Another chakram flew through the forest behind them, slicing through the leaves. It was clear their pursuer hadn't given up.
"No time to talk! We need to lose that juggler guy chasing us!" Merry shouted.
*Bang!*
The sharp crack of a gunshot split through the forest air just moments after Merry's urgent shout. His body jerked violently, and he collapsed forward with a grunt of pain. Kaya, still weak and held in his back, tumbled from his grasp.
"Lady Kaya!" Merry's voice was strained, barely holding back the pain. He had been shot.
Before Kaya could hit the ground, Ussop darted forward and caught her, cushioning her fall.
In the distance, standing with one arm extended and a trail of smoke still drifting from the barrel of his pistol, Jango stood smirking. "Now, you can't run anymore, can you?" he said coldly, lowering the weapon.
Merry, lying on his side with blood soaking through his clothes, gritted his teeth and raised his head just enough to lock eyes with Ussop. "Run…!" he wheezed. "Take Lady Kaya and get out of here!"
"M-Merry!" Ussop's voice trembled. He had never seen someone wounded like that right in front of him.
"I know you've got a ship or something, right?" Merry coughed out. "You want to sail? Then take her! Keep her safe!"
Jango walked forward casually, spinning the pistol around his finger with a mocking grin. "So dramatic," he sneered. "And who the hell are you, kid?" His eyes narrowed at Ussop. "You're not part of this. Leave the girl, and I might let you run."
He raised his gun again, pointing it straight at Ussop's chest.
*Bang!*
Another gunshot rang out—but this time, it didn't come from Jango.
"Agh!!" Jango shouted, staggering back. The pistol flew from his hand as he grabbed at his arm, a red stain spreading across his sleeve.
"You—!!" he growled, glaring daggers at Merry, who was still lying on the ground, pistol in hand, barrel smoking. Despite his injury, Merry had managed to pull out his own firearm and land a clean shot.
"You bastard… You shot me! You shot my hand!" Jango raged, stumbling back several paces.
Ussop froze for a second, stunned that the wounded butler had managed to retaliate.
"Go!" Merry yelled again with all the strength he had left. "That was your chance! Run!!"
Ussop hesitated, his eyes flicking between the bleeding Merry and the injured but still dangerous Jango. But he gritted his teeth and made his decision.
"I'll come back for you," he promised under his breath, then turned and sprinted away, carrying Kaya in his arms.
"You there—stop running!"
Jango's voice sliced through the quiet forest like a whip crack, laced with anger and determination. His sharp eyes caught the retreating figures of Ussop and Kaya darting through the underbrush. Without hesitation, he raised his left arm and flung two chakrams in rapid succession.
The spinning blades whirred through the air with deadly speed, glinting in the dappled sunlight.
Ussop heard the distinct slicing sound behind him and instinctively ducked low, clutching Kaya tighter in his arms. One chakram whizzed just above his head, while the other missed by inches, striking a tree trunk with a loud *thunk*. Bark exploded from the impact.
Fuelled by a mix of fear, adrenaline, and sheer survival instinct, Ussop didn't stop to look back. He pumped his legs harder, carrying Kaya through the dense brush with more speed than he knew he had.
"Damn it!" Jango snarled, his frustration boiling over. "That cowardly brat keeps slipping through my fingers!"
He spun around and rushed to retrieve his fallen pistol. As his hand neared the weapon, a sudden *crack* shattered the air—
*Bang!*
A bullet kicked up dirt inches from his feet. Jango's instincts flared as he dropped to a roll, narrowly avoiding the shot. As he tumbled, he snatched the pistol from the ground and came up in a crouch, aiming in one smooth motion.
His eyes found the source—Merry, the butler, still alive and defiant despite the blood staining his clothes. The man's hands trembled slightly, but his grip on the gun remained steady.
"I won't let you pass!" Merry shouted, voice hoarse. "No matter what, I won't let you go after lady Kaya."
"You think you can win a shootout against a pirate?" Jango spat, his voice cold. "Don't make me laugh."
*Bang! Bang!*
They fired at the same time. The shots echoed through the trees.
