Elsewhere on the island…
"Should I be worried about Kidd?" Ronin asked, his voice laced with unease.
Te pondered for a moment, then shrugged. "Nah. With your strength and Lila's, you two should be more than enough to handle Kidd's crew. And that's without Koby or me even getting involved. If we join in, it'd be over in minutes."
Ronin raised an eyebrow. "But we should avoid making trouble, right? If Kidd's out here causing chaos and killing Marines and civilians, it's only a matter of time before they send someone to deal with him."
Te nodded thoughtfully. "True. We should definitely keep a low profile and leave the island soon. Kidd's making too much noise, and there's a good chance the Marines will send some higher-ranking officers here."
Ronin's eyes widened in alarm. "You think they'll send an Admiral?"
Te chuckled. "Absolutely not. Kidd isn't big enough to warrant that kind of attention yet. But a Vice Admiral? That's possible, and it's still someone we'd rather not tangle with right now. If we get involved and make ourselves known, the Marines will start tracking our movements, and they'll eventually catch up to us."
Ronin exhaled in relief, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. He knew his strengths—and his weaknesses. Facing an Admiral was definitely the latter. He trained every day and pushed his body to the limit, but the idea of squaring off against one of the Marine's top dogs made his stomach churn. Unlike the brothers, whose freakish talents allowed them to grow stronger at an absurd rate, Ronin had to work twice as hard just to keep up.
Te, seeing Ronin relax, couldn't help but tease. "Actually, if the Marines see Kidd as a real future threat, they might send an Admiral after all."
"WHAT?!" Ronin shouted, his voice cracking in panic.
Koby chuckled, shaking his head. "Relax, Ronin. He's just messing with you. The Marines won't send an Admiral for a rookie like Kidd—not yet anyway."
Te grinned, clapping Ronin on the back. "Just stick close, man. If anything big happens, we've got your back."
Ronin muttered something under his breath, but the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease a little. "I hate when you do that," he grumbled.
Koby and Te exchanged amused glances. "It's good for your training," Te said with a wink. "Keeps you on your toes."
Ronin rolled his eyes but couldn't help the small smile tugging at his lips. The brothers might drive him crazy sometimes, but he knew they'd never let him face something like an Admiral alone.
As the trio made their way through the town, it became increasingly clear that the eerie behavior of the citizens was tied to something specific. Ronin glanced at a group of people huddled together by the entrance to a shop, whispering nervously as they passed.
"It's definitely the Kidd Pirates," Ronin said, his voice low. "These people are scared of anyone who looks remotely dangerous."
"Yeah, no doubt," Te replied, his eyes scanning the area. "They're terrified of anyone who might be a pirate."
Suddenly, a civilian burst out from one of the nearby homes, pointing an accusing finger at the trio. "You there! Pirates! Get out of here! We've had enough of your kind destroying everything! Leave before you bring more trouble!"
Te immediately bristled, his fists clenching. "Oh? You want us to leave? How about I destroy your entire island just to make sure no one comes here again?" he shouted, his aura flaring as an empty threat, making the civilian flinch and take a few steps back.
Before Te could continue, Koby grabbed him by the arm, pulling him back. "Whoa, whoa, calm down, man! We're not here to cause any problems." He turned to the terrified man and offered a genuine, apologetic look. "Sorry about that. We'll be on our way, we don't mean any harm. Just trying to get through town."
The civilian, still shaken, backed away without saying another word, retreating back into his home and slamming the door. The trio continued walking, but Koby shot Te a stern look.
"Really? You had to go and threaten to blow up the whole island?"
Te shrugged with a smirk. "Hey, it was just a joke. Well... sort of."
"Yeah, that's not the kind of joke we need right now. People here are already on edge," Koby sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "We're supposed to be keeping a low profile, remember?"
As Te, Koby, and Ronin made their way through the town, they noticed a crowd of people gathered up ahead. The civilians looked on with a mix of fear and curiosity, whispering among themselves.
"Looks like a fight's going on," Ronin muttered, squinting his eyes to see.
"Great, just what we need," Koby sighed. "More chaos."
They moved closer, pushing through the crowd to get a better view, and that's when they saw her—Lila, standing in the middle of the square with her spear drawn, facing off against none other than Killer.
Te furrowed his brow, leaning in closer. "Is she really fighting Killer? Why didn't she call us?"
"That doesn't make sense. We should've heard something," Koby said, eyes narrowing. "She looks too calm for this to be a serious fight."
Ronin's hand was already hovering near the hilt of his sword. "Should we jump in? If she's in trouble—"
Before any of them could react, Killer raised his weapon, twirling his blades in a show of impressive skill, but instead of attacking, his posture looked... hesitant.
"I've never met anyone like you before," Killer said, his voice loud enough to echo through the square. "You're strong, confident, and I can't stop thinking about you."
Te blinked, completely dumbfounded. "Wait, what?"
Koby's mouth dropped open as the words hit him. "Is he… confessing his love?"
Lila tilted her head slightly, one eyebrow raised, as if she hadn't heard him correctly. "Excuse me?"
Killer took a step forward, lowering his weapons, his voice softening. "Lila, I... I think I'm in love with you."
The entire square went silent, the tension that had filled the air evaporating as confusion swept over the crowd. Te, Koby, and Ronin stood frozen, eyes wide as they exchanged bewildered looks.
"Did I just hear that right?" Ronin asked, barely able to suppress his laughter.
"I think we all did," Koby said, completely stunned.
Te couldn't help but snicker. "Wow. That escalated quickly."
Lila, meanwhile, looked utterly bemused. She took a deep breath, clearly trying to find the right words. "Uh, Killer… I don't know how to tell you this, but… I'm not really interested. You're great and all, but you're not exactly my type."
Killer's shoulders slumped, but he kept his composure, his mask hiding any hint of embarrassment. "Not your type?"
Lila smirked, giving him a playful shrug. "For starters, I like my men without masks, and they've got to be stronger than me."
The crowd seemed to collectively exhale, and a few muffled laughs could be heard. Killer stood there for a moment, processing her words, before slowly nodding.
"I see," he said quietly. "But... I'll keep asking."
Killer turned and walked away, leaving Lila standing alone in the square, shaking her head with a small smile on her face.
Te finally burst out laughing, unable to hold it in any longer. "Oh man, that was priceless! Killer, confessing his love in the middle of town—who would've thought?"
Koby rubbed the back of his head, still trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. "I thought they were about to fight... turns out, it was something entirely different."
Ronin let out a snort. "I was ready to jump in and everything. Glad I didn't. That would've been awkward."
Lila walked over to them, still smiling. "You guys catch all that?"
Te grinned, throwing an arm over her shoulder. "Oh, we caught it all. Next time you break someone's heart, let us know beforehand, okay?"