20 Enter the King of Snipers: Usopp 2...

Chapter 14.5 - Enter the King of Snipers: Usopp 2...

They watched as the golden sun slowly rose up and above the ocean, spread a brilliant array of colors across the sea, turning everything into reds and yellows, causing the ocean to sparkle. It was hard to believe that a battle was going to begin with such a gorgeous sunrise… but strange enough… no one came.

They all waited for a long time, but they couldn't even see a trace of a ship or crew from anywhere.

"What's going on?" Franky demanded, shielding his eyes as he looked left to right at the water. "I don't see anyone! Think they all chickened out or something?"

"No, they didn't chicken out," Nami sighed as she shot Usopp an annoyed look.

"Look how was I supposed to know?" Usopp demanded as Luffy began to whine.

"Where are they?" he asked in a bored voice, "I thought we were gonna fight! The sun's up, what's the deal?"

"That's what I want to know," Brook said anxiously, "I don't know, I've got a bad feeling about this. It's giving me goosebumps on my skin. Not that I have skin for goosebumps, Yohohoho."

Zoro shrugged. "Maybe they overslept?"

"Oh, come on moss head," Sanji smirked. "Just because you're dumb enough to do something like that doesn't mean the rest of the world is."

"What'd you say Nosebleed?" Zoro snarled.

"No," past Usopp said determined, arms folded as he put an end to the arguement, "They're gonna show up alright… and lots of them."

They continued to wait, but still nothing… finally, memory Nami suddenly heard something, her hands behind her ears she said that she could hear something… battle cries to the north, that was when Usopp remembered the shore identical to this one that way.

"Only we could get something like this wrong," Nami sighed as she watched them panic.

"If it wasn't so serious, I'd think that'd be funny as hell," Franky smirked.

"We're at the wrong shore?" Luffy cried out, "That's not good!"

"Well, this was where they had their secret meeting so I just assumed ok?" Usopp yelled back.

"I guess you should've kept both pathways guarded and set up with oil just to have been on the safe side," Robin said to them.

"Thinking back, that would probably have been the best course of action," Nami agreed, glaring at Usopp.

"How was I supposed to know?" he demanded again.

"We need to hurry!" Luffy cried out, "Before they make it to the village! Where is it?"

"You have to head directly north from here!" Usopp said quickly, "If you run you can make it in three minutes! The terrain there is almost exactly the same so all we have to do is stop them at the slope!"

"I wish I went with him," Usopp whispered, thinking back to how he had been the first one there, and how he'd been stuck fighting alone until they showed up.

"Don't worry," Luffy said, "We're gonna stop them!"

"OH NO!" past Nami screamed in panic.

"What is it?" Chopper asked her worriedly.

"IF THOSE FILTHY PIRATES ARE AT THE NORTH SHORE THAN THEY'VE ALREADY SEEN OUR BOATS! THEY'RE TAKE OUR TREASURE!" she screamed.

"You're thinking about that?" Brook asked in amazement. "The entire village was about to be attacked, and all that you were thinking about was treasure?"

"You have no idea what I had to go through to get that stuff!" Nami yelled at him. "I needed that treasure!"

"I'll be there in twenty seconds!" Luffy declared and went running off as Usopp began to moan about how the oil plan was useless.

"Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this?" Sanji sighed as they gave chase as well. Luffy was chanting to himself the whole time, "Run straight north, run straight north."

"Luffy, you idiot!" Usopp yelled, "You're going east!"

"His sense of direction is almost as messed up as Zoro's," Nami sighed as they continued to run.

"So that's how I got to be the first one there," Usopp said as he watched Luffy run around in a panic, getting turned around and end up running to the village instead.

"The village?" he gasped, "That can't be right? He said run north and I ran in the coldest direction so I should be at the shore!"

"You idiot!" Nami groaned, slapping her forehead. "How could he think that?"

"Yeah, he's supposed to keep going up," Zoro said, knowing that north always meant up.

"NORTH AND UP AREN'T THE SAME THING DUMBASS!" Nami yelled again as Luffy turned and began running. While trying to find them, finally they heard the sounds of battle cries and screams and he followed that. That was when he ran into Zoro who was covered in oil, and looked ready to kill.

"Hey, Zoro," he gasped, "You hear them?"

"Yeah," Zoro gasped back, "And if you're still alive Nami I'm gonna kill you for this!"

"What'd she do?" Luffy asked.

"She pulled me down into the oil and left me down there!" he yelled, "I'm gonna get her for this!"

"What happened?" Robin asked, though she had a very good idea to how it happened.

A nasty look came over his face as he glared back at Nami. "Nami here tripped in the oil slick and pulled me down," he snarled as she gave him an innocent look.

"I told you before that was an accident!" she tried to tell him.

"You slipped and dragged me down so that you could get me out!" he yelled at her.

"A worthy sacrifice," Sanji said without hesitation.

"You shut up before I cut you!" he yelled at him. Finally, they burst through to the shore and saw the mob of Black Cat Pirates running towards them. In a way to vent their anger, Luffy and Zoro went to town, sending pirates flying everywhere.

"Wow, these guys are no match," Chopper gasped eagerly.

"Did you expect any other way for it to turn out?" Zoro smirked as he watched his past self kick their asses back down the slope, and finding past Usopp and Nami there on the ground, staring at them, with Usopp looking pretty beat up.

Chopper screamed, noticing the blood dripping down his face, "Usopp what happened to you?"

"I got beat up," he admitted shamefully, and after seeing how easily that these two dealt with them made him feel worse.

"But I bet you could take them all down by yourself now," Robin pointed out and Usopp looked up, cheering up a little at that thought.

"What is this Captain Jango?" one Black Cat pirate gasped out.

"Nobody one told us that killers like those were gonna be here!" another screamed.

"They couldn't have picked a worse day to attack," Sanji said with a grin. "If they had just attacked one day sooner, then the plan might've worked."

"Yeah," Usopp said softly silently grateful that the three had decided to come to his village for supplies.

"It's about time!" past Nami yelled at them.

"You think you'd be a little more grateful that we came at all," Zoro snarled at her and she looked embarrassed a little.

"I'm sorry," she said, though she didn't sound sorry at all.

"Is that the best those pirates can dish out?" past Zoro asked.

"Yeah, I was hoping for a challenge," Luffy gasped for breath.

"And you!" memory Zoro yelled at memory Nami, looking truly ticked off at, "After leaving me down there you're lucky I'm not kicking your butt too!"

"How dare you yell at Nami, Moss Head!" Sanji roared at him.

"She deserved it!" Zoro yelled back at him.

"Usopp you big bone-head!" Luffy suddenly yelled, "You never told me direction way was north!"

"How is that my fault?" present Usopp yelled as his past self stared in wonder. Staring from them to the beaten pirates and back.

"Could you have been slower?" past Nami demanded, glaring at them, "What took you so long?!"

"Again, whose fault is that?" present-day Zoro demanded of her.

"You got out didn't you?" she demanded back.

Past Zoro looked furious too as he suddenly yelled, "You're the one who pushed me down that oil slick so you could get out!"

"It was an accident!" past Nami yelled, "I slipped, you fell! At least one of us made it out of there, that's better than both of us being stuck at the bottom."

