Inside Kaya's mansion, in the main hall, Bai Yun blocked Kuro's pursuit of Merry with a staff.
Kuro was somewhat impressed by Bai Yun, this pretty boy; he hadn't expected him to be able to block him while using Silent Step. At the same time, he was very puzzled by Bai Yun's words.
"You really know me."
"I've been gone from the sea for three years. Given your age, how do you know about me?"
Kuro pressed down on Bai Yun's long staff with his cat-clawed hand, staring at him from the right side.
"Guess."
Bai Yun smiled, his tone quite infuriating.
Kuro immediately swung his other hand to grab him. Guess? Guess your grandma!
Moreover, the hand pressing down on Bai Yun's staff quickly trapped it.
If Bai Yun wanted to dodge, he would have to abandon his staff.
But he didn't expect Bai Yun to bend down and dodge, causing the hand pressing the staff to instantly lose its grip. The staff then transformed into a pistol.
"Surprised?"
Bai Yun leaned back, instantly firing in that posture.
"Bang!"
Kuro's eyes widened slightly, and his body flickered instantly, but the distance was too close, and his waist was still grazed by the bullet.
The bullet graze felt like a knife cut.
Kuro's physical fitness was naturally not poor, being a famous pirate. The wound wasn't deep, but it was still faintly bleeding.
Despite this, Kuro didn't spare a glance at the wound, showing no concern.
Instead, he stared intently at the flintlock pistol in Bai Yun's hand.
"A Devil Fruit?"
"Guess."
"Cough cough!!"
Bai Yun still used those two words, but after speaking, he couldn't help but cough twice.
During the time he was unconscious, the effect of replicating Zoro's body expired. With his own physical condition, he developed a fever after just lying on the shore for a short while.
Kuro noticed Bai Yun's poor physical condition, which was good news for him.
It looked like the fight was about to resume the next second.
Kaya was worried about Bai Yun; how could he possibly fight Kuro while having a fever?
"Klahadore!"
"Stop fighting."
"Don't you want my fortune? I'll give it all to you; just leave the village now."
Kaya broke free from Merry, ran into the house, and stood behind Bai Yun as she spoke.
"I think you've misunderstood."
"I want money, and I also want stability."
"For three years, I've built a good image among the townspeople."
"I want to get this money legitimately; I want to live here, do you understand?"
"Therefore, a pirate attack on the village and your accidental death are necessary."
Kuro said this expressionlessly.
Kaya was so shocked she couldn't speak. She couldn't believe that the person in front of her was truly the one who had taken care of her for three years.
Kuro wanted to live here, yet he would let pirates attack the village and kill her, just for legitimacy.
After three years of living together, he showed no emotional fluctuation whatsoever; he was practically not human... Having said all that, Kuro said no more, activating Silent Step and continuing his attack on Bai Yun.
The flintlock pistol in Bai Yun's hand instantly transformed into three swords—Zoro's Three-Sword Style.
Sparks flew as the three swords blocked Kuro's claws.
Merry quickly pulled Kaya out of the house.
The next second, the two flashed rapidly within the hall, fighting back and forth without suffering much injury. The poor, innocent furniture was shattered to pieces as they swept past it... As time passed, Bai Yun gradually fell into a disadvantage.
Not only could he only use 60% of Zoro's strength, but he also had a fever.
After forcefully pushing Kuro back, Bai Yun quickly retreated away from him.
Kuro also stopped, taking it as a mid-match break. He hadn't expected this kid to hold him off for so long, but he also knew that Bai Yun was close to his limit, proven by his decreasing strength as they fought.
"Hoo~"
Bai Yun exhaled, looking at Kuro. He didn't want to use his trump card here, so he chose to use his words.
The three swords returned to a bracelet, showing sincerity.
"Look behind you."
Kuro didn't understand what Bai Yun meant by turning his swords back into a bracelet.
But he figured Bai Yun couldn't do much in that state, so he turned to look, only to see the morning sun shining into the house through the window.
It was already dawn.
"It's already dawn."
"Aren't you very confident in your plan?"
"But the village seems very quiet now."
Bai Yun continued to twist the knife.
Kuro turned to look at Bai Yun, "You know what's going on?"
"Heh, you have brothers, and I have my companions."
"Presumably, they should be blocking those guys from the Black Cat Pirates at the slope right now."
"How about we make a bet?"
"Let's go to the slope together and see."
"See who won. If your side wins, I'll commit suicide."
"And you don't need any conditions, just come with me."
"After all, I promised my companions that I wouldn't hog the 'whetstone' every time."
Bai Yun replied.
"You're treating me as a whetstone!" Kuro replied with a grim face.