True Lies

-x-

"Miss Kaya, I've received the special glasses you ordered from the store in the next town," announced Merry the butler as he handed a small box to Kaya. "Are these satisfactory?"

"Perfect! Thank you Merry!" Kaya said as she looked over the glasses. "I'm sorry you had to go so far."

"It's my pleasure to serve you, Miss Kaya," replied Merry the butler, "It's a gift isn't it? Klahadore will be so pleased!"

"I hope so," said Kaya, "Tomorrow will be exactly three years since Klahadore came to this estate. He's been such a great help." Unfortunately neither Kaya nor Merry knew of the evil plan Klahadore had in store for them. If all went as planned, they'd both be dead before noon tomorrow.

-x-

"Everyone! Listen to me!" shouted Usopp, "Pirates are going to attack our village tomorrow at dawn!"

"If we believed you every time you cried 'pirates' we'd be running for the hills everyday!" snapped an angry villager.

"BUT THIS TIME ITS REALLY TRUE!" argued Usopp.

"And this time, we're really gonna clobber you!"

"Yipe!" exclaimed Usopp as he quickly turned and ran as fast as he could, with the large mob of villagers chasing after him.

-x-

"What could have gotten the Captain so worked up?" wondered Pepper as he, Carrot, and Onion ran towards the beach with Nami and Zoro following behind them.

"I can answer that for you," came a voice as Y/N came walking out from between some trees with his hands in his pockets. Despite Usopp's panicked behavior and the Captain's absence, he still seemed to be his usual calm self.

"Where have you been!?" demanded Nami.

"I was with Luffy and Usopp down by the beach," answered Y/N. "While we were there we overheard a plot that the butler and some strange hypnotist called Jango have cooked up."

"Hypnotist!?" repeated all five of them. They encountered a strange hypnotist earlier.

"Let's get back to the beach," suggested Y/N. "Luffy fell off a cliff. I can fill you in on our way."

"Wait... WHAT!?" snapped Nami.

"Its alright, he only landed on his head," Y/N calmly informed her, then he turned and led them off in the direction he had come from, "This way."

-x-

Y/N filled the others in on the way to the beach where they eventually revived Luffy. "That's weird," commented Luffy once he woke up, "I thought I was on top of the cliff."

"Wait so that butt-ler really is a bad guy!" Carrot exclaimed to Pepper and Onion.

"I never liked him anyway," Pepper told them.

"And that hypnotist is in on it too," realized Onion.

"So that's what Usopp was doing," commented Nami, "That's why he was running toward the village like his pants were on fire. The villagers should have plenty of warning, they can just hide out in the hills. Pirates are generally pretty dumb."

"Not this one," said Y/N. "You don't know Captain Kuro, he's as crafty as they come. He was supposed to have been executed by the marines three years ago, but all this time he's been living as a butler. He's fooled everyone."

"Oh," said Nami, she had never heard of Captain Kuro before.

"Hey, maybe we should run and hide too," suggested Carrot.

"Yeah we'd better take our valuables," added Pepper.

"Piggy bank... snacks... model ship..." listed Onion, "what else?" The three kids quickly ran off to their house.

"OH NO!" Luffy suddenly shouted.

"What's wrong?" asked Zoro.

"I've got to go buy some meat before the butcher leaves town!" exclaimed Luffy.

"Luffy," said Y/N quietly. "We don't need to worry about that."

"Why not?" asked Luffy.

"Usopp is a liar, no one's going to believe him," replied Y/N.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Nami.

-x-

Meanwhile the villagers had chased Usopp out of the town, but Usopp managed to escape and had made it to Kaya's mansion.

"Usopp!" Kaya greeted him when she opened her window. "I'm so glad to see you! I was afraid you'd never come back."

"You've got to get out of here!" exclaimed Usopp as he stepped off of the tree branch and onto Kaya's windowsill. "Your life is in danger!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Kaya.

"YOU'VE BEEN TRICKED!" Usopp warned her. "YOUR BUTLER IS REALLY A PIRATE!"

"What!?" questioned Kaya in disbelief, "Klahadore a pirate, is this a joke?"

"Its no joke Kaya," replied Usopp. "I heard him with my own ears! He was at the beach going over his plans with his henchman! He said he tricked his way into your service to get his hands on your fortune! He's a pirate captain! He's been posing as a butler for three years just to rob you!"

"Usopp what are you saying?" asked Kaya.

"His crew is going to attack tomorrow at dawn!" explained Usopp. "HE SAID THEY'RE GOING TO KILL YOU! He's a dastardly villain! You've got to get out of here fast!"

"Please stop this!" interrupted Kaya. "You disappoint me Usopp."

-x-

"Hey do you hear voices in the courtyard?" one of the guards asked the other.

"Hey! It's that liar!" exclaimed the other when he saw Usopp through the bars of the gate, "He's snuck onto the estate again."

-x-

"You'd actually use me to get back at Klahadore like this?" asked Kaya. "What he said about your father... Klahadore admitted that he went too far. He should have never said those things. But I won't listen to you tell lies about him! I never believed you would sink this low!"

Usopp stared at Kaya in shock, he was telling the truth! "Your stories were always filled with exciting and unbelievable things, but they were so much fun! I loved your lies! Why did you have to tell a lie like this? It's despicable Usopp!"

"Kaya, no!" Usopp tried to interrupt as Kaya's eyes filled with tears.

"How could you!?" Kaya sobbed.

"Kaya, wait!" Usopp protested. "I'm not trying to get back at anyone."

SLAM! Kaya's bedroom door banged open, and Merry rushed into the room, "Miss Kaya has he harmed you!?"

