Hey everyone and welcome to my One Piece fanfiction. We've now reached the Syrup Village arc, there won't be much fighting in this chapter, but I plan on covering a lot of content.
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody, One Piece is owned by Funimation, Eiichiro Oda, Shueisha, Toei Animation, and Fuji TV. Please support the official release.
"Pirate" Regular speech.
"Pirate" Thoughts.
Finger Pistol Attack names.
(Pirate) Words said previously.
"PIRATE!" Shouting speech.
[Pirate!] people talking at the same time.
"Pirate" people talking over communication.
Enter The Honorable Liar: Usopp
It was a surprisingly quiet day on the ocean as two boats sailed side-by-side together. The first, occupied by Light, Silk, and Zoro. The second boat had Buggy the Clown's mark on it was used by Nami, the newly acquired Navigator who had temporarily formed an alliance with Light's crew.
They were sailing out on the sea and the bright sun was overhead. Light was, once again, sitting upon the bow of the ship and enjoying an apple as Zoro was dozing behind him while Silk was resting her back against the sail. Nami was rolling her eyes at something Light had said and was telling them off for something or other again.
"There's absolutely no way we're gonna make it to the Grand Line in this condition!" Nami said to them in a deeply annoyed voice.
[Hmm?]
The three of them looked back at her, wondering what she was going on about this time. The apple that Light had been eating had been reduced to nothing but a core, and he looked at it as he said, "That's true, we're gonna need a much bigger ship. It'd be nice to be able to stretch my legs for a change."
"A ship will do some good." Silk agreed, sounding vexed. "For one thing, I wouldn't mind having a bed to sleep on."
"We'll also need some booze too, I'm just about sick of plain water." Zoro added before Nami lost her temper and threw one of the apples at him.
"Shut up you bone-heads!" she yelled at him as Light reached out to grab the apple she threw and went to tuck it in his hat. "That's not what I mean!" She went on, before explaining. "The Grand Line's a dangerous place! We'll need more than beer, furniture, and free space to survive there! Not to mention that place is crawling with Pirates who are also in search of the One Piece! And they all have ships that are way better than this!"
"We can take 'em." Light brushed off her worries. "I'm more interested in finding a few more crewmates."
"Well, that's the problem. We don't have a crew, we don't have any equipment or even a real ship for that matter!" Nami yelled. "There is no way we'll ever make it like this!"
"That's not entirely true." Light argued. "Years ago, I heard stories about a Pirate who sailed around the most dangerous parts of the Grand Line, but he always rode in a tiny sailboat."
"Hmm, really?" Zoro seemed intrigued. "Who was he?"
"I don't know his name, but." Light grinned as he told them what he knew. "He doesn't have a ship, a crew, or even a crew, and yet, he's one of the Strongest, most feared Pirates in all the Grand Line."
"Woah, that's beyond just impressive, it sounds almost crazy." Silk noted though she did sound intrigued.
"Heh, wouldn't mind meeting this guy one day." Zoro admitted with interest. "Could be fun."
"Would you guys take this seriously!?" Nami snapped at them. "We need to focus on the actual problem instead of some weirdo we'll probably never see."
Silk groaned. "Sheesh, all you do is complain, I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas." She said with annoyance.
"Yeah, if you're so smart, why don't you think of something already?" Zoro complained as well.
Nami sat down on her boat and went back to looking at some maps. Once she realized where they were, she said. "A little to the south of here is a small island with some settlements on it. And it looks like we might be able to get a ship and some of the supplies we need there."
"And a ship means elbow room at last." Light cheered happily.
"And lots of booze there as well." Zoro said with a wide smile.
"And I am definitely getting myself a bed." Silk promised.
"Is that all you think about?!" Nami yelled at them in annoyance. "What am I gonna do with you guys?"
"What island is it anyway?" Zoro asked her.
Nami looked down at the map and said. "I think we'll be at the north side of a place called Gecko Island."
"Hmm?" Light seemed to zone in on that name.
"Something wrong?" Silk asked.
"Gecko Island, that name sounds familiar for some reason." Light answered, thinking it over.
"It's on the map so why you just saw it there before?" Nami reasoned.
Light felt it might be more than that but decided not to dwell on the matter as they sailed for Gecko Island.
It wasn't long until they reached land. The four docked the boats on the islands' beach. Light was the first one to step foot on the sand. Silk, Nami, and Zoro disembarked after their Captain. Light stepped forward as he looked around. Zoro stretched as soon as he got off the boat.
The shore seemed sandwiched between two high cliffs and a rocky shoreline that led up a steep hill that would seemly lead them to the thick forest of trees and bushes.
"Feels good to be on dry land again." Zoro commented.
"There's supposed to be a village around nearby, right?" Silk asked Nami.
"Yeah." Nami answered. "It looks like a small one though."
"Small or big, It doesn't really matter." Light said shrugging. "All that really matters is whether or not we can find what we're looking for here."
Zoro, who was still yawning had been eyeing some bushes that seemed to ruffle around up on a cliff and thumbed up one of his Swords.
"Careful." Zoro warned the other three. "We're being watched."
"Someone's up there." Silk said suddenly looking to the cliff.
Out of nowhere, several led bullets go flying at Light. Zoro obviously saw them too because he called a warning to Light. But instead of hitting him, they were aimed at his feet and Light didn't feel any kind of threat from them so he didn't bother to dodge them and just let them hit the ground around him, with Nami running and hiding behind one of the boats.
Almost as soon as the ammo was out, at least a dozen Pirate flags rose up from the bushes and trees around the upper cliff. They were all identical with the skull and crossbones, except for the mouth was making an 'O' shape, as if surprised.
"Flags?" Silk seemed lost.
"Is this where we're supposed to be impressed?!" Nami yelled in frustration.
Light just tucked his hands in his pockets before putting on a smirk.
"Come out and show yourself!" He yelled out. "Unless you're afraid!"
They heard an unfamiliar laugh coming from above them, and when they looked up, they saw the one responsible stand before them with a wide, brazen smile on his face.
He is a slim tan-skinned teenager with medium-length black woolly hair, prominent lips, and a long nose. He wore an olive green plaid bandanna, a blue and white striped armband on his left arm, along with special sniper goggles, brown overalls with a white sash and no shirt underneath, and brown rubber shoes, also a yellow satchel around his waist.
"I am Usopp!" The young man named Usopp declared loudly, as if for all the world to hear. "Leader of the invincible nation of Pirates who rein over this island! You stand before a living legend! The most revered Pirate who ever lived! I am the great Captain Usopp!"
Light looked up at him, the excited grin had been replaced with mild surprise, and perhaps… recognition.
"Surely you would know that plotting an attack on this island would mean certain death!" Usopp went on. "My army of 80,000,000 super mean Pirate soldiers would squash you like bugs!"
"I seriously doubt 80,000,000 people could even fit on an island this small." Light pointed out.
"I've never heard a more obvious lie." Silk added offhandedly.
Usopp completely lost any confidence he had as he gasps. "They know!"
"Yep." Nami smiled wickedly from her hiding place. "Well… Now we know."
"How could I be so dumb?" Usopp cried out, now looking freaked out, not knowing what to do. "I practically told them I was lying! I'm such an idiot! So stupid!"
Nami, Silk, and Zoro stared at him as if thinking that he was some kind of weirdo.
