Chapter 25: The Art of Deception 2
"Where were you two?!" Nami asked in disbelief.
"You ran ahead of me?!" Usopp accused.
"I got lost," they said in unison and Rosan tossed his temporary weapon to the side to regard the new appearances.
"We are never trusting Zoro with anything involving directions," the redhead informed them.
The swordsman spluttered at that blunt statement. "W-what about Luffy?" Zoro asked in disbelief.
"That's a stupid question. I never trusted him in the first place," Rosan replied calmly, stomping on the hand of a fallen pirate. "I didn't tell you to twitch, minion. Do that again and I'm ripping your arm off and feeding it to you."
The pirate beneath him whimpered and wisely went limp.
"Scary…" Usopp and Nami whispered.
Kuro was annoyed.
No, scratch that. Kuro was absolutely livid.
His pirates being late was the least of his worry because there was no sickly girl in this estate.
Both Merry and Kaya were nowhere to be seen. How the lamb butler had managed to survive his attack? Kuro didn't know but evidently he should have checked his injuries and ended his miserable existence because the butler clearly managed to convince her to get out of there.
It didn't make sense. Even if he didn't die, he should have been unconscious for quite a while. His wounds should have kept him out of commission until the pirates raided and did finish the job off. That's why he didn't bother checking.
But he was somehow healthy enough to flee? How was that possibl —
Kuro felt his rage reach levels he didn't think were possible.
Why?
Because of that fucking interfering, smug, pirate redhead. That was the only explanation. The redhead chose to interfere with his plans, despite saying he wasn't going to and managed to warn both Merry and Kaya.
He lied.
"You're just a filthy pirate, I wouldn't put anything past you."
The veins on his head became visible for all to see but luckily there was no one watching him.
He stood up and made his way to the shore.
Kuro would find and slaughter that redhead, plan be damned.
"C-Captain! Please! W-We need help!" The pirates begged in fear. The ones who had not yet been attended to by Rosan, were slowly inching away from the demon in human flash who was mowing through them.
"I-It's just one person!" Jango said, despite the slight fear he felt at watching him dismantle his men. Nodding to himself, he pulled out his chakram in hopes of turning the tides. "Fine, we've wasted too much time anyways and the boss will be most displeased... Look at this ring closely. On "one, two, Jango," you guys'll grow stronger and all your wounds will heal."
"What's he doing?" Luffy asked in curiosity, watching the hippies actions intently.
"Hypnosis. He's trying to convince them that they're stronger. How ridiculous!" Nami explained with an annoyed look. There's no way that would work! Hypnosis was just a party trick that worked on children and idiots!
"Hypnosis? Does it really work?" Rosan hummed. That sounded rather interesting... if he was using it on his allies, he didn't see the harm in testing it.
"Only one way to find out!" Ram beamed.
"We shouldn't be allowing ourselves to get hit with an enemy attack! It could have some unforeseen drawbacks that could affect— and you guys aren't even listening to me," Mod sighed tiredly. They were honestly ridiculous but at least it wasn't a physical attack. She taught Rosan better then to allow himself to get hit with an unknown attack but for this one, they at least knew had an idea on what it would do.
The Devil Fruit would never admit that she was a little curious too. Ram would use that as fuel if she did.
The wounded pirates all stared at the rings and unbeknownst to them, Rosan and Luffy were too.
"One, two, Jango!" The hypnotist said.
Almost immediately, the pirates surged back to life with a renewed strength. They roared at the power-up and the Straw Hats watched in disbelief, as one of them punched the side of a cliff, causing part of it to collapse.
"No way," Nami gaped. "They really did get hypnotized and it actually worked?!"
"He managed to gouge out the cliff? What insane power!" Zoro muttered in surprise.
"With that many people getting power-ups… How will we be able to stop them?" Usopp asked nervously.
The pirates roared like wild animals and began climbing up the cliff, rapidly approaching the still Rosan.
"W-Why's Rosan just standing there?" Nami asked in confusion. The redhead had not moved even once and it was beginning to worry her. Was he out of energy? Was that the real reason why he didn't fight often? Did he have a low amount of stamina...?
"L-Luffy, Zoro, quick! Go help him!"
"Right! C'mon, Luffy," Zoro urged but he paused as he noticed that Luffy wasn't moving either.
Then they heard it.
A low, deep laughter rang through the air and they froze at the source.
"Pft Kahahahaha!" Rosan laughed maliciously, grinning madly at the approaching pirates with two positively glowing orbs in his eyes. "Well shit, who woulda thought! A backwater island, a group of shitty pirates and this is where I see the first display of my emotions?! It's so funny I can't help but laugh!"
His Devil Fruit let out an audible noise of surprise, completely floored by this display and Rosan's grin widened even further at her obvious torrent of emotions.
"R-Rosan!? I-Is that really you?" Mod gasped, voice cracking in sheer disbelief at the sight of Rosan temporarily displaying his emotions. Tears welled up in her eyes at catching a glimpse of him with his feelings out in full force, caught horribly off guard by the entire thing. She could not even say anything else, unable to properly catch her thoughts.
"Of course it is! You think someone else could even come close to looking as hot as me?!" He retorted with a cocky grin, getting an awed look out of the Devil Fruit.