"Kaya, I'm telling the truth," said Usopp as he reached out and grabbed her arm. "You've got to trust me." Usopp quickly lifted Kaya up into his arms and stepped back onto the tree branch, then jumped down off of the tree and landed on his feet with Kaya in his arms.

"Get him!" came the voice of one of the guards, three of them came running to get rid of Usopp.

Usopp left Kaya near the tree and drew his slingshot. "Usopp stop!" pleaded Kaya.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! Usopp fired three times, and all three guards went down. Usopp quickly turned back to Kaya, "When tomorrow comes you'll believe me, but for now you've got to get out of here! Please listen to me!"

SWACK! Kaya suddenly slapped Usopp across the face, then quickly pulled herself free. "It's you, Usopp!" cried Kaya, "You're the dastardly villain!

Usopp stepped back in shock, even Kaya wouldn't believe him!

"RUFFIAN, GET AWAY FROM MISS KAYA!" shouted Merry as he rushed over with a pistol and pointed it at Usopp. Usopp quickly turned and started running, but Merry kept his gun aimed at him.

"DON'T!" screamed Kaya.

"Huh?" BANG! Merry fired the gun without meaning to and the bullet hit Usopp's arm. Usopp struggled and managed to get back up, then took off running again.

"Usopp's escaping!" yelled one of the villagers as the mob rushed passed the house. "We'll get you, you little brat!"

"THERE HE IS! GET HIM!" shouted Merry as he pointed after Usopp, "HE'S A VIOLENT CRIMINAL!"

"Why won't anyone believe me?" Usopp wondered to himself. He jumped over the bushes and ran off as fast as he could with the mob of villagers chasing after him.

Suddenly, Kaya fainted against Merry, all the excitement had gotten to her, and in her sick condition, she couldn't help passing out and falling against Merry. "Miss. Kaya, hang on!" exclaimed the butler in alarm.

-x-

Usopp eventually managed to give the villagers the slip. Captain Kuro's words echoed in his head, "Tomorrow, attack the village a dawn..."

Usopp walked passed the outskirts of the village, with tears freely fall from his eyes. The pirates were going to attack the village and kill everyone, and the worst part was, that even though Usopp had tried to warn them, they didn't listen, and now they were all doomed, and there was nothing he could do about it!

Usopp wiped his tears away and suddenly heard a voice, "CAPTAIN!" Usopp turned to see Carrot, Pepper, and Onion rushing towards him, followed by the Straw Hat pirates.

"Hey you guys," said Usopp, who suddenly noticed Luffy, "YOU! YOU'RE ALIVE!?"

"He only fell on his head," Y/N said quietly.

"Alive?" repeated Luffy, "Yeah, I must have dozed off."

"Captain, we heard what's going on!" exclaimed Pepper. "We've got to hurry and warn everyone about the pirates!"

"Warn... everyone..." repeated Usopp, he had already tried that, and he ended up getting shot in the arm for his troubles.

"Ahahahahaha! I just made it all up," lied Usopp, causing Y/N and Luffy to look at him suspiciously, "I got so mad at that butler so I made up a lie about him being a pirate."

"What? It's a lie!?" repeated Pepper in disbelief.

"I thought something exciting was going to happen," muttered Carrot.

"But the one-eyed guy said so!" pointed out Onion, causing everyone to turn and face Y/N.

"Uh..." Y/N stalled as he glanced at Usopp, maybe he'd see where this was going. "I bet no one believed him when he warned them about the pirates. Now he must want those three out of the way. They're just kids." "That's right," Y/N eventually lied, "We just met the hypnotist down at the beach, and he put Luffy and himself to sleep."

"Then why did you bring us all over there? And make up that whole story?" asked Pepper.

"Because..." Y/N stalled as he searched around him for an excuse, he spotted Nami. Y/N sighed, resigning himself to what was about to happen to him then he continued. "I wanted to get Nami down here for the sunset... because I find her completely irresistible."

"Really?" asked Nami with a slight smile but then she noticed everyone staring at her, "I mean... YOU JERK!" Nami pounced on Y/N and started strangling him.

"I can't believe you guys would lie like that," commented Carrot.

"Yeah me, neither," agreed Pepper.

"Or me," added Onion. "I don't like that Butler either, but lying to hurt someone? That's just mean!"

"He's not... the one being hurt," grunted Y/N, who was still being strangled by Nami, her face was bright red... from anger... yeah... anger...

The three Veggie-Pirates, slowly left and headed off, "Let's go home," suggested Carrot.

"Yeah," agreed Pepper, "it's almost time for dinner."

"Wonder what we're having," Onion said out loud as he and the other two walked off.

"You can stop now," Y/N said once the Veggie-Pirates had left. Nami surprisingly let go of his throat. "Crazy she-devil," muttered Y/N as he turned his head and glanced at Usopp. "They didn't believe you..."

-x-

Night had fallen and Usopp had explained to the Straw Hat Crew what had happened, "It's because I'm a liar," admitted Usopp. "No one believes me, I should have known."

"Hm, I figured," commented Y/N who was standing there staring up at the stars with his hands in his pockets.

"But the facts are still the facts," said Nami, "The pirate really are coming, aren't they?"

"They're coming alright," Usopp answered, "And no one will believe me. They think tomorrow will be just another day." Usopp realized that if anyone was going to stop the pirates, it was going to be him, the only person who actually knew they were coming. "IT'S UP TO ME TO MEET THOSE PIRATES AND FIGHT THEM OFF! THEN I'LL HAVE A REAL TALE TO TELL! I MAY BE A LIAR... BUT THIS TIME MY TALE WILL COME TRUE!"