"Curse you, you crafty Pirate!" Usopp cried out as he tried to regain control. "80,000,000 may have been an exaggeration." And he stretched his arms out wide and proclaimed. "But I have a great many men under my control!"
The Crew all looked, and just through the bushes, they could see several kids there waving the flags nervously.
"Do you mean those three kids?" Light asked with honest curiosity.
[THEY DO KNOW!]
At that, the three suddenly jumped out, looking petrified as they screamed out in terror. All three of them screamed before they ran for their lives, dropping the flags and took off, almost crying.
"Hey, where you guys going!?" Usopp called to his 'men' who just ignored his pleas. "Come back!" He was now completely left alone with the four Pirates.
Nami felt that it was safe to come from her hiding place and was now examining something on the beach.
"A Pirate using a slingshot, huh?" Nami said picking up one of the silver projectiles Usopp shot at Light. "Well, now I've seen it all." She commented blowing the sand off of it.
"You ain't seen nothing yet." Light denied her offhanded comment before turning back to Usopp. "And you, you don't honestly think you can face us using that toy do you?"
"Shut your mouth! Or I'll shut it for you!" Usopp yelled, suddenly looking angry, as he pulled out his slingshot. "I'm a proud man and I won't stand for it!" He held his weapon up after loading it. "This is your last warning! Or you'll get to see why they call me Proud Usopp and not Pushover Usopp! Is that clear?"
Light didn't respond and instead, he picked up one of the led balls that were still on the ground beneath him.
"You've already seen for yourself just how good I am with this thing." Usopp went on. "So you know I can rival anyone carrying a pistol!"
FLICK!
"Ugh!"
Usopp was taken off guard as Light flicked the silver ball at him as it traveled at a faster speed than when it was launched from Usopp's slingshot. It hit Usopp's slingshot and knocked it out of his hands, sending it a few feet away. Before Usopp could even attempt to retrieve it, Light jumped and reached the top of the cliff, closing the distance, and appeared right in front of him.
"Pistols and slingshots have the same problem, they're useless once you drop them." Light informed him in a low voice and Usopp looked distressed by his situation. "Even a pretend Pirate like you should know this, in a fight between Pirates, if you want to start a fight, you better be prepared to die." He went on as his voice became calm and cool. Only part of his eyes could be seen under his hat's rim, casting the rest of his face in shadows. He looked quite unlike himself, like someone sinister. "Are you prepared to risk your life?"
Zoro and Silk realized what he was doing as Zoro looked at Light for a moment before he began to grin, chuckling darkly in his throat. He loosened one of his Swords just enough so that Usopp couldn't mistake the glint of his blade. "I can assure you we're real Pirates! Consider your next move very carefully."
Silk joined and placed her hand on the hilt of her Sword. "That is unless you think you can fight three Pirates while unarmed." She almost dared him to try it.
Usopp was looking more and more nervous with every word spoken. His hand was shaking so much that even if he could get to his slingshot there was little chance that he could hit them even if he launched the ball. But they didn't need to worry.
Soon enough, he lost his nerve and he let himself fall to his knees as he gazed down at them fearfully, but also with a hint of reverence.
"Real pirates definitely have a lot more punch behind their words 'cause they can actually back them up." Usopp muttered sheepishly, even from that distance the others still on the beach could hear his words. "That's so cool."
Satisfied with himself, Light jumped back down the cliff to join the others on the beach. "I'm pretty sure the village is past the forest that's above this slope."
"In that case, let's head there right now. Hoping we can get some provisions in there." Nami suggested.
"Before that, let's find something to eat." Zoro brought up. "I'm tired of having nothing but apples."
"That's not a bad idea." Light nodded before looking back up the cliff to address Usopp. His next words certainly captured his attention. "Mind coming with us, son of Yassop?"
"Huh….…Whaaaaaa?!"
Usopp's eyes bulged out at those words, in fact, he was so surprised to hear his father's name that he leaned too far over the edge and fell. Rolling down the side, and landing with a crash on his back…He didn't seem hurt at all though as he was now staring at Light, getting into a sitting position. "W-Where'd you hear that name?"
"Yassop?" Nami sounded confused as well.
"It's the name of a Pirate I knew as a kid." Light explained. "I remembered that among the many stories he'd used to tell me, he always brought up his son—Usopp. The reason I thought the name Gecko Island was familiar was that it was the island he said he used to live on."
"And that son he talked about is the same guy in front of us?" Zoro looked back at Usopp. "Small world."
"You're right… My old man's name is Yasopp." Usopp croaked out. "But how… How in the world do you know him?"
"Heh, I'll tell you a story." Light told him with a smile.
Once everything was settled, Usopp led them up the path and to a small village. It looked like a very pleasant place to live. There was a welcoming feeling in the air as they walked by. The many houses, small establishments and was built in the middle of a grassy plain.
Usopp led the way as they headed to a small restaurant. As soon as they entered, Usopp waved to the owner behind the counter and asked for food. And in the end, they the group of five sat at a regular table and began to eat.
"So how do you know my old man?" Usopp asked Light as they all enjoyed their meal.
Light swallowed a mouthful of food before answering. "Yassop was a crewmate of the Pirate crew that stayed docked at my hometown when I was younger. The Red Hair Pirates."
"Red Hair! Hold on, does my old man really know Shanks?" Usopp asked in excitement.
"Well, considering I just said he was a member of the crew, yes." Light assured him. "Yassop was the main Sniper on the ship."
Usopp looked ecstatic at the news. "I can't believe it!" He said in hushed tones. "My old man, sailing the high seas with famous Pirates!"
"He was definitely the kinda guy anyone could get along with, he even taught me how to use a gun a little bit." Light remembered cheerfully before looking slightly peeved. "But, sometimes he really can't take a hint. Any chance he got he would start telling me about his son that was around my age. Whenever I said I already heard it he would just say anyways. I heard enough about you to fill a logbook."
"Yeah? Really?!" Usopp exclaimed excitedly as if wishing Light could tell him more. "I sure am proud of my old man. He went to live a Pirate's life on the endless sea. He chose a life of real adventure." He looked up at a picture of a Pirate Ship on rough waves, grinning the whole time.
"Maybe you can help us." Nami said, causing Usopp to look at her. "Do you know someone who could provide us with a decent ship? Or, even someone who knows how to sail for that matter?"
Usopp gave a small sigh. "Well, it's a pretty small village. Sorry, but I just don't think we'll be able to help you."
"What about that huge mansion?" Zoro asked staring out the window. "The one on top of that hill over there?"
Just as he pointed out, there was a large mansion placed atop a nearby hill that was just outside the village. The mansion looked both fancy and expensive, like the kind only a very wealthy person would live in.
"Hey, do you know them, Usopp?" Nami questioned with a hopeful smile, her hands clasped together. "With all that money, surely they can help us get our boat!"
Usopp's face turned deadly serious as he stood up and said loudly. "YOU STAY AWAY FROM THERE!"
Everyone seemed taken aback by Usopp's sudden hostility including Usopp himself.
Usopp suddenly looked very uncomfortable as well and stuttered out, "I… Just remembered something that I really have to go do." He grabbed hold of his bag of tricks and went straight to the door without another look back. "Everyone knows me in this place, so… Stay and eat as much as you want. Well… got to go!" Usopp called back before he went running out the door.
