The trio were now only few hours away from reaching Syruup Village, while Luffy was munching on the some fruits and Zoro was taking a nap, Nami was still emerged in her thoughts and the picture of the destroyed island came again in her mind. She then glanced at Luffy and Zoro, and sighed in content, 'They are strong….no not just strong, they are monsters. After all these years of sufferings, my village can finally be free and Belle-Mere's death won't be in vain.' Nami thought this and she is very happy that her new friends are going to help free her village and also make her stronger than Arlong himself.
Luffy while munching some apples can clearly feel the turmoil of emotions coursing in Nami, first disbelief then realization and then happiness. 'Well atleast she won't be running away from us like original canon.' After he finished the remaining food supply on the boat, he sighed, "Man I need something to eat…I can't go on like this just eating fruits, I need meat!!!" hearing Luffy's rant Zoro also spoke up, "Yeah right Cap, I also need some booze. My throat feels like dry sand."
Nami seeing both Luffy and Zoro's stupid reasons for more food and drinks, she greeted her teeth and yells at them with shark like teeth, "SHUT UP YOU IDIOTS…YOU WERE THE ONE'S WHO FINISHED ALL THE FOOD SUPPLY AND NOW YOU WANT MORE…." There was a visible bump on Luffy's head as Nami had just punched him, seeing Luffy hurt Zoro started to sweat, "Damn witch, is that Color of Supreme King!!!" Nami looked at Zoro with menacing aura as her eyes lit ablaze, "What do you call me??" Zoro immediately looked away. "Yes, that's what I think.." Nami said and started to look at her map. 'Scary/ Witch' was the current thought of both Luffy and Zoro.
After two hours they finally reached at the shores of the island where Syruup Village is located, all three of them hopped off the boat started to walk to towards village, when suddenly both Luffy and Zoro stopped on their tracks. Nami got confused seeing this but suddenly five pirate flags were raised from the bushes on the top of the cliff. "BEHOLD RIVAL PIRATES, YOU'VE STEPPED ON THE ISLAND PROTECTED BY GREAT PIRATE USSOP, IF YOU TAKE ANOTHER STEP FORWARD THEN MY 80 MILLION MENS WILL ATTACK YOU!!!" said a certain long-nosed sniper from the edge of the cliff.
Hearing this, both Zoro and Nami deadpanned while Luffy has stars in his eyes, "Amazing….80 Million!!!" Zoro just looked at Luffy with, 'Are you serious look'. Nami rubbed her forehead in frustration because of Luffy's antics. She looked at the long-nosed teen, "Are you talking about those three kids hiding in the bush!!!" the kids in the bush immediately threw the flag and ran away. Ussop seeing this panicked, "AHHH, HOW DID SHE FIND OUT!!!" Nami just looked at him as if he is an idiot, "You just confirmed it." "AHHH…SHE TRICKED ME!!!"
Luffy and Zoro looked at the scene with amusement, then suddenly Ussop who was panicking fell of the cliff but Luffy immediately caught him and put him down. Ussop inspected himself then sighed in relief, "Well thanks for the save." Luffy waved his hand in dismissive manner, "No worries, but tell me…Are you Yassop's kid??" Hearing that Name, Ussop's eyes widen, "Y..you know my dad!!!" Luffy grinned and wrapped Ussop in one hand hug, "If you want I can tell you everything about him…" then he paused and looked at the surrounding, "But this is not good place to share stories, so you can lead us to a restaurant and we can talk there." Ussop nodded eagerly and lead them to restaurant.
Sometime later at the restaurant, "What 1.8 billion…??" both Nami and Ussop shouted at hearing Yassop's bounty. Zoro while drinking some booze was also listening to Luffy telling tales about the greatest Sniper in the World, who is also this guy who introduced himself as Ussop's father. He can clearly see where it is going and if Ussop got his father's any talent then he is a valuable asset to the crew.