'Doesn't sound like an accident to me,' Chopper thought to himself.

"It should've just been you!" past Zoro yelled.

"Again, I'm gonna kill you for how you're treating Nami-swan," Sanji hissed at him.

"Oh, shut up!" Zoro snapped.

"Run straight north he says," Luffy complained. "That's just great! I mean, how am I supposed to know which way north even is out here, huh?"

"He's hopeless anyway," Nami sighed.

"Shut up!" memory Usopp yelled back, "You're the one who ran away feeling so sure of yourself, ready to take on anyone."

"Well, I just got so excited I just started running you know?" Luffy said lightly.

"And how is that my fault that he got lost?" Usopp asked the rest of them who shrugged. "How was I supposed to know that he can't tell north from south?"

While they had been arguing, the Black Cat Pirates were all around Jango who had his ring out and was once again swinging it back and forth.

"What's that freak doing now?" Franky asked.

"Here," Jango said in a slow and deep voice… "Stare deeply into this ring… now I'll count one, two, Jango and you will all begin to grow stronger. The wounds will heal and you will grow stronger still!"

"So what is he doing?" Luffy asked, finally noticing it, "Look weird."

"It looks like hypnosis," past Nami said skeptically, "He's trying to convince them they're stronger than they are. Like that'll work."

"Boy was I wrong," Nami sighed.

"How does it work anyway?" Brook asked.

"To put it simply, he's planting suggestions in a person's mind," Robin answered him, "He's trying to trick you into believing what he wants. When he tells a person that they are feeling tired, their mind hears that and it's almost like he's trying to will them to sleep… when he's telling them that they're stronger than they usually are, he's hoping that their minds will be tricked into thinking that as well. It doesn't work on everyone…"

"And Luffy's staring at it," Sanji said worriedly as he watched Luffy staring at the swinging ring.

"Stronger… and stronger… STRONGER!" Jango cried out. "One… Two… Jango!"

And as soon as he said that last word, the crew roared—their eyes were milky white and they were back on their feet—their battle with Luffy and Zoro already forgotten as they ignored their wounds. Their muscles seemed to grow and one of the pirates punched the side of the cliff with such force that it cracked and collapsed.

As their memory selves started to panic and wonder what to do, the Black Cats looked ready to charge. Luffy didn't say anything as Jango commanded them to go and destroy everything in their way. Past Zoro told Nami and Usopp to move while they took over… but when he asked Luffy what they should do… Luffy roared, his eyes were as white as the other pirates.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sanji yelled, "That idiot!"

"Actually it wasn't all that bad," Usopp smirked at the memory, "He took care of all of them and saved us the trouble."

"Don't tell me you let that freak hypnotize you too?" past Zoro screamed in annoyance.

Rather than answer, Luffy ran ahead, looking ready to fight. Past Usopp was having trouble walking and was forced to hang on Nami's shoulder as she cried out, "He really is a simple-minded idiot!"

"Great minds think alike," Nami smirked at that as she watched her Captain continue to charge, roaring like a wild animal the whole time.

"GUM GUM GATLING!" Luffy screamed out, and like that, he took them all out—not having a clue to what hit them. They were lying bruised and bleeding at the bottom of the slow with Luffy growled like a beast. The Straw Hats couldn't blame the Black Cats one bit for looking up at him in terror… and they sure didn't blame them when they turned and ran when Luffy charged at them again.

They thought for sure that he was going to attack them all again, but instead he outran them all and headed for Jango. Thinking he was about to be attacked as well, Jango cowered in fear, but again Luffy surprised them all by running right by them and straight to the ship.

"What's he gonna do?" Franky gasped just as Luffy grabbed hold of the bow of the ship

"He isn't…?" Chopper cried.

"I think he is!" Robin answered as she watched him heave against the heavy bow. Groaning furiously, forcing his muscles to pump out, Luffy pulled and they could hear the whole ship creaking and cracking.

"He's gonna destroy a perfectly good ship!" Franky cried, amazed and horrified at the same time.

Memory Nami was cheering him on the whole way… "That's right! Tear it down!" she screamed out just as with one last heave, he broke off the entire bow.

"AMAZING!" Brook cried out, "My eyes are gonna pop right out at the sight of it! Not that I have eyes at all!"

Breathing hard, Luffy looked back to the Black Cats with an evil look in his blank eyes. At once everyone knew what was gonna happen and the Black Cats were all crying in terror.

"He's gonna crush them all!" Chopper cried out horrified.

"Relax," Zoro said, "No one dies… at least not by Luffy's hands."

"He's gonna crush us with it!" one of the pirates screamed, "Everybody run!"

And like that, they ran away, back up the hill as Luffy marched forward with the bow, shaking the ground with every step. The crew was begging Jango to do something as he came closer… the vice-Captain was staring around desperately before he remembered the ring and pulled it out to order Luffy to fall asleep once he counted to Jango.

"One… Two… Jango!" he screamed out desperately. At that one last word, darkness fell, ending the memory so that they were back in the forest… the last thing they heard was an enormous crashing sound and the screams of the Black Cat crew.

"What happened?" Chopper gasped, staring around, as if hoping that someone could explain.

"That idiot fell asleep and dropped the bow," Zoro explained in a bored tone, "Which landed on top of the entire crew."

"But no one was fatally killed," Nami added at some of the crew's shocked expressions. "Everyone was so freaked out that I think they would've run for the hills if Kuro didn't show up."

"Wait, Kuro showed up?" Franky asked, still recovering from what he just saw.

"Yeah," Usopp said, "Zoro was forced to fight two other members of the Black Cats who stole two of his swords and…"

Zoro stood on Usopp's foot. "Shut up."

"Wait, you mean Moss Head had his swords stolen by some freaks like them?" Sanji laughed.

"It was funny now that I think about it," Nami added as Zoro shot her another annoyed look. "I think they were called the Nyaban Brothers or something like that. They pretended to be cowards and Zoro believed that it would be an easy fight but it turned out to be a hoax, and he ends up having two of his swords stolen."

"That was when Kuro showed up," Usopp went on, "and those two brothers tried to attack him."

"They attacked their former Captain?" Brook asked softly.

"Well, he was insulting them," Zoro added, "Calling them weak and they went after him for saying that."

"But he didn't grow weak at all," Nami sighed, "He got behind them and threatened to kill them both. But he gave them five minutes to kill all of us or he'd kill them."

"Not actually a close-knit group huh?" Franky asked with a deadpan expression.

"Crewmates shouldn't treat each other like that though!" Brook called.

"I'm afraid that there are a lot of crews just like that," Robin answered grimly, knowing that all too well.

"And Luffy slept through all this?" Sanji asked exasperatedly.

"Yep," Zoro muttered, jerking his thumb at Nami, "Until she went and stepped on his face."

Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth did everything came back at once; they were still on the shore of the cliff just like in the last memory. Only this time, Luffy was lying crushed underneath the bow with Nami stepping on his face. But what she didn't realize was that the same ring that Jango used to hypnotize people was flying towards her, the blade glinting dangerous in the light.

"NAMI!" Sanji screamed, dropping his cigarette as he ran forward to intercept the attack.

"Hey, stop that!" Luffy grumbled, from under Nami's foot. But Nami didn't notice it as she stared back at the ring, unable to turn away.

