WARNING!!!! WARNING!!!! WARNING!!!!
This chapter contains some dark content.
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Truth is, this is my first time writing something like this.
And I've not gone too much in detail into that, as it was already quiet disturbing for me.
Other than that.... This chapter is the beginning of Usopp's character arc.
He needed some character development, so I gave him some usual MC character development package (Griffith special).
Don't worry, I am not going to turn him into an IMO.
He will still be Usopp, but more serious and sharper.
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Count how many 'Then' or 'And then' are there in the chapter.
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Attendance Please:
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Zoro fell face-first onto the sandy ground and groaned.
"Argh!!!! Fuck, it hurts like hell!" he muttered, tasting salt and iron on his tongue.
The remaining Black Cat Pirates stepped back, their shadows stretching long in the afternoon light.
"H-he beat them!!!" one pirate muttered, his voice cracking like that of a boy half his age.
"The Meowban brothers… he beat them too!!"
"M-monsters!!! All of them are monsters!!"
"I don't want to fight anymore!"
The whispers spread among the pirates like ripples in a pond. They glanced at Zoro, then at Luffy, who stood grinning with blood on his knuckles. Finally, they looked up at Usopp on the slope, still aiming his explosive pellets with hands that had finally stopped shaking.
It was over.
They had been five hundred strong—five hundred. It was supposed to be an easy job: just routine pillaging and looting.
But now, more than half of them had fallen. Only about a hundred remained standing. That should still be enough to win, one hundred men against five children.
But their courage was gone. Any fight they had left in them had died on the sand.
"I-I'm leaving!!" one pirate whispered.
"Y-yeah, me too!" said another.
They began to step back slowly, carefully, none of them turning around. Turning around meant exposing your back, and exposing your back invited more trouble.
From the top of the slope, Nami shouted, "OH HELL NO!!!! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!?? I STILL HAVE TREASURES TO LOOT FROM YOU!!!"
The pirates flinched as if her voice had struck them. They stumbled backward, their weapons clattering onto the beach.
"Y-y-y-you can have it all!!"
"Y-yeah sister, take everything."
"P-please just let us go!!!"
"I-I promise I'll quit being a pirate and become a saint!!"
"Y-yeah, me too! I'll never even think about pirates again!"
Just like that, the pirates began begging for mercy and promising to change. One of them, a large man with a scar across his nose, was already on his knees, pressing his forehead to the sand.
Luffy looked at them, tilting his head. He couldn't understand why anyone would be afraid of a few broken bones and some knocked-out teeth.
Up on the slope, Usopp's mouth fell open wide.
Nami huffed, "Don't call me sister! I'm not your sister!" She then turned to Yuji, who was watching the begging pirates with a mixture of amusement and confusion.
"Heh!! They're grown men... and now look at them, begging kids for mercy! Life really does give you surprises," Yuji said, though his eyes were not laughing.
Nami tapped his arm. "Hmmm… what is it, Nami!??"
She pouted. "Did you forget? You said I could take their treasures! So help me!!"
"Oh…" Yuji nodded. He looked up at Usopp. "Usopp. Stay here and watch them!!"
Then, without warning, he hoisted Nami over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"KYAAAAAHH!!! H-Hey, what are you doing!? Put me down!!!" She kicked at the air.
"What!?? You want to slip on the oil and break your back?!"
Nami shut her mouth.
Then he leaped down the slope and landed next to Luffy with a soft thud. He gently set Nami down on the beach. "There—"
Nami huffed, her cheeks flushed. "Don't you ever do that again!"
Yuji chuckled softly and ruffled her hair.
"D-did he just jump all the way from the top?!" a pirate whispered.
"Another monster!"
"S-sir, please, let us go, and we'll do anything you want!"
Yuji looked at them. On one hand, these pirates had come to loot Usopp's village. They would have burned it, killed its people, and taken everything. For that alone, he should beat them senseless, leave them broken beside their friends.
