A/N: Here comes Usopp! I skipped over the Gaimon thing, but I might do some mini arcs in the future. I just find that one to be kinda boring *shrugs*
Enjoy!
edited February 22, 2021
30 minutes later, the battle was won. Luffy severely kicked Buggy's ass. My brother had finally woken up after his little recovery nap. Naomi had made it back much to my dismay, and we had gotten a map to the Grand Line, and apparently a new navigator.
"I lost too much damn blood," Zoro moaned, holding his head. "Ya think?" I grunted, readjusting my hold on him. "We should go help the mayor," the orange haired girl suggested. "He's still sleeping ya know?"
"You mean knocked out?" I said drily, looking at Luffy. "Oh yeah," Straw Hat chuckled, helping me heave my brother off of the ground. "We gotta go wake up the old mayor guy now." We slowly began hobbling our way towards the mayor. However, before we could get to him, a group of villagers with weapons in their hands appeared on the street. They were being led by a guy with green hair that was tied into a low ponytail.
"He's got green hair," I breathed out to Zoro. "You think he's a long lost brother?" Luffy chuckled at that, and Zoro just sighed in exasperation, not even having the energy to deal with me. "You there," the other green haired man started.
"Who are you?" Luffy questioned. "We live in this town," he answered. "Did the pirates have a falling out or something? If you know anything, tell us." "They're just citizens," thief girl breathed out, sighing with relief.
Suddenly someone from the crowd gasped. "Is that the mayor?!" they shouted, sounding shocked. "What happened to him?!" "He's out cold!" someone else shrieked.
"Our captain knocked him out!" I responded immediately, a giant grin on my face. "Aela!" Brother shouted. "Idiot!" I heard behind me, and grunted when the girl smacked the back of my head. Luffy merely laughed though, and put his arms behind his head. "Shishishishi, that's right," he confirmed, nodding.
"Luffy!" Nami shouted, distressed. "You should've waited for the Mayor to wake up and explain it to them-" I looked up when a shadow cast itself over the four of us. My brother straightened up from where he'd been slumped on me, and I positioned myself in a position of defence. I mentally prepared myself to run. The townspeople in front of us clutched their weapons tightly to their chests. "Don't give us your damn excuses," the green haired leader snarled. "Who the hell are you? Are you one of those pirates?"
"Yep, that's us," Luffy confirmed, blunt as always. "Just as we thought!" the townspeople roared, and I jumped when Brother threw his head back, laughing loudly. "You idiots!" Nami seethed, and I giggled. This was going to be interesting. "But it's the truth," Luffy said, confused at her anger.
"Pirates! How dare you terrorize our town!" the people shouted. "Don't think we'll show you mercy just because you're kids!" "I mean...doesn't that make you the bad guys then?" I muttered quietly. Just then, Luffy pivoted himself around towards Zoro and I. "Captain?"
"What now?" Zoro asked. "Doesn't look like they're willing to hear us out." "I think it's time we.." Luffy started, and slung Zoro's arm over his shoulder, taking the weight off of me completely. I couldn't even be insulted. I knew I looked like shit and I was in no shape to help my brother and myself.
"RUN!" Luffy shouted, and run we did. We shot off behind the rubber boy and swordsman. We bolted for the docks and left the townspeople and the sleeping Mayor in the dust. I looked behind for a second and giggled at the citizens shaking their weapons at us.
"How can you possibly be laughing?" Nami demanded. "Everything turned out okay," I shrugged and she looked at me, surprised. "It's not a bad thing that they're mad at us. They're willing to protect their town and their mayor. When the old man wakes up he's gonna be so happy," I laughed again, happy everything had gone so well.
We got to the dock with the help of a now patched up Chou-Chou, who I was sure to give a good petting to. "Bye girl!" I exclaimed, giving her head a rough pet. She licked my hand and I giggled. She stood in front of us then, guarding the street and not allowing any of the people to pass.
"Who the hell are those guys?" I questioned. When we got back to our boat, I was surprised to learn that the boat that had Buggy's jolly roger and was tied up next to ours, belonged to our supposed new navigator. She had stolen it from three pirates that Zoro had apparently picked up on the way over.
"Is this your boat?" Luffy asked Nami. "It's so cool! I envy you!" "I don't think so.." Nami answered sheepishly. "I stole it from a bunch of stupid pirates…"
The three stupid pirates she spoke of were lying in wait to attack Nami, but once they spotted Zoro, they yelled and ran off to find their captain. "Nobodies," Zoro scoffed, and I nodded. Seemed like it. The four of us quickly climbed into our respective boats since there wasn't enough room for the four of us on one boat.
