DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING, EXCEPT RAGNAR AND ALL VIKINGS IN THIS STORY! ONE PIECE BELONGS TO EICHIRO ODA, VIZ MANGA, TOEI ANIMATION AND FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT/CRUNCHYROLL LLC
Chapter 10: The Weirdest Guy Ever! Jango the Hypnotist!
After the little misunderstanding at the tavern with the three boys, the Straw Hats made their way towards the eastern coast of the island. There, they managed to find what they were looking for: a massive Viking settlement, complete with wooden log walls, and almost every building was made from wood! The settlement had a blacksmith, port, trade post, stable, fishery, bakery, tannery, and even farms and a barber. At the center atop an earthen mound, there stood a great longhouse made from redwood, one fit for a jarl or jarlskona.
"Halt!" A voice called out, and from the top of the hill came a fierce young woman clad in a mail shirt, with a spectacled helmet atop her head, riding a fine horse. At her side were equally armed warriors on horseback, carrying lances and shields. "Who are you, and what business have you in Ulfthorpe?" She asked. Ragnar then stepped forward to approach, having gotten a nod from Luffy to speak for the crew with Norsemen.
"Hej, Sigrun jarlskona," he declared, "I am Ragnar of the Lion Clan, son of Sigurd jarl of Fornburg, and quartermaster of the Straw Hat Pirates. We've come on behalf of a young man named Usopp, who mentioned you."
"Ragnar…yes. I heard of you, up north in Orange Town," she remarked, "You and your friends were the ones who defeated Buggy the Clown, if I hear correct." Then she beckoned them towards the longhouse, "Come inside, and I will hear your request."
"Guess Usopp made the right call about these Vikings," said Luffy, glad that they were finally getting somewhere.
"But what connection does he have with them?" Nami asked, strangely confused as to why a boy who would tell myths to a rich girl have connections with these northern warriors.
"Well, we're about to find out, aren't we?" Zoro replied, having a great deal of respect for these warriors. The four made their way inside the longhouse, which was decorated to the highest quality. All along the walls were the taxidermied heads of animals from prized hunts: moose, bears, wolves, lynxes, even that of a wild ox. All throughout the hall were a series of tables for feasting, with hearths interspersed between the spaces, both for light and for warmth. At the eastern end of the longhouse was a throne: the seat of the jarlskona. Sigrun, who'd by now dismounted her horse, made her way towards the throne, and sat down, her bodyguards standing beside and before her.
"Now, what is it you wish of my clan?" she asked Ragnar.
"Only the most modest of requests," he said, "You see, we are on a journey that will take us to the Grand Line, but unfortunately, our meager boats are not sturdy enough to carry us to that vast stretch of the whale-road. We therefore ask if you would be so kind as to grant us a ship which we could use, along with any crew you are able to spare."
"Noble Ragnar, your request is fair. Yet, sadly, the most respected man in Syrup Village, Klahadore, has requested that our longships only be used for trade purposes."
"So, who is this guy, this Klahadore?" Nami asked.
"The butler of a young girl named Kaya," Sigrun explained, "He has not revealed much of his past to us, but three years ago, he suddenly ended up in her father's service as one of the family's servants. What is known for certain, he has a deep hatred of Usopp."
"Wait, he does? But why?" Luffy asked.
"Usopp has been known to tell tall tales, but there is a specific reason behind it," she told Luffy, "Many years ago, when he was only a little boy, his father Yasopp left to join Red-Haired Shanks' pirate crew. Not long after that, his mother, Banchina, fell ill and was bedridden for weeks. Usopp did not want to see his mother suffer any longer, so he told her lies that his father would be returning to take them away. He believed that this would help her stay strong enough to recover, even though they both knew Yasopp would not return until his oath to Shanks was fulfilled…"
"But it didn't work out that way, did it?" Nami asked, unable to help but feel sorry for Usopp. Sigrun only shook her head with sorrow.
"Sadly, Banchina's illness only grew worse. The doctors were unable to do anything for her. With her dying breath, she asked that we take care of her son, and we honored her word. After she died, however, Usopp just continued to lie, even though he no longer had any reason to. He does it as a way to cope with the loss of both his parents. He's hurting inside. Klahadore, though, does not see it that way. He somehow has forbidden all visitors from entering the estate's grounds. A shame, really. We used to do good business trading with lady Kaya's father."
