Meanwhile, Ray leaned back on the sofa in the villa, sipping red wine with his legs crossed.
He closed his eyes, his senses stretching out to the battlefield.
Even though he'd already mastered Observation Haki, he still needed to practice to make it second nature.
In his mind's eye, he could see about 50 people at the northern coast of the island.
Four of them had auras that were slightly stronger than the rest.
Two of those auras felt distinctly unpleasant—cat-like.
Those had to be the Nyaban Brothers.
The third was the hypnotist, Jango, and the strongest, of course, belonged to Captain Kuro.
On their side, aside from Usopp's pitifully weak aura, the other two humans and one giant dog were more than a match for the enemy.
Yep, nothing to worry about, he concluded.
He smiled faintly and opened his eyes, about to take another sip of wine.
Just then, Nami picked up a wine glass and clinked it against his in a toast.
In an instant, Ray teleported several feet backward, causing Nami's glass to clink against empty air.
"What is wrong with you?" he asked, annoyed.
Nami just huffed. "It's your fault for looking so cool just now! I couldn't help myself."
Then she paused, noticing something odd.
Kaya was just staring out the window, completely unfazed.
That's weird, Nami thought. With Ray's maxed-out sex appeal, she should be acting just as crazy as I am.
"Kaya," Nami asked, "don't you feel anything when you look at Ray?"
Kaya, who had been anxiously watching the coast, snapped back to attention.
She glanced at Ray, then immediately looked away, her face bright red.
"I only like Usopp!" she said stiffly.
Nami got it.
Ray got it too.
The girl was using self-brainwashing to distract herself.
"Learn from her," Ray told Nami. "Don't let your instincts control you."
Nami blushed and shot back, "I don't have a crush on anyone! What am I supposed to distract myself with?"
Ray just turned and walked toward the door. "Let's go watch the fight. Use that to distract yourself."
He was starting to realize that his new face meant he probably couldn't be alone with women anymore.
With Ray in the lead, the two girls followed him toward the northern part of the island.
"So," Nami whispered to Kaya, "how did you stop yourself from jumping him the first time you saw him?"
Kaya's face turned an even deeper shade of red.
"I was hiding behind Usopp at the time," she stammered.
"I just pretended to be scared and… touched him for a while instead…"
…
At the coast.
The Black Cat Pirates had all disembarked.
Led by Kuro, Jango, and the Nyaban Brothers, they glared up at the small group waiting for them on the slope.
They had already seen the traps and knew their plan had been discovered.
Jango frowned at the oil and nails covering the path.
"Captain Kuro, there's no way the whole crew can charge up that."
Kuro smirked coldly, his eyes filled with murder.
"Can't you use your hypnosis? You have five minutes to clear that slope. Otherwise, I'll handle it myself."
Jango and the Nyaban Brothers broke out in a cold sweat.
When Kuro said he'd "handle it," he meant he'd kill everyone—the enemy and his own men.
Hypnotizing the crew to clear the traps would get some of them hurt, but that was a lot better than being slaughtered by their own captain.
Jango made his decision.
He pulled out his pendulum. "Listen up, everyone! Look at me! When I say '1, 2, Jango,' you will all gain unstoppable strength!"
"OOOOOHHH!!!!" the crew roared.
Kuro just watched, a cold smile on his face.
He knew his threat would work.
This way, he could clear the traps and wear down the enemy at the same time.
Two birds, one stone.
The hypnosis took hold. Forty-six pirates, veins bulging on their foreheads and their eyes rolled back into their heads, charged blindly up the slope.
Zoro sensed their auras suddenly spike.
"Luffy," he warned, getting serious, "even a lion uses its full strength to catch a rabbit. Be careful."
But Luffy didn't answer.
"Huh??"
Zoro turned, and his jaw dropped.
Luffy was roaring right alongside the pirates.
"OOOOOHHH!!!!"
His muscles were bulging, and his eyes were rolled back, just like theirs.
He was charging straight at the enemy.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! YOU GOT HYPNOTIZED TOO?!" Zoro screamed, his entire worldview crumbling around him.
Usopp just facepalmed.
"I've never met anyone so unreliable in my life."
Just moments ago, he'd been feeling confident.
Now, he was terrified.
'If Zoro and Chouchou weren't here, I'd be fighting all of them by myself!'
~
The hypnotized Luffy had no idea he was charging straight into his own trap.
He slipped on the oil, got impaled by the spikes, and was covered in blood in seconds.
But thanks to the hypnosis, he didn't feel a thing.
He just started wrestling with the other pirates on the slippery, spike-covered slope.
Between Luffy and the pirates, they somehow managed to mop up all the oil with their bodies… along with a lot of blood.
With the oil gone, Luffy could finally get some traction.
His real power was unleashed.
"Gum-Gum… GATLING!"
A flurry of fists sent the pirates flying, snapping them out of their trance.
They all started howling in pain.
Kuro, Jango, and the others watched in shock.
"What?! A Devil Fruit user?!"
Kuro's eyes narrowed. "He's the priority target."
…
With all the small fry out of the way, Luffy's hypnotized brain locked onto the only enemies left: Kuro and his officers.
"AHHHH!!!" he roared, charging at them.
Jango, thinking fast, swung his pendulum again.
"When you hear '1, 2, Jango,' you will fall asleep!"
"1, 2… JANGO!"
Sure enough, the charging Luffy immediately went limp and collapsed to the ground, fast asleep.
Up on the slope, Zoro and Usopp's eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
"THIS… THIS… IDIOT!"
While they were cursing their captain, Kuro saw his chance.
He slipped on his cat claw gloves, each finger tipped with a meter-long blade.
In an instant, he was beside the sleeping Luffy, raising his claws to slice off his head.
"DAMMIT, I'M NOT GONNA MAKE IT!" Zoro yelled, sprinting forward as fast as he could.
But it was no use.
He was too far away.
Luffy's life was about to end.