Chapter 25: The Legendary yaksha
Nami irritably pulled the apple out of her mouth and took a heavy bite.
Only then did she look at the long-nosed youth opposite her.
"Hey, Usopp, I wonder if we can buy a large ship in your Village?"
"We're headed for the Grand Line, and our current boat is simply too small."
Luffy, munching on meat beside her, nodded incessantly.
Hearing this, Usopp, who was holding a cup, froze. His eyes flickered guiltily to the side, not daring to look Nami in the eye.
"As... as you can see, this is just a remote, ordinary little Village. Where would we get a large ship?"
"Regrettably, I'll have to disappoint you..."
"Oh?"
Nami keenly caught his evasive gaze. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, revealing a little devil's smile.
She leaned forward slightly. "You're lying, aren't you?"
"Ah! I've been found out!" Usopp nearly jumped in fright, covering his mouth with both hands as cold sweat poured down.
"Hmph, just as I thought." Nami glanced triumphantly at Tatsuya beside her.
Zoro, sitting by the window, turned his head. His gaze pierced through the glass toward a lush green hill in the distance.
"On that hill over there, there's a very large villa... A place where rich people live should have a large ship."
"Ah, you're right!"
Nami followed his gaze, and her eyes instantly lit up, as if she saw countless Berries waving at her.
She turned her head and looked at Usopp with a beaming smile:
"Hey, Usopp, it looks like you're quite familiar with the owner of that villa."
"Since you're friends, could you ask them to put up some money and sponsor us?"
*Pfft.*
As soon as she finished speaking, Tatsuya unceremoniously nudged her with his elbow.
"What was that for?" Nami turned back, dissatisfied.
Tatsuya shrugged helplessly. "We have money now; we can just buy one directly."
"Huh? Save a bit where you can! You spendthrift Vice Captain!" Nami was about to retort.
"Ah! Absolutely not there!!"
Just then, the previously timid Usopp suddenly slammed the table and stood up in agitation, shouting loudly.
Everyone was startled by his sudden reaction.
Realizing he had lost his composure, Usopp's expression shifted.
Then, his mouth opened exaggeratedly wide, and his gaze once again stiffly drifted toward the distance.
"Ah... speaking of which, I suddenly remembered I have something very important to do! For example... holding a meeting for my eighty million subordinates!"
Usopp stood up from his seat in a fluster.
"You guys just eat and drink whatever you want; this meal is on Captain Usopp! I'm leaving now, goodbye!"
With that, he hurriedly ran out the door and vanished in a flash.
"Hey..."
Nami watched Usopp's departing back in confusion, resting her chin in her hand thoughtfully.
"He really loves to lie..."
"But looking at his reaction just now, he seems very familiar with the owner of that villa... Why was he in such a panic?"
"Owner! More meat!" Luffy shouted, holding up an empty plate.
"Luffy!"
...
Meanwhile, outside the restaurant.
Three small figures were lurking sneakily around the corner, peeking in to observe the situation inside.
They were the three 'Marine Admirals' of the Usopp Pirates—Piiman, Onion, and Carrot.
"Is it really this shop?" Piiman asked in a low, nervous voice.
"That's right!" Onion adjusted his glasses with a look of certainty. "I saw those pirates take Captain Usopp inside with my own eyes!"
"We have to go save him!" Carrot clenched his fists.
"But... those are real pirates! They're demons who kill without blinking!" Onion was trembling slightly.
"Maybe... maybe Captain Usopp has already been eaten by them!"
"Stupid Onion! The ones who eat people are those fanged yakshas! How could pirates eat people!"
Piiman retorted loudly. To bolster his courage, he suddenly pulled out a wooden sword from his waist with a resolute face.
"Everyone! This will be the most heroic battle since the founding of the Usopp Pirates! To rescue the Captain, charge!"
"Oh!!"
The three glanced at each other, then charged forward aggressively and pushed open the restaurant's main door.