However, on the other hand, they were genuinely frightened now. They wanted nothing to do with Kuro's evil plan and were even willing to hand over their treasures to Nami without further resistance.
'Well,' he thought, 'I'm not a judge or a saint. And if they're ready to do what we say, then why stop them?'
Yuji cleared his throat. "Fine, just hand over your treasures!"
The pirates nodded in unison and scrambled toward the ships to gather everything.
"Well, there goes that," Yuji mumbled. He looked over at Luffy, who had wandered over to Zoro's side and was poking him with a stick.
"Oi, Zoro! You good?" Luffy asked, poking him again.
Zoro, still lying face down, swatted the stick away. "Stop it, you idiot!"
"Shishishishishi…" Luffy chuckled, then leaned back. "Well, looks like everything went fine!"
"DON'T JINX IT, YOU IDIOT!!!" Nami shrieked.
And then—
A footstep was heard.
It came from the side cliff where Jango had been blown away, slow and deliberate.
Kuro finally appeared, looking down at the unconscious hypnotist, whose body was covered in burn marks.
The pirates who had been carrying treasure for Nami froze in place.
Treasure sacks and boxes slipped from their hands as their legs began to tremble.
"C-c-c-captain… Kuro!" one managed to say.
"W-w-we're done for!!"
"H-He'll kill us all!"
At the top of the slope, Usopp's blood ran cold. 'Oh no… he's here!!'
Yuji stood next to Nami and gently moved her behind him.
Luffy looked at Kuro and stepped in front of Zoro, shielding him.
Kuro stared at Jango for a long moment. Then, like a man crushing a bug, he kicked the hypnotist hard in the face.
"Wh-what!??—" Jango groaned, waking up. He looked around in confusion and then looked up.
Kuro stood over him, his face covered in bandages, with only his eyes visible.
"C-c-captain… I-I-I…" Jango gulped, shaking so hard that his teeth clicked.
Kuro twisted his left wrist and glanced at his watch. "Hmmm… it's past 12 p.m., Jango. It seems you're having trouble following my plan."
He looked around, at the fallen pirates, the frightened survivors, and the children who had done this to his crew.
His gaze shifted to Luffy, then to the fallen Zoro, followed by Yuji and Nami behind him, and finally to Usopp on the slope.
Kuro's jaw tightened. He kicked Jango again, harder. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?"
The waves roared like thunder in the silence.
Jango coughed blood onto the sand. "C-c-captain!!! I-It's those kids... they're the ones who ruined everything!"
"Is that so!?" Kuro replied quietly. He bent down until his face was inches from Jango's. "Is this what the pirates of the Black Cat have come to? Losing to a bunch of no-name kids!?"
He pointed his bladed gloves at Jango's throat. "Tell me, Jango, where did it go wrong? You had five hundred pirates under your command, FIVE HUNDRED! And now here you are, defeated by five kids!"
He straightened up and turned to the other pirates. "And you weaklings… can't even do one job properly!"
He stepped toward them, and they stepped back.
"C-captain… we can expla—"
Kuro vanished.
He appeared before the speaking pirate like a ghost, and before anyone could blink, his bladed gloves pierced the man's chest. Blood bubbled from the pirate's lips, and his eyes widened in shock.
"I don't need weaklings like you anymore…" Kuro whispered into the dying man's ear. He pulled out his blades and looked at the rest of his crew. "…let's clean up the pests!"
He bent down slightly and began to sway, a strange, leaf-like motion that seemed to blur his form.
The pirates saw it.
"N-no… not that!"
"H-he's really going to kill us!"
"R-run!!! RUNNNN!!!"
They bolted toward the ships, but it was too late, Kuro had vanished.
Claw marks appeared in the air, slicing through flesh and bone. Blood sprayed in vivid red arcs. Kuro moved everywhere and nowhere at once, a black blur of destruction.
Yuji grabbed Nami and jumped back to safety, holding her tightly.
The pirates were cut to pieces, arms severed from shoulders, legs from torsos, heads from necks. Screams filled the air, then gurgles, and finally silence.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Body parts lay scattered on the beach like scraps from a butcher.
