13 Getting a Liar and a Sheep.
Kaizo is staring dumbfounded at Kuro, who just ate some mysterious drug and is about to attack Luffy.
'Ok…I'm definitely clueless. In the canon, the battle should've been longer and Kuro didn't awaken any type of power-up. What is going on in here?!' Kaizo.
'Master, if I may.'
'You may.'
'In your mind, this is a world that follows the script from your memories, right?'
'Yes.'
'It would appear that our power created variations to the timeline that you know.'
'Makes sense, I was wondering how would my devil fruit affect things in the story but, I never expected it to happen this fast.'
"What happened brat?! This is power that the likes of you will never have!" Kuro.
"Is that a devil fruit?" Luffy.
"No, its something better! When I was a trainee in a pirate ship, I had the luck to stumble upon one of the mythical steroids from Fish-Man Island. Its power is beyond any of your capabilities, and with it, I will rip you to shreds!!!" Kuro dashed towards Luffy.
Kuro began to slash Luffy from every angle, Luffy was barely able to dodge the lethal ones but still got quite hurt. Luffy made some space between him and Kuro but Kuro lunged at him again.
'Damn! His speed has increased! I can't land any hit with my techniques!' Luffy.
Kaizo was seeing the one-sided from the distance and was unsure about what to do.
'Luffy told me to leave this to him but…that beating he's receiving seems ten times stronger. What should I do?!' Kaizo.
Kaizo then has an idea and decides to intervene.
Kaizo decided to help Luffy, who was in a bad condition and blood was coming out of his wounds.
"Where's your spunk now brat?! Weren't you the one to defeat me?!" Kuro mocked Luffy and he just remained still.
'Damn! If only I could keep up with his speed! I can't keep up at all!' Luffy.
Kuro dashed towards Luffy, aiming to slash his head off.
'Kaizo, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Ace, Grandpa, Shanks, Sabo… I'm sorry, I... died' Luffy thought while smiling and closing his eyes.
"What the hell are you smiling for?!" Kaizo appeared and kicked Kuro in the chest.
Kuro flew back and crashed into a tree.
"Weren't you the man supposed to become the Pirate King?! You are not destined to die here!" Kaizo.
Luffy widened his eyes. He almost dies and Kaizo had to save him, he didn't like that. It is his duty as the captain to protect the crew, not backwards. Luffy clenched his fist and calmed down.
"Sorry, it won't happen again." Luffy.
"I'll help you whether you want it or not." Kaizo.
"Fine, this'll be the last time you'll save me like this." Luffy.
"Then this better be the last time you lose like this." Kaizo.
Kuro dashed from the tree but now he aimed to Kaizo's legs.
"DIE YOU ANNOYING BRAT!" Kuro.
Kaizo used his sword to deflect the claw and tried to pursue Kuro, he failed. Kuro was way faster than Kaizo and he easily escaped his movements.
Luffy was concentrating to try and predict Kuro's trajectory with his Observation Haki.
'All I sense is anger and bloodthirstiness, Kaizo seems to be worried about my condition. He can withstand Kuro's barrage better than me; it seems that I really have to step up my abilities to not lose to him.' Luffy.
Kaizo clashed his Zanpakuto against Kuro's claw, the clashing continued and Kaizo was about to get pierced by Kuro's claw.
*STRETCH*
Luffy's arm stretched and caught Kuro's shoulder. Kuro tried to cut Luffy but Kaizo slashed him in the chest. Luffy retracted his arm and gave Kuro a punch in his face.
Kuro was about to retaliate but Kaizo and Luffy were already on their way.
"Luffy! Let's do a tandem!" Kaizo.
"Yosh!" Luffy.
Kaizo send Kuro upwards with a kick. Luffy appeared on top of him and attacked with a barrage of fists.
Kaizo sheathed his sword and prepared for a technique. Luffy put his feet around Kuro's shoulders and he began to spin clockwise. Luffy's legs were twisted and had Kuro in a single place, he then began to untwist them at high speeds.
[Gomu-Gomu No: Screw!]
[Blue-Haired Onslaught!]
Kaizo unsheathed his sword the moment Luffy was slamming Kuro into the ground and slashed him with the dull side of his blade. Kuro had a mark on his chest and a few broken bones.
Luffy and Kaizo were tired from that tandem and sat on the floor.
"Man! I'm tired!" Kaizo.
"Me…too!" Luffy.
The two of them remained panting on the ground sure that their victory was a given, unfortunately, Kuro was getting himself up from the ground.
His expression was blank, as if he could only think about killing both Luffy and Kaizo before his body gave in.
Luffy tried to get up but failed, seeing him slip, Kuro decided to attack Luffy. Luffy put both of his arms and expected the attack but…it never came.
