One Piece: I will become stronger by checking in

Kuro, who had just managed to stand up on the other side, felt an overwhelming urge to lie back down.

Yes, that's it! This was exactly how he had passed out last time. Back then, he thought something was wrong with his body.

After waking up, he had done a thorough check-up but found nothing. Still, he figured that after his plan succeeded, he'd visit a doctor just to be sure.

But now, it was clear. All of this was because of the man standing before him.

At that moment, Kuro made a quick decision in his heart:

Escape!

The man in front of him was terrifyingly strong—far beyond what Crowe could handle. He had no chance of winning.

As Kuro frantically searched for a way to escape, a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Kuro! I never expected you to be a pirate, much less that you would harm Merry! I completely misjudged you!"

That voice...

A glimmer of hope appeared in Kuro's eyes. It seemed like fate was giving him a way out!

Activating his Silent Step, Kuro darted toward Kaya, who had just arrived behind him.

Kaya was his key to escape! With her connection to Usopp, if he threatened her, Luffy and the others would be forced to act cautiously, giving him the opportunity to flee.

"Where is he? Where did Kuro go?" The group was baffled as Kuro vanished from sight.

But Usopp, realizing Kaya was in danger, shouted, "Kaya, get out of here!"

He could feel that something was wrong the moment Kaya appeared, and though he couldn't see Kuro , his instincts screamed that she was in danger.

Kai stood nearby, shaking his head in exasperation. Am I the only responsible one around here? It was starting to feel like he had to handle everything himself—like being both the father and the mother of the crew.

But it made sense. After all Kuro's Silent Step was almost as fast as a Marine's Soru. At this point, it was natural that Luffy and the others couldn't keep up with his speed. (It's said that Oda confirmed in an SBS that Silent Step is on par with Soru in terms of speed. Apologies if there's any discrepancy!)

Well then...

In an instant, Kai vanished from his spot and reappeared in front of Kaya, slapping Kuro squarely across the face.

Even if Silent Step was as fast as Soru, speed still depended on one's strength. A weaker person couldn't execute the same move with the same effectiveness.

Just look at the difference between an ordinary CP9 agent and Lucci—the gap was massive. The strength difference between Kai and Kuro was even more pronounced. Even though Kuro was closer to Kaya, Kai was still able to act faster.

But in the end, it didn't matter!

"Luffy, focus on your opponent!" Kai called out.

"Oh, right!" Luffy responded, quickly running toward Kuro to engage him.

Time passed, and while Zoro easily defeated the Cat Brothers, Luffy struggled with Kuro.

Kuro's Silent Step was giving Luffy a hard time, but as the fight went on, Luffy began to adjust to the rhythm of the battle.

That was Luffy's greatest strength—he grew rapidly during fights. The tougher the battle, the more he improved. It was the same in his future battle with Kaido, where each clash made him stronger.

From the basics of Ryou (Flowing Haki) to mastering Conqueror's Haki, and finally awakening his Devil Fruit, Luffy's growth was meteoric.

While much of this was thanks to Kaido's relentless teaching, Luffy's innate talent played a huge part too.

Growing frustrated that he couldn't finish Luffy off, Kuro's anger flared. His hands dropped to his sides, his body swaying like a zombie.

"Spoon!"

As Kuro shouted, he vanished again, launching a wild, indiscriminate assault on everything around him—Luffy, the surrounding walls, the ground, and even his own downed pirates became targets.

Then, suddenly...

Bam!

A solid punch landed on Kuro's face, sending him flying backward. But this time, he didn't get up.

Kai couldn't hold back any longer. He had let Luffy handle Kuro as an "experience pack," but Kuro had crossed a line. After provoking them repeatedly, and now even launching a sneak attack, Kai had had enough.

So, he threw a punch with real force. The result was predictable—Kuro was knocked out cold.

With that, the plan to attack the village had officially been foiled. Syrup Village was peaceful once again.

The next day, at Syrup Village's tavern:

"The Black Cat Pirates are broke! Not a single Berry!" Nami fumed, chewing on an orange. "Tch... what a disgrace to pirates!"

Kai , overhearing her, smiled faintly. Of course, they couldn't find anything. I made sure of that!

Meanwhile, Luffy and Zoro were too busy stuffing their faces—Luffy with meat, Zoro with booze—to care.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Kaya walked in, smiling warmly as she saw the group.

"There you all are! Do you have a moment? I have a gift for you."

"A gift?!"

Half an hour later~

"Wow!!!" Luffy and Nami's eyes sparkled like stars.

"It's a sailing ship!"

"Are you really giving this to us?" Luffy asked, excitement overflowing.

"Yes! I insist you take it."

"Sugoi ! What an amazing ship!" Luffy couldn't stop praising it.

Just then, a panicked scream echoed from the distance.

"Ahhh! Help!"

Everyone turned to see Usopp, pinned under a large ball, rolling down a slope toward them.

"Is he performing acrobatics?" Luffy asked, confused.

"I don't care what he's doing, stop him before he hits the ship!" Kai said calmly. They had just received this ship, and it wasn't going to get damaged by Usopp.

Kai and Zoro both kicked Usopp in the face, stopping him from crashing into the boat.

"Thanks!"

"Oh, no problem!"

After a brief conversation with Kaya, Usopp turned his gaze to the crew standing on the ship.

"Hey, next time we meet at sea, I won't go easy on you!"

Kai smirked. "What are you talking about? Why don't you just get on the ship already?"

Luffy chimed in, "Aren't we already crewmates?"

Usopp stood frozen, his eyes welling up with tears.

"You... you guys..."

After a moment, he wiped his eyes and shouted, "Captain... is it me?"

"Not a chance, you idiot!" Luffy and Kai replied in unison.