Yuji watched with a deep frown. 'Just as I thought… this is Shave, one of the Six Powers. But Kuro can't control where he's going—he just speeds up and hopes. It's a weak version of the move. Still deadly. Still terrible. But sloppy.'
He prepared to step in, to stop the killing before more blood soaked into the sand.
Then he felt it.
Nami's fingers gripped his shirt so tightly that her knuckles turned white. He looked down at her face. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, fixed on the slaughter. Her lips moved silently.
"B-big bro… p-please don't leave me!" she whispered, burying her face in his chest.
Yuji looked at the frightened girl in his arms, then at Kuro, who was still killing his own men, and finally at Luffy, who stood at the edge of the fight with his fists clenched and his eyes hidden beneath his straw hat.
Luffy stepped forward.
Slowly and deliberately.
He walked toward the bloodshed. Claw marks began to appear on his body as well—thin red lines on his arms, chest, and cheeks. His clothes started to tear, but he kept moving forward.
He stopped in the center of it all.
The blur that was Kuro rushed past him repeatedly, leaving fresh cuts on Luffy's rubber body. But Luffy didn't flinch. He simply stood there, breathing slowly, his eyes half-closed.
And then—
BAM
His fist struck something solid. Kuro came flying out of the blur, tumbling across the sand.
"GYHAAAA—"
Kuro rolled and finally came to a stop on his hands and knees.
The few pirates who had climbed the ship's ropes froze, staring in shock.
"H-he hit him!!"
"H-how did he do that!??"
Kuro groaned as he pushed himself up. The bandages on his face had come loose, revealing the scarred, pale skin beneath, like a wax mask left too close to a fire.
"How!??" Kuro muttered in his raspy voice. "How did you see me!!?? HOWWWW!??"
But Luffy didn't answer. He simply stared at Kuro with bloodshot eyes filled with rage.
"You're no pirate." Luffy's voice was low and calm, but everyone heard him. "You don't deserve to be called a pirate captain. You kill your own crew without a second thought. You're a disgrace."
Kuro's entire body went stiff. His jaw clenched so tightly that his teeth squeaked.
"AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT BEING A PIRATE!?" he screamed. "YOU'RE JUST A KID WHO DOESN'T KNOW HOW THE WORLD WORKS! WHO THINKS THIS IS A GAME!?"
He straightened up, his ruined face twisted with hate. "I'VE BEEN A PIRATE MOST OF MY LIFE!! I'VE SEEN THINGS YOU CAN'T IMAGINE!! DONE THINGS YOU CAN'T DREAM OF!!! AND NOW I JUST WANT TO LIVE IN PEACE, AWAY FROM PIRACY… SO WHO ARE YOU TO MESS UP MY PLANS!!?? TELL ME… WHO ARE YOU!??"
Luffy lifted his head, his eyes burning with intensity.
"I AM MONKEY D LUFFY!!! THE MAN WHO'S GOING TO FIND THE ONE PIECE AND BECOME THE KING OF THE PIRATES!!! DON'T FORGET MY NAME… YOU FAILURE OF A PIRATE!!!"
The words hung over the beach like a blanket, and even the waves seemed to pause.
Kuro began to shake with rage. His body trembled, and his breath came in ragged gasps. His face contorted into something barely human.
"Why you…" He bent into a crouch. "You want to be King of the Pirates!? Then let me show you what real pirates do!"
He launched himself at Luffy, faster than ever before. The air screamed as he became a black blur, bouncing off the ground, rocks, and even empty space.
But Luffy did not panic.
He closed his eyes, letting his anger fade into something quieter.
His mind became calm, just as Yuji had taught him.
He could feel everything: the air moving around Kuro, the groans of wounded pirates, Zoro's faint breathing, the waves, and the crabs scurrying away from the fight.
Everything.
Then he turned and caught Kuro's bladed gloves with his bare hands.
Metal screeched against rubber.
"Wha—" Kuro's eyes went wide.
