《Warrior of the Sea》


 Chapter 1: Waking Up

    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    This is how it all started, all those years ago, my journey began with annoying banging at my door.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    "Usopp! Wake up! Your promised to tell us stories today!"


    "Yea! You better not have lied to us!


    "We''ll beat you up Usopp! We want our stories!


    Those kids, my pride and joy, I used to think they were such snot nosed brats, but I couldn''t help but instantly take a liking to them. At that moment though, I hated them more than anybody I''ve ever met before. I wasnota morning person, and the banging and screaming wasnota good way to wake me up.


    So groggy, I didn''t even realise that my name wasn''t actually called! What I did know though, was a couple of idiots were ruining my beauty sleep.


    "I don''t want to buy any cookies! Go away or I swear I''ll eat your intestines!" I shouted, sitting up and finally opening my eyes for just a moment to scream at the door. It was then that I could shake my sleepiness off enough to notice how strange the situation was.


    Firstly, how did kids end up outside my bedroom? I didn''t have any brothers or sisters and certainly no children, I was only 17 after all, still living with my parents.


    Secondly, when I sat up I realised something else. The door was straight in front of me...and it wasn''t mine. It was wooden, and seemed to almost be falling off the hinges. It looked old and beaten up.


    At this point I began looking around in confusion and my blood ran cold at the discovery. Not just the door was different, but everything. My tv, game system, pictures, posters, and mirror were all gone.


    Instead what I found was a beaten up dresser with nothing on it, I was laying on a twin sized bed instead of my queen, and my head hurt. Badly. It felt like my brain was trying to jump out of my skull and getting worse by the second.


    It was then that pictures started flashing through my mind. Memories of a person, of a life, that I never lived. What really got me, is that as the memories flashed by, I could recognise certain people and places.


    A dark skinned man with dreadlocks holding a pistol with a musket on his back: Yasopp.


    A beautiful young sickly blond with a smile that could brighten the sun: Kaya


    3 young kids, one with green hair, purple hair, and orange hair: Piiman, Ninjin, Tamanegi.


    All these and more flew inside of me, and suddenly I knew things, things that the anime and manga never showed. Nothing really important mind you, but things I didn''t have knowledge of before nevertheless.


    I don''t exactly remember how long I was actually sitting there, but it must have been long enough for the kids to forget my very serious threat and barge in. And there they stood, in front of me like it was normal for them to be there; Piiman, Ninjin, and Tamanegi. Or rather Pepper, Carrot, and Onion for the dub watchers.


    I could recognise them immediately, not only because of the weird headache, but because they looked no different from when I was watching them on screen. And I mean that in a very literal sense. They didn''tlooklike their anime counterparts, theyweretheir anime counterparts. They actuallywereanime.


    In fact, EVERYTHING looked to be anime drawn. I looked down at my hands and knew, that evenIwas anime drawn.


    "Ugh! Usopp you promised us a story if we went to sleep early! Why are you being weird and staring at your hands? Is there something on them?" the green haired Pepper asked with a tilt of his head? With the question, all three surround the small bed to see what I was looking at.


    Once they realised nothing was there though they got a little angry.


    "Oi! Did you trick us!? There''s nothing here!" this time the purple hair Carrot screamed.


    Confused and honestly scared out of my mind, I needed time to think, alone. Away from the screaming children, and for a second, just a single second, I acted like everything that was happening was normal.


    "Pepper, Carrot, Onion, how about you go in the kitchen and eat huh? I''ll tell you a story while we eat breakfast, I just need to get ready for the day." I said, with the kindest smile I could place. It was then that I heard all three of their stomachs growl, and my smile froze as I saw their faces. They looked to the ground while holding their stomachs, and I could tell they were trying to avoid looking me in the eye. That''s when what I said caught up to me.


    "Usopp...we ate the last of our food last night remember? We don''t have anymore."


    They were orphans, all three of them. Honestly, thinking back on it, it makes sense. We never saw any of their parents in the manga or anime. If they had them, why would they let their kids hang around a known pirates child. Not only that, but Usopp was a troublemaker himself, an obvious bad influence. Why had their parent''s never stepped in? Because they didn''t have any.


    Usopp found them in this abandoned building after his mother died. He needed somewhere to go and be alone, when he came upon a run down shack with 3 kids in it sharing a stale piece of bread. Ever since that day, he''s been with them. It''s been a year since then, and he considered them his little brothers.


    Almost immediately, the same feelings passed on to me. I can''t tell you whether it was because I was now in his body and took on some of his feelings or another reason, but one thing was certain, I promised myself I would protect those kids.


    I jumped out of bed with gusto, and made sure to keep my smile on full blast.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    "Well let''s go get some then! Don''t worry, today I have a plan, but give me time to get ready okay?"


    Within moments, their smiles could almost rival mine. Nodding they left the room talking amongst themselves. My face fell immediately. A million thoughts ran through my head per second.


    Why was I there? What happened to me? Did I die? I couldn''t actually remember dying though. The last thing I could recall was simply sitting in my room watching One Piece. There was no bright flash or pain, I didn''t meet any god. I was just...teleported.


    I honestly still couldn''t believe it. I was in One Piece. I was going to be the Sniper of the Strawhat Pirates. I was going to battle other pirate crews and the very world itself and win.


    ...I was going to battle...the world. The marines, Doflinmingo, hell even the fishman were terrifying. I couldn''t sit there and freak out over my situation, I didn''t have the time, especially since I didn''t know where I was in the timeline.


    Getting out of my bed, I walk to the dresser and open one the the droors. Sitting there in all of its glory was my slingshot. Picking it up, it felt right in my hands, like it belonged. Usopp apparently slept with his clothes on, so after I grabbed the slingshot, I quickly headed out into the kitchen to see the kids sitting around a dusty table, on chairs that seemed like they''d break if to much pressure was forced on them.


    First things first, we needed food. I couldn''t get stronger if I starved to death, and so I told the kids to follow me outside.


    "Where are we going?" asked Onion, he''s the one with orange hair.


    "To the market-" I answered looking at the sun just rising. "There are people there who are setting up their stands early but not too many people that we''d get caught."


    "Get caught doing what?" he asked innocently. I simply smiled and told the truth.


    "Stealing."


    """Stealing!""" they stopped walking and screamed. Luckily the shack is far enough away from the general public no one would hear anyway. "Isn''t stealing bad?" questioned Carrot.


    "Yup it is, but we''re going to do it anyway. Didn''t I promise to tell you something interesting today, well I might as well share my secret with you."


    """Ohhh, tell us! Tell us!""" they begged with stars in their eyes. Literal stars! Getting used to the whole ''Anime'' thing was gonna be hard.


    "You see, my dad is a very famous pirate name Yasopp. On the crew, he was the ships Sniper. Before he left, he told me that there was going to be a boy around my age named Luffy who is going to visit this island some day. He said that I''m the Sniper for that crew."


    "Wait...are you saying you''re a pirate!?'' asked Pepper, but before I could answer, Onion interrupted.


    "Screw that part, didn''t you hear what he said!? He already has a crew and is just waiting for them to pick him up. Usopp...is leaving us."


    "What¡­"


    I noticed tears form in their eyes and I also noticed them trying to hold them back. I think they were trying not to cry in front of me so I wouldn''t feel guilty about leaving to join my crew. All that really happened was my guilt multiplying because how caring the brats were. I shook my head.


    "No, I couldn''t leave you guys behind, we''re family right? You all are coming with me." With this, I must have shocked them enough to ruin their concentration, because their tears began flowing.


    "R-really?" asked Carrot. I nodded to confirm and smiled.


    "Of course, now wipe your tears, men must be strong enough to face the challenges of the world with a smile."


    """Aye!""" I chuckled on the outside but sighed on the inside. Now even an hour in yet and I was already changing the story. My future knowledge would become equal to trash on the road pretty soon.


    "But still though, why can''t we just go ask Kaya for food like normal?" Onion questioned with a frown. It seemed like he was the smartest of the group.


    "Because you all know Kaya is very nice to actually give us food once a week, but we already got our weeks share and I don''t want to go and beg for more. We already bother her too much as is and she has to hide it from that bastard Klahadore and Merry. If she gets caught she may get in trouble. Besides don''t worry, this won''t become too much of a regular thing, I have a plan.


    After a little bit we finally arrived at the market where just like Usopp''s knowledge predicted, were a few venders trying to set up their stall early.


    "Okay guys, here''s how this is going to go. You see that idiot over there setting up his fruits and vegetables stand?" I asked, pointing a rather normal looking individual. They all nodded. "You 3 are going to walk up arguing about who''s the strongest person of our group. Just as you are about to pass by him, Pepper I need you to push Carrot into him.Nothard, but just enough so Carrot bumps into our victim. Onion, you will then push Carrot, and you will all wrestle on the ground. While his attention is elsewhere, I''ll grab our breakfast. When I call your names, immediately stop and follow me. Understood?"


    They all nodded with a revering expression.


    "Alright, it''s showtime, go!" With that, the 3 began walking towards the vendor''s direction, talking about who''s the strongest amongst them. Actually, they were pretty good at acting. If I didn''t set up the scenario I wouldn''t have found anything suspicious.


    Just as planned, Carrot was knocked into the man, making him drop a couple of his wares. He started to yell at them about something but they paid him no mind as they began wrestling in the dirt.


    I casually walked behind the stand and placed several apples, oranges, bananas, and grapes in my satchel. Quickly, I walked walked away with no one the wiser. My plan however was working much better than I thought it would though, and several people were gathering around.


    Not one to waste an opportunity, I didn''t stop only at the fruit''s stall. I hit up other vendors. Vendors selling trinkets, meat, hell even some selling rum and alcohol since they were in my reach. I eventually had to stop when my satchel couldn''t hold more and called my group of great acting rascals. I made sure I was far enough away from my victims stands of course, so I wouldn''t draw suspicion.


    Just like I told them, they got off the ground and walk towards me, still growling and snarling at each other.


    Nice touch kids.


    After we were sure that the poor victims couldn''t see us, we ran back to our shack, laughing and giggling along the way. I knew that grabbing straight from the strall would be dangerous so I tried grabbing most from their inventory, those still in the bags and not yet placed. I hoped no one would notice.


    Once in the shack, I empty the spoils of our victory on the kitchen table and I couldn''t help but laugh as I saw all of them salivating.


    "Dig in guys, tonight we feast!" I scream, and they all shout in agreement before digging in with abandon. I knew that I should have been rationing out our foodstuffs but tomorrow was the day we were supposed to meet Kaya for our food anyway. And just for now, for my first day in this world, I wanted to give them a taste of freedom.


    "Guys, I''m going to go see Kaya, save some for me yeah? I''ll be back tonight."


    I heard whatmayhave been a ''sure'' but I couldn''t actually tell with the orange slices in their mouths as they use them to make funny faces.


    I chuckled as I left the building and headed back towards the market. You had to pass it to enter the main town and you had to passthatto get to Kaya''s manor. It took me a while, about 20 minutes, but I finally made it to Kaya''s place. Usually Usopp would skip right past the front door to get to Kaya''s window but I didn''t actually need Kaya.


    The person I needed was luckily in the front yard with shears gardening. He had fluffy white hair with weird antlers on top of his head. Merry. The moment he saw me, a scowl replaced the calm smile he had while taking care of the garden.


    "What do you want troublemaker? Kaya isn''t seeing you today."


    As I walked up to him, I could feel the disdain the man had for me. I knew he wasn''t a bad person though, and was only looking out for Kaya''s wellbeing. Plus, the real Usoppwasactually a troublemaker, so his scorn is very well earned.


    We stared at one another for a bit while I tried to figure out an effective way to reach my goal. The longer I stood there silently in front of him though, the more irritated he seemed to get.


    "Well?! Are here to just waste my time? If so, then I implore you to leave, Actually, whether you''re here to waste my time or not, leave anyway." he said with a nasty look. Just as he was about to turn around to focus on his duties, I dropped to my knees. I heard him gasp in shock but I couldn''t actually see his face, as my forehead touched the ground.


    "PLEASE GIVE ME A JOB!"


    I needed to train for what the future has in store for Usopp, better advice has never been spoken, but before the training, and the fights, and the pirates, I had 3 kids to take care of. And to do that, I needed money.


    "PLEASE!"

 Chapter 2: Training

    Silence¡­ it encumbered my very being. I was scared, I was nervous and terrified that this man-sheep person would decline my request. I am not a good person, never have been, never will be. Honestly I would have preferred throwing the thought of a job aside to train and just steal all that I need, but I couldn''t do so. I wanted to, oh believe me I did, but there was one thought that kept me from such an action.


    Yasopp.


    For some reason, I just knew that if I made stealing from this village a regular thing, then Usopp''s father would be disappointed in me, and I couldn''t stand to bear the thought. It was just like with the 3 brats, the moment I saw them I wanted to protect them. Usopp''s admiration for Yasopp must have carried over as well, because I would have rathered starved then disappoint Usopp''s father. Or rather, my father now.


    "Well then, that''s a ludicrous request. Why in the name of all that''s good in the world would I give you anything, yet alone responsibilities? Are you out of your mind boy? Have you gone crazy? You''re lucky Khaladore isn''t here right now, you would already be kicked off our lawn. Is that all? Then you can leave."


    "PLEASE! Just give me a chance! I just need a chance!" I begged. I needed this, I needed this so badly. While I would wholeheartedly let myself starve, no matter what, I would not let those kids go hungry. Even if I had to lose the respect of my new father, those children are my number one priority.


    .


    "Again boy, just why would I-"


    "CARROT!" I interrupted him.


    "...Carrots? What are you talking about? Have you really gone insane?"


    "Carrot...Pepper...Onion. I know you''ve seen them around with me after my mother died. The savings she had has run dry since 2 months ago." His eyebrows raised in surprise.


    "Then how have you-"


    "I''ve been having Kaya sneak us food once a week. And just today I had the kids help me steal from the people in the market." I explained and saw his face twist in disgust. He was not happy with me, and I knew I had to choose my next words carefully. He already didn''t like Usopp in the first place. I placed my head back into the dirt. I didn''t want to mess this up, and I had to show how sincere I was.


    "I knew it, you really are scum! Taking advantage of the sweet young Kaya, and even not ashamed enough to use children! I knew some food was missing lately but I just assumed Khaladre was preparing extra for Miss Kaya. She has been getting worse lately. Why are you even here, you clearly have no problem with being a criminal. It runs through your blood after all."


    "You''re right, I have no problem with being a criminal, if it was up to me I wouldn''t even be here right now, with my head in the dirt, throwing away my pride."


    "Then why are you here huh?"


    "The brats...I''m all they have. All three of them are orphans, with no parents to care for them and no family to watch over them. I would normally take my chances stealing and going against the law...but what if I get caught. They would starve. No one would be there for them." I say as I finally lift my head to see his expression. It was conflicted. "PLEASE Mary! I just need a chance! A chance to prove myself, and to become a better person! A better man!"


    At least until I leave all of that behind and become a pirate and give the world a big fat middle finger.


    "...I cannot approve your request." My stomach dropped as he answered.


    No¡­


    "But only because I am a mere butler. Kaya is the Mistress of this manor after all. So what do you say Miss Kaya, will you give him a job?" he asked, turning to the front door where Kaya herself was doing her best to hide.


    "Eep! How did you know I was here Merry?" she asked surprised.


    "I am your butler Miss Kaya, it is my job to know where and how you are at all times. So, will you give this young man a job?" he asked once more.


    "R-really? Can I?"


    "As I said, I am but a mere butler, the decision is completely up to you. I have no right to interfere in such matters."


    "T-then, please, I would like to hire Usopp! And I would like for you to teach him to be a butler Merry!" she exclaimed with a happy smile. Merry nodded.


    "As you command Miss." he turned to me. "You will start now, you don''t have any problem with that do you? Follow me." he ordered without waiting for my reply. We went into the manor and Merry told Kaya to go back upstairs and rest. Walking into what seemed to be a closet filled to the brim with butler outfits, he turned to me.


