(A/N: The Loguetown arc continues! Fun fact: This, episode 50, was supposed to be in the manga, but Oda couldn't fit it in without chapter 100 having them enter the Grand Line, so it was removed. Enjoy the chapter!)
Chapter 6: Usopp vs Daddy the Parent! Showdown at High Noon
"A showdown!"
"There's gonna be a showdown!"
"Daddy the Parent's gonna duel somebody!"
Nami, carrying loads of shopping bags, noticed a crowd running in the direction she was walking. "Did he say Daddy the Parent?" She asked herself. "Daddy the Parent is the greatest gunslinger bounty hunter! Everyone in the East Blue knows that! I wonder what the idiot who'd challenge him to a duel looks like!" She pushed through the crowd for a better look, and sure enough, it was someone she knew all too well; Usopp. Nami gasped, before grimacing. "Oh. Like that."
"He's gonna get himself killed, I just know it," She heard someone close by grumble. She turned, and saw a girl with long, green pigtails and a purple cloak with her hand under her bangs. "I tried to warn him, but he wouldn't listen."
"You know him?"
"For a few minutes now, yeah."
"Good luck, Long-Nose!" Someone in the audience called out.
"Don't worry if he beats ya!"
"We already got a place dug for ya!" Behind the crowd was a cemetery.
"Hey, shut up, all of you!" Venus shouted. "You're not helping!"
"Oh, go back into your hole!"
"Yeah, you aren't wanted here!"
Nami stared in shock. "Why are they so mean to you?"
"It's a long story."
Usopp shook with fear, as he stood back-to-back with his opponent. 'H-how did things turn out this way? Am I an idiot?!'
"The rules are simple. We both walk 10 paces, and then shoot," Daddy informed him.
"Y-yeah..."
"What are you doing?!" Nami exclaimed.
"Nami!" He noticed her in the crowd.
"Fighting Daddy the Parent in a duel... are you an idiot?!" She ranted.
"S-shut up! Things just turned out this way! Shut up and watch!"
"I'm sure he knows what he's doing," Venus put her hood up, "So long as he's as good as he says."
Nami raised an eyebrow. "You're kinda creepy."
"You're kinda bitchy," Venus retorted without a beat. The redhead was taken aback, but kept quiet.
"You get one shot," Carol announced, "Are you ready?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah..."
Nami and Venus watched nervously, staying quiet with the crowd. "One!" The first pace was done, Usopp's more clumsy out of fear. "Two! Three! Four! Five!"
'This is bad... Really bad...' Usopp thought through his paces, 'There's no way I can possibly beat Daddy the Parent.'
"Six!"
'Am I going to die here?! This can't be happening!'
"Seven!"
'I just started my adventure! I haven't even gained any courage, or manliness, or anything yet!' He gulped.
"Eight!"
'Venus really is cute.' To everyone's shock, Usopp threw down a smoke bullet in fear, creating a diversion, and tried to make a run for it. "Bye, now!"
Daddy's gunshot stopped him dead in his tracks, but due to the smoke, the crowd feared the worst. Venus had her eye almost completely covered, but hunched over in relief when he was still standing, albeit shaking. He collapsed to his knees, as Carol ran up to her father. "Papa! You're amazing, Papa! You're so cool!"
"Man, how pathetic," A spectator complained.
"What a lame duel," Another agreed.
"I thought he'd have more guts than that. What a disappointment." With that, everyone sans Nami and Venus left for other affairs.
"I only shot his gun away," Daddy told a nervous Carol.
"What's with you?!" She angrily confronted Usopp. "Tryin' to cheat like that! You coward! Weakling! Can't you even fight honestly?!"
"SHUT UP, YOU!" Venus shouted angrily out of nowhere.
"I-I'm sorry! Forgive me!" Usopp crawled over. "I'm just a lowly, pathetic man! Taking the life of someone like me wouldn't gain you anything!" Venus nodded in agreement. "Right?! Right?! Couldn't you just peacefully let me go?!"
Hearts jumped when Daddy pulled his gun back out, aiming right at him. "No!" Venus shouted.
"W-wait!" Nami ran and stood between them, stopping the witch from following her lead.
"Nami! Y-yeah, if it's money you want, she has tons of it!" Nami turned to frown at him. "Just please don't shoot me! Please spare my life!"
"Hold on, now!" Nami scolded.
"Oh? So you're trying to hide behind a woman?" Daddy pointed out.