"Too slow," Luffy said. "Yuji is much faster than you."
He snapped all ten blades with a single squeeze. Then he yanked Kuro toward him and headbutted him in the face.
CRACK.
Kuro staggered back, blood pouring from his already crooked nose. But Luffy pulled him forward again and punched him in the chin, an uppercut that lifted the pirate captain into the air.
Then Luffy threw his arms back, stretching them farther than they normally could.
"GUM-GUM: GATLING!!!"
His hands became a blur, a relentless storm of fists hammering into Kuro again and again.
"AAAHHHHHHHH!!"
Kuro's scream echoed across the beach as he flew toward the forest, spinning wildly until he crashed through the trees and vanished.
CRASH! THUD! CRACK!
Luffy's arms snapped back into place. He dusted off his hands and glanced at the remaining pirates.
"Anyone else?"
The pirates didn't respond. They simply turned and fled, boarding the ships with frantic hands, cutting ropes, and raising sails. Within minutes, the ships pulled away, shrinking until they were mere specks on the horizon.
Luffy huffed and walked back toward Zoro.
Yuji looked around at what remained. Bodies covered the beach, some still groaning, some unconscious, and others killed by Kuro's blades. The sand was stained red in places. Pieces of men lay scattered like broken dolls.
He sighed. "What a mess!"
Then he looked down at Nami and gently patted her head. "It's okay, Nami. It's over."
Nami slowly lifted her face from his chest and looked around. Her eyes fell on a severed hand lying in the sand, its fingers still twitching. She gagged and covered her mouth.
Luffy came over, carrying Zoro on his back like a sack of potatoes.
"So, what now?" Luffy asked.
Yuji hummed as he looked at the mess. "The cleanup is going to be tough, but I hope the Marines can help with it!"
Then he turned toward the top of the slope and found it empty.
"Huh!?? Where's Usopp!?"
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A few minutes earlier—
When Kuro was cutting down his own crew, Usopp's gaze shifted to the spot where Jango had been lying.
The hypnotist had disappeared.
"What!??" Usopp muttered, his stomach twisting, as if sensing something was wrong.
He cast one final glance at the beach, at Luffy standing amid the carnage, at Yuji shielding Nami, then turned and sprinted back toward the village, his heart pounding in his ears.
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Kaya was running down the forest path away from the mansion.
She didn't know where she was going; she only knew she couldn't stay in that house for another second, not with the images haunting her mind: the bodies of her servants, her maids, Merry.
She didn't know who had done it or why, but she couldn't take it anymore, the silence, the stillness, the smell of blood that seemed to follow her no matter how fast she ran.
She needed to find someone, Klahadore, Usopp, anyone. She needed someone to hold her and reassure her that everything would be okay.
She stumbled upon Carrot, Onion, and Pepper—the three boys who always followed Usopp, huddled beneath a large oak tree.
"Huh!?? Miss Kaya!? What are you doing here?" asked Onion.
"Weren't you supposed to be in your mansion?!" Carrot said.
"Are you looking for Captain Usopp?" Pepper asked.
Kaya looked at their small, confused faces, and something inside her shattered.
She fell to her knees and began sobbing, big, heavy sobs that shook her entire body. Tears streamed down her cheeks and dripped onto the forest floor.
The three boys froze, then rushed to her side. Small hands patted her back, and small voices tried to comfort her.
"Miss, what happened? Why are you crying?"
"Is something wrong? Tell us."
"Yeah, we'll help you!"
But Kaya couldn't speak. She sobbed harder, clutching her dress with pale fingers.
Just then—
"There you are!"
The raspy voice came from behind them. Jango limped out of the trees, his burned body moving in jerky, uneven steps.
The boys looked up, their eyes widening in surprise.
"W-Who are you!?" Carrot asked, stepping back.
"Y-Yeah, stay away… you freak!" Onion said, his voice cracking.
Kaya looked up at Jango through her tears. His face was covered with burns and bruises, and his eyes held a wild, desperate expression.