    "First things first, I want to make something very clear. Just because you and the Miss are ''friends''-" he forced out, as if even saying the world pained him. "Doesn''t mean you can slack off. If I think for even a single second you are taking advantage of her kindness, I will kick you out on the streets, regardless of the consequences. I feel for the young children under your care, really I do, but my first and only priority is to Miss Kaya. You only get this one shot, do not mess it up. You understand?" he demanded with a stoic expression. Honestly, being talked down to like that pissed me off quite a bit, but I knew Merry wasn''t actually an asshole do to my future knowledge.


    "Yes sir! I will live up to your expectations!" I said with a clear voice, hopefully with none of my irritation bleeding in. He nodded at my response.


    "Good, now find a uniform that will fit you and get out of those terrible clothes. I will wait outside the door until you''re done." and with that, he left the room and closed the door. I sighed and looked around the room to check out all of the suits


    Finding one that fit my scrawny body, a body that I was going to buff up as soon as possible, and a green tie, I take off my old clothes and put on my new ones. Without my hat holding down my hair though, it was puffed up on top of my head, so I looked through the droors until I finally found what I was looking for. A green hair tie. Grabbing all of my fluffs I slick it back and put the tie in. {AN: Check Story Picture for hair}The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Finally done, I leave my clothes in the corner and grab the handle to open the door, but before I do, I notice the fedoras further up. As a Strawhat, I of course needed an actual hat right? Jumping up, I grabbed a black fedora with a green band and placed it on my head. WIth my outfit complete, I walked out of the humongous closet to start the first day of my new life.


    That is, until I thought I was gonna lose it immediately afterwards. Right as I opened the door, I saw something, or rather someone, that causes all the blood to drain from my face. There, standing right in front of me, was Khalador. Also known as Captain Kuro, of the Black Cat pirates. To make it worse, he did the thing where his palm slowly goes up to fix his glasses and I could swear on my flag that it took almost all I had not to pass out from fear.


    "Well well well, what do we have here? A rat hiding in the closet." he said menacingly. I opened my mouth to explain myself, to tell him that his mistress hired me already and just like Merry, he couldn''t do shit about it. Well that''s what I wanted to say, but for some reason, my voice wouldn''t come out. This man, this pirate, was known merciless killer, and I was terrified.


    Honestly, I''m pretty ashamed to say that. Compared to most of Luffy''s enemies, Kuro is cannon fodder, I knew that. But for some reason, in that moment, he was the scariest thing in existence as my legs began to shake.


    "No response huh? It seems I have to force you off the premises." At those words, my knees gave out on me. I just couldn''t control them, they wouldn''t listen to my commands.


    Is this how I die?


    "Oh Khaladore, when did you get back? Stop scaring the boy, would you? Miss Kaya hired the kid as a new butler." Merry, seemingly coming out of nowhere spoke up form behind the pirate. Kuro turned to speak to the butler.


    "New butler? How foolish, let me talk to the Miss about this."


    "I know how you feel, but unfortunately, she''s put her foot down. Usopp is taking care of those three children down by the beach." NOOO, don''t tell him where we live you fool! "She''s determined to at least not allow those kids to starve."


    "Tch, our Mistress has too kind of a heart, especially for scum like this." he said casually, turning back to me. "But I guess it can''t be helped." and with that, he walked to do god knows what.


    Probably murder children and kick puppies.


    "Hurry and get up you fool, you just got the suit, don''t mess it up already. First I''ll show you the order in which you clean the manor and how your clean it. Follow me."


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    By the time I made it back to my sweet shack, the sun was beginning to set and the kids were in their room asleep. Looking at the kitchen table, I could see that there were a few fruits and vegetables left and even some meat.


    They left some for me huh? The brats aren''t that bad I guess.


    Walking up to the table, I sat down on a chair with a sigh and took a moment. Merry really worked me to the bone, and the manor was huge. I grabbed one of the bottles of rum I stole and downed it back.


    Huh...empty?


    Grabbing the other one, I looked to find that it was also empty. This was weird, because I was sure that when I actually grabbed the bottles they were unopened. That''s when it dawned on me.


    Those idiots drunk all the rum!


    Honestly, I wasn''t mad that they actually drank some of it, I was mad that they drank all of it. The way I saw it, they were already pirates, just waiting to be picked up like me. The laws of underage drinking didn''t really apply to them. Besides, people can bitch all they want about how irresponsible it is to let kids drink, but if you''re old enough to sail, then you''re old enough to do whatever the fuck you want.


    Just like how in Naruto, gaining your headband was the equivalent of becoming a legal adult. What was their saying? ''Old enough to kill, old enough to drink''. I said I was going to take care of the little rascals, I never said that I was gonna be a good influence.


    Disappointed at the lack of booze I could consume, I went out to train. I didn''t want to wake them up.


    First, I need to review, while yes I will be the Sniper of the Strawhat pirates, Usopp actually rarely ever sniped anyone. There was that one time at Enies lobby when he absolutely destroyed those soldiers from across the bridge and that other time in Dressrosa but most of Usopp''s fights themselves are close combat. That''s where the Rokushiki comes in. The 6 Powers are weak in the late game but anytime before the 2 year time skip, and they were amazing powers to have.


    I began to do push ups as I thought about my necessary steps to take in this world.


    I should probably learn Soru/Shave first, it is the easiest of the 6 to learn but also has the most potential for growth. The Soru would allow me to move at extremely high speeds in order to avoid attacks, as well as to attack at higher speeds and with greater power. It was revealed that the principle of this move was to kick off the ground at least ten times in the blink of an eye. The thing is, just knowing how the technique worked did me no good right now. My body just wasn''t able to go that fast. I tried while walking back home but nothing happened but me being stared at like an idiot.


    Next after Soru, the easiest thing to learn would probably be Geppo/Moonwalk. With the leg strength and speed required for Soru, I should be able to use Geppo if I forgo speed for power and step on the air.


    For now I''ll be focusing on those and practising my aiming, Usopp was already pretty good but I''m not exactly Usopp. Not fully anyway. With those two I would be able to run away and create distance to actually snipe.


    After 100 push ups I fell to the ground in exhaustion. I decided to rest for 10 minutes before moving onto the next exercise. Deadlifts, Lateral Lunges, Hip Thrusts, and Squats. Essentially, anything that gave my leg a work out. When my legs finally gave out on me, I caught my breath and started doing sit ups and crunches. Honestly it wasn''t long before I literally had to crawl myself back into the shack. I ate me a small portion of the meat before collapsing onto the bed.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    The next day the kids woke me up early like always, and I went with them to the kitchen to finish off the rest of our food and talk. I laughed at all of their killer migraines from drinking all of the rum yesterday and laughed extra loud when I remembered I never got to taste any of that said rum.


    "Hey Usopp, what''s our crews name? Are they famous?" asked Onion.


    "Yea are they super cool?!" screamed Carrot, who oddly enough was the only one without a hangover.


    "They are called the Strawhat pirates and they are really new so no one knows about them yet. But trust me, our Captain Luffy will become really famous someday, he''s going to become the King of the Pirates!" I exclaimed loudly, and after Onion and Pepper winced at their headache, all three looked up with stars in their eyes.


    """Whoooaaa."""


    "Yup, now follow me, we have to do something before I head off to work." I said as I began walking out of our shack. They followed right after of course.


    "Work? When did you get a job? And what do we have to do?" asked the orange haired child.


    "Well I already told you, you guys are coming with me, so that makes you pirates to. And when I went to talk to Kaya yesterday, I asked her for a job." I explained. I didn''t want them to know I begged. It would make them feel bad.


    "What really!?" asked Pepper in excitement.


    "Yup, but Pirates are strong, and so I have to train you guys to be Great Warriors of the Sea!"


    """Warrior''s of the Sea! Warriors of the Sea!"""


    "Pepper, your dream is to become a Carpenter, so that''s what you''ll be on our ship, and until we get a Shipwright you''ll be responsible so we don''t drown."


    "Aye Usopp!"


    "Carrot you want to open a bar when your older, but since you''re a pirate now, you don''t have to wait until a certain age. You will be our ships Bartender."


    "Aye Usopp!"


    "Onion, you want to become an Author right? Then what greater story is there than the Rise of the New Pirate King! You will be responsible for our crew''s Logbook. You''ll write down all of our awesome adventures."


    "Aye Usopp!"


    "And then there is me, I will be not only our ships Sniper but also our Strategist! I will Snipe our enemies from afar and come up with plans to make our enemies wish they were never born. So! Who''s ready to train to become awesome amazing pirates!?"


    """AYE!"""


    "Then drop and give me 50 boys!"

 Chapter 3: The Deal

    "The Pirates are coming!" I screamed.


    Did you know, that the name Usopp was created by GOda because USOtski is liar in Japanese. Also the two P''s come from the name Geppetto, the creator and father of Pinocchio. It''s why Usopp has a long nose, just like the wooden boy who always lied. It was actually Onion who told me that, man that kid was smart. After learning about it though, I obviously started lying more. Not only to have good practice to deceive people, which I''m sure will come in handy as a pirate, but to also live up to my name.


    "The Pirates are coming!'' Pepper screamed. The anime world is so weird. Usually making children work out would stunt their growth, but that concept didn''t seem to exist here. In fact, it just seemed to help you grow taller. Hell, Koby was 16 at the beginning of the series. 16! That short kid was almost a grown man! It wasn''t until he received training that he actually experienced a growth spurt. Pepper also got taller from the training. In fact, all 3 of them did. Just a little bit shorter than they were after the two year time skip. Because of this, I made sure he was wearing the same outfit he had in the show after the time skip.


    He wore a light green short sleeve shirt with the Strawhat Pirates Jolly Roger on the front. He also wore a light blue sash, light green pants, and black shoes with grey laces, and grey on the bottom/top. His dark green glasses were sitting proudly on his head.


    "The Pirates are coming!" Carrot screamed. He was also wearing his 2 year time skip getup. He had grown taller and his hair was much less spiky than before. He wore a light purple hooded jacket with buttons. He also wore black calf-length pants and black laced shoes and his hat now proudly displayed the Strawhat symbol. In his hand while running was a bottle of rum he took a swig of every now and again.


    "The Pirates are coming!" the last brat, Onion, screamed. Also taller, I threw away those chick repellent round glasses as soon as I could and gave him the ones from the time skip. His hair had grown longer. He wore a gray colored jacket, with a brown sash, yellow undershirt, and plaid shorts.


    """"The Pirates are coming!"""" we all screamed together. We were running away from the villagers as they threw kitchen supplies and cleaning brooms at us. I of course made the 3 brats join me in my quest to be an annoyance to all adults. It was good training for them, learning how to run away is the first thing Usopp from the anime taught me. It''s essential for becoming a Strawhat.


    Then there was me, I buffed out. Obviously not as much as time skip Usopp but I was no longer a scrawny long nosed loser. I had more of a swimmers body, which made complete sense considering it was my favorite activity. I lived right next to the ocean, what else was I to do, not swim? Are you insane?


    Anyway, I took a liking to the Classy! Usopp look and now wore it as my main outfit, fedora and all. I had a rifle on my back and two pistols on my side. I bought all of them when I finally got enough money from working for Kaya and selling the trinkets I stole my first night there to traveling merchants who came to the island. Of course I kept the slingshot, even came up with a way to incorporate the original Usopp''s arsenal into my training, but that was only to show respect for the character. I didn''t really plan on using them in battle.


    "Ready boys?!"


    """Aye Usopp!"""


    "NOW!" I shout, and with barely any warning, we disappeared. 5 Months...it took me 5 months to learn Soru. Geppo was easily learned afterwards, only taking me a week, and Rankyaku/Tempest Kick only a month. The other powers still eluded me but I was slowly working on them. The minute I got Soru down, I began teaching the kids. All of them could do it at this point but only Pepper could use Geppo.


    He was physically the strongest out of the group, as a couple months in, I asked if Mary could teach him a little about Carpentry. Ever since then, the kid has been a wiz around our old beaten up shack. It almost looks like an actual home now.


    In moments, I arrived at the beach, and quietly waited for the boys to catch up. Carrot was first, taking a swig of his drink as he arrived in front of me. Next was Onion, who apparently took out a book sometime doing his run and was reading it. Lastly was Pepper, who while is the strongest, is also the slowest. On the back of all three, were pipes they used as weapons. I was thinking that Luffy would easily accept them if he was reminded of his brothers when he saw the kids. But it''s been a full year since I arrived to this world, and still there was no site of my crew. At this point, I was starting to get a little worried.


    "Hey, Usopp is that a pirate ship docking?" Onion suddenly said.


    Pirate ship? What does he mean pirate ship?


    I turned around to see two ships docking on the beach further down the bay. One of those ships had Buggy the Clown''s flag raised high.


    Buggy the clown huh? I bet I could kick his ass. I thought before a did a double take. Wait a minute! Didn''t Luffy arrive on a Buggy ship?! That means...YES, it''s finally time!


    "C''mon guys, it''s time to greet our captain." I said, preparing myself to Soru to Luffy and the crew.


    """Captain?""" they all questioned as I Soru''d a little bit away from the crew. On that little mountain that the original Usopp used to ambush the Strawhats when they first met. Zoro was in the middle of stretching while Nami and Luffy were looking around.


    "There''s a village around here somewhere right?" the boy with the red vest and strawhat asked.


    "Yea-" my future navigator answered. "Looks like a small one though." To this, Luffy started freaking out as he grabbed Nami''s shoulders and started shaking her.


    "Oh! Oh! Then there''s meat! There''s meat! There has to be a place to eat meat in this village right!?" to his barrage of questions, Nami tried their best to protect their one and only map from her idiot of a captain.


    "Just forget about meat for a minute would ya?!" it was then that I finally decided to make my appearance. Moving clearly into view, I step with my musket drawn and aimed at Luffy''s head. Even if I shot, I knew it wouldn''t hurt him, so I didn''t really feel bad about it. Besides, I had to sell the act.


    "Everyone stop your arguing and look! There''s someone up there!" he pointed towards me and my group. Hand on his sword, he continued. "And they don''t look friendly." At this both Nami and Luffy looked up to see me on the hill, gun drawn. The boys behind me had their pipes out and tried to look as threatening as a bunch of 9 year olds could.


    "I am Usopp, Sniper of the Strawhat Pirates, and protector of this island. Followers of Buggy aren''t allowed. State your names and purposes or I''m going to get a little less friendly."


    ""Strawhat Pirates?"" both Nami and Luffy asked with a tilt of their heads. Zoro though, seeing me as a threat, asked no questions and fully took out his sword.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    "I''m not going to ask you again. Who are you and why are you here?" I asked one last time. To this, Luffy simply pulled down his hat so shadows covered his eyes.


    God he looks so cool! I''m totally fanboying!


    "Now that you''ve drawn your weapon, are you willing to use it?"


    "What?"


    "Guns aren''t for threats, they''re for action. Are you willing to lay down your life and put it on the line?" he asked seriously.


    "Wait a moment¡­those words, where did you hear them?" I say calmly, lowering my musket and looked him in the eye. With a smile that only someone with a rubber body could pull off, he chuckled and answered me.


    "From a man named Red Haired Shanks. I know your dad too, it''s Yasopp right? That must mean you''re Usopp" I nodded with a smile of my own and jumped down to meet them on the beach. The kids did the same from behind me and Nami had a mini panic attack thinking they were going to get hurt. When they were fine though she breathed a sigh of relief.


    Unlike the anime, Zoro drew his swords instead of just threatening to. It must mean he sees me as an actual threat.


    "You''re right, my old man name is Yasopp. That must make you Luffy."


    "Huh? Have you heard of me?" he asked confused. I nodded.


    "Yea, I have. Come on, you must be hungry, I''ll take you to a great restaurant I know. We can talk there." Luffy nodded at my suggestion but before he could walk over to me Nami grabbed his arm to pull him back. Unfortunately for her, the arm just stretched out as he walked.


    "You idiot! Don''t go around following random people with guns!"


    "It has meat~." I say and before I knew it, Luffy was at my side.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    At the restaurant Meshi, I ordered some food for all of us, and booze for Zoro and Carrot. When Carrot began drinking, Nami began freaking out again, saying about how dangerous and irresponsible it was. Zorro only gave it a side glance before clinking his glass with the kid and downing back the mug. Luffy didn''t care at all.