Just then, Luffy grabbed hold of Nami's ankle and got up, causing her to trip. "NAMI!" he yelled, "YOU CANNOT JUST GO AROUND STEPPING ON PEOPLE'S FAC…" but he didn't finish that sentence for the blade missed Nami and went right into Luffy's face.

"That's either best timing, or the worst in the world, I can't tell," Sanji whispered as he watched Nami fall and Luffy's body get forced back.

"It didn't really hit him did he?" Chopper asked fearfully, that ring looked sharp enough to have done a lot of damage. And Luffy's weakness was against sharp objects…?

"Eh, Luffy?" past Nami whispered from the ground, holding onto her shoulder as she watched. But when Luffy stood upright they could see that he had caught the ring by his teeth, and by biting down on it, he shattered it.

"LUFFY!" Nami cried happily, but the side of Luffy's mouth was cut and he let out a loud scream of pain when he touched it.

"Big baby," Sanji said shaking his head. "He has no problem getting beaten to within an inch of his life, but a little cut and he's crying."

Robin shrugged, "Just another mystery I suppose."

But the Black Cat Pirates were all staring at him in fear, and they all knew that they could only be terrified at the thought of being forced to deal with him again. At the moment, Luffy's attention was focused only on Nami. "Hey, that hurt you jerk! Why'd you do that?" somehow convinced that she was responsible for throwing that ring.

Looking ticked off she screamed back, "Hey, sleeping beauty that wasn't me!" But then her eyes suddenly glazed over, "It wasn't… me…"

And then she fell back onto the sand, holding onto her right shoulder—that they suddenly realized was bleeding.

"AHHHHHH!" Sanji screamed out in horror. "Oh NO! NAMI WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?"

"That stupid hypnotist got me," present-day Nami sighed and Sanji looked ready to kill.

"How dare he?" he growled furiously, suddenly burning hot, "THAT SHITTY BASTARD! HOW DARE HE? I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" he then ran forward to kick that bastard into next week, but he only roared in outrage when his leg went right through him. Screaming in fury, he screamed profanities at the sky, causing some members to cautiously back away from him in fear.

Luffy's anger faded almost at once when he saw the wound. "Are you ok? Nami?" he asked worriedly, "Did you get hurt? Let me see it."

"It's nothing," she said, shaking her head, but blood was soaking her sleeve, "I'm fine." She let him know that she did everything she could, and asked Luffy to fight for her treasure, which Luffy sighed, as if being told to take out the garbage.

"You sure spoiled the good mood," Franky muttered watching Luffy pick up his hat. "You never change, sis."

"Well, the treasure was my greatest priority at the time," she said firmly as Luffy put the hat back up and told her he'd do it… but he sounded like a child forced to do his chores to keep his mother happy.

Meanwhile, Zoro was facing a overweight man who wears an outfit that made him look like a black and white cat—and he even had a ridiculously large bell around his neck, Jango was still at the bottom of the slope and was staring at the broken ring that now laid on the ground, and Usopp was lying near the top of the hill nursing his injuries.

But everyone's attention was focused on Kuro the butler who was standing up on the hill, overlooking the scene with the strange weapons on his hands. They looked like fury gloves with full-length katana blades at the end of each finger.

"One minute, and counting," Kuro said, in a bored tone.

"He's kidding right?" Franky asked, "Does he honestly think that these losers could beat you buys in one minute?"

The pirates apparently thought the same thing as they cowered away from Luffy, as if thinking that he would kill any of them if he got too close.

"I'm coming for you Straw Hat!" Jango called as the fat cat fought with Zoro.

"You've got to be kidding me?" Chopper said and the whole crew sweatdropped.

"Is this really the best that the East Blue had to offer?" Franky muttered.

"Well, the East Blue is known as the weakest for a reason," Robin offered. But it was too late—their time was up. Kuro declared that their five minutes were done and he held up his claws, ready to kill everyone on the slope… what he didn't notice was that there was someone running towards them.

"Hey, isn't that Kaya?" Chopper cried in panic just as Kuro's eyes widen angrily.

"Don't ever sneak up on me!" Kuro yelled, stretching his fingers and making his weapons clink together, "Unless you want to die!"

"He's gonna kill her!" Brook screamed, looking read to run forward with Sanji but Zoro held them both back.

"Relax," he said, "Usopp handles it…"

As soon as past Usopp realized the danger, he jumped up and went running in. The Straw Hats all stared as Usopp managed to tackle her to the ground before Kuro could slash her.

"Nice save Usopp!" Chopper cheered, "Go! Go! Go!"

"Damn, why can't you be this brave when you fight with us?" Franky asked in a teasing voice. Sanji calmed down as Usopp and Franky began arguing. His respect for Usopp just went up… anyone who would risk their lives for a woman deserved that from him.

"No, Usopp," Kaya gasped as he now laid there. "Are you ok?"

"Were you hurt?" Brook called worriedly as Chopper went running up the hill to get a better look at him.

"No, he missed," Usopp said, thinking of those wounds, "But I got hurt before and it wasn't easy to move around after a beating like that."

"Kaya what are you doing here?" past Usopp croaked out, looking up at her.

"Oh, Usopp, I'm so sorry," she said mournfully, and she truly did sound like it, "I don't know how you'll ever forgive me. I just couldn't believe it. That Klahadore is a scheming, murdering pirate!"

"How did she find out? I thought she didn't believe you?" Robin said to him.

"Last night, Kuro attacked another servant but he survived and told her what happened," Usopp explained as he thought back to what Kaya told him.

"That was dumb," Zoro said rolling his eye, "At least wait until the attack before doing something like that in case he did live."

"Never mind that," memory Usopp gasped and Kaya's eyes welled up with tears. "Why are you here?" he went on, "Kaya, your life is in danger! I told you to run somewhere safe!"

"I have to respect you here, Usopp-san," Brook said softly, "You were willing to die to protect that girl."

"If I didn't do it who would?" Usopp asked, "What I don't get is why? Why would she come here? If she knew what was going on, why?"

"She may look fragile, but I guess she's stronger than she looks," Robin smiled softly.

"It's like they say, it's not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, but the size of the fight in the dog," Franky grinned.

"I won't! You're still here fighting! I won't run!" Kaya screamed out, and tearfully she said next, "You… fought for me after I treated you so badly! Look at you you're barely alive but you're still so brave. I just…"

"That's so sweet," Brook said tearfully.

Sanji was suddenly frowning. How'd that idiot get such a hot girl crying over him like that? Just what was Kaya about to finish saying?

Kuro suddenly spoke up. "This is no place for a lady. Madam, please leave."

"How dare he?" Sanji snarled, flames licking his legs again at the thought. That bastard had lived with that girl for three years and betrayed! He'd been plotting to get her killed probably since the day they met and he suddenly had the gall to use that tone?

Kaya's face froze before replaced by rage. Glaring fiercely at Kuro she yelled at him to stop. Kuro's face looked mildly annoyed as she stood up and told him that she would give him her fortune. That he could have everything if he left the village alone and to never come back.

