Hey guys, before the story starts I have a little announcement to make. 

I calculated how long it would take me to upload the last part of the East Blue Arc, since I'm already working on the Alabasta Arc and there's a vote in the first chapter of it. And I was shocked. 

 If I stuck to uploading only one chapter per week, it would take 17 weeks (including this chapter). So no earlier than early/mid-September.

But I don't want to wait that long, otherwise I won't be able to continue writing after a certain point. And it would be unfair for all other readers if I just uploaded to Fanfiction.de and therefore only took their votes into account. So I had an idea. Think of it as a little Easter gift if you want to.

Starting today, I will upload two chapters per week until the East Blue Arc ends. This means we should be finished in the 1st or 2nd week of June and I can continue writing in peace.

That's it and I wish you all happy holidays and enjoy reading.

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The trio had already been sailing for a few hours when Nami finished sewing the straw hat. "Here. I hope that's enough," said the orange-haired woman and handed the hat back to Luffy. Smiling broadly, Luffy said as she put it back on: "Thank you, Nami. You're the best!" She looked at Luffy for a while. She didn't understand how a young girl like her could even think about becoming a pirate. Zoro was dozing a little, but heard every word the womans were saying when Nami finally asked her: "Say, Luffy. Why is the straw hat so important to you? I noticed that you got it from a friend, but there's more to it, isn't there?" She looked at the black-haired woman waiting. She noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes as she spoke, "Yes, it's true that I got the straw hat from a good friend. He was actually like a father to me, even though he and his crew were only anchored in my village for a year. The straw hat is a sign of our promise, besides..." "Besides?" "Besides, it used to belong to my father. It's the only thing I have from him." Nami looked at her in surprise. "Does that mean your father just ran away?" "No." She shook her head. "He died before I was born. But I know who he was and what he did and I also look up to him. He lived his life and I think he had no regrets." Nami carefully asked: "And what about your mother? Wouldn't she worry about you? Wouldn't she maybe even be disappointed with what you're doing with your life?" Luffy pulled her hat slightly over her face so that her eyes couldn't be seen. "No, I don't think so." "How can you say something like that?!" she asked angrily, "She's your mother! Surely she would be worried about you if..." Luffy interrupted her. "No, I don't mean it like that." She looked at her confused when Luffy looked up again. A sad smile was on her lips. "What I mean is that my mother can't worry about me. She's dead. She died shortly after she gave birth to me." Nami's eyes widened, she didn't know that. Luffy took the photo out of the hatband and handed it to her. "Porgas D. Rouge, that was her name. The photo is also my treasure. It's the only thing I have of her. Without it, I wouldn't have even known what she looked like. The old man who took me in, Gramps, told me that she was very happy when I was born and held me in her arms. After she died, he took me to an island in the East Blue, where I grew up." Nami handed the photo back to her as she asked in surprise, "Does that mean you weren't born in the East Blue?" "No, my mother lived on an island in the South Blue. Batel...Batu...Bata something with Bater." "And this 'Gramps', as you call him, agreed that you becoming a pirate?" Nami asked skeptically. She found it difficult to imagine that anyone would agree if their child, be it their own or a foster child, wanted to pursue SUCH a career. Surprisingly, the black-haired woman started laughing. "Nah, he wanted me to become a marine, but they have to stick to the rules and that's not for me." "Besides, that would be far too dangerous for me." She looked at Luffy in disbelief. What had she gotten herself into?

The boats were sailing calmly over the waves when Nami looked at the duo and said in a serious tone: "It's impossible that we can get to the Grand Line like THAT." Zoro opened one of his eyes in surprise, while Luffy, who was sitting cross-legged on the boat at the tip of the bow, turning towards her. She bit off the last bite of the apple she was eating and took the rest in her hand. With her mouth full, she looked down at the apple and said, "That's right. I prefer eating meat." She threw the rest into her mouth and then continued. "All we have to eat is fruit." "Some sake wouldn't be bad either," said Zoro before an apple was thrown at his chin. It would have ended up in the water if Luffy hadn't caught it with her stretched arm. "What are you guys talking about?" Nami snapped. Zoro scratched his face in confusion. What was her problem? Nami took one of the apples out of the barrel, threw it up, caught it again and then said: "I'm not talking about it! I say that the Grand Line is the most dangerous place in the world. There will be many pirates there looking for the One Piece and they will certainly have powerful ships." While Nami was talking, Luffy began to eat the apple and called her attention. "Then we'll just make friends with them," said the black-haired woman with her mouth full. She didn't see any problem with it. Nami had her hands on her hips. "Not only are we outnumbered, but our boats are not equipped for this. There's no chance we can make it there safely, let alone sail there." "We still need a cook and a musician," said the black-haired woman, looking out to sea again. She understood Nami's concern, but where would be the fun in that? "A musician?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow before he started to laugh. His captain really seemed to have a mind of her own. "Are you stupid?" Nami sighed. It was one thing if only one of them was so careless, but both? This is going to be a LONG journey. She looked at the map and said, "To the south, there is a small, inhabited island. It would be best if we found a good ship there." "Yes, time to eat meat again!" said Luffy enthusiastically. "Don't forget the sake!" Zoro said behind her. Nami held her head and sighed again, "You guys are unbeliveble."

