POWAAAAA.... again, I guess!!!
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Share your agendas here... or you'll find me breathing down on your neck, in your sleep, on your bed.
You do not want that, do you!??
Or are you gae!??
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I did something very small in this chapter, that will cause some massive changes in coming two or three chapters. Remember, Yuji here is not perfect. He's not some all mighty being who knows all the answers of the world. He is a human, just like everyone. He will make mistakes, just like everyone. But he will also learn from those mistakes to improve and be prepared for the future, as this One-Piece world is not the OG one, it is a mix of canon and my own AU.
That's all.
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Attendance Please:
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The weight of Usopp's confession hung in the salty air like an anchor, heavy and unyielding.
After hearing Usopp's words, Yuji said nothing. Instead, he placed a firm hand on the sniper's shoulder, conveying more than any words could express.
They didn't speak after that; they didn't need to.
Instead, they walked quietly around the edge of the village. The morning had not yet decided if it truly wanted to become day. Somewhere behind them, deeper in the trees, Luffy and Zoro were practicing the Observation Haki training that Yuji had instructed them to do. Neither boy complained.
It was 5:15 in the morning, and the world was waking up like old wounds—slowly, painfully, in shades of dark orange and deep red.
The sky stretched above them like a half-painted canvas. The first rays of the sun cut through the darkness like a knife, with light spilled all over the horizon in thin lines.
Yuji and Usopp walked toward the cliff.
The cliff that overlooked the beach.
The ocean spread out before them like an infinitely expanding universe.
Yuji stopped first, and Usopp stopped beside him.
For a few minutes, neither spoke. The waves below performed their same old dance of coming and going, each one pretending it was the first to reach the shore. Gulls flew somewhere in the distance, their cries thin and lonely. The wind carried the scent of salt.
Then Yuji turned around. His foot had just left the grass when Usopp's voice stopped him cold.
"H‑Hey, Yuji, is that Kuro!?"
Yuji blinked once, then twice.
"Huh!?" He turned his head, frowning in confusion. "What!?"
Usopp's arm shot out, his finger trembling as he pointed toward the beach below. "There! Look!"
Yuji stepped up beside him and looked.
There, standing on the sand, was Kuro.
His clothes were still perfect, black butler's attire, sharp and severe even in the early morning light, though his coat was missing. What caught Yuji's attention, however, was his face. It was completely wrapped in bandages—layer upon layer of dirty cloth that concealed everything except the shape of his jaw and the faint, terrible outline of his mouth. His glasses were gone, and his eyes were hidden beneath the gauze.
Yuji's eyes narrowed into slits as he stared at the figure below with a piercing gaze.
"What is he doing down there?" His voice came out lower than he intended. "I thought the beating Luffy gave him would have put him in bed for days, not walking around like this!"
"T‑that's what I thought too!" Usopp's voice cracked on the last word. His hands trembled at his sides.
Neither of them looked away from the beach.
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Down at the beach, Kuro stood motionless like a statue.
His hands were clasped behind his back, the picture of patience and control. Yet his body betrayed him. Every few seconds, his bandaged face twitched—a muscle, a nerve, something beneath the gauze that still remembered pain. Each twitch caused his fists to clench tighter, his knuckles turning white.
Then a man appeared from the trees, walking backward, of all things, with a gait so unnatural it looked as if someone had reversed his film. His hair was blondish gray. His clothes were loud in the worst way: bright colors and patterns that clashed with each other. Red heart-shaped glasses perched on his nose like a challenge.
"Uhyahyahyahya… Long time no see, Captain Kuro!!! Heehee…"
The man spun around, still walking backward, and struck a pose that belonged in a circus.
Then he saw Kuro's face.
His grin faded.
"C-Captain… what happened to your fa—"
Kuro moved faster than a thought.
One moment, his hands were behind his back. The next, they were wrapped around the man's collar, yanking him forward so quickly that the man's heart-shaped glasses nearly flew off. Kuro's voice, when it came, was low and rough.
"Do not call me by that name."
The man's feet barely touched the ground.
"I buried that name three years ago in Shells Town," Kuro spits out the words. "Do you understand me, Jango?"
The man, Jango, was shaking now. His entire body trembled like a tuning fork struck too hard. His eyes were wide behind those stupid glasses, staring at Kuro's bandaged face with the kind of fear you see in nightmares.
"Y-y-y-yes, Cap—I mean, Boss! Loud and clear!"
Kuro held him there a moment longer. Then, with a sound like that of a disappointed father, he let go.
Jango stumbled slightly but caught himself. His hands flew to his collar, adjusting it with fingers that trembled uncontrollably.
