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 11: The Plot Discovered! The Straw Hats Prepare for War!

Zoro, Nami and Ragnar continued to wait around with the three little boys, hoping that Usopp was alright. It had been over an hour now, and this was definitely not normal.

"Our captain's been gone for quite a while now," said Carrot, concerned about this turn of events.

"Yeah, Luffy too," added Zoro.

"He probably just needs some time," Onion suggested.

"Whenever he gets really upset like this, he's definitely hanging out by the shore," said Pepper. Suddenly, he, Onion and Carrot all saw the same thing: Usopp was sprinting right towards all of them! "Wait, there he is!" Pepper exclaimed, he and his friends delighted to see their role model.

"Hold on, something's wrong," said Zoro, "I thought Luffy was supposed to be with him." The pirate hunter was right to be suspicious, as the look on Usopp's face was one of pure determination.

"You're right, Zoro," muttered Ragnar, "Something's definitely off. I can smell he's afraid."

"Hey Usopp, where's Luffy?" Nami asked, "Is he still at the shore?" Hearing her question, Usopp only stopped to catch his breath, thinking it was best that he let the Straw Hats know.

"Luffy…Luffy's dead," he uttered out, trying to hold back his heartache and rage, "That damned butler, Klahadore and some freaky hypnotist named Jango killed him. He fell off a cliff on the shore…" Everyone looked on in shock and disbelief at this news, all while Usopp just continued running due northeast. The Straw Hats...had just lost their captain?

"Luffy dead?! It cannot be!" Ragnar declared, he refused to believe that his captain would die so easily and due to such an accident, "Gods! I will tear that butler's flesh from his bones if it is true!"

"T-That's impossible. Luffy can't die just yet, not with his strength," said Nami, her voice trembling, and her bangs covering her eyes to hide the tears forming. 'He may be a pirate, but he's also my friend…he saved my life more than once. If what Usopp said was true… no! It can't be true! Luffy CAN'T be dead…can he?' These thoughts rang through Nami's head as she tried to process this information.

"Hey kids, why don't you show us a way to get down to that shore," said Zoro. He had no doubt that Luffy wouldn't die from something like that, given his Devil Fruit powers. That just had to be false.


Meanwhile, Usopp managed to make it all the way to Ulfthorpe, panting as he stood before Sigrun in the longhouse. Every single warrior present knew that by the desperation in his eyes, something as off.

"Terrible…news…Sigrun…" he panted, "Pirates…Pirates are coming! They'll slaughter everyone in the village!"

"What!? Is this true!?" Sigrun asked, "Usopp, tell us. What happened?"

"It…It is…Tomorrow morning, they'll attack the village! We need to stop them! I…I can't tell the villagers since they won't believe me…! I…I heard that butler, Klahadore…he said he's going to kill Kaya and everyone in the village!"

Sigrun slammed her fist against her throne's armrest. Even she knew that Usopp was telling the truth.

"I knew it! That traitorous snake was hiding something!" she growled, then took a deep breath and looked to her charge, "You made the right choice, coming to us first, Usopp. We will gladly help you defend this island." Usopp couldn't believe his luck! Someone at least believed in him! "I swore an oath to your dying mother that I'd look out for you as if you were my own son, and I would never be able to live with myself if I broke that oath. We will not let that bacraut Klahadore spill even a drop of your friend's blood. You have my word, my sword, and my drengir."


Elsewhere, on the southern coast of the island, Zoro, Nami and Ragnar followed the three boys to where Usopp ran from.

"This is the place," said Carrot.

"The captain always comes here to be alone and think," added Pepper.

"It does have a nice view," said Onion. The three kids all looked around for any signs of life.

"I don't see that Straw Hat guy here," said Pepper.

"No…but I can definitely smell him," said Ragnar, sniffing the air, "He's here, somewhere."

By the edge of the cliffs, Nami watched as a rock tumbled all the way down to a long drop.

"The rocks sure are loose here," she muttered.

"Nami, be careful," Zoro told her, and she only nodded towards him in response. Suddenly, she noticed a familiar sight: someone wearing denim breeches and sandals, and nearby, an unmistakably recognizable straw hat.

"Look! Down there!" She cried out, covering her mouth as she suspected the worst.

"Luffy?!" Zoro asked in disbelief.

"B-By the hand of Thor!" Ragnar shouted, "Quickly! We have to get down there!" Without haste, the six of them made their way down towards the spot where Luffy fell, still unresponsive.