"Why was he in such a hurry to get outta here?" Nami wondered as she watched Usopp leave.
"Obviously, he's hiding something." Light deduced casually. "Something he doesn't want just anyone knowing about."
"Not changed the subject but can't the two of you be a little forward for a change?" Silk asked Nami and Zoro before sighing. "Don't get me wrong, I'm all for getting a bigger boat but you can't just go waltzing on someone's property and saying 'Hey there, can you get us a ship?' What exactly were you hoping for?"
"I… Just thought it wouldn't hurt to try asking." Nami defended herself.
"Regardless of what Usopp said though, I don't think it's a bad idea to check the mansion out." Light suggested. "At the very least, they might know where we can find a ship. We have a lot of treasure so we can pay for it if need be."
Agreeing with that idea, for the time being, they went back to their meal, choosing to finish eating before anything else. It didn't take long for them to finish their meals in peace and were just getting ready to move on when the door suddenly banged open.
[The Usopp Pirates have arrived!]
Everyone turned to see who had spoken.
The ones who arrived were the three children who ran away earlier.
One is a freckled boy with short spiky purple hair that covers his eyes, a red hat with a frill at the top and the Usopp Pirates Jolly Roger on the front, and a face that ends in a pointed chin; these three features make his head resemble a carrot. He also wears a black sweater, a reddish-brown sash, light orange pants, and dark brown shoes, with light brown on the bottom.
The other is a boy with dark hair wearing a pepper-shaped hat. He wears a light green short sleeves shirt with the Usopp Pirates Jolly Roger on the front. He also wears a light blue sash, dark blue pants, and black shoes with grey laces, and grey on the bottom and very top.
The third one is a boy with straight brown hair with a tuft sticking up at the top, making his head reminiscent of an onion in appearance, and tiny eyes. He wears square glasses, a yellow shirt with a blue vest jacket over it. He also wears a dark yellow sash, dark brown pants, and black shoes, with grey on the very top and bottom, with tan buckles.
The three kids entered the restaurant and were staring at the three Pirates at the table with scared expressions.
"Captain Usopp is gone." Whispered the purple-haired boy to the other two.
"Did they…?" The boy with glasses whispered before they all gulped. But they rushed at the table with their wooden Swords and looked ready for a fight.
"Speak up you filthy Pirates! What have you done with our beloved Captain?!" The dark-haired boy demanded. "Tell us now!"
[Yeah tell us now!] The other two yelled with him.
CRUNCH!
Instead of answering them, Light bit through a leftover bone and started crunching it. "Ugh, that meat wasn't tender enough."
At his words, the three turned ghostly white and huddled together fearfully.
"What meat!?" The purple-haired boy gasped.
"These pirates are cannibals…?" The boy with glasses added, sounding close to freaking out.
Nami alone was having a hard time keeping her giggles in.
"What have you done, you savages!?" The dark-haired demanded in a scared voice as the other two hid behind him.
Something very strange happened then. Zoro casually leaned forward onto the arm and gave them all a dark and sinister look while Silk squinted her eyes at them with a sinister look of her own, both of them addressed the children.
"If you're looking for your Captain…" Zoro said slowly before he gave them a twisted and psychotic smile that would make anyone else run for their lives. "We ate him."
Silk followed up by holding a bone with a bit of meat still hanging off of it and sunk her teeth into the meat, doing it in a way similar to how a predator would bite into the carcass of dead prey.
"AHHHHH, CANNIBALS!" The kids screamed in collected terror, though for some reason they were looking at Nami.
"Why are you punks looking at me for!?" She yelled as they all fainted, staring up at the ceiling with horrified expressions.
Light started laughing out loud after joking around, Zoro and Silk joined him. They were laughing so hard that tears were building in the edge of their eyes.
"You just had to say something stupid didn't you?" Nami scolded them both but even she was smiling as the boys twitched horribly on the floor.
"Oh live a little would you?" Silk brushed off through her laughter.
"Relax." Nami said, looking down at them. "Usopp's just fine."
"B-B-B-B-But you j-j-just s-s-said." The dark-haired boy stuttered horribly, pointing a shaking hand at Zoro who went into another round of laughter with the others.
"Can't you take a joke when you hear one?" She asked them irritability. "Usopp was here until about ten minutes ago. He said that he had someplace he needed to be and he took off. That's it."
"Right, why should we believe you?" the purple-haired boy demanded.
"You rather believe that we ate him?" Zoro asked, still grinning evilly and they shut up.
"Zoro!" Nami snapped at him before she looked up to the owner behind the bar and asked. "Hey, didn't Usopp leave here a minute ago?"
"Huh?" He asked in mild surprise. "Ah, yes…" He went back to his paper. "Your meal will be going on his tab by the way."
"Meh, whatever." Light hardly seemed to care.
[Really?] The boys asked, sitting up and looking at them cautiously.
"That's right." Light confirmed it. "Honestly, I had some stuff I wanted to talk to him about. Do you know where we can find him?"
So the three boys lead the three of them out of the restaurant and through the sleepy village. The boys were talking to each other in loud whispers about keeping their guard up, that these were dangerous Pirates… But after a few rounds of laughter with Light they quickly warmed up to him and were now laughing at how they thought that they ate Usopp. They even introduced themselves.
"We're the Usopp Pirates, I'm Pepper." The dark-haired boy introduced.
"I'm Carrot." The purple-haired boy followed.
"And I'm Onion." The boy was glasses finished.
"Huh, maybe you should have called yourselves the Veggie Pirates?" Light joked.
"That would have made much more sense." Silk agreed.
Before long, they started to approach the mansion on top of the hill.
"Ha, you really had us going there!" Pepper said as they walked around to the side of the manor.
Surrounded by a tall gate on all sides was a beautiful two-story manor that looked to be about the same size as the ship, maybe even bigger. Wide windows and elaborate trimming all over and a tall tree on one side that stretched over to one of the side windows.
"Woah, this place is huge!" Nami said staring at it.
"Meh, I've seen bigger." Light commented, not impressed.
"Well, if our Captain ran off at this hour, then this is the place he's gonna be." Onion told them.
"Oh yeah?" Light asked with interest. "What does he come here for?"
"He comes to lie." Carrot told him casually.
"To lie?" Nami repeated with a frown and her hands on her hips. "That's terrible!"
"He's not a bad guy!" Pepper said. "He's great! Isn't he?" He added looking at his two friends.
"Yeah, he's awesome!" Onion smiled.
"How is a liar awesome?" Zoro asked in confusion.
The boys looked up and it was Pepper who explained. "Well, Kaya… The girl who lives here has been in a terrible depression that's kept her weak and in bed after her parents got sick and died a year ago. She's very rich, but all that money couldn't help her recover from her sadness."
"So the Captain comes to tell his special made-up stories to make her laugh and cheer her up." Onion went on happily.
"Captain Usopp is the best at telling lies!" Carrot added.
"The best thing about him is his mischievous side." Mentioned Carrot. "He's always up to something."
"I like him because he's not afraid to be silly." Pepper said.
"And I like the Captain's crazy lies." Onion said.
"Are those actually compliments?" Light wondered.
"So when he tells her those stories…" Nami spoke. "He makes her feel better?"
"Yep!" Carrot replied. "Lot's better!"