Looking at his wide, psychotic grin, listening to his excited, unhinged, voice and glancing into his heterochromatic, shining, gaze floored the Devil Fruit who had not been expecting this whatsoever.
It was her little boy. It was a glimpse of her precious little psycho who craved violence like no other. The one who at only the tender age of four, discovered the joy of being an adrenaline junkie. Her little agent of chaos that managed to turn even the simplest of missions into something so much more wild...
She wanted — needed this to be permanent. Mod would do anything to get him back without the need of hypnotism.
"W-What a terrifying laugh! Y-You laugh just like me and Auntie! I love it!" Ram had never been seen with a bigger grin, tears glistening in her eyes at the sheer excitement she was currently feeling. She knew it wasn't permanent but her Father was showing emotion outside of the memories she saw! It was so surreal to witness and she realized that she was no one else but his daughter.
I-If he was like this permanently, would he finally be able to call her his daughter?
"Aww is my cute little weapon about to cry?" Rosan mocked, eyeing the remaining pirates with wild eyes. Those glowing red and purple orbs were rapidly shifting between each one like a predator who couldn't decide which meal to start with.
"I-I'm not crying! I'm just excited to see you like this!"
"I-I agree! It's been 12 years since your emotions showed so strongly a-and I have to admit, I'm overwhelmed," Mod admitted happily, flushing with joy at the reminder of how infectious Rosan's emotions were.
"Best to soak it all in then! We might not see this for a loooong time!" Rosan cackled, eagerly cracking his knuckles in preparation for what he was about to do to these unfortunate souls.
Ram nodded eagerly, propping herself up and doing her best to mimic a statue.
"W-wha!" Nami gaped in fear at the menacingly unhinged laughter. She never heard that noise come out of Rosan's mouth before. She had never even seen him smile and you were telling her he could laugh like that?!
"Did he get hypnotized too?!" Zoro gaped in disbelief. There was no way Rosan would have gotten caught off guard by that, especially after hearing about it from Nami. He had to have done it willingly then.
Was he testing to see if it actually worked?! He didn't seem like the curious type but maybe he was!
"RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Luffy roared in fury, clearly hypnotized himself.
"DON'T TELL ME YOU FELL FOR IT TOO, IDIOT!" Zoro roared. He fully believed Luffy got caught by accident.
"Look at all these people running for lil ol me," Rosan grinned, abnormally sharp fangs gleaming at the charging pirates. "I know I'm hot but I'm only easy for Mei! Seems I'll have to teach you all some manners!"
The redhead tensed and the floor cracked beneath him as he vanished from his spot, causing everyone's eyes to go wide in fear.
One pirate spat out a glob of blood, at the fist indenting itself firmly in his gut, holding him up with the force of the blow. He felt all his organs get pulverized from the blow and it sent him flying until his body vanished into the ocean.
"You've gotta at least offer me some roses so I can consider it! It's literally in the name!"
Everyone watched the soaring body with blatant fear on their faces, all confidence drained away by that one display. They began to back away from hell incarnate, until the redhead stopped them all with pointed look.
"If you make me chase you, just the color red is gonna trigger a PTSD attack that'll have you shrieking for years!" he chimed, pointing and pulling at a free strand of his own hair to emphasize his point.
The pirates whimpered in fear at that cheerful warning. No one had ever told them they'd be facing a living, breathing demon but here they were.
"I think I prefer when he's emotionless," Nami muttered in terror, listening to him with a white face. W-Was this the reason he acted like a robot? With his emotions, h-he was utterly terrifying to behold, saying the scariest things with the largest smile instead of that emotionless visage of his.
The redhead's eyes gleamed at causing them all to submit and he heard a roar behind him. Turning his head to the side slightly, Rosan let out a snort of amusement and turned fully.
"Oh? You managed to get hypnotized too, Luffy?" Rosan turned back to greet his captain and they were treated to the sight of the handsome man grinning widely. They never noticed, but he had really sharp fangs and his eyes were glowing so bright, that it looked unnatural.
It was like looking at an entirely different person! He was so full of life! Was this really the Rosan that they knew?
"Ah look at my dumbass adorable brother, so eager for action! Fine, you get to have the special sibling privilege and we can share!"
Luffy roared in response.
Every could only watch (Nami knew he was the one who had saved Zoro!) in terrored awe, as the slope shifted and they watched as the ground erupted, forming a wall and splitting it in two, separating the pirates.
A... A-A Devil fruit...? This whole time, they had been up against a Devil Fruit user?!
"That's your side..." Rosan began and he blurred until he was in front of a terrified pirate. Gripping the man's head, the demon began brutally slamming him onto the erupted ground repeatedly until he was leaking enough blood to cover his entire face. The redhead smiled all the while, utterly unbothered by his act of violence and continued bashing the poor man's skull against the wall.
"...And this is mine!"
"I think I prefer when he's emotionless too," Usopp agreed. His knees were definitely not shaking and he was definitely not feeling the after effects of throwing up.
The hypnotized rubber boy sprinted down the cliff and began punching the air rapidly. "Gomu Gomu no Gatling!" Luffy roared, pulverizing the group of pirates under his rapid punch assault. Screams rang out through the pirates as they were all punched repeatedly with no chance of retaliation. In only a matter of moments they were all beaten into submission and the rubber boy was left growling in dissatisfaction at the easy and quick fight.