"Luffy! H-How did this happen to him?!" Nami asked, desperately trying to process this.

"He fell and hit his head!" Carrot said.

However, Zoro and Ragnar both couldn't help but hear something.

"Wait a minute…" Zoro muttered, and soon everyone could hear it: Luffy was…snoring!? "Heh! Lazy bum!" The pirate hunter only pulled out his sheathed katana, and nudged Luffy with the butt end of the scabbard. Luffy only twitched. The boys only jumped back startled, but Nami and Ragnar both were astonished as their captain suddenly woke up with a yawn, and was sitting up, smiling at them, as if nothing had happened at all!

"Good morning, guys!" He exclaimed. Yet then he noticed Nami's toothy snarl on her face.

"Monkey D. Luffy…get your ass over here this instant…" she growled, her voice icy cold with rage.

"Y-Yes Ma'am!" He replied, startled and by all means intimidated by this side of her, and for good reason. He knew he had to face it like a man, as Shanks taught him. So, he only made his way towards his navigator, each step feeling heavier than the last. When he was finally close enough, Nami glared at him like a raging bull in a China shop, and beat the ever living daylights out of him until she was throttling him by the waistcoat he wore.

"WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH YOU, YOU ASS!? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS!?" She screamed at the top of her lungs, only to hug him tightly, doing all in her power to fight back the tears, "I…I thought you were dead, you idiot…you're the only pirate I ever truly like." She didn't even flinch when Luffy returned her embrace.

"Nami, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to make you worried," he told her, then he turned to Ragnar and Zoro, "But before anything else, what I'm about to say stays between Usopp and the four of us." Then he looked up at Ragnar, "Make sure those boys stay far away from here all day tomorrow, got it? We don't wanna get them in anymore trouble than this island already is."

"With my life, Captain," said Ragnar, understanding that the situation was dangerous, then he sniffed the air again. Klahadore and that hypnotist were here before! Usopp was right, something was wrong and Klahadore as involved! He only looked to the boys, "Children, you've been incredibly helpful to us today," he told them, "But you must return home."

"WHA!?" The boys asked.

"No, we're staying here!" Carrot declared.

"It's what Captain Usopp would want!" Pepper added.

"Yeah, anything the captain says, we'll follow it!" piped up Onion.

"And I'm certain that he'd be incredibly proud of how brave you are," Ragnar told them, "But you have to go back to your homes. If anything happened to you, what would your parents think? They'd be heartbroken to learn the fates of their sons. If Klahadore is really a dangerous man, then he will kill you, if he gets the chance. I'm sorry, but you must return to your homes. And do not leave until you hear anything further from us."

Despondently, the boys remained silent as they made their way back to the village and their homes. Yet still, Ragnar couldn't admire how brave and courageous they were. They reminded the Viking of himself when he was their age. Usopp had trained a fine band of paiges, and they would grow to become fine warriors. Seeing them run off, Ragnar returned to his captain as he explained the news…

After hearing the explanation, the other three Straw Hats were in shock.

"Are you serious!?" Nami asked, "Pirates really are going to attack the village and kill that girl!?"

"Yep, that's what they said," said Luffy, placing his straw hat back on his head, "No question about it."

"So, what made you think it'd be a good time for a nap?" Zoro asked

"That's the thing," Luffy replied with a smile, "I don't remember going to sleep or coming down here at all!"

"Then this proves it. Sigrun was right," Ragnar interjected, "That butler is little more than a niðingr. Given the direction he was running towards when we saw him, I'd say he was on his way to warn her about what happened."

"Well, that's perfect!" Nami exclaimed, "Those stupid pirates won't hurt anyone because Sigrun and her warriors will be there to stop them before they reach the village."

"And we'll be there fighting right alongside them!" Luffy declared with a smile, "We're gonna help Usopp protect his home!"


Elsewhere, in a cove off the coast, Captain Kuro made his way aboard his ship to address his men.

"After three long years of absence, I made the call for my men, and you came," he said, "Your loyalty will be richly rewarded! I intend on being more than generous when I divide the take. At dawn, tomorrow, destroy the village to your hearts' content!" And with those words, the pirates raised their cutlasses and cheered in anticipation. Nothing could dare stop them now!