For a brief moment, everything went still.
Then, with a sharp gasp, Merry stumbled backward and collapsed. His pistol dropped from his hand, sliding across the forest floor.
Jango stood slowly, lowering his smoking weapon. He approached Merry's motionless body with measured steps, his face devoid of sympathy.
"You've got guts," Jango muttered, crouching beside the wounded man. "I'll give you that. A butler willing to throw himself in the line of fire... for a sick girl and a coward with a slingshot."
He examined his own hand, still throbbing from the earlier gunshot. Blood had soaked the sleeve of his jacket. Without ceremony, he pulled out one of his chakrams and sliced a strip of fabric from his coat, wrapping it tightly around his wound.
"You were a nuisance, but I'm not here to kill extras," he said coldly. "Besides, you bought your death wish already. Consider this a reward—I'll let you live... for now."
Jango stood and gave Merry one last look, then turned his gaze toward the trees where Ussop and Kaya had disappeared.
"The girl's still out there," he said to himself. "And my orders are clear—bring her back alive. No more delays."
He adjusted his glasses, tightened the makeshift bandage around his arm, and vanished into the forest, the sound of his boots quickly swallowed by the rustling leaves.
The hunt was still on.
...
Two days later.
The sun beat down mercilessly upon the vast blue sea, its rays bouncing off the surface in shimmering waves. Floating quietly atop the endless waters was a small, battered wooden boat. It rocked gently with the motion of the waves, barely stable enough to carry the two people aboard.
Inside the boat were *Ussop* and *Kaya*.
Kaya, pale and weak, lay slumped against the edge of the boat, her breathing shallow. Her condition had deteriorated over the past two days, and now even opening her eyes took effort. Beside her, Ussop sat quietly, gently wiping sweat from her forehead with a rag he had torn from his own shirt.
"Hold on, Kaya," he murmured softly, his voice strained from fatigue. "We'll see land soon. I'm sure of it."
But even as he spoke those words, Ussop knew they were little more than hope dressed up as certainty. His lips were dry, cracked from dehydration. His limbs ached, and his stomach groaned from hunger. For the past day, he hadn't eaten a single bite.
What little food he had scavenged—dried biscuits and some stale bread he managed to stuff into his pouch before escaping—had all gone to Kaya. Even that was barely enough to sustain her. And worse, they hadn't brought a single drop of fresh water.
"I should've brought water…" Ussop thought bitterly, clenching his fists. The guilt weighed on him far more heavily than the hunger. He looked down at Kaya, whose fragile form seemed to get lighter in his arms with each passing hour. "I'm sorry, Kaya... I should've prepared better."
His throat burned, his eyes stung from the salt and sun, but he forced himself to stay alert. He had to. If he fell asleep now, there was no guarantee either of them would ever wake up again.
Then, suddenly—
"Huh?"
A speck on the horizon.
Ussop squinted, blinking rapidly. Was it just his eyes playing tricks on him? A hallucination brought on by thirst?
No.
It was real. A ship—large, with sails catching the wind—slowly cutting across the ocean.
"A ship!" he gasped, nearly jumping to his feet in the unstable boat. Energy surged through him, fueled by hope alone. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted with all the strength he had left.
"Heeey!! Over here! Help! Please—we need help!!"
He waved both arms frantically, desperate to be seen. "Please, anyone! We're stranded! She's sick!"
For a few agonizing seconds, the ship didn't seem to respond. It continued on its course, indifferent to the tiny boat drifting below.
But then—
The sails began to shift.
The bow turned.
The ship was coming toward them!
Ussop let out a broken laugh, tears stinging his eyes. Relief swept over him like a crashing wave. He turned to Kaya and gently grasped her hand.
"Hang in there, Kaya," he whispered, a trembling smile forming on his dry lips. "We're saved."
As the ship drew closer, its silhouette became clearer. Then, Ussop suddenly saw the pirate flags.
"Oh no… that's a pirate ship!"
Ussop's face turned pale as he squinted at the vessel cutting through the waves. At first, he'd been relieved to see a ship—but now, terror surged through his veins. He recognized the flag, and worse—the man standing at the bow.