From his point above them all, Rosan grinned down at the cowering pirates. Holding out his hand, the redhead cackled and said, "Vindication!"
A massive beam of red energy shot out and split off into little smaller beams, piercing nearly all the poor pirates on his side and incinerating their insides. They couldn't even scream as the attack ruthlessly ravaged their numbers and ran through their bodies.
"They're both monsters," Zoro muttered. This couldn't even be called a fight right now. Just how strong were his captain and scout? He thought they were only a little stronger than him but maybe he had misjudged them...
He especially misjudged Rosan. Appearances were deceiving, the redhead was capable of far more than Zoro's first impression of him had presumed.
"P-Please, mercy!" One lone pirate begged the red headed devil grinning down at them all.
"Mercy? I can count on one hand how many times I've showed someone mercy! But you know what random pirate, whose life I don't care about? You've tugged at my black heart so I think you can be another!" Rosan smiled gently, patting him on the shoulder.
The pirate shuddered in fear. W-When did he get so close? Their predator had not been this close, standing quite the distance away before suddenly appearing in front of him, but this near, he could see his bright heterochromatic gaze burning a hole into him.
It was the gaze of an apex predator toying with his food. The utter amusement in the psychopath's eyes, made him shudder uncontrollably. Red and purple glinted at him and stared kindly at the pirate near tears, contrasting his murderous tendencies just minutes ago.
"Kay! Run along now minion, consider this my act of mercy," The Mod Mod no mi user said with a tiny wave.
"R-Really?!"
"Of course! I'm not a liar," he assured.
They watched the pirate smile in relief and the terrified grunt turned around to sprint away, only to let out an agonizing scream of pain at the beam of energy piercing his stomach not even a second later.
"How unfortunate, you didn't run fast enough," Rosan shrugged uncaringly. "What can you do. I did show you mercy… you just didn't capitalize on it fast enough and I got bored watching you fail to escape me. I've never let anyone escape me after all."
"Father is utterly terrifying," Ram gaped, watching the poor pirate grasp at the hole in his belly helplessly. Now, the ring could freely admit that she was a demon but she paled in comparison to what her Father was currently displaying. H-He really just up and killed that dude for no reason!
H-He was so damn COOL!
"He acted like this as a child too… he's just even more unhinged with age," Mod smiled fondly at the memories. This only reinforced her desire to get his emotions back because the redhead was just so full of life that it never failed to make her mood better, even when she was in a bad one.
"You guys are too kind!" Rosan replied.
Mod and Ram blinked owlishly at his response. T-That wasn't a compliment. How did he possibly take that as a compliment?
"I wonder why I didn't turn into a raging beast like the others?" the redhead mused. "Maybe my emotions are tied to my strength? Since he made me "stronger" it forcefully drew out my feelings."
His family bloodline was so weird. Glowings eyes that were tied to emotion and power? Bah, he probably inherited that from his useless birth mother too. He seemed to have gotten everything from her. Made him wonder just what he inherited from his father besides the man's apparent boldness.
"That was really boring though... I need to fight someone that'll get my blood flowing… that'll really make me think I might die. That sounds like it could be real fun."
Mod's eyes narrowed in contemplation. Perhaps that was what he needed to activate the castle... If his emotions really were tied to his power, Modification would find it fit to stop caging them if he needed to go all out.
It was food for thought.
With a burst of modification, the wall he erected vanished and Rosan watched in amusement, as his rampaging brother tried to destroy the ship, only to be put to sleep by the visibly terrified hypnotist.
Lame, he was about to challenge his rubbery brother to a quick fight.
"Maybe it's cuz I have Mod-chan and Ram protecting me from its full effects. Especially beautiful woman might be the true counter to this hypnotism, ya know?"
"D-Don't call me beautiful! You'll make me embarrassed, jerk! Stupid, idiot, asshole Father!" Ram squeaked with a flushed expression, blushing deeply at his praise. It was funny when Maro or anyone else appreciated her beauty but not Father! His praise would make her die of happiness a-and she couldn't die just yet! Who did he think he was?!
"I'm g-going to undo the effects of the hypnotism soon," Mod stuttered, blushing at the unexpected praise. Damn it, she forgot that Rosan with emotions was a complete tease.
"Alright!" Rosan agreed easily enough. "Experiencing my emotions again was pretty fun but how does such a strange and weak hippie have such a fascinating technique?"
"I agree, he's unnaturally weak but his ability is unlike anything I've seen before…"
Never did they expect, that some random man was capable of forcing out Rosan's emotions, when neither of them could do it. He had also given them a strong hint on how to possibly unlock his emotions, that being a desire to use all his strength.
"Yo," Rosan waved to his gawking allies, appearing in front of them and making them jump in surprise. "Enjoy the show? You probably won't see something like that for a long time so I hope you memorized me smiling... Not that it'll be hard, people seem to really like staring at my face."
"W-what?" Nami stuttered. She immediately made a note to not get on Rosan's bad side because if she went out like those pirates she'd probably be squirming in death.
Zoro looked at the amused redhead with a calculating gaze. So that was how he acted with emotions? He was quite demonic in nature and his style was especially brutal to watch, showing not a single hint of mercy despite how often he smiled.
Usopp had backed far away from the redhead and his knees were shaking rapidly.
