Mecao was a shipwright—the old shipwright who had served the longest at the Navarone Fortress.
He was a jovial man with top-notch shipbuilding skills. In particular, his earnest attitude of treasuring ships as if they were his own life earned him the deep respect of the other shipwrights and Marine soldiers alike.
Of course, this was strictly limited to the Marines within the G-8 Fortress.
"Leave the dock right now?"
Mecao put down the tools in his hands. Standing on the deck of the Going Merry, he looked down from above at a Marine officer draped in a Marine coat and the Marine soldiers lined up behind him.
"Why? I'm very busy right now."
As an old shipwright with a compulsive obsession for repairing ships, Mecao hated nothing more than being interrupted when he was right in the middle of a satisfying repair session.
"This is an order from Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral—Rear Admiral Black Crow."
Commander Jason, leader of the Scavenger Squad, kept a stern, flesh-creased face as he said coldly, "Didn't you hear the alarm just now? The prisoners held in this fortress have broken out. To prevent any of them from stealing a ship and escaping, our Scavenger Squad has been tasked with guarding the docks."
"So to avoid any accidental injuries, unauthorized personnel should leave immediately."
"Unauthorized personnel?" The bearded shipwright barked out a frustrated laugh. "You're actually calling me unauthorized personnel?!"
"Are you not?"
Commander Jason frowned, his voice dripping with arrogance. He glanced at the caravel with its adorably dopey sheep figurehead and snorted. "Furthermore, as a Marine shipwright, you're actually repairing a pirate ship. Talk about degrading yourself!"
"You bastard..."
A throbbing cross vein instantly popped onto Mecao's forehead, and his face turned as dark as the stormy sky above.
He weighed the craftsman's hammer in his hand, intending to jump down and have a "peaceful" chat with this annoying Headquarters Marine. To his surprise, however, the Marine soldiers of the Scavenger Squad suddenly raised the bizarrely shaped weapons in their hands, giving the old shipwright a sudden jolt of alarm.
Fortunately, they weren't aiming at him.
(What's going on?)
Mecao followed the gaze of the others and looked into the distance, only to see three silhouettes walking slowly from the entrance of the dock. In the dim light, they could only make out a vague outline. As they drew closer, the old shipwright and the Marines could finally see their exact appearances.
A man with an exaggeratedly long nose, wearing a pair of cool sunglasses, his face a picture of calm and composure.
A blonde woman who was still holding a parasol despite the dark sky; judging by her pair of lemon-shaped earrings, she seemed to quite like this sour fruit.
A little girl with two pigtails like sheep horns, carrying a small backpack. Her face was somewhat pale, though it was unclear whether she was frightened by the Marine soldiers or just naturally looked that way.
"Who... Who are you people?"
Staring at this bizarre trio, Commander Jason voiced the question that was shared by everyone present.
"That long nose..."
Mecao looked utterly dumbfounded. That iconic long nose allowed the old shipwright to instantly recognize the man's identity. However, what made him incredibly curious was how this guy could just swagger in so openly. Was he treating these Marines as if they didn't exist?
(Isn't he afraid of being caught by the Marines?) A look of worry flickered across the bearded shipwright's face.
Even though the other party was a pirate, Usopp's attitude of treasuring ships was something the old shipwright greatly admired. Mecao firmly believed that someone who cherished ships as much as Usopp did could never be a bad person; otherwise, the upright old shipwright wouldn't have lied to Rear Admiral Alan back then.
"Hmph. I suggest you all put down the weapons in your hands."
Usopp walked unhurriedly at the very front and center of the trio. He spoke flatly to the Marines opposite him, who looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy. His unwavering composure—the epitome of remaining unfazed even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him—made it seem as if the souls of Sherlock and Robin had possessed him, completely different from his usual loud-mouthed, comedic style.
"Otherwise, even if we are on the same side, I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from doing something 'extremely unfriendly.'"
The long-nosed brother's voice was as flat as a cold machine, utterly devoid of any emotion. His casual tone made it sound as though he were speaking of something entirely trivial, yet the chilling edge buried within his words caused several members of the Scavenger Squad to shudder involuntarily.
(This man is extremely dangerous!) This was almost everyone's first impression of Usopp, save for Mecao.
Even though they were equipped with the latest weapons provided by the Falcone family, these Headquarters Marines couldn't feel the slightest sense of security in front of this long-nosed man.
