The four of them were catapulted into the sky. Amidst the terrified screams of Nami and the children, they fell like meteors, crashing into the backyard of the mansion right next to a large tree!
Luffy climbed out of the shallow crater he had made, dusted himself off, and shouted with zero self-awareness, "Smooth landing!"
"The hell it was! That hurt!" Nami groaned, picking herself up, covered in dirt with her hair a mess.
Ronan performed a "carp leap" to spring to his feet, smiling knowingly. "What a strange adventure."
Kaya, who had been listening to Usopp's stories by the second-floor window, turned pale with fright as she saw people falling from the sky. "A-Are you all alright?"
Usopp, perched on a branch, saw it was Luffy's group and quickly explained to Kaya: "It's—It's fine! They've heard of my legendary deeds and came from far away to seek me out! They're the newest members of the Usopp Pirates!"
Luffy stood up, cutting through Usopp's clumsy lie. He looked at Kaya with a serious expression. "No, I'm not a new member! I'm here because I need your help!"
Kaya looked at Luffy, puzzled. "Help? Me?"
Luffy got straight to the point. "Yeah! We need a ship!"
Just then, a man in a crisp, formal suit walked over with a composed expression. Ronan's eyes narrowed, and he instantly became alert—this was Kuro, the early-game boss, a pirate who had lost his ambition in an attempt to "wash his hands clean" of his past.
Kuro used his palm to push his circular glasses up his nose, a flash of displeasure in his eyes. "This is quite troublesome. You've trespassed into the courtyard. What exactly are you doing here?"
Luffy looked at him curiously and asked bluntly, "Who's that guy?"
Kaya looked at Kuro, her eyes showing a hint of unease and anxiety. "Th-That... these people are..."
Kuro's movements were refined but carried an undeniable air of command. He pushed his glasses up again. "There is no need to speak further. I will listen to your explanation later, Miss Kaya. For now, please leave!"
Luffy ignored the eviction entirely. "Like I said, we want a ship!"
Kuro's expression didn't change, his voice cold and arrogant. "No." He turned his gaze to Usopp, who was still hiding in the tree, a cold sneer playing on his lips. "Usopp. I've heard rumors about you. You're quite famous in this village."
Usopp, hearing what he thought was praise, immediately grew boastful. "Is that so! You can call me Captain Usopp!"
Kuro's face darkened, and he let out two contemptuous chuckles. "Captain, is it?" His tone suddenly turned freezing and cruel. "I've also heard about your father."
Usopp's face went pale, his grin freezing. "What?"
Kaya looked at Kuro urgently, trying to stop him. "Please, stop talking!"
Kuro ignored her completely, his voice dripping with humiliation and mockery as he struck Usopp's sore spot. "You are nothing more than the son of a filthy pirate. I wouldn't be surprised by anything you do. However, I must ask you to stop approaching our young lady."
Usopp's expression became incredibly grim. He clenched his fists, seething. "Who are you calling filthy?"
Kuro ignored his rage, pushing his glasses up with an air of superior condescension. "You and the young lady live in two different worlds. Is your goal money? Tell me, how much do you want?"
Kaya finally lost her temper, glaring at Kuro. "You've gone too far! Apologize to Usopp right now!"
"Why should I apologize to such a barbaric man, Miss Kaya?" Kuro treated her anger as irrelevant, his voice cold as he stated his "facts." "I am merely speaking the truth. I truly pity you, Usopp. You must hate him, don't you? Hate that bastard father of yours who abandoned his family, left the village, and valued treasure more than his own flesh and blood!"
Sitting nearby, Ronan watched Kuro's self-righteous speech and then looked at Usopp's explosive fury. Surprisingly, Ronan felt that Kuro actually had a point. From a conventional moral standpoint, every word was true. Yasopp had abandoned his family, and Usopp was the pathetic child left behind. Kuro was simply using the cruelest language possible to dig up the pain buried in Usopp's subconscious.
But Usopp clearly couldn't stand anyone criticizing his father like that—Yasopp was his only pride and his spiritual pillar.
"I told you... stop badmouthing my dad!" Usopp roared.
With that cry, Usopp lunged from the tree, landing firmly on the ground as he glared at Kuro with eyes full of hatred. Kuro, looking at the boy who had lost all reason to fury, let out a playful, mocking laugh as if he held all the cards.
"Why so emotional?" Kuro asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "In times like these, you should use that famous lying talent of yours. For instance, you could lie and say your father was a traveling merchant, or simply claim that you aren't related to him by blood at all..."
Usopp's dignity was utterly crushed. Unable to take another word, he screamed, "SHUT UP!" and swung a desperate, powerful punch that connected squarely with Kuro's face.
Kuro was knocked to the ground. Wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, he didn't show anger; instead, he let out a cold, condescending chuckle. "See? Resorting to violence immediately. Like father, like son."
Usopp stood over him, eyes bloodshot and voice hoarse. "Shut your mouth! I have always been proud that my father is a pirate! Proud that he is a brave warrior of the sea! You're right—I love to brag, but I have the blood of a pirate in my veins! That pride is the one thing about me that isn't a lie! I am the son of a pirate!"
Kuro propped himself up, blood still trickling from his lip, but his sneer only grew sharper. "A pirate is a 'brave warrior of the sea'? What a desperate attempt at logic. However, you were right about one thing: you certainly inherited that barbaric lineage." He stared at Usopp with pure disdain. "First, you lie whenever you please, then you resort to violence the moment you're angry, and finally—you approach a young lady just to get your hands on her fortune!"
"You're lying!" Usopp shouted, trying to defend himself. "I'm only—"
Kuro cut him off, refusing to give him an inch. "As for why you would harbor such ill intentions, the simple fact that your father is a pirate is reason enough!"
Usopp couldn't take it anymore. He lunged forward again, grabbing Kuro by the collar and raising his fist high. "Haven't you said enough?!"