    "After my dad and his crew visited your village, they made a pit stop back here. We spent some time together and he told me of a boy around my age who promised to set sail one day and become a pirate. When I told him I wanted to be a Sniper just like he was, he told me to join that boy''s crew when he eventually made it to this island and become a pirate so we could meet again some day."


    "Whoaa really? Who was the boy?" asked Luffy while eating some meat. I laughed and pointed and him.


    "You were, and so I am the Sniper and tactician of the Strawhat Pirates." I say without a hint of shame. Luffy only nodded, taking my declaration as fact.


    "Okay." To this, Nami smacked Luffy in the back of the head.


    "Don''t accept members so easily you idiot!" I laughed as I downed some booze as well.


    "The one with dark green hair is Pepper, he''s our crew''s Carpenter, once we get a ship, he''ll know how to fix it up. Though he''s not an actual Shipwright, so we''ll still need one those." I said, pointing to the boy I was talking about.


    "Waddup Captain!" he spoke up.


    "Hi!" Luffy said back.


    "Next is the purple haired kid. His name is Carrot and he''s the Bartender of our crew. You need to get drunk? You talk to him, he always has the booze." I point to the kid.


    "Yo Captain!" he says before going right back to his drink.


    "Hey!" shouted my captain. I noticed Zoro began paying closer attention to the kid and nodded in respect.


    I think they''ll get along


    "Lastly is the orange haired one. His name is Onion and his role in the crew if very important. He will be responsible for a Log Book."


    "Hello!" Onion greeted before going back to the book he was reading.


    "Log Book?" Luffy questioned. This was a point in the story before they met Don Krieg and he explained what a Log Book was, so he didn''t actually know. Before I could answer him though, Zoro did it for me.


    "All real pirates have someone write down their adventures in a Log book as they go along. It is one of the Pride of the crew, having their hopes, dreams, and all that they went through together in it."


    "Whoaaaa! So cool! But where did you get the name Strawhat Pirates from? Did you just make it up?"


    "Well when Shanks came here, he told me that he gave his Strawhat to you. It was the only thing I knew about you other than your name. I even made an insignia." I told him, showing him Pepper''s shirt and Carrot''s hat.


    "Strawhat Pirates huh?" he said slowly, as if testing out the name. "I like it!"


    "Wait! Luffy, you''re not seriously thinking of letting them join us are you?!" Luffy only looked at her with a frown.


    "Why not? We need crew members right?"


    "They''re kids!" she screeched. Zoro laughed at this.


    "You aren''t even really a member of our crew remember? Why would you get a say who joins or not?"


    "But still...fine! If you want to send these kids to their deaths, it has nothing to do with me. Look, can you guys help us? Do you know someone who could provide us with a decent ship? Or someone that knows how to sail?" she asked looking at me.


    "Actually I do, you see that mansion on the hill?" I said, pointing out the window that displayed Kaya''s house perfectly. "That''s where I work as a butler when I need some change. They have a ship we could use if we ask the owner nicely."


    "Really?" questioned Nami. "Just like that?"


    "Yup, but only if I ask. If random pirates ask for it, she''s sure to say no, and because of that, I need you guys to help me with something before I set sail."


    "I knew there was a catch! Nothing can ever be simple with you people can it?!"


    "There''s a man here, named Khaladore, he''s a butler with me who serves Kaya."


    "What does that have to do with us?" asked Zoro.


    "Khaladore is just a made up name. His real one is more well known. I don''t know about Luffy, but Zoro you''re a famous pirate hunter. Even I know of you and I''ve never left this island in my life. His name...is Kuro. Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates." Zoro''s eyes widened a bit after hearing the name.


    "Eh? Whose that?" Luffy asked with a tilt of his head.


    "A dead man, or he''s supposed to be. He was the captain of a crew of vicious pirates. I heard they were quite strong too."


    "Oh? So you just want us to kick his ass and then we get a ship?"


    "Yea, Kuro faked his death and has been living peacefully on this island since. But all is not what it seems. The lady Kuro serves, Kaya, is being poisoned by him little by little every day."


    "What?!" exclaimed Nami.


    "He wants her inheritance, but to do that she has to write him in the will and die. So he''s been poisoning her food a little everyday for years. She''s grown sickly and frail, wind could even knock her down. Soon, the Black Cat Pirates will arrive on this island to raid it, and they''ll kill Kaya."


    "Then why haven''t you told her this? That should put a stop to their whole plan right?" Nami asked but before I could answer, Zoro did.


    "She won''t believe him. If what I''m hearing is correct, Kuro has been pretending to be her butler for years now. He''s been her life for long enough that she has absolute trust in him. Even more trust than in Usopp apparently." I nodded at his explanation.


    Around 7 or 8 months into my stay in this world, Kuro caught me and the kids doing Soru on the beach. At first I was scared because I thought Kuro would try to get rid of us, and so I did what my namesake demanded of me, and lied. I told him that I knew about his plan involving Kaya and his past as I captain. I also told him that I didn''t care what he did to the girl as long as he kept us out of it.


    At first he didn''t believe me, but after telling him that we were apart of our own pirate crew and that we were leaving soon anyway, he laughed at my mercilessness. Of course, that didn''t actually convince him, but a quick Soru and a gun to his head did. I told him that unlike him, I could actually control my speed and where I''m going. And then, I made the brats show their Soru too.


    I told him that any of those 8 and 9 year old kids could kill him before he could even blink, and that I simply tolerated his existence because I didn''t want to get found out as a pirate just yet. "Don''t overstep your bounds weakling." I said.


    The look on his face boosted my ego to absurd heights that entire month. Ever since then, Kuro has avoided me like the plague, and I did so as well. Sure I could take him out quite easily, but then that would fuck up the timeline. Kaya would never actually see Kuro for the scum he is and would hate me for the rest of her life.


    Now, I don''t know why, but I didn''t have feelings for Kaya. I respected Yasopp more than anyone, just like Usopp did. I love the brats as if we were brothers, just like Usopp did. And I even love the way a gun or slingshot feels in my hands. As I am down my sights, I feel invincible, just like Usopp did.


    But for some reason, I just didn''t like Kaya. Maybe it''s the bias from my old life. After Kaya didn''t believe in Usopp after he told her the truth, I just could never forgive her. Yes I can see where she''s coming from, Usopp was a known liar afterall, but I still could not forgive her anyway. Just the same, I held no love for the village itself either. At this point, I''m saving it and her out of respect for the original Usopp, but no love is involved.


    "Now, do we have a deal, Captain?" I asked as I look him in the eye.


    "Yea¡­" he said with his eyes hidden in the shadows of his infamous hat. "We do."

 Chapter 3.5: Onions Determination

    The pirates are coming...and we''re alone. It''s been nine months since Usopp began training us. Me, Carrot, and Pepper have been pushed to the limit time and time again from the very day we all began. Honestly, I still don''t understand what this is all for. None of us would have fighting positions on the crew when they got here, or if they got here. Why would we need to learn how to fight? And why does it have to hurt so badly.


    Lately, Usopp has changed, he has become so strong and so fast that he just disappears sometimes. He says he''s teaching us how to be strong and fast just like him, but it hurts sometimes. I don''t know if I want to continue this for much longer. I was thinking of telling Usopp that I want to quit training, but that''s when I saw the ships with the black flag and white skull flowing proudly in the air.


    At first I thought it was the captain Usopp kept talking about, and so I immediately went to the home that Usopp calls a shack and told him that they were finally here. The smile on his face almost seemed impossible with how big it was. He followed me outside to see the ship docking along the beach with a bunch of obvious pirates coming out.


    "Well, is that them?" I asked innocently? I was so stupid. Of course it wasn''t them. His smile immediately fell and Pepper asked what was wrong when he noticed.


    "Come on, let''s go and greet them." he ordered and began walking towards the pirates. Me and my brothers followed him of course, we knew that nothing bad would happen with Usopp with us. He was the strongest, fastest, and smartest person we all knew. If these pirates came here to cause trouble, I just knew he would kick their asses. When we finally made it in front of their ship where they were undocking, we stopped a few yards away.


    "Hey there friends." he said with a smile. "Is there anything I can do for you?" One of the men wearing shabby clothing spoke up. He had an all black shirt with baggy cargo pants and blond hair. A scar went down his right eye and it seemed a scowl was formed permanently on his face.


    "What do you want? We ain''t here to raid or nuthin, only here to trade for now." he said with an evil smile. Or maybe it was a normal smile that just looked evil because he was ugly. I don''t fully know to be fair, but it scared me. The way he said ''For Now'', almost implying that they''d be back for more nefarious deeds later. My brothers though, didn''t have the same thought process, simply sighing in relief.


    These were honest to god bloodthirsty pirates, there''s no way we could trust them to simply walk in our village and not cause trouble. We couldn''t let them in, but what could I do? I looked to Usopp to see his frown deepen. I thought it was a good thing. If he didn''t want them here, he would kick their ass and send them away.


    "Sorry boys, but this island belongs to the Strawhat Pirates, other pirate groups can''t come through without paying the Entry Fee." at this , there was silence for a good while. Strawhat Pirates? Entry Fee? It all confused me. The group didn''t look happy at his comment though, and could just tell they weren''t planning on paying it. There was a good 20 of them on the beach now, and all of them seemed pissed. I looked up to see what in the hell Usopp was thinking when I caught his eye. It almost seemed...sorry. Yet determined.


    "Ehh, who the hell do you think you are? Do you know who you''re messing with kids? We''re the Strongarm pirates! We don''t pay no damn ''Entry Fee''!" At his shout, the men behind him began to tense. I could see them taking out their sword and brandishing their guns. My legs began to shake in fear at what seemed like to me, a small army.


    "Sorry boys-" Usopp replied. "But them''s the rules. I don''t make them, just enforce them. You don''t want this to turn violent now, I would hate to have to hurt you." that''s when the laughter started. They didn''t take him seriously, they underestimated him. Actually, I didn''t even know if Usopp could handle these many people. My brothers didn''t seem to share my worries.


    "Oi! Our big brother will kick your asses! You better stop laughing!" yelled out Carrot. Pepper was next.


    "Yea! What, do you have a death wish or something? There''s no way you losers could beat our big brother! Tell them Onion." he said looking my way. I however didn''t share my brothers optimism. Maybe it''s because so far, I''m the only one who isn''t able to do Soru.


    "Uhm...yea."


    "That''s it! You know, we were just here to shop, sell, then be on our merry way. But now, we''re going to burn you, and this village to the ground!" the men behind him yelled in agreement. That''s when Usopp bent the knee behind us. We all turned to him in confusion before he looked each of us in the eye. The look he gave us, I''ve never seen it on him before. It was so serious, lacking the overjoyous and carefree expression he usually carried around us. I knew he put up a smile even during the worst of times to keep our spirits alift. I don''t think my brothers knew just how much he truly did for us. I couldn''t help but wonder what brought this on. The answer...filled me with despair.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Onion, Carrot, Pepper, listen to me and listen to me good. You guys are going to go over there and fight those pirates. You will go and protect our island."


    "Eh, what about you?" asked Pepper. He only shook his head.


    "I cannot help you with this, this is your battle. To become brave warriors of the sea, you have to face your fears and protect your home. I won''t always be around, and when I''m not, you three will be the only ones able to fight. Use all that I''ve taught you, and fight to protect each other. You can do it!" without hesitation, Pepper and Carrot nodded, determined with their task. They took their pipes off of their back, and in the blink of an eye, they were gone.


    THUMP


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    That''s how I ended up here. In front of me are 20 bloodthirsty pirates and my two idiot brothers just jumped into the fray. At first confused at two of the kids disappearing, they immediately take out one each when they appear in front of the pirates head and swing with all of their strength, knocking them out instantly. That''s when it turned into an all out brawl.


    THUMP


    Me? I couldn''t move. I can''t feel my legs. My heart feels like it''s going to burst out of my chest at any moment. It''s so loud I can hear it beat in my ears. My jaw...it won''t stop shivering no matter how much I try to force it too. No matter how deep of a breath I take in, the air just doesn''t seem to get to my lungs.


    THUMP


    I can''t breath.


    THUMP


    God I can barely even think! Why?! Why is it so loud?!


    THUMP


    Eh? My vision? It''s getting dark. Why? What happened to the battle? Are my brothers okay? I can''t see anything. I can''t even hear the battle anymore over my own heart. Maybe it''s over, maybe they beat all of them already. Or maybe...they lost and they''re dead.


    Pepper...Dead.


    THUMP


    Carrot...Dead.


    THUMP


    Usopp..Dead


    THUMP


    ¡­.I''m dead. Oh god that''s it isn''t it? That''s why I can''t breath. That''s why I can''t see. It''s over. We were killed by pirates. Maybe if I helped, we would have had a chance? No, there were 20 of them, we were dead the moment they landed on the beach. All of this was pointless. All of the training, and the struggling, and the reading and writing. All of it. I guess I''ll never get a chance to write that book huh? I''ll just...let the darkness take me.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.


    Eh...light?


    "WAKE UP!" suddenly the darkness is pushed away and I''m looking at the sky.


    Huh? When did I fall asleep? Why am I on the ground?


    The noise suddenly came back. I can hear screaming, and fighting, and gunshots.


    "Finally kid, you gave me a scare."


    Usopp?


    With a struggle, I push myself up. The battle...it''s still going on. They''ve taken out several pirates already, but they are roughed up and breathing hard with about 10 pirates left.


    As I thought...it''s no use.


    "They''re in trouble you know? If you don''t help them...they could die." I turn to look at him. That serious expression, it''s still there. His eyes never once left the fight, arms crossed, staring. "Are you going to sit there and let that happen?" I turned back to the fight to see my Carrot narrowly dodging a sword slash.


    "What could I do by joining in? I''m not like you, or Carrot, or Pepper. I''m...weak." I say, letting my head sag in shame.


    "I never asked you to be strong."


    "Huh?" I ask turning to him in confusion.


    "I asked you to become Warriors of the Sea. That doesn''t mean for you to be strong. It means for you to fight for what you believe in. And protect those closest to you. Are you doing that?" he questions, sparing me a single glance before turning back to the battle. I can''t help but clench the sand under my hands in frustration. I can feel tears threatening to slip out but with all my strength I hold them in.


    Men must be strong.


    "...I''m scared." I finally admit. "I''m so scared Usopp. I''m sorry! But I''m not brave like you are! Like they are! I''m scared that I''ll get hurt! I''m scared that I''ll mess up!" Crap...I can''t hold them in. I really am a failure huh? "I''m scared I''ll die!" There my brothers were, fighting for their lives and the lives of everyone on this island, yet my legs refuse to move. How will I ever face them after this.


    "Good!" ...what?


    "Fear is what keeps men alive. To have fear, is to have the instinct to survive."


    "Then-"


    "BUT! Fear is what makes a brave warrior brave. Being brave..doesn''t mean not being afraid. Look at your brothers Onion." I did what I was told. Pepper has just dodged a swipe from a cutlass but not fully. Blood starts to pool down his arm. It doesn''t look deep, but it might get infected if not treated soon.


    "Do they look unafraid to you?" and for the first time since all of this began, I looked at my brothers expression.


    ...they were terrified.


    "Being brave isn''t about not having fear, it''s about overcoming that fear, rather than having that fear overcome you."


    "...Usopp?" I look at him. He''s still focused on the battle. At this point, my brothers can only use Soru sparingly. They are exhausted, and the technique puts heavy strain on their young bodies.


    "Yes?" with my legs shaking, I struggle to stand up. I even fall into the sand a couple of times, but eventually, I''m able to stand on my own two feet.


    "My throat feels like it''s clogged." he nods


    "My heart is beating so fast I can barely even think right now." he nods.


    "I wanna run away...I wanna curl up and hide and cry¡­" he nods.


    "Even with all that...even though I''m so scared...do you think...I can still be brave?"...a smile slowly spreads across his face, and finally he looks at me, giving me his complete attention. He nods.


    "That''s the only time you can be brave little brother."


    Heh...this is so dumb. What kind of maniac sends a bunch a children to fight full grown pirates. We are so gonna die. Even so¡­


    I brandish my pipe.


    I''ll protect my family!