"Aww, you don't gotta be afraid, you pussy! I don't treat my allies like that. Just don't give me a reason to and you'll be golden," Rosan cackled with an amused expression, as if he didn't mind that they were rightfully afraid of him. No, he seemed to relish in it if the way he was eyeing them meant anything.
"W-what happened to you?! You're so expressive and not robotic!" Nami pointed out. The man was like a stone wall 99% of the time and right now he was the complete opposite. His handsome visage was permanently set in a neutral expression and now that same face was laced with so much emotion, it was like he had an alter ego!
"That, would be my emotions," Rosan's blank voice came out. His smile had vanished and the glow in his eyes were no longer there, giving them that standard dead look they were accustomed to and making them realize just how out of sorts it was that he never displayed outward emotions.
"Y-Your emotions?" The navigator questioned and he nodded.
"My emotions are locked away and they are rather difficult to get back. That man's hypnotism somehow managed to temporarily release them," he explained calmly, contrasting his previous self so strongly, they got dizzy trying to comprehend it.
"I… was quite chaotic when I had them but I wasn't aware I had become even more of a problem. I lost my emotions about 12 years ago when I was still a child and I've clearly grown since then."
With emotions, he was nothing short of demonic. It was a bit of a surprise but he somewhat expected it. He had always been pretty unhinged and the years clearly made it worse.
It was a good thing his other emotions like sadness and rage didn't seem to come into play. Everyone on this island would have been in danger because he was sure his years of suppressing those emotions in particular were going to bite him if he ever did free them.
They listened with wide eyes at his explanation, not quite expecting to hear that. How did someone just lock away their emotions?! Why was it so difficult to get back? Was he permanently scarred and needed therapy?
But the way he was saying it... it didn't sound like a coping mechanism (maybe it was), it sounded like they were literally locked away with no way to get them back currently.
The redhead hummed and sat down a ways away from the pirates he had just massacred. There were still some left but that had been the ones on Luffy side. Not a single one who went against Rosan survived.
As usual. He rarely left survivors.
"I'm done for now so you guys can have fun," he said simply. He didn't even intend to fight the pirates but that was fine and he'd even say he benefited greatly from it.
His random emotion gain was interesting and the fact that some weak hypnotist had showed him it really was possible to get them all back, made him nearly snort aloud.
How fortunate for him, now he just needed to find the trigger. Although... he needed to prepare for the day that did happen because even with just that small glimpse he could point out important details that were worrying.
His emotions were overwhelming. To an incredible degree. It seems like the virus hadn't been inactive because his emotions had developed even more over the years and did not stagnate like he expected them too.
Except he himself had stagnated. If he ever did get them back, who knows how much work he'd have to put in to not let them take complete control of his every action. He needed to combine his two current personalities, not have one dominate the other.
"I... I've never had so much faith before but it's still possible. Trust me Rosan, we'll get them back or we'll die trying and when we do, I'll help you every step of the way. I also had to deal with gaining emotions so I think I can help!" Mod smiled in determination.
Trust her eh? He wondered if he could really do that.
Rosan's eyes closed and he let out a short nod of approval. Palming the area underneath him, he idly made the floor more comfortable to lie on and got situated.
Mod beamed at his approval and cupped her chin in contemplation, unaware of his slight doubts. A difficult battle that would force Rosan to draw out the strength that the castle stole... They needed to go to the Grand Line to find a fight like that and when they did, the world would not be ready for them.
Jango let out a sigh of relief, at watching the redhead lie down and close his eyes. He must have exhausted himself and couldn't participate anymore so that meant they could clean up the others. If he was out of the fight, the hypnotist could call forth his trump cards.
"Buchi, Sham, come on out!" He called and two figured darted out of the ship. The Meowban Brothers could clean up this mess with ease.
"You two, we absolutely must get past this hill but there's an obstacle blocking the way, get rid of it," Jango instructed. "And when your done, go after the redhead quickly, he should be replenishing his energy so we can't let him get it all back!"
The two brothers looked up at Zoro's steely glare and nervously stepped back. "W-We can't possibly do that! Just the green one looks scary enough and you want us to go after that devil too?!" Sham stammered.
"Y-Yeah, they both look strong…" Buchi agreed. They were both sweating at the swordsman and it caused Zoro to gain a confused expression on his face.
"Huh?" He muttered. Was this seriously what he was up against? No wonder Rosan and Luffy had such an easy time... if these were the trump cards, this crew was going to sink today.
Rosan watched the pitiful exchange with one eye. If it were him, he'd have just blasted them and be done with it but plenty of people had pity and Zoro appeared to be one of them.
It cost him though. Their swordsman had let his guard down and the two ace in the holes quickly took advantage of that, darting forward and attacking the caught unaware swordsman. Their cowardly nature was all an act and the man had lost two of his swords as a result with a strangled gasp of shock.
"When do you think he'll learn to stop underestimating his foes?" Mod asked curiously. This was the third battle now where Zoro had treated the battle a bit too lax. He had no choice against Cabaji due to his injuries, but those same injuries had come from one of the battles he made the mistake at.
If it were Rosan doing the same thing, Mod, as his teacher, would have harshly punished him with training. The ocean was far too unforgiving to make such mistakes multiple times in a row and the Devil Fruit would have found it utterly unacceptable if her charge did it.