Luffy opened his eyes and saw Kaizo standing in front of him while being pierced by Kuro's claw. Kuro raises Kaizo and throws him into a tree.
Luffy is shocked, he didn't expected Kuro to be conscious. But worst yet, Kaizo got injured while protecting him, Luffy was mad, mad at Kuro, mad at himself, he couldn't do anything as the captain he was supposed to be.
"You…! How dare you do that to my NAKAMA!!!" Luffy began to attack Kuro with all his might.
He also got attacked in return but didn't care and only kept attacking Kuro.
'Hey, can I join your crew?'
Luffy stomped Kuro's foot and delivered a left kick to his chin.
'I'm quite strong. So, don't worry about me.'
Luffy gets stabbed in the arm and breaks Kuro's remaining claws.
'We refuse your refusal!'
Both Luffy and Kuro get distance one from the other and dashed one after the other for a final attack.
Kuro attacked with what was remaining from his claws and Luffy has both of his fists behind his back and shoots them towards Kuro's hands.
Kuro's claws pierce Luffy's hands and he grunts in pain. Before Kuro could follow-up his attack. Luffy steps in both of his feet and squeezes his hands as hard as he can. Kuro tries to escape but it was already late, Luffy had finished his attack.
[Gomu-Gomu No: Kane!]
Luffy headbutts Kuro's head and knocks him down for good this time. Luffy doesn't has any time to celebrate and looks out for Kaizo.
Kaizo is in bad conditions so he only takes Kuro's body and throws it to the Black Cat Pirates, he tells them to get away and never return. The pirates were so afraid that did just that and left, though they forgot Jango.
Luffy went towards Kaizo but he was already awake and was applying some medicine.
"What? You didn't seriously think that a wound this small would kill me, right?" Kaizo.
"I'm sorry." Luffy bowed.
"I couldn't be of any help at all. I was- no, I am weak." Luffy.
There was a moment of silence before Kaizo speak.
"I know that you're weak but, you know the good thing about you just starting your journey?" Kaizo.
Luffy shakes his head.
"You still have time to become stronger, up until now, you never questioned your strength, now is the moment for you to build it up while you can. I'll do the same, and so will Zoro and Nami. You'll be able to focus on your tasks because, as you have our backs, we'll have yours." Kaizo.
Luffy smiles at Kaizo's comment and help him get up. Both of them begin to go to Usopp's base.
'Master.'
'Yes?'
'Why did you allowed yourself to get injured?'
'It was necessary for Luffy, no, for the progress of the crew.'
'Could you explain it?'
'I've just confirmed that the story I knew is slowly but surely changing, Kuro's transformation is proof of that. So, I needed to show Luffy how weak he actually is before it's too late.'
'Too late?'
'Luffy was supposed to learn this lesson at the Paramount War where Ace, his brother, would die. I just gave him the need to become stronger.'
'Why not only force him from the beginning?'
'Because I didn't want to change the morale of the crew.'
'What do you mean?'
'The Straw Hat Pirates are a very curious pirate group. Everyone has their own dreams and goals and do their best to fulfill them. They are a group whose individuality and freedom to do what they want distinguish them from other crews. I didn't want to change the cheerful Straw Hat Pirates for some training freaks.'
'I see, so you think they'll be able to fend off their future opponents?'
'For the good of the future, we'll have to.'
'What if they fail?'
'Then at the very least, I'll make sure we fail as low as possible.'
'Still, sustaining such injury is not acceptable.'
'Relax, I know that I can use Spiritual Energy to cure this ASAP.'
'When did you learned that?'
'Just now, you have confirmed it'
'...'
Kaizo and Luffy arrived where the rest where and they were quite surprised about their conditions. Both of them got immediately first-aid and food for them to heal. On the other hand, Usopp took his "crew" and Kaya on a separated place to reveal some news.
"Could you keep everything that happened here a secret?" Usopp.
"Eh?! A secret?! Why should we do that?" Ninjin.
"Yeah! We fought and defended the Village!" Piiman.
"Captain. You could change everyone's perspective of you. You'll be a hero!" Tamanegi.
"That's right!" The three of them.
"Usopp-san, that way everyone will stop thinking bad things about you." Kaya.
"Think bad about me? They'll just think that I'm lying again. It wouldn't change anything to tell anything to anyone. It'll only spread panic among them. Even if this was quite the situation, I doubt that pirates would come back to attack this village. I'll just pretend that none of this happened. So, lie to everyone. can you do that?" Usopp.
"Of course, we can! If that's the best option for the village then, we'll do it." Ninjin.
"Me too!" Piiman.
"So do I! My lips are closed!" Tamanegi.