"So, this Klahadore guy closed all access to Kaya?" Luffy asked.
"Ja. He tries to present himself as the most respectable and honest man in the village, but he is hiding a dark secret," replied Sigrun, unable to help releasing a frustrated sigh, "No man just shows up out of the blue and suddenly becomes a butler with no training whatsoever. That must be why he has a tight grip on Kaya's estate. He does not want any secret shown to all prying eyes."
"Which means, we won't be able to get a ship from Kaya, either," Luffy surmised.
"And that means we'll have to camp out on this isle until an opportunity comes along," added Ragnar. He then turned to Sigrun with a bow, "Thank you for your aid, Sigrun jarlskona. We appreciate your honesty."
"Of course," she told the four of them, "Know, however, that should you require any aid, my drengir and I will come to your call, for Usopp's sake."
After returning from the Wolf Clan's settlement, the Straw Hats made their way back into the village. There, they learned from Carrot, Pepper, and Onion that Usopp had gone to see Kaya, only to be confronted by Klahadore, who berated him about his father. They learned that Usopp got so mad he punched the butler in the face, and swore never to return before storming off.
Zoro, Ragnar and Nami knew they couldn't do anything at the present moment, so they just leaned against a wooden fence, wondering where an ideal place to set up camp would be on this island, with Pepper and Carrot sitting close by.
"Hey, where'd Luffy go?" Nami asked, "Shouldn't he be here with us?"
"Who knows," said Zoro, "He probably ran after that archer."
"I could see that," added Ragnar, "Luffy probably is trying to cheer him up. Though, where could he be on this island?"
"I bet he's at his secret spot," said Pepper.
"Yeah! The one on the southern shore!" Carrot added, "He always goes there when he wants to think something over."
"Should we go see?" Pepper asked Zoro.
"Probably not, Luffy's fine," Zoro told the boy.
"Luffy can take care of himself," added Nami, "But where's your other friend?"
"Oh yeah! Onion!" Pepper realized, "Come to think of it, he just up and disappears a lot."
"Then he shows up outta nowhere, all freaked out," added Carrot. As if on cue, Onion came running towards the five of them, panicked and running as fast as his little legs could carry him.
"TERRIBLE NEWS GUYS!" He shouted, "Listen to me! Some nutjob is on his way here and he only walks backwards!"
"You liar," the two other boys told him.
"It's the truth!" Onion cried, pointing behind him, "There he is!" The five of them turned to see that man in blue with the heart-shaped sunglasses moonwalking backwards. He was a man of about 27, tall and slim, with sandy blonde hair like the fur of a camel. He only turned to the six of them, showing off his pharaonic beard growing on his chin.
"Now, which one of you has the nerve to call me weird?" He asked, "I'm just a normal guy."
"Is that so?" Nami asked, "You look insane."
"Don't be silly," he told her, "I'm just an ordinary run-of-the-mill hypnotist."
"A hypnotist?" Onion asked, "Really? Awesome!"
"Show us something!" Pepper exclaimed.
"Yeah, do something for us!" Carrot added.
"What!?" The man asked as he turned to the three little boys, "You fools. What makes you think I would want to reveal my masterful hypnosis technique to a bunch of roadside strangers?" Yet he still pulled out a hollowed circular tool attached to a string for the three boys, "Okay, you've convinced me. Watch the ring, closely."
"What a ham," Zoro muttered. He didn't want to see what kind of trick this failed comedian was pulling, even as the weirdo had the ring sway back and forth.
"So, by the count of Jango, you will fall into a deep sleep, are you ready?" he asked, then counted, "One…two…Jango!" In an instant, all four of them were asleep.
"Who is this freaky weirdo!?" Zoro asked, miffed that this nutjob would put himself to sleep as well.
"Just a charlatan," Ragnar muttered, "Fortunately, I think I know how to get them out of it from my travels with my father." He got up and then made his way over to the four of them. Once he was close enough, he simply snapped his fingers, and all four woke up.
Meanwhile, on the southern side of the island, Usopp sat beneath a tree, true to Pepper's word, looking out at the coast, deep in his thoughts.
"Hi!" Luffy told him, coming down from the tree, "What are you doing here?"
"I came here to be alone, but I guess that's not happening!" Usopp grumbled, "Did you follow me!? What do you want!?"