"We'll eventually need to get a proper ship ya know," Nami started, and for once I agreed with the sea witch. "The grand line is crawling with powerful people with powerful ships. We're no match for them like this."
"The sea witch is right Captain," I nodded. "WHAT'D YOU CALL ME, BRAT?!" Nami shouted at me with shark teeth, and I cringed away, hiding behind Brother. "We need more people too," Luffy began, ignoring our antics. "A cook..and a musician!" "Music?" I exclaimed happily and Zoro laughed. "A musician? This guy…"
"What? Pirates sing, don't they?" Straw Hat said defensively. "Course they do!" I backed him up, and he grinned at me. "We also need a doctor," I added on, and the orange girl looked at me, impressed. She opened her mouth to praise me. "And a cat," I finished, folding my arms together and nodding decisively. "WHAT?" she shouted, and fell anime style.
"You're still on the cat thing?" Zoro groaned. "What's wrong with liking cats Zoro-nii?" I whined. "Whatever," Nami huffed, rolling out the map. "There's an island to the south of here we can go to. If we continue in this direction, we'll hit it by morning. It would be best if we try to get a real ship there. Then once we do that, you guys can discuss getting a cook or doctor or cat for your group."
"Cat!" I shouted at the same time Luffy yelled, "Musician!"
Zoro and Nami sighed.
We made it to the new island just as the sun rose the next morning. Luffy and Zoro dragged each of the boats on to the sand. I stumbled off of the boat, my foot catching on nothing but air, and face planted into the sand. I groaned and rolled over spitting out sand, glaring at Luffy when he laughed at me. "She needs a little time to wake up in the morning," Zoro explained when Nami shot me a look. She merely rolled her eyes and delicately stepped on to shore, making me pout in jealousy.
Zoro yawned loudly, stretching his arms over his head. "Finally on dry land again…" Luffy ran onto the land a little more and began looking around excitedly. The shores were surrounded by rocky cliffs with grass and trees growing at the top of it. There was a steep slope that was carved through the cliffs that led inland. "Is there a village here?" Luffy asked, pointing to a trail that was just up the slope.
"Uh huh," I nodded, doing my morning stretches. "Not very big though. I don't feel that many signatures."
"She's right," Nami confirmed, looking at me strangely. "Duh," I teased her, giving her a dumb grin when she growled at me.
"Let's go exploring!" I suggested, smiling. Nothing like adventure to wake me up in the morning. "Yeah!" Luffy seconded me. His nose twitched and I sweat dropped as he started to drool. "Town means food. Food means meat. Meat. Meat. Meat."
"I don't suppose there's a chance you're a vegetarian then huh, Loof?" I giggled, and he looked over at me with a "huh?"
"I'm allergic to squash," he said with a deadpan expression. "What?!" I fell over, anime style.
Just then, Zoro took two steps forward with his hand on his sword. "Get up Aela," he shot down at me. "There's someone here." I shot up and sensed around. He was right. There was someone here. Multiple people actually. I needed to stop letting my guard down so easily.
"Really?" Luffy yelled out, and I winced. I didn't really expect him to be quiet I guess. The captain whipped his head around all directions looking for the threat. "Where? Where? Where?"
I felt the energy around us shift suddenly. "Look out!" I warned everyone, grabbing the back of my captain's shirt and yanking him back just in time to miss several pellet-like objects striking the ground at his feet.
I swore when something cut into my arm, and quickly shot my hand out in front of me. A white shield manifested itself in front of the four of us, and I ignored the annoying flicks of pain as the debris hit my shield.
"Woah," Nami breathed out, slowly reaching to touch the shield. "This is impressive, twerp," she admitted, lightly poking the shield. "I know," I smirked, cockily, and an angry tick appeared on her forehead. "Say thank you!" she shouted.
The leaves along the edges of the cliff rustled violently. A long row of black pirate flags were raised from the bushes. They waved in the wind over our heads. "Eh?" Luffy questioned. "SO COOL!" "This isn't the time to be impressed, idiot!" Nami yelled, running behind Zoro.
"Hahaahahaha!" A loud laugh echoed towards us from behind the bushes and a boy stepped forward in front of the pirate flag in the center of the row. He was a bit on the scrawny side with curly black hair, large round eyes, thick lips and a medium tan. He wore a pale yellow bandana over his forehead, brown overalls, tan colored boots and a messenger back around his shoulder. A white sash was wrapped around his waist, much like the one Zoro and Aela wore, and a blue and white striped arm band covered his lower left arm.