For a moment, the momentum of the hundred or so men in the Scavenger Squad was completely suppressed by Usopp alone!
(This guy's acting skills are truly no joke...)
Miss Valentine nearly burst out laughing as she stared at the Marines who looked as if they were facing a great enemy. She quietly glanced at the strange orange pattern on the back of Usopp's clothes, her expression becoming somewhat subtle.
(But just as that four-eyed bastard said at the beginning, if it weren't for the psychological suggestion from Miss Goldenweek's paint, this guy probably wouldn't have been able to hold his own in a scene like this.)
Colors of Trap — Orange of Courage: Grants someone an overwhelming explosion of courage and self-confidence.
It had to be said that this loli painter's ability was incredibly versatile.
"On the same side?!"
Commander Jason, who had been completely bluffed by the intensely posturing long-nosed brother, was a bit dazed. He swallowed hard, sizing up the unidentified trio from head to toe before focusing his attention on the most conspicuous long nose.
"A long nose... Could it be... Could you be the one Rear Admiral Fred mentioned...?" Commander Jason's pupils dilated suddenly as realization dawned upon him.
"Exactly. I am the one sent to assist your commanding officer this time." Usopp puffed out his long nose, his attitude cold and arrogant.
"As expected! Wow, you guys got here so quickly..."
Commander Jason signaled his subordinates to lower their weapons while stepping forward with a beaming smile. From the looks of it, he didn't seem to harbor the slightest suspicion about whether the other party was an imposter. Should it be said that he truly lived up to being Fred's subordinate? He believed whatever he was told.
Due to the darkness and the dim lighting inside the dock, Mecao couldn't clearly see Jason's expression at that moment. However, the old shipwright was absolutely certain that this fellow's smile must look incredibly hideous.
(What on earth is going on here?) The old shipwright's wrinkled face was filled with bewilderment, but after pondering for a moment, a sudden realization sparked in his mind. He then picked up his tools and resumed his grand undertaking of repairing the ship.
"Rear Admiral Black Crow has instructed us that our Scavenger Squad is to completely follow your orders from now on."
The tall, flesh-creased Marine gave Usopp a military salute. He was also dying of curiosity, because Black Crow had kept everything strictly confidential and hadn't revealed a single detail of this operation to them.
"Tch... What a pointless waste of effort." Usopp showed no appreciation whatsoever. Even through a pair of sunglasses, Jason could still feel the intense look of disdain radiating from him.
It was as if he were looking at a pile of useless trash.
"Uh, that's true. After all, you guys are all 'superhumans' specially trained by the World Government, ahahaha..."
The corners of Jason's mouth twitched slightly with suppressed rage, but he dared not let it show. Based on what he knew, the World Government's intelligence agents were a bunch of bloodthirsty executioners. To ensure the completion of a mission, even civilians and comrades were completely fair game to be eliminated in their eyes!
At the same time, this arrogant and outrageous behavior only made Jason more firmly convinced of the man's identity as a CP agent.
"By the way, a question just crossed my mind."
Jason suddenly realized there was an outsider present. He pointed at Mecao, who was currently repairing the ship, and whispered, "What should we do with that old shipwright?"
"Him?"
Usopp glanced at the bearded shipwright, then at the Going Merry, which had been almost completely overhauled. A flash of gratitude flickered through his eyes for a split second.
"Leave him be for now. Doesn't he love repairing ships? Let him take his time with it. Either way, I will personally 'deal with' him in the end."
"Uh, that would be greatly appreciated then." Jason nodded, silently offering a few seconds of mourning for Mecao in his heart.
"Enough idle chatter."
Maintaining a deadpan poker face, Usopp deliberately mimicked Sherlock by gently pushing up his sunglasses. This action, loaded with a heavy sense of déjà vu, instantly made the expressions of the two women beside him turn extremely bizarre.
"Next, we are going to put on a grand show. To minimize unnecessary friendly fire, I need to distinguish you from the other Marines."
Before Commander Jason could ask any questions, Usopp pointed at Miss Goldenweek, who was currently mixing her paints.
"Therefore, as a first step, let my companion place a 'mark' on each and every one of you for identification purposes."
(A mark?) x N
The members of the Scavenger Squad turned their gazes toward the palette in the loli painter's hand. For some reason, the pitch-black paint on that palette sent an eerie, sinister chill down the spines of these Headquarters Marine soldiers.
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