With his mask off, Kuro shrugged, his voice low.
"Miss Kaya, life is always full of surprises. The difference is, your illness can't be cured, but I can still salvage my situation."
Kaya stared blankly at Kuro, completely dazed.
She could no longer sense the familiar, gentlemanly, aristocratic butler in him. In his place was ferocity and ruthlessness.
Thinking of the three years they had spent together, Kaya felt a chill run down her spine.
"My plan, which I've plotted for years, was ruined by a brat, but..." Kuro's voice paused, dark lines forming on his forehead. "As long as I get rid of you, my plan can still succeed."
As his voice fell, from the ten fingers of his gloves, several snow-white blades suddenly shot out.
His weapon, the Ten Blades!
"Nami, Makino, take good care of Kaya." Reno handed the trembling Kaya to the two women.
"Reno, don't let this despicable bastard go!!" Nami clenched her small fists, glaring fiercely at Kuro.
If she could fight, she would have rushed up to deal with him herself.
Makino, like a gentle big sister, carefully supported Kaya, while feeling a physical revulsion towards Kuro.
"Captain, teach him a good lesson!"
For the gentle Makino to say such a thing was a testament to the anger in her heart.
Reno felt the same.
He had originally intended to simply expose Kuro's plot and then casually deal with the man.
He never expected Kuro would dare to rub salt in Kaya's wound by bringing up her illness.
He was simply courting death.
"Heh heh~ Teach me a lesson?!!"
"My Ten Blades haven't tasted blood in three years. Today, I'll use you as a sacrifice."
"Silent Step!!"
Without a sound, Kuro's figure suddenly vanished from his spot.
The shadow of a blade flashed, and an extremely crisp cracking sound echoed through the hall.
Before Kuro's disbelieving eyes, his prized Ten Blades shattered on impact.
"Trash." Reno lowered his blackened arm, speaking with a blank expression.
Before Kuro could react, Reno grabbed him by the shoulder.
Swoosh~
Set coordinates, ultra-long-distance teleportation!
In the next instant, the two appeared on a deserted island.
Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, Kuro was finally no longer calm.
He looked at Reno as if he had seen a ghost, his voice trembling, "...What did you do?!!"
This was clearly not Syrup Village.
It wasn't even in the same sea.
Reno couldn't be bothered to reply, a cruel arc forming on his lips.
"I was going to leave you a whole corpse, but now..."
Run!
It was the only thought in Kuro's mind.
He was no match for Reno at all.
He pushed his Silent Step to its absolute limit.
However, how could his speed be faster than Reno's?
What followed~
Kuro's scapulae, clavicles, phalanges, arm bones, leg bones... as long as it was a bone that could be broken without being fatal, not a single one was spared.
All his body parts were dislocated.
Shrill, chilling screams echoed over the island for several minutes, startling countless birds from the depths of the dense forest.
The intense pain twisted Kuro's face.
Reno flashed several meters away from Kuro, a long sword appearing in his palm.
With a casual swing, a dozen slashes of sword energy shot through the air, striking different parts of Kuro's body.
After a few seconds of numbness, Kuro's pupils suddenly dilated, and a demonic roar escaped his mouth.
Reno had turned him into a limbless torso.
As for why he kept such a distance, it was, of course, to avoid getting the smell of blood on himself.
He didn't like it, and neither did Nami and Makino.
"Repent properly here."
After a cold glance at the bloody man on the ground, Reno located the coordinates he had left in Kaya's mansion.
Swoosh!
...
"Where did Mr. Reno go? I hope nothing happened to him," Kaya asked with some concern after seeing the two suddenly disappear.
If Kuro was truly the captain of the Black Cat Pirates, he had to be strong.
Moreover, in the East Blue, a pirate with a bounty as high as 16 million was considered a great pirate.
"..."
Nami and Makino looked at each other, a similar worry appearing on their faces.
In truth, they also didn't know how strong Reno really was.
His speed was certainly fast.
While the three women were worrying, Reno's figure reappeared in the hall, safe and sound.
He was alright.
The three women breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Mr. Reno, what about Kuro?!" Kaya asked after a moment's hesitation.
Reno walked up to Kaya, reached out his broad hand, and gently touched her forehead, his voice gentle.
"Don't worry, I sent Kuro to a place where he belongs. He won't be doing bad things anymore."
Kaya nodded obediently, then stared at Reno with a strange look in her eyes.
They had only just met by chance today.
So there really were selfless people in the world.
She was deeply moved.
"Kaya, do you want to go out to sea and see the world?!"
Suddenly, Reno changed the subject.
Kaya was stunned for a moment, then nodded without hesitation, "I do."
But after saying that, she became a little dejected, "But my body..."
To Nami and Makino's astonishment, Reno familiarly pinched Kaya's cheek and smiled, "Have you forgotten? Besides helping you deal with the bad guy, my purpose here is to cure your illness."
"Did you think I was joking?!"
"Really?! Can my illness really be cured?!" Her inner acceptance of Reno prevented Kaya from rejecting his impudent behavior.
Especially after the incident with Kuro, she had an inexplicable trust in Reno's words.
"Of course, it's real." Reno nodded, affirming it.
But then he spoke with some difficulty, "But you've been sick for too long, so curing it won't be that easy. The most important thing is not to be disturbed by others."
"How about this, we go to your boudoir, and I'll give you a proper examination. That's the only way to prescribe the right medicine, right?!"
Kaya immediately nodded without any suspicion.
Isn't this how difficult and complicated diseases are treated?!
After telling Merry to entertain Nami and Makino well, Kaya led Reno towards her room.
Looking at their retreating figures, Nami facepalmed speechlessly.
Another beautiful flower has been ravaged.
Makino, on the other hand, covered her mouth and snickered.
Ah.
So their captain used a different reason every time.
She suddenly looked at Nami and whispered, "Nami, what method did the captain use to get you on board?!"
Hearing this, Nami's face flushed with shame.
Could she say it was for money?! How embarrassing.
"Oh, Sister Makino, why are you so gossipy? Let's go get something to eat, I'm hungry."
Makino smiled gently and didn't press Nami any further.
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PS : Yesterday I skipped a chapter by mistake. You can reread the previous chapter to understand what I mean
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