In the opulent bedroom of the mansion, a sliver of normalcy tried to assert itself against the encroaching chaos. Kaya was examining a pair of exquisitely crafted spectacles, their frames thin and elegant.
"They're perfect, Merry," she said with a weak smile to the sheep-like servant. "I hope Klahadore likes them. A three-year anniversary present, to thank him for his loyal service." The dramatic irony hung thick and heavy in the air.
Meanwhile, in the village below, that loyalty was being repaid with desperation and rejection. Usopp was running from house to house, his voice hoarse from shouting.
"Please, you have to listen! Pirates are coming! Klahadore is their captain!"
But every door was slammed in his face. Every window was shut. He was met with angry shouts and thrown vegetables. "Get lost, you liar!" "We've had enough of your jokes for one day!" He finally fled, his heart heavy with failure.
At the base of the cliff, Luffy was finally awake, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Nami, Zoro, and the three boys of the Usopp Pirates were all staring at him.
"You're alive!" Tamanegi cried with relief.
"Of course I am," Luffy said, yawning. "Why wouldn't I be?" He looked around. "Hey, last thing I remember, I was on top of the cliff, looking at a shiny ring…"
Nami quickly filled him in on the horrific plot they had overheard. As Luffy recounted his side, confirming the details of Kuro's plan, the faces of the three boys went from relief to sheer, unadulterated terror.
"A-assassination?" Piiman stammered.
"Captain Kuro? The real one?!" Ninjin shrieked.
"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" Tamanegi screamed.
Their courage, which had been so strong moments before, completely evaporated. The reality of facing a legendary pirate crew was too much. They turned and fled into the forest, screaming apologies and vowing to never play pirates again.
Luffy just watched them go. "Huh. They're fast." His stomach then let out a massive rumble. "Man, I'm hungry. I wonder if the butcher's shop is still open? I should buy some meat before we all get killed tomorrow."
Nami and Zoro could only stare at their captain's unbelievable nonchalance.
But Usopp wasn't thinking about meat. He was only thinking of Kaya. He knew he couldn't convince the village, but he had to save her. He ran straight for the mansion, scaling the walls and climbing the familiar tree to her balcony.
He burst into her room, his eyes wide with panic. "Kaya! You have to get out of here! Klahadore isn't who you think he is! He's a pirate, Captain Kuro! He's planning to kill you tomorrow and take all your money!"
Kaya looked at him, her expression a mixture of confusion, hurt, and fear. This wasn't the cheerful, funny Usopp she knew. This was a frantic, wild-eyed stranger. "Usopp-san… what are you talking about? You just punched him. You're not making any sense…"
Before he could explain further, the bedroom door burst open. Two burly men in black suits—the bodyguards from the gate—pounced on him.
"Get your hands off the young mistress, you ruffian!"
Usopp struggled, pinned to the ground. But his desperation gave him strength. He wriggled an arm free, whipped out his slingshot, and fired a pellet filled with gunpowder into the face of one of the guards.
POP!
The guard stumbled back, his face covered in soot. Usopp used the opening to kick the other guard away and scramble to his feet.
"Kaya, stop him!" the guards yelled.
But Kaya just stood there, horrified by the violence. The gentle storyteller she adored was now a brawling intruder. Klahadore's words echoed in her mind: "…he resorts to violence. It runs in his filthy pirate blood."
The commotion had drawn the attention of the villagers, who were now gathering at the mansion's front gate, pointing and whispering.
Seeing them, Usopp became even more desperate. There was no more time for words. He lunged towards Kaya, grabbing her arm. "There's no time to explain! We have to go, now!"
SMACK!
Kaya slapped him across the face, the sound echoing in the silent room. Her eyes were filled with tears of betrayal and fear.
"Let go of me!" she cried. "I thought you were my friend! But he was right about you! You're just a violent, lying… horrible person! You're the worst person I know!"
The words struck Usopp harder than any physical blow. His heart shattered. He let go of her arm as if he'd been burned.
The servant, Merry, seeing his mistress in distress, did what he thought was right. He pulled a pistol from a drawer.
"Get away from her!" he shouted, his hands trembling as he aimed the gun at Usopp.
"Merry, no!" Kaya pleaded, her anger instantly turning to fear for Usopp's life.
But it was too late. The gun fired.
BANG!
Usopp felt a searing pain tear through his left arm. He stumbled back, clutching the wound, a look of pure shock on his face. He looked at Kaya one last time, his eyes filled with a sorrow she couldn't comprehend, and then he leaped from the balcony, escaping into the forest below.
He was gone.
The tension in the room snapped. Kaya's facade of anger crumbled, and the emotional toll of the entire ordeal overwhelmed her. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted, collapsing into Merry's arms.
Usopp stumbled through the woods, clutching his bleeding arm, his physical pain nothing compared to the agony in his heart. He had failed. He had lost everything.
He emerged onto the path just as Luffy, Nami, and Zoro were walking by.
"Usopp! What happened?" Luffy asked.
Usopp quickly hid his wounded arm behind his back, forcing a shaky, arrogant grin onto his face. "Hahaha! You guys should have seen it! It was all a lie, of course! Just a huge prank to get back at that stupid butler for kicking me out! Man, you should have seen the look on their faces!"
The three boys of the Usopp Pirates, who had regrouped, heard his boast. "Whoa! It was a lie after all?" "As expected of Captain Usopp!" "You really are the greatest liar in the world!" Relieved, they said their goodbyes and headed home for the night, leaving Usopp alone with the three Straw Hats.
Later that night, as they sat around a small campfire on the coast, Usopp's facade finally crumbled. The arrogant grin disappeared, replaced by a quiet, somber resolve.
He showed them his bandaged arm.
"It wasn't a lie," he said softly, staring into the flames. "Everything I told the village was the truth. Kuro is coming. He's going to kill Kaya."
He looked at the three of them, his eyes hollow. "But it doesn't matter. I've been lying to them my whole life. The one time I tell the truth… nobody believes me."
He clenched his fists, a single tear tracing a path through the soot on his cheek.
"So… I've made a decision."
He stood up, his small frame looking surprisingly defiant against the backdrop of the dark sea.
"Since everyone thinks it's a lie… I will make sure it becomes a lie. Tomorrow morning, I will wait on this coast. I will face the Black Cat Pirates. And I will stop them, all by myself."
He looked back at the sleeping village. "When it's all over, the villagers will wake up, and it will have just been another peaceful day for them. The 'pirates' never came. It will all have been… just one of Captain Usopp's lies."
It was a suicide mission. A heartbreakingly heroic plan.
Nami stared at him, speechless. Zoro, who had been leaning against a rock, opened an eye, a look of grudging respect on his face.
Luffy just grinned. He stood up and walked over to Usopp, placing a hand on his shoulder.
He didn't give a grand speech. He didn't offer words of comfort. He just stated a simple, unshakeable fact.
"You're not facing them alone."
Zoro stood up, stretching. "Sounds like a good way to test out my wounds."
Nami sighed, a small, reluctant smile on her face. "Guess my treasure hunt isn't over yet. Just make sure I get a good cut."
Usopp stared at them, his eyes widening. He wasn't alone.
For the first time all day, a genuine, hopeful smile returned to his face. The four of them stood together on the dark coast, a tiny, determined force, ready to defend a village that had rejected its only true protector.