The person who spoke was none other than Amon, who was supposed to still be sleeping in the villa.
Ever since his body had been enhanced by the high grade Marrow Cleansing Elixir, his hearing was countless times sharper than before.
When Kaya heard Kuro yelling for help, Amon inside the house heard it as well. He immediately spread his Observation Haki out over the entire area.
Very quickly, he sensed Kuro's little scheme.
As someone who knew the original story, he could guess the setup with one look. This was definitely Kuro ordering his subordinates to "chase" him in a fake performance.
So Amon quietly followed.
He arrived just in time to see Kirlia attack and send the pirates flying, and Kuro collapsing dramatically to play the helpless victim.
Kirlia's power surprised Amon a little. With just a simple Confusion, this little Pokémon had taken care of all those pirates.
Amon estimated that when Kirlia evolved fully into Gardevoir, her strength would probably be comparable to a fifty million beri bounty.
In the New World, that kind of bounty was nothing special.
But in East Blue, a place at the very edge of the world, it was more than enough to keep Kaya safe.
Plus, her attacks were invisible psychic waves. Even pirates with similar bounty levels would have a hard time dealing with her.
That made Amon much more at ease about Kaya's safety for the future.
Of course, he still had something to deal with first.
Kuro.
The man's physical strength was not impressive, but his brains were sharp. Given time, he could easily trick a kind, sheltered girl like Kaya and take everything from her.
...
"Sir, you are up."
Kaya was delighted to see him. She pointed at the man on the ground and said anxiously,
"Sir, this uncle looks like someone who was being chased by pirates. He is so pitiful. Let us bring him back and ask Uncle Hock to treat him."
She was a gentle soul and could not watch someone suffer without wanting to help.
Amon, however, did not move.
He walked slowly over to Kuro, looked down at his "unconscious" face and said with a half smile,
"What is wrong, Captain Kuro? Planning to keep pretending?"
...
"I... I do not know what you are talking about. I was attacked by pirates, my head really hurts..."
The moment Amon spoke, the man on the ground lifted his head with great effort and, out of habit, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
That little gesture made Amon completely sure.
This was Kuro.
"No need to pretend. Get up."
He looked at the man putting on a pitiful act and let out a cold chuckle.
"Captain Kuro, do you want me to explain out loud how you tricked the Marine captain Morgan, then had your stand-in die in your place?"
The words had barely left Amon's mouth when Kuro's pupils shrank sharply.
The next second, he stood up in one smooth motion.
There was no panic on his face.
Only annoyance at having his act exposed and a flash of cold light in his eyes.
"Heh. Boring."
"Has no one ever told you that people who know too much tend to die quickly?"
Kuro raised a hand and casually combed back his hair, fixing his slicked-back style, then straightened his suit and slowly slipped on his special gloves.
Black, clawed, cat's paw gloves.
In East Blue, there was only one man who always wore cat claw gloves.
Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates, known as "Hundred Plans" Kuro.
Kuro took his time adjusting his appearance as if no one else were here. He clearly did not put Amon in his eyes.
In East Blue, aside from Arlong's group and the Marines, he feared no one.
Now that this man knew his biggest secret, the only option left was silence him, along with the witnesses.
The only thing that really bothered him was that "pet" beside the little girl.
Just now he had not even seen how it attacked before his subordinates were lying all over the ground. It might be some kind of Devil Fruit user.
But judging from the effect, it did not seem impossibly strong, and it had not attacked of its own will. It had waited for the girl's command.
Kuro was very confident in his speed.
He was sure he could kill Kaya before she could give any order.
...
Amon looked at Kuro's smug face and could not help rubbing his forehead.
Do I really look that weak?
Kaya, on the other hand, was simply confused.
Just a moment ago this uncle was half dead on the ground, and now he was radiating killing intent.
She did not understand all the schemes involved, but she could hear the threat in his tone. It sounded like he really intended to kill them.
That frightened her, but she still stood with her arms spread in front of Amon, a tiny shield in a white dress.
"You are not allowed to hurt Mr Amon."
Her voice trembled slightly, yet she glared at Kuro with all the courage she could muster.
Like Kuro, she thought Amon was just an ordinary jar merchant.
...
"Too late."
"Take your secrets and go to hell."
Kuro's eyes flashed cold.
He activated his Cat Step footwork, body blurring.
The claws on his hand stabbed straight toward Amon's heart.
His first move was a killing blow.
At the same time, his other eye stayed locked on Kirlia, watching to see if the creature made any move.
Seeing that Kirlia did not move at all, he secretly relaxed.
Out of the three, the one he feared most was that white, elf like "pet".
Since it was still, everything was fine.
He poured all his strength into the strike, the claw shadow aimed right at Amon's chest.
Sure enough, just as he had imagined, this person did not react at all. He just stood there, as if frozen in fear.
Perfect.
However, just as Kuro was feeling triumphant, he suddenly saw the man in front of him curl his lip in disdain and shake his head slightly.
"Tsk, too slow. You call this speed?"
...
As he spoke, Amon calmly raised two fingers.
In Kuro's startled gaze, those fingers gently pinched toward the incoming claws.
With a crisp crack, the blades that were about to pierce Amon's heart shattered between his fingers like brittle glass.
Before Kuro could even process what had happened, those same fingers slid along his arm.
There was another sharp crack.
His entire forearm collapsed under the force, bone splintering like dry wood.
...
The sudden reversal left Kuro staring, eyes wide.
He had never imagined that a man who looked so ordinary would possess such overwhelming strength.
For a split second, despair drowned out everything else.
His mind was so numb that he did not even feel the pain in his ruined arm.
Then the shock faded, and the agony crashed into him.
"Ahhh!"
The intense pain shot up his nerves like fire, wringing a hoarse scream from his throat.
Sweat poured down his face. His knees buckled and he almost collapsed again. For real this time.
...
Amon, having disabled him with a single move, spoke lightly,
"Is living really that bad?"
"You already fooled the world and slipped away clean. Why run out here just to throw your life away?"
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