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~ Gecko, northern beach of Syrup Village ~

The trio got out of their boats after a longjourney. Nami held the map in her hand and looked around thoughtfully, Zorostretched, and Luffy looked around with a mixture of excitement and enthusiasm."It's been a while since I've been on land," Zoro said as hestretched. Luffy's eyes saw a path between the cliffs and said, "Ah, sothe way up there must lead to the village." "Mm, even though it'sonly a small village..." Nami began, looking at the map. Luffy immediatelycame running to her, drool already running out of her mouth, when Nami leanedaway slightly and the black-haired woman said: "Oh, if that's the case.Meat, meat! Meat, meat, meat! There should be something to eat in the village,right?" "Can you think of something other than food?" theorange-haired woman asked annoyed. Sometimes Luffy seemed like a child and nota young woman. Was that perhaps because she had no parents? Zoro had alreadywalked a little further and was yawning when he noticed something at the top ofthe cliff. He reached for his swords with one hand and pushed one out a little.The metal flashed in the sunlight as he said to the womans behind him, nevertaking his eyes off the ledge, "Careful! Someone's here." The two lookedat him in surprise, before Luffy looked around excitedly. "Where?Where?" Zoro noticed something out of the corner of his eye, he quicklyturned around and shouted to her: "Watch out!" Less than a secondlater, small projectiles began to hit where the black-haired woman wasstanding. Somehow she managed not to lose her balance despite the constantbombardment. Nami ran back to the boats for emergency shelter before looking upthe cliff, just like Zoro. Black flags were suddenly raised behind the bushes there.The flag featured crossbones and a skull with a narrow, long chin and anO-shaped mouth. The entire slope was already covered with these when theshelling of the straw hat wearer stopped. She exclaimed enthusiastically afterseeing the flags: "Wow, that's GREAT!" "This is not the righttime to show awe!" said Nami and looked from behind the bow. A boysuddenly appeared at the edge of the cliff. He appeared to be the same age asLuffy and had black, curly hair on which he wore a green-yellowish bandana. Healso wore brown dungarees with white trim on the legs and a white cloth tiedaround his waist. He carried a bag over his shoulder and a blue and whitestriped sweatband on his left forearm. What was most noticeable, however, werehis thick lips and long nose. It reminded her of a fairy tale that Makino hadread to her when she was a child, but she couldn't remember the name. The boylaughed, looked down at the three and said with his arms crossed: "I amthe leader of a large pirate crew that has conquered this village, Usopp.Everyone worships me and they call me Captain Usopp!" With that he pointed histhumb at himself. Luffy's enthusiasm disappeared. Something wasn't right there."If you're thinking about raiding this village, know that you can save yourselfthe trouble. Behind me are 8,000 men just waiting for my order!" He spread hisarms and pointed to the flags that were everywhere. "Incredible!"Luffy exclaimed. Nami stood leaning against one of the boats and lookedunimpressed, while Zoro looked skeptically at the straw hat wearer. She didn'tseriously believe him, did she?     

"That's a lie," Nami said calmly.Frightened and panicked, Usopp grabbed his head and shouted: "How do youknow that?!" "I didn't know, but I do now." "Damn, shetricked me! That's not good," he complained, swaying from one side to theother. Nami looked up at him in surprise. She really hadn't expected such areaction. Eyes wide, Luffy turned to her and asked in horror, "What? Helied?!" Usopp seemed to have gotten himself back together and said more calmly:"I have to admit, 8,000 was perhaps a little exaggerated, but I still have abunch of strong and courageous comrades behind me!" As if on command, some ofthe people began to move Flags up and down after he said this. Nami looked athim from the side with a smile as she said: "All three of themthere?" Three children stood up from behind the bushes, screaming infright. In each of their hands they had one of the flags. "Ahhhhh, shefound out!" they screamed in unison before running away. "R-run!" "Hey youguys, don't run away!" Usopp called after the three boys. Sweat was alreadyrunning down his face. He nervously looked back down at the small group.Meanwhile, Nami had gone to the spot where Luffy had been shot at before andpicked it up as she said, "A pirate using Panchinko balls. I've neverheard of such a thing." She blew the sand off one of the balls while Luffyput her hands on her hips and started laughing before she looked at him andsaid, "You're a pretty interesting guy." "Hey you, don't youdare make fun of me!" He didn't look away from her as he rummaged through hisbag. "I am a man of great pride!" He held a slingshot in his hand and aimed itat the straw hat wearing woman again. Luffy saw how nervous he was."That's why people gave me a special name and that is that the people onthis island call me 'The Proud Usopp'. So no crooked things, is thatclear?!" Luffy looked down slightly and pushed her straw hat over her face.Now was a good opportunity to try something she'd wanted to say for a longtime. "With my slingshot and my panchinkos, I'm way better than someone whojust walks around with a pistol in their pocket!"

