"Kuro, David is injured! Aren't you going back?"

At that moment, on the Golden Lion, Lida was eating an apple and asked Kuro a question.

"Three people can't handle a group of pirates?"

Kuro, with a cigar in his mouth, exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "What level of pirate would do that?"

David was not weak to begin with, and even if he was injured, it didn't mean that the pirate was that strong. It was more likely that they were locked in a fierce battle or a stalemate.

Cass's defense is terrifying; ordinary people have no chance of breaking through that white shield. He also has acceleration ability, plus that white aura that can increase the combat power of others through willpower and the ability of Wilbur to grow to gigantic size. David himself can serve as the vanguard.

Simply put, it has everything you need: damage output, defense, and support, except for healing.

As long as the three of them don't run into those old guys, they should be fine.

If it were an old guy, he would have called long ago.

"Is that so? That seems to make sense."

Lida shook her head as she recalled the image of Cass leading a group of twisted creatures filled with white mist charging forward; even she found that bizarre appearance somewhat frightening.

She rummaged through her bag again, pulled out a fruit, and was about to take a bite when she said, "Speaking of which, Kuro, it's unbelievable that Cass actually has such power..."

"Don't eat that!"

Kuro suddenly shouted, startling Lida so much that she loosened her grip and the fruit fell to the ground.

That wasn't the fruit from Lida's bag, but a fruit that was entirely purple with chain-like patterns on it.

The fruit rolled on the ground and landed right by the gate, which opened at that moment. Kuro walked in and said, "Mr. Kuro, Cass and the others sent a message saying they've dealt with the pirates involved in this incident, but they want to apologize to you. They say they didn't handle things well and let you down... um..."

The fruit rolled to Crowe's feet, where he saw it, bent down, and picked it up.

He adjusted his glasses and said, "Devil Fruit?"

This appearance definitely confirms it's a Devil Fruit.

Lida's face fell. "My apple..."

"Tsk, how come I suddenly got some goodies?" Kuro stroked his chin and said strangely, "I haven't taken down any Devil Fruit users lately."

Kuro, who didn't believe in superstitions, started to believe in them after seeing how powerful Lida was at shipping.

However, in the past, he always killed the people and shipped the goods out of Lida's bag.

After a Devil Fruit user dies, there is a chance that the Devil within them will choose the nearest Devil Fruit and become a new Devil Fruit.

But that's all a matter of probability, and besides, Kuro hasn't killed any Devil Fruit users yet.

You can't exactly say that among the people you casually killed with a single slash when you fought William, there were some who were truly capable.

etc...

"What did you just say? Cass killed someone and then apologized to me? Who did he kill? Do you have any information? Was he an ability user?" Kuro asked.

Kro nodded: "Yes, the details were also mentioned. It seems to be an ability user who can assimilate thoughts, forcibly changing people's minds through chains and taming them."

As he spoke, he stared at the Devil Fruit in his hand and smirked.

Could it be that one?

"Forcibly changing mindsets?"

Kuro frowned. "It is a rather dangerous fruit, but isn't it too far for me to get here?"

But this is the East China Sea, and that's the New World.

How did it end up in Lida's bag, given the distance...?

Has her 'lucky' attribute really reached this level?

"Never mind, it's better for it to be in my hands than in someone else's," Kuro said, shaking his head.

Devil Fruits, once eaten at sea, pose a threat to some extent.

Kuro is afraid of these unknown ability users.

No way, no way? Surely no one really thinks that in such a big world, Devil Fruits are only found in things like rubber and glistening threads.

The ocean is so vast, representing countless possibilities.

There are too many other abilities; maybe he has the ability to kill someone with just a glare and a flick of his knife.

Even if you don't die, I can't stand being pregnant just from a glare from you.

Humans fear the unknown, and Kuro is no exception.

So he decided to keep these dangerous fruits safe. Rather than letting them be eaten by someone at sea, keeping them safe ensured that they would remain just fruits.

One less person to eat means one less threat.

Kuro even had a thought: if Lida was really that lucky and that backpack was really that amazing, then he might as well collect all the Devil Fruits. Once he had no more Devil Fruits, he wouldn't be afraid of those strange abilities anymore.

If he has no ability, then he is not afraid of anyone. All he can use are physical skills, swordsmanship, and domineering aura. These are all knowable, and he is not afraid of what is knowable at all.

But that's just wishful thinking. There are so many Devil Fruits on the ocean, how could anyone possibly collect them all? And Lida's bag isn't from the Devil Fruit Tree.

Even if this thing wasn't 100% accurate to begin with, does he expect him to go and kill them one by one?

Wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?

Kuro was already afraid of those unknown ability users, and now, in order to prevent them from appearing, he rushed over and killed them first...

Only someone who's got nothing better to do would do something like that.

"That's enough. There's no need for apologies. Let them do their jobs. Besides, what navy doesn't suffer defeats? Expecting them to win every battle is unrealistic," Kuro said.

In any battle, your feet will inevitably get wet, and once your feet are wet, you're likely to get soaked too.

Kuro has seen this all too many times, both in the East Blue and the Grand Line.

If you punish others for every failure, how can the navy get anything done?

We can't dampen the navy's enthusiasm.

“You’ve never failed, have you?” Lida said.

“How can that be the same?” Kuro said. “How can my situation be the same? If I failed, I would have died there.”

Look at their battles, it's just a small skirmish. Losing doesn't matter, getting injured means retreating to recuperate for a while before continuing.

Look at yourself again...

Since arriving at headquarters, every real battle has been a life-or-death struggle, so defeat is not an option.

Besides, he's not stubborn; if he can't win, he'll just run away.

"Let's go back to G-3."

Kuro glanced at the sea outside. "No need to look at the East Blue anymore. That William should be heading to the Grand Line. Once he gets there, he won't be able to go back without paying a price. Notify the naval branch near Reverse Mountain to keep a close watch. If they find Sam William returning, chase him back to the Grand Line, no matter what."