(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey so sorry there hasn't been an update in a minute! I was busy spending the last of my time in California with my grandparents, packing, having to conquer my newfound anxiety for airplane travel, and generally just readjusting to my life at home again where I don't have a ton to do like I did in California. But I got to see my family again, I got to see my best friend again who I hadn't seen since a little bit after she'd gotten married in March. BUT-UH-ANYWHO MORE IMPORTANTLY WE'RE BACK! Also-THANK YOU GUYS SO SO MUCH FOR 1K READS!!! It means a lot that so many of you stopped by to read this! And obviously extra thanks to those of you who chose to stick around! If any of you have ideas on how I could celebrate this please let me know because I would absolutely LOVE to do something to celebrate this! Also usual schpiel with my art in chapters, be good humans, don't steal, blah blah blah...I hope you enjoy the chapter!)

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Chapter Nine:

"  Zoro And Isaac Slip Down An Oil Spill In This One"

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(NO POV)

"This is the place!" Carrot exclaimed as he, Pepper, and Onion led Isaac and the others to Usopp's thinking spot at the edge of a cliff. "Our captain always comes here to be alone and think." Pepper explains and Onion comments about how he agreed the place was nice before the kids started looking around for Luffy, "I don't think that straw hat guy is here." Pepper says. A small piece of rock falls under Nami's boot, "The rocks sure are loose here" She peered over the edge, "Nami, be careful." Zoro warned her and she replied, "Right!" A few moments later she shouts, "Look! Down there!" And the rest of them rush over to see what she's referring to, which was of course Luffy, only he was on the ground head in the dirt and rear pointing upwards. 

"Luffy!?" Zoro shouts and Isaac's mouth is wide after squinting to see the sight before shouting, "HOLY CRAP IS HE OKAY!?" They all made our way to the shore below and apparently, Luffy's head was literally in the dirt. Nami gasped, "Luffy what did you do!? How did this happen!?" Carrot said he had probably fallen, "He's a goner!" Onion cried, which definitely didn't help with Isaac's anxiety. "No wonder the captain was so upset!" Pepper concluded, Isaac sat on his knees in front of Luffy, picking up his hand and trying to wiggle his fingers and squeeze his hand to see if he would respond at all, to no avail. "He's either ignoring me or he's dead but if it's the first one then I'm surprised he's able to breathe with his head buried into the ground." He mused. He then heard soft snoring and looked at Luffy thinking to himself, 'No fucking way...Is he? But his head's buried into the ground kinda deep...'

"Wait a minute." Zoro finally spoke up, and I looked at him, "Do you hear it too?" Isaac asked. He nodded, "Ha. Lazy bum." He took one of his currently sheathed swords and poked Luffy's butt, with our captain's head bursting back out of the ground as he got up and yawned. "Good morning guys!" He chirped. "Oh my God, he really was sleeping..." Isaac muttered in disbelief. 

"Where's Usopp?" Luffy asked looking around, "We saw him running right past us, but why did he look so upset?" Nami replied. "Well, that butler guy and some weirdo are planning on attacking the village and killing Kaya so that's probably why," Luffy explained. 

"WHAT!? PIRATES ARE GOING TO ATTACK THE VILLAGE!? AND THEN THEY'RE GONNA KILL KAYA!?" Shouted Pepper, Onion, and Carrot. Luffy put his hat back on his head, "Yep, that's what they said. No doubt about it." He replied. "So what made you think it was a good time for a nap?" Zoro asked Luffy, and Luffy explained, "That's the thing! I don't remember falling asleep or getting down here at all!" 

