Watching the scene unfold, Ronan chuckled to himself.
He knew exactly what was going on—those two were indulging their mischievous streak, deliberately trying to scare Usopp.
Instead of exposing it, he decided to play along.
Ronan twirled the half-broken short staff in his hand, snapping out a few sharp, cutting arcs. The wind from the staff whistled through the air.
He fixed Usopp with an equally serious stare, his aura restrained yet dangerous.
To Ronan, interacting with these familiar characters from a story he knew so well was immensely entertaining.
Even though this world was real, it didn't stop him from enjoying the experience.
He was having fun.
Zoro half-lidded his eyes and looked coldly at the sweat-drenched Usopp.
"You should know," he said flatly, "the ones standing in front of you are real pirates."
Luffy's oppressive presence.
Zoro's killing intent.
Ronan's restrained battle aura—
Three completely different, yet equally dangerous pressures crashed down on Usopp like three massive mountains.
Facing these three figures who all radiated a clear don't-mess-with-me vibe, Usopp's grip on the slingshot shook harder and harder. Sweat poured down his face like a waterfall.
He held out for only a few seconds before the "proud captain" façade finally collapsed.
Clatter.
The slingshot slipped from his fingers and dropped to the ground.
His legs went weak as well, and he slumped down, looking as though his soul had left his body.
Summoning his last bit of strength, he looked up at the three of them, awe gleaming in his eyes.
"As expected… when real pirates speak… their presence is on a completely different level… S-so amazing!"
Seeing Usopp's exaggerated display of reverence, Ronan, Luffy, and Zoro could no longer hold their straight faces.
They exchanged a glance—then burst out laughing.
"Hahahahaha—!!"
Luffy laughed so hard he nearly doubled over. Pointing at the collapsed Usopp on the slope, he loudly revealed the truth.
"—I just copied that on the spot!"
"Huh?" Usopp stared in disbelief.
Luffy wiped the laughter from his face, pride and nostalgia filling his expression.
"That line was said by a pirate I really respect—Shanks!"
"Sh-Shanks?!"
Hearing that name shocked Usopp even more than being frightened earlier.
He sprang to his feet and stammered, "Y-you mean Red-Haired Shanks?! That great pirate?!"
Luffy nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!"
He studied Usopp's face for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed, as if recalling something important.
"Your dad's Yasopp, right?!"
"——!!!"
That sentence hit Usopp like a bolt of lightning.
His foot slipped, and he completely lost his balance, tumbling down the hillside with a roll-roll-roll, kicking up clouds of dust before crashing ungracefully right in front of them.
"Yasopp… that is my dad's name…"
Ignoring the pain, Usopp looked up at Luffy in shock. "B-but… how do you know that?!"
…
With a bit of conversation, the misunderstanding was cleared up, and Usopp realized that Ronan and the others weren't bad people.
Led by Usopp, the group arrived at the only restaurant in Syrup Village.
Luffy immediately entered full-on feast mode. Ronan and Zoro also enjoyed some long-missed food and drinks.
Usopp took a massive bite out of a loaf of bread and spoke with his mouth full.
"Tasty, right?"
While stuffing meat into his mouth, Luffy explained to Usopp,
"I met your dad when I was little, back when I was with Shanks. You look exactly like him—that's how I recognized you right away!"
"My dad… was really on Shanks's ship?"
Usopp set the bread down, eyes shining with admiration. "I never imagined my dad was on such an amazing crew!"
Luffy nodded vigorously and swallowed his food.
"Yeah! I'm not totally sure where they are now, but they should still be together!"
Thinking back on his childhood, he added with genuine respect,
"By the way, your dad's marksmanship is incredible. Yasopp is a really outstanding pirate."
Ronan chewed on a large piece of meat in silence, listening to their conversation.
When he heard about Yasopp abandoning his family to chase his dream, a faint trace of disdain flickered through Ronan's eyes.
By Ronan's values, such behavior was nothing short of contemptible.
Chasing your dream wasn't wrong.
But either you made proper arrangements for your wife and child first—
Or you didn't get married and have children at all.
And what did Yasopp do?
He wanted everything, then turned his back without a second thought.
For the sake of his own ambition, he left his wife to die of illness and his son to grow up as a "left-behind child" on a small island.
It wasn't hard to imagine how miserable Usopp's childhood must have been.
Ronan snorted inwardly.
This twisted age of pirates had given birth to countless tragedies—and the people living in it often didn't even realize they were tragedies.
Sure enough, Usopp was still riding his excitement, completely unaware of anything wrong with his father's actions. Instead, he spoke with pure pride.
"Yeah! A dad who threw himself into the sea without caring about the consequences, risking his life to live freely—I've always been proud of him!"
Nami had zero interest in this so-called "romance between men." Sharp as ever, she cut in and pulled the conversation back to reality.
Looking at Usopp, she asked,
"Do you think there's someone in your village who can sail a ship—and maybe a big ship we could use?"
Usopp was dragged back to the present and sighed.
"As you can see, this is just a small village. I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."
Just as Nami's face fell, Zoro—who had been quietly drinking—suddenly glanced toward a distant hill.
"There's a pretty big mansion over there."
"Mansion?!"
Nami instantly revived.
She turned to Usopp at once, flashing a dazzling smile and speaking in a voice so sweet it was almost sticky.
"Usopp~ Is that where one of your friends lives? Maybe… you could ask them to help out with a little money?"
At the word mansion, Usopp reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He jumped up, waving his hands frantically.
"No! Not there! Absolutely not!"
Seeing the scrutinizing looks from Ronan and the others, he forced an awkward grin that looked worse than crying, then suddenly shoved his chair back.
"I-I just remembered something urgent! I know the owner here really well—eat and drink as much as you want! I—I've gotta go!"
Watching him practically flee in panic, Ronan quickly reached out and grabbed him.
"Hey, Usopp! Is there a blacksmith in your village?"
"T-there is! But he only makes farm tools! Turn right when you leave the restaurant and you'll see it!"
With that, Usopp didn't look back even once. He bolted out the door and vanished around the corner in the blink of an eye.