Luffy, Y/N, Zoro and Nami turned to look at Usopp, "They can shoot me in the arm, they can chase me with brooms and pitchforks... but this village is my home. I LOVE THIS VILLAGE! I'VE GOT TO PROTECT MY NEIGHBORS!"

"There's not much time to plan," said Usopp as he sat back down and placed his head in his hands. "But I refuse to let everyone be murdered."

Y/N looked away from Usopp and turned to the other three, "Sounds like as good a reason as any for us to stand and fight," commented Y/N with a casual shrug. "He's scared to death, but..."

"No I'm not!" argued Usopp.

"Then why are your legs shaking?" asked Y/N. Luffy, Nami, Zoro, and even Usopp glanced down at Usopp's legs and saw that they were indeed shaking, signifying how scared he really was.

"SO WHAT IF I'M SCARED! THEY'RE THE KURO PIRATES!" argued Usopp.

"Long-Nose is willing to go up against the Black Cat Pirates, on his own to defend his village," pointed out Y/N. "I say we lend a hand and make sure those pirates regret setting foot on this island. Who's with me?"

"LET'S DO IT!" shouted Luffy, once again he had gotten worked up by the First Mate.

"YEAH!" cheered Zoro, this time he got worked up too.

"THE TREASURE'S ALL MINE!" called out Nami, Y/N's pre-battle speeches could be oddly inspiring.

Y/N had a slight grin on his face as he turned and glanced at Usopp who was staring at the pirates in disbelief. They were actually offering to help.

-x-

Crescent Moon

-x-

"You guys... are willing to fight beside me?" Usopp asked in disbelief.

Y/N nodded.

"You guys..." sobbed Usopp as he broke down. He couldn't believe that these pirates, who he had only met yesterday, were willing to risk their lives to help him defend his village. He hoped that his father was a pirate like these guys.

-x-

"They'll attack from this beach," explained Usopp as he showed the Straw Hat Pirates to the beach. "And this is the route to the village," pointed out Usopp as he pointed to a path that cut through the cliff. They'll have to come up this pass, everywhere else is sheer cliffs. So if we can defend this path the village will be safe."

"Wow! Piece of cake," commented a determined Luffy.

"Easier said than done," replied Usopp, "We'll have to fight like an army. What can you guys do?"

"I cut," answered Zoro.

"I stretch," said Luffy.

"I steal," added Nami.

"I run and hide," admitted Usopp.

"You've gotta fight!" snapped Luffy, Zoro, and Nami.

Looking to take the attention off of himself Usopp turned to Y/N, "What can you do?"

"Me?" questioned Y/N. "I fly."

Nami rolled her eyes, "Stop lying!" she scolded.

"Whatever," Y/N put his hands in his pockets and shrugged indifferently.

-x-

At the mansion, Klahadore had come back from his 'errands' in the next town. "Where is Mistress Kaya?" he asked.

"She's in her room," answered Merry, "All of today's excitement exhausted her."

"To think that all of this happened while I was in the other town," said Klahadore once Merry had told him what happened with Usopp, "That Usopp is a troublemaker."

"He even accused you of being a pirate," Merry told Klahadore, "What a story-teller."

"Yes," Klahadore chuckled, then he noticed a small present lying on the table in front of him. "What's this?"

"That's a gift from Miss. Kaya. Tomorrow will be three years since you came to this estate, an anniversary of sorts."

"An anniversary, huh?" repeated Klahadore as he opened the package and pulled out the pair of glasses inside.

"Your glasses are always slipping. So Miss. Kaya had these specially made for you. She's such a generous, thoughtful person."

"Yes she is, tomorrow will be a special day indeed."

"Huh?"

"There's a crescent moon out tonight," commented Klahadore as glanced out at the moon through the window. "Nights like these do something to me. They bring out the beast in me." Klahadore suddenly dropped the glasses on the ground, KRUNCH! Klahadore drove his foot down onto the glasses, crushing them.

"NO! Klahadore, why did you destroy Miss. Kaya's gift?"

"Oh, I'll accept a gift from her alright. But not some paltry trinket, I'll accept her entire estate!"

"But... what?"

"There's no need for me to continue this charade. In a few hours, the- ahem, accident will happen. Three years is a long time to wait."

"MISS KAYA! YOU MUST RU-AAAAAHHH!" SLISH! FWUMP! Blood spilled out onto the floor and Merry fell to the ground.

-x-

The next day, dawn was approaching, and the pirates on Captain Kuro's ship were getting antsy. "Captain Jango!" called a pirate as he knocked on the door to the Captain's Quarters, "Its almost dawn, wake up!"

The door slowly opened and Jango was greeted by the pirates as he came walking backwards out onto the deck. "Fools, what did I tell you," snapped Jango, "its not morning until the sun comes up. The moon hasn't set yet, its still night."

"Sorry sir," apologized the pirate that had awoken Jango.

Jango walked backwards to the middle of the deck then spun around, to face the crew, "Alright you blood-thirsty scalawags... good morning!" The pirates gasped in shock, didn't he just say it wasn't morning yet? But they soon got over it when Jango ordered them to set sail. At long last it was time to attack!

-x-

"It's perfect!" announced Usopp, "There's no way they'll make it up this slope, not with all the oil we dumped on it."

Just as Usopp said, he and the Straw Hat Pirates had dumped buckets of oil down the pass that cut through the cliffs and led up to the village. When the pirates tried to go up it, they'd slip and slide back down.

"Now here's the plan," explained Usopp, "We attack them while they're slipping and sliding. No matter what happens we hold the pass!"

"I just hope we don't end up slipping ourselves," commented Nami, "It would be pretty stupid to get caught in our own trap."

"You sure did come up with a slick plan," Luffy said to Usopp as he tested the slippery oil with his foot.