"Well, that's all we and good for the, but that doesn't help our situation at all." Silk pointed out. "The whole reason we came here was to find a ship."
"There is one thing we could try." Light suggested, getting their attention. "We could go in there and ask her if she has a ship could part with."
"Captain, didn't I already say that was being too forward?" Silk reminded him.
"Besides, we're not the ones who make her feel better." Zoro voiced with his arms crossed. "Usopp is."
"Relax, it's not like I'm expecting it for free." Light clarified his intentions. "Someone as rich as her must have a ship or two laying around, if she's not using it, she probably wouldn't mind selling it. And, even if she won't, she bound to at least know a place where we could get our own ship."
"I guess that's worth a try." Nami shrugged. "It's not like we have any other ideas at the moment."
"The bigger question is how do we get inside?" Zoro asked.
"Getting in is impossible." Onion mentioned the two guards standing in front of the gate. "Those guards at the gate don't let anyone through."
"Leave that to me." Light told them as he reached into his pocket and took out the apple from before. "I know a few ways on how to sneak into places."
With a small wind up, Light threw the apple towards the guards. It traveled fast and far, sailing past their heads, over the gate, and finally made contact with a small marble statue outside the mansion. The sound of the impact captured the attention of the guards and they left their posts to check on it.
"Alright, now follow me." Light instructed them as he walked over to the grass hedge by the wall.
"Aren't we just going through the front?" Zoro asked.
"There's an easier way." Light assured him, moving his hand through the grass as though he was looking for something. "If Usopp comes here often, that means he knows a secret way to get in."
In a moment, he found what he was looking for as Light grabbed hold of a chunk of the hedge and pulled back to reveal a cube-shaped patch of grass that was removable from the hedge, and once it was out of the way, there was now an opening big for a person to crawl through.
"A secret entrance!" Pepper realized.
"That must be how the Captain is always getting inside." Onion figured.
"And it's how we'll get inside too." Light decided.
As he climbed in through the opening, Light looked around at the courtyard of the mansion while the others followed him and crawled through the opening as well. The kids also followed them.
"How did you know how to find a way in like that?" Zoro questioned curiously.
"Back where I grew up, there were plenty of rich people with homes and mansions way bigger than this place." Light explained, not seeing it as a big deal. "Since I always had to make sure I got in and out without being seen, I picked up skills like that. So, this was pretty basic."
"You know, if you had chosen to become a thief instead of a Pirate, you could have made a fortune by now." Nami nonchalantly pointed out.
"I learned how to steal so I could become a Pirate." Light corrected her. "Besides, I already have a fortune."
And so, they set off to approach the mansion.
Usopp was sitting on the branch of a tall tree that was right next to the window of the second floor of the mansion. Standing behind the open window was Kaya who was listening as Usopp regaling Kaya with one of his many 'tales' of adventure. Kaya is a slim and pale-skinned girl with blonde hair. She has wide brown eyes, that are of a sort of lighter shade. Despite her fortune, she is seen wearing a simple neat plain long dress with slippers. She had a happy smile on her face as Usopp continued his story.
"So after that terrifying and dramatic little incident…" Usopp went on extravagant. "We escaped into the sky riding on a giant slingshot ball!"
"Hey, Usopp!"
"Huh?" Usopp stopped at the sound of a familiar voice.
Both he and Kaya looked down to see Light along with his crew as well as the Usopp Pirates walking up to the tree that Usopp was sitting on top of.
"So this is where you went!" Light addressed him.
"You followed me?" Usopp looked surprised at them.
"Do you know these people Usopp?" Kaya asked, looking down at them.
"Don't mind them, Kaya!" Usopp said quickly and a little nervous. "This happens to me all the time! That's just the price of being a famous adventurer! They're just new recruits who heard about me and came to join the Usopp Pirates."
"No, that's not it at all." Light dismissed Usopp's excuse as he looked toward Kaya. "You there, are you the Lady of the house?"
"Huh, yes I am?" She responded, still not quite sure what was going on.
"In that case, I have a question for you…" Light started.
"You there!"
However, before Light could go any further, he was interrupted by a sudden unfamiliar voice. Everyone turned their heads to see who it was as a man in a butler uniform arrived at the scene. He is a tall and slim man with glasses and slicked black hair. He wore a black suit with two golden markings on it over a white shirt with a curious collar, with spiral-like protrusions on the edges, and a standard black tie. He also sports striped shoes. He wears round glasses that tend to always slip off.
"What do you think you're doing?" The man asked sternly.
"Klahadore..." Kaya said as the man had approached the group.
"Get out." Klahadore said as he pushed up his glasses with the palm of his hand. "I"ll have you know that this is criminal trespassing."
"Hmph… So, we're criminals. What do we care about criminal trespassing?" Light countered with a brash attitude.
"In that case, I have even greater reason to demand you leave." Klahadore demanded sternly. "Get out before I alert the authorities."
group.
"Uh, actually Klahadore…" Kaya said trying to reassure her caretaker. "These people are—"
"Not now, Kaya." Klahadore cut in, pushing up his glasses once more. "You can tell me all about this riffraff after they've left." He stepped forward. "Now get out! All of you! Leave now unless you have some business with me!"
"I have business with the Lady of the house." Light clarified as if to demonstrate that he wouldn't be intimidated. "If you want us to leave, wait until after we've finished talking."
"That's unacceptable!" Klahadore quickly refused, looking more irritated than ever. "How dare you—A filthy trespasser demand anything from me!"
"How dare you—A mere servant act like he can order me to do anything." Light shot back, looking more smug than ever.
The others were all just watching the exchange happen. The children thought it was cool how he was standing up to Klahadore without getting scared when they obviously would be. Zoro thought it was funny in a small way. Nami was hoping nothing too bad happened, and Silk was interested to see who would get the last word.
But then Klahadore looked up and spotted Usopp hiding in the tree "USOPP!" He yelled.
"Crap!" Usopp cursed trying to keep quiet while hanging from the tree.
"You have quite the reputation." Klahadore said to Usopp with a fake smile. "You're very well-known in the village."
"Heh, sure am." Usopp replied climbed back onto the branch with a nervous laugh.
"I hear you've been on many adventures." Klahadore mentioned. "Quite impressive for someone so young as you."
"Usually people who admire me so much call me Captain." Usopp claimed as he stood on the branch and leaned against the tree. "So it's Captain Usopp to you!"
"Captain, huh?" Klahadore inquired pushing up his glasses. "Your father also had something of a reputation."
"What?" Usopp questioned.
"Klahadore, please just stop!" Kaya exclaimed leaning out the window.
"You'll be nothing more than the son of a filthy Pirate!" Klahadore said glaring up at Usopp. "Who knows what kind of trouble you're up to now!" Klahadore exclaimed. "All I ask is that you and your kind leave this respectable young lady alone!"
"A filthy Pirate!?" Usopp repeated the words with venom in his voice and glaring daggers at Klahadore.
"You and she are two completely different worlds and you know it!" Klahadore stated. "Is it money your after? How much do you want?"
"Stop this at once, Klahadore!" She yelled at him, hanging dangerously out the window. "Apologize to him!"
"Hey, calm down Kaya." Usopp said worriedly, glancing at her.