Kuro then admitted to Kaya that he did want her money, but what he wanted more than that… was peace. He then told her that despite her plea, the Black Cat Pirates will still attack Syrup Village and kill her. The Straw Hats were taken aback that Kaya then pulled a pistol from her coat and pointed it at Kuro as Usopp pleaded for her to just run. But she says that he wasn't Klahadore anymore. She threatened to kill him if Kuro and the rest of the Black Cat Pirates don't leave Gecko Island this instant.

"You go girl!" Franky cheered on.

"You tell him, Kaya!" Chopper added loudly.

Kuro sighed as he pulled one of the Cat Claws off and told her that she became 'stronger' over the last 3 years, that she wasn't that little girl that he took care. He then recollects the events of the last 3 years with her, the things they did together in a gentle voice that brought her to tears.

"That's a dirty trick," Usopp growled, knowing that Kaya wouldn't be able to forget all that easily.

"He knows that," Robin said softly, "By bringing up all those memories, he's trying to make her second-guess herself. He's getting to her."

Kaya's hands were shaking by the time that Kuro grabbed hold of the gun. But then, with a change of tone, he calls the events 'stupid things' and confesses that everything he did for her was merely an act that he'd been plotting for her today… the day she dies. That by spending those years with her was an insult to his pride. He took the gun from her and let it drop to the ground as tears burned in Kaya's eyes. His face full of fury, Usopp grabbed the dropped pistol and tried to shoot him, but Kuro used, what he called his PussyFoot maneuver, to reappear behind him with his Cat Claws gloves back on. He said that he was gonna kill him to make him pay for punching him, but his attempts were stopped by Luffy who hit him from the bottom of the slope with his Gum Gum Pistol, sending him to the ground. Luffy then swore that Kuro was in for a bad day if he hated getting hit.

"YEAH! Take him out Luffy!" Chopper screamed out as Sanji wholeheartedly agreed as he looked to Kaya's tearstained face.

Damn Kuro… how dare he hurt a lady like this? Any man who causes tears to a woman like that doesn't deserve to live.

The Black Cat Pirates were freaking out as they stared at Luffy, who held up his fingers and cracked them all threateningly. He was just getting started, and with everyone's attention focused on him, the Straw Hats almost missed Nami going to search the ship to search for the pirates' treasure despite her wounded shoulder.

But at that moment, the Usopp Pirates arrive and began a merciless beating on Kuro's face as hard as they can with a shovel, a frying pan, and a bat, yelling out insults.

"They're gonna get killed," Chopper screamed out.

"I can't tell if they're being really brave or… nuts," Franky said, staring at the little guys with sweat coming down his face. Usopp and Kaya tried to scream at them to stay away, but they refuse to listen, too busy at beating Kuro's face until they were exhausted and decided that they would let him off with a warning.

"They're dead," Robin muttered.

"Do you have to say that so bluntly?" Usopp yelled at her as the Usopp Pirates went to Usopp and they argue with him for not telling them about the fight. Usopp begs them to run away, but the kids refuse to, saying it will only ashamed the Usopp Pirates if they ran in fear.

"They look scared to me," Brook said softly as Kuro suddenly got back up, making the kids scream in terror. But to their surprise Kuro ignored them and went straight to Usopp and with a hard kick, slammed him to the ground.

Chopper screamed. "Oh no! And Usopp's injuries already look bad!"

"They really weren't that bad," Usopp confessed to him softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry… I recovered fast from this."

But Kuro's attention was now back on Luffy as he asked if he has eaten a Devil Fruit which Luffy admitted. This news frightens the Black Cat Pirates even more and looked ready to run until Kuro ordered Jango to take care of Kaya and the Usopp Pirates while he dealt with Luffy. Memory Zoro tried to stop him but the fat pirate named Buchi charged forward to attack him, leaving a crater in the ground where he landed and even destroying part of the wall. So with Zoro focused on dealing with him, Jango went to Kaya.

"Damn, they better do something or Kaya-san's in big trouble," Sanji gasped, wishing more than ever he could kill Jango.

"Don't worry. Usopp's big speech is coming up," Zoro grinned as Usopp blushed at the words.

"Speech?" Brook repeated in surprised and he had his answer at once when Usopp in the memory screamed out desperately for the kids to listen to him. At first, they refused to listen to anything he had to say until he gave them one order… "Protect Kaya!" he ordered them.

The Straw Hats all watched, some of them in awe as Usopp went on, "Do as I say. Don't argue with me! I'm giving you the most important task there is right now. It's absolutely critical you succeed!"

Robin nodded. Yes, keeping Kaya safe was the most important thing right now. So long as she was alive then Kuro could never win.

"Take Kaya and get away from here," Usopp said loudly, leaving no room to argue, "You must keep her safe. This is the reason we wanted to become pirates! To protect what's dear to us! Now do as I say and RUN!" Gasping for breath, the three more sensitive members had in tears at the convincing in his voice, the Usopp Pirates were all nodding in understanding. "Now go," Usopp finally yelled, "that's a direct order!"

Tears in their eyes they cried out, "YES CAPTAIN!" And taking Kaya, they lead her away into the forest.

"That was something else," Brook said softly as Chopper and Franky cried at that. "You certainly have a gift with words when it comes to defending your friends, Usopp-san… not anyone could make running away sound brave."

"I had to say something to get them to go," Usopp said, tears in his own eyes, feeling pride at his decision back then. He rarely felt it, but it was this moment that he was proud to have been weak Usopp… even if he was just a kid who was playing pirate, he didn't regret anything he did here.

As Jango tried to go after them, his past self hit him in the back with a ball of lead. Even with Jango looking ready to kill, Kuro yelled at him to continue chasing after Kaya before he said to Usopp that escape was useless, since he knew that Kaya was so weak. He then ordered Buchi to finish Zoro off, but after finally pushing him off him, Zoro had finished him in one slash.

While the whole time, Luffy had slowly been walking up the hill, towards Kuro, as Usopp tried to get back up to go after Jango. He managed to get up a little before they all heard a noise coming from the forest. In rage, Usopp demanded to know if Kuro had any pity at all for Kaya… but what the butler said next got them all steamed.

Kuro came right out and admitted to him that him he had none—saying that Kaya had never been anything more than a pawn to his plan and he'll express gratitude once she's dead.

"What a heartless monster," Brook growled, his teeth grinding so hard together that it sounding like they were cracking.

"This guy's hopelessly evil," past Zoro muttered and no one, not even Sanji, could disagree with him on that one.

"We should put him out of his misery," Luffy agreed before he yelled to Usopp to go to Kaya and the Usopp Pirates and that he would take care of Kuro. At his words, Usopp had managed to push himself back to his feet, despite his wounds. Kuro was slightly impressed that he could still move but continued to mock him.

"Oh, there are just so many people here I'd love to punch!" Franky growled. "I say that we all go back to the East Blue and teach these pirates a lesson!"

"I have no complaints there," Sanji agreed, wanting nothing more than to beat this guy's brains in.

Usopp glared back at him before yelling out, "Shut up! You won't get away with this! I won't let you! You betrayed the villagers trust! Not to mention you planned to take the life of a sweet, young girl! This is the last time you ever get your way!"