"Naturally," bragged Usopp. "When it comes to daring ideas and this slingshot, I have absolute confidence!"

"The sun's rising," pointed out Y/N, prompting the other four to turn and watch as the sun came up in the horizon.

"It's dawn," said Zoro, "Here they come."

-x-

But unfortunately, Usopp had led the Straw Hat Pirates to the wrong pass. The Black Cat Pirate Ship pulled up to the shore and the swarm of Black Cat Pirates was ready to attack.

"Landfall me boys!" announced Jango, "ALRIGHT YOU SCALAWAGS! HIT THE BEACH!"

"Captain, there's two suspicious vessels docked here," pointed out one of the pirates, motioning to the two ships that the Straw Hat Pirates had sail to the island with.

"Leave 'em," ordered Jango, "There's no treasure in those leaky tubs!"

-x-

"Where are they?" Usopp asked out loud, he and the Straw Hats had been standing on the pass awaiting the Black Cat Pirates for a while now, and there was still no sign of them. "It's already dawn."

"Maybe they overslept," suggested Zoro.

"I hear something," commented Y/N, as he turned away from them. "I could've sworn I just heard voices off in a distance."

"I hear it too," admitted Nami as she cupped her hands over her ears and listened in the direction Y/N was looking. "I think I hear someone yelling north of us."

"NORTH!?" repeated Usopp in shock.

"Yeah I definitely hear something," confirmed Nami stared off in the direction both she and Y/N heard voices coming from.

"What is it?" Zoro asked Usopp.

"There's another landing on the north beach," admitted Usopp.

"You mean we're on the wrong beach!?" exclaimed Luffy.

"But the pirates had their secret meeting here... I just assumed..."

"We've gotta get there before they attack the village!" shouted Luffy, "Which way should we go!?"

"If we run straight north we should get here in three minutes," said Usopp. "There's a pass there exactly like this one. We can stop them there!"

"OH NO!" exclaimed Nami, "OUR SHIPS ARE AT THE NORTH BEACH! THEY'LL TAKE OUR TREASURE!"

"I'll be there in twenty seconds," announced Luffy as he turned and ran off.

"Luffy, hold on..." Y/N called after him. But the Straw Hat Pirate ran off as fast as he could. Y/N shook his head and he and Usopp started running after Luffy.

"Darn, my oil slick plan was all for nothing!" muttered Usopp.

"Hurry!" shouted Nami, as she started running, only to realize she was standing on Usopp's oil slick.

"Nami what are you doing?" asked Zoro as he glanced over his shoulder at her.

"Help me! I'm slipping!" exclaimed Nami, as she struggled not to slide down the path. Nami quickly reached out and grabbed Zoro.

"Damn," cursed Y/N when he noticed Nami and Zoro's predicament, he doubled back to help them.

FWUMP! Nami pulled Zoro off balance causing him to trip and fall to the ground then start sliding down the pass. Y/N made it in time to grab Nami's arm and stop her from sliding down after the swordsman. Nami smiled up at him as he held onto her and kept her from slipping like Zoro had. "Come on," said Y/N as he pulled Nami off of the slope, tossed her over his shoulder, then quickly darted off after Usopp.

"SORRY ZORO!" Nami yelled from over Y/N's shoulder as he ran off carrying her, "BUT OUR TREASURE'S IN DANGER!"

"Don't worry about me," muttered Zoro, as he tumbled down to the bottom of the pass, "Some day I'm gonna kill that girl and One Eye won't be able to stop me."

-x-

"I swear I won't let them get to the village," Usopp said to himself as he ran through the woods towards the north shore. "Boy that guy is fast, I can't even see him!"

-x-

"Head straight north," Luffy repeated to himself as he ran through the trees, "Straight north!"

-x-

"If they touched my treasure they're dead!" snapped Nami, "And you can put me down now."

"You'd only slow me down," Y/N told her as he chased after Usopp. Nami groaned and allowed herself to be carried surprisingly quickly through the trees. "And what do you mean your treasure? Some of it's mine."

-x-

"PILLAGING TIME!" announced one of the Black Cat Pirates as he rushed off of the ship, and onto the beach.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! A series of projectiles hit the Black Cat Pirates as the rushed up the slope, and they went crashing back down to the ground.

"You!?" exclaimed Jango, when he recognized Usopp.

"MY NAME IS CAPTAIN USOPP AND I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU SCOUNDRALS! WE'RE FULLY PREPARED FOR BATTLE! TURN BACK NOW IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIVES!"

-x-

"I can't get up there!" complained Zoro as he tried to rush up the pass, only to slip and slide back down again.

-x-

"Hmm... I'm outside the village," commented Luffy as he stared at the houses around him. "He said head straight north, and I just headed in the direction that seemed the coldest."

Luffy and Zoro were both out of the battle for now, and Y/N and Nami had yet to arrive, Usopp's plan was falling apart.

-x-

Uphill Battle

-x-

Usopp stared down at the large number of pirates before him. Suddenly it dawned on him; he was alone. "Wh-what!? I'm the first one here?" Usopp said to himself. "That other guy was way ahead of me!"

"Oh it's you," realized Jango. "You're the barnacle that overheard our plan. What's the big idea?"

Usopp remembered what Y/N had told him when they first met, "Next time, make your story sound more believable. This is a small island, I doubt there are even eighty thousand people on it. If you had simply said a hundred, then we might've been inclined to believe you. When you're lying you need to be subtle, that way the people you're lying to won't suspect anything."

"THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!" yelled Usopp, sounding more confident than he felt. "I'M CAPTAIN USOPP! THE HEAD OF THIS ISLAND'S MILITIA! I HAVE A HUNDRED MEN LYING IN WAIT READY TO AMBUSH YOU AND CRUSH YOU DOLTS LIKE BUGS! LEAVE NOW WHILE YOU STILL CAN!"

"ONE HUNDRED MEN!? REALLY!?" exclaimed Jango. With their somewhat simple captain fooled a bunch of the Black Cat Pirates didn't look willing to charge into an ambush.

"Wow, they bought it!" Usopp thought to himself, "So this is what its like to have people fall for my lies. One hundred men isn't as impressive as ten million, but Y/N was right, they actually believe me!"

"There's no way that brat could be the head of the island's militia!" decided random pirate number one. "An island this small probably doesn't even HAVE a militia!"

Random pirate number two decided to call Usopp's bluff, "FINE THEN! WE'RE FEARED PIRATES! WE'RE NOT AFRAID OF A HUNDRED CIVILIANS! WE'LL SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!"

"Crap! They saw through it!" exclaimed Usopp,

"SEE! He was lying!" pointed out random pirate number one.

"Does he think we're fools?" random pirate number three asked out loud.

"Why you!" snapped Jango in outrage, "YOU'LL PAY FOR YOUR DECIETE!"

"Captain Jango," random pirate number four suddenly called to him from the shore. "It's amazing!"

"What is it?" demanded Jango. "More trouble?"

"Not trouble, treasure," explained RP4. "We found treasure in those suspicious ships. It's a King's ransom! Its over nine million berries!"

"N-nine!?" Usopp said to himself in disbelief. "Nine million berries? Why do they have so much treasure on their ship?" Suddenly Usopp had an idea, "THAT'S MY TREASURE!" he shouted down at the pirates. "BUT I'LL LET YOU HAVE IT ALL!"

"What? You're going to give us your treasure?" repeated RP3 in disbelief.

"Yes I will," answered Usopp. "I'll give you the treasure if you leave immediately!"

"He's trying to pay us off," realized RP1, who appeared to be one of the brighter pirates, "What a scumbag!"

"Are you daft?" questioned Jango. "Of course we'll take the treasure... but why should we leave?"

"He has a point," Usopp said to himself.

"Now," instructed Jango, as he held up his hypno-ring. "When I say, 'one, two, Jango' you'll step aside! One... two... JAN—" WOMP! Nami came from behind and smashed her bow staff into the back of Usopp's head, knocking him down to the ground. "—GO!"

"Don't say such foolish things," Nami scolded Usopp while Y/N walked up behind them, silently counting the pirates on the shore.

"Who are those two?" wondered RP2, "More people to kill?

"CAPTAIN JANGO THIS IS NO TIME FOR YOUR TRICKS!" RP1 snapped to the hypnotist... who had moved out of the way.

"The treasure on that ship is mine!" shouted Nami.

"Eh hem," Y/N cleared his throat.

"That treasure is ours," Nami corrected herself, before turning to the gathered pirates, "And I'm not giving up one berri! Get ready, 'cause I'm coming for it!"

"What's the big idea giving away my—our—treasure?" demanded Nami as she glared at Usopp.

"That hurt," complained Usopp, as he rubbed his head where Nami hit him. "Why'd you hit me?"

"She just saved your life," said Y/N as he stared down at Jango and the other pirates.

"He's a Hypnotist!" explained Nami. But then she noticed that they were missing someone, "Hey, where's Luffy? He charged off before any of us."

"I don't know," replied Usopp.

"He got lost," answered Y/N. "Luffy has no sense of direction. I tried to stop him but he ran off too quickly, and then Nami and Zoro started slipping. It's just the three of us for now."

"And just when we really need him," complained Nami.

"You still have me," offered Y/N with a casual shrug.

"Alright, you guys run and attack them and I'll back you up," instructed Usopp.

"What? Why me?" asked Nami. "What can I do against an army of vicious cutthroats? I'm just a girl!"

"You don't expect me to do it just because I'm a man!" protested Usopp. "Look at how scared I am, my legs are shaking again!" Indeed Usopp's legs were shaking, "See!?"

"I'm so afraid I'm almost bursting into tears!" argued Nami.

"YOUR EYES ARE COMPLETELY DRY!" snapped Usopp. "If you're going to lie at least make it believable!"

Y/N and a bunch of the Black Cat Pirates all sweat-dropped as they listened to the two of them argue about who was more scared.

"We have no time for their foolishness!" yelled Jango. "Just charge over them and head for the village!"

"Here they come!" exclaimed Nami, "What do we do?"

"I just remembered, I have some caltrops," said Usopp as he reached into the pouch on his waist and pulled out some pointy metal objects.

"Oh, you have some goodies in there? Gimme!" ordered Nami as she took a handful of caltrops.

"Stand aside or we'll trample you!" yelled RP2 as he and a bunch of other pirates neared the three teens.

"Trample this!" snapped Nami as she tossed the caltrops she had.

While at the same time, Usopp shouted, "CALTROP HELL!" The caltrops were made of two sharp nails that had been bent together so that no matter how they fell, one end would always be point up. This was bad news for the barefoot pirates and the ones with flimsy footwear.

"YEEEOOOOWWW!" came the screams from the Black Cat Pirates when they discovered some of Usopp and Nami's 'presents'.

-x-

Meanwhile Zoro was still stuck on the bottom of the oiled up pass, but it wasn't from a lack of trying. He'd been attempting to climb up it this entire time. "I'll never forgive Nami for this," Zoro muttered to himself. "It's just a slippery hill..."