"Oh, y'know, nothing," Luffy told him, walking on his hands from the tree, before somersaulting to sitting up. "Your friends told us about what happened. Sigrun even told us about your mother. I'm sorry for your loss."
"I can't believe the nerve of that butler. Insulting my old man like that."
"Yeah, from what I heard, he sounds like an awful guy. No matter what anyone says, Yasopp is a great pirate."
"Yeah, really?" Usopp asked, his anger fading, "Ever since I was a kid, I looked up to my old man for putting his life on the line, out in the open ocean. He made a brave choice and I admire him for that! And then that stupid snotty butler stomped all over my pride! He's gonna pay for this."
"So, do you know if you're ever gonna see that girl again?" Luffy asked, indicating Kaya.
"No…what's the point?" Usopp asked, downtrodden, "As long as that butler is there, I can't set one foot on Kaya's estate."
"You mean that butler down there?" Luffy asked, pointing to the shore. Down below, Klahadore and the nutjob hypnotist were walking along the shore.
"Yeah…that…!" Usopp began, before his face turned to shock, "What in the world is he doing down here!?"
Klahadore turned to face the hypnotist with a sour mood on his face.
"Hey, Jango," he told the man, "I specifically gave orders to remain inconspicuous. That doesn't mean sleeping in the road. You were lucky that Viking managed to wake you up by sheer coincidence."
"Relax, man," said Jango, "I've perfected the skills of the chameleon. I blend in."
"There's someone down there with him," Luffy whispered as he and Usopp watched, "And boy is he weird."
"I've never seen him before," Usopp murmured, "Who is he?" They just kept listening in, watching as Klahadore pushed his glasses up with his palm again.
"So…have all the necessary preparations been made?" The butler asked with a dark tone.
"But of course," Jango replied, "We can start anytime…on the Rich Girl Murder Plan!" Usopp and Luffy were both horrified as they heard that. Those two were going to kill Kaya!
"Don't call it murder, Jango," Klahadore instructed, "I don't like the sound of such a gruesome term."
"Oh, right…the 'accident'. It's an accident, after all, that we planned," Jango chuckled.
"This isn't good!" Luffy whispered to Usopp, "Let's just keep listening in for more details."
"Good thinking," replied the son of Yasopp.
"We can't simply kill her," Klahadore told his subordinate, "It is crucial to our plan that Ms. Kaya dies in an unfortunate…accident. So don't screw this up!"
"So, basically, on your signal, the men and I storm the village and manage to accidentally kill the rich girl," Jango surmised, "Then you get her inheritance and we all get paid."
"You moron! Your ignorance is honestly astounding!" Klahadore shouted, "We're not related, so how could I inherit anything from her?"
"You'll work very hard to."
"No, Jango. I won't. Now listen carefully. This is the most important part: before she dies, you will have to use your hypnosis to make Ms. Kaya write her will, and it will say that she will leave her vast fortune to her faithful butler, Klahadore. Then, and only then, will I have undisputed control of her enormous fortune, and no one will suspect a thing. I have spent three long years gaining the trust of everyone around me, so it would be unsurprising for her to leave the entirety of her inheritance to me."
"Three years as a butler, huh? You sure had us scared back then…Captain Kuro." Jango revealed, shocking Usopp as he heard that name. "Three years ago, you said you were abandoning the life of a pirate. In no time at all, you set up someone to be your double. You let the world think that Captain Kuro was executed by the Marines by way of firing squad. Only now, do I understand that this was the beginning of this plan. You are the man of a thousand plans after all."
"Never call me that again," Kuro growled, "I abandoned that name years ago. I now wish to obtain my wealth without attracting the attention of the government. In short, I'm a pacifist now."
"Some pacifist you are!" Jango laughed, "Murdering an entire family doesn't exactly qualify as peaceful. If it's all the same to you, though, hurry up and give the order. The crew is getting bored. We've been waiting in the waters near here for over a week, and the men are getting more anxious by the minute."
'This is horrible! This is really horrible!' Usopp thought, fearing what would happen to Kaya if he didn't act.
"Sigrun said that she felt that butler was hiding something," Luffy growled in a whisper, "Looks like she was right."
