The stench of blood traveled on the wind to the noses of the three of them. It wasn't just the sensitive-smelling Kuro who could detect it; Kuro and Lida also sensed it—it was incredibly strong.

Kuro looked around. This was a temporary port, undeveloped. There was only a small village in front of him, but there were hardly any people. Upon closer inspection, he could see that the village buildings still had some dark marks on them, which were dried blood.

Kuro crouched down, picked up a clump of soil, sniffed it, and his face darkened.

"No wonder the plants and flowers here are so lush..."

In every world, there is a legend that land nourished by blood will surely grow beautiful flowers and plants the following year.

The stench of blood in the soil of this land was so strong that it almost choked Kuro.

"What kind of awful place did the old man choose for me? What happened to the promise of quiet?"

These words startled Kuro. He paused for a moment and said, "Mr. Kuro, don't you know about the situation on Pegasus Island?"

"What?"

Kuro looked over. "What's going on on Pegasus Island? Isn't it as quiet as the old man described? Wait..."

Quiet?

It's quite quiet here. How could it not be quiet after everyone has died?

"Klo".

Kuro said in a deep voice, "Tell me what's going on. What are you hiding from me?"

“Mr. Kuro…”

Kro was somewhat surprised: "I thought you knew."

What do I know?

Under Kuro's almost cannibalistic gaze, Kuro told Kuro about the current situation of the Twin Horse Kingdom and Pegasus Island.

"So, this godforsaken place is still ravaged by war? And a large number of pirates have occupied the island, and it's even near Reverse Mountain? Similar to 'Loguetown' in the East Blue?"

Seeing Kuro nod, Kuro fell silent. He looked up at the sky, pursed his lips, and the cloud in the sky gradually transformed into the old man's sly, grinning face.

"Give me a gift? I'll just burn paper money for you!" Kuro said through gritted teeth.

Although he has no problem with anywhere in the world, this place is clearly a trap.

According to Kro, this area was originally the territory of the Twin Horses Kingdom, belonging to an independent island that occupied one-third of the total area of ​​the Twin Horses Kingdom.

However, due to the war, the island was completely destroyed, and with the addition of pirate attacks, the kingdom had no choice but to hand over control of the island to the government.

The government naturally used this place as a naval base.

If Kuro wants to live safely, he first has to get rid of the 'pests' here; if he wants to live comfortably, he must make the people here pay taxes.

There are hardly any people here, so there's not much tax revenue. We'll have to recruit new people, and that would take a lot of time.

Is he here to enjoy himself?

He's here to reclaim wasteland, isn't he?

No wonder the navy officer who brought him looked so admiring; he would have admired anyone else too.

Moreover, the delivery location was so remote that it was obvious even warships dared not go to the main towns.

A red dot flashed in Kuro's eyes as his Observation Haki covered the entire island. He then rubbed his forehead in exasperation, "There are way too many of these. What is this? A pirate's lair?"

According to his Observation Haki, the auras on the island were densely distributed in various places, with varying levels of intensity. If there weren't many civilians on the island, then these were all pirates.

Fortunately, their auras weren't very strong, so it's unclear whether they had any real ability.

"Wow, there are so many people, Kuro."

Lida also activated her Observation Haki and sensed a large number of auras, but with her current skill level, she was unable to distinguish their strength.

"This is really too much... They sent me here with nothing, no troops, no supplies, what's the point of sending me here first? The old man is really ripping me off."

Kuro flipped open the Den Den Mushi on his wrist, preparing to make a call, but then he suddenly froze, staring intently at something hanging on a pillar at the entrance to the village ahead.

"Huh? Kuro, is that person swinging on a swing?" Lida followed Kuro's gaze and asked curiously.

Snap!

Kuro nudged her and whispered, "That's a dead man."

As far as the eye could see, hanging on the gate was a woman in tattered clothes, the bruises on her face still lingering, a rope hanging from her head, her body swaying in the wind.

He was hanged alive.

"Never mind..."

Kuro closed the Den Den Mushi's cover. "Kuro, what did headquarters say when I came here? Where are my men? Where are the supplies?"

As Kuro's adjutant, Kuro basically handles all military affairs. Originally, Lida was supposed to have some involvement as well, but she... basically doesn't get involved. Most things are handled by Kuro.

"Headquarters said a group of naval personnel will arrive tomorrow with supplies," Kro said.

Tomorrow...

Kuro took out a cigar, lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled the smoke. "Alright, let's clear this place out. After all, I'm going to live here in the future. Too many 'pests' are really affecting people's living experience."

"Mr. Kuro, I think we should wait until the Navy arrives tomorrow before making any collective moves. That way, things will be much easier for us..."

Before he could finish the last word, "more," Lida shook her head at him and gestured for him to be quiet.

She pointed at Kuro, who had already started flying in one direction, and said, "Can't you see I don't dare to mess with him anymore? Kuro... is angry."

Kuro pushed up his glasses and glanced at the corpse hanging from the pillar. "Is it because of that corpse? That's really unlucky, pirates..."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!