Isaac heard the three kids screaming and when he looked at them, they had run away, "Considering they're children I guess that makes sense." He mumbled, "Oh no!" Luffy exclaimed seeming to have some sort of realization. "What's up?" Zoro asks and Luffy screams, "WE HAVE TO STOCK UP BEFORE THE MEAT SHOP GUY LEAVES!" And Zoro whacks him with his sword's scabbard, "Come on, that's not the real issue at hand here." Isaac nodded vigorously, "Yeah-the important thing is that we gotta help Usopp protect Kaya and his village! I bet we can catch up with those kids and have them help us find him if we hurry!" He got up and began jogging in the direction he was sure the kids had gone before stopping and jogging in place after noticing the others looking at him confused, "What is it?" Isaac asked. "Nothing you just seem, really invested in this crisis." Nami replied and the mostly pink-haired boy shrugged, "What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic. I know for a fact after spending an afternoon with those two that they have something and I want to make sure it works out for them in the end!" He exclaimed. 

After catching up with Onion, Pepper, and Carrot the 4 pirates all looked around for any sign of Usopp. The sun was setting and all the adrenaline Isaac previously had was almost completely gone, sighing he thought they'd never find him until he heard the kids shout "Captain!" And Isaac looked to what they were seeing, squinting of course due to distance, and saw the long-nosed guy himself, Usopp! "Hey guys! How's it going?" He asked seeming way too casual despite what was going to happen later, as the kids cheered at finding their lost captain Luffy greeted Usopp causing him to squeak and run towards us. "Wait! You're alive again!?" He exclaimed, and Luffy smiles back at him, "Alive? Yeah, and I had a pretty good nap too!" He responded. "Captain, we heard all about those pirates and their evil plan!" Carrot said, "We'd better hurry and warn all the other people in the village so they have time to get away!" Onion cried. 

Usopp's face fell into a frown, "Warn the people..." He was silent for a moment, looking down before bursting into laughter. "Well obviously I'm lying like usual! That butler made me so mad with what he said! I thought I'd get back at him and say he was a pirate!" He explained then he and the kids shared a laugh. "Oh I get it! You put the straw hat guy up to it too!" Onion said and as the kids laughed they walked behind and away from their captain, "Hey, where 'ya going?" Usopp asked them. The kids stopped laughing and Carrot replied, "Honestly, you've really disappointed me." Onion and Pepper nodded in agreement, "Even though that butler was a jerk, I thought you were better than lying to hurt someone and I admired you for being such a kind-hearted person. And to think we respected you this entire time." Onion, Carrot, and Pepper then walked away disappointed.

(ISAAC'S POV)

The four of us and Usopp went back to the shore of the beach, the sun now having fully set, and Nami was disinfecting and bandaging the wound that was on Usopp's arm, Usopp of course yelping in pain when it would sting. "There. All done." Nami said. "So how come you lied to them?" Luffy asked, looking at Usopp. "Because all I do is lie. There's no way anyone's gonna believe what I have to say, so why should they?" He responded solemnly, "Because what you're telling them is the honest truth!" Zoro interjected. "They are coming, and they're gonna level this whole town," Nami said. "Yeah, but what am I supposed to do? They'll think I'm lying if I try to warn them. Everyone in the village thinks that tomorrow's going to be a normal day." Usopp then looked down sniffling, before sitting back up with a fist lifted, "They think I'm lying and that's all they need to think! I'm gonna stop those pirates tomorrow at the beach myself! This is all my fault for being such a liar. I don't care anymore if they drive me away with brooms or shoot me in the arm. This is my village, it's my home and I love everyone in it!" Tears were now flooding down Usopp's cheeks, "I have to protect them!" I sat down next to Usopp, put a hand on his shoulder, and smiled, "I'll be honest, I don't know what it's like to lie to others as much as you do, but I know how it feels to want to protect and help people you care about. And I know you lied to those 3 kids to keep them safe because you care about them." I use my other arm to gesture to Luffy, Zoro, and Nami, "You see these three, are the closest people I have to me right now, so I'd do anything and everything I can to keep them safe. Because I care about each and every one of them, even Zo-Zo over there!"