He folded his arms over his chest and stuck his unusually long nose in the air. "I am Usopp, leader of the great pirates who reign over the village! You stand before a living legend, the most revered pirate who ever lived! People praise me...then they praise me more as 'Captaaaaaaiiinnnnn Usopp!"
No one spoke. We simply stared at 'Captain Usopp.' "Why's your nose so big?!" I shouted out, irritated at this guy's nerve. "HOW DARE YOU?" he shouted, pivoting towards me. "I am the great Captain Usopp and you should fear me little girl!"
"The only thing I'm scared of is your shitty lying skills!" I shouted back, allowing my shield to fall. This guy was a wimp. "Aela, hush," Zoro said, throwing me a look. "We don't know what this guy is about yet, and you shouldn't antagonize a possible enemy."
"Zoro-nii, he's clearly lying," I pouted up at him. "I know he is, but you still shouldn't be so quick to lower your guard," he scolded, and I wilted. "Yes, Brother," I sighed. "If you're thinking of attacking this village," Long Nose continued, "then forget it! My 80 million subordinates won't sit by quietly!" Usopp threw his arms out dramatically to end his declaration.
He's not even trying now, I sweat dropped. There's no way anyone would believe this guy….
"AWWWESOOOOME!" I jumped when my captain shouted at the top of his lungs, and sighed when I saw that the rubber boy had stars in his eyes. "Luffy no…" I said quietly, shaking my head. "You're lying," Nami proclaimed, stepping out from behind Zoro. Usopp's hands flew to the top of his yellow bandana tied hair.
"Yikes! She saw through it!" he shrieked. "See? You admitted it," the orange hair girl smirked. Usopp started to wriggle with panic and shame. "Nooooo, I admitted it to herrr," he cried in despair. "He was lying?!" Luffy said sadly and looked over at me for confirmation. "'Fraid so, Cap'n," I nodded sagely, and giggled when he pouted at me.
"Okay, fine," Usopp huffed. The boy quickly regained his composure with a thump to his chin and a smirk on his lips. "80 million may have been a slight exaggeration.." "Slight?" I echoed. He continued, "BUT I do have great men under my command!" On cue, the flags started moving up and down along the cliffs.
"BULLSHIT!" I shouted out, done with this guy's lying already. "I'm guessing you've got 3 guys," Nami backed up my statement, hands on her hips. Three heads popped out from under the bushes followed by three pairs of hands, clutching the ends of 6 pirate flags. The flags had strings tied around the poles, connecting them to the other flags around the cliffs. I raised my eyebrow at the three children, and winced when they began shouting loudly. "AHHHH! She saw through it!"
"That was actually really smart," I whispered to Zoro, and he shrugged in indifference. He wasn't impressed by sneakiness. He was more of a "face your fears or die trying," kinda guy.
I, however, secretly wanted to be a ninja.
"Oi!" Usopp shouted out to his 'men' when they dropped their flags and fled from the scene. "Don't run away!" I was actually starting to feel a little sorry for this guy. Nami bent down then and picked up a bit of the shrapnel that was thrown at us. She picked it up and examined it, and smiled when she discovered it was a pachinko ball. "I've never heard of pirates using slingshots before."
"Anything can be turned into a weapon when used correctly," Zoro said and I nodded seriously. "Even fish," I added on, and Nami looked at me with a pained expression. "I don't get you," she sighed. Luffy put his hands on his hips and laughed loudly. "You're pretty funny!" he called out to the dark haired boy.
"Hey you!" he shouted back. "Don't insult me! I'm a very proud man!" He pulled out a green slingshot, fitting a new pachinko ball in its leather pad. He pulled the sling back and aimed it at Luffy's head. "This is your last warning, or you'll see why they call me 'Proud Usopp' and not 'Pushover Usopp.' Is that clear?"
"You sure they don't call you 'Dumbass Usopp'?" I countered back, and the boy quickly pivoted the slingshot towards me instead. "I've had enough of you," he growled. I grinned at him cheekily and stepped forward, but stopped when Luffy put his hand on my shoulder, silently telling me to step back. I looked over at my captain in surprise. Luffy had lost his humor at the sight of the readied weapon. His face turned solemn and he lowered his hat over his eyes.
"My slingshot skills are far greater than your average pistol!" Usopp declared.
