting anybody!" Harley waved.

Kuro scoffed. "You fools don't have the slightest idea what you're doing. I could eliminate these pests myself."

"Why don't you try it, butt-ler!" Luffy challenged.

Harley let out a strong laugh. "Butt-ler! That's a good one!"

"Childish." Kuro said before shooting out his hands. Suddenly, all his fingers were tipped with long swords mimicking long claws. "This will be no issue."

"Klahadore…" A weak girl's voice called from behind the traitorous butler. He turned and saw Kaya limping toward him with the most heartbroken look on her face. She was accompanied by the three children who accompanied Usopp as his crew.

"KAYA!" Usopp cried out.

"Get away!" Owen yelled. "This man's trying to kill you!"

"I know." Kaya said shivering. "I found my other servant, Merry, lying on the ground wounded and bloody. I managed to save him, and that's when he told me. He told me that Klahadore tried to kill him."

"Sounds like I didn't try hard enough." Kuro said.

"You rotten bastard." Owen growled.

Kuro's eyes gazed toward Owen in an angry glare. "You. You're that brat who threw that boomerang at my head. I've been meaning to pay you back for that."

"Klahadore, don't!" Kaya pleaded. "You want my fortune, don't you?! You can have it! Just please, leave and don't hurt anyone!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Ms. Kaya." Kuro said. "You see, it's not just your fortune I want. I also want peace of mind. You see, I've spent three years living among the populace of Syrup Village. I've grown quite comfortable and relaxed. And that's why I must go through with this. It's essential for me to have peace of mind. I must have nothing to look back on."

That answer brought tears flowing out of Kaya's eyes. They flowed down as she fell to her knees. That's when Owen took a couple steps closer to confront the pirate captain.

"You seem to be going through a whole lot of trouble, you pussycat." Owen growled. "Throwing three years of hard-earned trust away just for your pirate career? You are truly so underhanded."

"My pirate career?" Kuro asked. "Boy, you haven't the slightest inclination of my motives. I'm not doing this to further my cursed pirate career. I'm doing this to end it. With wealth and peace of mind, I can finally retire."

Confusion struck Owen's face. "What? What are you talking about? Pirates shouldn't retire."

"Who told you that, boy?" Kuro asked. "A pirate's life is nothing but a burden. I've been planning numerous strategies for a bunch of imbeciles who only have gold on their minds. And what do I get in return? The Navy. Bounty hunters. Rival pirates. All of them were after me. But then, three years ago, the line was crossed when one of my own crewmates betrayed me!"

"One of your crewmates betrayed you?" Harley asked.

"Yes. A beautiful young lady named Selina. I thought I could trust her. I even introduced her to the cat moniker. But one night, I find my entire treasure room picked clean and the Marines surrounding me. That's when I saw Selina herself accepting the reward bounty from the Navy captain. The only reason I managed to get away was with Django's hypnosis, but it's become too much for me. That's why I must get away from it all."

When Kuro was finished, Owen began to slowly grit his teeth in an angry growl. "How ungrateful can you be?"

"I beg your pardon?" Kuro asked.

"All that notoriety and reputation, and you wanna call it quits just because you can't stand the heat? Have you no pride at all?"

Kuro rolled his eyes. "Are you still on that? Listen very carefully, boy. There is no pride to piracy. I was young and naïve once, but now, I can see this life for what it really is: a burden."

"You are a damn fool!" Owen called out. "Don't you dare call the life of a pirate a burden! If you weren't cut out for it, you shouldn't have become one at all! But a pirate must live and die with pride in all the adventures they had! The legacy they leave behind! If you cannot be proud of anything that you've done, then you're a damn fool!"

Kuro gently used his palm to push up his glasses. "I can see that nothing is going to get through that thick head of yours. I might as well get this over with."

"MY CREW, TAKE MISS KAYA AND RUN!" Usopp yelled out. The three kids did just that.

"Django, get after her!" Kuro ordered. "Hypnotize her and kill her!"

"On it, captain!" Django said running past him and into the forest.

"Oh, no, you don't, sunglasses!" Usopp yelled rushing after him.

"You're a real pain." Kuro sneered about to attack Usopp.

However, before he could swing his claws, Owen threw his boomerang toward his head. This time, though, Kuro saw it coming and deflected it with his blades. He then dashed to Owen too fast for anyone to comprehend. "You can die with your pride." Kuro swung his claws upwards right along Owen's chest. He gasped as he was thrown upwards and flying back.

Everyone widened their eyes seeing the slash marks on Owen's body. He dropped roughly on his back with his struggling breath. As he laid back on the ground trying to stay alive, his life flashed before his eyes.