"Usopp!" Luffy cried in worry as the sniper tried to walk, but his strength gave out so that he fell back to the ground. Kuro laughed at Usopp's effort and taunted him by saying that even if he did manage to get to Jango, he'll end up dead and that he should be safest where he stayed there.

But Usopp wouldn't listen. "I don't care," he croaked out from where he lay, "I don't care if I'm weak! I'll protect them!"

Everyone stared at him as the tears suddenly came back to his eyes, tears that he wasn't ashamed of hiding here. "I'm Captain of the Usopp Pirates," he declared, "A brave warrior of the sea who fights for what he holds dear! I will protect everyone in the village even if it kills me!" his voice got stronger and he screamed out with as much strength he could muster, "ON MY WORD! YOU WILL NEVER SET FOOT IN THIS VILLAGE!"

Franky broke down completely at that, hugging Usopp again, "Man… that's so touching! I don't believe what I'm hearing! You're a real man… you were hurt so bad but you kept on fighting! I think I feel a song coming up!"

"You were great, Usopp," Chopper cried out loudly.

"Could you all give it a rest?" Nami yelled at them in annoyance, but she couldn't hide the proud smile on her lips. She was only sorry she missed that speech the first time.

Present-day Usopp was crying as well… after landing on the Boin Archipelago and training with Master Heracles, he swore to become stronger. This way that he wouldn't have to rely on Luffy for everything and that he could support his Captain for once… he always wished that he could become stronger… and he had, but he hoped that he would never have to let go of this part of himself.

The Black Cat Pirates were all laughing at Usopp's vow, but that ticked Luffy off. Grabbing a boulder he threw it at them. "What's so funny?" he demanded, standing on top of it and glaring down at them all with a wild look in his eyes that made them all shut up at once.

"Thanks Luffy," Usopp sniffled a little.

"Luffy!" Zoro called to him, having picked Usopp up and was carrying him on a shoulder, "Me and Usopp are gonna chase down that Hypno freak. Is that a problem?"

"No," Luffy called, his back to them, "Hurry!"

As the two of them went up the hill, Kuro hissed as they passed, demanding to know who gave them permission to go anywhere.

"Since when do they need anyone's permission to do anything?" Nami smiled, knowing that they were going to do whatever they wanted anyway.

"I did!" Luffy called, launching an attack to make Kuro dodge it as he ordered Zoro and Usopp to get going. Kuro tried to slash him, but Luffy managed to evade it and even counter it with a Gum Gum spear, but Kuro disappeared using his PussyFoot technique. By the time that Luffy was standing upright again, the two had already taken off.

Kuro reappeared and suddenly demanded, "Before I kill you, I feel compelled to ask… what is an outsider like you butting into this village's business for?"

Luffy smirked. "Because there's a man in this village I don't wanna let die."

Usopp blinked at that. "Does he mean… me?"

"Who else would he mean?" Zoro asked him with a teasing smile. "He was fighting to help you that whole time idiot."

Usopp's lip quivered at the thought as Kuro laughed, asking if Luffy was alright with that for being the reason he died.

"Sure am," Luffy answered confidently, "But I'm not gonna die!"

"This I've been looking forward to seeing," Sanji said at once, glad to see that someone will finally be putting Kuro in his place.

The battle continued. Luffy stretched his arms to hold Kuro and then tried to give him a foot kick. Kuro dodged it by sending him crashing into the ground. Luffy then tried to use a combination of Gum Gum whip and Gum Gum Pistol at him, but Kuro dodged both moves—resulting in actually standing on Luffy's outstretched arm and proclaiming that the fight was boring him.

"Come on Captain!" Chopper cried out as Kuro ran up the arm and kicked Luffy to the ground again.

"Yeah, you don't want to lose to a loser like him do you?" Sanji added as the Black Cat Pirates tried to cheer their own Captain on, but Kuro angrily shouted at them to never call him by that name again and that he had planned on killing off 'Captain Kuro from the start.

"What's he talking about?" Brook asked bewildered. But Kuro was more than happy to explain how tired he was of devising plans for a band of men who cared only about mayhem and how sick he was to be relentlessly pursued by bounty hunters and government dogs. How he was sick and tired of that life…

"But that's what a pirate's life is all about," Nami sighed, "He didn't honestly think that it was going to be easy when he became one did he?"

"I think that he just didn't know what he signed up for," Robin answered.

Kuro finished by telling Luffy when his plan succeeds today, his goal will be fully achieved and that money and peace of mind will be his.

"Do you understand now boy?" he demanded, "I will not allow this perfect plan, years in the making, to fail!" he held his claws out and runs forward to attack, "MY PLAN WILL NOT BE DISRUPTED BY AN URCHIN LIKE YOU!"

"Who's he calling urchin?" Usopp asked hotly.

"LUFFY!" Chopper cried out anxiously, but Luffy had already stretched his arms behind him and grabbed the boulder that he used to threaten the Black Cats with and blocked one of Kuro's Cat Claws.

"It would seem that you can do a lot more than stretch," he said, his face twisted in surprise and annoyance.

"That's right," Luffy said, "I've been toughing myself up to be a pirate!" and by hugging the rock he was able to get a good hold of it, smashing it and breaking off the five Cat Claws at once.

"HE BROKE THEM!" Chopper screamed out.

"Five down and five to go!" Franky cheered as Robin giggled.

Holding the rock up, Luffy asked, "You know what? If you don't want a reputation?" and with all the strength he had, he slammed the boulder right into Kuro's face as he screamed, "THEN DON'T BE A PIRATE!"

"Well said," Zoro said approvingly.

The Black Cat Pirates start cheering their Captain on. But when he got up, blood dripping down the side of his face, and dropped the biggest bombshell on them all. He explained that he planned on killing the Black Cat Pirates as well as Jango later. He explained that he was planning to kill the Black Cats anyway to prove his innocence and not to make the world notice that he was still alive, which greatly shocked everyone.

"What a bastard," Sanji growled, sick of feeling angry. Damn it, why doesn't Luffy hurry and beat this guy already?

"I never intended to let any of you mongrels leave this village alive," Kuro said to them all, "No one… no one who knows my true identity can be allowed to live to tell about it."

"That's sick," Zoro said softly.

"How could he treat his own friends like that?" Chopper whispered horrified.

"Because he doesn't see them as friends," Robin answered, "Not every crew is like ours. Kuro sees his crewmates as tools… nothing more than that."

"You… you had already planned to kill every last one of us from the very beginning!" one of the Black Cats cried out.

He chuckled darkly. "That's right," he confessed sounding more insane with every word, "Three years ago, I planned to erase Captain Kuro… and every last person who ever knew him. It's all part of my plan."

"You guys are dumb," Luffy said, looking at the pirates with disappointment—like how he got a birthday present that he didn't want. "The most uncool pirates I know." He added looking back to Kuro.

"We're uncool huh?" Kuro asked aggravated, "Pirates are nothing more than savages; incapable of rising above their animal nature. Without my plans what could they possibly accomplish? A crew is nothing to me. They are simply a means to an end. Crew members are just pawns in the Captain's game."

"That's not true is it?" Chopper asked fearfully.

"Of course not," Nami said at once.

"Kuro's only using that as an excuse to do whatever he wanted," Sanji said, "While it is a crew's duty to obey their Captain, it's also the Captain's duty to be the leader and to take care of the crew as well."