"When he suffers a crushing defeat," Rosan replied easily. Zoro was strong by East Blue standards but he wasn't that strong. He only wrote off the fight against Buggy due to the clown having a Devil Fruit that directly countered his skills but that just wouldn't do. It was good to be confident in one's skill but he just struggled against a circus act and still chose to act like this?
If you thought they were weak, give them a swift death. It was that simple. Mercy was only reserved for someone who you had thoroughly crushed and had no intention of fighting anymore. That's why the redhead hardly ever handed it out.
Because the ones he thoroughly crushed, died.
Zoro was now currently on the defensive, after nearly getting crushed under Buchi. It was clear that one-sword style was not his strong suit (perhaps he'd have to teach him a bit) but it was enough to keep him in the battle.
Well... it was, until Usopp tried to interfere to help the man out. The liar tried to help Zoro out, by picking out one of the brothers with his slingshot, but the green haired man took the snipers attack instead of letting it hit the cat brothers, shooting Usopp a warning glare in the process.
That resulted in him being left open, though and he suffered vicious twin scratch marks as a result, getting out a groan of pain from him.
"Don't interfere or else they'll focus their attention onto you," Rosan advised the confused sniper, idly watching Zoro get pushed back further and further. "There's a 50/50 chance that I protect you if they decide to target you and you shouldn't like those odds."
The sniper gaped in disbelief at his words. He was just going to let him die?!
"He's right," Nami agreed, despite not liking that he wasn't helping at all... But he had done enough so maybe they could do something now... "There has to be something we can do… If we manage to get his swords, Zoro can win easily."
Rosan was content to remain in his spot and Luffy was sleeping way down the shore so that left Nami and Usopp to think of a plan.
"I'll do it," Nami said eventually, knowing the redhead was not going to interfere. "I'm better at this type of stuff," she reasoned.
Usopp nodded reluctantly, shooting another glance at a Rosan who didn't even seem to be paying attention to their planning.
"You sure can be cruel."
"If I do everything for them, they will become over reliant on me. You should know how I feel about people overly relying on me. Luffy didn't do it when he was seven, I expect these two to be able to do something."
"That's... fair. You have a point."
The thief began sprinting down the hill so she could grab Zoro's swords, but right before she could pick up one that she grabbed onto, a looming figure put their foot on top of it and prevented her from moving it.
Nami couldn't even look up in time and let out a gasp of pain, that turned into a short scream, as a chakram pierced her shoulder, drawing blood and causing tears to prick her eyes. The navigator collapsed on the floor and began clutching the area that was cut, biting her lip at the red marring her hand.
"NAMI!" Usopp yelled nervously. "ROSAN, NAMI'S HURT! D-DO SOMETHING!"
W-Was Rosan going to help her ou—
The redhead wasn't even looking at his injured crewmate. He was actually looking behind him at something else currently with a tilted head, expression not shifting whatsoever.
Usopp was not the same. What the liar saw, made him go white.
"What do you need swords for?" Jango asked, glancing up and freezing at what he saw. The hypnotist went pale and he let out a strangled gasp, backing up slightly and looking for cover.
Sham, Buchi and Zoro stopped their battle for a moment and the two cat brothers let out twin screams of fear.
Captain Kuro looked down at them all with such palpable fury on his face, his own pirates were sure that they were going to die.
"I'd reprimand you all accordingly due to night being long gone…" Kuro began, before he turned on Rosan with nothing but raw hatred in his eyes.
"...But it seems like all was for naught, considering OUR TARGET ISN'T THERE!" He roared in rage, vanishing from his spot.
Rosan calmly leapt away from the oncoming attack. The redhead looked at the slash marks carving the ground with a half lidded gaze and appraised the man who did it.
Ah, so that was why he adjusted his glasses like that. His choice of weapon was strange and one Rosan would never use but if it worked, it worked.
"You should at least greet me first," Rosan hummed, unbothered by the man's ire. "You're honestly so rude, Kuro-san."
Kuro howled and charged.
Usopp froze in disbelief as he heard something. Target wasn't there…? Were they… Were they talking about Kaya?! No, they had to have been talking about Kaya!
She wasn't there?! THEN WHERE WAS SHE?!
The long nosed boy turned and sprinted in the direction of her mansion without any hesitation.
Kuro, assuming that Rosan had included them in his plans to ruin him, ordered Jango to chase down that long nosed nuisance.
"AFTER HIM, JANGO! HE MIGHT LEAD US TO HER!" The pirate captain snarled, swiping at the nonchalant redhead and failing to land a single hit.
The hypnotist yelped with a salute and immediately rushed off.
Jango's distraction, was all the opening Nami needed.
"Z-Zoro!" She gasped out, picking up his discarded swords and launching them to the pirate.
The savage grin Zoro let out after catching his two blades, promised pain.
"IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU HAVE THREE BLADES!" Sham screeched, fighting vigor renewed after seeing his former captain retain his skills. The underlying promise of death was not lost to him and any disrespect he considered throwing Kuro's way, was focused on his aggression towards the moss head.
"YOUR SKILLS HAVEN'T IMPROVED!" Buchi roared.
"You just don't get it, do you?" Zoro grinned, getting into position. The swordsman put his hand swords over his mouth blade and said,"Tiger Trap!"