The black-haired woman said in a calm voice: "Put the slingshot away immediately! Otherwise..." She looked up slightly. Only her left eye was visible under the hat and she had a slight smile on her face. "...your life is at stake!" Usopp gasped in shock. His mouth hung wide open as he felt his heart begin to beat faster. Did she really just say that or had he misheard? "And that's not an empty threat, that's a promise." Zoro looked at her in surprise before she gave him a discreet wink. He grinned before looking up at the black-haired man with a grin and once again lightly pushed one of his swords out of its sheath with his thumb. "Listen, you little wannabe pirate. The people standing in front of you are real pirates!" Zoro called up to him. Usopp looked down at the two even more nervously. The black-haired woman's face was half-hidden by the shadow of her straw hat and the green-haired man looked at him as if he would attack at any second. One of his eyes began to twitch and he noticed how sweat was slowly running down his body. His gaze wandered to the straw hat wearer. From what he could see of her eyes, he knew she was dead serious. Silence fell over the scene. The only thing he could hear was the blood rushing in his ears and his rapidly beating heart. What should he do? What was he supposed to do? Should he dare and probably die? Or should he listen to the voice in the back of his head that was calling to him in panic to leave them alone and get away as quickly as possible? With every passing second the fear within him grew. The wind was blowing and slowly the flags that had been put up began to fall over. His hand began to shake before the rubber shot forward. But without a ball. The Panchiko fell to the ground before Usopp fell to his knees. His hands were on his legs and a tear seemed to hang in the corner of his eye as he said, "I don't know. When a real pirate says something like that, it sounds different than if I do it meself. It makes your blood freeze in your veins. I'm scared!" Luffy looked at the frightened black-haired man for a while before she and Zoro looked at each other and started laughing. She held her straw hat tightly as she looked up at him with a smile and said, "Cool saying, right?" He looked at her, confused. "I just said what Shanks had once said." Usopp looked at her in shock, the fear suddenly seemed to have disappeared. "Sha-Shanks did you say?! Do you mean 'Red-Hair Shanks', you know him?!" "Yes. Your father's name is Yasopp, right?" He looked at her silently before he leaned too far forward in shock and fell down the ledge towards them. Usopp sat up and looked up at the black-haired woman in confusion. Now she could see that he had brown eyes. "It is true that my father's name is Yasopp. But how do you know him?" He had now sat cross-legged and looked at her expectantly.

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~ Syrup – Restaurant ''Meshi'' ~

Luffy greedily bit off a large piece of meat. Thefour of them sat in the restaurant where Usopp had invited them and ate ahearty meal. There were already five plates stacked next to Luffy while Zorodrank his beer with pleasure. "Pretty good, isn't it?" Usopp saidwith his mouth full. Luffy looked at him sideways and began to talk with full mouth:"I met him when I was a child." "My father is on Shank's ship?""Mm. You look just like him. When I saw you I already thought you were hisson." "Really? I never thought my father would be on such a greatship." Usopp was a little red in the face when Luffy continued: "Idon't know where he is right now, but I'm sure he still is with them." Shereached for one of the apples that lay in the basket on the table. "Yourfather's marksmanship was really impressive." She began to tell her how Yasopphad once demonstrated his shooting skills to her and hit an apple in the middlefrom several meters away. She had been very impressed and he said that he couldeven hit an ant's antennae. He first drank in the bar and started talking abouthis son. That his name was Usopp and he had to be her age. She pointed out thathe had heard this too many times. He then placed his empty mug over her headand asked everyone to listen to him. Although he was separated from his son,his dream was to become a pirate. The others started cheering as she tried toget the mug off her head. "Usopp, I've heard so much about you that my earsalmost fell off. Yasopp is a great pirate." "That's exactly what Ithought. To risk his own life and surrender himself to the vast and endlesssea. I'm very proud of my father." "That makes our conversation easier,"Nami said. Usopp looked at her confused. "Tell me, is there perhaps someonehere who can sail a ship or who could give us one?" The black-haired man sighedbefore he began to talk: "As you can see, this is a very small village. I'mreally sorry, but there is no one here who can accommodate your request."He rested his head on the back of his hand and looked to the other side. Hecertainly wouldn't tell them about Kaya, even if the three of them seemed nice.Luffy found Usopp's expression quite strange. He smiled slightly, his eyes hadnarrowed strangely and his eyebrows were also raised quite strangely. "Upthere on the hill..." Zoro began as he looked out the window. Usopp wasstartled when Zoro mentioned this. "...there is a large estate."Usopp gritted his teeth and sweat began to form on his face again. Delighted,Nami clapped her hands together. "Hey, maybe you know them? I wonder if wecould ask them if they could give us a little financial support.""You can't go there!" Usopp said angrily. The three of them looked ateach other in surprise. "Aaa, I...I just remembered that I have to dosomething," he said nervously, before standing up and continuing more calmly,"I know the owner of this shop very well, so feel free to order what you want.I'll be off then!" He grabbed his bag and ran to the door. Luffy bit into oneof the apples as Nami watched the long-nosed boy leave. " Where do youthink he is heading?" 

