Chapter 23: Liar Usopp
On the streets of Syrup Village.
A curly-haired boy with a long nose was running breathlessly through the entire town, shouting at the top of his lungs as he ran:
"The pirates... they're coming!!"
"Everyone, run!!"
Although he was running out of breath, it did not cause the expected panic.
The windows on both sides of the street were tightly shut, and occasional sighs of helplessness could be heard.
Seeing this, the boy stopped in his tracks, a triumphant smile appearing on his face as he put his hands on his hips and laughed toward the sky:
"The pirates... I was just lying to you! Wahahaha!"
"Clang!"
Just as he finished speaking, a frying pan flew out of a window as if it had eyes, accurately striking the back of the boy's head.
"Ouch... you bastard!"
Usopp clutched his head, tears almost coming out from the pain.
"You liar!! I'm going to teach you a lesson!"
"Usopp! You bastard, at it again!"
"I'm definitely going to give you what's coming to you today!"
As if awakened by that scream of pain, the town's residents pushed open their doors one after another, loudly denouncing Usopp while holding brooms and rolling pins.
Facing the indignant townspeople, Usopp didn't look afraid; instead, he made a face and laughed loudly:
"Come on! Come on! Catch me if you have the guts!"
"Don't run! Catch him!"
The angry crowd immediately swarmed forward.
But Usopp was clearly prepared for such a scene.
Like a nimble monkey, he darted left and right, successfully shaking off the pursuing crowd by relying on his familiarity with the terrain and his "escape skills."
A moment later, on a large tree at the edge of the town.
Usopp lay comfortably on a thick branch, watching the grumbling crowd depart in the distance as he let out a proud laugh.
"Hehe, it's impossible to catch the great Usopp."
"Ah! Captain Usopp!"
Just then, two youthful voices came from under the tree.
"The Usopp Pirates have arrived!"
Usopp sat up and looked down to see two kids wearing bandanas looking up at him with adoration.
"Ah, it's Piman and Carrot. You guys are here."
As Usopp spoke, he jumped nimbly down from the branch and struck a cool pose. Then he looked left and right, asking in confusion:
"Hmm? Why is it just the two of you? Where did Onion go?"
Just as he finished speaking, a series of urgent shouts came from the end of the winding dirt road in the distance.
The three of them turned their heads.
"Ah, it's Onion!" Piman pointed at the small figure sprinting in the distance.
"What is he shouting?" Carrot listened closely.
"Wa-wa-wa, wa-wa-wa, wa-wa-wa-wa!!"
As the distance closed, the three finally heard what Onion was shouting.
"It's bad! It's bad! The pirates are here!!"
In a moment, Onion ran up to the three of them, panting for breath.
He was covered in sweat, and his face was pale as he pointed behind him:
"I-it's bad! Captain Usopp! The pirates are here! A pirate ship with a skull flag... i-is right at the North Coast!!"
"You're lying, right? Onion."
Usopp was stunned for a moment, then he patted Onion's shoulder with an appreciative look.
"Not bad, even I was almost fooled by you. Such acting deserves praise!"
"It's true! It's really true!!"
Onion was so anxious he was about to cry, waving his arms frantically. "I saw it with my own eyes! It's really a pirate ship!"
Looking at Onion's terrified expression, the smile on Usopp's face froze.
"R-really?"
He turned pale with fright, his legs involuntarily starting to tremble, and his body instinctively backed away.
"Ah... that, I suddenly remembered I haven't fed my little turtle yet!"
With that, Usopp turned and bolted, his speed so fast it was staggering.
"I have an emergency! I'm going back first!!"
"Huh?! He ran away!!"
Onion, Piman, and Carrot, the three kids, watched their Captain's retreating back in stunned silence.
Onion couldn't help but shout, "Captain Usopp!! There are only four of them!! Didn't you always say you wanted to be a brave pirate?!!"
"Screech—"
Hearing "four people" and "brave pirate," the sprinting Usopp skidded to a halt, his soles creating a cloud of dust on the ground.
He stiffly turned his body, forcing a confident smile.
"Ahaha... that was just a warm-up. The North Coast, right? I accidentally went in the wrong direction."
Usopp wiped away his cold sweat and waved his hand:
"In that case, let's go take a look! Follow me! Usopp Pirates, move out!"
"Yes!!"
The three kids immediately widened their eyes and followed excitedly.
...
Meanwhile, at the North Coast.
The sky was nearing evening, and the distant horizon seemed to be painted with a layer of burning flames by the setting sun, the waves shimmering.
"Rustle..."
A sailing ship flying the Straw Hat skull flag slowly docked at the beach.
A group of four walked down the ladder.
Tatsuya stepped onto the soft sand, took a deep breath of the air filled with the scent of earth, and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Phew... land is still more comfortable."
"Yes, after all, when at sea, a certain someone can't even swim. I wonder who that is~" Nami teased from behind.
"310 million Berries."
"You bastard!"
In today's match, Tatsuya emerged victorious.