Luffy took a bite from his food then looked at Ussop, "You know, he also told me that if ever I gather up my own crew than I can recruit you to be my sniper!!!" Ussop who was in his own world thinking about how cool his father is was shocked at hearing Luffy's statement, "R..really he said that??" Luffy nodded. Ussop then rubbed his head in nervousness, "Well, it would be great to join you guys….but I can't leave this village!!" Nami looked at Ussop, "Why??? Homesick!!!" Ussop shake his head in no manner, "It's not that…It's….aaa….well there is someone here whom I had been taking care of, if I will go with you guys I don't know what will happen to her!!!" Luffy finished his food then he looked at him, "Well it's okay. That's your decision to make!!! But can you atleast help us at getting a new ship??" Ussop was surprised hearing that they accepted his excuse, "Huh…oh you want a ship….I might know a right person for that!!! Come with me!!!"
They followed Ussop towards the Giant Mansion, as they were walking there the three kids from earlier came rushing towards Ussop, "CAPTAIN CAPTAIN!!!! ARE YOU OKAY??….DID THEY DO SOMETHING WITH YOU???" Ussop seeing the three just laughed, "No no….they are actually my fans and are here to join my crew!!!!" Kids eyes were widen hearing this, "Really….you're amazing Captain!!!!" then they looked towards Both Luffy and Zoro, "Well they looks strong too!!!" then they looked towards Nami, "Except her!!" Nami got angry at that, "WHY YOU BRATS….." she yelled and bonked them on the head.
After that the kids also followed the group towards Mansion, as they reached there, Ussop climbed the wall and looked inside then he mentioned the group to follow him. Nami was hesitant by this, "Hey shouldn't we enter through the front gate??" "Nah it's okay, the owner of the Mansion is my friend." Luffy laughed and grabbed Nami and the kids then he jumped over the wall, Zoro soon followed him. Nami reprimanded Luffy for his sudden action but he just laughed it off, then they saw Ussop climbing the tree near one of the window and tapped on it.
The window opened and a frail looking blonde girl peeked out of it, seeing Ussop she beamed with happiness, "Ussop you are here!!!!" Ussop laughed at girl's excitement, "Of course, the Great Captain Ussop never breaks his promises." Then the girl looked at the group, "Huh..Who are they Ussop??" but before he could reply Luffy stepped forward and place his right on his Strawhat and bowed a little towards her, "Well miss my name is Monkey D Luffy and we are Ussop's friends." Ussop hearing this was shocked, 'He called me their friend even after I rejected him'. The girl hearing Luffy, smiled and bowed a little too, "Welcome Mister Luffy, I am Kaya and what can I do for you??" Luffy looked at her, "Well you se…" "Who are you ruffians and what are you doing here???" a tall and lanky looking man with slick back black hair wearing a butler suit and a round spectacle asked Luffy and his group while walking towards them.
But Luffy ignored him and kept his smile, "Well as I was saying, If you don't mind then can you help us getting a new ship, I'll pay full price for it." Kaya looked at Luffy and was about to give him her answer but was cut by the butler, "Didn't you hear me!!! Get out of here and miss Kaya didn't associate herself with the likes of you!!!" Nami's eyes were twitching and Ussop clenched his fist in frustration, the kids were also afraid and hid behind Nami, while Zoro kept looking at Luffy and Luffy kept smiling.
Luffy looked at Kaya, "Well miss, it looks like your butler is a boss here!!!" Kaya looked at her butler with embarrassment, "Klahadore stop it, they are Ussop's friends and they are here for business." The butler now named Klahadore adjusted his spectacle with palm of his hand, "Ussop you say!!! Well I should've known by their behaviors that they are associated with him." Then he spotted Ussop sitting on the branch of the tree near Kaya's window. "You, get down right now!!!"
As Ussop dropped to the ground, Klahadore started to talk again, "I've heard the rumors about you, you have quite a reputation in the village." Hearing this Ussop rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Oh…why, thank you. You may call me Captain Ussop, if you wish." Klahadore just adjusted his spectacle again and looked at Ussop with a sneer, "I see that you certainly do like to flap your tongue." "What!?" asked Ussop, while Luffy was seeing this and with help of his canon knowledge he already knows what the fake butler is going to say. "I have heard about your father, as well. You're the son of a filthy pirate. I wouldn't put anything past you. Do not come near the Mistress anymore!!"