The three of them ate and drank for a while when suddenly three children opened the door, held up wooden swords and shouted: "The Usopp pirates are here!" Luffy was still holding her drink in her hand and looked at the three children in surprise Nami turned to them and asked, "What's going on?" One of the boys had purple hair that covered his eyes and he was wearing an orange hat with the skull that was also depicted on the flags on the beach. He was wearing a black sweater and short, orange pants. A brown cloth was wrapped around his stomach. The boy in the middle had green hair that was styled quite unusually. They kind of reminded Luffy of an apple. He was wearing a light green shirt that also had a skull on it, as well as short, dark blue pants. He had tied a turquoise cloth around his stomach. The last boy had orange-blonde hair that reminded you of an onion. He wore rectangular black glasses on his nose. He was wearing a yellow shirt and a blue life jacket over it. The cloth wrapped around his stomach was a dark yellow and he wore short, brown pants. Luffy guessed she was no older than nine years old. "The Captian isn't here," the violet-haired boy said. The boy with the glasses started: "Don't tell me that..." The three of them ran to the table where Nami, Zoro and Luffy were sitting, who finally took a sip. "Shut up, you criminals! Where have you taken our captain? Where is he?" the green-haired boy asked them. "What have you done to him?" He and his friends still held up their swords. Luffy happily put down her mug and began to pat her stomach as she said: "Ah, that was delicious meat." The three of them looked in shock at the slightly rounded stomach of the black-haired woman. "What meat?" "You ate our captain?" Nami giggled at the boys' comments. They naivety was just too funny. "What's there to laugh about? What did you do to him?" Zoro had one arm propped on the table and his head rested on it as he grinned at the three with a scary look and said: "Well, the thing with your captain..." The children looked on in fear him. "... we ate him." The three of them hugged each other in fear, looked at Nami and screamed in panic: "Ahh, witch!" "Why are you all staring at ME like that?! I'm not a witch!" Nami hissed at the three before they fell over in shock. Luffy and Zoro started laughing at first, while Nami continued to complain: "Just because you two are such idiots!" The boys were lying on the ground, breathing heavily.

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~ At the villa ~

"Oh, that was just a joke," said thegreen-haired boy, who had introduced himself as Pepper as he and his friendsaccompanied the three of them to the villa. The boy with the glasses was calledOnion and the other was called Carrot. They stopped in front of an iron fence."Wow, that's huge," Luffy said enthusiastically. "If we can't findthe captain, he's most likely here," said Onion. "Why does he come here?""He comes here to lie," said Carrot. Nami had her hands on her hips and lookedat him sternly. "He shouldn't do that!" Now Pepper also spoke up: "There'snothing wrong with that! It's different, right?" He said the last sentenceto his friends. "Yes, it's different." "What do you mean bythat?" Zoro asked. "Miss Kaya lives there in the villa and she is veryweak," Onion began, "A year ago her parents died of an illness and she has beenvery sad ever since. Despite all the money she has, there was nothing thatcould cheer her up." Carrot continued. "That's why our captain tellsher unbelievable lies to cheer her up. The captain is the world champion atlying!" "So he's a nice guy," said Luffy, smiling slightly. She felt very sorryfor this Kaya. She didn't know what it was like to lose there parents, but shethought it must feel the same as it did with Sabo. She thought it was greatthat Usopp came here just to cheer her up. No one should be sad for long, nomatter how great the loss. Because if you're always moping around, you'll missthe beautiful things in life! The three agreed with her before Carrot said:"I like how he always interferes with others." "I like how healways exaggerates everything," said Pepper. "I like the way he lies,"Onion said, smiling. Luffy could tell that the three of them had taken a likingof their "captain". Nami leaned down a little to them and asked: "And didhe manage to cheer her up?" "Yes, he did." Luffy was now full ofenergy. "Well then let's ask her about a ship!" "The one whocheered her up was Usopp," said Zoro behind her. "It's very difficult toget in there," said one of the boys, "There are big bodyguards at the gate as guards."Suddenly they noticed that a certain black-haired woman was no longer there. "Whereis Luffy?" She was no longer listening to them and had pulled herself up on themetal fence. Without turning around, she said to the others: "Let's gotake a look!" Nami wanted to slap her forehead when they spotted her atthe fence. You couldn't take your eyes off her for a second without her doingsomething! Luffy's grip on the top of the fence became stronger. Zoro suspectedsomething bad. "Don't tell me you want to..." he began as Luffy wasalready leaning back and stretching her arms. "Gomu Gomu no..." The boys held each other's arms again, screaming."She stretched her arms all the way down!" Onion screamed. "What's going onhere?!" shouted Carrot also. They eyes had widened in shock. HOW WAS THATPOSSIBLE?! "...sorry to..."In a panic, Onion, Pepper, Carrot, Zoro and Nami tried to hold Luffy tightly. "...intrude!" She shot up, draggingthe others with her.

