Mansion Hallway - Midnight]
Klahadore moved down the hallway with his lamp, pausing every few steps to listen. Ban held his breath in the alcove, watching the butler's precise movements.
The lamp's light swept past their hiding spots, missing them by inches. Klahadore stood still for a long moment, then adjusted his glasses with his palm, that distinctive gesture Ban had noticed earlier.
"I know you're here," Klahadore said calmly. "I heard the window on the second floor. Rather clumsy for intruders."
Usopp's face went pale, and Ban could feel the young man's panic. Zoro's hand moved slowly to his sword hilts.
"Come out now," Klahadore continued, "and perhaps I'll be merciful. Miss Kaya's health has left me... irritable lately. Bloodstains are difficult to clean from these floors."
That last sentence confirmed everything. No normal butler would casually threaten to make bloodstains.
Ban stepped out of the shadows first, his red eyes gleaming in the lamplight. "You know what? I'm terrible at hiding anyway. Too tall, too noticeable." He grinned. "But you're not really a butler, are you?"
Klahadore's expression didn't change, but something flickered in his eyes. "I don't know what you mean. I am Klahadore, loyal servant to Miss Kaya."
"Bullshit," Ban said bluntly. Zoro and Usopp emerged from their hiding spots as well. "You move like a fighter. You threaten like a pirate.
"Interesting theory," Klahadore said coldly. "But you have no proof. Just the suspicions of a pirate and a chronic liar." His eyes fixed on Usopp with contempt. "Tell me, Usopp. Will anyone believe you this time? After all your false alarms?"
"I don't care if they believe me!" Usopp shouted, his voice shaking but determined. "I know you're planning something! I know you're going to hurt Kaya!"
"Hurt her?" Klahadore smiled thinly. "I've cared for her for three years. I'm the only reason she's still alive."
"Yeah, because you need her alive," Ban said, piecing it together. "Until you don't. Until whatever you're planning is ready." "So what is it? Inheritance? Waiting for the perfect moment to stage an accident?"
For the first time, Klahadore's mask cracked. His smile turned cold, calculated, and genuinely menacing. "You're smarter than you look, white-haired pirate. But intelligence without power is meaningless."
Klahadore's hand shot forward, fingers extended like claws, aimed at Ban's throat.
Ban's hand caught the strike inches from his neck, his grip like iron. "Fast. But I've dealt with faster."
"Snatch," Ban said.
The sensation of stolen strength flooded into him as Klahadore stumbled back, suddenly weakened. The butler's eyes widened in shock.
"What... what did you do?!"
"Took a bit of your strength," Ban explained casually. "It's a gift. Or a curse, depending on your perspective." He cracked his knuckles. "Now, how about you tell us what you're really planning? Save us all some time."
Klahadore adjusted his glasses, his breathing heavy. Ban had taken enough strength to make him vulnerable, but clearly not enough to completely disable him. The man was still dangerous.
"You've made a grave mistake," Klahadore said. "Captain Kuro doesn't forgive interference."
The name hung in the air like a bomb.
"Captain Kuro?" Usopp's voice cracked. "The pirate? But he's dead! He was executed three years ago!"
"Was I?" Kuro smiled coldly. "How convenient that everyone believes that." He straightened, despite his weakened state. "Three years I've played this role. Three years of servitude, of bowing and scraping to that pathetic girl. Tomorrow it ends. The Black Cat Pirates will attack at dawn, Kaya will die in the chaos, and I'll finally have the fortune I've earned."
"You bastard!" Usopp lunged forward, but Kuro moved despite his weakened state, backhanding the young man across the face and sending him crashing into the wall.
Zoro drew his swords. "That's enough."
"A three-sword style user," Kuro observed, "Unusual. But ultimately irrelevant." He looked at Ban. "You've weakened me, yes. But I'm not the only threat you face. My crew arrives at dawn, and they won't be as... conversational as I am."
"Dawn, huh?" "Thanks for the information. Really saved us a lot of time."
Kuro's expression darkened as he realized his mistake. He'd confirmed everything in his arrogance.