Later that evening, as the sun set, a sad and dejected Usopp wandered the island, tending to his wound. What was he thinking? Trying to warn Kaya that her butler, her guardian, was plotting to kill her!? He couldn't help but feel ashamed of himself for being such a fool. At the very least, he hoped that Sigrun would pass on the message to the villagers in his stead, so that they would have either time to flee and run away, or rally a militia to stand and fight. As he wept in silence, he took one last look back at his village, but then he turned and saw Luffy with his companions, alive and well!?

"Y-You're alive!?" He asked in utter shock, rushing towards the youth who knew his father.

"Yeah, and I had a pretty good nap!" Luffy exclaimed.

"It turned out, he was asleep this whole time," explained Ragnar, "The boys are already safe. I told them to return to their homes for your sake. We know what is going to happen at dawn tomorrow."

"Thank you…" he replied, "I don't think I would have been able to convince those kids otherwise." He knew that aside from the Wolf Clan, these four, at least, trusted him.


As the sun set over the island, the Straw Hats brought Usopp with them back to the southern shore, where they made camp, with Nami treating the gunshot wound that he suffered earlier.

"I take it you guys met Sigrun, huh?" Usopp asked as he was all bandaged up, looking as they nodded to him, "Good. She promised us that she'd help defend this island. There was no way anyone in the village, even Kaya, was gonna believe what I had to say. Why should they?"

"Because what you were telling them was the honest truth," replied Zoro.

"Even when no one else would believe you, Usopp, we will," said Ragnar.

"Pirates are coming, and they're gonna level this whole village," added Nami.

"Yeah, but what am I supposed to do?" Usopp asked them, "The villagers will just think I'm lying if I try to warn them. Everyone in the village just thinks that tomorrow's just gonna be another normal day." He grit his teeth and then looked at his new friends with determination, "And that's all they'll need to think! I'm gonna stop those pirates tomorrow at the beach myself! This is all my fault for being such a liar. I don't care anymore, if they chase me away with brooms, or shoot me in the arm. This is my village! It's my home, and I love everyone in it! I have to protect them!"

"You're one heck of a good guy, sending your cronies away and going into battle alone," said Zoro, smiling at Usopp, who was now in tears at this point.

"Just so ya know, I got dibs on all the pirates' treasure, ya got that?" Nami asked.

"You are a man of honor, Usopp, and we will gladly fight by your side," Ragnar told him.

"So, you want a little more help, or what?" Luffy asked.

"You guys…you're gonna help me fight all these pirates?" Usopp asked, trying to wipe away his tears, "I don't get it, why?"

"Well, you did say there's a whole bunch of bad guys, right?" Luffy asked again.

"These aren't the kind of pirates that your father became," added Ragnar.

"Besides, you look scared out of your mind," Zoro told the archer.

"For your information, I have nerves of steel!" Usopp stated, "I'm perfectly okay with tons of bad guys! After all, you're looking at the legendary Captain Usopp: Brave Warrior of the High Seas!" Yet it was clear to the four of them, if there was one thing Usopp wasn't, it was physically brave, given by how he was shaking, and he knew they saw right through him. "Okay, fine! I'm scared! Why shouldn't I be!? They're Captain Kuro's men! These guys mean business! I don't need pity! If you guys are sticking around because you pity me, just leave! I don't need you laughing at me!"

"Whoever said we were laughing at you?" Ragnar asked.

"We're not laughing," Zoro added, "We're helping because you are honorable."

"You really think we'd risk our lives out of pity?" Luffy asked. Upon hearing those words, Usopp realized that even though he knew he couldn't warn the villagers, or Kaya for that matter, he would at the very least have help from the Wolf Clan and the Straw Hats. He had just the help he needed to stop Kuro and his hordes! It was time to prepare for war!


A/N: Thank goodness! Luffy was only still asleep. I know you all were probably worried that he was dead, but like in the main storyline, he managed to survive being hypnotized by Jango. And it seems that Usopp has finally got some help on his side. Why would they trust him despite his habit of lying, and why didn't Usopp warn the rest of Syrup Village? Well, like Zoro said, Usopp is an honorable man, and in this story - honor is a driving factor overall.

The Vikings held dear to the heroic ethic which demanded honor, loyalty and fidelity to one's friends; crossing this line was a huge cultural taboo, even if the accused wasn't guilty of such an act, anyone who was thought of doing so - like berserkers, were basically marked out as social outcasts. But now, it's time to see how the Straw Hats will handle the coming terror, for at dawn, in the next chapter, they face the Black Cat Pirates!