She laughed as they fell back to the groundwhile the others screamed. She could see Usopp sitting on a branch by a window.In front of him was a young woman with blonde, shoulder-length hair and whatshe thought were brown eyes. She noticed that she appeared to be wearing anightgown. Before she and Zoro crashed into the stone path, she could see Usopplooking at them in complete shock. Nami was lucky and landed on the grass whilethe boys landed in a bush. "Landed successfully," her voice was muffled. Shelanded face first on the stone. Good thing she was a rubber human. "No,we're not!" Nami shouted to her left. "A-are you okay?!" the girl calledfrom the window. "Ahh, it's okay," Usopp said with a slight panic inhis voice and held his hands in front of him reassuringly, "They justheard how great I am and want to join my pirate crew." Luffy stood upagain, straightening her Straw Hat and looked up at her. "That's not true.We wanted to ask you for a favor." "A favor? From me?" the girl askedconfused. "Yes." The others had now also gotten up and were standing behind orin front of her. "We would need a big ship..." "You there!" she was interruptedby a newcomer. The group looked at him. He was a tall, slim man with black hairslicked back. He wore round glasses and a classy black suit with a tie and awhite shirt. Just below the armpits, there was a pattern on each side of thejacket that looked like golden dog poop. He also wore strange gray and blackstriped shoes. Luffy didn't know why, but something about this man justscreamed that he couldn't be trusted. "Klahadore," said the girl in the window."You've trespassed here," Klahadore said, adjusting his glasses withthe edge of his palm, "and causing problems." Usopp looked at himwith furrowed eyebrows. "Who's that guy?" Luffy asked no one inparticular. "Excuse me Klahadore, these people are..." Kaya began,but was interrupted by her butler. "You don't have to tell me this. I willlisten to your explanation later." He began to walk towards the group. "I wouldask you all to leave now! Or do you have anything else to say?" "Yes,we would like to have a ship..." Luffy said before she was interrupted."Definitely not!" She looked down, disappointed. Zoro put his hand on hershoulder to encourage her. Klahadore looked at the tree and shouted:"Usopp!" The person mentioned had gotten up from the branch and triedto hide behind the tree. He climbed back onto the branch as the butlercontinued, "I've heard rumors about you. You're pretty well known in thevillage." "Hihihi, really?" Kaya looked at her servant a littletensely, she didn't like how the conversation was developing. "You are alsosaid to have faced various dangers. This is a remarkable achievement forsomeone of your age." The black-haired man was now standing on the branchagain, leaning on the tree with one hand and proudly pointing at himself withthe thumb of his other hand as he said: "You can call me Captain Usopp. Butreally, there's no need for flattery."

"Captain, huh?" Klahadore adjusted his glassesagain, as he had probably done five times in the last minute. Did it not fithim or what? "I've heard stories about your father too." "What?"Usopp gritted his teeth, he already guessed what the butler wanted to say. Kayalooked at him worriedly before calling out the window to her servant: " Klahadore,please let it go." He looked fixedly at the black-haired man and said:"You're just the son of a lowly pirate!" Luffy's gaze hardened. Whatdid the guy just say? "So anything you do isn't a big surprise. But please beso kind and leave the young lady alone." Usopp looked down at him angrily. "Didyou just say that my father is a vile pirate?" "YOU come from a completelydifferent world than our young lady. Do you want some money? How much do youwant?" "That's enough, Klahadore! Apologize to Usoppimmediately!" Kaya shouted angrily and leaned dangerously far out of thewindow. Usopp looked at her in surprise before saying in a calm and worriedvoice: "Hey, Kaya, this is dangerous!" He looked up at her, adjustedhis glasses and said in a calm tone: "Why should I apologize to such abarbarian, madam? I only speak the truth." He turned back to the black-hairedman. "I understand you. You must be full of hate. Hatred for your idiot father,who left you and your mother to look for treasure as a pirate." "Klahadore!"Luffy felt the anger rising within her. With every word that left his lips, herdislike for him grew more and more. Usopp's eyebrows were already drawntogether, a vein was pulsating in his forehead and he was trembling with anger."You bastard! You better stop talking about my father like that!" Kayalooked at him worriedly before he jumped off the branch. "Usopp!" A noise madeher look back at the branch. There was a rake attached to the branch. Usopprappelled down and landed on the ground in front of the small group. He let therope with the rake roll up automatically and disappear into his bag before heclosed it. He glared at the butler in front of him, his hands clenched intofists and shaking. Klahadore smiled as he said, "Why are you so upset? In suchmoments you should do what you do best, lie. Just say that you have nothing to dowith your father or that he isn't even your father." Usopp had enough. Herushed forward, lashing out and screaming as he struck, "Shut up!"Kaya put her hand over her mouth in shock as her butler fell to the ground. Thethree children also looked at their captain in shock. Only Luffy, Nami and Zororemained motionless. Luffy's brown eyes watched the events intently. "Captain!"shouted carrot, pepper and onion. Klahadore sat up slightly and adjusted hisglasses again before speaking: "Did you see this? He just becomes violent. Howdo you say it? 'Like father, like son.'" His cheek was red where Usopp hadhit him. "Shut up!" shouted the long-nosed man, "I'm proud that my father is apirate! He is a brave warrior of the seas and I am proud of him! Even thoughit's true that I'm a liar and have the blood of a pirate running through myveins. This is an honor that cannot easily be imitated! That I'm the son of apirate!" Luffy smiled slightly when Usopp said this. "Captain..." Carrotbreathed.           