Ussop got angry at hearing Klahadore badmouthing his father, he immediately ran towards the butler to punch him but he was stopped by Luffy who caught him, "Let me go Luffy, how dare he speak shit about my father!!! He'll know that my father is one of the….." Ussop couldn't continue as Luffy covered his mouth with his hand while Ussop is still struggling. Klahadore looked at the raging Ussop, "As I thought, a pirate's son just as filthy as his father is!!!" this, not only make Ussop more angry but also hit Luffy's nerve, thinking about his brother Ace situation. He looked at Khaladore with neutral face which sent shivers down the butler's spine. Luffy then looked at Kaya, "Well miss, it looks like we have to postpone our meeting to later day." Kaya just looked down in shame, then Luffy looked at the fake butler, "We'll be seeing each other soon…..very soon." With that Luffy took the still raging Ussop with him and leaves the Mansion, and the rest of the group followed behind him.
Soon the group reached an empty Cliffside and Luffy finally let Ussop go. As soon as Ussop was free, he looked at Luffy with anger, "Why did you stop me, I could have beat the shit out of that bastard and told him how great my dad is!!!" he yelled at Luffy, while Luffy just stood there and listened to Ussop's yelling. Then Zoro looked at the three kids, "Hey brats, why don't you go home and see if your parents are not searching for you, it's already late!!!" the three kids wanted to protest but one look from Zoro and they immediately ran away. Nami was confused my Zoro did it and why Luffy stopped Ussop.
Luffy looked at Ussop who had finally calmed down after some minutes but there is still some anger lingering in his eyes, Luffy walked towards the edge and sat down there and mentioned Ussop to sit beside him. Ussop hesitantly sat beside him then Luffy spoke, "Do you know why I stopped you from telling him about your father?" Ussop shake his head in no manner, then Luffy continued, "Because you're the son of one of the main commander's of a Yonko and you know what will happen if a someone not with good intention find out about this?" Ussop started to sweat in anxiety, but this time it was Zoro who spoke, "They will kidnap you and use you as leverage against a Yonko crew or worse if Marines capture you, they will use you as bait against your father's crew and go on an all out war in order to eliminate one of the Yonko." Both Ussop's and Nami's face morphed in absolute horror, then Ussop started to sweat as he looked at Luffy, who was still looking at the sea, "Do you understand now??" Ussop nodded his head in hurry.
"Good because we've a visitor…" Luffy said as he looked down towards the beach where a familiar figure of Klahadore is talking with a man who looks like a cheap copy of Michael Jackson, this caught everyone's attention, well Zoro already sensed it with his Observation Haki. They all looked at the two talking and found out that Klahadore's real name is Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates and he is here to take away Kaya's all wealth and kill her and they will be raiding the village at the evening and make it looks like it was an accident. Hearing all this Ussop got terrified and started to panic but Luffy assured him that everything will be fine.
So, they immediately made plan to ambush the pirates by spilling the oil on the slop where the pirates will enter and they waited for them to come. After half an hour, the pirates finally arrived and they were hundreds in number, when the pirates saw Luffy and his group, they laughed, "Hey look, we've the hero's standing infront of us…HAHAHAHA" the pirates also laughed. Jango looked at Luffy and Zoro with some nervousness, as he had a bad feeling about this, but seeing that they are only four and he has hundreds of men's, he relaxed a little.
Ussop and Nami seeing so many pirates got afraid and started to shake in fear, "Th…they are so many of them!!" Ussop exclaimed. Luffy seeing Ussop's and Nami's fear sighed and looked at Zoro, "Oi Zoro!! I want you to reduce their numbers." Zoro listening to this just nodded and looked at the incoming pirates with his lone right eye which all of a sudden shined red and a terrifying force wash over everyone and knocked out a massive majorities of the opposing pirates. It also affected Ussop and Nami as they both had fallen to their knees and breathing heavily.
Luffy rubbed his forehead in frustration then looked at his first-mate, "Zoro, you need to train more to control your Conquerors Haki or it might affect badly on our future allies!!!" Zoro tsked but none the nodded about training. Luffy then let his Haki cover both Ussop and Nami to get them back to their senses and free of Zoro's Haki. After that, both of them shakily stood up and looked at Zoro with nervousness, Luffy seeing the lingering doubt, grabbed their shoulders firmly and looked at them, "It's okay, you don't need to worry about anything!!!! It's just Zoro's Haki…but this also shows that both of you need some serious training!!!" this got Ussop's attention, "W..wait, you mean to say that if I train, I can also do that…." He said pointing towards the unconscious pirates. Luffy shook his head, "Well not exactly that, but something closer to it!!!" then he looked at Nami, "Go and loot their treasures…" Nami brighten up hearing treasure and immediately forgot about what happened few moments ago as she ran run towards the pirate ship.