    I disappear.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    For those whose not cool with Usopp throwing the kids into battle like that, let me remind you that Garp took Luffy into a forest to fight Monekeys and full grown gorillas. BEsides, Usopp would have drawed killed anyone of the pirates that he thought could kill them in battle. That''s why he kept his eyes glued to it all basically all times, to be there to save them. Besides, Luffy was already facing down full blown bandit groups at their age without fear.

 Chapter 4: Strawhats vs Black Cats

    Usopp wasn''t always my favorite character of One Piece, it wasn''t until the two year time skip that he grabbed my attention. Usopp is weak, still is from where I left off in the anime, but he''s only weak physically, and he knows that. I also believe that very same reason, is why I think he''s so strong. Fishmen, CP9, hell even Thriller Bark, he went through all of those adventures and perils with his crew. A regular guy like him with good aim helped take down 2 of the 7 Warlords before the 2 year time skip and helped defeat 2 more afterwards. Only Mihawk and Hancock are left of the original once powerful 7 Warlords of the Sea. Usopp is strong because he knows that he''s weak, and he doesn''t care.


    I already told them when everything was going to go down and so we just stayed at the diner until sunset. It was nice talking to Luffy about the old man for some reason. Warning Kaya and having her reject my kindness will just have me hate her more, and regrettably she had to see Merry hurt for the original timeline to still work. Honestly maybe I could have changed it, I mean I was already changing things in the story with the amount of crew members the Strawhats were supposed to have, maybe I could have saved him the pain and suffering. That''s the problem though, I wasn''t even on the boat yet and I''ve already begun changing things. Saving Merry just wasn''t a good enough reason to have me screw with the timeline more. Maybe I was just salty with how he shot Usopp in the original.


    I couldn''t help but chuckle at myself at the time. I say that, but I''m already changing everything. I had no intention of sticking to the plot and when my knowledge runs dry, I''m screwed anyway. I didn''t even let the kids meet Jango.


    As the sun was setting, we all made our way to the shack to get some shuteye before the attack. Originally they stayed up the entire night, but that just wasn''t happening with me. Sleep is way to important for some bullshit plan.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    We were at the dock where the pirates would be a little before sunset. All of us were waiting patiently until Zoro spoke up.


    "Hey, I have to ask, why do you care about this place so much? From what I understand, even if you told everyone that actual pirates were coming, they wouldn''t believe you, I don''t even think they like you."


    "Yea, now that you mention it, I''m curious too." said Nami. I didn''t need to say a word, as Onion answered for me.


    "Usopp doesn''t really like this village." This cause Luffy to tilt his head in confusion and join in on the conversation.


    "Huh? Then why do you want to save it?"


    "This is not only my home, but the home of my father, Yassop. I don''t like this village, or its people. To be honest, I don''t even like Kaya, I''m just nice to her because I know she''s secretly being poisoned by that bastard Kuro. But whether I like it or not doesn''t really matter. My father would simply be disappointed in me if I let all of these villagers die and the island be destroyed." I finally spoke. And really, I didn''t like Kaya. She even had a dream about Usopp killing her and when she finally found Merry on the floor, bleeding out, she called him a liar. Really, I quite dislike the girl.


    "So you''re saving it for your father huh? Even if you don''t want to? I have to say, that''s kinda honorable. You could have just asked for the ship before all of this went down and left already. Especially since this is causing you to put your life on the line." Zoro said from the side. I nodded.


    "Yeah I guess, anyways we better look alive." I said as the sun finally began to rise and I see the ship coming towards the beach. I took my flintlock off my side and started aiming. "Company is coming and fast. Onion, take your brothers and follow the Captain."


    """AYE!"""


    "Wait a minute! You can''t seriously be thinking of having these children fight pirates?!" I chuckle at her naivety.


    "Look don''t worry about the kids, they could kick your ass 10 times out of 10." I said as I took my eyes of the pirates for a second.


    "Excuse me!?"


    "Hey!" I yelled down to the pirates who were getting off their ship and gathering while ignoring Nami. "This island is protected by the Strawhat Pirates. If you want to get through you''ll have to pay the Entry Fee." I said smiling. I could hear the brats groaning at the joke that only we knew. Luffy and the others just looked confused.


    "Entry Fee?!" some random mook screamed out. "Fuck your Entry Fee, and fuck you!" His crew mates yelled in agreement and began making threats on how they were going to kill all of us once they got up there. Before they could take a single step though, a bullet suddenly went through the original mooks head.


    Everyone stopped cold and I could hear Nami gasp in surprise. The mooks body stood there for a couple seconds, as though he died so fast his brain couldn''t catch up, and slowly he fell. All of the excitement the pirates had before came to a stop in a single moment, and for just a little bit, all was silent.


    "By attacking an island protected by the Strawhat Pirates, the Blackcat Pirates have declared War. For this offence-" I said slowly and quietly, yet I could tell everyone of them could hear me. "You are all sentenced to execution." and my second shot rang out, causing another to fall, dead. This was my first kills, and honestly, I felt no remorse or disgust. Everyone and everything was anime here. It didn''t even register that I killed a real person, I didn''t even consider them real in the first place. As a second body fell into the sand, the pirates finally began to make their move.


    "Gum-Gum¡­Pistol!" I heard screamed out from beside me, knocking out one more from the group. Honestly, I was a little surprised with how fast Luffy went with it, especially as I just killed 2 people. Then I realised that Luffy has already seen people die when Shanks came to his village and even at that age he took it in stride. He knows being a pirate is putting your life on the line every single day for freedom and he didn''t actually discourage killing even if he didn''t do it himself.


    Zoro took out his sword and began walking down the slope with Luffy by his side. The boys followed right behind them. From my spot up the hill, I could see Jango take a small step back in fear after seeing my Captain''s arm shoot out.


    "E-everyone, look over here! These guys are serious, so we have to go all out from the beginning." he began swaying that circular blade side to side. Isn''t that a small chakram? "If our enemy is strong, then we must become stronger then them. Now stare deeply into this ring, I will say 1, 2, Jango and after that, you will begin to grow stronger." Luffy and Zoro stopped in confusion.


    "So what is he doing?" asked Strawhat. "It looks weird."


    "It looks like hypnoses. He''s trying to convince them that they are stronger than they are. Like that would actually work." Nami answered, not believing in the power of hypnosis. Normally, I would be on her side, but this isn''t a normal world. This is One Piece, and I already knew that the Micheal Jackson rip-off had talent.


    "Stronger~! Stronger~! ONE!" I could see Luffy staring intently at the mini chakram.


    "TWO!" my captain stepped closer to see it better.


    "JANG-" and then there was a bang and he fell forward¡­The pirates looked up the slope to see my flintlock smoking and my eyes hidden underneath my fedora.


    "C-captain JANGOOOOO!" they all screamed in rage.


    Huh honor? What the hell is that, is it tasty? I''m a Sniper and the bastard just clearly stood within my range. He clearly wanted to die, there''s no other explanation.


    "Awww, why did you do that Usopp, I wanted to see if it was going to work." the rubber man whined.


    "Sorry Captain, I didn''t want to take any chances." I apologised with a small smile. That was when the pirates began crying about revenge as they stormed the slope and met Luffy and the boys head on. Before they could completely make it up though, Luffy pulled his fists back slightly.


    "Gum Gum! Gatling!" he yelled out suddenly, and then his fists began moving so fast it seemed as if he had more than just two. Meeting the pirates in the middle, not a single one could withstand his attack, and they fell down without even making it half way.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Whoa...that basic attack is kinda awesome when it''s in person. And without Jango to hypnotise them, they should stay down.


    "Wow that was pretty easy huh? It looks like those guys are down for the count." said Nami from the side of me. I noticed after a while that she had moved away from me somewhat, probably after seeing me kill those people. I shrugged it off.


    I don''t think it''ll affect our future relationship that much. She may be wary around me for now, but that shouldn''t be a problem after we save her from Arlong.


    At all of the commotion, Sham and Buchi finally jumped off the boat to look at the situation. Their legs began to shake as they saw the pool of blood surrounding their captain and a couple other members. I actually didn''t know if they were faking that part or not.


    "Y-you bastards! How could you do this to my crew! W-we''re just the ship guards b-but don''t think we won''t fight you!" shouted Sham. His legs were shaking and his voice wavered.


    "Wait! Sham, I think we should get out of here." Buchi spoke up.


    "Huh? Buchi what are you talking about, what about the crew?" Sham asked confused and a little annoyed at him for ruining the act.


    "Captain Jango is dead and the men are knocked out! Not to mention all 3 of the guys look strong, and the fact that those kids don''t seem to be afraid of us worries me." he said in a hurry to make his friend understand. Before Sham could give his reply though, I interrupted.


    "My my, what optimists you are." I said in a mocking tone. "You honestly think you can escape, that''s adorable. But no matter how cute it is, it''s still just a dream. I don''t know if you heard, but it''s already too late for that. I remember saying it quite clearly...you are all sentenced to execution." I declare and I could see some genuine fear in their eyes.


    "Pepper...Carrot, don''t let them get away." I order and within moments, they were gone. Before the brothers could react, they were both thrown off of their feet as the two boys Soru''d and swung their polls at the Cats stomachs.


    "Don''t underestimate my brats." I said as Zoro and Nami''s eyes widened in surprise while Luffy''s literally turned into stars. "They may be small but they are fast, and although they can''t hit hard standing still, the faster they go the more damage they can do."


    "WHOHOHOOO! That was so COOL! How are they so fast?!" Asked Luffy in amazement. I could see Zoro and Nami had the same question. Onion answered.


    "It''s a technique called Soru, it allows us to move in a blink of an eye, and because of that we can hit harder too. Force = Mass x Acceleration after all."


    "Yeah I don''t get all of that but it''s still so cool!" Luffy said.


    The Cat Brothers apparently weren''t down for the count yet, as they forced themselves to sit up while holding their stomachs.


    "Brother...that was-" spoke up Buchi.


    "Like Captain Kuro''s move, I know¡­" finished Sham. I could see his teeth almost crack from the pressure he was putting on them. "How could this be...if only the Captain were here-"


    "I''m sorry-" someone spoke up from behind us. "Did someone call for me?" Turning around we all saw that bastard Kuro standing there with a frown. His composure was slowly slipping as he gripped the strap of the bag he was holding tighter. "What the hell is going on?! Usopp I thought we had a deal! Why are you standing in my way now?!" he shouted.


    "We did...and it ended." I said, repositioning my fedora in an attempt to seem bored with a nonchalant look. "You see my Captain is finally here and ready to pick me up. I''m about to leave this godforsaken island with no one the wiser. Well...except you of course. And we both know what happens to loose ends. It''s nothing personal, just business my friend." I almost couldn''t keep my composure when I saw the large vein bulging from his forehead in anger.


    "Huh?" Luffy asked confused, "Usopp what''s going on? Who is this guy?"


    "Oh, this is the guy poisoning Lady Kaya, Captain. We had a deal a while ago to stay out of each other''s way when he found out I knew about his plan."


    "Why didn''t you just kick his ass then?"


    "Because he would have no proof." answered Zoro. "To the village and to this Kaya herself, Usopp would be the bad guy. To them, he would just be killing an innocent butler without reason."


    "The fact that his dad is apparently a famous pirate wouldn''t help the situation either. He would be exiled and kicked off the island. If the villagers couldn''t do it themselves, they would call the marines." added on Nami. Onion who was watching his brother intently, making sure the cats didn''t get up finally had his book down and nodded.


    "Usopp has been waiting for you guys for years. It would ruin everything that we worked for if we were forced to leave and weren''t able to catch you."


    "You have to be kidding me, this just must be some joke! Your infamous Captain-!" Kuro yelled and turned to Luffy with a laugh. "Is this brat?! I assumed with how strong you were that your Captain would have been a big name on these seas, but it seems I was terribly mistaken. How low the Black Cats have fallen." he finished with a growl, finally dropping his bag.


    In the distance, where the Cat Brothers were still on the ground, Carrot and Pepper were watching them, making sure they didn''t do anything stupid. They were shivering, shaking in fear at their Captains visible anger.


    "C-captain! It''s not our fault! The kids! They have the same ability as you!" Sham yelled to try to appease his leaders anger. Pepper raised his pipe and crushed it down on the Cat''s head. "Gah!"


    "Shut up." Pepper said simply. Carrot raised his pipe threateningly which caused Buchi to squeal.


    "Unless you want the same treatment as your brother, I advise you to keep your mouth shut too." the prisoner nodded in terror. It seemed that for some reason, the brothers didn''t have any confidence in defeating Kuro this time around. Or maybe they didn''t wanna antagonize him because they needed help taking down my crew. They don''t even have Jango to hypnotise them if they fail.


    This is where things kinda seem like a replay. Kaya came running behind Kuro but before he could kill her I used Soru and saved her life.


    "U-Usopp! Thank you...Khaladore...you won''t believe this but Khaladore is a pirate! I know it sounds crazy but he almost killed Merry! You have to believe me!" to her pleas, I nodded.


    "Yes, I know Kaya, I''ve known for a long time. It''s the real reason why I asked for a job one year ago. I wanted to keep an eye on him. I wanted to make sure he wouldn''t hurt you and protect you from him. My crew...we''re here fighting the Black Cat Pirates, to keep you safe Lady Kaya." I said looking down at her. All of that was a lie of course, but that''s what Usopp did, he lied. I have no idea how he and the brats survived with such little food before, but I actually needed that money. Maybe that''s why Usopp was so skinny. One thing was for sure though. I really couldn''t stand this girl, but she didn''t need to know that. Tears began to form in her eyes, as she held to my chest tightly.


    "U-Usopp¡­" she cried, before determination filled her eyes and she faced Kuro. "Stop this... stop all of this right now Khaladore! You want my fortune right? Well you can have it! Just leave and never come back!" she screamed but I grabbed her waist and pull her into me tighter.


    "No!" I stated firmly, causing her a bit of a surprise. "We''re here Miss Kaya, here to protect you and all that you have. Me, my crew, and even my Captain, are fighting for our lives to save you."


    "But if we just give him what he wants he''ll leave...isn''t that for the best?" she asked with a sad smile, hanging her head low.


    "How could I claim to protect you if I let you be robbed?" I asked gently, tilting her head upwards to look into my eyes. "We''ll protect you Kaya so please, trust us, won''t you?"


    That''s when the tears started to fall. I slipped my hand into her inner coat pocket and slowly pulled out the gun and took it. "You don''t need this...just depend on me Miss Kaya, and we will take care of everything."


    "Y-yes Usopp¡­" she said, leaning her head into my chest.


    "Captain!" I yelled. "I''m afraid I cannot leave Kaya in this state, she needs me. So please, I beg of you, for me and everyone he''s deceived...KICK HIS ASS!"


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Things went how you expected from there. With me killing Jango and the Cats on the floor, the village didn''t even know there was an actual pirate attack. There was no rant or big tear filled explanations, which I was glad for. Luffy had trouble just like in the anime but he won in the end. I had Kaya take Luffy and the crew to her manor to rest and recuperate. With her and the kids gone I got to work¡­. Killing the Black Cat Pirates. It wasn''t difficult and only took a few moments, but I made a promise to them the moment they declared war. Execution.


    With Jango gone he''ll never join Hina, but I doubt that''s really important. I left one alive, Buchi, to tell the story to the Marines and increase our rep. He sailed on the ship alone...leaving his brethren behind like the coward he always was. Soon after that, I went to the manor to join up with the crew and asked for a ship we could have for our adventures. Kaya agreed readily and everything else played out exactly the same. Except...one little thing.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    It was just me and Kaya in the manor while Luffy and the others checked out Merry. The ship not the person of course. I had to talk to her about something important.


    "Kaya-" I said lovingly with her in my arms. "It''s time for me to finally leave Kaya. I''m going to miss you."


    "Yes¡­ I''ll never forget all that you''ve done for me Usopp. You protected me when no one else could. Even when you didn''t have to." she responded teary eyed.


    "There''s one last thing I have to ask of you, although I hate doing so." I say looking down in shame.


    "Anything Usopp! Please, do not hesitate to ask. I owe everything to you." she said, comfortably enjoying our embrace.