"It's been so long since we've been on land!!"
Luffy and Zoro were also standing on the beach, stretching their bodies as their joints cracked loudly.
"Nami, there's a Village up there, right?" Luffy asked, turning his head.
"Yeah, according to the map, it's a small Village called Syrup Village," Nami confirmed.
"Great!"
As soon as Luffy heard there was a Village, his eyes instantly turned into the shape of meat, and he immediately started sprinting toward the slope.
"Then—meat! Meat! I want to eat meat!!"
"Luffy! Wait!"
Just then, Zoro suddenly looked at the bushes on the cliff ahead, his brow furrowed as his hand instantly went to his sword hilt.
Luffy braked sharply and turned his head. "Zoro? What is it?"
"There's danger," Zoro said in a deep voice, his gaze sharp.
"Huh?!"
Hearing there was danger, Nami screamed reflexively, instantly hiding behind Tatsuya and peeking out with half her head while grabbing his clothes.
"Danger? Where?"
"Don't even think about passing through here!!"
A loud shout suddenly came from atop the cliff.
"Shiu shiu shiu—!"
Then, a large number of small stones shot toward Luffy like raindrops.
"Wa wa wa!"
Luffy dodged left and right in a panic. "What are these?! Bullets?"
Zoro frowned, reached out to catch one, and opened his palm to look. "Small stones?"
While everyone was puzzled, a rustling sound suddenly came from the bushes above.
Then, one skull flag after another rose from the bushes, appearing so dense that it looked as if an army of thousands was lying in ambush behind them.
"Whoa!!"
Instead of being afraid, Luffy's eyes widened and he waved his hands, shouting excitedly:
"So cool! So many flags!"
"Hey, Luffy, is this the time to be impressed?"
Nami hid behind Tatsuya, looking at the simple-minded guy with a dark expression.
Then she noticed that Tatsuya's shoulders in front of her were also shaking slightly, and she couldn't help but look up and snap:
"What are you laughing at again!"
Tatsuya pointed up with a smile. "Nothing, I just think this scene... is quite cute."
"Ahem!"
The voice came from the cliff again, this time with a hint of forced majesty.
"Hey! Pirates ahead! This is the territory of the great pirate Captain—Usopp!!"
A long-nosed figure stood among the flags, arms crossed, shouting down at them:
"For the sake of your lives, I advise you to leave immediately! Otherwise..."
"So cool!!" Luffy was still completely oblivious, his eyes full of stars.
Nami, however, keenly noticed something.
She stepped out from behind Tatsuya, squinting her eyes as her gaze landed precisely on the lower body of the man calling himself "Captain Usopp."
There, his legs were shaking like a leaf.
Nami curled her lips into a devilish smile.
"You're lying, aren't you?"
This light sentence instantly shattered the atmosphere on the cliff.
"Ah!! I've been seen through?! Since when?!"
Usopp cried out in panic, clutching his head with a look of utter frustration.
Nami smiled and crossed her arms. "See, he said it himself that he's been seen through."
"Ah, I accidentally said it out loud! Dammit!" Usopp covered his mouth in frustration.
"What?! It's a lie?" Luffy shouted in shock, as if he had been greatly deceived.
"You only just realized?! You idiot!" Nami couldn't help but shout at him.
Seeing the lie exposed, Usopp gritted his teeth and stubbornly refused to give in.
He put on a fierce expression again and pointed down, shouting:
"Don't be too arrogant!! I am a man who has... has eighty million followers!!"
"With just one order from me, you'll be torn to pieces!"
Nami raised an eyebrow and said in a playful tone:
"Oh? Eighty million followers?"
Her gaze swept over the small heads peeking out from behind the flags.
"Is it three people?"
"Ah!!! Exposed again!!"
Hiding behind the flags, Onion, Piman, and Carrot, the three kids, screamed in fright at those words.
"Run! That woman is a witch!"
The three small figures instantly dropped the flags in their hands and ran toward the Village, crying and disappearing in a flash.
"Hey! Don't run away! That's so disloyal!"
Usopp looked despairingly at his fleeing subordinates, his legs shaking even harder.
Nami glanced at Tatsuya, who had been watching the show, then bent down and picked up one of the small stones that had been shot earlier, tossing it in her hand.
"After all, I've never heard of a pirate who uses a slingshot as a weapon," Nami said with a smile.
Just then, Tatsuya, who had been silent, suddenly stepped forward.
He raised his head, his dark eyes looking at Usopp on the cliff with an incredibly serious expression.
"No, Nami, don't be careless."
Tatsuya said in a deep voice.
Nami was stunned for a moment and looked at him in confusion. "What?"
Tatsuya pointed at Usopp and said with a straight face:
"What if... he really has eighty million followers."
The air froze for a second.
"Go to hell!!! This island couldn't even fit eight thousand people!!"
Nami's furious roar echoed across the coast, and then a small stone flew with a whistling sound, accurately striking the back of Tatsuya's head.