21: Chapter 21 Kro's Conspiracy, Kaya's Crisis

The breeze of the East Blue finally carried away the lingering heat of late summer.

The row of tea trees in the courtyard of the 18th Branch blossomed for the third time.

Tiny white petals fell onto the rattan chair where Lin Han was resting his knees. He was leisurely peeling an orange, his fingertips stained with the faint fragrance of the pith.

Exactly three years had passed since the Cold Fire Sword Qi was first formed in that rain.

Kuina was no longer that little girl standing in the rain wiping away her tears.

The fourteen-year-old girl had shot up, her height reaching Lin Han's shoulders.

Her palms, hardened by years of gripping a sword, were covered in thin calluses. The wado ichimonji at her waist was something Lin Han had asked an old acquaintance in Marineford to procure for her two years ago.

Wrapped around the black scabbard was the indigo cloth strip Genzo had tied for her back then. As she walked, the scabbard gently tapped against her military boots, producing a steady, crisp sound.

Over these three years, the old veterans of the 18th Branch had long since replaced their initial contempt with genuine awe.

Old Zhang, the thorn in their side who used to slack off and drink back then, now saluted from afar whenever he saw Kuina, shouting Officer Kuina even louder than he would call out to his own father.

The base's walls were patched up again and again, the playground was paved with bluestone slabs, and even the food in the cafeteria had changed from undercooked rice to fragrant braised pork — all managed single-handedly by Kuina.

Lin Han was happy to take it easy.

Every day, apart from basking in the sun and drinking tea, he would watch his own chief steward busy running around, occasionally offering a few pointers on swordsmanship. His life was more comfortable than that of a retired veteran cadre.

Chirp ——

A very faint bird call landed on the armrest of the rattan chair.

Lin Han didn't even lift his eyelids; his fingertips pinched a slice of orange and fed it over.

That pitch-black bird, the intelligence bird that first appeared three years ago and was casually named Mo Ying by Lin Han, tilted its head to peck at the orange slice. The small slip of paper gripped in its claws fluttered down lightly into his palm.

Kuina had just finished practicing her sword, walking over with a thin layer of sweat on her temples. Seeing this, she stopped in her tracks.

"Master, it's news from Mo Ying."

Lin Han unfolded the paper and glanced at it. His orange-peeling action paused slightly, and his brows raised.

"Kuro."

"Kuro." Kuina frowned. She had seen this name in the base's files: it was Thousand-Plan Kuro, a pirate Captain with a bounty of 16,000,000 Berries who had vanished three years ago.

"Mhm, that's the cat pretending to be a steward."

Lin Han casually brought the paper to his fingertips, and a wisp of pale white Bone Spirit Cold Fire surged up, instantly burning the paper until not even ashes were left.

He nonchalantly flicked the ash from his fingertips. "To actually hide in Syrup Village pretending to be a good person, this camouflage skill has even more patience than in the original story."

Kuina didn't catch the second half of his muttering, only staring at her master's face.

"Is this Kuro very strong? Should we go capture him?"

"Strong?" Lin Han sneered, tossing the last slice of orange into his mouth. "He's a bit clever, but his fighting level is barely passable. As for capturing him..."

He leaned back, making the rattan chair emit a comfortable creaking sound. "What's the rush? He hasn't done anything bad yet; at best, he's just a disguised and lurking suspect. There's no charge even if we catch him. We'll talk after he makes a move."

"But ——"

Kuina grew anxious, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword, her knuckles turning slightly pale from exertion.

"Syrup Village is over half a day's journey away from us. If we wait until he makes a move and then rush over, what happens if Miss Kaya gets hurt? The files say Kuro is ruthless; back then, he slaughtered the residents of an entire town without blinking an eye."

Lin Han lazily lifted his eyelids and pointed to the faint, almost invisible blue ice pattern on his left wrist.

"You think I've been idling around for three years? When I inspected Syrup Village last month, I already left a cold energy mark in his garden. If something really happens, I can get there with just a single thought, much faster than you riding a horse."

Kuina was stunned for a moment, then remembered her master's unfathomable cold energy. Her tense shoulders relaxed slightly, but she still couldn't help rolling her eyes.

"Master, you're doing it again, always waiting until the very last moment. What if the mark fails? What if he makes a move ahead of time?"

"Fails?" Lin Han raised an eyebrow and reached out to flick the stray hair from Kuina's forehead. "You girl, do you think your teacher's cold energy is roadside malt sugar that melts away just like that? Besides ——"

He dragged out his tone, his mouth curving into that habitual, unfathomable smile. "Catching him too early would make this play so uninteresting. My newly planted cloud-mist tea will be ready in three days, just in time to join the liveliness."

Kuina was so angry her teeth itched, but she could do nothing about this lazy master of hers, so she could only stamp her foot.

"You only know how to drink tea and watch plays. If something really happens, I won't spare you!"

"Alright, alright, you're giving me a headache with all this noise."

Lin Han waved his hand and picked up the teacup on the stone table again.