Zoro got back up again then rushed at the hill, but this time he used his swords and stabbed them into the ground, giving him the leverage he needed to make it up to the top. SHUNK! SHUNK! CHUNK! SHUNK! SHUNK! CHUNK! "At last I made it!" exclaimed Zoro when he reached the top. "Now, which way is the north beach?"

-x-

At the same time Luffy wasn't fairing that well, he was still as lost as a cat at a dog show. "Head straight north, head straight north," Luffy repeated as he darted through the trees. "WHICH WAY IS NORTH!?"

-x-

Back with Nami, Y/N, and Usopp, the Black Cat Pirates had run over the caltrops and were currently nursing their feet. "Yeah it worked!" exclaimed Usopp. "Now its time for my secret weapon, LEAD STAR!" Usopp shot his slingshot at the pirates, THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! A bunch of pirates were hit and went tumbling back down the slope.

"Nice shot," commented Y/N. "You're a great marksman, just like your father." Usopp's chest swelled up with pride.

"You're doing great," commented Nami. "I'm going to go take a breather."

"But you haven't done any fighting!" snapped Usopp.

"You're not going anywhere," Y/N said calmly while he glanced over his shoulder.

"And why is—" Nami turned around and saw what Y/N was looking at and let out a loud gasp. "There are caltrops behind us too!"

"YOU DUMMY!" yelled Usopp. "You threw them there!"

"Watch it," said Y/N as he poked Usopp's shoulder. "Don't talk to her like that. The caltrops were a good idea but I've got something that packs more of a punch." Y/N pulled a red ball out of his top right pocket and held it out to Usopp, "Shoot this at them, just be careful handling it."

Usopp took the red ball from Y/N and loaded it into his slingshot, "You've got better depth perception than me, aim for the biggest cluster of pirates you can find," instructed Y/N.

Usopp nodded and pulled back his slingshot then fired the red ball at a bunch of pirates that were charging up the pass. CHEW! Usopp fired the red ball which impacted with the ground in the middle of the charging cluster of pirates, KA-BOOOM! The ball exploded and the cluster of pirates went rolling back down the pass.

"WOW!" exclaimed Usopp.

"What the heck was that!?" demanded Nami.

"I call them Explosion Balls," replied Y/N. "They're a volatile mix of combustible materials that they explode on impact."

"Those pack more of a punch than my Extra-Special Exploding Stars!" realized Usopp, "Those are just made of gunpowder."

"I mostly use them for distracting and escaping purposes," explained Y/N as he pulled two more red balls out of his pocket and held them up, "but they're capable of blowing things up. Usopp, it looks like they're still standing together, would you mind?"

CHEW! CHEW! Usopp loaded and fired the two Explosion Balls in rapid succession.

KA-BOOOM-BOOM! The two balls exploded and took out another large bunch of pirates. More then half of the attacking pirates had been taken out in the explosions which was one of the negative consequences of standing close together.

"That should've softened them up a bit," commented Y/N, "now I'll go pick up the pieces."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Nami as Y/N walked passed her and faced the recovering pirates.

"What? Are you two going to fight them?" asked Y/N as he pulled out a final Explosion Ball. "Here Usopp, take this but save it for the Hypnotist if you can." Y/N handed the red ball to Usopp then turned to face the charging pirates.

"You little brat!" shouted RP2 as he rushed at Y/N, "You'll pay for what you did to my crewmates!" But there was no mistaking the sly grin on Y/N's face.

Y/N rushed forward with surprising speed then jumped up and drove his boots into the top of RP2's head, WOMP! Y/N used the pirate as a springboard and launched himself up into the air, "Catapult..." Y/N FLEW through the air and down the pass, "SPLASH!" KER-FLUMP! Y/N came crashing down on a group of pirates that despite the explosions were still standing close together and took them all down.

"He was telling the truth!" exclaimed Usopp in disbelief as he put Y/N's Explosion Ball in his weapons pouch, "He can really fly! How'd he do that?"

"That lazy bastard!" growled Nami as she watched Y/N get up and glance around at the few remaining pirates around him. "That jerk's been holding back!"

"Is that the best the feared Black Cat Pirates can do?" challenged Y/N, looking bored. "You're nothing without that lousy Captain of yours."

"WHY YOU!" shouted a group of pirates as they ran at Y/N.

"SURROUND HIM!" ordered Jango. "THEN TAKE HIM OUT!"

A group of pirates rushed at Y/N circled around him. Slowly Y/N reached to his side and drew Akaikyuuketsuki, revealing the red blade. "Red Blade... TORNADO!" he shouted as he spun around with blinding speed. SLA-SLISH! All the pirates around Y/N collapsed to the ground with bloody slashes running across their chest and stomach.

"Anyone else want some?" challenged Y/N, he held his sword out in front of him, it had already absorbed the blood. All of the pirates had either been blown up, knocked out when Y/N fell on them from up in the sky, or just recently slashed across the chest. The only exceptions were Jango and a bunch of pirates that were hurrying up the pass in hopes of avoiding getting attacked by Y/N.

"LEAD STAR!" shouted Usopp as he launched an attack at the approaching pirates, THUNK! Usopp hit one of the pirates in the face and sent him crashing to the ground then rolling back down the pass. Some of the pirates hadn't been quick enough to get out of the way and were bowled over as the pirate came rolling down.

"HA! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT!" shouted Usopp. WHONK! A big stone mallet came flying and smashed into Usopp's head, knocking him down to the ground. RP1 had thrown the mallet and was now charging up the pass followed by a few more pirates.

But SOMEHOW Usopp, just an ordinary kid with a slingshot, managed to stagger back up to his feet. He had a big gash on the top of his head that was bleeding profusely. "I WON'T LET YOU ATTACK MY VILLAGE!" Usopp shouted as he raised his slingshot. "EXPLODING STAR!" BOOOM! Usopp fired at the approaching pirates and his ball of gunpowder exploded, engulfing the pirates in smoke and dust.

