THE TRUTH

Usopp stands aggressively before a group of angry villagers armed with brooms and sticks. He glares at them and shouts, "HOW DARE YOU HIT ME... DON'T FORGET, IN MY VEINS IS THE BLOOD OF A PIRATE! YOU UNDERESTIMATE ME! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL..." Kaya watches this scene, her face filled with distress, and cries out, "USOPP-SAN! DON'T DO THIS!" Usopp raises his arm menacingly, yelling "DIE!" as a villager screams "KYAAH!" Suddenly, Kaya jolts awake, gasping "AAAH!!" with wide, terrified eyes. She is covered in sweat, revealing that the violent confrontation was only a nightmare.

Kaya sits up in her bed, bathed in moonlight from the window, panting heavily with a "HUFF............!!" She clutches her chest, trying to catch her breath as her heart races with a "SFX: HUFF HUFF...". Still sitting on the edge of her bed, she coughs twice and thinks to herself, "I DON'T UNDERSTAND... WHY WOULD USOPP-SAN SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT..." Seeking answers, she gets out of bed, opens her bedroom door, and walks down the dark hallway. She calls out, "CLAHADOR?" She stops at a door, knocks on it, and asks, "ARE YOU THERE, CLAHADOR?"

Kaya opens the door, and a massive "!!!?" bubble bursts from her as she stares in shock at the room's interior. Lying face down on the floor is a man with curly, sheep-like hair, wearing a dark suit. He is motionless, and a pool of blood spreads out from beneath him. Kaya covers her mouth in horror, trembling and sweating as she stares at the gruesome sight. The injured man weakly groans, "ME..." Kaya's eyes widen in absolute terror as she screams his name, "MERI!!"

Kaya kneels beside the severely injured Merry, who lies face down in a pool of blood. She cries out in panic, "MERI! WAKE UP!! YOU CAN'T DIE!" Merry weakly coughs, "UGH..." and Kaya asks, "WHAT HAPPENED!!?" In the next panel, Merry continues to cough heavily as Kaya watches in distress, calling his name, "MERI!!" Merry manages to push himself up slightly off the floor. A door slams shut with a "BATAN" sound. Panting heavily with "HU...!" and "HU...!", Merry says, "OJOU-SAMA... GOOD... YOU'RE SAFE..." Kaya looks confused and frightened, asking, "I'M SAFE...? WHAT... WHAT ARE YOU SAYING..." A close-up shows Merry's battered face as he reveals the attacker's name with a shout: "CLAHADOR!!!"

A large close-up shows Merry's face, bruised and sweating, as he struggles to speak. He reveals, "HE... HE TRIED TO KILL ME..." Kaya covers her mouth in absolute shock, stammering, "WHA...?! HE..." Merry clutches his head in anguish, saying, "IF... IF ANYTHING HAPPENED TO YOU... I WOULD FEEL LIKE I HAD BETRAYED YOUR PARENTS!" A close-up of Kaya's wide, tear-filled eye shows her disbelief as she thinks, "HOW... THIS COULDN'T BE REAL!!" The bottom panel shows a wide view of the room with Kaya kneeling beside the wounded Merry on the floor. Merry delivers a shocking revelation: "HE'S A PIRATE!"

Kaya's face is filled with horror and tears as the realization hits her. She asks, "THEN YESTERDAY... ALL THAT STUFF USOPP-SAN SAID WAS TRUE...!!?" Merry, still lying on the floor, confirms, "YES... THINKING BACK... HE ALONE KNEW THE TRUTH, AND TRIED EVERYTHING TO WARN US... BUT WE..." Kaya looks down, crying silently, and admits, "NONE OF US, BELIEVED ANYTHING HE SAID!" A close-up of Merry shows his intense expression as he recalls Usopp's words: "AFTER TOMORROW, YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH!" Merry urges Kaya, "JUST... TAKE THIS CHANCE TO RUN! PLEASE LISTEN TO ME! WE'VE MISUNDERSTOOD THAT MAN'S GOOD INTENTIONS..." Merry continues to praise Usopp, calling him "THAT BRAVE YOUNG MAN," while Kaya covers her face, weeping bitterly. Merry finishes, "HE TRIED SO HARD TO SAVE THIS VILLAGE BUT WAS INSTEAD CHASED AWAY!"

