When Usopp and Nami arrived at the slope where Tom was, they saw that nearly half of the Black Cat Pirates had already been knocked down.
"Hey, Tom, are you okay?" Usopp called out from the top of the slope, slightly out of breath.
"What, it's just you two," Tom said, his tone flat as he kicked away a charging pirate, barely glancing up at them.
"What's with that attitude? Are you disappointed to see us?" Nami yelled, feeling somewhat relieved to see Tom still lively enough to fight.
To be honest, Tom was indeed a little disappointed to see only Nami and Usopp. If it were Luffy and Zoro, he could have taken a break.
"Stop yelling nonsense. Answer me, why was I the only one guarding this place this morning?" Tom asked Nami while continuing to fight the oncoming pirates.
"You were sleeping like a dead pig last night. I just wanted to let you rest properly, so I brought you over here," Nami said, unusually honest with him.
"You're such an idiot. Couldn't you have woken me up?" Tom retorted rudely.
"You moron! I won't care about you anymore!" Nami shot back, furious that he didn't appreciate her good intentions.
Tom curled his lip. If every time this woman 'cares' for me I end up in trouble, I'd rather she didn't.
"That guy isn't just good at fishing... I thought he was just bluffing during our duel yesterday, but he's actually this strong," Usopp said, stunned as he watched Tom, despite his injuries, easily take down nearly half the Black Cat Pirates. "I was thinking of challenging him again after this to uphold the dignity of Captain Usopp."
"You should probably give up on that. He'd definitely beat you up," Nami said sincerely, noticing Usopp's legs were trembling.
"Yeah, thank goodness I cleverly switched targets to you yesterday. Otherwise, I would've been in real trouble," Usopp said with a look of relief, completely failing to notice Nami's darkening expression.
"Listen up, you pirates! You can't even handle one of my subordinates. You'd better leave now, or my hundred million crewmates won't let you off!" Usopp, seeing Tom was safe and had beaten the enemy soundly, felt reassured and started bragging again.
Even a child lies better than this long-nose.
That same thought crossed the minds of both Tom and the Black Cat Pirates at that moment, with one exception.
"What? He has a hundred million crewmates? That's so many! What do we do?" Jango panicked upon hearing Usopp's words, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Captain, calm down. That's definitely a lie."
"Don't believe the enemy's words so easily, Captain."
The surrounding pirates hurriedly tried to comfort the flustered Jango. Tom found the sight pathetic. With that level of intelligence, he's a captain?
But then he thought of Luffy and let it go.
"Who's your subordinate? If you're going to brag, at least make it believable. You're completely transparent," Tom felt it necessary to remind Usopp not to exaggerate so wildly.
"No way! It was that obvious? I didn't think that would happen," Usopp said, clutching his head in shock.
"You really thought that would fool them?" Tom asked, dodging attacks from several pirates, genuinely startled by Usopp's statement.
This guy loved to brag so much that his lies didn't fool the enemy—it seemed he'd fooled himself first. He'd truly reached the pinnacle of lying: deceiving oneself before deceiving others.
"Tom, did they steal my treasure?" Nami asked, now that she saw Tom was alive and well.
"They carried your treasure away," Tom said. After waking up, he had indeed seen the pirates take Nami's treasure onto their ship.
"Why didn't you stop them, you idiot?!" Nami bared her teeth and roared at him upon hearing her treasure was gone.
"What did you say? Instead of standing there yapping, why don't you get down here and help?!" Tom wasn't pleased about being called an idiot and unconsciously put more force into his punches against the attacking pirates.
"Stop arguing," Usopp said, waving his hands to quiet Tom and Nami. Then he shouted to the pirates surrounding Tom below, "Actually, that treasure you took is mine! I'll give it to you. Please, in consideration of that treasure, leave this place immediately."
"He's trying to bribe us with money."
"What a despicable tactic."
Many pirates, hearing Usopp's words, temporarily stopped attacking Tom, seeming somewhat tempted.
