Chapter 11: Captain Usopp
East Blue — Syrup Village
Sailing up to one of the two shores of the Gecko Islands, I wasn’t surprised when I sensed four weak presences up on the cliff overlooking the shore while trying, and failing, to hide properly.
As we disembarked and made sure our boat was properly secured, we all stretched after spending weeks out at sea.
“Aaah, nothing feels better than setting foot on a new island after weeks out at sea~” I said with a big smile as I heard my back pop satisfyingly.
“Me too. We ran out of sake and wine days ago, so I’m glad there’s a village here. Where there’s people, there’s bound to be alcohol.” Zoro said with a relaxed smirk as he cracked his neck.
“We are also running low on food, so this would be the best opportunity to stock up.” Tiche said calmly.
“Luffy, are you sure it was wise to draw our Jolly Roger on the sail? What if the townspeople aren’t so welcoming toward us?” Nami asked as she walked up beside me and eyed our crossbones Jolly Roger with my iconic Straw Hat at the top.
Days ago, while bored out of my mind after finishing training Zoro and Nami, I had found some paint and a brush among our supplies and decided to officially draw our Jolly Roger on the sail.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Nami.” I replied with a small shrug.
Internally, however, I couldn't help but notice how Nami had referred to it as our Jolly Roger instead of your Jolly Roger.
Meaning that, unconsciously, she already considered herself part of the crew.
The thought made me ridiculously happy.
“This village looks pretty peaceful, and it’s not like we’re here to ransack it or anything. Even if someone does see us, we’re only four people, so we probably won’t be viewed as much of a threat.” I continued in a relaxed tone.
“You mean like those four up on the cliff?” Zoro asked calmly as he pointed forward.
Sure enough, the heads of three boys and one teenager could clearly be seen hiding behind a fallen tree.
“We can clearly see you up there!” he yelled, startling them.
“Waaaa...! We’ve been found!!”
The boys screamed in fear before immediately running away and leaving the teenager behind.
“Hey! You... Don’t run away!!” the teenager yelled in disbelief at his retreating companions only to be completely ignored.
The teen had tanned skin and wore brown overalls, brown boots, a bandanna over his head, and a pair of goggles.
The feature that stood out most, however, was his long nose.
We watched everything play out with deadpan expressions as the teenager sweated nervously before suddenly doing a complete one-eighty and acting brave all of a sudden.
Crossing his arms confidently and putting on a fearless expression, he stood up and announced himself.
“I am the Great Pirate Fleet Leader, Usopp, who is in charge of the security of this village!” Usopp declared loudly despite his slightly shaking knees.
“I am also known as ‘Captain’... Captain Usopp!”
“It’s best if you don’t try to attack this village because my 80 million men are not going to forgive you!” he finished boasting, yelling out such a ridiculous number that he practically admitted he was lying.
And he was immediately called out on his bullshit by a deadpan Nami.
“You’re lying, right?”
“Waa! I’ve been caught!” Usopp immediately admitted without shame as he grabbed his head in panic.
“See? You even said it yourself! Are you an idiot?” Nami continued her dismantling, causing Usopp to visibly cringe.
“Arghh!! Did I just say that?” Usopp shouted to himself in front of all of us, not helping his case whatsoever.
“Bad planning! Bad planning indeed!”
Unable to hold it in anymore, I broke out into peals of laughter as I clutched my stomach at how ridiculous he both sounded and looked.
This was definitely Usopp.
“Shishishi! You’re so funny!” I declared, barely stopping myself from falling over in amusement.
My laughter seemed to be contagious.
I saw Tiche’s lips twitch slightly, which for her practically counted as laughing.
Nami let out a small snort before quickly covering her mouth with her hand, and even Zoro grunted in amusement.
Apparently taking offense to that, all traces of fear vanished from Usopp’s face.
“Hey! Don’t underestimate me!” he declared while pointing at himself with a serious expression.
“I am a man with high self-esteem! And everyone calls me the ‘Honorable Usopp’!”
My laughter slowly faded.
Internally, I frowned slightly.
I knew all too well how Usopp’s insecurities and stubbornness had made him my least favorite member of the original crew before the timeskip.
‘I'll have to nip that in the bud early if I want to avoid a repeat of Water 7.’ I thought silently.
A calm smile appeared on my face as I looked at the long-nosed teenager.
“Usopp...” I muttered thoughtfully while rubbing my chin.
Nami and Zoro gave me curious looks as I suddenly snapped my fingers and pointed at him.
“I knew I’d heard your name before!”
I grinned.
“You wouldn’t happen to be Yasopp’s son, would you?”
Usopp froze.
His mouth slowly fell open.
“…Y-You know my dad?” he asked in shock.
“Yep.”