    "It''s just...the sea is dangerous and the crew needs much to survive. I know you''ve already done more than enough with the ship, but we need funds. For food, water, and for the kids that are coming with us." I said hesitantly. She smiled.


    "Of course, anything you need." she agreed within a heartbeat. I stroked her cheek softly and leaned in slightly.


    "Thank you, I-" I stop before finishing and leaned in just a little more. Her cheeks go red and she slowly rises, standing on her toes. "Kaya¡­"


    "Usopp¡­" she said back. Just before our lips met, I redirect myself to kiss her forehead.


    "We cannot, I''m sorry, on this day I''m heading to sea. I would not dare play with your heart and leave you here. Especially with you being so sick and not able to follow." I said in regret. I could see her trying to hold back the tears, but she fails eventually.


    "Of course, it''s okay, I know you''ve wanted to go for a long time and it''s finally your chance. Thank you Usopp, for everything you''ve done for me."


    And that''s how I left my home island. With Merry, 3 extra crew members, and 2 million berry to start with. I couldn''t get all of it like Khaladore could have, but the man had my respect as a liar. He had her totally fooled and almost got her inheritance because of it. There was no way I could get that much from the silly girl without seeming suspicious but what I did get was enough for now.


    And so my adventure finally started, and with all my extra power and training, I set out on the blues. It''s funny then right, how I still found myself getting my ass kicked. But that was in the future. For now, we were on the ship partying, and I''ll tell you, if felt every bit as amazing as I imagined.

 Chapter 5: Starting Early

    It was the morning afterward that I decided to almost completely give up on cannon. At this point I really didn''t care about affecting the future, as long as it didn''t change things too much. There were things that just needed to happen. We had to go to all the same islands, though extra islands wouldn''t hurt. We had to fight the same villains, though again, kicking extra ass isn''t bad either. And we had to get the official crew members, though obviously there was going to be more.


    This however didn''t stop me from changing most of the things I wanted to change. I wanted to teach my crew the 6 Powers. This very decision would be a big one. With the 6 Powers, a lot of the fights before CP9 will be a breeze. Now while that''s not necessarily a bad thing, it also isn''t too much of a good thing either.


    Luffy and the crew needed the struggle that came with certain fights. The character growth of each of the Strawhats mostly depend on the battles they face and the determination to overcome them. If I take that away, if I make them too overconfident, that may lead to our downfall. The problem though was that I didn''t know how to avoid this issue. I wanted the crew to be stronger but I didn''t want the consequences that came with that strength. An issue, that I might have to look forward to later if it becomes a problem.


    I wasn''t too worried about it though. This was mostly because I was pretty far in the anime before I was transported to this world. The issue at hand wouldn''t become something to worry about until very far in the future. Well, I at least hoped that was the case.


    I sighed to myself and looked upwards towards the sky. It was such a beautiful day, and as I lay on the deck of the ship, I couldn;''t help but think how fortunate I was.


    Currently I was on the deck of the Going Merry alone. The crew, including the kids, went to the next island. This one was where Gaimon was located, and while spending time with everyone messing around seemed fun, I had to clear my mind and think of my next steps in this world. Because of that, I gave myself the duty of "Protecting the ship" so I could stay behind. This would be nice bonding time for the kids though.


    I want to begin training the crew the moment Saji is on board. Well, obviously it''ll have to wait until after we save Nami so maybe it''s more once she''s an official crew member. With Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, and me, that''ll make up the bare bones of the crew for a good minute. Unless I change some things to add more members, that''ll be it for a period of time I can train everyone at once.


    *SQUAK* I grin as I jump up to my feet and look at the News Coo landing on a rail in front of me. I take the newspaper from its stachel while paying the required beri. It took a while because I didn''t actually know how much beri to pay. If I gave it to little it would squak i loudly in my ear with a very irritated look.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Eventually we got the payment down and the little bird was about to fly away before I stopped it.


    "Hey, can you do me a favor little guy?" I asked in a polite voice. The bird looked at me in contempt, but stayed anyway. I know he must be busy so I had to make this quick. I took out some papers from my satchel and placed it in the Coo''s bag.


    "Sorry for the hold up, this is the latest scoop happening in the East right now. Your publishers will want to see it, and if they don''t believe me they can go and check my sources. Everything in there is very important, so be very careful alright?"


    At my question the little bastard gave me a glare. Almost as if asking how dare I question its carefulness. It squaked loudly once more and finally took off. I chuckled at that and started to stretch.


    The papers I just gave the Coo were copies from our LogBook. It had details of everything that has happened up until now. It told them that the infamous Captain Kro was still alive, his plot, and how the Strawhats defeated him. It gave extensive detail on how they Strawhats considered attacking a town of their crew member war, and far offence, they were wiped out.


    The paper even gave details on what happened in Orange Town. During the party last night, I made Luffy and Zoro give all the details to Onion. It would have been weird if I showed I''d known what happened without being there or asking and so I made sure they told the story from their own mouths.


    With this, the Strawhats will be known much sooner than in canon, and will also be much more infamous. Defeating Buggy doesn''t seem like much, but he''s huge in the east. 15 Million Beri if I remember correctly, and that''s just him. His crew didn''t really have bounties I don''t think, but what will really put us over the top is wiping out the Black Cat Pirates.


    Sham and Buchi were 7 Million Beri, Jango was 9 Million Beri, and Captain Kuro himself was 16 Million Beri. That''s a 32 Million Beri crew taken out by rookie pirates in the East. It''ll surely make news if nothing else is happening around this time, and I don''t believe there is. Because of this, we may get our bounties much sooner than the original, but we Pirates wear them with pride so I don''t see much of a problem.


    Buggy will be an example of our mercy at Orange Town while Kuro will be one of our ruthlessness. There''s no way I could let such an opportunity slide.


    Done with my stretching, I finally prepare myself.


    If I''m going to train the crew, I need to get more proficient in the 6 Powers. They are going to be the only thing keeping me alive in this crazy world. Out of the 6, I have 3 down, which means 3 more to go. So far I have Soru/Shave, Geppo/MoonWalk, and Rankyaku/Tempest Kick. These 3 were easy since I decided to acquire Shave first. All 3 required leg strength, something I''ve been focusing on, and technique. Next I wanted to get down Kami-e/Paper Art. The one problem with this move though, is I had no idea how it worked.


    By this point in the One Piece Universe, I''ve found intent matters more than actual physics. Like Shave made no sense! How am I not making an explosion with every step, blowing my legs off?! Yet in the end, the skill works, and my legs are safely on my body.


    I know what Paper Art is. I know what it''s supposed to do. I even know what I need to do it. The question is how. Currently I only have two things to go off of, I need to be flexible, and I need to have the intent to turn my body into paper. That''s all I have to work with, so for now, I need to get flexible!

 Chapter 6: The Pirate Hunting Duo

    Yea, I''m beginning to understand real quickly why the actual travel to get from one island to another is mostly skipped. To us viewers, it looked like the the Strawhats would go from one adventure to another with barely any time passing. This, however, couldn''t be farther from the truth! It''s been a full week since we left Gaimon''s island and yet the moment still hasn''t come for the next plot point. Honestly, I guess I should enjoy the peace and quiet while I can. This early in the crew''s adventures, nothing groundbreaking actually happens but that changes real soon.


    I''m not yet ready to fight gods that can strike me down with lightning or even warlords who can control sand and can suck the life out of me with nothing but a thought. That''s why, during these 3 days, me and the kids have been training Paper Art together. I say "training" but really, it''s more like intense stretching. We have been pushing our bodies to the limits with trying to make them more flexible, and by Goda does it hurt! I really didn''t think this would be so hard, I saw kids more flexible than me on youtube doing flips and having a jolly old time, but by Goda it hurts!


    You know what the worst part is? It''s the simple things that hurt the most! During our first day, I gave the boys one simple command: No matter how much I beg or scream, push me down until I complete the split. It was meant as a joke, said in a complete humor-filled tone.


    ''It''s just splits'' I thought. ''Let''s start with the easiest first'' I thought. The fact that the brats seemed to take an almost sadistic sense of glee at my pain only made it worse. Either I''m just not the most flexible person or those things are torture! Which didn''t make any sense at first, because in my first life, I could actually do splits. It was then I realised the problem.


    I''ve been working out wrong. Well, not so much as wrong but very inefficiently. You see, I haven''t been stretching before workouts, like, at all. I know, in hindsight, obviously you should always stretch before you workout but I never fully realised why that was so important. When your muscles begin destroying and repairing itself in an effort to make itself stronger, muscle mass gets added to your body.


    This mass, if not stretched can hinder movement, even sometimes interfering with the ability to take the adjacent joints through their complete range of motion. Since I haven''t been stretching at all, all this rigid muscle has been added to my body, making me stiff. Really, I''m just an idiot, that''s what it all sums up to. Finally getting done with our morning stretch, me and the boys head to the kitchen where Carrot set up his makeshift bar. It doesn''t look like much now, not having much variety, but as we go to different islands, we''ll stock up.


    Carrot has even been mentioning making his own drink, one that will put the others to shame. For now though, good old rum will do. We all sit down with Carrot going behind the makeshift bar Pepper built. He pours us a glass and from Goda knows where pulls out a white towel and begins wiping down the already clean counter top.


    "So you brats, how do you enjoy being pirates so far?" I ask with a smile. Immediately I get grins and laughs in return.


    "It''s amazing! We''ve already visited a weird island! You should have came with Usopp, we met this strange pirate guy who was stuck in a chest for like, 100 years or something." Pepper exclaimed after downing his shot. Sometimes I wonder if I should actually stop the kids from drinking, but then I think, ''Nah, too much work, they already started''.


    "It was not 100 years Pep, it was 20." Onion correct after drinking his rum.


    "Eh whatever, don''t sweat the small stuff. At least I was close." Pepper says with a smile. I could see Onion''s eye begin to twitch and his smile became strained.


    "You were nowhere near close you fool! You weren''t even at half!" at the outburst, Pepper just laughed with a smile, which caused Onion to get more annoyed.


    "Anyways, he was pretty weird looking and had this big green hair. At first he tried tricking us into thinking he was some spirit of the forest but we quickly caught on. He tried to scare us away from finding the treasure on the island and from hurting the animals." Carrot interrupted from behind the bar, now cleaning the classes from the other boys drinks.


    "Oh?" I asked in fake interest. Just because I know, doesn''t mean I have to not play along. These are good bonding moments with the kids that isn''t training or fighting for our lives. "Well? Did you get the treasure anyway? Or did you leave it alone?" They all looked at one another at my question, before bursting out in laughter. I adopted a confused face.


    "What?" I asked


    "Well we found all the treasure chests, there were like 5 of them!" Pepper laughed out.


    "However, it seemed it was all for naught. The chests Mr. Gaimon was so avidly protecting, turned out to all be empty." Onion explained further with a push of his glasses and a smirk. Immediately, the laughter began again, even harder than before. I put up an image of being kinda awkward about the situation.


    "Isn''t that kinda mean guys? Laughing so much about a man wasting his life?"


    "Fear not-"


    "Yeah! The guy didn''t waste his life. He loves those animals and that island, staying there to protect both. The ''treasure'' doesn''t matter to him anymore." Carrot finished for Onion. I let my smile become more relaxed and honest.


    "Well that''s good at least. A pirate should always be doing what they enjoy and following their dreams."


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    After our quick drink, we decided to head back to the deck. Nami could be seen relaxing and reading a book. Zoro, being the lazy bum that he is, was laying a small rooftop the Marry had. Me and the kids separated as I walked up to her. As she noticed my approach, she adopted an annoyed look and sighed as I made my way to her.


    "What do you want now Usopp?" she asked in an irritated tone. I smirk at her attitude and play her annoyance off. For the past few days, I''ve been trying to get our Navigator to train in the Paper Arts with me and the kids. Obviously it hasn''t been going very well. In fact, I''m probably her least favorite Strawhat right now.


    "Nami, you''re a pirate now, I''m just trying to look out for you. We''re training again around noon and once more after that around sunset. Why don''t you join us?"


    "Ugh, I''ve told you many times already that I don''t want to. And training?" she looks at me incredulously. "What training? So far, all I''ve seen you do is play around with kids and stretch. No thanks, I''d rather relax. Lastly, I am not a pirate. Now can you please leave me alone and go away? Why do you even care?"


    "We will be facing more dangerous people as we go on our adventure and-"


    "And I''ll be gone by then!" she shouts, interrupting me. "Leave me alone Usopp, I don''t want to play with you and your brats." Nami says with finality in her tone, ending the conversation and going back to her book. I sigh in regret.


    I know a sure-fire way to get her to train with us. If I can start the crew''s training as early as possible, it will only benefit us down the line. I knew that this would happen though so I thought of ways to get her to join and only came up with one.


    Money.


    I could bribe her with the money I''ve attained so far into training. The problem is, knowing her, I''d be broker faster than I could teach her anything valuable. It''s just not worth it as this point. With that in mind, I look up towards Zoro.


    "What about you Zoro?" I ask with hope in my voice. The thing with Zoro is, he doesn''t really need my help. If I left Zoro completely alone, he would still become a badass who could take on half the world and win.


    But what if I made him even better?


    The thought wouldn''t leave my mind no matter how much I tried to distract myself. Just think, a Zoro who could fly, dodge, and shave using 3 of the 6 Powers. Think of him incorporating flying into his already awesome skill set. I just had to see it, it needed to happen.


    "Eh, what about me?" he says, nonmoving from her apparently comfortable position.


    "Would you like to train with us? We could always use more training partners. And after we''re done training the Paper Art, we and the kids could join your training. Well, the strength training part anyway. I don''t think any of us will truly be able to pursue swordsmanship." I offer. Zorro trains every day. Every. Single. Day. With how powerful he becomes, he has to be doing something right.


    "Hmm¡­" he ponders for a bit. "Well I don''t see any harm. You guys are all pretty strong, especially the kids for their age. If you are training in something, this ''Paper Art'' must be pretty amazing too. Just like that ''Shave'' technique. Fine, next time you are training give me a heads up." he agrees. I swear, my smile could almost rival Monkey D. Luffy''s with how big and wide it grew.


    That''s when I began to hear some thumping coming our way. Well speak of the D. Luffy appeared carrying a large wooden crate of black balls to the deck. Confusion plagues me at first before I finally realise my mistake. They weren''t normal balls, they were cannon balls. Which means-


    Luffy drops the crate with a small crash. "Phew, these suckers are heavy."


    "What the hell is that?" Nami decides to ask.


    "I found them in the storeroom." Luffy answers.


    "Oh! Oh! I know what they are!" Carrot shouts from the side. "The weapons every great Pirate ship needs!" he says with stars in his eyes. Pepper appears next to him with just as much amazement.


    "The one thing that separates the plebs from the legends!" yells Pepper.


    "The divider between the great and the forgotten." Onion states with a fix of his glasses.


    "Cannon Balls." I say with a smile. It means I''m finally at the next episode.


    "Ohh yea! There''s no way in hell are we passing up this opportunity, right Usopp!? We have fucking cannons!" Carrot cursed. Hmm, maybe he''s developing a bad mouth habit. Well, we are pirates, everyone has their own little quirks, especially in the One Piece universe. Onion is weirder now that he''s started his smartass talk.


    "Right!?" asked Luffy. "Usopp as your Captain I order you to show me how to use the cannons!"


    "Well, it seems I''ve been put in a tough spot, I can''t deny Captain''s Orders after all. Fine! I shall first teach you how to shoot yourself, and then show you how it''s really done! My name is known far and wide throughout the high seas as the Cannon God! Be grateful my dear Captain, as you have chosen wisely. No one could teach you better than I!" I proclaim with exaggeration.


    """"Whoaaa~"""" Luffy and the kids say in awe, their eyes literally twinkling. Being in an anime is so weird, but Goda I''m happy to be here. While I''m a more serious Usopp, it doesn''t mean I''ll completely take away from Usopp''s character. I''m more serious and deadly than the original ever was or ever will be, but he was goofy and outgoing to. I''ll make sure to be just the same, to honor this body of mine.


    After a bit of explaining, more lies mixed in then truths, I load up the cannon for Luffy.