"Now that you've drawn your pistol," Luffy started, hand still over his hat, "Put your life on the line." I studied my captain for a second, and then smirked when I understood what he was doing. As one, Zoro and I stepped beside Luffy, flanking each side of him. Zoro lifted his white katana out of its scabbard, while I simply placed my hands in my pocket, sending a dark smirk towards the boy.
Usopp was starting to look nervous. To his credit, he kept his aim, though sweat trickled from his forehead and his hand began to waver. "Huh?" Usopp gasped. "I'm saying," Luffy continued, "that those aren't for threatening people." He lowered his hand but kept his head bowed so that the only thing Usopp could see was his confident smirk.
Zoro matched his facial expression of his captain and pushed his white-hilted katana just slightly out of its scabbard with his thumb. "What you're looking at now are real pirates."
"Consider your next move very carefully, little boy," I finished, retaliating for his insult towards me earlier.
I watched as Usopp gulped, his legs starting to shake. His arms wobbled and his hands became sweaty, losing his grip on his weapon. The slingshot began jerking up and down, and I could practically see the wheels in his mind turning as he decided his next move. His fingers slowly loosened on the leather pad. The pachinko ball fell limply on to the ground at Usopp's feet and he sank to his knees. "R-real pirates definitely have way more punch in their words...Awesome.."
Luffy tilted his head back and grinned. He shared a look with Zoro and I, and I giggled at him, fully relaxing my stance. I threw my arms behind my head and smiled broadly at Captain. Zoro and Luffy shared a laugh together.
"Shishishishishi. I borrowed those lines y'know," Luffy grinned at the boy. "From a pirate that I respect called Shanks!" "Sh-Shanks?!" Usopp stuttered out. "You know 'Red-haired Shanks, the pirate?!"
Luffy nodded. "Yep! Your dad's Yasopp, right?" "WHAT?" the boy gasped out in surprise. Suddenly, he fell forward and over the cliff. I winced as he tumbled down to the sand and landed right by my feet. "Y-yes...Yasopp is my father. How do you know that?" "I'll tell you…" Luffy said, kneeling down to be eye level with Usopp. His grin widened. "...while we eat."
Usopp blinked up at us, studying the four pirates in front of him. "Wait..so you're not here to destroy the village?" "No stupid, we're here to eat!" I laughed, bending down and grasping Usopp's arm, helping him up.
"So can we have food Long Nose?" I asked eagerly, eyes lit up at the possibility of food.
"Don't call me that, jerk!"
Usopp brought us into town, and we discovered that Nami and I were correct about the size. It was a very small town, and the restaurant we were eating at didn't even have a name. There was just a sign out front that said, "Food."
When we entered the restaurant, the five of us took a table. Zoro and I sat on one side, Luffy and Nami on the other, Usopp pulled up on the end. We ordered quickly and ate even faster. The four pirates, even Nami, dug into our food like we hadn't eaten in months. Usopp grinned. "Good,right?"
"Yefff," Luffy agreed with a mouthful of meat and ham hock in his hands. "Ifs awfesome," I seconded, and grunted when Zoro kicked my shin. "Don't talk with your mouth full." "Boro-biiiiiiii," I pouted, but quickly swallowed when his leg lifted to kick me again. "So how did you know who my old man was?" Usopp questioned, raising an eyebrow at Zoro and I.
Luffy gulped down the chunk of food and wiped the grease off of his mouth with the back of his hand. "I met him when I was a kid. Shanks used to visit my village." "So my old man's on Shank's ship?" Usopp said excitedly, sitting up straight. "Yep! You two look so similar. I knew it was you when I first saw you," Luffy grinned. Usopp grinned broadly at that, and I smiled at him. Maybe Long Nose wasn't so bad.
"My old man's on such an awesome ship?" he asked, mainly to himself. "I don't know about now," Luffy said, continuing to eat. "But I bet he's still with him. After all, your dad was a good sharpshooter. He once told me that he could shoot an ant right in between the eyes." "That's so awesome!" I shouted, stars in my eyes. He sounded like a ninja!
"Woah! My old man could do that?" Usopp gasped as he leaned closer to Luffy. "What else did he tell you? What else?"
"Yeah what else?" I echoed, just as excited. Zoro chuckled at me, but I ignored him. "Usopp," Luffy grinned, picking up an apple. "I heard so much about you that it made my ears sore. He was a heck of a sharpshooter. I'd keep him on my crew." He gazed at the apple and his eyes grew distant as though he were remembering a fond memory. Sending a smile to Usopp he continued, "Yasopp was a great pirate, but he talked about you a helluva lot more than his own adventures."