I nodded casually.
“He was a crew member of my role model and their ship was docked at my home island for a while. I got to know him pretty well.”
A teasing grin spread across my face.
“To be honest, he wouldn’t shut up about you.”
Usopp’s eyes immediately lit up.
The teenager actually looked embarrassed by the praise as he scratched the back of his head.
“Wait, so he was part of Shanks’ crew?” Nami asked in surprise.
“Yep.” I nodded.
“That’s great!” Usopp declared with a huge grin.
“Then let’s talk more about him while we eat in town. My treat!”
Seeing no reason to refuse, we all agreed.
As we made our way into town, I entertained Usopp by recounting stories about Yasopp.
Curiously, I didn’t receive a notification for meeting Usopp.
I thought it was a little strange but quickly forgot about it as we reached town and settled in to eat.
=====
A While Later
As we ate at the town’s restaurant, ironically called Meishi, which literally meant food or meal, we continued our conversation in a relaxed manner.
After finishing our discussion about Yasopp, we eventually told Usopp why we had come to the island, and he immediately perked up at the mention of a ship.
“So you’re looking for companions and a proper ship then?” Usopp asked, excitement visible on his face after learning that we were a brand-new pirate crew in search of adventure and treasure.
“Yep!” I nodded with a smile as I shoved a piece of food into my mouth, bone and all, before spitting the bone out a second later.
Smack!
Nami immediately slapped my shoulder.
She was sitting right next to me.
“Don’t do that! It’s disgusting!” Nami reprimanded me with a glare.
I offered her an apologetic grin and continued at a slower pace while chewing my food this time, ignoring the awful lack of taste.
‘Hah, good thing the Baratie is our next destination. I’m definitely looking forward to getting rid of this annoying curse that doesn’t let me taste anything.’ I thought with silent relief.
“That sounds like a big adventure.” Usopp continued eagerly before striking a cool pose.
“As for what you’re looking for, there’s only one place in this village where you can find it.”
He paused dramatically.
“Although it’s not a very big ship, it’s not exactly small either.”
“Meh, at this point I’d be satisfied with anything bigger than our current boat.” I replied with a shrug.
“Do you think they would sell it to us?”
“Where is it?” Nami asked, sounding just as interested.
“There’s a mansion not far from the village that belongs to a wealthy family.” Usopp explained.
“The ship belongs to the owner of that mansion.”
He then adopted a thoughtful expression.
“As for whether they’d actually sell it to you guys, I can’t really say. You’d have to ask them yourselves.”
Zoro and Tiche remained content to listen while eating and drinking quietly.
“Although the owner is a pretty pitiful girl.” Usopp continued, his tone becoming more subdued and drawing our attention.
“She’s weak, sick, and spends most of her time confined to bed.”
Usopp then went on to explain Kaya’s condition, her parents' deaths, and how she had been left all alone.
After hearing the story, Nami looked reluctant to bother her.
Seeing that, I gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
She turned toward me.
I simply smiled.
“Did you forget that I can heal people?” I asked with an amused raised eyebrow.
Nami blinked.
Then her eyes widened in realization and all of her reluctance instantly disappeared.
“I can’t believe I forgot about that!” Nami exclaimed before smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand.
“I can take a look at her, and while we’re there, I can ask if she’d be willing to sell us her ship. A win-win if you ask me.” I said with a nod.
While I was talking to Nami, Usopp was looking at us in confusion, not quite understanding what we meant.
Then his eyes widened as he focused on something I had said.
“Wait! You’re a doctor or something, Luffy!?” Usopp asked in surprise.
He looked me up and down, glancing at my red cardigan, black shorts, and sandals with an unconvinced expression.
“Or something.” I replied with a nod.
Internally, I giggled a little as Usopp deadpanned.
“Anyway, do you mind either leading the way or introducing us, Usopp?”
Usopp seemed to dismiss my claims before puffing out his chest confidently.
“Yosh! Leave it to Captain Usopp!” he declared proudly.
“I happen to know the owner really well, you could say. We’re practically best friends at this point.”
“Alright, then it looks like we have a plan.” I said with a nod.
With that settled, we went back to enjoying our meal and relaxing after spending so long at sea.
“Oh yeah, earlier you said you were looking for companions?” Usopp asked, changing the subject.
“Yes...” Nami answered before I could, raising an eyebrow at the teen.
She had probably already figured out where this was going.
Judging by her expression, she wasn't impressed.
Apparently, Usopp hadn't made much of an impression on her with all his lying and boasting.
Not that I could blame her.
“Then let me be the captain, and I’ll join you!” Usopp declared confidently while pointing at himself with a huge grin.
Wham!
That grin instantly vanished as Nami mercilessly smacked him upside the head.