    "Alright! The target is that large rock in the distance." closing my eyes to adopt a scholarly persona with one finger in the air, I continue. "The key, my dear Captain, is to aim your sights-"If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "FIIIREEEEE~!" BOOM


    I open my eyes to see the cannonball miss so far off the mark, it wasn''t funny. At least not to me. For some reason after inhabiting this body, I''ve taken anything to do with aiming quite seriously. This must be what Zoro feels like when a ametuer swordman dares to grace his presence. I found the lack of aim quite appalling.


    "Man, that way way off the mark. Usopp you''re pretty bad at teaching." he said staring at the big splash said cannonball made. I tried to hold back my response. I really did, but then my eye began to catch a sudden bout of the Twitches, and the unexpected want to ring my Captain''s neck grew strong.


    "Why didn''t you let me finish you idiot! And don''t scream in other people''s ears! Move over!" I push him out the way take aim.


    "Hey! What''s so loud down there?" Zoro asked groggily, looking at me behind the cannon and then the last of the falling water from the missing shot. Wait a second, weren''t we just talking about training a few minutes ago, how did he possibly fall asleep so fast. "Usopp was that you? Man, you suck. You should probably stick to guns."


    Oh...well would you look at that, the twitches are back.


    "Okay! Everyone shut up and watch how it''s fucking done you scallywags!" I shout while aiming the cannon. Huh, maybe I''m the one responsible for the kids new found pottymouth?


    I mentally shrug. Eh, nothing I can do about it. What''s done is done now. "Give me the signal boys!" I order. The kids and Luffy glance at each other before a wide smile spreads across their faces.


    """"FIIIREEEE""""


    BOOM


    The cannonball hits dead center. Well, of course it did, I would die of shame if I actually missed, though I had no worry that it was actually going to happen.


    "Wow!" Luffy exclaimed with literal stars in his eyes. Anime is so fucking weird. "You hit it first try, that was so cool! You might be the best Sniper around."


    "Heheh! What do you mean Captain? Of course I''m the best Sniper, the Pirate King only has the best right?" I ask him with a grin, looking away from my successful shooting for just a second to see him grinning back. There''s just...something about Luffy''s smile that makes all the things I will go through, so much more worth it (as weird as that sounds). I''ll be facing delusional gods, Warlords, and even Emperors eventually, but I can''t help but look forward to it. Each day here, each day with this crew, being a Strawhat, is amazing.


    "Well that was fucking awesome, we should celebrate! Free drinks at the bar!" shouts Carrot and a roar of agreement sounds around the ship, even Nami, but not Zoro. He just looked at all of us with a small smile. Didn''t we just have drinks? And since when were they not free? Either way, we make our way back into the kitchen and sit around the bar.


    "You know guys, I was thinking, we have a lot of the positions we need filled already, but there''s one we have to get before we head out to the Grandline." Luffy says Carrot pours all of us a drink.


    "You''re right-" Nami agrees. "The kitchen is really nice on this ship. Just pay me and I''ll do it."


    "I suppose it is vital for long trips." Zoro adds sleepily. Seriously, how lazy is this guy?


    "No decent Pirate ship should be without one. A Musician!" Luffy says with his trademarked wide smile.


    "Ugh, are you an idiot?!"


    "What do you think we''re doing out here?" Nami asks after Zoro. I simply start to laugh. And take my shot of rum.


    "While not completely necessary, a good Musician is needed sooner or later-"


    "Right?!" Luffy shouts, interrupting me, which was only slightly annoying.


    "Usopp, you can''t be agreeing with this idiot right?" Nami asked baffled.


    "Hey!" shouted our Captain.


    "Well of course not, he is a dumbass after all-" I respond.


    "Hey!"


    "But we should probably think of all the positions we want to fill on the ship anyway. We already have a Navigator, a Swordsmaster, a Sniper, a Barkeeper, a Carpenter, and a LogBooker. That''s a lot done, but we still need a Doctor, a Shipwright, a Musician, and maybe some Gunners and Swashbucklers."


    "Swashbucklers? What are those?" asked Luffy in confusion. "And I thought you were our Gunner. Now that I think about it, what''s the difference between a Carpenter and a Shipwright anyway? Can''t Pepper just take care of the ship?"


    "No can do Captain." Pepper responds. "While I''ll do my best, Carpenters and Shipwrights just aren''t the same things. I can just fix and build wooden structures. While every Shipwright is a Carpenter, not every Carpenter is a Shipwright. I''m good but I''m still learning, and I will no doubt miss a few things. If we want to be safe, we need a person who specializes in ships." Pep finishes which only makes the rubber man more confused.


    "Swashbucklers are Swordsmen of the crew while Zoro is our Swordmaster. It''s uncommon, I think, but it''ll probably be good for us if we go down this route. Zoro would train the Swashbucklers to take care of the cannon fodder and weaklings while he and the rest of us take on the big important guys. It''s the same for Gunners, I can train them in shooting to help us while we are fighting big groups of people." I explain to him. This is my plan, the Strawhats are a tight knit group of power houses but I always wanted the crew to be expanded a bit more. Even if it was simply background characters that never got a name, I didn''t care, the Strawhat Pirates are simply too small for my liking.


    CRASH


    Before Luffy could respond to my explanation, a ruckus was heard on the deck of our ship. Crashing and angry yelling could be heard from an idiot outside.


    "Get out here you damn Pirate!" the angry man screamed. Luffy immediately went to go check on who was thrashing his new ship while me, the kids, and Nami piled around the small window to see what was going on. It was a tan man with weird looking shades wearing a light blue hoodie, and a purple shirt underneath. Most notably, he had a tattoo with what seemed like Kanji on his left cheek. In his hand was a dadao sword with a red handle and a circular tsuba. The blade of the sword got broader as it got farther away from the hilt.


    Johnny


    "Hey what the hell?! Who are you?!"


    "Shut up!" responded the man. "Who I am means nothing! Ya stinking pirate!"


    CRASH


    The man broke a railing while trying to attack Marry once more.


    "Hey guys, how many are there?" asked Zoro, not worried at all, sitting on the floor.


    "Uh just one." Nami answered.


    "Then just let him handle it."


    Now, normally I would agree, I know what happens after all and Luffy would be fine. The problem is, looking at how red Pepper''s face is getting right now, I can assume he isn''t happy about some random guy wrecking our ship. He may not be a Shipwright, but as a Carpenter, he seems to be taking this very personally. If one more thing on this ship breaks, I think he''s going to go ballistic.


    "Over the years I''ve lost count of all the Pirate heads we''ve taken. And now you guys think you can kill-" Johnny winds up another swing with his sword, but before he could attack, the door opened in front of me and Pepper shaved in the air, next to the man. His leg seemed to already been bent back in preparation, and the moment Johnny tried to swing his sword, he got a kick to the face that sent him crashing over the ship and into the air, over the water.


    "STOP BREAKING OUR FUCKING SHIP!"


    "Lost by a haiiiirrrr~~!" he yelled as flew and crashed into the sea. For a few seconds¡­.I honestly thought that Pep killed the poor guy. He didn''t come up for a while and I could only stare in shock and hope until he did. When it finally happened though, I breathed a sigh of relief.


    "Johnny?" asked Zoro, stepping out the kitchen for a second.


    "Big Bro Zoro!"


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    A few moments later, we got the soaking idiot out of the water and onto the deck. Zoro walked out full from the kitchen to get a better look at our intruder. Luffy looked confused, asking if he knew Johnny but Zoro didn''t answer right away.


    "Who cares if he knows this retard or not?! He was messing with our ship! Such a debt can only be repaid in blood!" shouted Pepper. Johnny shivered, and I don''t think it was from the cold.


    "Man, that''s one scary kid."


    "Calm down brat, he''s an old friend." our swordsman said in defense of his fellow pirate hunter.


    "Thank you Big Bro! I knew I could count on you to save me from these savages!" Johnny said with tears in his eyes. Pepper didn''t look like he wanted to let it go but huffed and backed off. It seems like Johnny made a very bad first impression on the kid.


    "What are you doing here Johnny?" Zoro asked in confusion.


    "Huh? Me? What about you? Why are you on a pirate ship? Why is that kid so freaking strong? What''s going on around here?!"


    "Hey relax, is everything okay? Where''s Yosaku?"


    At that, Johnny looked overboard with a pained expression. A little boat was connected to our ship and inside laid a bleeding man. He wore a long dark green trench coat with a red band around his right arm with a yellow circle on it. He had on black undershirt and yellow striped shorts that didn''t match with his outfit at all and made him look like a bum. On his head was what looked like a red head guard with a bronze plaque that left his gray buzzcut out to see.


    "He''s been sick." Johnny explains in a whimper, clearly worried about his friend. Zoro placed a hand on his friend''s shoulder in comfort. We bring up Yosaku and set him on the deck gently.


    "What is it?"


    "Up until a few days ago he was healthy and full of life, and now, he keeps fainting and getting really pale. I have no idea what''s causing it. His teeth has been falling out and his old wound opened up and started bleeding. He just got worse and worse and I didn''t know what to do. So I thought maybe we''d just rest on a little island, but then...a cannon ball came flying from this ship!"


    At his story, Luffy''s and the brats mouths fell open in shock and all turned to me in tandem. I then promptly looked away and whizzled in my fake ignorance. I must admit, I felt kind of bad shooting the canon ball. I knew he would be alright though, and changing the plot, even a little, is always a risk. I know I''m going to bulldoze fate anyway, but choosing to change shooting at the duo when I know they''d be fine just wasn''t worth it. They''d be kind of mad at first, but they''d get over it.


    Luffy and the kids bowed and apologized while I kept up my whistling practice.


    "Oi, why are we the only ones apologizing, your the one who shot the cannon ball Usopp!" Pepper shouted out. There were yells of agreement from the other kids and looks of anger.


    "Who? Me? What could you possibly mean?" I asked back with a cute and adorable head tilt.


    "It doesn''t matter, sorry isn''t good enough." Johnny said with his head down. A look of panic crossed everyone''s face. "Isn''t that right...partner? Big Bro, give it to me straight...is he going to die?"


    Zoro couldn''t answer. From his point of view, the situation looked bad, really bad. Yosaku was breathing heavily, and his would seemed to be getting worse. Everyone didn''t need to be a doctor to tell that he was in immense pain.


    It was then that the weather witch decided to bless us with her presence. She strode out onto the deck, ignoring the tension, and walked up to the motionless Yosaku.


    "He''s so dumb." Nami said after taking a look at him.


    "Watch it!" Zoro said in a growl, defending his friend. Nami kneeled down and stuck out the dying man''s tongue and placed a hand on his head. She began pulling the tongue up and down, as if it were a toy. Johnny didn''t take kindly to this and grabbed the witches arm roughly.


    "Stop it! Whatever your doing, stop! You''re mocking his death! Damnit you''ll-" Nami, tired of his yelling and spittle flying into her, grabbed the offenders face to shut him up in annoyance. I couldn''t help but chuckle at the situation and finally decided to speak out. Sometimes letting things play out as they should makes the fanboy in me gezim.


    "I''ll handle this. Carrot, Onion, this is an order from Superior Mate: Usopp. Acquire the extra lemons we have in storage." I command in a serious voice. The moment the order left my lips, the tears and sadness were whipped away from their faces, almost as if they were never there. Their backs straightened and expressionsions stiffened as their left arm went to their backs and the right went to their chests in a salue. It was something I taught them, the salute from Attack on Titan.


    ""Yes Sir!"" and without hesitation, they Shaved away. Moments later, they arrived with the lemons.


    "Squeeze them over his opened mouth." I order and they both do as told. The juices from the lemons began slowly dripping out, some landing on his face and some going into the right destination.


    "He''s got scurvy." Nami said as she watched.


    "Scurvy?" asked Johnny.


    "If we weren''t too late, we''d be just fine in a few days." at this, his face split into a smile.


    "Really Big Sis?! Really?! Thank you Big Sis! Thank yo-" Nami placed her hand to stop the spittle from flying onto her again.


    "Don''t call me that, it sounds so dumb. Besides, this used to be a hopeless disease that plague sailers, we just know how to deal with it now. This is caused by a simple deficiency in plant derived nutrients, like Vitamin C. Back in the old days, they couldn''t carry fresh fruits and vegetables because they couldn''t store them, we know better now." Nami explained.


    "Hey Usopp, what was that?" Zoro asked.


    "What was what?"


    "That, with the kids. I''ve known you all enough by now that if you normal told the brats to do something, they''d give you a lot more snark. This time however...they got all stiff and did that weird salute."


    "Yea¡­" Nami pitched in. "What was that about anyway?"


    "Oh that? Well, it''s kind of like this. Luffy is our Captain right? But Luffy is an idiot-" "Hey!" "and so sometimes we don''t do everything he says. Despite this, if Luffy really gave us an order or command, we''d follow it in a heartbeat. He''s our Captain, so we do what he says."


    "That doesn''t make sense." Nami spoke up confused. "You just said that you guys don''t do everything Luffy orders but then in the next moment you say the exact opposite." I shake my head.


    "No, that would be akin to mutiny against our Captain. Yes, we don''t do everything Luffy says, but we do however do everything he orders. Despite not talking about it, there are natural ranks on this ship. Luffy as Captain, Zoro as 1st Mate, and me as 2nd Mate. They don''t have to do everything I or Zoro tell them, but orders are taken seriously, especially on a Pirate ship." I explained. Zoro raised an eyebrow at his apparent rank in the crew but didn''t say anything Nami though, apparently had some objections.


    "Now wait just a minute! I can kind of get Zoro but why the hell are you a higher rank than me?! I was on the ship before you!"


    "Oh?" I asked in a teasing tone. "But you''re not actually a Strawhat are you? Unless you want to finally stop your futile resistance and admit your apart of the crew?"


    "Over my dead body, I''ll never be a Pirate!"


    "Well then it looks like your opinion on the matter doesn''t mean much, now doesn it?" I get a grumble and a look of irritation from her. It was then that we all noticed some movement from our dying friend on the ground. He suddenly sat up with a dumb look on his face.


    In seconds, he was up dancing around in circles with Johnny, celebrating his recovery.


    ""Hurray Hurray! Hurray Hurray! Hurray Hurray!""


    "Nutrients cured me!"


    "He''s all better!"


    ""Hurray Hurray! Hurray Hurray! Hurray Hurray!""


    "Idiots! You can''t heal that quickly!" shouted Nami who already was in a bad mood before they started yelling and dancing. At her scream however, they did stop and got into some weird poses.


    ""Allow us to introduce ourselves.""


    "My name is Johnny."


    "And I''m Yosaku."


    ""Together we''re the baddest Pirate bounty hunting duo in the world.""


    "Big Bro Zoro there used to be one of us." said Johnny.


    "Glad to make your acquaintance." said Yosaku


    Well...the story is finally kicking off. I''ve prepared as much as I could.


    Let''s begin

 Chapter 7: Welcome to the Family!

    After their little pose and announcement, Yosaku fell back out. Turns out, Nami was right, it does take more than just a few lemons to cure scurvy. Well, it doesn¡¯, but it takes more time. Although he was unconscious again, no one was super worried now that everyone knew what it was. Well, except maybe Johnny. It wasn¡¯t all bad though, as night fell, we had talks about the importance of food and nutrients on the sea. I made it absolutely clear that we should get a Cook as soon as possible and that we probably shouldn''t even leave our next stop without one. Right on time, Johnny told the cook about the Baratie. It took us a couple of days to really get there though. Stupid travel time!


    As we finally floated next to the restaurant, everyone''s mouths were agape. Of course, I¡¯ve seen it before but even I was kinda amazed. I mean, how often do you hear about an entire restaurant at sea? It wasn¡¯t only that either, this was going to be Luffy¡¯s first major battle and I was contemplating how much i should get involved and change all last night. Honestly, I still don¡¯t know, at this point, I¡¯m just going with the flow. Get it? Heh, flow? And we¡¯re on the water? Ha!