"You… you're the one the boss wanted…" Jango said, breathing hard. "…if I can still make you sign those papers… he will forgive me…"
"Wh-What papers?!" Kaya whispered.
"No time to waste!" Jango pulled out a small chakram and held it between his fingers. He rushed toward them.
"KYAAAHHHH!!!" the boys screamed. They grabbed Kaya's arms and began pulling her back.
"MISS KAYA, RUN!!!" they shouted, and the four of them ran into the forest.
"WHERE… ARE YOU… GOING!?" Jango yelled, chasing after them. He threw one of his chakrams.
It spun through the air and cut into Kaya's left leg.
"AHHHH!!!" she screamed and fell, crashing onto the forest floor. Blood soaked through her dress.
The boys tried to pull her up. Carrot grabbed one arm, Onion grabbed the other, and Pepper pushed from behind.
"Miss, we need to run! Please get up!" Carrot pleaded, tears already streaming down his cheeks.
"I-I can't… my leg… it hurts…" Kaya gasped between sobs. She looked at the boys, their faces filled with fear. "Y-you three… run! Get out of here!"
The boys hesitated, their small bodies trembling and their eyes wide with fear.
But then something in their faces changed, something grew harder.
"W-we can't leave you like that!" Onion said.
"Y-Yeah, you're the captain's one and only friend! And if something happens to you—" Pepper started.
"—then how can we face him?" Carrot finished.
A small fire ignited within those three little chests, a fire that was not about size or strength but entirely about heart.
They stepped forward, their legs shaking and their hands trembling. Yet, they stood before Kaya, their small bodies blocking her path to Jango.
Jango stopped. He stared at the three boys with disbelief and then with disgust.
"So, now some snot-nosed kids are going to stop me…!" He gripped his chakram so hard that the blades cut his own palm. "…it doesn't matter. I'm already in a bad mood…"
He lunged at them like a wild animal.
The boys scattered, running in circles around him, shouting and screaming, which confused his injured senses. Pepper threw himself at Jango's leg and bit down hard.
"AAAHHHHHH!!! LET GO, YOU LITTLE BRAT!!!"
But Carrot was already climbing onto Jango's back, grabbing his hair and pulling it.
"AAAAHHH… MY HAIR!!!"
Then Onion picked up a rock the size of his head and threw it with all his strength.
The rock struck Jango in the groin with a solid thud.
Jango's eyes bulged, and his mouth opened in a silent scream. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his groin as his face turned purple.
The boys stepped back, panting heavily.
"W-we did it!" Pepper whispered.
"We beat the bad guy!" Onion said.
"And saved Miss Kaya!" Carrot added.
The bushes rustled as Usopp burst through them, his face flushed and his breath ragged. He had run all the way from the beach, and his legs felt like lead.
He took in the scene: Kaya was on the ground, bleeding from her leg, while the three boys stood over a writhing Jango.
"CAPTAIN!!!" the boys shouted, their faces lighting up.
Usopp rushed to Kaya's side and knelt down. "Are you okay?" He frantically checked her for injuries.
Kaya looked at him, at his worried eyes and trembling hands, and threw her arms around him. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.
"WAAHHHAAHHHH!!"
Usopp's arms wrapped around her slowly and gently. He patted her back with trembling hands. "H-Hey, it's okay! I'm here now!"
"Sniff—everyone… everyone in the mansion is dead! Even Merry... they're all gone!" Kaya's words came out in broken fragments between sobs.
Usopp and the boys stood still.
"Wh-what!??" Usopp whispered.
Kaya told them how she had found the bodies her maids, her servants, and Merry, lying in a pool of his own blood. She described it all in a hollow, shaking voice that made the boys' faces go pale.
Usopp said nothing; he simply held her tighter.
Then he took his handkerchief and tied it around her leg to stop the bleeding. He gently lifted her, helping her stand by supporting her with his shoulder.
"Kaya… we need to get back to the others!" he said.
"Others!??" She looked up at him, confused.