He swung down at the approaching pirates and they spat out blood as the attack connected, eyes rolling to the back of their skulls and quickly falling unconscious from the swift and precise slash.
"Just having three swords, is different from knowing Santoryu," Zoro informed them.
"They're all monsters…" Jango said in terror, paling at the sight of Zoro defeating the Meowban Brothers in one hit. To make matters worse, the redhead was still dodging his captain's attacks and for someone who knew of his speed, that thought made him nervous.
A-At least he was being put on the defensive! He hadn't managed to get a single attack in so captain had the advantage!
Kuro would deal with them all. Jango just needed to focus on following the long nose and getting the man his money.
"YOU DAMN FILTHY LIAR!"
Rosan hummed as he dodged another attack from the pirate, raising a brow in curiosity despite knowing exactly what he was talking about.
He was pretty fast.
"That's quite offensive to someone like me. When did I lie?"
"You said you wouldn't interfere," Kuro hissed hatefully. Because of this damned pirate, everything was going to hell and the thought that he wasn't going to get his inheritance, sent him into a frenzy.
Rosan nodded.
"I told you not to drag me into it, but you did," the redhead corrected the seething pirate, ducking under a wild swing of those long swords on his gloves. "No one told you to attack my captain. You sent him falling down a cliff and tried to kill him. Of course I'd involve myself afterwards."
Kuro paused as he heard that, not believing his ears. "T-That straw hat boy is your captain?!"
That couldn't be right. There had to have been a mistake. If he had known that... he'd never have told Jango to deal with him but he didn't...
"Oh, did you think I was a captain who didn't care about his crew like you? I guess I never did mention that," Rosan shrugged unapologetically, stepping to the side to avoid a furious lunge.
"Your plan was doomed to fail the moment you let Usopp escape and tell Luffy what happened. Because I'm apart of his crew, anything he does, inevitably drags me into it."
The former captain of the Black Cats froze at that, disbelief making its way onto his face. "You... You tricked me," Kuro said in realization, not believing that he of all people had gotten tricked. Him. Kuro of 100 plans.
Him. The smartest person in the East Blue.
Rosan nodded in approval, even choosing to clap for him. "That I did. I'm a little disappointed that you didn't think to alter your plans but then again, you're only considered the smartest person in the East Blue of all seas and I don't even believe that."
But Kuro wasn't listening to him anymore, too shocked by the revelation. He had been tricked. Tricked by this fucking redheaded nuisance. He snarled hatefully and began his renewed assault on this man that ruined everything.
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
Rosan audibly sighed, shaking his head at Kuro's words. "Here we go again. Another pirate making the same claim and failing completely. Could you tell me where you took your lessons from? I want to find this person and tell them how bad of a job they are doing."
The howl of fury the man let out, made Ram drop to the floor in amusement.
The two blurred around the field and try as he might, Kuro could not touch him and that only served to make him more outraged.
Nami listened to their interaction in confusion. Kuro was implying that Rosan already knew something and ruined it… Had the mysterious redhead already approached him? When did he do that? How long did Rosan know the butler was Kuro...?
Kaya was missing too… did Rosan move her? Did he scout out Kuro's plan already? It seemed like he did, considering the pirate was literally frothing at the mouth due to her scout.
She gazed at the redhead with fascination. He was far smarter than she first thought. Nami had underestimated him because he was in Zoro and Luffy's company but Rosan was showing that he was much more willing to use his head to get things done.
She needed to question him after all this was over so that she could get a glimpse of what was going on in his mind but first… She had a certain idiot to wake up. The orange haired girl idly clutched her shoulder from the pain but ran over to Luffy.
"I don't understand why you're so upset with me," Rosan mused, tilting his head. "I didn't lie to you even once but you're still throwing a tantrum despite that. Have a bit of dignity. Don't you know what pride is?"
Kuro didn't know how this boy was keeping up with him but he didn't care at the moment. "You can't dodge forever," he warned.
"I happen to have a bit of stamina," the redhead countered.
"Where did you hide the girl? TELL ME NOW!"
"Why would I do that? You're the only one here who wants her dead and if you couldn't tell already, I kind of want you to fail."
"Kahahahaha! Look at the look on his face! It's so rich!" Ram cackled in joy.
"He's going to permanently stay red if he keeps this up," Mod giggled. "To completely unravel his plan has driven him to a point that is funnier then I expected. I have to admit, I can see why Ram enjoys angering people so much."
Rosan agreed. Soon, Luffy would wake up and deal with this man and he'd never even get close to finishing his —
"KLAHADORE! PLEASE STOP THIS!" A familiar voice that wasn't supposed to be here called.
Both Rosan and Kuro paused in their exchange and the black cat pirate felt a well of satisfaction, at seeing the redhead close his eyes and sigh.
"Sometimes, I wish my family did not tame me because I'd have just killed every single person on this island and be done with it," Rosan muttered, staring down a panting Kaya.
She flinched at the redhead's lifeless gaze and took a step back at seeing her butler with a vicious set of claws.
"Kaya," Rosan greeted, watching as she took another nervous step back like a child who understood they did something wrong. "I thought I told you to stay put so would you mind telling me…"
"...Just what do you think you're doing here?" The redhead asked gently.
There was a reason Rosan didn't include other people in his plans unless he trusted them unconditionally.