"Whether my men live or die is up to me and me alone," Kuro continued, "If I tell them to fight, they will fight. And if I order them to die they had better do it. They know the punishment for disobedience."

He grinned at Luffy who continued to give him that empty look. Zoro looked over at his Captain's eyes as well and could see it… he was looking at Kuro like how Ace looked at the nobles in Goa. Disgust, anger, and pity… but also without a trace of clemency… even if Kuro begged for forgiveness, Luffy would never forget this.

Kuro must've sensed this as well because his face suddenly turned into fury and outraged as he bellowed out, "THIS IS HOW PIRATES ARE! DON'T YOU DARE TALK DOWN TO ME BOY!"

"But Luffy didn't even say a word," Usopp said.

"He didn't need to," Robin answered, recognizing that look as well.

"Just looking at him like a lowlife was enough to get the message across," Sanji agreed.

But suddenly Luffy smiled. "You know no matter how many hundreds or thousands of men follow you as their Captain," he said, still with that same smile, "You will never be as good as Usopp."

Usopp stared at him as the Black Cats became lost to what he meant.

"You fool," Kuro snarled, sounding more like a wild animal with every second, "Are you saying that I'm inferior to a kid pretending to be a pirate?!"

"That's right," Luffy agreed without a shred of doubt in his voice.

"Thanks… Captain," Usopp whispered again, those words meant more to him than anything.

Kuro threw his head back and laughed. "Well aren't YOU funny?" he demanded, "Don't get cocky just because you snapped off one of my cat claws! How exactly is he better than me?" he demanded as he stepped into his PussyFoot maneuver. "Let's hear it."

Still smiling, Luffy confessed, "Cause he's got heart. A guy like you," he said stretching his arm out, "Doesn't know what a true pirate is!" and like a whip, he swung around and found Kuro, smashing him into the side of the cliff.

The Black Cats were amazed that he could keep up with that technique as Usopp fell to his knees. Even before he joined, Luffy was fighting for his honor.

"You deserve it you know," Nami told him kindly, "Because it's true."

"I appreciate it," Usopp said in a choked up voice.

"How insulting," Kuro's voice said as the smoke cleared. "It would appear that you need a lesson in what true pirates are like."

Slicking his messed up hair back, he calmed that the first lesson he would teach Luffy about pirates would be about terror. That was when he did something strange… he began to slouch back and forth and back and forth…

"What's he doing?" Chopper asked. But the Black Cats were terrified, begging Kuro not to use 'that' technique. The Out-Of-The-Bag attack…

"What's that?" Usopp asked in confusion as Nami gasped.

"I remember that," she whispered, sweat pouring down her face.

"What's the big deal?" Luffy asked them in confusion, not getting why they would be freaking out, "He's just wobbling back and forth…?"

But they continued to scream and beg for him to spare them. Luffy didn't move until a slight wind blew his bangs and he blinked in surprise. That was when Kuro disappeared, leaving nothing but dark purple whips of smoke, drifting across the land forebodingly.

"Where is he?!" Brook cried, staring around him.

"I can barely keep up with him," Zoro said, using Haki… like before he couldn't really use it like he could with a real person, but here he could at least get an idea to what was happening.

"Strange… his moments are so random," Sanji agreed before he began drooling over the sight of seeing Nami coming out of the ship with a small bag of treasure. Not that that lasted long… for suddenly, one of the pirates was slashed to pieces.

Luffy gasped. "What's he doing over there?"

"You mean Kuro did that?" Brook gasped, "But I didn't even see anything!"

"He was just slashed…?" Chopper gasped, running over to get a look at the man. "This is bad!" he gasped, "He's really trying to kill them!"

But suddenly more men fell… blood was splattered everywhere, Kuro's claw marks slashing everything… killing everywhere. One of the men begged him to stop but another one yelled, that he couldn't be reasoned with—that this maneuver was so fast that not even he knew what he was attacking.

"I get it," Robin called out, "While he uses super-human speed, he can't tell what he's really hitting. Though the fact he can move so fast at his level it is still impressive, as well as the fact that he does not really care about anyone around him and feels no remorse for killing his crewmates, counteracting this weakness."

"In other words he doesn't care who he's attacking, they're all the same to him," Nami summed up.

"This heartless bastard doesn't deserve to live!" Franky declared as the Black Cats were all screaming in pain and terror, trying to run only to be killed.

"I just didn't understand what was going on," Nami whispered as she looked to see the horror-struck expression on her past self's face.

"How could any Captain do this?" Chopper croaked out, feeling cold as he watched the men all be slaughtered before his eyes and be unable to do anything about it.

"Because he's not a real Captain," Usopp said, shaking from head to foot. "No real Captain would do something like this!"

As if to prove his point, he turned back to Luffy. Luffy didn't move the whole time as he watched. He was also being slashed at… cuts appearing all over his body… but he didn't seem to notice it. His eyes were shadowed and he was shaking in rage. Even with his own blood dripping down he just stood there before he finally screamed out so loudly that the words echoed in their heads, "DON'T YOU HAVE ANY HONOR!? THOSE MEN ARE YOUR FRIENDS!"

"Oh, he's gonna get it now," Franky grinned, glad that this was almost over now. At that moment, Kuro cut Luffy across his chest but he stood his ground and somehow he was able to stretch out at one direction and grabbed hold of Kuro's jacket before he threw him to the ground.

"I found you," Luffy grunted in satisfaction.

"He found him!" Usopp yelled proudly.

"He may not be able to use Observation Haki yet, but his senses are top notch," Sanji grinned out.

Kuro quickly got back up, looking more than a little angry at being caught. "You bastard," he hissed, "You should have accepted your fate like a good boy. Now look at what you've done! Thanks to you, my little pawns are still alive… and in misery." All around the shore, Kuro's men laid on the ground, covered in their own blood and crying in pain.

"Even now he feels nothing for them," Brook said softly. He wouldn't follow this man for any amount of money out there. Kuro was just plan evil.

"It would have been better to just let them die in the attack," Kuro sneered at them all. Luffy didn't say a word as he glared at him, but there was now a deep anger burning there.

"So now what?" Kuro mocked as he got up. "You have something to say?"

"Yeah," Luffy said as he glanced at his hat on the ground a few yards away. "No matter what happens to me… I will never be like you."

Brook nodded firmly.

"Not will," Kuro sneered, pointing his claws at Luffy's face, "Someone like you can't be like me!"

"And I take great pride in that!" Usopp called. Luffy's personality was always like a little kid, in the sense that he tends to go to the extremes. He can either be extremely greedy, especially in cases of food, who his crew is, and adventure; or extraordinarily selfless, going so far as to virtually sacrifice himself to avenge or protect his friends, crew, and family. That was the side of Luffy that he admired more…

Kuro glared at Luffy when he realized that he was giving him that exact same look that angered him so deeply. With threats on him cutting Luffy up, Kuro moved back so that he was standing back up on the top of the hill again before he went to do his move again. This time Luffy ran forward, however he was too late… Kuro disappeared.

Luffy stood there, trying to sense him… and when he slashed again, Luffy moved back so that he just barely missing him.

"GO LUFFY GO!" Usopp and Chopper both cheered on as Kuro disappeared again and reappeared behind Luffy, ready to strike again.