"B-but, boss… what actually happened to you?" Jango's voice was high, nervous, and desperate to fill the silence. "Why is your face covered in bandages?"
Kuro clicked his tongue.
"It's all that good-for-nothing Usopp's fault."
"Usopp!?" Jango's head tilted like a confused bird. "Who? The village liar?" His eyes widened. "Did he do this to you?"
Kuro shook his head slowly, the bandages rustling with the movement.
"No. It wasn't him." His voice dropped even lower. "Yesterday, he brought some people to Kaya's mansion to do business with her. One of them did this." His teeth ground together beneath the gauze. "A kid in a straw hat. He caught me off guard and did this to me."
He brought his right hand to his bandaged face and touched it gently.
"I've never been humiliated like this before." His fingers pressed slightly, and he hissed, "Not even being captured by that idiot Morgan humiliated me this much."
"A kid in a straw hat?" Jango muttered, more to himself than to Kuro.
Kuro made a sound that vibrated through the morning air.
Then he looked at Jango, and the temperature on the beach seemed to drop by ten degrees.
"Tell me, how is the plan going?"
Jango snapped to attention so quickly that his spine cracked.
"The plan is going very well, boss!" His voice grew confident, buoyed by good news. "For the past three years, as the new captain of the Black Cat Pirates, I've led raids on many smaller towns and villages, gathered supplies, and even invited other low-level pirates and bandits to join the crew!"
Kuro's head tilted slightly, and the bandages creaked.
"How many people have you gathered so far?"
"Five hundred, boss!" Jango's grin returned, wide and wild. "You won't believe how easy it was to trick them with my hypnosis! I made them join our cause without a single fight!"
"Our?"
The word slipped out like a blade being drawn.
"Our!?"
Kuro repeated it with a low growl.
Jango stepped back, one step, then two. His heel struck a rock, and he nearly fell.
"I—I mean… y-your cause, boss! Yours!"
Kuro studied him for a long moment. The silence stretched taut, like a wire about to snap.
"Hmm… Good."
Jango exhaled deeply.
"Because it looks like we need to carry out the plan much sooner than I thought."
Jango's relief vanished.
"Huh!? But boss, don't we still have a week or two left?" His voice grew higher with every word.
"That was the plan. But…" Kuro began pacing slowly and deliberately, his footsteps leaving deep prints in the sand. "One of the people that liar brought is the famous bounty hunter—demon swordsman Roronoa Zoro."
Jango made a sound like a dying animal.
"I don't know if Roronoa recognized me or not, but I don't want to take any risks and have my three-year plan ruined like that."
"R-R-Roronoa Zoro!?" Jango's entire body seemed to shrink. "I heard he's a ruthless demon in human skin! He likes to cut his prey into pieces and bring only their heads to collect the bounties!" He swallowed so loudly it echoed. "I-If he's here, then what are we going to do, boss!?"
Kuro stopped pacing.
"That's why we need to implement the plan today."
Jango's mouth opened, then closed, and opened again. No sound came out.
"T‑today!? This soon!?"
"Yes." Kuro's voice was flat, final. "I don't want Roronoa and the others to leave the island and report me to the Marines, even though I'm pretty sure they won't have any proof of my true identity." He resumed pacing, now faster, his footsteps agitated. "But I don't want to take any chances. I don't want an unnecessary investigation to start."
His hands emerged from behind his back, clenched tightly at his sides.
"I've come too far from where I once was. I've waited three years for this." He paused again, turning to face Jango with those invisible eyes. "And I will not ruin my plans just because some kids decided to play heroes."
He leaned in close, so close that his bandaged face nearly touched Jango's nose.
"Do you understand me, Jango?"
"Y-yes, boss!" Jango's voice was a squeak.
Kuro pulled back, adjusted his cuffs, and became the butler once again.
"And remember, it should look like the usual, pirates raiding and pillaging, just like pirates do. Steal everything from the village. Kill anyone who gets in your way." His head turned slightly. "But—"
The word hung in the air like an axe poised to strike.
"I want that kid in the straw hat alive."
Said Kuro, anger evident in his voice.
"I will be the one who kills him—for what he did to me," Kuro whispered. "And then I'll kill that pathetic Usopp in front of Kaya. My final act as the pirate captain Kuro." He straightened his back. "Then I'll live the rest of my life in peace, away from piracy."
Jango licked his lips. His eyes darted left and right, as if checking for listeners.
"What about my cut, boss?" His voice was sly now, careful. "And will you also kill that girl, Kaya?"
"You'll get your share, as I promised."
Kuro's bandaged face turned toward the ocean.
"And about Kaya…"
The pause lengthened.
