The tension was heavy in the air.
Kaya clutched her chest from her bed, her breath shallow. Usopp stood frozen beside her, unable to process the truth. Nami's fists were clenched, her face pale in disbelief. Luffy's hat shadowed his eyes, for once without his usual smile.
And Kuro — no longer pretending to be the loyal butler Klahadore — straightened his coat, cracked his neck, and slowly removed his glasses.
They dropped to the floor with a soft clink.
His smile was gone.
Only cold ambition remained.
"…So," Kuro said, brushing his bangs aside, "you figured it out."
"I didn't figure it out," Rex replied as he stepped forward, coat fluttering gently from the breeze that rolled through the open window. "You were just too sloppy."
Kuro narrowed his eyes.
"Sloppy?"
Rex nodded calmly. "You hide behind logic. Numbers. Predictability. But when someone like me steps in—someone you can't calculate—you lose control."
Zoro tilted his head. "He's provoking him."
Nami whispered, "No… he's toying with him."
Luffy grinned. "This is gonna be fun."
Kuro chuckled darkly and took a step forward, claws glinting on both hands.
"I've killed more pirates than you've seen. I destroyed entire crews before I turned twenty. You think your arrogance is power?"
"No," Rex said, raising his hand and slowly pushing his black hair back, revealing both eyes — eyes as sharp as a god's judgment.
"I think your claws make you feel safe. That's all."
Kuro vanished.
Fast.
Faster than the eye.
He appeared right in front of Rex, claws outstretched in a cross-slash toward his throat.
SLASH—!
No contact.
Only wind.
Rex had already stepped to the side, without moving his upper body.
Kuro's eyes widened — he missed?
[…Opponent speed matched. Combat perception: 97%. Evasion successful. Counter path open.]
Rex didn't even blink.
"You have speed," he said. "But your mind isn't fast enough to use it properly."
Kuro snarled and attacked again — slashing faster, switching angles mid-swing.
Rex parried with elbow deflections, fluid and casual.
He stepped backward once — not in fear, but to drag Kuro in deeper — into his rhythm.
Then, without warning, Rex stepped forward.
A single movement.
Too fast.
Too clean.
Too perfect.
His knee slammed into Kuro's gut with so much force it cracked the tiles beneath their feet.
"GUH—!"
Kuro spat blood.
[…Phantom Drift engaged. Zero-gravity recoil suppression active. Internal pressure balanced. Levitation maneuver available.]
Rex didn't stop.
He floated upward for a split second, flipped over Kuro's bent body, and landed behind him.
Then—he turned his back.
Kuro twisted mid-fall, staggered to his feet, and roared.
"You dare turn your back to me—?!"
Rex glanced over his shoulder.
"You've already lost. You just haven't hit the ground yet."
Kuro lunged again.
This time, he activated Shakushi — his infamous hundred-step killing technique, zigzagging through the room at breakneck speed, slashing everything in sight.
To Luffy and the others, it looked like teleportation.
Glass shattered.
Furniture exploded.
Dust filled the room.
"WHERE IS HE?!" Kuro yelled, breath wild. "WHERE—?!"
A whisper cut through the smoke.
"Too slow."
CRACK—!!
Rex descended from above, twisting mid-air with Phantom Drift, and landed a spinning kick to Kuro's jaw that launched him across the room.
He crashed into the stone wall, bleeding from the mouth.
The dust settled.
And Rex landed softly, standing tall, adjusting his coat.
Luffy was practically glowing. "THAT WAS SO AWESOME!!"
Zoro smirked. "I'd hate to fight him seriously."
Nami stood frozen, a quiet awe in her eyes.
He wasn't just strong.
He was in control.
Every motion. Every breath. Every inch of space belonged to him.
Rex walked slowly toward the fallen Kuro, who groaned and tried to rise.
"You killed your own crew," Rex said, voice cold. "Poisoned an innocent girl. Lied to everyone."
Kuro coughed, one eye swollen, blood in his teeth.
"I planned everything…"
"And I ruined everything," Rex said, lifting him by the collar with one hand. "You think that makes me lucky?"
He leaned in, eyes cold.
"No. It makes me inevitable."
BOOM—!!
He slammed Kuro through the floorboards, down into the lower level of the mansion with one final strike, cracking the stone beneath.
Silence.
Then…
[…Threat neutralized. Hostile heartbeat: stable but unconscious. Target Kaya no longer in medical danger. Passive toxin levels will dissipate in 24 hours.]
Rex exhaled slowly.
And turned to face the others.
Usopp had tears in his eyes, standing at Kaya's side.
"Thank you…"
Rex looked at Kaya.
She nodded faintly, smiling.
"…I can breathe again," she whispered.
Luffy cheered.
Zoro sheathed his swords.
Nami stepped forward, eyes searching Rex's expression.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"No. I mean… inside."
He didn't answer.
Because truthfully… he wasn't sure.
Something inside him was changing with every fight.
Faster reflexes. Deeper instincts. Growing power.
But also… a growing distance.
Between him and the rest of the world.
Still, he gave Nami a faint smile.
"I'm here, aren't I?"
She stared at him.
"…Yeah. You are."