Luffy looked at the down pirates and only one person is still conscious, that is Jango but he looked like he could collapse any moment, so he didn't have to worry about anything right now and just have to wait for Kuro to arrive here. For the time being, they had tied all the pirates and thrown them on the ship.
Suddenly both Luffy and Zoro sensed a familiar presence coming towards the shore side, they knew who it is…Kuro, and lo and behold he is here and he doesn't seems happy with the situation. Then he looked at them with animosity, "You…you had ruined everything….my three years of plan and preparation, everything is gone….because of you." Then he took out his finger blades gloves and put it on, but before he could do anything a pistol is aimed at his head. All of them looked at the person who is holding the weapon only to see it is Kaya, who is crying and shaking but still aimed the pistol at Kuro's head. "Wh….Why Klahadore?!! I thought you as a family, but you betrayed us…Why??"
Kuro just adjusted his glasses with the palm of his hand and then looked at Kaya, "I was never the part of your family. It was all for the sake of my own accomplishment….but now that you're here, I will kill you by myself…" with fast speed, he strikes at Kaya to cut her in half, but Ussop dived and tackle Kaya out of the way but in process he got a large gash on his left forearm. Kaya seeing Ussop's injury immediately tried to stop the bleeding. Kuro looked at the scene with sneer, "Well now this is good, I can kill you all now…" he said and suddenly he started to limp and his hands dangling, looking at Kuro's posture Luffy knew what was coming, so he with incredible speed reached behind Kuro and a solid chop on the neck render him unconscious. Everyone just blinked at seeing this finish so quickly, they thought it was going to be a long fight but Luffy ended it over so quickly.
Ussop looked at the scene, 'It's over' he thought and finally went limp in Kaya's arms. Kaya seeing Ussop's condition started to panic but Luffy assured her that he is just unconscious and he will just need some rest, she sighed in relief. After Nami raided the Pirate Ship and took all the money they had, Kaya called local Marines and they arrested the Black Cat Pirates and took them away.
Two days later, after Ussop woke up and Merry who is one of the Kaya's oldest servant who was stabbed by Kuro got well, they all finally decided to talk about ship dealing. Merry said that he had one ship in his mind, it just need some renovation and it will be good as new, they all agreed to it. Everyone was doing good well except Ussop, who is stuck between his own thought when suddenly Luffy came to his aid, "You know thinking too much about something will not help you. Sometime you need just Guts to do it." Ussop looked at him, "What do you mean??!" "I mean, just go and talk to her about what you really want to do!!! What your heart is telling you to do!!" Ussop looked at Luffy for few seconds, then he took a deep breath and walked towards Kaya for a serious talk, while Luffy smile seeing a change in Ussop.
Three days later, Luffy and his group were now at the shore of Syruup Village. They all saw a big caravel Ship with sheep head is docked at the shore. Kaya and Merry walked towards the group, "This is Going Merry and it is fully designed by Merry here…" Kaya said pointing towards her servant who bowed at his praise. "I hope you guys like it!!" Luffy walk towards the Going Merry and slowly touched the ship, "Going Merry…I love it." He said. Kaya smiled at that when suddenly they all heard a loud cry for help and they saw Ussop with a large backpack is rolling down the slope, both Luffy and Zoro put their feets to stop his descend. Ussop looked at them, "Thanks a lot guys." He said and then he walked towards Kaya and looked into her eyes, "Well I will be setting off… You take care…" but he was cut off when Kaya suddenly kissed him on his lips which shocked him to his core that he froze, when Kaya backed away he finally regains his senses and he immediately blushed very hard. Luffy and Zoro seeing this smirked and Nami just giggled at it.
Ussop looked at Kaya, but her only answer was to push him gently towards Luffy and his group. He looked at them as they nodded at him, he then looked at Kaya and puffed his chest, "Soon Kaya, My name will be known throughout the world!!!" Kaya giggled at this then she waved at them as the now newly formed Pirate group boarded their new ship and set sailed.