"After you hypnotize her and make her sign all her inheritance over to my name…" He turned back to Jango and smiled beneath the gauze. "Her oh-so-loyal butler… you all can do whatever you want with her."
"After all," Kuro continued, tilting his head with feigned innocence, "pirates are also known for doing whatever they please, aren't they?"
Jango's expression shifted. The fear melted away, replaced by something far more sinister.
"Uhyahyahyahya… indeed boss, indeed!"
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On the cliff, Usopp grasped Yuji's arm.
His grip was crushing.
"No," Usopp whispered. The word came out broken. "No, no, no, no, no—"
Yuji said nothing, his eyes remaining fixed on Kuro and Jango.
Down on the beach, Kuro was still talking.
"This afternoon, attack from the northwest side. There's an empty shore there and a shortcut to the village." His voice was quick and efficient, the voice of a man who had planned this down to the second. "Remember: attack fast before anyone from the village calls the Marines. I'll distract everyone at the mansion."
Jango gave a sloppy, insincere salute.
"Got it, boss."
Then Kuro moved once again.
One moment, he was standing three feet away. The next, his hand was around Jango's collar again, yanking him toward his bandaged face so forcefully that Jango's glasses became crooked.
"Do not fail this, Jango."
The whisper was barely audible.
"Or I'll carve your skin with my own hands."
Jango's whole body shook, and his teeth chattered.
"Y‑y‑y‑yes b‑b‑boss!!"
Kuro held him there for a long, terrible moment. Then he released him with a sound of disgust—"Hmph!"—and turned away.
"This afternoon. I'll be waiting."
He walked away.
Jango stood frozen for several seconds, his hands pressed to his collar as he breathed in short, sharp gasps. Then, without looking back, he ran off in the opposite direction, his moonwalk forgotten, his pride shattered.
The beach was empty once again.
The waves continued to crash.
The sun continued to rise.
"T‑that bastard!!"
Usopp's voice cracked sharply like a whip. His entire body trembled with a mix of anger and fear.
"He wants to destroy the whole village just for his plan!" His fists clenched at his sides, knuckles white. "And what are they going to do with Kaya? What does that mean—pirates do whatever they please!?"
He spun to face Yuji, his eyes wild and desperate.
"Yuji, say something!!"
Yuji remained silent.
His face was a mask, calm and controlled. But behind his eyes, his mind was working hard.
He understood exactly what Kuro had meant for Kaya. He grasped the weight behind those words, the casual cruelty and the calculated horror they conveyed.
He also understood that telling Usopp would break his spirit.
The sniper was already trembling, teetering on the edge. He was barely holding himself together, sustained only by anger, fear, and concern for a girl he had known since childhood. One more push, and he would fall apart.
Yuji took a slow, deep breath and looked Usopp straight in the eyes. His hand found the sniper's shoulder once more, pressing firmly.
"Whatever it is, Usopp…" His voice was steady and calm. "I promise you this."
He squeezed it.
"Nothing will happen to Kaya."
Usopp's breath caught in his throat.
"We will protect her, and everyone in the village." Yuji's gaze never wavered. "Now, come on. We need to tell Luffy and Zoro, then Nami. We need a plan fast, to stop the raid before it starts."
Usopp stared at him for a long moment. His lips parted, then closed, and parted again.
Then, slowly, he nodded.
The motion was shaky and uncertain, but it was a nod.
He followed Yuji back toward the clearing.
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Luffy and Zoro were still enduring the grueling training that Yuji had assigned to them.
Zoro was blindfolded this time, and Luffy swung the branch at him, striking him multiple times while Zoro tried to dodge. A thin layer of sweat covered their foreheads. Neither moved when Yuji and Usopp approached.
'Good,' Yuji thought. 'They're actually focusing.'
But there was no time to wait.
"Stop."
Luffy stopped swinging and looked at Yuji and Usopp, confused. Zoro straightened up and removed the bandana from his eyes.
Then Yuji and Usopp told them everything they had heard from Kuro and Jango.
Every word, every meaning, every terrible and sickening detail.
Luffy listened silently.
His face was unreadable, and his straw hat cast a shadow over his eyes.
Zoro's reaction was quieter and more controlled. He rubbed his chin with his thumb, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.
"We need to come up with something quickly," Zoro muttered.
"Hmm hmm…" Luffy nodded slowly.
"Then let's go wake Nami," Yuji said, already turning toward Usopp's house. "We need a plan, fast."
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They all ran toward Usopp's house.
The morning air rushed past them—cool, sharp, and salty. Usopp stumbled twice but did not fall. Luffy ran in silence, his sandals slapping against the dirt path. Zoro kept pace easily, his hand never leaving his swords. Yuji led the way.