Zoro scoffed, "I've told you to stop calling me that several times already Pinky..." He then looks at Usopp, "You're one Hell of a good guy sending your cronies away and going to battle alone." Nami holds up her hand making an 'okay' gesture, "Just so you know, I've got dibs on all the pirate treasure, you got that?" She asks. Luffy with a serious look on his face asks Usopp, "So you want a little help or what?" Usopp covers part of his face with his hand, "You guys...You're gonna help me fight all these pirates? I don't get it?" 

Luffy stretches his fingers by clenching and unclenching them, "Well you said there's a whole buncha bad guys, right?" Luffy said, "And you look scared out of your mind." Zoro adds, Usopp stands up defensively, "For your information, I have nerves of steel! I'm perfectly capable of handling tons of bad guys! After all, you're looking at the legendary Captain Usopp, brave warrior of the high seas!" He retorted. The others and I looked at Usopp before looking down at his obviously shaking legs, and he smacked his thighs in frustration, "Alright, fine, I'm scared! Why shouldn't I be, they're Captain Kuro's men! These guys mean business! I don't need pity! If you're sticking around because you pity me just leave, I don't need you laughing at me!" He shouted.

"We're not laughing, we're helping you because you are honorable." Zoro says, "You really think we'd risk our lives out of pity?" Luffy asks Usopp, and the long-nosed male stands up before beginning to tear up again, "Aw...You guys!" I smile to myself, 'These guys are great. I just hope I can help them out more this time...'

As we walked along the slope near the shore, Usopp began explaining his thought process, "Okay, at daybreak, the pirates will be landing on this shore to begin their attack. But the only way they can get to the village is up this slope. The rest of the shoreline is sheer cliffs, so they have to come through here. If we can fight them while they're funneled into that narrow pass, they're numbers won't mean anything and the village will be protected." Luffy nods, "Alright, that sounds pretty easy." "Talking about it is, but victory depends on our strength. What is it that you guys can do?" Usopp asks. The others answered with:

"I cut." 

"I stretch."

"I steal."

Usopp replied with, "I hide." And the others shouted, "WELL THIS TIME YOU'D BETTER FIGHT!" and he cried out in response, "Just making a funny! C'mon, calm down!" Usopp then looks at me and I explain, "Well I'm gonna be honest I've been here like maybe-uh-a week? Maybe two? So I'm not sure what I can do, but I'll do anything you think will be helpful!" Usopp smiles at me and nods, "Well what you can do first is go to my house and bring back a few barrels of oil. It's the closest house to here and the barrels should be right outside, 'ya got it?" I nod, "I gotcha'!" and I quickly run off to retrieve the barrels and once I brought them back Usopp told me and Luffy to dump the barrels out in front of us. "Yep, I'm a genius!" Usopp exclaimed. "There's no way they should be able to make it up this slope now! All this oil should keep them occupied while we go to work on them! They'll be busy slipping and sliding around like a bunch of idiots, then we show up and beat the crap out of them!"

"Wow, so that's your plan huh?" Nami asks, and Usopp nodded, "That's right! I'm going to defend this village no matter what it takes!" "Well let's just hope none of us slip on that oil and end up down there with them. Because that would be like sliding into a meat grinder." Nami said. Luffy looks at Usopp, "Usopp, I gotta hand it to 'ya, you're pretty good at fighting dirty." Usopp crosses his arms, "Of course I am! There isn't anyone alive who can best me with a slingshot or beat me at the art of fighting dirty!"

I looked towards the horizon and saw the sun begin to rise into the sky, "Well, looks like everything's gonna be going down soon enough..." I said as I squinted to see a bit better. "Where are they!? I thought we were gonna fight. The sun's up, what's the deal?" Luffy complained in boredom, "Maybe they overslept?" Zoro hypothesized, "Nope. They're gonna show up alright, lots of them." I looked and watched Nami's expression change to one of surprise as she put a hand to her ear, "Wait a minute...Maybe I'm hearing things, but it sounds like battle cries from somewhere." She put her other hand to her other ear, "Yeah, I definitely hear them." 