"Aren't you tired? Bet you are after all the dancing around you've been doing," Luffy taunted him, grinning.

"You tell him," Sanji grinned evilly.

"Don't get cocky," Kuro sneered, using both palms to move his glasses up, "That was simply a warm-up. The real fight begins now. Soon I'll be feasting on your fear… complemented by the sweet wine of your agony."

"Clever," Franky muttered with sarcasm. "Just where do guys get lines like this?"

He used another Out-Of-The-Bag attack, but Luffy had grabbed him and held him tight so that the butler couldn't get away. Before Kuro could move, Luffy wrapped his limbs around Kuro's body, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Nice try, you jerk," Luffy grinned, getting right up in his face.

"Oh, right!" Franky cheered. "He got him!"

"Try to get away from that jerk!" Nami cheered, knowing that this was finally it.

"DAMN YOU GET AWAY FROM ME!" Kuro yelled as he attempted to break himself free. Luffy, however, was far stronger than he was and didn't let go.

"Wow butler man, your life really sucks now doesn't it?" Luffy asked conversationally, as if asking him what his favorite color was. "Your plan of three years is a complete and total failure."

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Usopp said, grinning from ear to ear. "Now beat him for Kaya, Luffy!"

"LET GO!" Kuro screamed out as the Black Cat Pirates started cheering Luffy on.

"Wow, they sure changed their tunes quick didn't they?" Brook said as if being insulted.

"Well, Kuro was planning on killing them all," Robin reminded him.

"JUST SHUT UP!" Luffy yelled, looking annoyed as he head-butted Kuro and then threw his head back so that it stretched far enough for him to yell right up in their faces, "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CHEER ME ON!"

"Yeah, it's their fault they're there in the first place," Zoro agreed.

They all felt the excitement rise as they saw the look in Luffy's eyes. It was the same one that he wore just before he sent Buggy flying. Stretching his head back, "Gum Gum…!" he screamed.

"YOU INSECT! MY PLAN WILL ABSOLUTELY NOT BE DISRUPTED!" Kuro shouted just before Luffy head-butted him, finishing the attack, "BELL!"

Shattering the remains of Kuro's glasses, the bong truly did sound like a deep bell ringing before Luffy let go and gracefully landed on the ground just as the butler did… he was out cold before his shattered glasses hit the ground. Kuro laid there, bleeding from the head, his eyes rolled all the way back so they could only see white.

"He's gonna have one nasty headache when he wakes up," Sanji smirked. "Got 'em…"

"That crazy rubber guy beat Captain Kuro!" one of the pirates exclaimed in hushed amazement.

"Even the marines were a match for Kuro man of a thousand Plans!" another pirate yelled in disbelief. "And this guy still beat him!"

"Which isn't saying much," Robin said as the pirates wanted to know who he was.

Luffy calmly turned around to address them. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy. The only time a pirate should abandon his name is when he dies."

"True," Brook nodded firmly. Luffy said it best… if you don't want a reputation, then don't be a pirate.

"I would never lose to a coward who ditches his name, betrays his crew, and runs from his life on the sea," Luffy said firmly.

"You tell 'em," Chopper said proudly.

The Black Cat Pirates looked at one another. "Luffy? Never heard that name before."

"But you will soon enough," Usopp said firmly.

"You should remember my name for the rest of your lives," Luffy said before he grinned. "Cause one of these days, I'm gonna be King of the Pirates."

The pirates stared at him just as Luffy picked Kuro up by his collar and threw him down to them all. "NOW GET OUT OF HERE!" he roared as Kuro landed at their feet. "AND NEVER EVER COME BACK!"

"Or else you'll have hell to pay," Usopp shouted with him, almost believing that they could hear him too. The pirates didn't have to be told twice as they ran back to their ship in a mad panic, dragging Kuro with them.

"Wait, why'd they take him?" Chopper asked in confusion, "After he was trying to kill them a minute ago?"

"Well, Luffy was going to make sure that he left with them one way or another," Nami pointed out.

"Besides, a crew needs a Captain," Zoro added, "Without one, they're completely lost. Even if their Kuro wasn't a real Captain, they wouldn't have lasted long otherwise."

"But what about that Jango fellow?" Brook asked.

"Looks like he got left behind," Sanji said, and he quickly recalled their experience leaving Alabasta as past Nami jumped from the ship before the Black Cats. She was lugging a bag of treasure with her as she ran up to Luffy.

Before she could say anything to him, Luffy almost ended up collapsing in exhaustion but Nami was able to help support him and keep him standing.

"You did good, Luffy," she said softly as they watched the pirates climb onboard and leave… hopefully never to return. "I expect even you to collapse after what you just went through."

Luffy didn't say a word as he laid back on the ground, staring up at the sky with a dark look in his eyes… as if trying to figure out a difficult question.

Nami gently sat next to him. "Say… tell me. Why were you so made earlier?"

Luffy's eyes looked at her as he said, almost angrily, "Cause I truly hate people like them. They're so wrong." He fell silent for a moment before he added, "Crewmates aren't meant to be treated that way."

"He's right…" Chopper said firmly.

"That's what happens when you choose such garbage to follow," Sanji told him.

Memory Nami carefully picked up Luffy's hat. "What are you talking about? Of course it isn't. Most pirates aren't the brave, honorable people you make them out to be. I'd say that Captain Kuro is pretty standard."

"Sad as it is to say, that is true," Robin answered, "Especially outside the Grand Line."

"Why is that?" Usopp asked.

"In the Grand Line in order to survive, you have to be able to trust your crew completely," she answered with a smile, "But out here, the weather is normal and easy to predict. You can replace your crew at pretty much any port."

Luffy glanced at Nami before he looked at the sky again… and then he completely ruined the moment by said, "I want some meat."

Nami slammed Luffy's hat into his face, "You unbelievable!"

"After all that all he could think about was feeding his gut," Nami sighed. "I just didn't know what I was going to do with him."

"I didn't know that he was going to kill his own men while he was at it, but I can't say that I'm surprised," Usopp said softly.

It was a relief to see that Zoro and Usopp both come back, with Usopp walking again but limping heavily, letting them know that Kaya and the boys were ok.

"Thank goodness," Chopper sighed in relief.

"Thanks guys," past Usopp told them all, "I wouldn't have been able to protect the village without you."

"I think that's the first time I've heard such humility in you, Usopp-san," Brook said softly.

Past Zoro looked up, "Give credit where credit is due. If you had just stood back and done nothing, I wouldn't have done anything either."

"Yeah, same here," Luffy chirped up.

"Who cares about any of that?" memory Nami asked happily, hugging the bag of loot to her, "I've got my hands on this sweet, sweet treasure now and I couldn't be happier!"

"And that is all that matters to me, Nami-swan," Sanji swooned to her loudly.

Usopp laughed before he looked to the sea with a serious expression on his face, "Everything that happened here today helped me. I've just come to a very difficult decision."

And like that, the darkness returned and they were back in the forest.

"So what happened?" Robin asked in mild surprise.

"Yeah, what did you decide to do?" Chopper asked curiously as Usopp folded his arms.