"You won't stop them," Kuro said. "The Black Cat Pirates have over fifty members. Even if you somehow defeated me, you're just four pirates and a liar. You'll be slaughtered."
"Fifty?" Ban considered. "Okay, that might be fun. I haven't had a good warm-up in a while."
"You're insane."
"So I've been told." Ban looked at Zoro and Usopp. "We should probably wake up Luffy and Nami. They'll be pissed if we have a big fight without them."
"You're not taking this seriously!" Kuro snarled. "Do you understand what you're facing? The Black Cat Pirates were one of the most feared crews in the East Blue before I faked my death!"
"Were being the key word," Zoro said. "Past tense. Doesn't sound that impressive."
Kuro's face twisted with rage. He lunged at Zoro, his fingers extending into claws, some kind of weapon attached to his hands, Ban realized. Zoro blocked with his swords, the metal ringing as it met Kuro's strange weapons.
"Shakespear!" Kuro snarled, revealing the name of his cat-claw weapons. He moved with surprising speed even weakened, his attacks precise and deadly. But Zoro held his ground, three swords creating a defensive wall.
"Not bad," Zoro admitted. "For a butler."
"I AM CAPTAIN KURO!" the butler screamed, his composure finally cracking completely.
Ban watched the fight with interest. Even weakened by Snatch, Kuro was skilled. Those claw weapons were deadly, and his technique was refined. This was definitely someone who'd survived in the pirate world for years.
But Zoro was better.
The swordsman pressed forward, his three-blade style overwhelming Kuro's defenses. Within seconds, Zoro had disarmed him, literally, sending the claw weapons clattering across the floor.
Kuro stood there, breathing heavily, defeated but defiant. "It... doesn't matter. You've won nothing. My crew will still come. They'll still attack. And without me to call them off, they'll slaughter everyone in this village to find Kaya."
Ban's grin faded. "Is that supposed to scare us?"
"It's supposed to be reality," Kuro said coldly. "Captain Jango, my first mate, is a hypnotist Devil Fruit user. He'll have the crew in a killing frenzy. They won't stop until they've torn this village apart. You've doomed everyone here by interfering."
Usopp, struggling to his feet with blood dripping from his mouth, looked horrified. "No... the village... everyone..."
"Then we'll just have to stop them," Ban said simply. "All fifty of them. At dawn. On the north shore, you said?"
Kuro's eyes widened. "You can't be serious. You'll be killed!"
"I'm immortal," Ban's grin returned. "Death isn't really a concern for me. And Luffy's a rubber man. And Zoro's clearly skilled enough to handle multiple opponents." He looked at Usopp. "Plus, we've got the great Captain Usopp and his 8,000 followers."
"I-I don't actually have 8,000 followers," Usopp stammered.
"I know. But you're still going to fight, aren't you? To protect Kaya and the village?"
Usopp looked terrified, but he nodded. "I... I have to. I'm her friend."
"Good answer." Ban turned back to Kuro. "So here's what's going to happen. We're going to tie you up nice and tight. Then we're going to the north shore at dawn to give your crew a very warm welcome. And after we beat them, we'll hand you over to the Marines with a nice bow on top."
"You're all going to die," Kuro said.
"Maybe," Ban agreed. "But at least we'll have fun doing it."
[Inn - 1 AM]
"YOU WENT WITHOUT ME?!" Luffy's shout woke up half the inn.
"Keep your voice down!" Nami hissed. "And yes, they went without you because you have the stealth of a rampaging elephant!"
Ban, Zoro, and Usopp had returned to the inn and woken up the others, explaining everything they'd learned. Kuro was currently tied up in the mansion's wine cellar, gagged and guarded by Kaya's actual loyal staff members who'd been horrified to learn the truth.
"So let me get this straight," Nami said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You broke into a mansion, confronted a former pirate captain, confirmed he's planning to kill his employer and attack the village, and now you want to fight his entire crew of fifty pirates at dawn?"
"That about sums it up," Ban agreed.
"Are you all insane?!"