"Pirates are warriors of the sea? You're pretty naive if you support such an ideology." "What?!" Klahadore brushed the dust off his jacket before continuing. "But this only proves that the blood of a barbarian runs through your veins. You like to lie and become violent when someone says something you don't like. Your real motive is just to get our lady's fortune. That's why you got so close to her!" "What are you saying?! I..." "YOU have the ultimate motive for this! Just the fact that your father is a pirate is proof enough!" Usopp grabbed the taller man by the collar and pumped his fist again as he said, "You insulted him again!" "Stop it, Usopp!" Kaya shouted in horror. Usopp paused in his movements. "Please no more violence. Klahadore is a nice person. He's just... He's only doing this to protect me." Usopp was still shaking before he loosened his grip. He slapped his hand away and said coldly: "Get out of here. Don't you ever dare go near this house again!" "I understand. I would have left even if you hadn't told me," the black-haired man growled. He lowered his fist, put his hands in his pockets and walked past them. "I will never come back here again!" Kaya looked after him sadly. Luffy saw the blonde close to tears. The children ran forward angrily and shouted: "You stupid butler! Our captain isn't that kind of person." "That's right, you idiot!" "Idiot!" "Idiot!" Luffy shouted from behind them before Zoro punched her in the head. "Why are you suddenly screaming?" He slowly got the feeling that his captain was more child than young woman. He noticed how she wanted to throw herself at the butler and held her from behind. He reached under her armpits, bent his arms and lifted her up a little so that her feet were no longer touching the floor. She struggled and tried to get free but Zoro's grip was iron. Klahadore, in turn, looked down at the three boys. They were frightened and ran behind Nami, screaming and scared. "What did you say? Let me go! What the hell!" shouted the black-haired woman. "Hey, let it go," said Zoro. He had to give her one thing, Luffy was stronger than one would expect and he had already seen her fight. It was tiring to hold her in place. Klahadore adjusted his glasses before shouting, "You all should get out of here!"

The small group had made themselves comfortable at a fence at the side of the road. Onion had to go home briefly and continued towards the village. Nami sat on the fence, Zoro sat cross-legged on the ground and leaned against it with his hands behind his head, Carrot and Pepper also sat on the ground, while Luffy was still standing on the path. She looked towards the village before starting to move. "Where do you want to go?" Nami asked. The black-haired woman stopped, turned to her and smiled at her as she said: "I'm going to look for Usopp." She looked at her in surprise. Before she could say anything, however, Pepper spoke up: "If you're looking for the captain, he's probably by the cliffs on the south beach." "Okay, thanks," said Luffy. She had her hands clasped behind her back as she hummed as she continued on her way.

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~ Cliff near South Beach ~

Luffy saw Usopp sitting on the cliff under atree and looking out to the sea. She could address him "normally" or she coulddo it in the fun way. She quietly crept up to him, climbed silently up the treeand hung upside down from the branch in front of the black-haired man and saidwith a grin: "Yo!" Usopp was startled and leaned back a little. "So here youare." "Oh, it's you. Can you greet me normally next time? What is? What do youwant?" "Nothing special." She put her arms on the ground, let go of the branchwith her legs and walked a few steps towards the cliff on her hands. "Thisplace is very beautiful. He reminds me of my home. There was also a cliff therewhere you had such a wonderful view of the sea," she said before she losther balance and fell over. "Ow." She now sat in front of him anddidn't get Usopp's astonished expression. She looked out to the sea, leanedback a little and tapped her feet together as he began to speak behind her:"That damned butler. How dare he insult my father like that." "Yes, Ican't stand the idiot either. It doesn't matter what people say about Yasopp,he's a great pirate." Usopp crawled over to her and sat down next to her."Really?" She nodded at him with a smile. "In this age of pirates, my fathersails the sea without knowing what awaits him. I'm really proud of him."The two of them sat there for a while and looked at the vast blue of the seawhen Luffy suddenly broke the silence. "It doesn't matter what people say aboutour fathers. We are their children and can be proud of them even if they aredespised by society. Many people don't know them personally and have, if at all,only heard stories and rumors about there actions and think they can form anopinion." "You sound like you have experience." "You couldsay that. You know, I don't know my mother or father, but I've heard what he'saccomplished in his life. I don't care what people say about him, condemn himor think of me. I am proud of everything my father has done and achieved! Andone day I hope to be as famous as him, no, I will be even more famous so thateveryone knows my name!" As she spoke, Usopp could have sworn he saw fire inher eyes. He smiled and said, "Yes, you're right." His smile fadedand he stood as he continued. "However that bastard dared to step on thatpride. I won't forgive him!" Luffy looked up at him. "But will you evensee HER again?" The black-haired man was taken aback by the sudden change ofsubject. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see how sad his expression wasbefore he turned his head to the side and said, "Mm, I don't know. If thebraggart came to me and begged, I would think about it."

"That butler?" Luffy asked, pointingto the beach below them. While Usopp had been talking, she had noticed movementdown there. Usopp followed her finger and saw two figures. He didn't know oneof them. The other was undoubtedly the butler. "Yes, that butler. What is thebutler doing here?!" During the last sentence, Usopp went down and pushedLuffy's head on the ground as he said this in panic and surprise. "Ouch, thathurts," Luffy mumbled. Usopp didn't necessarily have to push her down soroughly. "Hey Jango. Didn't I tell you not to attract attention in the village?Yet you lay sleeping in the middle of the street," Klahadore told the stranger,Jango. Usopp and Luffy peered slightly over the edge of the cliff to see thetwo. Klahadore had his hands in his pockets while his counterpart stood therein a strange pose. He had one hand in a green glove resting on his blue hat,which matched his coat of the same color. He held his other gloved hand atstomach level in front of his white shirt. The two saw a belt holding his greenpants up. He had one foot firmly planted on the ground while the other was juston the tip. This Jango appeared to be a tall, thin, middle-aged man with shoulder-length,light brown-gray hair. He wore heart-shaped glasses with red lenses, had aprominent nose and sunken cheeks. Most noticeable was a strange red and blackstriped stalk that seemed to grow from its chin. "That's stupid. I didn'tattract any attention. I'm not weird either."