"I don't believe there is any reason to apologize to this savage young man, Miss Kaya." Klahadore went on silkily. "My goal isn't to slander… I am merely stating the truth." He went on before looking back up at Usopp. "I sympathize with your situation. You must hate your great idiot of a father for abandoning his family and his village because of his mindless lust for treasure!"
Usopp looked beyond furious as he glared down at him. "Don't you dare insult my father again!" He growled as he jumped, using a hook from his bag of tricks to get down. After drawing it back in, he continued to glower at Klahadore, shaking in anger.
Klahadore laughed mockingly. "Why have you gotten so worked up, Usopp? It's times like this that you should do what you do best and lie. Tell me about how your father is really a traveling salesman. Or about how you aren't really related by blood?"
But he had gone too far. Usopp snapped and slugged him right in the face. Every person there, other than Light stared at Usopp. They had never seen him this angry…
[CAPTAIN!] The Usopp Pirates cried out as Usopp stood above Klahadore while shaking. Klahadore leaned himself up as he held his bruised cheek.
"Case in point." Klahadore remarked. "He resorts to violence, I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, does it?"
"SHUT UP!" Usopp screamed out, taking Kuro by surprise. "MY FATHER LISTENED TO HIS HEART AND CHOSE A LIFE OF RISK AND ADVENTURE!" Usopp proclaimed. "I AM PROUD TO SAY THAT MY OLD MAN IS A BRAVE WARRIOR OF THE SEA! YOU'RE RIGHT, I HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO EXAGGERATE FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT I WILL NEVER LIE ABOUT WHO MY FATHER IS! I REFUSE TO BE ASHAMED OF MY HERITAGE! I AM THE SON OF A PIRATE!"
"Captain..." Carrot uttered softly.
Silence fell upon them all as Light smiled at him with a small smile on his face. Not just anyone would say something like that about their father if they knew he was a criminal.
But rather than be impressed, Klahadore continued to laugh darkly. "Pirates are brave warriors of the sea, are they? That's quite a twisted way of putting things." Klahadore said getting back up and brush himself off. "You don't seem to understand that you are living proof of his savage blood. You run around spouting lies and resort to violence when you don't get your way." Klahadore went on. "To top it off, you cozy up to the lady of the house to steal her fortune."
"You're wrong!" memory Usopp said at once, "I only…"
"YOUR FATHER IS A FILTHY, NO GOOD PIRATE!" Klahadore bellowed out. "TREACHERY IS IN YOUR BLOOD! OF COURSE, YOU HAD SUCH AN EVIL SCHEME!"
"You won't let up will you!?" Usopp screamed, grabbing hold of the front of his coat and held up a fist. Finally, Kaya begged Usopp to stop when he tried to him again.
"Stop it, Usopp! Please!" Kaya pleaded. "No more violence, I can't take it! Klahadore isn't a bad person! He just trying to do what he thinks is best for me and sometimes too far!" Usopp calmed down and released his grip from Klahadore, the butler slapping his hand away.
"Leave this place." Klahadore ordered. "YOU ARE NEVER TO COME HERE AGAIN!"
"Yeah, I get it." Usopp said. "You don't have to tell me twice, buddy." Usopp walked away with his hands in his pockets. "This is the last you'll ever see of me." Usopp said as he left.
"Usopp…" Kaya muttered sadly. Pepper, Onion, and Carrot ran up to Klahadore, the trio of kids angry yelled.
"Hey, you butler jerk!" Screamed Carrot. "Our captain is not that kind of guy!"
[Stupid jerkface!] Yelled Pepper and Onion.
Klahadore glared down at Pepper, Onion, and Carrot. The boys quickly became frightened by the butler and all ran to hide behind Silk.
"YOU WILL ALL LEAVE IMMEDIATELY!" Klahadore ordered.
"No, I don't think we will." Light argued with narrowed eyes.
"Captain, we should just leave, there's nothing for us here." Zoro pointed out.
"I wouldn't say that." Light kept his gaze on Klahadore. "I must say, you sure ran your mouth back there."
"What does that matter to you?" Klahadore glared, annoyed that they were still here.
"Oh, I was just wondering, tell me, do really loathe Usopp that much?" Light questioned skeptically. "Or, do you just hate all Pirates in general?"
Klahadore fixed his glasses again. "An odd question, what is there not to hate?" He confirmed. "Only naive children don't understand that Pirates are scum, I can't imagine there is anyone who doesn't hate Pirates."
"And yet, the only person that directs their hatred of Pirates toward Usopp is you." Light pointed out before looking toward the kids. "Tell me, does any in the village hate Usopp because of who his dad is?"
"Of course not!" Pepper insisted immediately. "Everyone in the village knows that the Captain is a good guy. Even if his dad is a Pirate, nobody treated him like he was bad."
"And yet, you believe that just being related to a Pirate makes you a bad person." Light noted, staring back at Klahadore. "Do you really hate Pirates that much more than anyone else here?"
"Those people are different, unlike them, I know exactly how Pirates think." Klahadore insisted, not changing his expression. "He only acts like an ordinary troublemaker around them, yet he shows up here almost every day to Miss Kaya, and for what? Nothing?" He scoffed. "As if it couldn't be more obvious that he wanted something."
"That's not true, Klahadore!" Kaya spoke out with insistence, not letting herself be interrupted this time. "Usopp doesn't have any bad intentions like that, he's my friend and he only comes here every day because he cares about my health, I know he's a good person."
"There you have it." Light referred to her. "Is the word of your Lady not enough for you?"
Klahadore fixed his glasses. "I'd rather not chance it, gaining people's trust to take advantage of them is what Pirates do."
Light groaned with annoyance. "There is just talking with you is there?" He then looked back up at Kaya. "Hey, we're leaving for now, but there are still some things I wanted to ask you about, we'll come back some other time to talk alright?"
"Umm?" Kaya was exactly sure what her answer should be.
"No, you will not!" Klahadore snapped at him. "I will not allow you riffraff to simply come and go as you please! LEAVE THIS PLACE AND DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT RETURNING!"
Finally having enough of his attitude, Light moved in at flashing speed and closed to distance between himself and the butler as he immediately got in his face and snatched the right off his head while giving him a sneer. Once again, everyone was shocked into silence, except those who already knew what Light was capable of.
"I don't care about what you'll allow us to do, I don't answer to you, servant." Light told him in a low tone as if he was warning him to not trifle with him.
After that, Light placed the glasses in his front coat pocket and they both gave each other one final glare. With that done, Light turned to leave and walked away, the others and the kids followed after him as if it was natural.
They wordlessly let the children take the lead and they followed them to the outskirts of the village where it was nothing but open fields and trees. The children sat down along a fence that lined the dirt road. As soon as they got settled, the children sat in a semi-circle, Nami and Silk sat on top of the fence, and Light and Zoro on the ground with their backs leaning against the fence.
Light placed his hands behind his head and decided to ask. "I wonder where Usopp is."
"I bet he's at his secret spot." Pepper guessed.
"Yeah, Captain usually goes to the south shore when he's thinking about something." Carrot agreed.
"Not much of a secret if you all know about it." Silk commented.
"Should we go too?" Carrot asked as if he needed their permission.
"Nah, leave him alone." Light brushed it off. "Right now, he just wants time to himself."
"Hey, mister Pirate…" Pepper nervously spoke to Light as all three of them looked at him. "You've met other Pirates before, right?"
Light nodded. "I have."