"It's much worse than that!" Usopp whispered back, "Captain Kuro is known to be the most scheming pirate in the East Blue, and though he's known for his smarts, he's also infamous for his brutality! Last I heard, the Marines caught and executed him three years ago, but it sounds like the man they killed was a decoy! Captain Kuro is alive and well here on this very island, posing as Klahadore the butler! He's had his sight set on Kaya's fortune for the last three years!" Suddenly, Usopp saw it play out in his head, "First they'll attack the village! Then they'll kill Kaya! This is bad! This is seriously bad!"
"You're right about that," Luffy growled, remembering how Ragnar mentioned back in Shells Town that Captain Morgan was the one responsible for apprehending Kuro at the loss of his right hand...but now it seemed that was all a lie! Kuro wasn't just plotting to endanger Usopp's home village, but he was also responsible for creating the man that nearly killed Zoro and Coby! Now, this was personal! "We can't let anything happen to your home." Then he got to his feet and looked down at Kuro and Jango. "HEY! YOU TWO! YOU BETTER STAY AWAY FROM USOPP'S FRIEND!" He roared down at them. Usopp was only just shocked that Luffy just gave away their position.
"Who are you?" Jango asked looking up at the straw hat wearing boy.
"You idiot! They've spotted you!" Usopp whispered, trying to get Luffy to run, "Hurry up and hide before they decide you need a long, slow, death!"
"Well now, if it isn't Usopp, the mischievous town liar," Kuro hissed, noticing the son of Yasopp and glaring at him with an icy stare, "Did you two…hear anything?"
"Uh…no! Nothing at all! I don't know what you mean!" Usopp babbled, trying to cover himself and Luffy, "We didn't hear a peep! We just got here! So, we don't know anything about anything!"
"We heard everything," Luffy admitted with a glare. Kuro only looked to Jango and motioned with his head towards the two youths.
"Well, if you say so," the hypnotist muttered, drawing out his ring, "Pay attention, boys, and watch this ring closely!" He then began swinging the ring back and forth once more, and Luffy watched on, having no idea what was to happen. "By the count of Jango, you will fall into a deep sleep. Are you ready? One…two…JANGO!"
Usopp only turned around, fearing this ring was some kind of weapon, but after nothing happened, he looked to see Luffy and Jango were both asleep.
"Jango, you idiot!" Kuro yelled, "I see you're still falling asleep on the job!"
Luffy, however, only fell forward, ultimately plunging off the cliff in his sleep. Usopp looked down below, fearing the worst.
"He had to go and fall off a cliff, didn't he?" Jango asked, shaking his head as he woke up, "A pity, really. I didn't mean to kill him, but there's no way he would've survived."
"This can't be happening…!" Usopp muttered, "They killed him! He's really…dead!"
"What about the long-nosed one?" Jango asked his captain, "Shall I take care of him?"
"That won't be necessary," Kuro replied, "Everything he could say would only sound like the most outlandish lie. Jango, tomorrow, at dawn, the men are to attack the village. Rough up the villagers some, and raze a few homes for good measure, but above all else: ensure that Ms. Kaya's death looks accidental."
"Tomorrow…?" Usopp asked, horrified by what was to come.
"Just accept it, Usopp," Kuro smiled menacingly as he spoke, "There's nothing you could say to the villagers to warn them about this impending tragedy." Even as he finished, he saw Usopp run back inland, confident that there was nothing the boy could ever do to convince the villagers.
"Are you sure about that one?" Jango asked, "Didn't you tell me that there was a band of Vikings that settled on the eastern coast?"
"Yes, and you must make certain they don't catch wind of this whatsoever," said Kuro, "My plans are flawless." He then looked out to sea, noticing a vast galleon on the horizon, flying the jolly roger of a cat's head with crossed bones, chuckling menacingly. Tomorrow, this whole island would be his!
Usopp, though, knew he had to act! He knew that the villagers would never trust his word if he warned them about a pirate attack. They'd just dismiss it as one of his lies he told regularly. But the other Straw Hats, and the Wolf Clan! They knew him and even trusted him! He just had to warn them. Kaya's life depended on it!
A/N: Now things just got dark all of a sudden! Captain Kuro is still alive and well! But don't worry, the Straw Hats are still gonna handle this just like they always do as a crew.
Now perhaps I laydown some context about this new Viking clan we saw: the Wolf Clan. They are based off of a clan called the Ylfings or Wulfings. They appear in the sagas as well as in Beowulf as hailing from southern Sweden, in what is now Ostergotland.