    While we were gawking, a Marine ship pulled on the side of us loudly. Since it was kind of early in the morning, the whistles and loud noise were extremely annoying, but I didn¡¯t let it get to me too much. I¡¯m going to have an amazing opportunity to blow off some steam soon after all.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that pirate flag.¡± said a man slowly walking onto the Marine ship¡¯s deck while looking up at our logo. He¡¯s an average-sized Marine that has a white pinstripe suit. His hair is well-combed, pink like Koby¡¯s, with a scar under his right eye and bolts attached to his knuckles. Johnny and Yosaku took this opportunity to hide behind the kitchen door so that they wouldn¡¯t be labeled as pirates. To be fair, they really aren¡¯t pirates so you can¡¯t blame them, but there¡¯s no way I¡¯m letting them slip from my fingers. They¡¯re definitely joining our crew!


    ¡°I am Iron-Fist Fullbody, but you can just call me sir.¡± he exclaimed with painful arrogance. It kinda makes me want to kick his ass. You know what, I probably should kick his ass. I should do more ass-kicking while I still can and we¡¯re not facing guys like Kaido who will then start kicking mine. ¡°You there! Whose the Captain?! Identify yourself!¡±


    ¡°My name is Luffy!¡± he yelled back. I stepped forward and glared at the pink haired idiot. Although I already know what¡¯s going to happen, and I know that he returns later on in the series so I shouldn¡¯t kill him, I didn¡¯t like the way he was speaking to our leader.


    ¡°And he¡¯s our Captain, so I sincerely suggest that you watch your tone from now.on.¡± I say with a low voice. Without any orders given, the kids stepped up behind me, hands on their pipes and a murderous look in their eyes. He¡¯s lucky that the brats haven¡¯t actually killed yet, he¡¯s just in for a beating at the moment.


    ¡°Oh really? And what if I don¡¯t? Do you know who I am boy? Are you and your orphanage going to do anything about it? From what I see, all you have on your side is a hillbilly with a Strawhat as your boss, are you pirates or farmers?¡± at this, I could hear the boys growling at the ¡®orphans¡¯ comment. In fact, I could swear there was actual Killing Intent from Carrot, which I¡¯m sad to say, didn¡¯t surprise me.


    ¡°I can¡¯t seem to find it within me to give a fuck who you are, but ignore my warning if you so choose. It¡¯s not my head on the line and the only reason yours isn¡¯t flying is because we didn¡¯t come here for a fight. Do not take our kindness as a weakness.¡± I say grimly. Luffy steps forward with a nod.


    ¡°We only made our flag recently. As in, the day before yesterday. My Sniper is right, we didn¡¯t come here for a fight, but if you¡¯re looking for a fight, we¡¯ll kick your ass!¡° Luffy yells, and while those sound like fighting words, the humongous grin on Luffy¡¯s face kinda offsets the very real threat.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± he asks with snark. Making my I wanna shoot him  levels go just a bit higher. He looks around our ship and spots the Pirate Hunting Duo hiding. ¡°Hey! You two right there! I¡¯ve seen you before. You¡¯re that bounty hunter group that goes after the small fish right? Soo, you¡¯ve finally been caught by pirates? Stupid ones too by the looks of it.¡± he says, laughing while they stumble to explain themselves. The brats however looked as if they wanted to kick his face in, which they absolutely did want to do.


    ¡°Hey~, come on baby lets get going.¡± a woman with a red dress and blonde hair states. She¡¯s kinda cute actually. I wonder if I¡¯ll have enough time to get her to join the dark side, every women likes a bad boy. With a confirmation from Fullbody, they begin to walk off the deck, but it seems Johnny¡¯s pride couldn¡¯t let it end like that.


    ¡°Hey wait a minute! You think small time bounty hunters would go after these guys?!¡± Johnny yells while pulling out a bunch of Wanted Posters and throwing them on the deck. Making a mess I¡¯m going to force him to clean while at it. I noticed that Nami immediately saw Along¡¯s poster and he face fell. Fullbody didn¡¯t waste a glance on the duo and continued walking off the ship.


    ¡°What are these things?¡± Nami inquired while kneeling to pick a few up. No doubt she was only focused on Arlongs though. The fishmen pirates scare me a little bit, especially Arlong. I don¡¯t know if I personally could beat him in a One v One fight. So far, I¡¯ve only battled scrubs and weaklings, which means I have zero experience in real Life or Death fights. All my techniques will mean nothing if I don¡¯t know how to survive. Johnny decided to answer her question.


    ¡°Those are all wanted pirates Big Sis Nami.¡± in the middle of his sentenced he noticed Nami¡¯s expression. He could tell that this guy in particular somehow shook her to the core, and simply seeing his face on a piece paper did something to her that even someone like him knew that something was wrong.


    It was then that he noticed something off about Nami there. A sort of sadness yet deep anger as she stared at the poster of the blue fishman with the long nose and sharp teeth. She began to shiver, crumpling up the poster in either rage or sorrow. While I wanted to comfort her, there was something kinda important coming up.


    ¡°Hey guuuyyyys! I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re about to fucking shoot us!¡± I warned and in the next second, a large BOOM was heard as a cannonball started speeding right towards our ship. I really wanted to do something cool like Shaving into the air and kicking the cannon back but I wasn¡¯t entirely sure if that wouldn¡¯t break my leg so I let things play out for now.


    ¡°Leave it to me!¡± my trust Captain yelled as he stretched his arms out to hold something while the ball slammed into his chest, pushing him far back. Good thing he¡¯s rubber. ¡°Gum Gum! Slingshot!!!¡± Unfortunately, Merry¡¯s horn, one of the things he held to not fly off, wasn¡¯t strong enough and broke. This made him curve slightly, and instead of the ball hitting the Marine ship, it flew towards the Baratie and crashed into the roof.


    I couldn¡¯t help my laughter as the cooks from the restaurant we basically just bombed came looking for the culprit. They stomped onto our deck without any opposition and their teeth sharpened like fishermen. How are they doing that?


    ¡°Who!? Who was the one that¡¯s responsible for that cannonball?!¡± they yelled without any fear. Which is pretty weird right? I mean, even if we aren¡¯t well known yet, we are still pirates. We have the big scull and everything on our flag.


    Without any hesitation or thought put into our decision, me, the brats, the duo and the entire Marine ship pointed towards Luffy who began sweating buckets. That cannot be healthy. Luffy tried to plead his case but the cooks weren¡¯t having it. They grabbed him by his collar and dragged him off the ship. Carrot stepped beside me.


    ¡°Shouldn''t we...save our Captain?¡± he asked while trying to hold back his laughter. I shook my head no, before I could speak up however, Pepper stepped in. The look on his face told everyone what they needed to know. My boy was not pleased, not pleased at all.


    ¡°Usopp! Those Marines just shot at our ship!!!¡± he barked with venom. His teeth has also had turned sharp like sharks. How in the hell are they doing that. I mean, can I do that? I mean, technically I¡¯m an anime character right? So I should?


    He does not  look happy. I sighed as I walked towards the edge of the deck and looked up towards the Marines. If I think about it, I¡¯m kind of pissed off. These bastards shot at Merry! It obviously wasn¡¯t, but what if it actually hit her?!


    ¡°First Mate Zorro...since Captain Luffy is indisposed, control of the ship goes to you. Second Mate Usopp would like to make a request.¡± I state, eyes not leaving the enemy¡¯s ship. The kids, hearing my manner of speech, became serious.


    "...what is it?¡± he asked with a grunt. He was leaning on the rail of our ship with a casual look. It seemed like our resident badass was always chill as long as he doesn¡¯t put his bandana on. Then the guy becomes a demon, someone you do not want to face.


    ¡°The kid is right, they tried shooting at our ship. The adventure we¡¯ve only just started, our hopes and dreams, our future...it would have ended right here with only a single order from a nobody in the Blue Sea.¡±


    ¡°Hm...and does that mean you want to masacre them, like with the Black Cats?¡± he asked with a steady tone, looking away from me to gaze at the sea. I couldn¡¯t see his eyes and it made me nervous. Out of everyone on the crew right now, I would think the one who had the least amount of problems with my killing would have been Zoro.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t request that we kill them, the offence isn¡¯t that bad. I just want to show them the error of their ways. No one has to die. They were only following the orders of a stupid man, they aren¡¯t inherently bad people.¡± though I really wouldn¡¯t mind killing them.


    ¡°You don¡¯t worry either, I wasn¡¯t. I don¡¯t care if you kill them or not, I simply wanted to know what you would do.¡± that...scared me even more. Why? Is he just trying to figure out what kind of person I am? What did he figure out about me by asking me that question?


    ¡°And so?¡± I question. An evil smile slowly forms on his face as he draws his blades. Zoro has always been one of my favorites. If it involves protecting his friends, he won¡¯t be naive about the situation and do what needs to be done to protect the crew.


    ¡°Well, we do have to teach them a lesson, don¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± I say with a smirk before giving out orders. ¡°Nami! Your job is to rob them blind in the middle of the fighting. A big ship like that must have money on it somewhere. Get every single thing valuable on it and not leave a speck of dust!¡±


    ¡°Got it!!!¡± she agrees immediately with money signs in her eyes. Like, literally money signs. Still haven¡¯t gotten used to the whole Anime World concept yet have I?


    ¡°Brats! Follow me in taking down so of the small fry and clearing a path for the Navigator to do her thing!¡±


    ¡°¡±¡±Aye!!!¡±¡±¡± they shout with a solute. To anyone with the knowledge, it might look really freaking cringy, but those of this world it¡¯s a sign of respect. I¡¯ll make sure all lower ranked members of the crew know this solute. Hell, even the higher members if I can get them to do it.


    ¡°Duo! You¡¯re with Zoro, though I doubt he¡¯ll need it, watch his back fight with him!¡± actually, I know he won¡¯t need it, not this early in the story. Everyone besides Mihawk has no chance against him. This will however be a team experience and that makes it worth the order.


    ¡°¡±Okay!!¡±¡¯ the Duo yells while trying to mimic the salute from the boys before a moment of hesitation. ¡°Wait a minute, if we attack the Marines with you guys, won¡¯t they think we¡¯re pirates?¡± Johnny asks. I give him a deadpan stare before answering his question.


    ¡°Dude, you are on a pirate ship. Not to mention, they¡¯ve already attacked us. I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re going to consider you pirates no matter what now.¡±


    ¡°What?! No wayyyyy!¡± Yosaku screams in despair. Now that was a total lie, because originally they lived their lives on the sea without problem. Well, they became fishermen instead of being being Bounty Hunters but still. Despite this, I need them on the ship. I have big plans and we¡¯re gonna need more than the original crew to survive the humongous target I¡¯m going to continuously paint on our back.


    ¡°Anyway, just do as ordered. Is everyone ready?!¡± after a bunch of confirmations and a simple nod from the First-Mate, we all jumped onto the enemy ship with troublemaking smiles. Of course, Immediately after we landed on the deck, a bunch of rifles were pointed at us by the scrubs.


    ¡°What are you doing on our ship you pirates!? You¡¯re lucky we let yours go after your freaky Captain redirected our shot but don¡¯t get cocky! Leave before we have to force you.¡± one of the Marines say. I stare at the speaker with an insufferable smirk and pull out my slingshot. Since we¡¯re going non-lethal I better not use my actual guns.


    ¡°Well lookie at what we have here. A bunch of dogs barking without their master here to protect them. Listen up you scallywags, you¡¯ll have only one chance and one chance only to drop your weapons and give us your booty before things will have to get violent.¡±


    ¡°...HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!¡± there was a moment of silence before the Marines started laughing. ¡°There are only 8 of you! What are you going to do to us?!¡± I smile at their question, because really, it is such an amusing question.


    ¡°Boys...why don¡¯t you show them what happens when you fuck with a Strawhat? Crush them.¡± it was with those words, that all hell broke loose. I Geppo¡¯d on top of the crow''s nest and began shooting down pellets and my stars at the poor guys. When I haven¡¯t been practicing shooting, I¡¯ve been trying to remake the OG Ussops ammo. Even if they weren¡¯t powerful, they were versatile.


    The brats pulled the pipes out and began teleporting all over the ships, giving the idiots concussions with each whack. It¡¯s not their fault really, I beat in the importance of aiming for the head when possible. I don¡¯t want a Thor situation ever happening after all.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Those who were facing off against Zoro and the Duo had it the worst. At most we were giving a few broken bones and concussions. Men who were going against the swordsman got cut though, and I¡¯m pretty sure some of them died.


    Yosaku showed a frightening level of professionalism. With a tight frown, he ran ahead and cut the head off of one of the Marines without a single word or scream before facing off against his next opponent. It seemed as if he was an entirely different person altogether the moment the fight began.


    Johnny wasn¡¯t a slacker either. While louder and more out of control than his friend, his kills were a lot more messy. He cut off arms and legs before moving to his next target and letting the ones behind him bleed out, screaming in pain. He was merciless, and seemed to take some sort of guilty pleasure from the act.


    Never mind, I¡¯m 100% sure that some of them died. Jeez guys, I was supposed to be the bloodthirsty one. This is just ridiculous. I guess you forget that the Duo were actually pretty good bounty hunters who hung out with Zoro before the series started. Killing is their literal job.


    ¡°Exploding Star-¡± I announce without the yelling and fanflare the OG Usopp usually did. My star flew towards an enemy and the moment the attack landed, an explosion knocked back the marine so far that he flew off the boat.


    Ohhhh¡­.he might be dead. That hit right in the chest and if it knocked him out when he hit the water than he¡¯s definitely drowning. Mr. 5 said that the OG Usopp¡¯s gunpowder was low quality when he made his attacks, but fuck that. I don¡¯t want low grade gunpowder. Obviously my shit isn¡¯t anything special either, but apparently it packs much more of a punch than I previously thought.


    Before long, it turned into less of a fight and more of a hunt. They really started to get scared when I decided to just use my Lead Star and started aiming for the nuts. Was it necessary? No. Did it make me laugh? Absu-Fucking-Lutely


    ¡°Oh God help us!¡± one in particular screamed after I hit a bullseye. With his hands covering his crotch, he fell to the side in a fetal position. With a relatively weak pull on my slingshot, I shot the bastard in the eye.


    ¡°.....¡± it took him a few seconds to realise. ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Goda you sacrileges heathen!¡± eh, he¡¯ll be alright, I held back my draw a lot when I shot. It¡¯ll be blurry for a while but his eye will be fine. After a little more torture, they finally gave up and kneeled, many of the men holding onto their balls in pain. Nami finally came out carrying a humongous bag of stuff.


    ¡°Oi! Be grateful and thank Goda, for we are currently are in a good mood. We¡¯re letting you scum go with both your lives and your ship intact. For the Sin of attacking our ship, nothing but Death is what you deserve but I¡¯ve calmed down a bit after kicking your asses!¡± Pepper shouts at them.


    I look around the ship and try to find someone who looks the most important. Finding no one, because all of them just looked like scrubs to me, I just ask my question in general to everyone on the ship.


    ¡°Who knows if this ship has some SeaStone?¡± I have big plans for that stone. I need as much of it as I can. If I can nab a big amount, future battles will go down much more smoothly. In fact, maybe I¡¯ll even be able to skip boss battles!!!!


    No one answers at first and so I had to ask again in a less polite tone before someone finally grew the balls to help me with my question. A marine slowly stands up with his hands around his balls in a cautious manner. Apparently he saw what I did to his friends.


    ¡°W-we have a small amount sir. Every marine ship does for self repairs. We don¡¯t really have much though¡± he stutters out. For those who don¡¯t know, the bottom of marine ships are covered in SeaStone. This is because it allows them to sail across the Calm Belt without the worry of being attacked by Sea Kings. Needless to say, it¡¯ll probably be a while before I can use Haki, which means any amount of SeaStone is invaluable.


    ¡°SeaStone? Why would we need SeaStone?¡± asked Nami with an eyebrow raised. Zoro does the same but he doesn¡¯t really speak up about it. I look towards the two of them with a serious expression. Well I hope it¡¯s a serious expression. Sometimes it¡¯s hard not to cringe at myself trying to be cool.