"Idiots! That treasure is already on our pirate ship. How could it be his?" Jango said, pushing up his heart-shaped sunglasses and addressing his crew.
The Black Cat Pirates should be called the Stupid Cat Pirates. Neither their current captain nor his crew are up to much, Tom thought. Just then, he saw Nami deliver an iron fist that knocked Usopp flat.
Then Nami pointed at the pirates below and declared with great force, "The treasure you took is mine! I won't give you a single Berry! Take good care of that treasure, because I'm coming to take it all back immediately!"
Seeing Nami speak so resolutely, her face full of determination, Tom thought she was prepared to fight the pirates for her treasure.
"Go on, Tom! Take them down! For my treasure!" Nami stood at the top of the slope, waving her small fists and shouting at Tom.
"Who's going to risk their life for your treasure? Go find somewhere cool to sleep!" Damn, I thought too much of her!
Tom immediately refused Nami's unreasonable demand. As he spoke, he knocked down a few more pirates.
"Treasure is very important to me! Watch it, or I'll flatten you!" Nami was furious at Tom's lack of cooperation.
"Hey, why did you hit me just now? That hurt!" Usopp yelled at Nami, a bump rising on the back of his head.
For a moment, Tom, Nami, and Usopp argued loudly amongst themselves as if no one else was around. Their raucous arguing completely drowned out the shouts of the surrounding pirates.
"You guys dare to chat leisurely while fighting? What do you take us Black Cat Pirates for?"
"Too arrogant! Ignoring us like this!"
The Black Cat Pirates were furious that Tom could talk so casually to the two above while being surrounded. It showed he didn't take them seriously at all.
Usopp also took advantage of Tom covering the front, pulling out his slingshot and providing support from the rear. This made the pirates fume with hatred, but they couldn't do anything about it.
"While I was talking to them, didn't I keep knocking your men down?" Tom said, punching away a pirate who swung a sword at him. "The Black Cat Pirates are really famous in the East Blue? I don't see it."
Dealing with these small fry, even injured, was indeed quite easy for Tom. No real pressure.
The only one Tom paid attention to was the man named Jango, with his ridiculous heart-shaped sunglasses, moonwalking, white gloves, and huge cowboy hat—a weirdo through and through.
"You dare look down on us!"
"If our Captain Kuro were here, he'd finish you off easily!"
"If you don't want to die, get out of our way and let us through!"
These vicious pirates were furious that Tom paid them no mind. Blocked by him, they couldn't even get past to deal with Nami and Usopp, let alone carry out their captain's plan to attack Syrup Village.
"Kuro? That's your stupid captain who specifically came here three years ago to work as a butler? If he were here, I'd beat him up!" Tom said, remembering the disgusting face Kuro made when insulting Usopp's father yesterday.
"You dare say that because you don't know how formidable Captain Kuro is," Jango said, brandishing the sharpened rings attached to strings in his hands.
"You can say that to me because you don't know how hard my fists are!" Tom retorted sharply.
Just then, Tom heard two very familiar voices.
"Usopp, you jerk! You didn't tell me which way north was!"
"Nami, it's all your fault for talking nonsense and wasting my time!"
Luffy and Zoro, wearing his dark green bandana, arrived at the top of the slope, both looking angry as they addressed Usopp and Nami.
"Who are those two? Reinforcements?"
"They look really strong. This is bad."
The pirates, seeing two people with strong auras suddenly appear, were scared into inaction.
"You two are really slow. I almost finished off the enemies myself," Tom said, pleased to see Luffy and Zoro. After punching away an attacking pirate and seeing the others had stopped attacking, he began walking toward them.
But after a few steps, Tom felt something was wrong. Why were the pirates behind him so quiet?
Tom looked back and saw that the pirates he had previously knocked down were now all standing up, as if uninjured. Their faces showed an abnormal, fanatical expression.
What's going on?
While Tom was still confused, he heard Nami's voice. "Be careful! That weird guy is a hypnotist! He hypnotized his own men!"
