Kuro, his mask removed, shrugged and spoke in a low voice:
"Miss Kaya, life is always full of surprises. The difference is, your illness is incurable, but I can still salvage mine."
Kaya stared blankly at Kuro, lost in thought.
From him, Kaya could no longer sense the familiar gentlemanly and aristocratic butler's demeanor; it was replaced by ferocity and ruthlessness.
Recalling the three years they had spent together, Kaya felt a shiver run down her spine.
"My plan, which I've been working on for years, was unexpectedly disrupted by a brat, but..." Kuro paused, black lines appearing on his forehead, "As long as I get rid of you all, my plan can still succeed."
As his words fell, several snow-white blades suddenly sprang from the fingertips of Kuro's gloves.
The weapon, Claws of Death!
"Nami, Makino, take good care of Kaya." Reyno handed the trembling Kaya to the two women.
"Reyno, don't let this hateful bastard off!" Nami clenched her small fists, glaring fiercely at Kuro.
If she weren't weaker, she would rush up and deal with him right now.
Makino carefully helped Kaya, like a kind older sister next door, while feeling a physiological aversion towards Kuro.
"Captain, teach him a good lesson!"
For the gentle Makino to say such words, it showed the depth of her anger.
Reyno felt the same.
He had originally intended to expose Kuro's plot and then casually deal with the guy.
He didn't expect Kuro to dare to rub salt in Kaya's wounds, bringing up her illness.
He was practically asking for death.
"Heh heh, teach me a lesson?!"
"My Claws of Death haven't seen blood in three years; today, I'll use you all as a sacrifice."
"Silent Walk!!"
Silently, Kuro's figure suddenly vanished from his original spot.
A blade shadow flashed, and an extremely crisp shattering sound echoed in the hall.
To Kuro's disbelief, his proud Claws of Death broke with a snap.
"Waste," Reyno lowered his dark arm, his expression blank.
Before Kuro could react, Reyno directly grabbed his shoulder.
Coordinate positioning, ultra-long-distance teleportation!
The next instant, the two appeared on a deserted island.
Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, Kuro finally lost his composure.
He looked at Reyno as if he had seen a ghost, his voice trembling, "You... how did you do that?!"
This was clearly not Syrup Village.
It wasn't even that sea area.
Reyno couldn't be bothered to respond to him, a cruel smirk playing on his lips:
"I had intended to leave you a complete corpse, but now..."
Run!
This was Kuro's only thought.
He was no match for Reyno at all.
His'Silent Walk' was maxed out.
However, how could his speed be faster than Reyno's?
Next...
Kuro's shoulder blades, collarbones, phalanges, arm bones, leg bones—any bone that could be broken without being fatal was shattered.
All his body parts were dislocated.
Terrifying, chilling screams echoed across the island for several minutes, startling countless birds deep within the dense forest.
The intense pain twisted Kuro's face.
Reno flashed a few meters away from Kuro, a long blade appearing in his palm.
With a casual swing, over a dozen sword strikes tore through the air, cutting into different parts of Kuro's body.
After a few seconds of numbness, Kuro's pupils suddenly dilated, and he let out a devil-like roar.
Reno had directly turned him into a human torso.
As for why he kept such a distance, it was, of course, because he didn't want to get blood on himself.
He didn't like it, and Nami and Makino didn't like it either.
"Go and repent here."
After a cold glance at the bloody figure on the ground, Reno located the coordinates he had left in Kaya's mansion.
Whoosh!
"Where did Mr. Reno go? Is he going to be okay?!"
Seeing the two suddenly disappear, Kaya asked with some concern.
If Kuro was truly the Captain of the Black Cat Pirates, his strength must be considerable.
Moreover, in the East Blue, a Pirate with a bounty of 16 million Berries was already considered a Great Pirate.
"This..."
Nami and Makino exchanged glances, both showing worry.
In fact, they didn't know how strong Reno truly was.
His speed, however, was very fast.
As the three women worried, Reno's figure reappeared in the hall, safe and sound.
It's good that he's okay.
The three women breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mr. Reno, where is Kuro?!" Kaya asked after a moment of hesitation.
Reno walked up to Kaya, extended his broad hand, and gently stroked her forehead, his voice gentle:
"Don't worry, I've sent Kuro to 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 met today, by chance.
So there really were selfless people in the world.
She was moved.
"Kaya, do you want to go out to sea and see the world?!"
Suddenly, Reno changed the subject.
Kaya was startled, then nodded without hesitation: "I do."
But after saying it, she looked a little disappointed: "But my body..."
To Nami and Makino's astonished gazes, Reno, quite familiarly, pinched Kaya's cheek and smiled: "Did you forget? Besides helping you deal with the bad guys, my purpose in coming here was also to cure your illness."
"Did you think I was just joking?!"
"Really?! Can my illness truly be cured?!" Kaya's inner approval of Reno didn't make her reject his impolite behavior.
Especially after the incident with Kuro, she inexplicably trusted Reno's words.
"Of course, it's true." Reno nodded, confirming it.
But then he spoke with some difficulty: "However, you've been sick for too long, so healing won't be that easy. The most important thing is that you cannot be disturbed by others."
"How about this, we go to your boudoir, and I'll give you a thorough examination. That way I can prescribe the right medicine, don't you agree?!"
Kaya immediately nodded, without any suspicion.
Aren't difficult illnesses always treated this way?!
After instructing Merry to entertain Nami and Makino well, Kaya led Reno towards her room.
Watching their retreating figures, Nami rubbed her forehead in exasperation.
Another beautiful flower was being ravaged.
Makino, meanwhile, covered her mouth and chuckled.
Ah.
It turned out that her Captain's reasons were different every time.
She suddenly looked at Nami and whispered: "Nami, how did the Captain get you to join the Pirate Crew?!"
Upon hearing this, Nami's face flushed with shame.
Could she say it was for money?!
How embarrassing.
"Oh, Sister Makino, why are you so nosy? Let's go eat something, I'm hungry."
Makino smiled gently, not continuing to tease Nami.
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