C2 Target Kuro

Rogue Town

This town marks both the beginning and the end; Pirate King Roger was born here and also met his demise within its borders.

The navy has a strong presence here, with a Colonel from the Navy Headquarters who is formidable in strength. He shows no mercy to pirates, ensuring the townspeople are spared from their harassment.

Locals agree that the new Colonel is a vast improvement over his predecessor, who was accused of colluding with pirates.

When a ship appeared on the horizon, navy soldiers at the port quickly grabbed their binoculars to check for pirates. But what they saw was a familiar sight.

The ship's bow displayed the body of a pirate, and behind the impeccably dressed man were a group of pirates, trembling despite their handsome appearance, clearly terrified.

"It's Rodney. He's back to cash in another bounty," a navy soldier exhaled in relief. Rodney, a recently emerged Pirate Hunter, was known for bringing in entire ships of captured pirates.

"Get someone over here immediately to take custody of the pirates."

"Understood."

Before long, the ship from the Steel Saw Pirate Group moored at the dock. Navy soldiers cleared the area, handcuffing and shackling the pirates in preparation for their transfer.

Leading the navy team was a striking woman with glasses and a long saber at her waist, Navy Lieutenant Tashigi.

"Mr. Rodney," Tashigi approached and greeted him with due courtesy.

"Hello, Tashigi. I've brought in the Steel Saw Pirate Group. How much bounty can I expect for them?"

Tashigi responded with a smile, "Please give us a moment to tally the total. Rest assured, you will be duly compensated." She regarded Rodney with respect for his contributions to maintaining order at sea.

"Very well." He nodded, trusting Tashigi's integrity and not fearing that Smoker would skim off the top. If even he were corrupt, it would signify the downfall of the navy.

Soon, Rodney was handed four stacks of Belle. One stack was smaller than the others; the Steel Saw Pirate Group had netted him 5.63 million Belle. He spent three million on Explosive Talismans, 100,000 on Shuriken and Kunai, and saved the rest for personal expenses.

After finding a hotel to rest, I purchased Explosive Talismans, Shuriken, Senbon, steel wire, and Kunai from the System Merchant Shop. The shop offered more than just these items; it also had Ninjutsu, Body Technique, Kekkei Genkai, and more, but they required Mission Points. The Eight Gates Escape Armor, Chakra Blade White Fang, and Chakra extraction techniques were all part of a generous system gift package.

Currently, I could only open one of the Eight Gates, which required me to continuously train my body to use it effectively. Mission Points and Belle in the shop functioned like in-game currency, clear and familiar to any gamer. However, this time, throwing money at the problem wasn't an option.

I stashed a stack of Explosive Talismans into my waist pouch, along with the other ninja tools. The pouch had a cubic foot of space, akin to a Space Scroll, but those were prohibitively expensive in the shop and offered limited storage.

"I'm broke again," I sighed.

"Ding! Mission issued."

No sooner had I lamented my financial state than a new mission popped up. I checked the details:

"Mission: Assassinate Kuro.

Mission Level: C

Reward: Permanent Chakra Fruit, 150 Mission Points."

Chakra Fruit? Now that was a valuable item. The Chakra Fruit here wasn't the same as the one consumed by the Otsutsuki, but a diluted version, available in Permanent and Explosive varieties. The Permanent Chakra Fruit would significantly increase and expand my chakra reserves, while the Explosive Chakra Fruit offered an even greater surge of chakra but only for a brief period before vanishing.

Kuro was no easy target. And was it too reckless to bump the reward from 4.5 million to 16 million? Kuro was known for his intellect, second only to Ben Beckman, the deputy of the Red Hair Pirate Group. He had faked his own death to infiltrate Rob's village, hiding out and plotting to seize a wealthy merchant's fortune.

He was clever, indeed, but he had the misfortune of encountering the legendary Usopp and the Straw Hat Luffy.

It was the latter half of the year 1517 in the Sea Circles Calendar. He had been with the Keya Family for just about six months.

"That cunning fellow is somewhat tricky to handle." Dealing with clever people is always a bit of a hassle, though not entirely so.

