A small, ordinary village on an island.
Farmland was scattered throughout the village, and its residents lived by farming, self-sufficiently feeding themselves.
Now, at the edge of that village, a man stood with the morning sun at his back.
He had two pistols holstered at either hip and a long rifle slung across his back, and with both hands cupped around his mouth, he opened his mouth and cried out,
"Pirates! Pirates are raiding the village!!!"
The man cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted as he dashed toward the heart of the village.
"P-Pirates...!"
"Why are you so shocked, honey? This is just Usopp's morning routine."
"Ah, right...that damn long-nosed scoundrel!"
"Papa...has Usopp hyung been here?"
"What does it matter? I kind of like how he wakes up our sleepyheads like this."
Called Usopp, the man had thick eyebrows and lips, and his hair was curly.
Also, his nose was extremely long with a rounded tip, and it swung side to side in time with Usopp's running motion.
"Here comes Usopp hyung!"
"Mom said if you lie, your nose will grow just like his!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha!!!"
The village children laughed at the sight of Usopp's retreating figure, while some of the men scowled and shouted at him.
"Usopp! Lying again, huh!"
"Get that long-nosed guy!"
"If you catch him this time, I won't go easy on you!"
"Ha ha ha ha! Try and catch me if you can!"
A few angry villagers gave chase, but he vanished from their sight by sprinting off.
'Hah~ I did a good deed again today.'
'I brought some excitement to boring Syrup Village.'
With that thought, Usopp found himself on the opposite side of the village, standing before an uphill path between two narrow cliffs.
Below the path, the sea stretched out with a space to dock a ship, so Usopp climbed the cliff and gazed out at the water.
'What's that ship... It's still far too early for a merchant vessel to visit...?'
On the ship's flag was a typical pirate emblem: a skull atop two bones crossed in an X-shape.
And the skull on that flag had a round, red nose painted on it.
*****
"Luffy, can't we change the flag on this ship?"
"It's the ship the Buggy Pirates used. If we don't change the flag, the Navy will fire cannons at us."
"But we don't have another flag, Nami. If we use a cheap one, it'll tear at the first gust of wind."
The ship they were on measured about fifty meters in length.
It was painted in various bright colors and flew the Buggy Pirates' pirate flag.
"We got such a big ship for free, Nami. That's why I didn't want to travel on a small boat in the first place."
'In the original story, Luffy had to hastily leave Orange Town because the villagers misunderstood that he had hurt the chief.'
'But we weren't chased away by any odd misunderstanding, the villagers treated us well, and we even got the Buggy Pirates' ship.'
'We got something the original Luffy couldn't, and that's smart living.'
"I always knew we'd score a free ship like this someday. Saving money is great, right?"
"Saving money? You gave away a third of Buggy's treasure to the villagers!"
"When the Navy captures pirates and can identify the rightful owner of the stolen goods, they're supposed to return up to the maximum within that range."
"That's the Navy's principle!"
"Were you in the Navy? Why are you, a pirate, following that rule?"
"...I'm the captain of this pirate crew, Nami. If you're a crew member, you follow the captain's decision."
"I told you I'm not going to be a crew member!"
'In the original, the Buggy Pirates had demolished a bunch of buildings, so they were fined five million Berries to repair them.'
'But since none of the buildings had been damaged while fighting me, they only paid three million Berries.'
'Of course, this is something only I know, so it doesn't help convince Nami—she can keep hating me for it.'
"Zoro, don't just stand there listening next to Luffy—say something!"
"It's like my bounty got cut just because you caught the criminals!"
"I don't care. I've already gotten what I wanted."
Hearing Nami's words, Zoro began to recall the events of the previous day.
In his memory, Zoro, alongside Luffy and Nami, faced the villagers, including the chief, at the harbor where the Buggy Pirates' ship was docked.
*****
"Thank you, Straw Hat. We all survived yesterday thanks to you."
"It's nothing, Chief. Thanks to that, you can get a good rest today."
"But, is it okay for us to keep the treasure the pirates had?"
"I estimated its value in Berries, and it looked like it came to over three million..."
"That's right, Chief! Three million is too much... Ugh!"
As the chief spoke, Nami tried to interject, but Luffy covered her mouth and continued speaking.
"They said the box had the money and expensive jewelry stolen from the villagers."
"If you also factor in the food and water you provided, it's not a loss, so it's fine..."
"No, it's not! I calculated it... it's way off...!"
"Nami, let's just board the ship first."
As he spoke, Luffy looped his arm around Nami's waist and rocketed up into the air.
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"We'll be raising the anchor, so go off and greet them, Zoro."
"W-Wait...!"
As Nami and Luffy landed on the Buggy Pirates' deck, Zoro, who was left behind, spoke to the chief.
"I won't make this long, Chief... thanks for the meal even though we had no money."
"Roronoa, did you risk your life just for a single meal?"
"Everywhere I went, if I had no money, people treated me coldly. But here, even without money, I was treated properly for the first time."
"That no one in our village died on the first day the Buggy Pirates attacked is thanks to you."
As he spoke, tears welled in the chief's eyes. He clasped Zoro's hand with both of his and continued,
"Straw Hat Pirates... you'll all be our lifelong benefactors!"
*****
"Thank you, Luffy."
"Why all of a sudden?"
"You told me to say thank you to the chief in person if we survived."
"I think that was the right choice."