"Why didn't you say so earlier?!" Tom felt exasperated. If Nami knew Jango was a hypnotist, she should have told him right away. Then he would have dealt with Jango first and not given him the chance to hypnotize his crew.
"Sorry, I was only thinking about the treasure..." Nami started to say she was only thinking about the treasure and him, but stopped herself. She had been worried about Tom, but after confirming he was okay, she remembered the treasure and forgot to warn Tom about Jango being a hypnotist.
Usopp had also known Jango was a hypnotist, but seeing Tom fight so well made him forget. Besides, he hadn't thought Jango could make people stronger through hypnosis.
Damn, didn't expect that guy in the weird outfit to be a hypnotist. But even if he boosts his men's strength with hypnosis, they shouldn't get that much stronger.
No sooner had this thought crossed Tom's mind than he saw a pirate laughing maniacally, walk to the base of a cliff, and punch it, causing the cliff face to collapse.
Huge rocks tumbled down from the cliff wall, making Tom stare in shock.
Are these the same pirates I knocked down with a few punches earlier?
Even with a hypnotic boost, the increase shouldn't be this terrifying, right?
Tom had fought these pirates; he knew how weak they were. But now, after Jango's hypnosis, their strength had increased at least tenfold. Combined with their overwhelming numbers, how was he supposed to fight this?
"Oooooooh!"
The pirates shouted wildly, charging at Tom like madmen. Their charge was fierce and overwhelming, making Tom's scalp tingle.
"You two, get to the back. Leave this to the three of us," Zoro said, drawing his sword and addressing Nami and Usopp.
"Tom's still down there. Don't hurt him when you attack," Nami reminded Luffy and Zoro as she moved back.
But as soon as Nami said this, Luffy, standing beside Zoro, let out an earth-shaking roar. "OOOOH AAAAH!!!"
"Why are you hypnotized too?!" Zoro, Nami, and Usopp were stunned, their jaws dropping as they watched Luffy charge down the slope like a wild beast.
"Gum-Gum Gatling!"
Luffy shouted, stretching his arms and launching a fierce barrage of punches downward.
Tom had been prepared to grit his teeth and fight the hypnotized pirates. It'll just take more effort to knock them down. Not impossible.
But just as he turned around, he heard Luffy shout, "Gum-Gum Gatling!"
Tom looked back to see Luffy above, rapidly stretching his arms and throwing punches toward him at incredible speed.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Tom clearly saw Luffy's fists coming at him like a storm of bullets. Over a hundred illusory fist images danced before his eyes, making him dizzy.
Most importantly, while Luffy's attacks pummeled the charging pirates into a pulp, his fists also came dangerously close to hitting Tom several times.
After dodging several of Luffy's attacks, Tom realized some were simply too fast to avoid.
No choice. The hypnotized Luffy was stronger than usual, his attack speed naturally faster. Tom could barely dodge one or two attacks—his reaction speed was already impressive.
"You asked for this, going crazy on me!"
Left with no option, Tom, not wanting to be hit by Luffy, had no choice but to meet Luffy's fists with his own.
Boom! Thwack! Crash!
Thus, Luffy on the upper slope and Tom on the lower slope exchanged over thirty punches in just three seconds. The ground beneath their feet gradually began to crack and crumble.
The pirates who had been charging upward were swiftly beaten into a scattered mess by the frenzied Luffy. Now, only Luffy and Tom were left fighting each other.
"Good chance! Now die!" Jango, seeing all his hypnotized men were down and Tom was focused on dealing with Luffy, hurled his sharpened rings at Tom's back.
Damn it all!
Tom sensed Jango's sneak attack and had to roll sideways to avoid the rings. Before he could regain his footing, Luffy's fists were upon him again.
Luffy's Gum-Gum Gatling was relentless and fierce, giving Tom no chance to catch his breath.
"You bastard! Are you done yet?!" Tom, furious, could no longer worry about the injury to his right hand. He punched with all his strength, meeting Luffy's oncoming fist head-on.
The powerful shockwave from their collision blew away all the dust in the vicinity and even dislodged loose stones from the cliff wall.
