Naru stopped dead in her tracks, and she could hear Kurama snort from up ahead. "A warlock," she repeated skeptically. "A witch?"
"I didn't start that rumor!" Sasuke instantly bristled at their dull reactions. "But everyone who's come in contact with her has gotten cursed!"
"Come on, you can't seriously—"
"Okay then, how would you explain the sickness that befalls everyone who sees her?" Sasuke seethed. "She says some random words, and the next thing you know, the person in front of her falls ill!"
Naru didn't answer. She just stared at Sasuke, trying to figure out how much was true. "Alright," she said and resumed walking. "So what could she use your bow for?"
After glaring at her a while longer, Sasuke sighed. "I don't know," he said. "I mean, it's valuable as hell, but other than that, it's just an ordinary bow."
"It doesn't have any special features or anything?"
"Apart from the poison, no."
"What poison?" Naru asked.
"Oh. Each of the archers in the Kiryuin clan have used poisonous arrows," Sasuke explained. "In my case, I found a small hole in the bow which would be perfect for storing a few drops of poison. That way, I don't have to separately coat my arrows, I just drip the poison on when I nock the arrow."
"Sneaky."
Sasuke scoffed. "This coming from a pirate?"
"All pirates aren't bad, you know," Naru said and grinned. "Some of us are actually pretty nice people."
"What, like a fox face over there?"
"I heard that," Kurama called over his shoulder. "Ya should play nice, duckass. Some of us ain't as patient as the cap'n, some of us just do what pirates are expected ta do."
"Luckily, we aren't part of that 'some'," Naru said before Sasuke could retort. "Look, if we want to get your bow back, we're gonna have to move quietly. If what we're dealing with is a warlock, our best shot is the element of surprise."
"Be a li'l late fer that, cap'n," Kurama said gleefully.
Naru groaned. "How so?"
"Cos there's two guys standin' in front of me, and I don't think they're here ta ask fer directions."
It took Naru a few seconds to process his words. She quickly moved up to where he was standing, only to find herself face to face with two large men dressed in robes, their bulging muscles visible even underneath the thick fabric.
"What is your business here?" one of them asked.
Naru opened her mouth, changed her mind, and closed it again. Think smart. "We..." She cleared her throat and applied a leisure expression. "We're here to see—"
Her sentence was interrupted as she was suddenly, not to mention roughly, pushed to the side. Sasuke had dashed up next to her, and now stood staring at the two strangers with such fury, Naru was surprised they didn't run away with their tails between their legs.
"I'm here to take my bow back!" he shouted, and Naru sighed. Oh well. "That Noroi person stole it, and we're gonna take it back!"
The two men chuckled simultaneously. "You're the brat from the Kiryuin clan, aren't you?" the other said. "The weakling who couldn't even fight off our lowest ranked thieves?"
"Try to use a bow and arrows on ten close-ranged enemies, asshole," Sasuke snarled and reached around his waist to grab one of his knives, but before his fingers reached the hilt, Naru slapped his hand away.
"This is why you have us," she said and stepped in front of him. "Kurama, you go for the right one, I'll take the left."
Kurama smirked, and Naru grinned, shaking her head at the bloodlust he radiated. "Aye, cap'n," he said and unsheathed his katana.
Both men broke down laughing. "Oh my, brother," one of them said. "They think they can take us on."
"Absolutely hilarious, brother," the other responded. "And absolutely ridiculous."
At the exact same time, they grabbed the hem of each others' robes and pulled. The fabric slid off with ease, revealing two precisely identical men. Every single detail, from the hair down to the clothes, were the same.
"My name is Ginko," the one in front of Naru said.
"I am Kinko," Kurama's opponent said. "We are proud members of the Kanzaki Clan, the clan who will conquer all of West Blue!"
"That's Kurama," Naru said. "And I'm Naru. The one who will become the Pirate King," she added with a wide grin.
Sasuke's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline, and his jaw fell open. "The Pirate King?" he breathed out.
His expression was mirrored on both Ginko and Kinko. For a second, everything was quiet, but then, the twins started laughing. "That's a very serious thing to say, brat," Kinko chuckled. "Especially for someone like you."
"Someone like me?" Naru said and arched an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Ginko wheezed between laughs. "A scrawny little kid like you couldn't possibly become the Pi—"
Naru's grin turned feral and she broke away from the ground. Before Ginko could finish his sentence, she planted both of her feet in his face, the impact sending him flying down the rocky hill.
"Brother!" Kinko shouted, his eyes widening in horror as he hurried to the edge of the trail and looked around for a sign of his twin. "Why, you little—" Enraged, he took a few steps towards Naru, who fixated him with a bored stare. "I'm gonna kill you!" he roared.
"Oi oi," Kurama said and raised his sword. "Yer enemy is right here, big guy."
"I'll fight whoever I want to fight," Kinko growled and pushed Kurama aside, his attention fully placed on Naru.
"Whoever yer opponent might be..." Kurama quickly stepped forward and slammed the blunt side of his sword into Kinko's chest, knocking the air out of his lungs. "Never turn yer back on someone holding a katana."
Kinko coughed and dropped to his knees. "That's it?" Naru asked. "This can't be all you got."
"You!" She looked over her shoulder to see Ginko raise himself from a nearby pile of rocks. "How dare you try to throw me down the mountain?!" he shouted.
"You were about to insult me," Naru said gravely. "Trust me, if I'd have let you finish that sentence, you'd be in a much worse state."
"Bastard..." Ginko hissed as he climbed back up to their level. "Come on, brother, let's teach them a lesson they won't soon forget!"
Kinko swallowed thickly a few times before standing up and walking over to his side. "I'm with you, brother!" he said and spun around once before raising his arms to strike.
An exhilarated sound escaped Kurama's lips, and even Naru couldn't fight the playful grin that graced her lips as she placed herself in a defensive stance. "That's more like it," she said.