...

Rodney set out on his journey once more, tagging along with a merchant ship. Without proper navigational knowledge, one could easily get lost in the Windless Zone or fall prey to natural disasters.

Being completely ignorant in this area, Rodney naturally stuck with the merchant ship. As it happened, the ship was passing by Rob Village and needed escorts. It was an opportunity for him to follow along and earn some extra money.

The merchant ship made regular stops to buy or sell goods, and the voyage was smooth sailing. After receiving five hundred thousand Belle from the ship's captain, Rodney piloted a small boat to Rob Village.

The merchant ship was merely passing by, not docking, so he had to anchor his small boat on the north side of the village.

Rob Village was a tranquil place, the birthplace of the Red Hair Pirate Group's sniper, Jesus, and his son, Usopp, who would also become a sniper for the Straw Hat Pirate Group.

"Pirates are coming! Pirates are here!"

The cry rang out across the village, the voice of a young boy. Had they mistaken him for a pirate?

From a distance, a cloud of dust billowed. Rodney took a closer look and saw a young boy with a headscarf, a long nose, and an afro running wildly ahead, with a group of adults in pursuit. The adults, armed with brooms and sticks, were chasing the boy with faces full of rage.

Usopp?

The future legend swiftly slipped by, while the relentless adults continued their pursuit. Rodney stopped one of the adults and said, "Is all this really necessary for a child?"

"Necessary?" the adult retorted, "This kid does this every day. Once or twice is tolerable, but it's infuriating when it's a daily occurrence. True to form as the Pirate's son, he's just like his father!"

The villagers were fed up with Usopp because he frightened them with his lies every day. A few times might be overlooked, but the daily annoyance was too much, especially given the resentment toward his father for becoming a Pirate.

Pirates are often seen as villains in the eyes of many.

Usopp's father, Jesus, was enticed by Red Hair Shanks to join the ranks of the pirates. To the villagers, he was nothing short of a scoundrel who deserted his family, especially since his wife longed to see him one last time before she passed away. To comfort his ailing mother, Usopp resorted to the daily fib, "The pirates are coming," instilling a glimmer of hope within her.

Following her death, Usopp maintained the habit of crying wolf about pirate arrivals, earning him the reputation of a notorious liar despised by all.

"Oh? Really? By the way, where does the wealthiest family in this village live?"

The man pointed towards a villa atop the hill and said, "That's the place. Hold on, why do you ask?"

After scrutinizing Rodney's getup, it was clear he didn't seem trustworthy.

"I'm a Pirate Hunter. There's a pirate who's infiltrated this village."

"That wouldn't be the kid we just saw, would it? His dad's a pirate too."

"No, that kid is hardly a pirate. Thanks." Rodney channeled Chakra into his legs and dashed off towards the hilltop villa at a speed that far exceeded that of an ordinary person, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

"Could that guy be a pirate?" The man pondered, scratching his face, then decided to send a few people to follow.

But how could they possibly keep pace with Rodney?

Not far from the villa, they made their way to the backyard and stealthily entered.

This was the residence of the village's richest family and also the hiding place of Kuro.

Aware that his pirate status made him a target, Kuro staged his own death to slip away. He had one of his crewmen act as his double, with a hypnotist convincing the crew that this man was Kuro. His plan led the navy to besiege and eliminate him, taking out all witnesses at the scene, except for that crewman and one navy officer. Kuro masterfully extricated himself from the situation.

Upon arriving in Rob Village, he posed as a sailor ousted by his ship's crew. The family took him in, and he became their butler, donning a mask of deceit that fooled the entire village.

As a man second only in cunning to Ben Beckman, Kuro's machinations were nothing short of exquisite, his strategic depth chillingly profound.

Rodney strolled into the backyard garden, brimming with flowers and greenery, and leapt up into a tree, concealing himself among the foliage.

The mansion was so vast that searching it proved to be quite the hassle. Therefore, he decided to bide his time and wait for his opportunity, much like waiting for a rabbit to come to him.