Zoro had intended to knock Luffy out, but before he could act, Tom and Luffy's clash ended. Both were sent flying backward by the tremendous recoil force.
Before Nami and Usopp could react, Tom and Luffy's showdown—lasting barely five seconds—was over.
CRASH!
Tom slammed heavily into the prow of the Black Cat Pirates' ship.
BOOM!
Luffy flew straight into the forest behind them leading to Syrup Village, breaking several trees and carving a deep crater in the ground, raising clouds of dust.
CRACK!
Tom landed on the ground, his back in excruciating pain, his hands aching terribly. Before he could catch his breath, he saw the huge black-cat-shaped prow above him, which he had caused to snap off completely, now falling toward him.
Urgh... My body's sluggish. Move!
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Tom forced himself to jump to the right. As he did, he saw Luffy, still shouting, come running back at high speed and catch the falling prow before it hit the ground.
Watching Luffy hold the thick black cat prow, the veins on his arms bulging, showed just how heavy the large timber was.
At first, Tom thought Luffy had come specifically to save him. But he quickly realized Luffy actually intended to use the huge prow to attack him.
"You idiot! The enemy's over there!" Tom couldn't take it anymore and shouted at Luffy.
"Yeah! Use that thing in your hands to smash them!" Tom urged as Luffy, hearing him, looked toward the Black Cat Pirates lying not far away.
Luffy's attention was quickly redirected. The pirates, seeing Luffy approaching with the enormous prow, turned pale with fear and desperately called to Jango for help.
Tom had just breathed a sigh of relief when two figures wielding cat claws as weapons jumped down from the Black Cat Pirates' ship and attacked him.
CLANG!
Zoro stepped in front of Tom, using his sword to block the attack from the portly and skinny cat-like brothers.
"Take a good rest. I'll handle them!" Zoro said to Tom, who was still sitting on the ground, unable to get up.
Just then, Luffy, hypnotized by Jango, fell asleep. The huge black cat prow he was holding promptly pinned him to the ground.
Seeing most of the Black Cat Pirates were down, and though he and Luffy were currently out of the fight, only the cat brothers and the hypnotist Jango remained. Zoro should be able to handle them.
Tom, thinking he could finally rest properly, had just weakly lain down when he heard Nami scream. "Tom! Where are you? Get over here! Luffy! Zoro! Come save us!"
"What happened to them?" Zoro, locked in heated combat with the cat brothers, couldn't possibly break away to check on Nami and Usopp up on the slope.
"Is it good to be distracted while fighting us?" The very skinny cat man took advantage of Zoro's distraction to steal the other two swords from his waist and throw them far away.
Urgh, not good. With only one sword, Zoro can't fight at full strength.
Tom struggled to his feet. He saw a figure covered in blood fly out from the top of the slope and land hard on the incline. It was Usopp.
"What exactly are you doing? What is this situation? Do you want me to kill you all, Jango?!" Kuro roared, gripping the long staff Nami had attacked him with. Seeing the Black Cat Pirates almost completely defeated and in a pitiful state, even their ship's prow destroyed, was far beyond anything he had anticipated. Veins bulged on his forehead in rage.
Jango trembled in fear at Kuro's furious appearance. "No, it's not like that! Let me explain! Some troublesome guys showed up here and stopped us!"
WHAM!
Kuro flung Nami, staff and all, sending her crashing heavily against the rocky slope wall.
"You want me to beat you into the ground?!" Tom said, gasping for breath as he stared up at Kuro from the base of the slope, his voice filled with anger.
He saw Nami, flung hard against the wall, now unable to get up. Usopp was also covered in blood, bruised all over, clearly having encountered Kuro earlier and been severely beaten.
This pissed Tom off. He and Nami might have their friction, but he'd never actually hurt her—aside from taking advantage of her.
But Kuro, right before his eyes, had not only beaten Usopp severely but also injured Nami. Right now, Tom looked at Kuro and thought this four-eyed chicken deserved nothing but a beating...
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T/N :
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