Tears stream down Kaya's face, falling with soft "POM POM" sound effects. Overwhelmed with guilt, she says, "AND I... WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE FOR HIM..." Merry interrupts her thoughts with more coughing. Kaya turns to him in concern, "MERI!?" She quickly stands up and runs toward the door, shouting, "SOMEONE PLEASE HELP...!! MERI'S..." but Merry stops her, explaining, "IT'S NO USE... EVERYONE WENT ON VACATION STARTING YESTERDAY!" Kaya turns back, offering, "THEN... I'LL GET SOME HELP..." but Merry, struggling to sit up, refuses: "I'M YOUR SERVANT, HOW CAN I LET YOU DO MY DUTIES FOR ME?" A close-up shows Merry looking determined despite his severe injuries. He advises, "ALSO, BEFORE EVERYTHING HAPPENS, WE NEED TO THINK CALMLY AND DECIDE WHAT WE HAVE TO DO NOW..."

Merry, still lying injured on the floor, speaks to Kaya who kneels beside him. He says, "JUST NOW, I SAW CLAHADOR WALK OUT THE DOOR..." "IF... WHAT USOPP SAID WAS TRUE..." "THEN, HE MUST HAVE GONE TO THE SHORE TO JOIN HIS COMRADES." A close-up shows Merry panting heavily, sweat on his face, as he adds, "NOT ONLY OUR LIVES, BUT THE LIVES OF THE VILLAGERS ARE ALSO IN DANGER". In the next panel, Merry continues explaining the situation: "CLAHADOR'S PLAN IS TO OBTAIN THIS HOUSE AND THE WEALTH," "SO WE SHOULD JUST GIVE IT ALL TO HIM!" "THAT WAY WE'LL GET TO KEEP OUR LIVES!" Kaya, clutching her chest with a determined but distressed look, responds, "OKAY!" Merry looks up at her and says, "UNFORTUNATELY... THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN STOP CLAHADOR NOW..." "...IS YOU!"

Merry continues speaking to Kaya, asking, "CAN YOU DO IT?" "EVEN THOUGH YOU DON'T REALLY HAVE TO..." Kaya replies firmly, "I KNOW!" A close-up shows Kaya looking resolute and sweating slightly as she declares, "I UNDERSTAND. I WON'T RUN AWAY!" "I'M GOING TO GO TALK TO CLAHADOR RIGHT NOW!" The scene shifts to the village outside. Piiman, wearing a pirate hat, runs up to Ninjin, who is sitting on the ground rubbing his eyes. Piiman shouts, "HEY NINJIN! WAKE UP!" Ninjin complains, "BUT NORMALLY I'M SLEEPING THIS TIME OF DAY..." Piiman urgently tells him, "NOW ISN'T THE TIME TO SLEEP. SOMETHING AWFUL MIGHT BE ABOUT TO HAPPEN". Ninjin looks surprised and asks, "EH? THAT BUTLER WENT TO THE SHORE?"

Tamanegi, wearing glasses, looks worried and says, "I THINK PIRATES ARE REALLY COMING TO ATTACK THE VILLAGE!" "I THINK CAPTAIN WAS LYING WHEN HE SAID THAT IT WAS JUST A LIE..." Ninjin agrees, "I THINK SO TOO!" Piiman adds, "ME TOO! BECAUSE HE WAS ACTING KINDA WEIRD YESTERDAY!" Suddenly, Tamanegi notices someone down the road and says, "EH!?" Piiman points and says, "THAT'S..." Kaya is shown walking down the road in her coat, panting "HUFF... HUFF..." with "SUTA... SUTA..." footstep sound effects. The three boys watch her in surprise. Tamanegi says, "IT'S KAYA-SAN..." Ninjin wonders, "WHAT'S SHE DOING WALKING OUT..." Piiman concludes, "SOMETHING MUST'VE HAPPENED!"

A wide shot shows the steep slope leading down to the shore. A large dust cloud and a heavy rumbling sound effect fill the path beside the Black Cat Pirates' ship. In the next panel, Luffy is shown lying on the ground, fast asleep with "ZZZ..." bubbles floating above him. Nearby, Zoro sits up, holding his sword, and looks down the slope. In the background, Nami and Usopp are sitting on the ground. Zoro remarks, "WHAT'S GOING TO COME OUT NOW..." On the ground, the injured Jango lies on his stomach, chuckling weakly, "HEH HEH..." "YOU'LL ALL BE KILLED......"

Jango yells up at the pirate ship, "NYABAN BROTHERS! COME DOWN..." On the ship's deck, two figures are seen in silhouette. One says, "HEY! THE CAPTAIN IS CALLING FOR US!" Another asks, "WHAT? THEY HAVEN'T GONE TO THE VILLAGE YET?" followed by, "WHY ARE THEY STILL HERE?" and "OKAY! LET'S GO!" The two figures leap over the ship's railing and drop toward the shore with a loud landing sound effect. As they fall, one notices the unconscious pirates below and says, "HEY! LOOK! EVERYONE HAS BEEN DEFEATED!" The other replies, "THAT'S WEIRD... LET'S GO DOWN AND CHECK!"