Usopp nodded. "Things happened, and you need to know the truth—"
"CAPTAIN LOOK OUT!!!" the boys screamed.
SLICK.
Something pierced Usopp from behind.
He looked down. A long, broken blade protruded from his stomach just below his ribs.
He coughed, and blood splattered onto Kaya's shoulder.
He turned his head. Kuro stood behind him, his bandages removed, his face drenched in blood. His eyes burned with wild hatred.
"How?" Usopp croaked. "I thought... Luffy... would've beaten you..."
Kuro twisted the broken blades in Usopp's back. "Children," he hissed, "should learn not to turn their backs on a dying man."
"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Usopp screamed.
"You…" Kuro's voice dripped with venom. "…son of a bitch… you ruined everything!"
Kaya screamed, "NO!!! USOPP!!!" She looked at Kuro with terror and confusion. "K-Klahadore… what are you doing?! What's happening?!"
"SHUT UP, BITCH!!!" Kuro snarled.
Then the three boys charged at Kuro, screaming battle cries that sounded more like squeaks. "NOOOO… LEAVE OUR CAPTAIN ALONE, YOU MONSTER!!!"
Usopp reached for them. "C-carrot… Onion… Pe—…" Blood bubbled from his lips. "…no…"
Kuro sneered. With one swift kick, the boys were sent flying backward, crashing into trees before slumping to the ground, motionless.
"I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully…" Kuro whispered into Usopp's ear. "…but first—" He looked at Kaya. "—I'm going to make you suffer."
He pulled out the blades. Usopp collapsed to the ground.
"JANGO!!! GET UP, YOU PATHETIC WEAKLING!!"
Jango pushed himself up on trembling limbs.
"B-boss!!!??"
Kuro pointed at Usopp. "Pin him down and force his eyes open. I'm going to give him a show he'll never forget."
Jango dragged himself toward Usopp and drove his knee into the sniper's back, directly on the stab wound. Usopp screamed. Jango grabbed Usopp's head and forced his eyes open, his fingers digging into his cheeks.
Kuro turned toward Kaya.
She stumbled backward, dragging her injured leg. "K-Kla—ha—dore!!! P-please, stop!" Her foot caught on a rock, and she fell. She tried to crawl away, but there was nowhere to go.
Kuro was already on top of her. He removed his bladed gloves, and his bare hands grasped Kaya's face, squeezing her jaw.
"A-rgh!!! sniff—p-please!! D-don't!!!"
He dragged her toward Usopp, the pinned, bleeding sniper whose eyes were forced open, able only to watch.
Then Kuro grabbed the collar of Kaya's dress.
RIP.
The fabric tore down the middle. Kaya screamed, a sound that seemed to come from somewhere far away. Kuro kept tearing her dress, her skirt. He stripped her naked in the middle of the forest, under the sunlight, while Usopp watched, screamed, and could do nothing.
"KURRROOOOOOOO!!! YOU BASTARD!!!"
Jango punched the stab wound on Usopp's back, causing the sniper's screams to turn into choking sounds.
Kuro looked down at Kaya's naked body, her tears, her trembling, her terror, and licked his lips.
"If I can't have what I want… then I'll take something else."
He grabbed her breast, squeezed it, and twisted her nipples.
Kaya screamed.
"P-please… sniff… Klahadore… sniff… I-I looked up to you as an older brother… w-why are you doing this!?"
Kuro laughed, a wet and ugly sound. "I was never your brother." He leaned close to her face, his breath hot and foul, and licked her tear-stained cheek. "Do you know how your parents died? It was me. A little poison in their wine, and bam—heart attack. Simple."
Kaya's sobs grew louder and deeper, the kind that come from a place beyond grief and fear, where the soul simply gives up.
Kuro slapped her across the face. "Shut up! I don't want to hear your pathetic cries—"
His hand moved down her stomach, reaching her crotch.
"—I want to hear something else."
His fingers entered her.
"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
"YESSS… THIS IS IT… THIS IS WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR!!!"
He began unbuckling his belt, then pulled down his pants and his underwear.