"Who is this strange guy with him?"Luffy asked quietly. Usopp still had his hand on her head to push her back tothe ground if necessary. "I've never seen him here before. Who is he?" Klahadore adjusted his glasses againbefore he began to speak: "So, are the preparations for the operationcomplete?" "Of course. We can start at any time. The operation toassassinate Miss Kaya." 

The eyes of the two listeners widened. Did theguy say assassination attempt? "Did he just say assassination?" Usoppasked in shock. 

"Don't say assassination, that sounds sotasteless, Jango." "Oh, yeah. ''Unfall''. It's going to be an ''accident''." 

"Hey, what are they talking about?" Luffyasked Usopp. She had now laid down on her stomach and rested her head on herarms. "Be quite! That's what I want to find out," Usopp hissed toher.

"We can't just kill her," Klahadore said in avoice that was far too calm, "Miss Kaya must die in an accident. Don't forgetthis!" Jango sat down on one of the large stones before he began to speak:"Anyway, we're just waiting for your signal to attack the village and thenthe young lady has to believe in it, right? Then you'll grab their fortune.""Are you stupid? Can't you use your mind? How can an outsider inherit herwealth?" "He worked hard for it." "Hard work doesn't makeyou an heir! Listen to me, this is the most important part. Before we kill her,you will hypnotize Kaya into writing a will. In this will she will leaveEVERYTHING to her butler Klahadore!" Usopp's eyes widened again and he grittedhis teeth. What was this sneaky number about? Klahadore's entire demeanor andvoice had suddenly completely darkened. "This will be the first step in my planto acquire the enormous fortune. It's perfect. I spent three years gainingtrust from everyone. So no one will be suspicious, even if she leaves herfortune to ME." As he spoke, Usopp was shaking with tension. That couldn't beallowed to happen! Jango stood up before saying, "That's why you became abutler for three years. You really surprised me back then, Captain Kuro. Threeyears ago when you suddenly said you wanted to quit being a pirate. You made ascapegoat of one of your subordinates. Just so the world would think thatCaptain Kuro was executed. That was the beginning of your plan. No wonder theycall you 'Kuro of a Thousand Plans.'" Usopp began to tremble more andmore. Luffy didn't believe what she was hearing. This Klahadore or Kuro orwhatever his name was, was once a pirate? And then played this charade JUST sothat the government would stop looking for him and he could live a "normal"life?! She felt the anger starting to boil inside her again. "Don't ever callme by my names again! I put it down three years ago. I just want a lot of moneywithout the government chasing me. That makes me a peaceful citizen," said Klahadore,no, Kuro, looking over his shoulder at Jango, who started laughing. "I neverthought that YOU could be a "peaceful citizen". So you killed the brat'sparents for your own peace." "Don't say that. I had nothing to dowith her father's death. It was unexpected." "It doesn't matter. After all,it's none of my business. Just hurry up and give us the signal! Our ship hasbeen at anchor for almost a week. My men are getting impatient!"

Usopp was shaking violently and had his handsdigging into the ground. "This isbad. We just overheard something terrible." "Hey, what'swrong?" Luffy asked him. She had started tapping her feet together whilethey both lay on their stomachs and listened. She could see sweat forming onhis forehead. "Didn't you hear their conversation?" That's not what she meant,but okay. "We are finished, THESE are real pirates! This Captain Kuro is saidto be the smartest and cruelest among the pirates. I heard he was caught by theNavy three years ago and executed. But Captain Kuro is alive. He lives as abutler under the name Klahadore. This started a long time ago. He carefullyplanned everything for three years to get Kaya's inheritance." Luffylooked at him. She didn't know why he had summarized everything again now, butit shouldn't bother her. She saw the sheer horror and pure fear written on hisface as he continued talking. "The village will be attacked. And Kaya will bein danger!" He grabbed his hair. "Terrible! This is absolutely terrible!"Luffy looked down again. She knew she wasn't the smartest and never thoughtwhen she did something. Ace even once said that she was always too careless.But it was the only thing she could do in moments like this. For the peopleclose to her, her friends,...her...family, she was always willing to take theserisks, even if it could mean her death! And Usopp WAS her friend and he lovedhis village, she could see that.

