"Go! Loot this village!"
"I want a woman! It's been ages since I touched one!"
As the Black Cat Pirates surged up the rugged hill toward Syrup Village, an unexpected figure stepped calmly onto the ridgeline. It was Rokuro.
The pirate in the lead halted in confusion. "Huh? When did this guy get here?"
He blinked—and Rokuro was already performing rapid hand seals.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!"
Multiple small fireballs erupted from Rokuro's mouth, dancing like embers in the wind. They arced through the air, swerving and curving unnaturally, each one homing in on a target like a predator sensing blood.
"AHHHHH! Water! I'm burning up!"
"My face! Get it off me!"
The lead pirates screamed in agony. Flames licked at their clothes and faces as they dove for the sea, rolling down the slope to escape. One dove into a barrel of fish, thinking it was water. The smell was horrendous.
Rokuro exhaled a trail of smoke. "I told Usopp I'd help him. Too bad for you, you showed up today."
Among pirates accustomed to swords and flintlocks, this was something else entirely.
"Is that… ninjutsu? How is that fair?!" one pirate shouted.
Just then, from the rear, Zangao appeared, beads of sweat on his brow.
"Don't disgrace the Black Cat Pirates like this! Captain Kuro won't forgive cowardice!"
The pirates' eyes widened. That name—Captain Kuro—was legendary in its terror.
"CHARGE!" another screamed, spurred by fear more than courage.
Rokuro sighed and closed his eyes.
"They chose violence. Fine."
A pirate lunged at him with a curved blade.
"SHARINGAN—ACTIVATE."
Rokuro's eyes opened, now glowing red with the twin tomoe of the Sharingan.
In an instant, he twisted aside, caught the pirate's wrist mid-swing, disarmed him, and flipped the blade around. With one smooth motion, he slashed across the attacker's neck. Blood sprayed as the body crumpled.
Rokuro leapt back to the clifftop and formed new seals.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
With a puff of smoke, a second Rokuro appeared beside him.
"Eh?! There's two of them now?!"
"Captain Zangao, are you hypnotizing us again!?"
"No! This is real!" Zangao shouted in frustration.
The two Rokuros launched themselves into the charging crowd, blade in hand. One used taijutsu to cripple legs and wrists, the other sliced and spun like a whirlwind. It wasn't the elegant swordplay of a swordsman—it was surgical, brutal, and efficient.
Every cut was a kill. He didn't duel. He executed.
More and more pirates fell. Some screamed. Others tried to flee. The fire from earlier still crackled near the treeline.
Then Rokuro x2 moved again.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Wind Style: Gale Palm!"
The combination birthed a monstrous inferno that rolled across the hillside like a burning tidal wave.
Zangao trembled, his teeth chattering.
"This guy's… unstoppable!"
He turned back to the cat brothers.
"Butch! Sam! Where's your brother?! If this keeps up, we're finished!"
Sam, the lithe and dangerous-looking brother, growled. "I tried fighting him earlier. That wasn't normal. He's like a demon."
Zangao gritted his teeth. "Then it's time."
He adjusted his hat and pulled out his signature hypnotic ring.
"You feel no pain… you are speed incarnate… you are destruction! One, two—THUMBS UP!"
Both cat brothers' eyes glazed over as they fell into deep hypnosis. Their irises shrank. Their muscles tensed unnaturally.
"RRAAGGHHH!!"
Sam and Butch howled like beasts.
Sam lunged at the shadow clone, who barely blocked with his sword.
"Too fast!" the clone muttered.
Sam's claws raked across the clone's shoulder.
"Bang!"
The clone burst into smoke. But not before leaving a gash across Sam's collar.
"Hypnosis…" the real Rokuro whispered. The clone's last sensation had relayed everything.
Rokuro barely had time to respond as Butch charged like a freight train.
"Replacement Jutsu!"
In the blink of an eye, Rokuro switched positions with a pirate corpse, avoiding the brutal attack.
He appeared atop a nearby ridge, panting.
"Zangao's hypnosis isn't affected by Sharingan… I can't do this alone."
A voice came from behind.
"You look like you need help."
Rokuro didn't turn. Only one man could sneak up on him like that.
Zoro.
"You finally found the battlefield, huh?"
"I wasn't lost! I felt the tension from afar!" Zoro huffed, cheeks slightly red.
"Right, right. Of course you did," Rokuro smirked.
"Shut up, fisherman!"
"Enough. That skinny one is Sam. I'll handle him. You get the big one."
Zoro grinned. "Finally! Someone with some meat on him."
Without hesitation, Zoro leapt down, swords drawn, intercepting Butch mid-charge.
"Three-Sword Style: Tiger Hunt!"
The impact created a crater beneath Zoro's feet. The sheer weight of Butch's blow forced him down a level into the dirt.
"Damn, he's heavy!"
"Don't let your guard down!" Rokuro called out, his Sharingan focusing on Sam's every movement.
Sam darted forward, claws slicing through the air like wind blades.
Rokuro barely dodged. "You've had enough!"
"Sharingan Genjutsu: False Mirage."
Sam paused mid-attack, eyes dilating.
Inside his mind, Sam saw hundreds of Rokuros—each of them armed, eyes glowing, closing in from all directions.
"Get out of my head!!!"
Sam lashed out wildly, slashing at illusions. But his claws passed through smoke.
Rokuro stepped forward silently, his real body untouched.
He slashed once—clean across the shoulder.
Sam fell.
Meanwhile, Zoro and Butch were locked in a brutal contest of strength. Butch slammed Zoro into a tree, bark shattering on impact.
"You weak, sword guy!" Butch taunted.
Zoro smirked through bloodied teeth. "Then try this."
"Santoryu Ogi: Sanzen Sekai!"
Three blades spun like propellers as Zoro tore through Butch's chest in a cyclone of steel.
Blood sprayed. Butch fell backward with a heavy thud.
Zoro panted. "Damn… that guy hit like a Sea King."
Rokuro stepped beside him, wiping his blade.
"Looks like we're done here."
Zangao had long fled, terrified by what he saw.
The flames smoldered. The pirates were defeated.
And high above, the village remained safe—for now.