I was going to put the entire Shells Town arc into one chapter, but then it would have been ridiculously long. So I split it up, changing the chapter name as well. How gorgeous is that!?
In this chapter, we'll finally meet the infamous Usopp the Pirate Hunter! Who's ready!? Also, I had to change up the reason why Usopp got tied to the post. I hope it is to your liking. What the hell am I saying. This is my story!
R&R!
Chapter 3 – The Pirate Hunter's Pride! Who's the Weird Blonde Kid?
Nami and Coby leaned against the wall, each watching the Pirate Hunter through different eyes. Coby's eyebrows were furrowed in fear, his mouth gaping open as sweat beaded his face. However, Nami was watching him with interest, scanning over those muscular limbs with a confident air. This guy at least had the body of a swordsman. Now, the only problem…
"Do you think if we unite his ropes, he'll be indebted and join me?" Nami wondered aloud.
"Don't be such an idiot, Nami-san!" Coby squealed. "There's no telling what a guy like him will do if you turn him loose! He might just kill us both!"
Nami sighed. "I can protect us. Can you stop yelling?"
Coby hung his head in his hands, pulling at his hair. She's lost her mind!
"Hey, you two guys." Suddenly a deep voice cut through their conversation, and both teens stared at the man tied to the post, the owner of the voice. He had raised his head, and dark round eyes glinted behind the long nose that stuck out a good four inches from his face. A mischievous smile pulled at his lips as he stared them down. "I'll give you both forty belis each if you untie me. Plus the bounty of your choice."
Coby squealed, sliding closer to Nami. "Nami-san, trust me, there's no way you can survive with a guy like that on your crew!"
A soft bump turned the teens' attention to a tall wooden ladder that had suddenly appeared where Coby had once been. A small girl of about eight years old climbed said ladder, her eyes roving across the execution yard. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into two messy pigtails, matching her scanning eyes. When she saw no one, she dropped a rope and lowered herself into the yard, clutching a piece of cloth to her chest. After another quick glance, she scurried across the dirt ground to stand in front of Usopp.
Coby panicked. "Nami-san, stop her! She's gonna get killed!"
Usopp eyed the girl. "What do you want, girl?" He asked, his voice slightly calmer now.
"I thought you might be hungry," the girl said, unwrapping the cloth to reveal two rice balls, rolled into neat spheres. "So I brought you some rice balls!"
"That's nice of you, but really, I'm fine."
"You haven't eaten anything the whole time you've been tied up." She held out the food, a sweet girlish smile at her lips. "Here! I've never made them before, but I think they're okay."
"Listen, I'm not hungry. So get out of here before the marines show up!"
It was too late. Three figures appeared on the other side of the execution yard, walking through the gate that led into the main compound. Two of the men were normal marines, clad in the usual lower-rank uniform. The man in the middle was obviously of higher class, dressed in a dark purple suit. His tall head sported a blonde bowl-cut of hair, his high eyebrows resting over droopy eyes. He was double-chinned, and Nami resisted the urge to laugh.
"Now now, no one likes a bully," the center man said, playing with the salmon-pink silk lining of his overcoat. "Roronoa Usopp, you seem to be handling this well, wouldn't you agree?"
"Great." Nami mumbled. "The marines are here."
"At least now we know the girl will be safe," Coby whispered, relief plain in his voice.
The blonde man was saying something else now. He stood before the little girl, staring down at her meal. "Oh, lookie. Tasty rice balls." He snatched one from her hands and popped it into his mouth as the little girl cried in protest. He chewed for a moment before he spat the half-chewed rice ball into the dirt. "Gaah! Too sweet! You're supposed to use salt, not sugar!"
"But I thought they would taste better sweet." The girl mumbled innocently.
The blonde man swatted the remaining rice ball to join its twin, stomping it into the ground as the girl burst into tears, crying as her hard work met the dust. Usopp strained against his ropes, anger filling his eyes.
"That's awful," Coby muttered.
The girl started to cry. "I – sniff – I worked so hard –sniff – to make those! Sniff."
The blonde marine clutched at his head dramatically, pulling a piece of parchment from inside his coat. "Too bad. You must have not heard the notice." He read aloud. "Those who assist criminals in any way shall meet the same fate as said criminal, signed Marine Captain Morgan."
The girl flinched. The man chuckled, obviously enjoying this tormenting segment. "It seems even children are afraid of my daddy."
"His daddy?" Nami asked skeptically.
"So that guy's father is Captain Morgan?" Coby asked.
Duh! Nami wanted to say, but the man was speaking again.
He indicated one of his marine guards with a thumb. "You!" The marine saluted. "Toss this kid out right now."
The marine gasped, not moving from his spot. The blonde, upset by this, grabbed the man by his shirt and looked him dead in the eye. "I said throw her out, soldier. Unless you want me to go tell my daddy…"
That jarred the terrified marine into action. "Y-yes sir! I'll do it!" The marine hesitantly approached the girl, who screamed and tried to push him away. "Sorry about this," he whispered. "Try curling up."