Her eyes were in shadow as she stood up. Usopp looked at her in shock. "Hey, if you get up they'll see you!" She took a deep breath, looked down and shouted: "Hey, listen up, you crooks! Leave Kaya alone, got it?!" Usopp had jumped up and wanted to pull her to the ground again. But she had already caught the attention of both men and he fell behind her with tears in his eyes. "Who's there?" Jango asked, looking up. Kuro also looked up at the black-haired woman Usopp stood up again and grabbed her arm. He said, forgetting to keep his voice singed, "You idiot! Now they've seen you! Quickly, hurry up, we have to get out of here otherwise they'll kill us! Come on!" He pulled on her but she didn't move, she didn't even look at him. Her gaze was focused solely on the men on the beach. Kuro looked up darkly as he said, "Who do we have here? I know that voice, it can only be that Usopp." The man in question froze and looked down, frightened. "Ahh! Now they've seen me too!" "Have YOU heard anything about what we just discussed here?" his voice sounded threatening when he asked this. Sweat poured down the raven-haired liar's body as he held his hands in front of him and said, "No, no. I...I didn't hear anything! I just happened by here. I just took a little walk..." "I heard everything!" Luffy said with his arms crossed and looked down at him darkly. Usopp lightly slapped her chest with the back of his hand as he looked at her and said, "You idiot!" How stupid was she? If she had let him talk, they would have gotten out of the situation without any problems. Luffy didn't take his eyes off the two men as Kuro nodded at Jango. He mumbled something and pushed his hat a little lower over his face as he stepped forward and Kuro turned away. He pulled something out of his coat. It was a round blade attached to a string. "Hey, you two. Concentrate on THIS ring!" The black-haired woman looked confused at the object while Usopp hid behind her. "That ring there?" "Watch out! That's definitely a weapon! Let's just get out of here!" Jango slowly swayed his makeshift pendulum as he said, "One, two, Jango! You're getting tired!" Luffy unintentionally began to follow the swinging of the pendulum with her eyes. "Quickly get out of here!" Usopp shouted and threw himself trembling on the ground behind her. "One, two...Jango!" Suddenly Luffy became terribly tired. Her body slowly began to fall forward. Usopp looked over his shoulder and was shocked to see how the straw hat wearer would fall down the cliff at any moment when he heard Kuro say from below: "Hey, Jango, wake up! Have you still not managed to get this together?" "Hey, Luffy, be careful! You're about to fall down!" Usopp shouted to her. But his voice sounded so muffled to her, almost like cotton wool, and she was so terribly tired. The last thing she heard before she fell asleep was the wind tearing at her clothes and the distant sound of the sea. Then she didn't know anything anymore.

A loud crash made Usopp jump. He slowly crawled toward the edge of the cliff and looked down, trembling. He almost didn't dare to do so because of his fear, but his concern for the black-haired woman was greater than his fear. "Oh, now the poor girl has fallen on her head," said the hypnotist, shaking his head, "I'm sorry about that. I didn't intend to kill her, but you can't survive a fall from that height." There she lay. Her legs had flown over her torso upon impact and her arms were stretched out next to her. You would have thought she was trying to do a somersault if she had moved. Her straw hat lay next to her. "Damn!" Usopp clung to a tuft of grass. "That guy...killed her." He felt like it was his fault. If he had reacted faster, he could have prevented her fall! "What about the other one? Should I take care of him too?" asked Jango. "That's not necessary. No matter what he said, no one would believe him." Usopp gasped. He felt his heart start to beat faster. "We'll do it tomorrow, Jango. Attack the village at sunrise! Don't attract too much attention from the villagers! Make it look like an accident if you kill the young lady." "Tomorrow...?" breathed the liar in disbelief. "Did you hear that, Usopp? Nothing YOU do will jeopardize my plan!" "Damn..." Usopp got up, turned around and ran towards the village screaming. "This is bad, bad, very bad! Everyone I know and love will be killed!" Tears began to gather in his eyes. "Kaya will be killed too! I really love them all!" A few tears streamed from his eyes and flew from his face as he ran. He remembered the first time he was with her. She wanted to call her bodyguards first. But after he told the first story and she laughed, that idea disappeared completely. He narrowed his eyes and screamed, "DAMMIT!!!"

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~ Path to the village ~

"The captain is quite late," said Carrot, looking down the path along with Pepper and Onion. Nami was still sitting on the fence, while Zoro was now standing again with his arms crossed over his chest. "Luffy too." And he didn't like that. In this short time he realized one thing: his captain magically attracted problems, especially when she was alone! "Maybe the shock was too great," said Onion. Pepper turned to them, with his hands on his hips, and said, "Whenever he's in a bad mood, he always goes to the coast and stares at the sea." "Ahhh, Captain!" cried Carrot. Everyone's eyes followed his. They saw him there. Usopp ran like the devil was after him. "That's strange. Shouldn't Luffy be with him?" Zoro asked. He got a really bad feeling about it. "Captain!" the children shouted happily. But Usopp just ran past them. "Where's Luffy?" "Didn't she go to the coast with you?" Nami shouted. But the black-haired man ignored her and kept running. "Do you think he's still angry? Did his father's insult affect him so badly?" "I haven't the slightest idea." "No, his expression was completely different," said Carrot. Pepper added, "Ah, something must have happened!" "What could it be that could change his expression so much?" Onion wondered. Zoro turned to them and asked: "Hey, do you know how we get to the coast?" But the three didn't seem to have heard him. They stood in a circle and talked to each other. "Do you think something happened?" "Yes, something must have happened on the coast." "The Usopp pirates will go take a look!" "I got it, now tell me where the coast is!" Zoro said annoyed. Nami jumped off the fence and looked again in the direction the liar had run. Something was wrong here and they would surely find the answer on the coast.