*Bang!*
"The Usopp Pirates have arrived!!"
The three children's immature shouts echoed through the restaurant.
However, the intense battle they anticipated did not occur.
At the front counter, the shop owner, who was reading a newspaper, merely gave them a lazy glance before lowering his head to continue reading.
Luffy, who was chewing on a large piece of meat, stopped and looked toward the door with bulging cheeks.
"Ah, it's pirates!" Luffy said indistinctly.
"Idiot, those are just kids," Nami remarked, speechless.
The three brats looked around, and when they didn't see the familiar figure, their hearts sank.
"The Captain isn't here..."
The three summoned their courage and walked aggressively to Luffy's table. Though their legs were shaking, their gazes were firm.
"Hey! Pirates! Where did you take our Captain Usopp?!"
"Where did we take him?"
Tatsuya set down his teacup, a harmless smile appearing on his face.
He pointed a finger with a beaming smile at the empty plates on the table that Luffy had just licked clean.
"Your Captain... was just here a moment ago."
Looking at the empty plates, Nami couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.
Tatsuya wasn't wrong; he really was here just now.
"Ah... what do you mean... could it be..."
"Ah! That meat was so delicious!"
Luffy cooperatively patted his round belly and even let out a satisfied burp, saying:
"The meat was very fresh... Your Captain has already been eaten by us!"
"That's right."
Zoro, beside them, also set down his wine cup and placed his hand on his sword hilt. His expression instantly became dark and terrifying, matched with a low voice:
"Not even the bones are left."
"Ah!!! A yaksha!!"
The three brats were instantly scared out of their wits, huddling together and trembling.
But their terrified gazes were all fixed squarely on—Nami.
"Wh-why are you all looking at me?!"
Veins popped on Nami's forehead as she roared in exasperation, "Do I look like a man-eating yaksha?!"
"It's all your fault for talking nonsense!"
The more Nami thought about it, the angrier she got. She swung her fist and slammed it hard into Tatsuya beside her.
*Bang!*
"Huh? Why hit me? It was clearly Luffy and Zoro who were scaring them, right?" Tatsuya clutched his head, looking innocent.
"Because of you lately!" Nami said righteously.
"Hahahaha!"
Seeing Tatsuya suffer, Zoro and Luffy's joyful laughter erupted at the table.
"Waaah! Too scary!"
Seeing this group of terrifying pirates laughing and bickering, the three brats' legs went weak, and they collapsed to the ground.
...
The scene shifted.
After the misunderstanding was cleared up, led by the three brats, the group arrived at the outskirts of the luxurious villa situated at the top of the hill.
Through the iron fence, they could see a massive, neatly manicured garden and a grand Western-style house.
"Hey, Tatsuya, why did you give that owner so much money!"
Walking along the road, Nami was still brooding over Tatsuya's extravagance when paying the bill.
"That meal was a few thousand Berries at most, and you actually gave fifty thousand! That was my... our money!"
Tatsuya walked ahead leisurely with one hand in his pocket, saying as if it were a matter of course:
"Hey, you said what you really felt. Besides, isn't money meant to be spent?"
"That was still too much! You spendthrift Vice Captain!" Nami's heart ached so much she could hardly breathe.
Walking in front, Piiman couldn't help but laugh as he listened to their bickering:
"What do you know, so the cannibalism thing was just a joke. Scared me to death."
Luffy leaned against the iron railing, looking at the villa before him with his mouth wide open in surprise.
"Wow!! Such a big house! There must be lots of meat!"
"Hehe, since you say the Captain disappeared, then he'll definitely be here," Piiman said with certainty.
"Hmm? What's he doing in a place like this?" Zoro was somewhat puzzled. "This is a rich person's private residence."
Piiman pushed up his glasses, a mysterious smile appearing on his face as he pointed to a window on the second floor of the villa:
"Of course... to lie!"