"In any case-"
Usopp urgently pushed the redhead aside, now angry. "No! Forget everything I just said! She's just an innocent bystander who has nothing to do with this! Venus too!" The young witch perked up with surprise. "Even if I wind up getting shot, I can't let either of them get caught up in this!"
"Usopp..." Nami breathed. Venus stayed quiet; she was surprised he already cared about her this much.
"Please! I beg you!"
""Usopp..." Daddy recognized his name, "Is your name Usopp, boy?"
"Yeah."
Daddy stared at him, hiding his shock. "It couldn't be... do you know a man named Yasopp of the Red-Haired Pirates?"
"Yasopp? That's my old man's name. Y-you've met my dad before?!"
"I see. So you are his son..."
"Papa?"
"I've never once told a soul what happened on that day... but you're an exception. It happened at a hot, dry port town, much like this one."
"Let's do it, Ensign Masterson! We each get one shot!"
"One! Two! Three!"
Two gunshots went off; one from Yasopp, the other from Daddy, with the rest of the Red-Haired Pirates watching on the sidelines. Yasopp stumbled, holding his grazed right shoulder, but managed to stay on his feet, whereas Daddy fell on his back. "He won!"
"Yasopp won!"
"Check it out! He beat one of the Marines' best snipers!"
"That was truly a close fight!"
"You're the man, Yasopp!"
"Yeah."
"Yasopp! Finish him!"
"Yeah! Killin' the loser of a duel is a sign of kindness!"
Yasopp pointed his gun at Daddy, but made no move. "Kill me! Now that I've lost a duel, I have no reason to live."
"Yeah," Yasopp agreed, "You've got good resolve."
A locket around Daddy's necklace caught his attention; he ran over, and pulled it off to have a look. "What are you doing?"
When he opened it, a photo of a blonde, bright-eyed little girl stared back at him. "Your daughter?"
"Give it back."
"A Marine ensign of all people, carefully treasuring something like this... she must be really spoiled."
"Don't lecture me, you filthy pirate!"
"That's fine by me!" Yasopp laughed, put Daddy's gun on his chest, and walked away with the locket.
"You were great, Yasopp!"
"It was nothin'," He said modestly, as his wound was treated, "The pain of this wound just goes to show how inexperienced I am."
"You took on Daddy Masterson! You won because you're you!"
"We never would've stood a chance."
Shanks tossed Yasopp a bottle of rum after his arm was wrapped. "Thanks, boss! I appreciate your watching the duel without saying anything!" Shanks silently walked away with a wave of farewell. Yasopp helped himself to most of the bottle. "That's the stuff! You want some, Ensign?" His offer was met with defiant silence. "Family, huh... family's not so bad. But I'm not good at it."
"Huh?"
"I got a son of my own. His name's Usopp. Haven't seen him in years now; I hit the high seas around the time he was a toddler."
"Why? Do you not love your son?"
Yasopp chuckled. "It wasn't about that." He stared at the ship on the dock, where the crew was gathered "A pirate flag... a Jolly Roger was calling for me."
"You tell 'im, Yasopp!" They cheered.
"Now then..." He tossed the locket behind his back, returning it to Daddy, "There's nothing I can do for my son. Just one hopeless parent like me is too many! Always stay by your daughter's side. You can't let her feel lonely. Though I'm in no position to talk!" He laughed.
Daddy stared at the swaying, open locket; more at Carol's smile than anything else. He sat up, as the crew made their leave. "I lost our duel! Yasopp! Finish me off!" He demanded. "Don't give me your lousy sympathy!"
"Forget it!" Yasopp refused. "You Marine guys might hang us by our necks right after you catch us, but we pirates are free to let you live or die however we please! So long!"
Daddy laid on his back in defeat, not saying a word.
In the present time, everyone took in the memory. "So that's why a Marine elite turned to bounty-hunting," Nami remarked.
"Papa! You lost to a pirate, Papa?!" Carol cried. "He spared your life?! Say it isn't true, Papa!"
"But that's amazing!" Nami praised to Usopp.
"Your dad must be really skilled," Venus added, "He even beat Daddy."
"Plus he hadn't forgotten about you!" Nami pointed out. "Even now, when he's living an adventure, he has an image of you etched in his memory!" His hand moving in front of her face cut her off. "Usopp? The young sniper was in tears. "Yeah. I can understand how you feel."