    ¡°Do you think Luffy will be the only person on the Sea that will have Devil Fruit powers?¡± I ask back. Zoro furrowed his brows while Nami looked surprised. ¡°I don¡¯t think the two of you fully know the risks yet, so let me spell it out. Luffy wants to be King! There will be multiple strong people on the sea without Fruit powers but there also will be just as many with them. Men who can turn their entire bodies into vapor, or smoke, or even fire and lava. How will we deal with them?¡± Haki obviously but they don¡¯t really know that yet. ¡°Zoro, are you confident that you could even defeat them. Can you blade cut fire?¡± he looked down in thought, and he came to a conclusion fairly quickly. With a shake of his head, he replied no.


    ¡°We need a way to not only defend ourselves but also attack back. SeaStone is  that way. We just need enough of it.¡± I don¡¯t have to worry about Nami, but I¡¯m afraid Zoro won¡¯t be susceptible to dirty tricks. I need to sell them on this idea. Who I¡¯m really worried about is Luffy though, I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll even contemplate using anything but his fist.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Nami nods in agreement. ¡°But how did you know that they would have some? I don¡¯t think there are many Devil Fruit users on the Blue Seas. In fact, Luffy is the only one I¡¯ve ever met besides that weird clown guy who could throw his hands. Now that I think about it, Luffy is made of rubber and the other guy couldn¡¯t really be cut, but while weird it¡¯s not really scary. People made of fire and smoke? I¡¯ve never even heard of something like that, does it even exist? Are you sure we need to be so worried.¡±


    ¡°Nami! Do not doubt my information, people like that exist. Infact, they¡¯re even more dangerous people out there. A man made of Magma, a man made of Ice, a man made of Light. There are monsters who can turn into Dragons, control emotions, destroy the world itself. Do you remember who my father is? It must not have sunken in for you yet but please don¡¯t forget my lineage. I am the son of the legendary Yassop, Sniper for the Red Hair Pirates. Father is on the crew of an Emperor. Of course I know some things that most people don¡¯t. For example, Marine ship¡¯s bottom are coated with SeaStone so that they can safely sail through the Calm Belt. The SeaKings leave them alone, which means they don¡¯t have to cross into the Grandline the way pirates do. And trust me, our way is much worse.¡±


    It was then and only then, that the situation seemed to dawn on them. Both Nami and Zoro¡¯s eyes widened when it finally sunk in that I was the son of a Yonko crewman, one of the four strongest crews in the world. My friends weren¡¯t the only ones to hear this either. The Marines heard this and began to shake in fear.


    ¡°N-no way¡­¡± one mutters with a terrified look on his face. I couldn¡¯t help but laugh at his overreaction. If he thought my lineage was insane, wait until they hear about Luffy¡¯s. That guy¡¯s entire bloodline is monstrous. That simple ¡°D¡± in his name brings fear to those who know its meaning. I clap my hands to grab everyone''s attention.


    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s get going, our Captain has been in that restaurant for a while and we need to go meet our new crew member. Nami, you take one of the idiots and get all the SeaStone they have. Pepper, you go with her to make sure that the tough guy doesn¡¯t do anything that you¡¯ll have to bash his head in for.¡±


    With a nod, they got to moving and gathered everything that we need. Moving back to the ship after tying the Marines up, we decide to finally check up on our leader. While we were walking towards the restaurant, I noticed something though. Both Nami and Zoro were staying some distance away from me. Not much, but I could just tell that they didn¡¯t want to cross some invisible line. I frowned at this. Well that¡¯s not good. I¡¯m not that surprised about Nami, but Zoro too? This wasn¡¯t supposed to happen.


    Finally through the doors, we come to see and unusual sight. The atmosphere was so tense Zoro could probably cut it with his sword. There was a man holding that arrogant marine by the neck, a fight obviously finished. He was slim yet muscular, with long legs and blond hair that was brushed over the left side of his face. His eyebrows both formed a spiral but at different ends. His right eyebrow was a spiral at the outer end, while his left eyebrow forms a spiral at the inner end. He was wearing a black, double-breasted suit with golden buttons and tie together with a long-sleeved buttoned blue pinstripe shirt. VInsmoke Sanji, cook of the Strawhat Pirates ...I can¡¯t wait to eat this bastard¡¯s food.


    It seems we missed Sanji¡¯s speech about wasting food and provoking Cooks at sea, which is a real fucking shame because I realy wanted to see that badass moment in real life. Shit, I should have known not to take up so much time, we should have just killed the bastards and rushed over here. Already a buff weird guy was scolding Sanji about beating up a Lieutenant. For the life of me, I cannot remember his name. Did he even have one?


    The buff guy was yelling at our Cook but really he didn¡¯t seem to mind. He dropped the idiot onto the floor and justified his actions. Sanji really hates wasting food, understandably so for what he went through. I wouldn¡¯t blame him if he even killed anyone for wasting food in front of him, I sure would.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re going to regret this. All of you! No restaurant should treat its customers like this. I¡¯ll shut you down.Do you understand me? I will shut you down! This entire place! This whole restaurant is finished, do you hear-¡± before he could waste anymore of our time, I walked up behind his slumped form during his revenge monologue and pointed a gun at his temple. Yea, that shut him up real quick.


    ¡°Shut up you fool and put them ears to use. You ordered all of those cannon fodder you call crewmen to sink our ship. If the chef doesn¡¯t kill you for whatever the hell you did to piss him off, I just might. So I suggest-¡± I was interrupted by a loud CRASH! Ugh, there¡¯s always something.


    Out of nowhere our Captain and a man with a pegleg and a long blonde mustache fell through the roof. It was Red Leg Zeff, former Captain of the Cook Pirates and a man who sailed on the Grand Line. I¡¯ve always wondered about the adventures he¡¯s been on and what caused him to go out into the sea.


    ¡°I can breath again!¡± Luffy yells after a deep breath. One of the concerned chefs notices that their Captain was one of the people who fell from the roof too and asks if he¡¯s alright. Zeff ignored him and focused on whose going to pay from his broken roof. This led to an argument with him and Luffy and because I shut up the Lieutenant before Sanji could snap,  no grabbed the Captains attention and let the argument play out. Before long, they were hitting each other again while yelling about fees and payments.


    No one even noticed a weak looking man walking into the restaurant like he owned the place. Before long he sat at a table and placed his feet up before trying to get someone''s attention. Unfortunately for him, everyone was pretty focused on the fight. Why would they pay attention to some nobody.


    ¡°Hey, can I get some service around here?¡± he asked in a low tone, but Luffy and Zeff were still arguing and fighting and no one even heard his question. In fact, I think I¡¯m the only one who even realised he came in. ¡°Hey¡­¡± he tried again when no one acknoleged him. Despite his attempted, he was again ignored. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he takes out his gun and pointed it to the ceiling before firing. ¡°Hey!!! What kind of place is this!? Bring me food!!¡±  I guess because of what we did to the Marines, no one could even try to stop him from breaking out.


    ¡°Heyyy, I know that guy.¡± Nami says after a moment. Zoro gave her a confused look and asked how. ¡°While I was looting their ship he was the only prisoner. I saw him their with a creepy look in his eyes.¡±Oh yeaaa, he was supposed to be locked up on the boat during all of this. I should have let him out when we were kicking those scrubs asses.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you help him out then?¡± Zoro wondered. Nami shrugged at this with a look on her face that almost said, ¡®Why the hell would I? It¡¯s got nothing to do with me.¡¯ That woman...I wonder if there is something in the world she wouldn¡¯t do for money. What am I saying, of course there isn¡¯t anything like that. This is Nami we¡¯re talking about here.


    ¡°I offered but he said he didn¡¯t have any money on hand to pay for my services.¡± she said with an eyebrow raised. Is...is this girl serious? Wasn¡¯t he in a cell, starving?Did she seriously have no empathy for the man. I love her...but isn¡¯t Nami kind of, sort of, maybe, most definitely a major bitch?


    ¡°....but he was locked up, how was he supposed to pay you? He was a prisoner, all of his money were probably confiscated by the Marines, and you most likely stole all of it when I ordered you to sweep through the ship. Doesn¡¯t that mean you already have all of his money, what was he going to give you?¡± I say after a while.


    ¡°That sounds like a him problem. If he didn¡¯t want all of his money stolen, he shouldn¡¯t have been captured in the first place. How is it my fault that his money was already my money by the time he needed to give me more money? That¡¯s just bad planning.¡± ...there is something seriously wrong with her.


    ¡°Hello you damn crook!¡± the buff man strolled in front of the man without any fear and put on a bright smile. He was average-sized but muscular with a lot of hair on his arms and legs. He had a shaved head, large lips, and a short black beard. Wearing a navy blue short-sleeved shirt with yellow buttons on both sides, and light blue on the end of the sleeves. On his legs were knee-length shorts that are the same color as his shirt, along with brown shoes. He also wears a white apron, a pink ascot, an earring in his right ear, and a white rope tied around his head. Lastly, there¡¯s two heart tattoos on his left arm.


    ¡°I¡¯m only going to say this one last time, bring me something to eat and make it quick.¡± a relatively thin man with short, scruffy hair, a scruffy beard, and a slight mustache. He has dark circles under his eyes, as though he lacks sleep. Wearing an open gray jacket with a red sea-serpent design on each side with a green shirt underneath, gray pants matching with his jacket, a gray headband with blue stripes design, and two spherical earrings in each ear.


    ¡°Of course, right away! But might I be so bold as to inquire how you will be paying for this meal?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± the man hummed, kind of surprised that he¡¯s even being asked that question. He may not be the captain of his crew, but he was still very well known. Gin the Man Demon, Combat Commander of the Krieg Pirate. Without hesitation, Gin points a gun right at the buff man¡¯s head. I cannot for the life of me remember his name. ¡°Will a bullet be enough?¡± in mere seconds, the buff man smile disappears.


    ¡°So you don¡¯t have any money then?¡± quicker than a man like him should be able to move, he clasps his hands together and smashed down towards Gin¡¯s back. My eyes widen in surprise as just before he gets clobbered, Gin managed to jump out of the way and points his gun at the chef¡¯s head. He shoots but luckily the Cook grabs the Pirate¡¯s wrist and forces it upward before the shot went off. The Cook pulls back his arm and slams his fist into Gin¡¯s stomach, sending him flying.


    ¡­ Was it Patrick? No, that¡¯s Spongebob. Peter? No, that¡¯s Tinkerbell. Patty!!!


    Getting back up now that he has some distance the gun is pointed right back at Patty with a smirk. Immediately a few gunshots were fired but Patty flipped a table over for some cover. Before anymore damage could be done, Zeff came out of nowhere and kicked Gin with his pegleg, causing him to crash into the floor. This time, he didn¡¯t get back up.  Well...that wasn¡¯t supposed to happen.


    The customers and Cooks started to chear at the conclusion of the battle. Patty even did a small monologue talking about how they served only paying customers and began to kick Gin while he was down. Now, I know that he wasn¡¯t apart of our Crew yet, and I know that currently he¡¯s a loyal member of the Krieg Pirates, but something about seeing him being kicked like that pissed me off enough to intervene. After a couple of wacks I stopped Patty.


    ¡°Hey, he gets it, let¡¯s leave it here for now. Throw him out but let¡¯s stop kicking him, alright?¡± I say with a smile. Sure, I¡¯m a little pissed but Patty¡¯s just doing his job. No need to make enemies for no reason.


    ¡°Oh, and who are you, one of his crewmates?¡± he asked, looking as if he was going to attack if I gave the wrong answer.


    ¡°No no no, my Captain is over there-. ¡° I point towards Luffy, ¡°but sill, I just don¡¯t like seeing guys being beat while down, y¡¯know?¡±


    ¡°...Grrr fine.¡± Patty agrees, before picking up Gin and walking out of the restaurant. Without any grace, he throws the Pirate before warning him to stay out and don¡¯t come back. I follow to make sure the guy is alright and sit on the rail in silence until he¡¯s ready to talk.


    A couple of minutes pass by in pure awkwardness. After a while, I almost get irritated enough to speak out first but before I could, the idiot finally says something. Which, thank Goda, because I almost broke.


    ¡°Why did you help me?¡± he asks, looking at the sky without getting up. My Captain was on the upper stair balcony and gave me a confused look.


    ¡°Yea, I¡¯m curious too, why did you help the hungry guy-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not hungry!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that was like you at all. You even killed all of those kitty people back in your hometown.¡±


    ¡°You hurt me Captain.¡± I say with a chuckle. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m a psychopath who only knows violence. The Execution treatment are only for the scum who threaten the Strawhats and the Strawhats territory. The ¡®kitty people¡¯ did both and I couldn¡¯t let that stand.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Does that mean hungry guy is part of the crew now?¡±


    ¡°Yup!¡± I agreed with a nod.


    ¡°I¡¯m not hungry!¡± Gin yells once more. ¡°Wha- wait! I¡¯m not apart of your crew! I¡¯m-¡±


    ¡°Gin the Man Demon, Combat Commander of the Krieg Pirates, and fiercely loyal.¡± I interrupt, pulling out a little black book from my satchel.  ¡°I heard you and your friends tried to brave the Grandline. Unfortunately, you weren¡¯t lucky and irritated Dracule Mihawk, who destroyed your entire fleet. Very unlikely indeed.¡±


    ¡°Whoooaaaaa! He went to the Grandline?!?!? That¡¯s so COOOOL!¡± I chuckle and laugh at Luffy¡¯s excited response before nodding.


    ¡°H-how did you know that?! It only happened just recently!¡±


    ¡°It seems I need to introduce myself. My name is All Knowing Usopp, and while most know me as the Sniper of the Strawhat Pirates, I¡¯m also the Tactician. Information is a Tactician¡¯s bread and butter, and lets just say I¡¯m very good at my job.¡±


    ¡°That still doesn¡¯t explain why you helped me¡­¡±


    ¡°Wooow Usopp you¡¯re so smart!¡±


    ¡°Well you see, you Gin, have grabbed my attention. Though you¡¯re not a Captain, your skill is definitely admirable. And despite your leader being a piece of shit, you are loyal, not because you agree with his values, but because once someone has your loyalty it¡¯s not something that can easily be discarded. You would make an amazing Strawhat.¡±


    ¡°How dare you! Don Krieg is the strongest! Someone like you could never- GROWL~~~¡± his speech was interrupted by his stomach.


    ¡°And that¡¯s my cue.¡± Sanji walked in with a dish in hand and sat it down in front of Gin. Was he listening in on our conversation? We were talking for a while. ¡°Eat up.¡± the hungry man simply stared at the food for a while, clearing wanting to dig in, but his pride stopped him.


    ¡°...take it back. I won¡¯t accept charity. It doesn¡¯t matter how out of it I may be, just take the stuff away from me. Now!¡±


    ¡°Stop your whining and eat it already, I don¡¯t care what they say in there, to me, if anyone¡¯s hungry they¡¯re a customer.¡±


    ¡°Sorry..but I¡¯m not your customer- GROWL~~.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s amazing how beautiful yet cruel this ocean can be. How it¡¯s almost a death sentence to lose your food and water out here. How difficult it is to survive. I know how it to go hungry on the sea more than anyone.You can die for your pride if you want, but listen if you eat and survive won¡¯t that give you the opportunity to fight for pride truly worth having in the future?¡±


    ¡°....¡± the struggle on Gin¡¯s face was clear for all to see, but in the end, he swallowed his pride. He got up and grabbed to food before scarfing it down. The tears ran down his cheeks without restraint as he apologised, over and over again. ¡°Thank you so much! I thought it was over. I truly thought I was going to die! This food, it¡¯s delicious, I¡¯ve never had anything so good before!¡±


    ¡°...Hmph, well of course it is.¡± Sanji replied with a smile.


    ¡°Shishishishi! I think I just found my Cook! You;re lucky he gave you some food, you weren¡¯t looking so good there, ha I thought you were a goner! So! Listen Mr. Cook, why don¡¯t you leave this boat and join my crew! I could use a Cook like you on my ship.¡±


    ¡°His name is Sanji, Captain.¡± I say with a chuckle. Said Cook looked in my direction and glared. ¡°What? I know you were listening, and like I said, I¡¯m very good at my job. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll have all the time in the world to get to know me as well. You too Gin, after all, from this day forth, you¡¯re both Strawhats!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Kikikiki-¡± I laugh. ¡°Welcome to the Family!¡±