Robin herself learned rather quickly that the redhead rarely ever followed through with a plan to a t, always modifying it on the go if he thought of a better idea and she swiftly adapted to that part of him, genius that she was.
That's why he didn't include other people. He was incredibly aware of their ability to alter their plans because Rosan himself used to do that all the time. If someone like him could do it, others stood no chance.
"It doesn't matter whether you have emotion or not, your ego will always be one of the highest on the planet."
Ignoring her completely ("Don't ignore me young man!"), the man continued his thoughts unimpeded.
Humans were far too unpredictable to be reliable, especially if you didn't know them well. You could never tell what was fully going through their mind.
For instance, why the hell would a sick, depressed girl, who was being targeted by a group of pirates, put herself in sight of the ones targeting her when she was completely safe?
Some might call it bravery at wanting to make things right.
Rosan called it complete stupidity for interfering when you weren't supposed to. He had not been kidding, if he were as on edge as he'd been so long ago, he'd have killed Kaya himself for being the one to mess up his plans and then he'd burn this stupid island down.
They could thank his family for still being alive. They had mellowed him out considerably over the years and without the constant threat of action, it had worked out well for everyone around him that wasn't an enemy.
The redhead stared at the idiot with a blank expression on his face. He was normally very good at reading people and Kaya had struck him as intelligent. Clearly that did not apply to her emotions because he made sure to stress that Kuro wanted her inheritance and he wanted to kill her.
But she still showed up.
"I-I couldn't just stay there while you all were fighting for me! T-There must be something I can do to stop Klahadore from doing this," the girl protested before bravely facing her butler of 3 years.
"Klahadore, stop this! I… I'll give you what you want so please stop fighting!" The blonde begged.
Give him what he wants? Didn't he already tell her that he had this handled? What was wrong with her? Were people really this stupid? Was Rosan perhaps the only person in the four seas who used their brain and thought logically?
Was he the only one with common sense?
"Kill her," Ram demanded. Stupid little idiot ruining her Father's planning didn't deserve to breathe the same air as him.
"I can understand why you'd want to do that, but that's not necessary," Mod assured her charge, shooting a glare that successfully cowed the ring. If she didn't speak up, Rosan may very well kill that girl.
Ram was spoiled and when she made demands the redhead normally listened to her. Sometimes he didn't, but you could never tell and Mod wouldn't take that risk.
Rosan would normally not be too bothered by his plan being somewhat ruined (Luffy was his captain after all) but he had kinda been pushing Kuro to his limit since figuring out his identity and it looked like the man was willing to do anything in order to get a win over him.
"Miss Kaya, I was looking for you," Kuro said, forcing his voice to be calm.
Rosan tensed.
"I don't think you understand," the pirate began. "I don't want just your fortune, I want the peace that comes with it. You see, being chased nonstop by the Marines, is not a lifestyle I desire and I've spent 3 years earning the trust of the villagers here."
"All the time we spent together over the 3 years… Do you remember?" Kuro reminisced. "We went sailing together, took trips into town, I took care of you when you were sick. We suffered and laughed together, Miss Kaya."
Kaya began tearing up at the memories and she felt her resolve waver. M-Maybe he was still here —
"All those years, I've endured just so that I could kill you this day," Kuro hissed in suppressed fury.
Kaya froze in shock at his words and tears began welling up in her eyes. She covered her mouth and barely suppressed a strangled cry that the pirate relished in.
The former captain vanished, only to appear in front of the sobbing Kaya.
"The plan was to have you accidentally die and leave me your fortune, but things have changed because of a certain someone," Kuro whispered dangerously. This redhead thought he had him all figured out huh?
"We wouldn't want you moving away from me so soon, now would we? How about I make it so you can't move at all?"
The pirate slashed down with one of his cat claws only for someone to move in the way.
he redhead...? How had he been able to react to his movement...? Kuro had moved long before him but he had caught up? Just how fast was he really?
That surprise didn't last long though because his attack still connected with something and Kuro was filled with so much satisfaction, he couldn't keep the smile off his face.
"I think I like this outcome much more then the attack connecting on Kaya," the pirate decided maliciously.
"Oh? Aren't you a bit too eager to see my skin? Just like everyone else I happen to meet," Rosan retorted softly, expression neutral despite the gruesome injury. The back of his purple shirt was completely shredded and there were 5 vicious slash marks on his back that all leaked a steady amount of blood.
He liked this shirt. It was a good thing he had Modification but the fact that it had gotten shredded in the first place…
Unforgivable.
Nami gasped while looking away from the injury and Kaya couldn't hold back her scream at the fact that she caused it.
Rosan stared the rich girl down, face not shifting whatsoever, as if he wasn't injured. "This is why I told you to stay put. The battlefield is no place for people like you. You're weak and the strong prey on the weak," he explained.
Kaya could only stare at his unbothered expression with tears in her eyes, holding her head shamefully. Because of her… she caused him to...! Was he going to die because of her stupid mistake?
Kuro was about to swipe down again, wide smile on his face due to the redhead seeming to pay him no mind. The reason was soon revealed however, as a flying fist connected clean with the man's face and sent him crashing to the floor.
"Took you long enough, Luffy," Rosan said idly. "He ruined my shirt. I was about to kill him."
