"These pirates are mine!"
Just as Eric happily finished tying up Zango and the other two bounty targets, Noah casually tossed a suitcase filled with ten million Berries at him.
A million Berries in 10,000 Berry notes—just ten bundles of cash.
"No problem at all!"
Eric grabbed the money with excitement. After all, Jango's bounty was only 9 million, and the Nyaban Brothers together added up to just 7 million.
Greedy as ever, Eric didn't even think about sharing with Van Augur, choosing instead to pocket the whole ten million.
Van Augur didn't say a word, simply giving Eric a faint look.
But when Eric saw the slave collars being placed around the necks of Jango and the others, he couldn't help but feel something off in the way Noah and Van Augur looked at him.
A cold chill crept down his neck.
With the Black Cat Pirates dealt with, three warships and one pirate ship—now flying the flag of the Goa Kingdom instead of a Jolly Roger—set sail for Syrup Village.
Shortly after their departure, the banished blasts of cannon fire and wind blades that Noah had stored away suddenly erupted over the sea, violently churning the waves in a bizarre, surreal display.
At Syrup Village, the four ships docked at the harbor.
Noah, who had been meditating and training on the ship all this time, finally disembarked—intending to confront the infamous "Captain Kuro of a Hundred Plans" in person.
"The King himself is taking action?"
"Then I guess I'll miss out on a big payday. That guy Kuro's head is worth sixteen million Berries," Eric muttered with a hint of regret as he watched Noah walk down the gangplank. Still, he was curious to see the king's true strength.
With a sixteen-million-Berry bounty, Captain Kuro was considered one of the top pirates in the East Blue.
Just how strong was Noah?
"Kuro's bounty was voided long ago," Van Augur said calmly, resting his rifle over his shoulder. Eric, unknowingly, had already become one of Noah's future targets.
If Eric didn't pledge loyalty to Noah, Van Augur was certain he'd end up wearing a slave collar too.
Noah did not tolerate betrayal.
Meanwhile, in the village, Usopp and his crew saw the unfamiliar soldiers disembarking and immediately ran to the mansion to warn Kaya.
"Bad news! Bad news!"
"There's an army landing at the port!"
Usopp's frantic shouting startled the villagers.
"It's just soldiers, not pirates! What are you panicking for?" One of the villagers scolded him.
"Oh… right, not pirates. Then why was I screaming?"
"No—wait! Onion, hide our pirate flag right now!"
Realization dawned on Usopp, and he urgently shouted at one of his crewmates.
After all, in this village, he was the self-proclaimed captain of the Usopp Pirates—with eight thousand underlings! What if those soldiers were here for him?
The thought alone drenched him in cold sweat.
As Usopp ran through the village yelling, a tall man with a gloomy expression emerged from the grand mansion's door—it was Kuro, still using the alias "Klahadore" as the house butler.
'That long-nosed liar was pestering Kaya again. Had the brat discovered something unusual about Kaya?'
But when Kuro saw the figures following Usopp, his expression changed dramatically.
He recognized both Whirlwind Eric and Supersonic Van Augur—two of the most well-known bounty hunters in the East Blue.
Especially Eric, that rabid dog.
"Damn it! Who exposed me?!"
"Was it Jango and those fools?!"
Kuro didn't hesitate—he turned and bolted, eyes cold and calculating.
To every pirate in the East Blue, Eric, who prowled the waters near the Grand Line's entrance, was a deadly threat.
Even Kuro didn't believe he could win against this powerful ability user.
And with Van Augur, the elite sniper, also here…
"If it was Jango who sold me out, I swear I'll carve him into pieces!"
Grinding his teeth, Kuro mentally targeted his former first mate. He had lived in Syrup Village for over a year without being found.
Who else could've betrayed him?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Don't move, Kuro!"
Van Augur, true to his sniper's instinct, was the first to fire, setting the stage—just like he would someday do when ambushing the pursuing Fire Fist Ace.
Two shots to the chest, one to the head—not even the Grim Reaper would shake his head at that precision.
"Damn it!"
Kuro narrowly dodged Van Oka's triple shot, but blood trickled down his shoulder.
"Don't kill me! Please don't kill me!"
Hearing the gunfire, Usopp dropped to his knees, clutching his head in fear.
The sound of bullets slicing past his ear and the rush of compressed air made his body tremble with terror. The warmth spreading through his pants confirmed just how scared he was.
For all his talk about being a "sniper" who used a slingshot, the real sound of a gun had broken his nerve.
Usopp truly thought he was going to die right there.
But the bounty hunters ignored him completely and marched straight toward the mansion—and Kuro.
Bleeding, Kuro raced back to his room and opened a secret cabinet, pulling out his Ten-Blade weapons.
"They all have to die!"
Kuro swiftly strapped on his claws, eyes filled with rage and madness.
If there was no way to escape, then he would fight to the end. If those bounty hunters underestimated him, they would pay with their lives.
If he could just get close to Van Augur, he was sure he could kill that bastard.
°Stealth Foot°
As the bounty hunters entered the mansion, Kuro launched a silent ambush toward Van Augur—the most dangerous sniper present.
But Van Augur merely raised his gun quickly. He didn't fire. Eric didn't move either.
They simply turned to look at Noah.
"Stealth Foot, huh?"
"But you've already stepped into my domain."
Noah spoke calmly, and in the next moment, Kuro—now nothing more than a blur—vanished completely.
Even Kuro's famed Silent Step was useless against Noah's banishment ability.
Eric's wariness of Noah grew even deeper. He was terrified that one day, if the king ever got annoyed, he'd just banish him to some unknown corner of the world.
He had no intention of disappearing from existence.
Noah slowly pulled out his golden flintlock and fired a shot straight into the air.
*BANG!*
Suddenly, Kuro appeared ahead of them—screaming in pain as a bullet tore into his thigh. The sheer impact knocked him to the floor.
"The Celestial Dragon's Golden Flintlock—pretty effective, wouldn't you say?"
Noah blew the smoke from the barrel and turned to Van Augur with a casual smile.
"Five times stronger than the best flintlocks on the market," Van Augur replied evenly. The powder and bullets crafted exclusively for Celestial Dragons were indeed of the highest quality.
"How… how did you hit me?!"
Kuro stared in disbelief. How had these freaks shot him while he was using Stealth Foot?
He remembered how he once slaughtered an entire navy crew with this technique—no one could touch him.
"You don't believe it? Then take another shot."
Noah raised his gun again.
Kuro, already tense and wounded, tried to dodge—but before he could even react, another bullet found its mark.
"Argh!"
Screaming in agony, Kuro was shot in both legs.
Why was this happening?
Had he regressed during his year in hiding? Had he become so weak that even bullets were catching up to him now?
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