A moment later, and the girl went sailing over the wall, screaming. Nami leapt into action, stretching out her arms to catch the kid, tucking and rolling in order to take most of the damage. During this, Nami's hat fluttered from her head, and she didn't waste a moment to pick it up again, ignoring the girl's thanks.
Coby rushed to the girl's side, checking her for injuries and muttering about how he couldn't believe the marines could be so cruel and heartless. Nami meanwhile went back to observe the goings on inside the execution yard.
Usopp was giving the blonde marine a hard stare, his fingers flexing menacingly. The blonde only laughed obnoxiously. "You're just dead set on staying alive, aren't you?"
Usopp nodded. "Yeah. I'll make it through the deal. I'm never one to break a promise concerning money."
"Right, good luck with that!" The blonde man laughed again, departing the yard with his lackeys.
"Only a few days left!" Usopp called after him. "And then I want my ten million belis."
"Assuming you can make it to the end of those ten days," was the reply before the men disappeared back into the main compound. Usopp sighed and sagged his head again.
Nami took the opportunity of the marines' absence and leapt over the wall, going over to stand a few feet away from the bound man. Now that she had a closer look, he actually didn't look like all too scary a guy.
The pirate hunter looked up after a moment, and the two locked eyes. There was a moment of silence until Nami decided to break it.
"I hear you're one of the greatest swordsmen in the East Blue," she said, walking forward a few paces.
Usopp didn't say anything.
"You're stuck out here for all the world to see and laugh at you. Where's your pride?"
"I still have it."
Nami snorted. "Right. And I'm a navigator." She said sarcastically.
"What do you want anyway?" Usopp asked. "Do you have a job for me? I'm a little low on money right now. But I don't go cheap. We split the bounty seventy-thirty, with the seventy percent coming to me. It's ten thousand belis per job, plus interest."
Nami shook her head, wincing slightly at the rising price. "I don't have a job. I have a proposition." Usopp raised an eyebrow, showing interest. "I want you to join my pirate crew."
Usopp's expression faded immediately. "Like hell. I hate pirates. I only like money and mikans."
Nami didn't try and push for explanations, so she merely shrugged and turned away. "Your loss." She began walking back the way she had come, already devising a strategy in her mind to get the swordsman to join her crew.
"Hold on."
Nami turned to see Usopp staring at her with an intense glare. A pause, and the gaze moved to the pile of crushed rice near her sandaled foot. "Could you pick that up for me?"
Nami's expression became disgusted as she knelt and poked the squashed food. "You're going to eat this?" She asked. "It's mostly dirt…"
"Shut the hell up and feed it to me," Usopp ordered.
Nami raised an eyebrow, but threw the dirt ball into his open mouth all the same. He chewed for a few moments before coughing loudly, spitting out bits of dirt. Nami shook her head. "Should've listened to me."
Usopp shook his head. "No, it was good. Tell the girl I said thank you."
Nami nodded, a small smile pulling at her lips. She scaled the wall again, leaving Usopp in peace. Coby was waiting for her on the other side, but the little girl was gone. Coby explained that she had returned to her mother's store and asked that they meet her there soon. Nami needed to relay Usopp's message so she and Coby walked toward the town.
Coby was muttering to himself about how he couldn't believe such honorable marines could do such a horrible thing. Nami wasn't listening, so she watched the various shop vendors selling their wares. Suddenly, Coby stopped talking, and Nami looked down to ask why.
She then found out she and the pink haired boy had somehow gotten separated, and now she was standing in this random back alley with a yellow tabby cat hissing at her from a barrel. She rubbed a hand on the back of her neck, cursing silently under her breath. Why the hell does this entire town keep moving?
It took her another good hour or so until by sheer luck alone she spotted her companion sitting outside on steps leading inside a small café. She joined Coby, and had to sit through his five minute lecture about getting lost, completely ignoring her arguments that it wasn't her that was getting lost, the buildings were moving.
Finally, when things had settled down and Nami had made herself comfortable on a barrel did she tell the little girl, who introduced herself as Rika, Usopp's message.
"Really!?" Rika said happily, clapping her hands together.
"He ate every last grain of rice there was."
"That's great!"
Coby hung his head. "I wonder if Usopp's as bad as everyone thinks."
"He's not! He's a good guy." Rika's expression became distant. "It's because of that dumb Helmeppo. He's the son of Captain Morgan….
XXX
"Make way, make way for the one and only Helmeppo-sama!" The bowl-haired blonde yelled, waving his rapier to clear the streets. He and twelve marine guards patrolled the streets, enjoying the persecution of the villagers. He spotted a small café near the end of the street and forced his way in, pushing someone from their table to take his spot.
The café belonged to Rika and her mother, and the little girl was not amused by Helmeppo's antics. Rika grabbed a broom and gave the blonde a hard shove, pushing him to the floor.
"Rika, stop!" Her mother yelled. "You don't want to get into trouble!"
Helmeppo lurched to his feet, nursing the red spot on his face where the broom's bristles had scraped him. "You insolent brat!" He yelled. "I ought to have you executed!"
Rika trembled, but didn't release the broom.