I pouted at that. I wanted to know more about the ninja. Usopp leaned back in his seat and stared at the ceiling in wonder. "I'm so proud of my old man, who leapt onto these possibly endless seas..to live with his life on the line…"
Nami set down her cup of water and grinned at the boy. "This makes things easier then if you two are friends! Usopp, do you know anyone in the village who can supply us with a big ship?" Usopp sighed and pointed out the window. "As you can see, this is just a tiny village. I'm sorry, but we can't live up to your hopes."
"On the top of the hill…" Zoro said, and chugged down the last bit of his ale. "There was a huge mansion." I felt Usopp tense beside me and looked at him curiously. "Think you could ask them to help us pay for one?" Nami asked, and I cringed at the forwardness. I was always weird about money.
"You can't go there," Usopp said sternly, and my eyebrows rose in surprise at the new tone to his voice. "What's wrong?" I asked him, and he glanced at me before quickly looking away. "The owner of that mansion is a young girl, and she's bedridden."
"How did she become the owner of a mansion?" Nami pondered. Before Usopp could answer, Luffy shouted out, "More meat, please!" "And more beer!" Zoro added.
"Are you guys even listening?!" Usopp snapped. "Probably not," I answered at the same time Nami ordered, "Just ignore them! Keep going." Usopp let out a sigh of frustration but continued, "About a year ago, both of the girl's parents got sick and died. They left her with a huge inheritance, along with a mansion and a dozen servants." He leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head. "She's rich and lives in luxury," he murmured, staring up at the ceiling in contemplation, "but nobody is more unfortunate than her."
'Forget it!" Orange haired girl proclaimed, and everyone shot a surprised look at the normally greedy teenager. "We're not gonna find a ship here. Let's go to another town."
"Whatever," Luffy shrugged, seeming to agree with the girl. "I have a belly full of meat, and we can spare the time, so let's grab some supplies and go!" I guess we were going to try and find a bigger town to acquire our ship.
"By the way…" Usopp cut in, "You said you were looking for a crewman.." "Yup, that's right," Luffy confirmed. I sat up, interested. Maybe Long Nose knew someone?
"I'm your man!" he announced then, grinning at us with confidence. "I'll be your captain!" The response was unanimous all around.
"Captain?!"
"No thanks."
"Shut up!"
"I don't wanna be on Pinnochio's crew!"
"Don't you wanna think it over?!" Usopp gasped, but the crew's decision was sound. Realizing this, Usopp gave up. "Fine. I guess it's time for me to go, anyway." The curly haired boy picked up his bag and waved at the pirates as he headed for the door. "Maybe I'll see you guys before you leave. You guys stay. Eat and drink all you want alright? Later!" And with that, Long Nose was gone.
It was quiet for a bit, the sounds of Luffy stuffing his face and Zoro gulping down his ale. I pushed my carrots around silently, an idea popping into my head. Usopp didn't say that she wouldn't give us a ship. I think we're being too hasty with giving up on this island…
"Hmph," I nodded to myself then, decision made. "I've decided," I announced out loud to the crew. The three pirates looked at me, Luffy in mid chew, meat hanging out of his mouth, Zoro pouring grog down his throat, brown eye peering over at me questioningly, and Nami's elbow propped on the table, head resting on her closed fist. "It's time to activate ninja mode!"
Zoro swallowed his alcohol and sighed, putting a hand on his forehead wearily. Nami and Luffy merely looked at me, Luffy continuing to chew. I stood up with a grin. "Someone needs to go investigate that mansion, and I'm just the girl to do it!" "Awwight!" Luffy shouted, punching the air in excitement, mouth still full so words coming out muffled.
"I'd try to stop you," Nami sighed, "but it's actually not a bad idea. Just be sure to not give yourself away." "Don't worry Naomi! My ninja mode is foolproof!" I proclaimed proudly.
"We'll see…" she trailed off drily, not even bothering to correct me on her name. "Be careful, brat," Zoro grunted towards me, and I patted his head in confirmation. "I'll meet you guys later!" I waved goodbye at them, stepping outside the restaurant. "Don't get lost!" Zoro shouted at me right as the door shut. I looked around the town, looking for my target, grinning when I found it.
Ninja mode activated, I thought to myself, and made my way towards the mansion on the hill.