"Go move the iron target from the training ground over here. Your Cold Fire Sword Qi can only cut through three-finger-thick steel plates; you still need to practice more. On the day Kuro makes his move, I'll let you go meet him, so you don't nag me about it every day."

Kuina's eyes lit up, and she immediately stood up straight.

"Understood, Master."

She turned and walked toward the training ground. After taking two steps, she turned back to glare at Lin Han before speeding up and running away, her hair ends swaying in a graceful arc in the wind.

Lin Han watched her back, the smile on his lips fading slightly as his fingertips rubbed the ice pattern on his wrist.

Of course, he wasn't really just watching the play.

He knew Kuro's plot better than anyone else —— that pirate Captain disguised as the steward Klahadore had been eyeing the property of Kaya's family in Syrup Village for three years, planning to make a move on Kaya's birthday, fabricate evidence of death by illness, and swallow up all the family property.

In the original story, this segment was ruined by Luffy. Now that Luffy hadn't set sail yet, he wanted to see what tricks this Thousand-Plan cat could pull off.

Meanwhile, in Syrup Village, the setting sun dyed Kaya's villa a warm golden color.

Steward Kuro had just stepped out of Kaya's room.

His face still wore that flawless, gentle smile, his eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses curving into crescents, and his voice was as soft as if he feared disturbing the patient.

"Miss, rest well. Tomorrow I will take you to the garden to see the newly bloomed cosmos flowers that you said you liked last time."

From inside the room came the weak coughs of the young girl, accompanied by a slightly grateful response.

"Thank you, Steward Kuro."

Kuro gently closed the door, and the smile on his face vanished completely in an instant.

He raised his hand to wipe his fingertips, the white gloves brushing against the door panel without gathering a speck of dust.

Walking into the shadows of the corridor, he pulled a pocket watch from his bosom. The skull symbol of the pirate crew was engraved on the watch cover, casting a cold glow in the setting sun.

"Three days left."

He murmured softly, his fingertips tapping against the pocket watch cover, his voice as chillingly cold as a poison-tempered blade.

"This little girl has quite a tough life; her consumption dragged on for three years and she still hasn't died. But it doesn't matter. Once that batch of smuggled jewelry arrives, I'll administer a sufficient dose of sleeping pills to her, disguising it as a death by illness. Nobody will be the wiser."

Under the banyan tree outside the courtyard, Buchi the fat man was squatting there gnawing on a chicken leg.

Seeing Kuro come out, he quickly wiped his mouth and hurried over.

"Captain, everything is ready. The brothers are waiting in the merchant ship in the outer sea, just waiting for your order."

Kuro glanced at him, raised his hand to adjust the lace cuffs of his sleeves, and spoke in a cold tone.

"What's the rush? Rear Admiral Lin Han of the 18th Branch is not someone to be trifled with. When I scouted last time, I felt an indescribable coldness inside that base. Don't alert him. Once Kaya dies in three days, we'll take the property and leave immediately, returning to the North Blue to live in ease."

"Yes, yes, yes, Captain is right."

Buchi nodded and bowed, then seemed to remember something.

"Right, that little girl named Kuina, I heard she's Lin Han's disciple now, and her swordsmanship is extremely formidable. Should we beforehand..."

"Kuina." Kuro sneered, his fingertips rubbing the cat-claw blades inside his gloves. "She's just a wet-behind-the-ears girl, how much skill could she possibly have? If she really gets in the way, we'll just deal with her together."

He raised his eyes to look in the direction of the 18th Branch, his gaze sinister.

"But before that, don't alert the enemy. That fellow Lin Han reportedly doesn't even give Fleet Admiral Sengoku any face, so it's better to be cautious."

The wind whipped up the petals of the cosmos flowers and blew them over, landing on his gold-rimmed glasses.

Kuro raised his hand to brush away the petals and turned back into the villa, his face once again putting on that gentle and considerate steward's smile, as if the viciousness from just now had never existed.

In the courtyard of the 18th Branch, Lin Han yawned and drank down the cold tea in one gulp.

Kuina was carrying a half-person-tall iron target toward the training ground. The setting sun drew her shadow very long, and the indigo cloth strip on her scabbard swayed in the wind.

"Three days later, huh."

Lin Han squinted his eyes toward the distant sea level. The pale white flame at his fingertips jumped and then quietly extinguished.

"It just catches my new tea coming out of the pot. For this play, there always has to be some tea to go with it to make it interesting."

Kuina carried the iron target and turned back, just in time to see her master's lazy look. Angered, she rolled her eyes again and quickened her pace toward the training ground.

A soft muttering drifted on the wind.

"All he knows is how to talk big."

In the direction of Syrup Village, the setting sun was slowly sinking into the sea, and darkness was about to shroud the earth.

Kuro's plot was fermenting, and Kaya's sickly figure was reflected on the window glass, completely unaware that her doom was approaching.

The tea trees in the courtyard swayed gently in the evening breeze, dropping a blanket of tiny white flowers across the ground.

The game three days from now had already been quietly laid out.