A man sitting at the bar looked over, his face shaded by the black bandanna over his dark hair. He waved a hand to get the woman's attention, and she leaned down to listen to what he had to say. Nodding, she fetched two glasses and filled them with sake. The man took the mugs one in each hand and stood from his seat.
He held one in front of Helmeppo's face, a confident grin sliding across his face. "Alright, bowl-head. I challenge you to a drinking contest. I win, you let the girl go free and I get ten million belis, plus interest for every gulp you take. You win, you can tie me to a post for one month. I survive that month, I get ten million belis."
Helmeppo gingerly accepted the mug from the long-nosed man. "You're Roronoa Usopp!"
"And if I am?"
Helmeppo gave an evil smile. "Fine. I accept!"
The two men sat opposite each other at a table, mugs raised to their lips. "Go!"
Helmeppo eyed one of the marines who surrounded the table, giving him a quick wink while Usopp was preoccupied with his booze. A nod from the marine, and he raised his sword, bringing it down hard on the Pirate Hunter's head. Usopp crashed to the table, alchohol staining the front of his white shirt.
Helmeppo laughed. "I win!"
XXX
"It's been three weeks. Helmeppo punches him and kicks him while he's tied up. He's being so unfair!" Rika looked like she'd cry again.
"So that's what happened, huh?" Coby murmured.
Suddenly, a crash from inside the pub caused the three to run inside to find the blonde marine from before kicking up his feet lazily on the table. Nami figured this bastard had to be Helmeppo. Rika's mother was behind the counter, watching in horror.
"I'm hungry! We're going to eat here and keep the check for yourself! Hurry up and bring some sake!"
A man from a table over looked up from his meat shish ke bob, staring in anger at the marine. His swirly eyebrow clicked angrily, and he gripped his fork tighter. The blue long-sleeve shirt he wore became stained with meat gravy, dripping onto his khaki shorts. He had been walking into the pub just in time to hear the little girl's story about the Pirate Hunter, and he was sure this jerk had done it. It was taking every ounce of his willpower not to clobber him.
He looked up to see the three conversers enter from the back, and he hid his face as he immediately recognized the orange-haired girl from Alvida's ship.
Rika's mother poured Helmeppo a glass of wine, and he swirled it in his cup lazily. "I'm tired of waiting. I've decided to execute Usopp tomorrow." He told the crowd gathered around. "Look forward to it!" He said, laughing as he took a sip of wine.
That was it for the other blonde man. He stood up from his table and sent his fist crashing into Helmeppo's cheek. The wine glass instantly shattered as the marine crashed against the wall opposite him, clutching his swelling face. His marine bodyguards panicked, rushing to his side with cries of "Helmeppo-sama!"
"Who the hell are you!?" He screamed at the blonde man who stood before him.
Nami read the body language and instantly rushed to the man, looping her arms around his to hold him back. His muscles were tense, fiery rage burning in his one visible eye. She recognized him as well, but decided not to bring it up at the time. "Stop it, you moron!" She yelled in his ear.
"This guy's trash!" The man insisted, struggling Nami's iron grip.
"Y-you hit me!" Helmeppo addressed him. "I'm Captain Morgan's son! He won't let you get away with this you know!"
"So what!" The man yelled.
"I'll tell my daddy and have you executed!" Helmeppo threatened, holding a hand to his bruising face.
"Why don't you do something yourself!"
"Calm down you idiot!" Nami whispered in his ear. "You shouldn't make the marines your enemy!"
The man relaxed for a moment as if the comment hit home, but he started right back up again.
"You go hiding behind your father for every damn thing! Do something for yourself you bastard! And just because you're bored you can't go executing anyone you like! I know the whole damn story, so don't try and lie to me! Usopp did nothing wrong, you're the cheater!"
Nami raised an eyebrow. Had he eavesdropped? Oh well.
Helmeppo stumbled to his feet, assisted by his lackeys. "You'll regret this!" He yelled as he ran out the door.
Nami released the blonde man, panting at how incredibly strong he appeared to be. "Don't let your emotions get a hold of you like that," she berated him. "Stuff like that can get you killed."
The man turned. "I hate him. He's a worthless piece of scum."
"Uh... ah…" Coby whispered from behind Nami's leg. She kicked him away. "Who are you?"
The man seemed to have been drained from anger, and he grinned widely, pointing his thumb proudly at his chest. "Me? I'm Sanji! The best damn navigator you'll ever meet!"
"A navigator, huh?" Nami said slyly. "How would you feel about becoming a pirate?"
Remember in the summary when I said it would be a new adventure? Well, I was telling the truth. This is MY story, so it means I don't have to follow the order of events if I don't want to. So I'm introducing Sanji the Navigator first. But stay tuned until next chapter to find out what he says!
Next Time:
Nami recruits Sanji to help her rescue Usopp from certain execution! But enters the Marine Captain Morgan, who will not give up the pirate hunter without a fight. Will Nami prevail, and will Usopp finally join her crew? Chapter 4 – Morgan versus Nami! Usopp, the First Member!