Luffy stretched his arms over his head. "Finally! Land! I want meat!"
"You always want meat," Zoro muttered, stepping onto the dock.
"Luffy wasn't you just eaten the meat earlier?" questioned Jack.
"It is not enough, you only gave me this much," replied Luffy with a sad look.
"Like I said earlier, eating raw meat is not really good. Let's recruit chef," said Jack.
"Ok," Luffy agreed.
Jack hopped off after him, his boots crunching against the wooden pier. "It looks quiet. That's good. After Buggy's town, I could use a break."
But peace never lasted long for the Straw Hats.
"PIRATES!!!"
The shout came from the hill above the village. Everyone looked up to see a flag behind the bush.
"You filthy sea scum!" the long-nosed boy yelled. "This village is protected by eighty million warriors! Leave now, or face our wrath!"
Luffy gasped, eyes wide. "Eighty million?!"
Zoro smacked him in the back of the head. "Idiot. There's no way there are that many warriors here."
"They know we are lying," The voice suddenly stopped intimidate them. Instead they are arguing with each other.
Suddenly a lanky young man with a long nose rolling toward them, it looks like he might be slipped and fall down from the small cliff. Behind him, three small kids followed, holding slingshots.
Nami crossed her arms. "He's clearly lying. He looks like he couldn't fight a crab."
But Luffy didn't look convinced. "What if he's telling the truth? Eighty million is a lot…"
Jack tried and failed to hold back a laugh. He knew exactly who this was. Usopp, the boy who lied so much that half of his lies would suddenly become reality.
"Hey, long-nose!" Jack called out, grinning. "If you've got eighty million warriors, where are they?"
The boy froze mid-run, sweat forming on his forehead. "Uh—uh—they're, um, resting right now!" he said, scrambling for an excuse. "Yeah! They're waiting for my signal! So you'd better leave before I call them!"
Jack chuckled under his breath. "Classic."
Luffy stepped forward, completely unfazed. "You're funny. I like you."
Usopp blinked. "Huh?"
"You should join my crew!" Luffy said with his usual wide grin.
Usopp's jaw dropped. "What? Join pirates?!"
It is not just Usopp who was shocked, even Jack are surprised because in a series Usop was being invited to become luffy crew after they solved the crisis in this village.
'Did he change because I told him, my other ability will return if he recruit more people?' thought Jack and it is true, Usop are eager to hire more people part of it because of Jack.
"Yeah! You're strong, right?" Luffy asked.
"No! I mean—yes! Of course I'm strong! I'm the bravest warrior of the sea!" Usopp declared, puffing out his chest. "But… wait, you're not here to pillage this village?"
Luffy tilted his head. "Nope. We just want a ship."
Usopp let out a sigh of relief, wiping sweat off his brow. "Oh. Well… I guess that's okay. You scared me for a second."
The three kids behind him, Pepper, Carrot, and Onion peeked nervously at the Straw Hats. "Captain Usopp, are they really pirates?"
"Yes!" Usopp said, trying to sound brave. "But I'm protecting you, so don't worry!"
Nami whispered to Jack, "Are you agree with luffy decision to recruit him? He looks like someone who always lie."
Jack smirked. "Pretty much. I wanted to see a combination of a coward and reckless idiot."
After a bit more banter, Usopp decided they weren't dangerous (at least not to the village) and led them uphill toward a large mansion overlooking the sea.
"This is Kaya's house," Usopp explained proudly, gesturing toward the gates. "She's my friend. And she's super rich. If you want a ship, maybe she can help."
Nami eyes immediately lit up. "Rich, you say?"
Jack gave her a look. "Don't even think about it."
They found Kaya in the garden, sitting in a wheelchair with a book in her lap. She smiled gently when she saw Usopp.
"Usopp. Back again with your pirate stories?" she asked softly.
Usopp grinned sheepishly. "Well… actually, this time it's true." He pointed dramatically at Luffy. "These are real pirates!"
Kaya blinked, surprised, but then smiled warmly at the Straw Hats. "Well, if Usopp says so, I believe him."
"See?" Usopp said, looking smug.
Zoro crossed his arms. "She probably just humors you."
Usopp ignored him. "Anyway, Kaya, they need a ship. Maybe you could..."
Before he could finish, a tall man in a butler's suit stepped out from the mansion. His glasses gleamed in the sunlight as he adjusted them with a calm, calculated motion.
"Klahadore," Kaya greeted him politely.
The man bowed slightly. "My lady. Who are these people?"
"They're friends of Usopp," Kaya explained.
Klahadore's gaze swept over the Straw Hats and lingered a moment too long on Luffy straw hat. His polite smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Friends, you say? Hm. I see."
Jack felt a chill run down his spine. Something about this man felt wrong. His posture, his smile everything screamed liar.
If I remember right, Jack thought, this guy is Kuro, former pirate captain. Which means this village is in danger.
As they walked back toward the village, Jack pulled Luffy aside.
"That butler's bad news," he said quietly.
Luffy tilted his head. "You think so?"
"Yeah," Jack said. "Trust me. I know his type."
"As long as we get a ship out of this, I don't care who we fight," Zoro overheard and grinned.
Usopp suddenly stopped in the middle of the path, looking back at them.
"Hey," he said, sounding uncharacteristically serious. "You're really not here to hurt Kaya, right?"
Luffy looked him dead in the eye. "Of course not. She's your friend, right? Then she's safe."
Usopp blinked, then grinned, clearly relieved. "Good. Because if you hurt her, I'd fight you myself!"
Jack chuckled. Bravest warrior of the sea, huh?
Before Klahadore could say anything, Jack shoot him using cosmic energy projection
Phewsh! Phewsh!
And the attack hit it on his hand.
Everyone was shocked.
"Now I remember who you are, the former pirate captain Kuro," revealed Jack.
P/S: I hope Oda released a story about Imu first, either she is woman or he is a man. Otherwise if my story reached grandline I need to make this an AU version like many other fanfic who wrote it too early.