"...You always say the obvious."
"By the way, are you really tougher than steel?"
"Huh?"
"When we fought Buggy, you said something like that."
"Ah, right... but guys like me are everywhere in the Grand Line. Plenty can slice through steel easily."
"Is that so..."
"Are you ready to give up over something like that?"
"No way. I was just asking about the path one must take to become the world's greatest swordsman."
"By the way, when can we drink the sake the villagers gave us?"
"We drank in Orange Town yesterday, so we'll have to wait—I need my turn to drink too."
"Isn't any time a good time to drink? When you're thirsty, when you're eating..."
"I like sake, but I won't drink without snacks."
"You two are reckless. I heard the Grand Line is teeming with powerful pirates."
"Yet you two, just the three of you, call yourselves a pirate crew and search only for booze."
"What are you talking about, Nami? We're three people, right?"
"Don't get the wrong idea, Luffy! I'm only sticking with you because I can use you for a bit!"
"Luffy, isn't it weird to say you're using someone out loud instead of thinking it?"
"It usually is, Zoro, but Nami's too kind to keep it to herself."
"Sh-Shut up!"
"Even if you're not an official member yet, I'll make sure you get paid properly as a navigator, Nami."
"So think it over—for real this time, about becoming a crew member."
"...I won't."
'Original Luffy and I are different.'
'Outwardly, I'm stronger than the Luffy at the start of the original story, but the gap isn't overwhelming.'
'Other than that, I like sake a lot, though not as much as Zoro. Either way, Zoro and I both need to get stronger for our dreams.'
'Internally, our priorities differ too. A prime example is money.'
'How can you eat if you don't have money.'
'In the original, Nami managed the pirate crew's finances, but it's not guaranteed she'll join my crew.'
'So I have to keep an eye on the money myself.'
"Nami, when do you think we'll reach Syrup Village?"
"The wind shifted a while back—that means there's a large island nearby."
"Since we've been following the direction marked on the map, we should arrive at Syrup Village soon."
"You can tell there's an island by the wind... that's amazing."
"Of course—I'm a genius."
"Still, I don't understand how you missed Buggy while bragging about that."
"...Sorry about that."
'Nami is competent, after all. Most of the original Straw Hat Pirates were.'
'But the guy we're meeting in Syrup Village is a wildcard. He often behaved in ways I didn't like in the original.'
'But since we have a connection, I'll at least have to see him.'
The Straw Hat Pirates continued sailing and reached an island.
The three who stepped onto land stood before an uphill path between two cliffs, and Zoro spoke.
"Luffy, there's something that's been bugging me."
"You mean that long-nosed guy poking his head out of the bushes watching us?"
"I-I've been spotted!"
Usopp, hiding and eavesdropping on their conversation, fell backward and shouted.
The three climbed the slope, came face to face with him, and Zoro looked down at the fallen Usopp and spoke.
"With a nose that long sticking out like that, how do you expect not to get caught?"
"Seriously, Zoro, you act just like that orange-haired girl who peeked out and got spotted."
"Stop badmouthing her when she's right next to you!"
"I-I am Usopp, the Great Pirate Ruler of this village!"
Usopp shouted as he got to his feet and continued,
"My subordinates call me Captain Usopp. If you're trying to raid this village, give up, Buggy Pirates!"
"My 80 million strong crew won't stand by and let you!"
"That's a lie."
"I-I've been spotted!"
"You say you've been spotted yourself."
"You can see through my lies...not bad, orange-haired one!"
"I told you to change the flag, Luffy. If you don't, you end up with misunderstandings like this."
"I will change it, Nami. First, let's go into the village and..."
"Don't move!"
Just as Luffy was about to step forward, Usopp drew the two pistols from his hips, taking one in each hand, and shouted,
"If you move even a little...!"
"Pistols, huh...better than a slingshot."
"I said don't move!"
"Still not shooting?"
"...Huh?"
"If you pull a gun, you have to be ready to stake your life."
Luffy remembered what Shanks once said to one of Higuma's men and spoke,
"If you pull a gun, you have to stake your life."
"It's not a tool for threats."
With trembling hands, Luffy pointed at the gun Usopp had aimed at him and said,
"It's not a tool for threats, right?"
"Y-You think I can't shoot?"
'To have Usopp's lines be said by Usopp's son... fate is strange.'
"Your hands are shaking a lot, you look breathless."
"Th-That's...!"
"This is what happens when you face pirates without wholehearted resolve."
"What kind of resolve is that? Killing innocent people without second thought is your so-called pirate resolve?"
"...No."
After a moment of silence, Luffy said with a firm expression,
"It's the resolve to stake your life."
"...!"
Usopp froze at Luffy's words.
Nami tensed, and Zoro gave a small smile.
In that moment, Luffy spoke again,
"That resolve is what pirates like your father possess."
"My father? You know my father?"
"Of course. I've heard your story so many times from Yasopp it clogged my ears."
"But to see it in person..."
'I still don't get why Usopp uses pistols instead of a slingshot like in the original.'
'But pistols are definitely better than slingshots.'
'I don't like that he never fired, but... not running away and at least facing us with a gun is pretty brave.'
'For a coward, that's something to give him credit for.'
After hearing Luffy's words, Usopp lowered his gun, and Luffy reached out his hand to him and spoke,
"My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be the Pirate King."
"Nice to meet you, Usopp."