"We won't say a thing about this!" The trio.
(In the village)
"Usopp-kun hasn't come today, so strange."
"He probably overslept or something, don't think about it, he always comes here."
"You're right"
.
.
"Mom. Where's the lying guy, is he not coming today?"
"Don't worry, he'll come tomorrow for sure. No doubt about it."
.
.
"That bastard. Is he not going to come or what?! Maybe I was a little harsh on him yesterday."
The villagers from Syrup Village were still waiting for their usual liar to come and make some ruckus.
(In the coast)
"Thank you very much. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to defend the Village." Usopp.
"What are you talking about? You also did your fare share to protect it." Zoro.
"From the traps to the sniping, you had a role in here and it wasn't small at all." Kaizo.
"Same here!" Luffy.
"I couldn't care less about that now; I got more treasures." Nami.
"But thanks to this incident I've finally decided on something." Usopp.
Usopp went back at his base while the group went to the restaurant to eat.
(Usopp's base)
"So, what did you wanted to tell us?" Piiman.
"You guys fought really well. You gave that Kuro a serious beatdown. As your captain, I'm really proud!" Usopp.
"That's nothing." Ninjin.
"Compared to you captain." Piiman.
"We didn't do that much." Tamanegi.
"Well, let's keep this short then. I'm planning to explore the seas." Usopp.
The kids were shocked by his affirmation.
"I want to be an authentic pirate. I've always wondered if it was wise to remain here, and after today's incident, I've realized that my dreams are in the sea! That's why, I'll be leaving the village. There's only one reason! The Jolly Roger is calling me!" Usopp.
After a few more words, the group has a heartwarming moment of farewell.
"Never let the flame of your ambitions to go out! Pledge it here! That all of you will follow your own path with determination! From this very moment…the Usopp Pirate crew is…DISBANDED!" Usopp.
Everyone began to cry from emotion. Kaizo was eavesdropping from a nearby bush.
'I don't remember this moment to be this heartwarming.' Kaizo thought while sniffing a little bit.
(At the restaurant)
"Well, we're full so, time to go." Zoro.
"You are right but, where's Kaizo?" Luffy.
"He said that he was going to take a dump." Zoro.
"Eww." Nami.
Kaya enters the restaurant and talks with the group. She wants to reward them for their help and they go to the coast again. The group are now in presence of their first pirate ship.
"Are you really going to give this to us?" Luffy.
"Yes, please take it:" Kaya.
"Its name is Going Merry!" Merry.
"What a nice boat. And that figurehead is going to be my seat for sure." Luffy.
"Quite the eyecatcher, huh?" Kaizo appeared out of nowhere.
"Ah, you are here. Did you flush the toilet twice?" Luffy.
"Three times actually." Kaizo.
"Man, that must've been some big dump for you to take that long." Luffy.
"STOP TALKING ABOUT DISGUSTING THINGS!!!" Nami hit Luffy but Kaizo evaded.
"AHHHHHHH!!!" Usopp.
Usopp was seen rolling down the hill of the coast and was going to crash with Merry but Luffy, Kaizo and Zoro stopped him easily.
"Thank you…" Usopp.
Usopp and Kaya have a little moment for themselves while the rest began packing their belongings. Kaizo took this chance to learn about how to steer Merry.
'The princess and the pauper. Or is it the liar? Who cares, they look cute together.' Kaizo.
"Well, guys! We'll see each other someday!" Usopp.
"Why?" Luffy.
"Why? Because since now I'm a pirate like the rest of you, we'll see each other in the sea at some point." Usopp.
"What are you talking about? Get up here already." Zoro.
"Huh?" Usopp.
"Aren't we already Nakamas?" Luffy.
Usopp stare aimlessly into the sky.
"Man, you ARE slow. In simpler words, you are part of our crew, get your ass here so we can finally sail." Kaizo.
"C-captain! I'll be the captain!" Usopp.
"Idiot! I'm the captain!" Luffy.
The ship set sail and the group leaves. Kaya watches from a cliff with Merry and notices that he has a book with him.
"And that book?" Kaya.
"Ah, Kaizo-kun told me to give it to you, if the day you want to help Usopp-kun ever comes, this will be essential for that." Merry handed the book to Kaya.
The book was quite large and only had one word in its front page. HAKI.
(In Going Merry)
"In honor of our new ship and Nakama!" Luffy.
"Kanpai!" Everyone.
Everyone celebrated and enjoyed some drinks for their new additions.
(Syrup Village)
"Are we really going to do this?" Ninjin.
"We have to follow our captain's footsteps!" Piiman.
"Right!" Tamanegi.
"One, two…"
"THE PIRATES ARE COMING!!!" The trio yelled while running towards the village.