"My bad!" Luffy grinned, pulling his fist back with a snap. "I'll deal with this evil butler!"
"Better you than me," the redhead nodded.
"Y-Your back," Kaya stammered in worry. "Are you okay? Do you need to be wrapped up?"
Rosan glanced at her. "I was fine until you showed up. Thanks for the assistance," he replied.
Kaya flinched harshly at his words and held her head in guilt. He heard her sniff and saw a few more tears hit the floor but the redhead felt no sympathy for the idiot.
"Stop crying, I'm already healing," Rosan told her calmly.
Kaya's eyes snapped up in confusion. Already healing? What was he talking —
Before their very eyes, they watched the terrible wound on Rosan's back begin to steam and close up. It looked like it was forcefully stitching itself back together and soon, the only sign that he had been struck, was the remaining blood and the fact that his shirt was still shredded.
"W-What are you…?" Nami whispered in disbelief. No one was able to heal that fast naturally, it was just not possible! T-That injury should have taken weeks to close up and it should have left a scar!
"A humble scout," Rosan replied, removing his shirt so that he could repair it.
Kaya turned beet red at his shameless act and immediately closed her eyes after catching a glimpse at all those muscles.
D-Didn't he see that she was right in front of him! What was wrong with him?!
He paid her no mind and focused on his outfit. "Modification: Repair," he thought to himself and watched in satisfaction, as his silky purple shirt stitched itself back together until it was in perfect condition.
This one had a red rose on it, no way was he letting it stay destroyed.
"You have a tattoo?" Nami asked curiously, glancing at his muscular build with a curious gaze. She thought he was lazy but with his build, it was clear that he was very physically active. Never did she expect him to be so fit and she wondered what he put himself through to get so strong.
Nami or Zoro weren't even aware Rosan had a tattoo! The rose design cut across his neatly written name and bloomed out right next to the R in a beautiful display. It looked incredible and they weren't sure why he opted to keep the amazing tattoo hidden.
Every new detail they learned, made it clear that they knew startlingly little about the redhead.
"Yes, I got it when I was 16. My sister did it for me," he told them.
Sister?! Did he just casually drop information on having a sister?! How many family members did these two have!?
Before they could even question them on who his sister was, the redhead turned towards Kaya.
"Since you revealed yourself, there's no point in bringing you back to my ship. I'll escort you back to the mansion and you're going to stay there until the fight is over? Okay?" Rosan ordered the teen. It sounded like a question but it clearly wasn't and the owner of the mansion was well aware of that.
Kaya nodded meekly. "W-Where's Usopp?" She asked hesitantly. She needed to at least apologize to him for what she had done.
"Probably fighting a hypnotist."
She opened her mouth and immediately closed it as Rosan fixed his gaze on her, dead gaze beginning to glow slightly.
"Don't make me knock you out. I'll do it with great joy because of how much you've derailed things."
Kaya nodded again, faster this time with a look of fear on her face. Like a properly scolded child, she allowed Rosan to escort her back to her home.
What was with this girl? She just loved throwing herself in the middle of danger.
Idiot.
Usopp didn't exactly know where he was running too but he just needed to find Kaya.
Missing? How was that possible?! Maybe she had actually taken his advice and gone hiding? If she did, that was fantastic but he wouldn't be able to sleep if she somehow didn't...
Usopp wasn't sure but he had to make sure she was safe.
"Captain!"
His face shot up in surprise at hearing the three familiar voices. That surprise turned into horror at realizing who was here.
Why the hell were the kids here?!
"GET OUTTA HERE YOU THREE!"
"WATCH OUT!" They screamed but it was far too late a warning.
A flying object landed square on Usopp's back and the sniper gasped as the pain caused him to collapse and tumble on the grassy floor.
"GAH!" The teen cried out at the burst of pain. He glanced back in confusion and saw that he had been struck by a chakram.
"You really run fast," Jango said in annoyance. He was nervous due to the fact that Captain Kuro was already clearly angry and he didn't want to further anger the terrifying man by failing this mission.
"C-Captain! Are you alright?!" Pepper asked in a mixture of concern and fear. Usopp shot them a shaky, brave smile that belied his own terror.
He was absolutely not alright but he didn't want to needlessly scare the kids. "T-This is nothing to the great Captain Usopp!" He told them, with false bravado. Inwardly though, he was wondering how the hell he was going to deal with this pirate. That chakram hurt and his back was bleeding copiously at the moment.
"Where is the lady?" Jango asked Usopp in a low tone. He couldn't waste time with this wannabe pirate right now.
"That's what I'm trying to find out!" The sniper bit out, dabbing his wound and wincing at the pain. "I don't have time for this! Usopp pirates, search for Kaya!"
Aka, run for your lives.
"Aye, Aye, Cap'n!" They saluted and the four ran without any hesitation.
"Hey, WAIT!" Jango yelled at the retreating kids. He grabbed his chakram and launched it at the scattered group.
Carrot let out a squeal of fear as no less than five trees were cut by the disc like weapon and it spurred him, and his best friends, to run even faster.
Usopp's eyes bugged at how strong those chakram were and was glad that he was apparently not hit with full force.
It seemed like the pirates really didn't know where Kaya was so that meant looking for her could wait, for now he needed to get awa — strategically retreat from this hypnotist.