"No! That's not why..." He choked. "That's not why I'm crying! Would you normally do that?! Would you normally tell some pathetic boy like me a story about you shamelessly having your life spared?!" Venus put a hand on his shoulder in comfort, though it went unnoticed. "You told me that to give me courage! Most people would be vain, and keep a story like that a secret! You told me even though you knew it'd make you less cool! Regardless of how brave my old man might be! Right?! Weaklings or cowards could never do that!" He turned to the little girl. "Carol! Your dad is the bravest man alive! You can find strong guys any old place! But I've never seen a man as strong and kind as your dad before! I... I can't give in, either!" He wiped his tears away. "I gotta be brave, or I'll shame your dad! Daddy! Give me a chance! Fight me in another life or death match! I won't cheat anymore!"
Daddy eyed him for a moment; he was being completely sincere. "All right. This will be our real match. Choose the weapon you're most skilled with." Usopp opened his bag, and pulled out his trusty slingshot. "Good. Now, then. Let's see..." He looked around the area for a good target; he found a weathervane they had to squint to make out; it featured a sperm whale wearing a teal crown.. "Try and hit that weathervane."
"Weathervane? That?!"
"I-it's so far away," Venus breathed nervously. She and Usopp both gasped when Daddy pointed his gun at him.
"Miss it, and..."
"Y-yeah! You can shoot me right through the heart!"
"Usopp!" Nami exclaimed.
"My life is on the line for real this time!" He drew a bullet back, keeping his eyes on the weathervane.
"There's... there's no way he can shoot that far with that thing," Carol said fearfully.
Venus covered her eye with one hand. "I can't look."
Usopp aimed shakily, trying not to focus on the gun pointed in his direction. 'J-just like always... just shoot like you always do...' Venus' arms and legs shook. She had only known him for an hour, but she still couldn't bear to see him die. 'Yeah... concentrate...' With that, he made the shot.
His life flashed before his eyes in that very moment; the Usopp pirates, his friend Kaya, his mother's passing, his father... meeting Venus just earlier that day.
The bullet flew away with a whistle, until it was out of sight, as he lowered his slingshot. The weathervane was undeterred. "W-well?" Venus stammered.
"You missed!" Nami observed in horror. This was it for him.
"WHAT?!" Venus eye widened. She was going to lose a new friend she knew for less than a day?
"No, Papa! Don't shoot him! Papa!" Carol begged.
To everyone's surprise, a now furious Venus moved between Usopp and Daddy, a ball of energy swirling between her clawed hands. "I won't let you!"
'I-is she a witch?' Nami thought in awe, brown eyes wide.
Daddy stared in the bullet's direction with shock. "I can't shoot him. Usopp shot right through its crown!"
"He what?" Venus made the ball launch away into the stratosphere.
Nami gasped, and used her telescope to have a closer look. Sure enough, he was right! "H-he really did! Right through the crown!"
"Gimme that!" Venus snatched it away, to Nami's chagrin, to look for herself. It wasn't even a little off-center; it was a truly perfect shot. "No way..." She breathed, and lowered the telescope. She flinched when the redhead grabbed it back.
"Usopp!" Carol beamed. The young sniper collapsed to his knees.
"You're an excellent shot," Daddy praised, "I'd expect no less of Yasopp's son. Never forget that bravery. Someday you will become like your father!" Usopp felt emotional again, while also recovering from the scare he had just a minute ago. "Go to the Grand Line. I'm certain Yasopp is there."
"Daddy..." That was all he could say, before Carol ran up to him. With the goggles he wanted so much.
"You're pretty good, old man!" She handed him the goggles.
"Aren't these..."
"It's okay!" She assured. "So long!" With that, she and Daddy made their leave, as Usopp, Venus, and Nami watched. "Papa!"
"Carol, you know that's not right. It's poor manners to say, "So long!"" He kindly lectured.
"Yeah! I'm sorry, Papa! I'm going to grow up to be a nice lady worthy of being your daughter! So forgive me!"
"You're already plenty nice as you are now!"
"I'm going to be an ever nicer lady!"
"If she's plenty nice, then I'm queen of the sea," Venus remarked with a smirk.
"Even when people say he's a disgrace behind his back now, he's fought all this time to protect the one he loves," Nami observed.
"I'm going to be a brave man like Daddy, too!" Usopp vowed. "I'm gonna become a real warrior, and stand before my dad someday!" Venus smiled up at him. "I'm certain of it!"
(A/N: Usopp got the goggles! Yay! You know the disclaimer.)
