"Was Khaladore right?" Usopp mutters to himself as he walks aimlessly away from his friend's mansion,
"I mean, Khaladore is a trustworthy guy, in the three years he's been in the village, he has never told a lie, so does that make what he said true? … is my dad a filthy pirate?" He whispers to himself as he continues to walk away aimlessly,
"Obviously not, he is my dad, he wouldn't stoop so low, but then again, my dad is a pirate and Kaya told me that pirates attacked Khaladore and he was left for dead until he drifted onto the village's shore."
"AARRRGGGHHHH!" Usopp screams in frustration and starts to run,
He doesn't know why he's running, he doesn't know where he is running, he doesn't know why he always runs, all he knows is that, right now, he wants to get as far as he can away from that damn butler,
"Oi wait up!"
Someone screams behind him but he pays it no attention and continues running,
"No! That damn butler is wrong! Khaladore is wrong! My dad is an honorable warrior of the sea!" He screams in anger as he continues to run,
"He is wrong! He is wrong! He is wrong!" He screams over and over and over as he runs,
…
He doesn't know how long or how far he's been running, but his legs buckle under his own weight and he collapses in front of a cliff's edge,
Lying face-first on the ground, he wants to get back up, but he's too weak,
He wants to march back to the mansion and prove to Khaladore that his father is not a filthy pirate, but he's too afraid,
He wants to become a brave warrior of the sea like his dad, but he can't,
"dammit." He mutters, "My dad isn't a filthy pirate." He says meekly,
"Your dad's a stand-up guy." Someone behind him says,
Immediately, Usopp uses his remaining strength to push himself upright, "What? Who's there?!" Usopp asks with quivering lips as he cautiously look behind him, easing up once he sees it's only Luffy standing behind him,
Breathing a sigh of relief, "oh, it's just you Luffy." Usopp says with a cheery voice,
"What's with that face? You look like you just saw a ghost, did you see a ghost? Where is it?" Luffy asks with excitement all over his face,
"Ghost? Where?" Usopp asks with a quivering voice,
"Why you asking me? I don't know." Luffy replies,
"Well you brought it up, I didn't see any ghosts, besides ghosts aren't real." Usopp counters,
"They're not? aw" Luffy sighs in disappointment,
Knowing that he's not in any danger, Usopp calms down and sits on the cliff's edge, "Anyway, what brings you here?" He asks,
"Well, you seem angry so I want to make sure you won't do anything stupid." Luffy honestly replies as he sits down next to Usopp,
"Ah well, that's nice of you, thank you." Usopp says with a smile,
Sitting side by side, the two boys relax and enjoy the crisp night sky,
…
"hey Luffy," Usopp whispers,
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you something?" He nervously asks,
"Sure, go ahead." Luffy answers with a thumbs-up,
He wants to learn more about his father, he wants to know what kind of adventures did his dad go on, how is his father doing, whether Khaladore was correct or not, and if he too can become a great warrior of the sea like his dad,
"Hello, captain Kuro." Someone loudly says, interrupting Usopp's train of thought,
Looking over the cliff's edge, Usopp sees a skinny gray-haired man conversing with someone on the sandy beach below, on his head he wears a blue, wide-brimmed hat, with red, heart-shaped glasses covering his eyes, he also wears olive trousers and gloves, with a simple white T-shirt and a simple blue jacket on top, on his chin is a black and red striped beard that resembles a mushroom stem,
Usopp tries to identify the other person, that proves to be difficult due to the other person standing behind a large rock,
"Quiet Jango," Kuro calmly chastises Jango, his voice dripping with venom, "Or I will kill you."
'This Kuro, his voice sounds familiar' Usopp thinks to himself,
"ok ok, so what do you need help with captain?" The fool replies,
"I am working as a butler for a girl named Kaya, and I need your help to kill her and the entire village." Kuro explains,
"Kill Kaya?! I got to warn her! I got to warn the village!" Usopp panics quietly,
"The entire village? A bit overkill don't you think?" Jango comments,
Raising an eyebrow, "Are you questioning my plans?" Kuro calmly asks,
"Nothing like that, it's just a bit redundant, I mean, why the entire village?" Jango points out,
Fixing his glasses with his palm, Kuro calmly says, "Looks like being the captain of the "Black Cats" Pirates have gotten to your head, do I need to remind you-"
"No no," Interrupting Kuro's threat, Jango takes a deep breath and recites word for word the Black Cats' motto, "do what the captain said and never question it."
"Well done, it seems you haven't forgotten our motto." Kuro says with a soft applaud, then his expression turns serious, "Now that pleasantries are over, here's what you need to do, there are two paths, you and some of your best men circle behind the island and head up the path that I've marked, it will lead you straight to a mansion, go in, kill anyone that resist except for a blonde girl named Kaya, hypnotize her and make her sign a will to give me all her money, do not harm her I want to kill her myself, for the rest of the crew, send them all up the other path and raze the village."
"Oi! Don't you dare attack this village! My friend lives here!" Luffy shouts at the pair below,
Usopp then instantly jumps up and pulls Luffy down before the pair below spots them, but it was too late,
"Come out," Kuro demands, "we saw both of you."
With no other choice, Usopp let go of Luffy and stands up with him,
Looking over the cliff's edge, Usopp starts pleading to the pair,
"Please we did not mean to, we're sorry, we promise we won't tell anyone." Usopp pleads,
"Huh? Hey, that guy looks familiar." Luffy states,
Puzzled as to why Luffy said that, Usopp once again looks at the pair, he sees Jango, the skinny, gray-haired man and standing next to him is a tall slim man with slicked black hair wearing round glasses, and a fancy black suit with gold embroidery,
Usopp then feels his stomach churns,
"Khaladore?" Usopp whispers,