"That butler guy is a real jerk… But, is what he said true?" Pepper quietly asked.
"Captain always told us that a Pirate was a brave warrior of the sea, but are there Pirates out there like the ones the butler was talking about?" Onion followed up.
Light didn't answer for a second, instead, he stared up at the clouds. "I've met plenty of Pirates in my life, from when I was a kid to where I am right now. And in all that time, I learned something. Pirates are a strange bunch."
"What does that mean?" Carrot asked confused.
"There are as many Pirates as there are stars in the sky and everyone is different, sometimes a little sometimes a lot." Light went on. "And while I have met Pirates who were savages who only cared about treasure, I also met Pirates who were brave warriors of the sea like Usopp described. But you can't just categorize every Pirate in the world into one group. There are good Pirates and ones bad, like how there are good people and bad people."
"Then how come that butler was saying that stuff about the Captain's dad when he's not bad?" Onion asked upset.
"Yeah, Captain Usopp always said that his dad was good. Captain's always looking out for us and Kaya and the village, he's good too." Pepper agreed.
"It's because he doesn't know him." Light explained, not sounding happy himself. "There are good and bad Pirates, but the vast majority of them are bad, especially around here. That's why a lot of people don't like Pirates, and when people don't know you but know that you're a Pirate they immediately think you're bad." He looked over to his friends. "Like these guys, when I first met them, none of them liked Pirates or me, but they changed their minds after meeting me."
[Is that true?] The Usopp Pirates asked them curiously.
Silk smiled at them. "It is."
Zoro rolled his head back. "More or less."
Nami smiled jokingly at them. "I think you'd rather not hear my opinion."
"The point is, you only know what kind of Pirate someone is after meeting them. Most people just think all Pirates are bad, but you can tell which ones aren't when you know them. Like me, I know that Usopp's father isn't a bad guy because I know him." Light assured them. "Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about."
"Wait, really? You know the Captain's dad?!" Carrot oned in on that information, as did the other two.
"He does." Zoro vouched for him. "That's what they were talking about back at the restaurant."
"Then, is it true?" Pepper asked as all three of them had stars in their eyes. "Is he really a strong, brave warrior of the sea who goes on amazing adventures?"
Light gave them a wide grin. "Yeah, he's the bravest guy I've ever met."
The three of them gained wide smiles as they let out cheers of excitement and joy which amused the rest of them and created a good atmosphere that washed away the melancholy one from back at the mansion.
Back at the mansion, Klahadore had just finished bringing Kaya her afternoon meal which followed a somber conversation between the two of them, from how he first started serving her late parents to this day where he served her and the loyalty he has for her family for saving him after he first arrived, broke, tired, and with nowhere to go.
That said, right now his expression was more alert. Like he had somewhere he needed to be.
Klahadore looked up at the clock to see the time, fixed his glasses again, and whispered.
"Time to go."
With that, he headed for the door to depart from the mansion.
Back at the fields, everyone was still resting against the fence as a bit of time had passed by. Though, the only difference was that Onion was now gone.
"So, do you actually plan on doing anything?" Nami asked, not sounding bothered though. "Are are you just planning to stay here all day?"
"What's wrong with that?" Light asked, still relaxing. "It's not often we get to just let back and enjoy some downtime. Besides, we can't go anywhere anyway, so let's just relax."
"He's right." Zoro agreed, looking comfortable right now, almost asleep. "We could use a break once in a while."
Silk sat back and breathed in the warm breeze. "True, it always seems like we're in a hurry doing one thing or another, these peaceful and tranquil times where we can just enjoy a nice day like today don't come often, so let's take advantage of the times they do."
"Well." Nami looked up at the sky and enjoyed the quiet atmosphere. "It is a nice change of pace."
"Yeah, the only thing that would make it better is if the Captain was with us." Pepper chimed in.
Nami then decided to ask something that was on her mind as she turned to the kids. "By the way, where's your other friend?"
[Oh yeah, Onion.] Pepper and Carrot seemed to only now notice he was gone.
"Come to think of it, he just up and disappears a lot." Pepper noticed.
"Yeah, and then he just shows up out of nowhere, all freaked out." Carrot added.
As if right on cue, Onion was rushing toward the group with a freaked-out look on his face, tears of horror in his eyes, and an urgent tone. "Terrible news guys!"
"You see." Carrot pointed out.
"Listen to me!" Onion arrived and stopped in front of Carrot and Pepper as he loudly yelled and pointed in the direction he ran from. "Some nutjob is on his way here and he only walks backward!"
[You liar.] Pepper and Carrot bluntly dismissed his claim.
"It's the truth!" Onion protested their denial and turned to the direction of the road. "Just look!"
The kids along with Light and the others all looked. And just like he said, there was indeed a man heading toward them while walking backward. To be specific, he was shuffling in a way that made it look like he was walking forward while his body was moving backward, he kept one hand on his stomach while the other was holding down the front of his hat.
He is a skinny, gray-haired man who appears to favor strange, flamboyant clothes; the most notable of these is his red, heart-shaped glasses, which disguise his heart-shaped eyes and matching eyebrows. He favored a blue, wide-brimmed hat, olive-green trousers with similarly colored gloves, and black shoes with tall white socks. He combined these with a simple blue jacket but wore a larger, more imposing overcoat lined with ring-like decorations.
The man stopped after reaching the group as he turned to look at them. "Now which one of you people has the nerve to call me weird?" He asked in a monotone. "I'm just a normal guy."
"Is that so? You look insane." Nami casually argued.
"Don't be silly, I'm just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill hypnotist." The apparent hypnotist insisted.
"A hypnotist? Really? Awesome!" Onion became excited.
"Show us something!" Pepper requested.
"Yeah, do something!" Carrot added.
The hypnotist stared at the children. "What?! You fools, what makes you think that I'd want to reveal my masterful hypnosis techniques to a bunch of roadside strangers?" Contrary to everything he just said, he took out a metal chakram on a string. "Okay, you convinced me, now watch the ring closely."
"What a ham." Zoro accused.
"Some people just can't help themselves." Silk cringed.
The hypnotist then swung the chakram back and forth like a pendulum in front of the children's eyes. "So, by the count of Jango, you'll fall into a deep sleep. Alright, are you ready?" He started as the kids stared closely at the swinging chakram. "One. Two. Jango!"
[Zzzzzzz…]
Just like he said, after hearing the word Jango, Pepper, Carrot, and Onion were hypnotized and fell into a deep sleep, laying on their backs on the side of the road and snoring loudly. The only problem was the hypnotist himself was also hypnotized and was asleep on the road as well.
"Who is this freaky weirdo?" Zoro started to lose his patience.
"Well, technically his hypnotism did work." Light noted, seemingly not bothered at all.
"But what kind of hypnotist falls for his own spell?" Silk questioned, thrown off by this as well.
"Apparently the one that uses a tool that looks the same on the front that it does on the back." Light pointed out, referring to his chakram. "He should have used a watch."
Nami groaned and placed a hand on her brow. "You're missing the point."
Later on, on a different part of the Island, Usopp was sitting upon a high cliff that overlooked the sea. The cliff was above a shore that looked exactly identical to the one on the other side of the Island where the others first arrived, including the rocky slope and the long cliffs.