"For a long time I wondered whether or not I should go out to sea and be a pirate or stay in the village," Usopp confessed. "I loved the village and everyone in it and it wasn't easy to leave. But I still wanted to go out to sea. It wasn't until I met you three did I really becoming inspired to set out on my own…"

"Well, not completely on your own," Nami smirked. "We all rested in the village for a couple more days before we were ready to leave. And we were going to after we got one last meal at the restaurant…"

Usopp smiled as he thought about the Usopp Pirates and wondered how close they were getting to their dreams. When the new memory appeared, the Straw Hats were standing in the restaurant that Usopp had taken them to earlier. Luffy, Zoro, and Nami were sitting peacefully at the table, just finishing their meal.

"Now that we've eaten," Zoro said comfortably. "We should probably get going."

"Yeah, your right," Luffy said as he chewed on a fish bone.

"Again, he has no manners," Sanji sighed despairingly. At that moment, Kaya came walking into the restaurant.

"Wow, she looks much better!" Brook said happily.

"Yeah, by the time we left, she was already up and healthier," Usopp said smiling.

"Here you are," Kaya said in a sweet voice.

"Hello there, miss," Luffy greeted as Nami asked if it was alright for her to be up and out of bed already.

"Yes," Kaya answered as she approached the table. "I think now I can truly start recovering. You see my sickness this last year was caused to the mental shock of losing both of my parents. And Usopp's friendship helped me start getting better. I can't stay in bed forever you know."

Usopp grinned wider, glad to hear that. She paused for a moment. "You've all done so much for me and I can't thank you enough." She beamed at them and said, "I have prepared a present for you from the bottom of my heart to show how grateful I am for everything you've done here. I'd be honored if you accept it."

"This is it!" Nami said happily, knowing that they couldn't have asked for a better present.

"What was it?" Franky asked interested. But instead of answering, they followed Kaya out the door and down the road to the same place where they fought the Black Cat Pirates. Greeting them was a tall, formally dressed butler who looked a bit like a lamb. His hair was curly like a lamb's fleece and even two lamb horns sticking out of it.

"Who's that?" Robin asked.

"That's another butler named Merry," Usopp said as they led them to the coast to where their present was waiting.

"Merry?" Chopper repeated in amazement before his eyes widen. Did this mean…?

But he got his answer as soon as he realized what Kaya's present was. A small caravel was sitting there waiting for them, about half the size of the Sunny and carried a sheep figurehead. Brook couldn't understand why some members of the crew were crying at the sight of it.

"What is it?" he asked confused.

"It's…" Usopp croaked out, tears falling down his face, "It's MERRY!"

"I thought that man's name was Merry?" he asked in confusion.

"The ship," Nami answered, wiping away a stray tear, "The Going Merry. It was our first ship and it carried us all the way from here to Water 7. After we got there, Merry couldn't sail anymore so we got the Sunny…"

Brook stared at the ship, this was the first time that he had seen it, but there was something strange about it… like it was home.

The three memory selves gasped happily. "A real caravel!" past Nami gasped.

"Are you actually giving this to us?" Luffy cried out to them.

"As a token of my appreciation," Kaya answered happily.

"Now that's how you thank someone," Sanji said beaming, "Buy them a ship."

"Well, we needed her alright," Nami smiled staring happily at the boat.

"It's a slightly older model but I personally designed it and she sails like a dream," Merry explained with a hint of pride in his tone.

"Really?" Franky asked with a laugh. "Not bad… he might've made a good shipwright if he didn't become a butler."

Merry talked about some of her features and told them her name, "She's a fine ship and her name is… The Going Merry!"

As they talked the whole crew happily thought of the their own memories of the Merry. Brook was feeling almost jealous that he never had a chance to meet such a ship. At that moment, screams could be heard coming down one of the hills. The Straw Hats looked to see Usopp rolling down the hill with a backpack the size of a large boulder strapped to his back.

"What happened to you?" Robin asked interested.

"I finished packing, but had trouble stopping," Usopp confessed in embarrassment.

"What made you think you could drag that heavy thing?" Sanji asked to himself.

"Oh no it's Usopp!" Kaya cried in worry when she saw him rolling towards them.

"Hey, what's he doing?" Luffy asked in confusion, "Looks fun."

"He would," Usopp sighed, "But believe me, it was anything but fun!"

"Well we better stop him," past Zoro said in a bored tone. "That weirdo is on a collision course with our boat."

"Who you calling weirdo?" Usopp demanded.

"Who do you think?" he asked back. Both Luffy and Zoro stuck their feet out and stopped Usopp by when Usopp went slamming into them.

"Ow, hey thanks guys," Usopp muttered sarcastically. With friends like that, who needs enemies?

"Anytime," Luffy said.

"I should kill you both for that," Usopp said bitterly. But once free of his overlarge backpack, Luffy and others boarded the Going Merry while Usopp said his goodbyes to Kaya. How he promised that he would come back someday and tell her stories about his adventures at sea and she said she looked forward to it.

When he was done, he turned towards Going Merry.

"You guys, take care!" he yelled. "I hope we meet again sometime!"

"How could you think otherwise?" Nami asked him smiling, nudging him in the shoulder. "After everything we went through?"

Usopp laughed a little, "I didn't think that you guys needed a guy like me. I never thought that you'd want me to join."

"How come?" Luffy asked in confusion.

"Huh…?" past Usopp asked in disbelief. "Well because… are you anti-social or something? I'm taking off for live on the high seas and I hope we'll eventually meet again that's all!"

"What are you talking about? Get on already," past Zoro said in annoyance as he pointed down at the ship. Usopp blinked in confusion until Luffy explained.

"We're friends right?" Luffy said, almost uninterested. "So get on."

Usopp stood there, unable to believe his eyes as he stared and then he jumped up, punching the air and cried out, "I'm really a pirate Captain now!"

"Don't be stupid Usopp, I'm the Captain!" Luffy yelled angrily but everyone was laughing as Usopp jumped on-board with them all and heaving all his stuff up with him.

"If they invited you, what made you think that you were Captain?" Sanji asked him curiously.

"What? I can hope can't I?" Usopp asked, "Though thinking about it now… I see that I don't think I'm cut out to be a Captain."

"You have a lot of qualities that a good Captain needs though, Usopp-san," Brook told him.

"Yeah, well its easy just being a crewmember," Usopp said as he watched Luffy. But he learned the hard way that being Captain isn't nearly as easy he once thought it was. Being the leader of a bunch of kids was one thing… a pirate Captain fighting to get to the top was another…

The Straw Hats all jumped on board with the other four crewmembers and watched as Kaya and Merry waved them off, even glancing up to see the three boys were up on the cliff and watching them all set out. But Usopp was tearing up as he looked up at the mast of their beloved ship… he couldn't believe that they were able to ride Merry again after all this time… he gazed back at the shore.

His life as a pirate may not have started off like he planned… but in the end, his one lie did become the truth. Pirates did come to shore… and he set out with friends out to sea.

After getting some drinks from below they were all toasting up on deck. "Cheers! To a new ship and a new crewmate!" Luffy declared and they toasted all of them laughing and enjoying themselves.

Usopp smiled wider. Fighting the Black Cat Pirates had been worth it to end up here. After all… they had been fighting to live… not to die…