They burst through Usopp's door and found Nami still tangled in the blankets, her orange hair disheveled, her eyes half-closed and angry.
"What," she said. It wasn't a question.
"Pirates are coming," Yuji said. "Five hundred of them this afternoon."
Nami was awake in an instant.
Her eyes widened as Yuji and Usopp filled her in on everything they had heard. She did not interrupt, simply listening carefully with an unreadable expression.
They sat around the dining table, and the tension was thick.
"My first thought was to run and shout around the village that pirates are coming, and for real this time," Usopp said in a hollow voice. He rubbed his forehead, pressing hard as if he could push the thoughts away. "But I know no one will believe me."
Silence fell over the table.
Thick, heavy and pressing down on them.
"But the facts remain the facts," Nami said softly. "Pirates really are coming, aren't they?"
No one answered.
The silence stretched on.
Then Usopp slammed his fist on the table.
The sound cracked through the room like thunder.
"It doesn't matter."
He stood up so quickly that his chair scraped the floor.
"It doesn't matter that no one will believe me." His voice was raw, ragged. "That means it's up to me—Me, to meet those pirates and fight them off, to beat Kuro, to protect Kaya." His chest heaved. "Then I'll have a real story to tell. I may be a liar, but this time, my story will come true."
His voice cracked on the last word.
And then slowly, unwillingly, like water seeping through cracked stone, tears began to roll down his cheeks.
He sniffed, wiped his face with his sleeve, and kept talking.
"Even though people from this village chase me with brooms, call me a stupid liar, and a son of a pirate," his voice trembled, "But this village is my home too."
He looked at them then, Luffy, Yuji, Zoro and Nami, with raw desperation in his eyes.
"I love this village." The words came out like a confession. "I have sweet memories of this place—living with my mom, meeting Kaya for the first time, playing around, and playing tricks on the villagers." A sob escaped him. "I… I have to protect my home, my people, Kaya—everyone."
He sank back into his chair.
He covered his face with his hands.
And cried.
"There's not much time to plan, but I won't let everyone get killed!"
His shoulders shook, and his breath came in ragged gasps. The sound of his crying filled the room, raw, ugly, and real, and none of them looked away.
Luffy didn't look away.
Zoro didn't look away.
Yuji and Nami did not look away.
They watched him break down and cry.
And then—
"You know…"
Zoro's voice cut through the sobbing.
Usopp's shoulders twitched, but he didn't look up.
"In this short amount of time," Zoro continued, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, eyes fixed on the crying sniper with an expression that might have been respect, "I've already seen what kind of person you are, Usopp."
He paused.
"You may be a liar. A coward. A storyteller." A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips. "But…"
The word hung in the air.
"You're a good man, with a noble heart."
Usopp lowered his hands from his face.
His eyes were red and puffy, streaming with tears. Yet, they remained clear as he stared at Zoro with a look of wonder.
Then, Luffy stood up.
Slowly and deliberately, like the way a storm rises.
His hand rose to adjust his straw hat, pulling it down and casting his face in shadow.
"Have you forgotten, Usopp?" Luffy's voice was quiet. "What I told you yesterday?"
He looked straight into Usopp's desperate, tear-streaked face.
"You're now part of my crew."
Usopp's breath caught in his throat.
"And whoever tries to mess with my crew… or the people they care about…" Luffy cracked his knuckles, one by one. The sound was loud in the silence. "Is messing with us."
He smiled.
This time, it wasn't his usual wide, carefree grin. Instead, it was sharper, promising sheer violence.
"Let's do this," Luffy said. "And show them what we're made of."
Yuji chuckled and stood beside his captain. He cracked his neck to one side, then the other, rolling his shoulders like a fighter preparing to enter the ring.
"Whatever you say, Captain."
Zoro smirked and stood up. His hand found the hilts of his swords, one, two, three, adjusting them at his hip.
"Let's cut down some pirates."
"Hmph… Don't forget about me, you idiots."
Nami stood with her hands on her hips. "I'm telling you now," she said, pointing a finger at each of them, "the treasure is all mine."
Usopp looked up at them.
At Luffy, standing like a captain ready for battle.
At Yuji, who was calm and steady.
At Zoro, who was deadly and confident.
At Nami, who looks sharp and clever.
'These people,' Usopp thought. 'These crazy, wonderful, impossible people.'
He stood up.
He wiped his tears with the back of his hand.
He took a breath that felt like the first genuine breath he had taken in years.
"Yeah."
His voice was still shaky, still cracked at the edges. But beneath it, there was something solid.
"Let's go show them who they're messing with."
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Like the chapter, then please share your powerstones with me.
See you in next chapter....