Usopp merely sat there quietly with an angry and hurt expression. He was dwelling on the feelings he felt back at the mansion… The rage and helplessness that he couldn't really make that stupid butler pay for the things he said about his dad. Yes, there were times he had been angry at his old man for leaving, but at the end of the day, he was still proud to call himself his father's son.
And he looked forward to the day that he'd meet up with him to show him just how far he's come.
Usopp let out a sigh. "Kaya, I'll definitely see her again."
Usopp shook to himself before sneering as he thought about Klahadore.
"Well, I will, but only after that butler apologizes for the things he said." Usopp said like a promise to himself.
But then, by a weird coincidence, when he looked down, he saw the butler in question was standing by the shoreline, with him was the hypnotist.
Usopp in surprise had leaned over to get a closer look without being seen. "What in the world is he doing here?" Usopp wondered in confusion.
"Hey, Jango." Klahadore said. "I specifically ordered you to keep yourself inconspicuous. That doesn't mean sleeping on the road." He scolded the man known as Jango.
"Relax, man." Jango replied with a post. "I perfected the skills of a chameleon, I blend in." Usopp on the hill was still listening to Klahadore and Jango's conversation.
"So..." Klahadore said while pushing up his glasses. "Have all the necessary preparations been made?"
"But of course, we can start anytime." Jango responded. "On the 'Rich Girl Murder Plan'!"
"Murder!?" Usopp uttered with a worried expression.
"Don't call it murder, Jango." Klahadore quickly corrected. "I don't like the sound of it."
"Oh, right." Jango said. "'Accident'. It's an accident that you planned."
"We can't simply kill her," Klahadore insisted. "It is critical to our plan that Miss Kaya perishes in an unfortunate accident. So don't screw that up."
"So, basically…" Jango replied sitting down. "The men and I storm the village and manage to accidentally kill the little rich girl, then you get her inheritance, then we all get paid, right!"
"You moron!" Klahadore growled. "Your ignorance is astounding! We're not related so how can I inherit anything from her!"
"You'll work very hard, too." Jango commented.
"No Jango, I won't." Replied the 'butler'. "Now listen to me, this is the most important part: Before you kill her, you'll use your hypnosis to make Kaya write her will and it will say: "I leave my entire fortune to my butler, Klahadore"."
Usopp had ground his teeth in worry. Klahadore was planning to indirectly kill Kaya using a Pirate Raid on the village.
Then and only then I will have undisputed control of her enormous fortune." Klahadore declared with a sick grin etched on his face. "And no one will suspect a thing. I have spent 3 long years gaining the trust of everyone around me so that it would be unsurprising for her to leave the entirety of her inheritance to me."
"3 years as a butler for this, huh?" Jango asked. "You sure had us scared back then, Captain Kuro. 3 years ago, you suddenly said you were giving up life as a Pirate. In no time at all, you set someone to be your double, and then the world sees the Captain get executed. Only now do I understand that was just the beginning of this plan. You are 'The Man of 1,000 Plans'."
"Never call me that again." Klahadore glared. "I abandoned that name years ago, I now wish to attain my wealth without attracting the attention of the Government. In other words, I'm a pacifist."
"Some pacifist you are!" Jango guffawed. "Murdering an entire family doesn't exactly qualify as peaceful."
"Hold on, I haven't murdered an entire family." Klahadore disclosed. "The father's death wasn't planned."
"Whatever you say, it makes no difference." Jango stated. "If it's all the same to you, hurry up and give the word. The crew is getting bored, we've been waiting in the water's near here for over a week and the men are growing more anxious by the minute."
Usopp was still on the hilltop listening to the whole entire conversation. Usopp had intently listened to the whole thing.
"This is horrible." Usopp thought his body visibly shaking. "This is really horrible."
Urgency flared in his mind as Usopp ran away from the cliff and through the trees as fast as his legs could carry him to get back to the village to warn everyone of the coming danger.
"I can't believe this! This is terrible! I gotta do something!" Usopp thought as he ran desperately with tears in his eyes. "Everyone in the village I grew up in is in danger and Kaya gonna be killed! I can't let that happen to the people I love!" Usopp inwardly declared before shouting at the top of his lungs. "NOOOOOOO!"
Resolved to do something—Anything to save his home, Usopp cleared the forest and ran down the path that led to the village.
Back at the wide-open fields, everyone was still sitting there as the Usopp Pirates woke up from Jango's hypnotism and was standing by the path.
"Our Captain's been gone for quite a while." Carrot noticed.
"He probably just needs some time." Onion reasoned.
Light was still leaning back against the fence when he suddenly opened his eyes as though he noticed something. "Actually, Usopp's on his way here."
"Hmm, and just how would you know that?" Nami asked with skepticism.
Carrot stared at the path toward the shore until he noticed something in the distance. Soon he gasped and so did the other two when they made out what it was. In the distance, running towards them was none other than Usopp, just as Light said.
[Captain!] They said together.
Nami blinked. "How did he—?"
"You'll get used to it." Zoro cut off her question.
As Usopp kept running, Light decided to get up and stood in front of his path. When Usopp closed in, he tried running past him, but Light held out his arm and grabbed Usopp by the wrist, not letting him go any farther.
"Hey, let go!" Usopp demanded as he tried to break free, as useless as that was considering the gap in strength.
"Not until you tell me what's wrong." Light told him, letting him go after shoving him back at the others.
"Now that he mentions it, you look really upset." Nami noticed. "Are you stay mad at the butler?"
"No, that's isn't just a mad face!" Carrot chimed in.
"This look is different!" Pepper added.
"It's a tragic face of sheer desperation!" Onion followed up.
"See that? If even the kids can figure it out then you're not fooling anyone." Silk informed him as she stepped up behind them. "So, tell us what's going on."
"Yeah, what's got you so worked up?" Onion asked.
"Something must have happened at the shore, so tell us!" Pepper requested as well.
"There's no time!" Usopp insisted with impatience. "Just move aside, I have to get to the village!"
"You're not getting past until you fess up already." Light demanded.
Usopp, now slightly less worked up after having a few seconds to cool down decided that he really didn't have much of a choice left and it would be better for them to know, so he told them everything he heard from Klahadore and Jango back at the shore.
[WHAT!] Pepper, Onion, and Carrot yelled, their eyes widened in surprise. [PIRATES ARE GONNA ATTACK THE VILLAGE AND THEY'RE GONNA KILL KAYA!?]
Usopp nodded grimly. "Yeah, I heard the whole thing. That's what they said."
"And Klahadore is actually a Pirate named Captain Kuro?" Light asked a follow-up question.
Nami grimaced when she heard that name. "Who knew THE Captain Kuro was still alive? I heard about him. Captain Kuro. Also known by his nickname given to him by the Marines, 'Kuro of 1,000 Plans' was known for his devious schemes and ideas, the guy is no idiot. He's smart but he's also a natural killer. I read in the news that the Marines eventually caught him and executed him 3 years ago."
"Yeah, I read about that, too." Usopp added. "But Captain Kuro is alive and posing as Klahadore the Butler and he's had his diabolical sights set on Kaya's fortune for the last 3 years. First, they'll attack the village, and then they'll kill Kaya!" Usopp gripped both sides of his head anxiously. "It's is bad! It's really bad!"
"And that hypnotist is a part of this too?" Zoro asked.