"This is going to be so much fun!"
Usopp watched helplessly. He could do nothing. His body was broken. His friend was being violated before his eyes. The boys were unconscious. Somewhere, in a distant corner of his mind, he realized he was crying.
Tears rolled down his cheeks and dripped onto the forest floor.
And then—
'Remember, Usopp. Life will give you one moment to become what you were always meant to be. It's up to you: will you seize that moment, or let it slip away?'
He remembered Yuji's words.
Usopp's eyes sharpened with focus.
"GYAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
The scream that tore from his throat seemed to shake the trees. Despite the pain, he shifted his left hand back and reached for Jango's face.
Jango tried to pull away, but Usopp's fingers found his nose, slipped into his nostrils, and twisted.
CRACK.
"AHHHHH!!!" Jango's hands flew to his face, and his knee lifted off Usopp's back.
Usopp turned and drove his thumbs into Jango's eye sockets.
SQUELCH.
Wet and warm, the sound of tissue tearing.
Jango screamed, a high, thin sound that faded into gurgling as blood began to seep from the holes where his eyes had once been.
Usopp grabbed the chakram from Jango's belt. Without thinking, he threw it immediately.
The chakram spun through the air. It struck a tree and rebounded, then hit a branch and rebounded again. It changed direction in ways that shouldn't have been possible.
And it buried itself in Kuro's right eye.
"AAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
Kuro staggered backward, his hands flying to his face as blood poured between his fingers. He released Kaya and stumbled away, screaming.
Usopp shoved Jango aside and sprang to his feet. He leapt at Kuro, tackling him to the ground, away from Kaya, who lay shaking and naked.
He pinned Kuro to his back. Kuro's hands came up, grabbing Usopp's throat and squeezing tightly.
Usopp couldn't breathe, but he didn't need to. Not yet.
He grabbed the chakram still lodged in Kuro's eye socket and pulled it out.
SQUELCH.
And then he started hitting him.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The chakram rose and fell, rose and fell. Each strike cut deeper into Kuro's face. Flesh gave way to bone; bone gave way to fragments. Fragments gave way to mush.
Usopp didn't stop.
Kuro's grip loosened, and his hands fell away. Yet, Usopp continued to strike.
Blood sprayed onto Usopp's face. Kuro's right eye socket caved in, his skull cracking as brain matter oozed onto the forest floor.
Still, Usopp did not stop.
The chakram cut into his palm so deep that he could see white beneath the red. But he didn't care. The only thing that mattered was protecting Kaya. The only thing that mattered was ensuring this monster never touched her again.
Kuro's body went limp, and his remaining eye stared blankly into nothingness.
Before he took his last breath, his lips moved, forming one word: "M-monster…"
Usopp kept hitting repeatedly.
He didn't realize that Kuro was dead. He didn't hear the word. He just kept hitting, over and over again.
Ten minutes or maybe more. He couldn't tell.
Finally, the chakram slipped from his bloodied fingers and clattered to the ground.
Usopp stood up on trembling legs.
He looked up at the sky. The afternoon sun shone brightly, illuminating his blood-soaked face.
His hands hung at his sides, dripping with blood. His breath came in ragged, painful gasps.
Behind him, someone was sobbing and calling his name.
He turned around.
Kaya was huddled against a tree, trying to cover herself.
She looked up at Usopp's blood-soaked figure in fear.
"K—ay—a!!" Usopp muttered in a hoarse voice.
She flinched at the sight of his face.
Because right now, he didn't look like the Usopp she knew, the one who always lied to make her happy. No, the Usopp standing in front of her looked like a god of war who had just declared his vengeance on the world.
And then he fell face-first onto the ground, all his energy drained after everything that had happened.
"USOPP!!!"
That was the last thing he heard before losing consciousness.
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Things had happened too fast for Usopp.
But don't worry, I'll explain it in next chapter about how Luffy and other didn't arrived on time.
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Like the chapter, then please share your powerstones with me.
See you in next chapter....