"No, it can't be." Usopp mumbled, I raised a brow, "What can't be?" I asked. "There's a shore just like this to the north!" Usopp held his head in his hands, "They went..." "ARE YOU SAYING WE'RE AT THE WRONG SHORE!?" I cried in panic. "Well this is where Luffy and I overheard their secret meeting so I just assumed, okay!?" Nami groaned and facepalmed, "We need to hurry before they make it to the village! Where is it!?" Luffy exclaimed. "You have to head directly North from here, if you run you could make it there in 3 minutes! The terrain there is exactly the same, so all we need to do is stop them at the slope!"

Nami suddenly shouted in panic, "OH NO! IF THE PIRATES ARE AT THE NORTH SHORE THAT MEANS THEY'VE ALREADY SEEN OUR BOATS! THEY'LL TAKE OUR TREASURE!" Normally I wouldn't have cared as much as Nami but considering I needed some of that to get me a sword I was now incredibly concerned as well. "I'll be there in 20 seconds!" Luffy declares before running off, "Aw man, my brilliant oil strategy was all for nothing!" Then Usopp followed Luffy. "My precious treasure..." Nami mumbled in despair, "Hey! What're you doing, let's get out of here!" Zoro says and while beginning to follow him and Nami I felt something slippery under my feet, 'Oh shit', I thought before screaming and grabbing Nami by her shirt in attempts to not get caught in the oil, but then she grabbed Zoro and we all ended up slipping. Zoro had a tight grip on the ground and Nami had a tight grip on Zoro's ankle, and me with hers. "Let go, you morons!" Nami apologized before smirking and then using Zoro as a literal stepping stone and after losing my grip on her leg, I slipped down quickly followed by Zoro who's back slammed into me. 

"WHAT IS THIS BETRAYAL!? NAMI WHAT THE HELL!?" I yelled out at her and she looked back replying, "Sorry but you guys understand, the treasure's in danger! Hope that oil's not a problem for you!" Nami then ran off as well and I shouted, "I SWEAR TO GOD NAMI WHEN I GET TO THOSE BOATS I'LL THROW YOUR TREASURE INTO THE SEA!" I tried pushing Zoro's back, "AND WILL YOU GET OFF OF ME!" Zoro got off of me and immediately tried dashing up the spilled oil only to slide down again. He then glared at me and started pulling at my cheeks, "So what made you think this was a good idea!? You slip so you pull down Nami, who then pulls down me!" I tried moving his hands and retorted, "Well you're the big strong swordsman here! How come you were pulled down so easily in the first place!?" 

I finally managed to get out of his grasp, and rub my cheeks, "Dammit that hurt 'ya know!" But Zoro wasn't listening as he once again immediately continued trying to get up by running fast enough. But of course, he slipped again and slid down on his back. "Nami...!" He huffed, "If you're still alive when I get outta here, I'm gonna kill you!" He shouted in frustration before sitting back up. I got a little nervous as he began unsheathing two of his swords, "Pinky, get on my back." He growled. I raised a brow, "Why the Hell am I supposed to get on your ba-" "DAMMIT JUST GET ON MY BACK BEFORE I DECIDE TO LEAVE YOU HERE!" He shouts and I put my hands up in defense before squeaking, "Y-Yes, sir..." And I got onto his back, feeling a little embarrassed and watched as he stabbed his swords in and out of the ground while running up again but this time he actually made it. 

"Take that oil!" He shouted victorious, "Now...Let's go kick some pirate ass." And he began running again with me holding on for dear life thinking if I screwed up I'd fly off. 'I'm wondering if he somehow forgot I'm back here...' I looked up over Zoro's head, 'Let's hope Luffy's there already so that Usopp and Nami aren't on their own...' I thought to myself. 

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TO BE CONTINUED...