“As if!” Nami shouted, sporting her infamous shark teeth and a terrifying expression.
Usopp immediately shrank back into his seat while clutching his head.
“Forget it.” Zoro said uninterestedly before returning to his drink.
“Over my dead body.” Tiche added more quietly.
For just a moment, a hint of murderous intent leaked from her before she reined it back in.
As for me, I simply shook my head.
“Sorry, Usopp. If you want to join, it’ll have to be as a sniper or something else. I’m the Captain.”
“At least think about it!” Usopp protested, refusing to give up.
We promptly ignored him.
‘Yeah, I’m not even going to entertain that little delusion.’ I thought silently. ‘It’ll only cause problems later.’
Once we finished our meal, Usopp led the way toward the mansion.
The rest of us followed behind him.
Partly because we wanted to meet Kaya.
And partly because I was curious whether I would run into Captain Kuro while we were there.
After all, he was the second reason we had come to Syrup Village.
Well, him and the bounty on his head.
=====
Minutes Later
After leaving the restaurant, we ran into those kids again, the friends of Usopp.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t pull the gag of me and Zoro pretending to eat Usopp like a pair of cannibals to scare them since Usopp was standing right next to us.
After Usopp reassured them that we weren’t bad people, they decided to accompany us part of the way to the mansion while bombarding us with questions about what being a real pirate was like.
We entertained them for a while before Nami suddenly brought up a good point.
“Hey guys, if the girl is really that sick, wouldn’t we overwhelm her if all of us showed up at once?” Nami asked as she looked at our group.
With Usopp and the kids included, there were eight of us.
“Hmm.”
I thought about it for a moment before turning to Zoro.
“Hey Zoro, do you mind waiting here while me, Nami, and Tiche handle this?”
My first mate shrugged carelessly.
“Sure. I don’t mind.”
Without another word, Zoro walked over to a nearby tree and unceremoniously dropped down beneath it, crossing his arms behind his head.
“You guys should wait too.” Usopp said while turning to his younger companions.
The children nodded without any complaints.
“Sure, Captain!”
“I’m hungry anyway.”
“We’ll talk to you later!”
Watching them leave, we continued toward the mansion with our group now reduced by half.
Before long, we arrived in front of a large mansion surrounded by a gated fence.
Thankfully, nobody seemed to be guarding it.
Usopp led us toward the main entrance while looking a little nervous.
“Hmm, judging by your expression, I’m guessing you’re not exactly popular around here, are you?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
Usopp winced, practically admitting I was right.
“W-What are you talking about!? Captain Usopp is beloved worldwide!” he boasted nervously, which none of us believed.
“…Right. I think it would be best if you let us do the talking then if your reputation is really that bad.” Nami deadpanned while Tiche nodded in agreement.
“Have some faith in me!” Usopp exclaimed, looking offended.
I didn’t join the conversation as my attention had shifted elsewhere.
Approaching from the mansion was an elderly man dressed like a butler. What immediately caught my attention, however, were what looked like goat horns sticking out from the top of his head.
“Hey guys,” I interrupted Nami and Usopp’s squabbling. “Some weird guy with goat horns is coming this way.”
“Weird guy with goat horns?” Nami repeated incredulously before following my gaze.
A moment later she blinked in surprise. “…Huh. It really is some weird guy with horns.”
“Oh, that’s Merry,” Usopp explained, sounding relieved. “Kaya’s butler and the caretaker of this mansion.”
We waited patiently as Merry made his way over to us. He shot Usopp a distinctly unamused look but thankfully didn’t seem openly hostile. Instead, he soon turned his attention toward the rest of us with a curious expression.
“What brings you and your friends here, Usopp-san?” Merry asked with a small frown. “You know you’re not welcome here. Miss Kaya has enough troubles without you bothering her.”
Usopp visibly winced while the rest of us looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“I-I’m here for a good reason this time!” Usopp exclaimed before dramatically pointing at us. “My friends here just arrived on the island and are looking to buy a ship. I’m actually doing you a favor by bringing you customers with deep pockets.”
Unable to help himself, he exaggerated a little, causing Nami and Tiche’s opinion of him to somehow drop even lower.
“Oh?” Merry blinked before taking a proper look at us. His eyes lingered briefly on my straw hat and sandals, clearly judging me a little, though thankfully he kept those thoughts to himself and didn’t comment.
“Yo, the name’s Monkey D. Luffy. Money’s really no problem.” I reassured him calmly, letting my charisma do its thing and watching as he unconsciously relaxed at my cheerful demeanor.
“And did I mention that I also happen to be something of a doctor?” I added with a teasing grin.
In just a few seconds, Merry’s expression shifted from cautious and skeptical to curious and interested.
Charisma OP, please don’t nerf.