The two figures land gracefully on the ground with stylized Japanese landing sound effects. Jango greets them, "HELLO, NYABAN BROTHERS". The two are revealed in full detail. One is a large, round man wearing a cat hood with ears and a large bell around his neck; a caption identifies him as "KURO NEKO'S PIRATE CREW: SHIP GUARDIAN BUCHI". The other is a slender man with cat ears, glasses, a bow tie, and clawed gloves; his caption reads "KURO NEKO'S PIRATE CREW: SHIP GUARDIAN SHAM". Sham smiles and asks, "CAPTAIN, YOU CALLED FOR US?" while Buchi adds, "WHAT'S UP?".

Nami looks at the newcomers and asks, "WHAT ARE THEY?" Usopp, sweating, comments, "WOW... JUMPING FROM SO HIGH... THEY'RE LIKE CATS..." Zoro watches them silently with a "..." bubble. Down below, Jango points up the slope towards Zoro's group and orders, "BUCHI, SHAM... WE COULDN'T PASS THROUGH THIS SLOPE......BECAUSE THOSE GUYS ARE BLOCKING OUR WAY! NOW GO AND DESTROY THEM!" Sham and Buchi react with exaggerated shock and fear. Sham cowers, holding up his claws, and whines, "WHAT?! HOW CAN WE... BUCHI, WE CAN'T BEAT THEM..." Buchi, sweating profusely, agrees, "YEAH! THOSE GUYS LOOK REALLY STRONG!"

Watching the display, Usopp asks, "WHAT'S GOING ON? AREN'T THEY GOOD?" Zoro replies, "I DON'T KNOW..." Nami observes, "THEY BOTH SEEM SCARED...." Down below, Sham continues to make excuses, "WE'RE JUST... THE SHIP'S WATCHMEN!" Buchi adds, "YEA! WE DONT WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THESE KIND OF BATTLES!" Jango angrily points at Sham and yells, "SHAM! GO NOW!" Sham protests, "EH!? WHY MEEE!?" In the next panel, Jango kicks Sham forcefully in the back, shouting, "GO!" Sham stumbles forward, crying out, "OKAY! I'M GOING!" Nami watches in confusion and asks, "WHAT'S GOING ON? AREN'T THEY SUPPOSED TO BE STRONG? WHY ARE THEY MAKING THOSE COWARDS FIGHT?"

Sham runs clumsily towards Zoro with his claws raised, shouting, "PREPARE TO DIE...!!" and "MY CLAWS ARE REALLY SHARP!!". Zoro watches him approach, thinking, "......!!", and asks, "WHAT CAN YOU DO TO ME WITH THOSE CLAWS...?". In the next panel, Zoro draws his sword with a sharp glare, warning, "IF YOU DON'T STOP NOW, I'LL ATTACK YOU!". Sham looks terrified, sweating and exclaiming, "WHAT!?". Zoro swings his sword down forcefully with a loud sound effect, saying, "JUST YOU? YOU CAN'T KILL ME...". Sham reacts with a shocked "!!?".

Zoro's sword strikes down, but Sham swiftly dodges, getting inside Zoro's guard and grabbing Zoro's wrist. Sham looks up at Zoro and says, "YOU...". Zoro looks surprised as Sham continues, "YOU MUST BE THINKING... THAT I'M JUST A COWARD?". In the next panel, Sham crouches low to the ground, having completely evaded the strike. He smirks and reveals, "I WAS JUST PRETENDING TO BE A COWARD". He adds, "IF I DIDN'T, THEN YOU WOULDN'T HAVE LEFT YOUR GUARD DOWN!". Zoro looks down at him in shock, thinking, ".........!!".

Usopp and Nami watch the fight in shock. Usopp exclaims, "SO HE WAS JUST ACTING SCARED?!". Nami suddenly notices something wrong and yells, "ZORO!? YOUR KATANAS...". Zoro stands confused, holding only one sword, and asks, "EH... WHERE DID THEY GO!". In the next panel, Sham stands confidently, holding two of Zoro's swords behind his back with a smirk. He taunts, "YOU LOOK LIKE YOU MIGHT HAVE A FEW SKILLS! BUT YOU UNDERESTIMATED ME, SHAM OF THE NYABAN BROTHERS". He continues to mock Zoro, "WHAT? ARE YOU MISSING SOMETHING? I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY WENT!!". Watching from below, Jango points and says, "THERE IT IS!", while Buchi adds, "CAT BURGLAR". A close-up shows Zoro looking furious as he realizes what happened, thinking, "THAT BASTARD...!!! STOLE MY KATANAS...!!!".

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