"I got 'em!" exclaimed Usopp proudly. THWACK! RP2 charged out of the smoke and bashed Usopp on the head with a club.

"Did you really think you could stop us?" asked RP2 as he turned to head off towards the village but something grabbed onto his leg. WHAP! The pirate looked down and saw that it was an extremely bloody Usopp. "Let go!" THWAK! The pirate hit Usopp with his club again but the liar refused to let go.

"No! Never!" Usopp shot back. "I'LL NEVER LET YOU PASS, MY LAST TALL TALE WILL BE A TRUE ONE! THIS WILL BE ANOTHER BORING DAY AT THE VILLAGE!"

"Blasted whelp!" snapped RP3 as he rushed at Usopp with his sword drawn.

KRACK! The pirate's attack never connected, Nami stepped in whacked the pirate upside the head with her bow staff, knocking him out.

"Blasted wench!" cursed RP4 as he rushed Nami with a sword of his own.

WHAM! Nami blocked the pirate's attack with her bow staff but was knocked backwards and down to the ground due to power and momentum behind the much larger pirates blow.

"I'm going to kill these two," muttered RP4 as he advanced on Nami with his sword drawn. Nami closed her eyes and flinched away.

"No you won't," RP4 was suddenly lifted off of their feet and suspended in mid air. Nami opened her eyes and was relieved to see Y/N standing in front of her holding the pirate up by the throat. "You wanna lay a hand on my Nakama, you're gonna have to go through me."

Nami smiled at the back of the one-eyed pirate but then her eyes went wide when she saw someone coming, "LOOK OUT!"

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" yelled RP2 as he rushed at Y/N, looking to help his crewmate. But without even putting the pirate down Y/N lashed out his leg and shouted, "JAVELIN KICK!" CRUNCH! His foot connected with RP2's jaw, sending him crashing to the ground and rolling down the rest of the pass taking out a few of the pirates that were charging up.

"DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON HIM!" yelled Jango. "WE'RE LATE! WE HAVE TO SACK THE VILLAGE! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN CAPTAIN KURO'S ORDERS!? IF WE RUIN HIS PLANS... HE'LL CUT ALL OUR THROATS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU FOOLS!"

With renewed motivation, all the pirates that were still conscious, struggled back up and charged up the pass at Y/N. "Right where I want you," commented Y/N as he watched the pirates charge up the pass. Y/N threw RP4 at the advancing pirates then ran after them and jumped up into the air. "Flying... ARROW KICK!" KER-THUD! Y/N drove his feet into the chest of RP4 and the two of them went flying down the pass and collided with the crowd of pirates that were charging up the pass. WHAM! Like a bowling ball knocking over a bunch of bowling pins, Y/N and all the Black Cat Pirates went crashing down to the ground and rolled down to the bottom of the pass.

"And that's that," commented Y/N as he got back up and dusted himself off. He had just taken out the entire pirate crew, with the exception of Jango and any pirates that Usopp and Nami had gotten. "You two are late..." Y/N said without turning around.

"Did you have to beat them all!?" came a voice. Nami and Usopp spun around to see Luffy and Zoro walking down the pass.

"Well if Y/N could beat all of them, they must not have been much of a challenge," commented Zoro.

"Now I'm in a bad mood and have no one to take it out on!" growled Luffy.

"Nami!" Zoro snapped at the orange-haired thief. "You marooned me in that muck!"

"Usopp, you bastard!" Luffy yelled at the long-nosed liar. "Why didn't you tell me which way was north!?"

"What is this Jango," complained the barely conscious random pirate number four. "You didn't tell us we'd be facing demons on this job! That boy beat all of us!"

"Who are they?" wondered Jango in disbelief, one person had downed his entire force and now two more had shown up. "This is insane!"

-x-

Backfire

-x-

Captain Kuro was sitting alone on the front steps on the mansion and he was pissed. "They're late," muttered Kuro to himself. "Curse those swabs... they know what the penalty is for running my plans. They're stalling but if they need a reminder I'll put them all to death!" Slowly Kuro got up and walked off towards the beach, those fools couldn't do a simple thing right!

-x-

Back at the shore, the Straw Hat Pirates were still standing tall, "I didn't realize you guys were so tough," commented Usopp, whose face was completely covered in blood coming out the gash on his head. "One of you took out all of them!"

"That's right," replied Luffy.

"What took you two so long, anyway?" asked Y/N, who had made his way back up the pass and was standing in front of Zoro.

"Well if you and that little girlfriend of yours hadn't left me stranded, I might have made it here on time," said Zoro as he glared at Y/N and Nami.

"That was an accident," protested Nami. "Besides it was better that two of us got here, rather than all of us getting stuck!"

"Then you two should have stayed stuck!" snapped Zoro.

Meanwhile, Luffy was having an argument with Usopp, "How was I supposed to know which way was north?" demanded Luffy.

"You ran off like you knew where you were going," pointed out Usopp.

"I only had a rough idea!" argued Luffy, "Very rough!"

"Um... pardon me," said Jango to the fallen pirates around him, "But how was it that all of you were bested by a child!?"

"Hey, they're still alive," commented Luffy to the others. "They're really something."

"I wasn't trying to kill them," said Y/N. "I was holding them off until you guys got here. You can handle the rest and I'll sit back and watch." Y/N walked over to Usopp who was still bleeding on the ground and sat down next to him and laid back so he could stare up at the clouds. Nami stared at him then walked over and sat down on his other side.

"Uh... about earlier..." Nami started to say.