"Little bit, yeah," Zoro said.
"Definitely," Ban added.
"I might be," Usopp muttered, still processing everything.
"I think it sounds fun!" Luffy declared. "Fifty pirates! That's way more than Buggy had!"
Nami looked at each of them in turn, then sighed in defeat. "Fine. FINE. But I want a bigger share of whatever treasure we get from this."
"We're not getting treasure from this," Ban pointed out. "We're just stopping pirates from killing people."
"Then why are we doing it?!" Nami demanded.
"Because they're bad guys," Luffy said simply. "Bad guys need to be stopped."
"And because I promised to protect Kaya," Usopp added quietly. "She's... she's important to me."
Nami looked at Usopp's sincere expression and sighed again. "You people are going to get me killed."
"Probably not," Ban said. "I'll take most of the hits. Immortality's useful that way."
"That's not reassuring!"
[POV: Jango - Black Cat Pirates Ship, 3 AM]
Jango stood at the helm of the Black Cat Pirates' ship, adjusting his heart-shaped glasses as they approached Syrup Village's north shore. The hypnotist checked his pendulum, his weapon and tool, and smiled.
Everything was going according to Captain Kuro's plan. They'd arrive at dawn, attack the village, eliminate the girl, and sail away with her fortune. Simple, efficient, profitable.
"Oi, Jango!" one of the crew called out. "You think the captain's plan will really work? Three years is a long time to play servant."
"Captain Kuro's plans always work," Jango replied confidently. "That's why he's the captain and we're the crew."
"Still feels weird, him not being here for the attack."
"He can't be seen with us," Jango explained. "He's supposed to be dead, remember? That's the whole point. We attack, he 'survives' the assault, inherits everything, and joins us later with the fortune."
The crew nodded, satisfied with this explanation.
Jango looked toward the approaching shore and smiled. Just a few more hours. Then they'd paint this peaceful village red.
[North Shore - Dawn]
The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon when Ban, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp arrived at the north shore. They'd positioned themselves at the beach where Kuro said his crew would land.
Usopp was pale and shaking, but he held his slingshot firmly. His three young crew members, Piiman, Ninjin, and Tamanegi, had insisted on coming too, though they were hidden in the trees as lookouts.
"You sure you want to do this?" Ban asked Usopp. "You could stay back with Kaya. Make sure she's safe in case any of them get past us."
"No," Usopp said, his voice steadier than Ban expected. "I've been lying my whole life about being a brave warrior. Maybe... maybe it's time I actually became one."
Luffy stretched his arms, warming up. "I can't wait! Fifty pirates! This is going to be so cool!"
"You have issues," Nami muttered. Ban stood at the front of their small group, watching the horizon. His enhanced senses picked up the ship before the others saw it, a large vessel with a cat-themed Jolly Roger, approaching fast.
"Here they come," Ban said, his grin widening. "Everyone ready?"
"Ready!" Luffy shouted enthusiastically.
"Ready," Zoro confirmed.
"As ready as I'm going to be," Nami said nervously.
"I... I think I'm going to be sick," Usopp stammered.
"Throw up after the fight," Ban suggested. "Right now, we need you focused."
The Black Cat Pirates' ship pulled into the shore, and pirates began pouring out onto the beach. Dozens of them, all armed, all looking ready for violence. At their head was a tall man with heart-shaped glasses and a strange pendulum hanging from his hand.
"Well, well," Jango said, spotting them. "Looks like we've got a welcoming committee. How thoughtful!" He addressed his crew. "Captain Kuro said there might be some resistance! Show them what the Black Cat Pirates do to people who get in our way!"
Fifty pirates raised their weapons and charged.
Ban cracked his knuckles, feeling that familiar thrill of impending combat. "Alright then. Let's dance."
He moved forward to meet them, Luffy and Zoro right behind him. Behind them, Nami stood there and Usopp loaded his slingshot with trembling but determined hands.
The battle for Syrup Village had begun.
Powerstone goal- 50 stones equals one bonus chapter and 100 powerstones equals 2