"Yeah, he's going to hypnotize Kaya to write her will and make it say she'll leave all her money to Kuro, it's the key part of their plan." Usopp confirmed clenching his fists as he looked down.
"Then everything about him was a lie, his true nature, his words, even his name was a lie." Silk narrowed her eyes in disgust. "He went around accusing others of being a liar or a heartless Pirate who only cared about treasure when in truth, that's exactly what he is."
"So that makes him a hypocrite too, plus a psychopath considering he's willing to massacre a whole village of people he's know and lived with for 3 years without being fazed." Light glared, feeling the hate build up inside of him.
"This guy is hopelessly evil." Zoro muttered darkly.
Pepper, Onion, and Carrot were all huddled together as they discussed their plan.
"This proves it, Klaharore is a bad guy." Carrot summarized.
"Captain Usopp saw right through him." Pepper added.
"I bet he was on his way to the villagers so they'd have time to run away." Onion deduced.
"Well, that's perfect." Nami sounded relieved. "Those stupid Pirates won't hurt anyone because the town will be abandon by the time they get there."
"Yeah, that's right, we better run away too if we wanna live!" Carrot realized.
[Alright, let's pack up our treasure and run like the wind!] The three kids chorused together as they raised their fists and quickly darted off in the opposite direction.
"Where are they planning to run away to?" Silk sweatdropped a bit.
"Anyways, I told you everything so let me go!" Usopp got back to the main topic. "I've got to warn Kaya and the villagers before it's too late."
"Usopp, that's not going to do any good." Light shook his head.
"What do you mean it won't do any good!?" Usopp snapped. "I have to warn—"
"Would they believe you!?"
That simple and straightforward question immediately stopped Usopp, as though he now started to consider something very important that he had been missing until now.
Light continued. "Think about it, what if someone suddenly went up to you and told you that someone living in your village that you've known for years was actually a Pirate and planning a raid the next day? No matter how you say it, it just sounds too unbelievable to take seriously. Honestly, would you believe if you didn't just hear it?"
Light's argument was sound and entirely logical, because of that, Usopp couldn't say anything against it. The others agreed with him.
"He's right, it's not the kind of thing you can just accept at face value." Nami added in agreement. "Unless you have some kind of proof, I doubt anyone would believe you."
"No, even if I did have proof of any kind, they still wouldn't believe me." Usopp lamented, now having a defeated tone. "No matter what I say, they'll just think I'm lying?"
"Why's that?" Light questioned, noticing the change in his tone.
"Because all I do is lie." Usopp said after a few seconds of silence as Usopp tearfully tells them that no one in his village would believe him since he was a known liar who couldn't touch Klahadore's clean reputation. Apparently, Usopp had told lies about Pirates invading every day for the last several years.
"And why would you do that?" Silk asked.
"It started off as a way to help someone really close to me." Usopp told her softly, "But I kept telling it… And now… They didn't have any reason to believe me. Even I've heard of The Boy Who Cried Wolf."
"We all know that story." Nami muttered.
"Actually, I've never heard of that story." Light spoke out. "What does—"
"Boy—Says there's a wolf—Everyone comes—There is no wolf—Real wolf shows up—Boy says there's a wolf—No one comes—The boy gets eaten." Silk listed the key points.
"…Okay, that's basically what happened…" Nami rebuttals after a pause. "The point is, that's the problem with telling lies. Sooner or later, they're gonna come back to haunt you."
Usopp sighed as he knew they were right. "I know. There's no way that anybody is gonna believe what I had to say. Why should they?"
Zoro stepped forward. "Because what you were telling them was the honest truth!"
"They are coming." Nami said softly. "And they're gonna level this whole town."
"Yeah." Usopp said. "But what am I supposed to do? They'll think I'm lying if I try to warn them! Everyone in the village thinks tomorrow is gonna be another normal day."
"Good question, you can't warn the village but you also can't do nothing, so what can you do?" Light asked him.
Usopp gritted his teeth and stood tall, a new resolve burning in his eyes. "The only thing I can do! They think I'm lying and that's all they need to think! I'm gonna stop those Pirates at the beach tomorrow myself! This is all my fault for being such a liar!" He was shaking as he gripped his arm and said in a choked voice. "I don't care anymore if they don't believe me! I save Kaya and everyone else!"
That was when the others all realized that Usopp was crying. He was scared to death, but he was willing to put his life on the line to try and protect the people who meant everything to him.
"This is my village! It's my home!" He went on, trying to hold in the tears. "And I love everyone in it! I have to protect them!"
He said this part so quietly that they almost missed it.
And it was because of this that the four of them all smiled and looked ready to fight. Zoro gripped his swords tightly. "You're a hell of a good guy." He said grinning evilly at the idea of fighting. "Actually planning on going into battle alone."
"Okay, I'm in." Light decided as he looked to the others. "Everyone, get ready for a fight tomorrow."
"Roger, Captain." Silk responded gladly.
"Heh, sure thing." Zoro nodded completely onboard.
Nami sighed exasperatedly. "We're getting involved in another fight?"
"Would you prefer we abandon the villagers to their fate?" Light smiled, knowing what her answer would be.
"Of course not." Nami placed a hand on her hip. "I'm all for stopping a Pirate raid too, but just so you know, I have dibs on all the Pirate treasure you got it?"
"You can't call dibs if said treasure isn't already on hand." Silk casually argued with her statement. "Your dibs is denied."
"You can't make that decision!" Nami counterargued.
"Why not, she's right?" Zoro pointed out.
"True, she is." Light agreed.
"Shut up!" Nami snapped while they laughed a bit.
Usopp was crying as he stared at them as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You guys…?" He gasped, drying the tears. "You're gonna help me fight all these Pirates? I don't get it."
"Seeing how determined you were to fight made us want to fight too." Zoro explained softly as Light stepped forward.
"Besides, this village is the place my friend, Yassop called his home." Light reminded him. "I'd never forgive myself if I didn't protect when it was in danger."
"Plus, our Captain has a thing about fighting for the sake of the weak and defenseless." Silk informed him. "So the second he found out that innocent people were in danger of being killed, he was going to fight no matter what."
"You act like that's a bad thing." Light joked.
"Never said it was." Silk joked back.
"If anything, that's the reason we're all here." Zoro chimed in.
"Although, it causes a lot of trouble at the same time." Nami added.
Usopp had more tears in his eyes at their determination. He rubbed at his eyes as he said. "I don't know how to thank you… But we have to hurry! We still have time before the next morning! And we've got to set up some traps! They'll be here at daybreak!"
"Okay, so any ideas?" Light questioned.
"Yeah, a few. Follow me!" Usopp went off as the rest followed after.
—…
And that's the chapter.
First of all, I know that up until now I've covered every East Blue arc in just one chapter but I decided to stop doing that for the time being because I felt that doing that made the chapters too wordy and it made it look like I was rushing, so instead, I'm going to cover this arc in two chapters, this being the first and the second being the next one.
Other than that, you'll notice a few subtle changes I made. I decided to have the others stop Usopp from trying to warn the village in vain because it's more natural for Light to just step up and fight the coming threat instead. And, whether or not Klahadore knows that Usopp heard him wouldn't make a difference, he himself knows that. The fight itself will go differently as well.
Anyways thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, if you want more leave a review, if you like the story click the follow/favorite, and as always have an awesome day.