"Huh?" questioned Y/N.

"Well... thanks for saving me," Nami thanked him.

Y/N simply nodded and said, "Don't worry about it, you're Nakama."

The Straw Hats turned their attention back to the Black Cat Pirates, waiting to see what they'd do now.

"Now listen," said Jango as he addressed his crew. "We don't have time to waste here. If our opponent is strong, we must become stronger! Everybody look at the ring!" Jango pulled out his hypno-ring and swung it back and forth in front of him. "When I say 'one, two, Jango' you will all become superhumanly strong and all your wounds will heal instantly. You'll keep getting stronger and stronger!"

"What are those guys doing?" asked Luffy as he stared at the ring that Jango was swinging.

"Who knows," replied Usopp.

"Its hypnotism," answered Nami. "He's trying to make them believe they're stronger."

"That's a load of crap," commented Zoro.

"You'd be surprised," said Y/N without looking up. "Those with a feeble mind can be put in a trance and become easily suggestible."

"One... two... " counted Jango, "...JANGO!"

The pirates who had been exhausted and severely beaten by Y/N suddenly jumped up and looked absolutely vicious and a lot more aggressive. "RAAAHHH!" screamed the pirates.

"No way, they were exhausted a moment ago," said Nami.

"Why do I even bother?" Y/N asked no one in particular, as he continued to stare up at the clouds.

KRASH! Down at the base of the slope, the hypnotized RP4 drove his fist into the side of the cliff, a large chunk of stone above his hand came crashing down to the ground.

"What the hell!" exclaimed Zoro, the pirates really were stronger. "He broke the cliff! What happened!?"

"Incredible, the hypnotism really worked," said Nami.

"One of them can demolish a cliff!" exclaimed Usopp. "And there's a whole hoard of them!"

"NOW MARCH!" ordered Jango. "AND IF ANYONE TRIES TO STOP YOU! DESTROY THEM!"

"You guys wait on top of the cliff," instructed Zoro, "Luffy, and I will deal with... Luffy?"

Luffy, who had up until recently been standing incredibly still suddenly let out a yell of rage, "RAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"He hypnotized you too!" exclaimed Zoro.

"You could say he's feeble-minded," Y/N said casually, not bothering to sit up.

"That idiot," snapped Nami. "That hypnosis wasn't even directed at him!"

Luffy charged forward full of aggression and shouted, "GUM... GUM... GATTLING!" WAP-AP-AP-AP! Luffy's rubber arms launched out rapidly at an amazing speed, power, and succession, just like a machine gun. KRASH! The pirates that Luffy hit went crashing to the ground.

Realizing what they were up against, the pirates got up and started running away with Luffy running after them. Luffy ran through the pirates knocking them to the ground, then ran passed Jango and up to the ship.

"What's he doing?" wondered Zoro.

Luffy reached out and grabbed the sternpost of the ship, KREK! KRACK! SNAP! Luffy pulled hard and in an amazing feat of strength Luffy tore the sternpost completely off. The large piece of wood was about fifty times the size of him, yet he was holding it up in the air. It was definitely clear to everyone watching that while One Eye was strong, Straw Hat was even stronger and that only meant bad things for the Black Cat Pirates.

"HE'S TEARING OFF THE STEMPOST!" shouted Jango. "HE'LL DESTROY THE SHIP!"

Luffy held up the sternpost then turned around and held it up like a giant club, he was going to crush the pirates with it.

"He'll smash us like roaches!" RP4 screamed in terror. The hypnosis had worn off of the Black Cat Pirates when they began fearing for their lives. The Black Cat Pirates got up and once again started to run up the slope, only this time it was to get away from Luffy.

"On 'one, two, Jango' you'll fall a sleep," Jango ordered in a panic. "ONE... TWO... JANGO!"

Zzzzzzzz... As ordered Luffy immediately fell asleep, KA-BOOOM! Luffy went crashing down to the ground, bringing the sternpost down on top of him, crushing some pirates in the process.

"That brat!" complained Jango, having been woken up by the sound of the sternpost hitting the ground. "You ruined our plan! If Captain Kuro finds out he'll tear them all to shreds and us along with them."

"Luffy wiped out most of them," pointed out Nami.

"But now he's smashed under the sternpost," commented Usopp.

"He'll be fine," Y/N reassured them, he hadn't even seen the stern post fall on Luffy but he sounded sure.

"Just tend to your own wounds," instructed Zoro.

"Hey Buchi get over here!" came a voice from on the ship. "The sternpost's been ripped clean off!"

"The sternpost?" repeated another voice. "How'd that happen?"

"Hey it's the Nyaban Brothers," announced a pirate, "The Ship's Guards!"

"Sounds like they've got more men on the ship," commented Zoro.

"Correction," said Jango. "THEY were still on the ship!"

-x-

Captain Kuro was walking through the village with a purpose. He was going to make his former pirates pay for ruining his plan. With him, he was carrying a bag, that undoubtedly meant trouble. But unbeknownst to Kuro, he was being watched.

"Hey, it's that butt-guy," muttered Onion to himself as he peeked around a corner and watched the butler walk passed. "Why's he heading for the beach so early?"

-x-

RP stands for Random Pirate. They're not important enough to actually have names.

RP1 seems to be the smart one since he saw through Usopp's lies the quickest, he'll have most of the exposition lines.

RP2 is the blood-thirsty violent one, he's the best fighter and had his ass kicked by Y/N, Nami, and Usopp the most.

RP4 is the fat stupid one, he's easily scared and like Luffy is easily hypnotized due to being somewhat dim-witted.

RP3 is the random one who's just there and gets whatever lines that are left over. I only wanted four random pirates.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!