"Ehh!? That—that's the glasses guy!" he stammered.
Onboard the pirate ship stood *Jango*, his right hand wrapped in a makeshift bandage. The wound from Merry's bullet had been tended to crudely, but it was far from healed. Still, that didn't stop him from wearing a wide, sinister grin as he leaned over the railing and spotted the two fugitives.
"Well, well…" Jango said with a chuckle, his eyes narrowing with malicious glee. "So this is where you've been hiding all along. No wonder I couldn't find you. But the game's over now."
His voice echoed across the waves, carried by the wind. Ussop didn't waste time listening. His body moved on instinct. He grabbed the wooden paddles with trembling hands and began rowing with all the strength he had.
"Get us out of here!" he cried, panic shooting through every nerve.
"Go after them!" Jango barked to his crew. "Don't let them escape again!"
The pirates quickly scrambled to obey, steering their large ship toward Ussop's tiny boat. However, their vessel was bulky and cumbersome, and the wind wasn't strong enough to give them the speed they needed.
Jango's frown deepened.
"Tch. This is too slow. Fine—sink their boat!" he ordered.
"Aye aye, Captain!" shouted one of the crewmates.
Within moments, a cannon was wheeled to the edge of the deck and aimed directly at Ussop and Kaya's direction. The pirates took their positions, loaded the weapon, and adjusted their sights.
Boom!
A deafening blast rang out as the cannon fired.
"Gyaaaah! We're going to die! I'm gonna die!" Ussop screamed, rowing even faster, his arms flailing with desperation. The cannonball splashed into the sea just a few meters away, sending a wave of seawater crashing into their small boat.
Ussop coughed and shook the water off, his heart racing. "This is insane! They're trying to blow us to bits!"
The pirates reloaded, this time bringing out more cannons.
"Ready… aim… FIRE!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sky roared with the sound of cannon fire. Explosions rang out as the sea around Ussop's boat erupted into geysers. One cannonball screamed through the air, flying straight at them with terrifying speed. It was going to hit—
And then, something intercepted it.
"Rankyaku!"
A sharp sound sliced through the air.
Boom!
Instantly, the cannonball hurtling toward Ussop and Kaya was cleaved clean in half. The two broken halves spiraled off in different directions, crashing harmlessly into the sea with a splash.
But that wasn't the end of it.
The powerful air blade that had cut the cannonball didn't stop there. It surged forward like a shockwave, colliding with and disrupting several more cannonballs that had been fired in a volley. Explosions erupted mid-air as the flying slash scattered them all, throwing the pirate crew on the distant ship into chaos.
"W-What!?" Ussop gaped, mouth hanging open. "We're… we're saved! But who…?"
The terrified sniper turned around on the rocking boat, squinting at the sea behind him. That's when he felt it—
Tap!
A sudden shift in weight rocked the small vessel. Someone had landed behind him.
Ussop spun around and saw a young man standing there casually, as if he'd just stepped onto solid ground instead of a fragile boat floating on the open sea. The stranger had a relaxed posture, his expression calm but confident. His black coat fluttered slightly in the sea breeze, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
"You alright?" the man asked.
Ussop's emotions overwhelmed him all at once.
"Aaaahhh! SAVIOR!!" he wailed, immediately falling to his knees, tears and snot running down his face. "Thank you! Thank you for saving us! I thought we were dead for sure!"
The young man chuckled lightly. "Don't mention it. I just happened to be passing by and saw the two of you in trouble. Figured I'd lend a hand."
The man who had come to their rescue was none other than Monkey D. Zino, the captain of the Silent Orca.
Farther in the distance, his ship—the sleek, black-coated Silent Orca, glided through the waves, heading steadily toward Ussop's boat. Aboard it stood three more figures.
Nami was looking a bit nervous, but stood brave, looking forward. Next, Zoro was calmly leaning on the railing, arms crossed and eyes locked onto the distant pirate ship with an intensity that hinted at violence. Next to him, Alvida grinned as she spun her iron mace slowly in her hand, her posture relaxed but ready for combat.