Usopp's Struggle with Justice
In front of Usopp's old house in Syrup Village
The wind seemed to freeze, and the air was so heavy it was suffocating.
When Usopp saw who it was, his chest tightened, and anger and excitement surged into his heart at the same time.
Yasopp gazed at his son, now grown up—tall, with straight shoulders, his crisp naval uniform gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
That face was so similar to mine when I was young, but it had no warmth whatsoever.
His throat tightened, a thousand words stuck in his chest, and he managed to squeeze out, "Usopp... I..."
He tried to take a step, but in the next instant, Usopp's sharp gaze pinned him to the spot.
That gaze was like a knife, like a gun, like a judgment that had never been forgiven.
Usopp's voice was low and cold, yet carried immense weight. "Yasopp, a remnant of the Red Hair Pirates!"
"It seems you still remember that you have a son."
He abruptly tugged at his naval uniform, a mocking smile playing on his lips, "But this uniform... doesn't it surprise you?"
His tone gradually sharpened, laced with biting sarcasm. "The son you imagine should be a good-for-nothing like you, right?"
"To become a lowly, free-spirited Pirate who abandons his terminally ill wife and only cares about his own carefree life?"
"--!"
As if Yasopp's body trembled violently, and he staggered backward.
Usopp's words were like poisoned daggers, piercing precisely into his deepest guilt.
He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word; his face instantly turned deathly pale.
Usopp's chest heaved violently, his years of suppressed rage finally erupting, his voice booming like thunder. "Pirates? So-called 'free adventurers'? Hmph!"
He pointed sharply to the dilapidated old house behind Yasopp, his eyes burning with fury:
"My mother was calling your name until her last breath! She believed you would come back, and she believed you were a great man!"
"But what did she get?! Only a cold grave!!"
Usopp clenched his fists, his knuckles white, and roared in a voice that sounded like a ripped apart voice, "And I, I waited for over a decade! I couldn't even get a single word or a piece of paper from you! Do you know how I survived?!"
He pounded his chest hard, his eyes bloodshot. "I can only survive by spouting lies about you—'Great Pirate Father'! I'm a laughingstock! A complete fool!!"
He abruptly pulled open his uniform, revealing the medals on his chest, his voice burning like fire. "The Navy recognized me! 'Justice' gave me strength and direction! It made me understand—a thief is a thief!!"
"It's a cancer! It's a scourge! It's the root of all evil that has torn countless families apart!!"
He stared intently at Yasopp, his voice low but more piercing than any roar:
"And you, Yasopp —you're the most despicable kind! A scumbag who would abandon his own home without hesitation!!"
Yasopp trembled violently, his eyes were bloodshot, and he opened his mouth but could not utter a word.
Every word Usopp said was like a knife cutting into his flesh, causing him so much pain that his breath trembled.
In front of the old house, Luffy and Nami stood silently behind Usopp, protecting the silent Kaya.
Their gazes were solemn, but they didn't say a word.
Because they understood that this was a past Usopp had to face alone, a reckoning between father and son that he could not escape.
Every word Usopp said struck Yasopp's heart like a heavy hammer.
He was unable to refute any of the accusations regarding his family.
That was a scar he could never heal, a sin that could never be washed away.
Yasopp staggered, his face ashen, and the sharpness of his former Pirate days was gone from his eyes.
Instead, there was shock, guilt, and pain from having old wounds completely reopened.
His throat tightened, his voice dry and hoarse. "Usopp... I... I'm sorry to you and Banchina... I have no excuse... I..."
He admitted it.
He had no excuse for the more than ten years he had been absent, for his wife's loneliness and death.
This dry confession was heavier than any explanation, and it suffocated Usopp's chest.
He gazed at the once tall and imposing figure, now appearing so dejected.
Those hands, once sharpshooting with perfect accuracy, were now trembling slightly.
This scene was not the reunion he had imagined a thousand times, but a cruel trial.
The anger still burned—it came from the endless waiting at his mother's sickbed, from the humiliation of being mocked as a "liar" on childhood nights, and from the loneliness of being abandoned.
But at the same time, another voice echoed in his heart, "After joining the Red Hair Pirates, he did not commit any acts of burning, killing, or looting."
"Yasopp is a bastard who abandoned his family, but he's not a villain who should be executed on the spot."
Is Justice really like this?
Usopp clenched and unclenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms repeatedly until blood seeped out.
His chest heaved violently, and the insignia on his naval uniform blazed intensely in the sunlight, burning his heart.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, suppressed the trembling in his voice, and finally spoke, "Yasopp..."
His voice was hoarse, yet carried a resounding weight. "The Navy's principle is 'Absolute Justice'... but today, I do not stand here as a Navy soldier."
He raised his head, his eyes filled with pain but also with determination. "As Banchina's son, I'm giving you two choices."
He approached step by step, his voice like Razor: "First, leave Syrup Village immediately and never come back. I will pretend I never saw you. From now on, our relationship is completely severed."
"Two--"
His gaze suddenly sharpened, as if a gun had already been aimed.
"Leave and surrender, and face naval trial! I will personally defend you! But you must pay the price for everything you've done!"
The air was deathly still.
Yasopp stared blankly at the young man before him.
This tall figure with his back straight and military insignia on his shoulder is no longer the skinny boy who shouted "I am a brave sea warrior" at the village entrance.
He was a navy man, a soldier, and the son of Banchina.
Yes, he felt most guilty towards the child.
Luffy and Nami stood silently to the side.
They simply watched Usopp, and whatever choice he made, they would support him.
Kaya clutched the hem of her clothes tightly, tears streaming down her face. She gently stepped forward and tugged at Usopp's sleeve, but couldn't utter a single word.
Because she knew—this was the destiny Usopp had to face alone.
Yasopp looked at the scene before him, shock, guilt, a barely perceptible sense of pride, and a profound feeling of alienation intertwined within him.
The father and son faced off like that, the air seemingly frozen.
Suddenly, Yasopp's gaze passed over Usopp's shoulder and landed on a lone apple tree on a distant hillside, with a single, withered apple hanging at the very top.
This is perhaps a trace left from where he used to practice his marksmanship, a silent challenge, a "language" belonging to snipers.
Almost instinctively, or perhaps as an attempt to break the deathly silence with their only shared language, Yasopp's hand moved with Inazuma speed toward the flintlock pistol at his waist.
However, the instant he raised his hand—
Call out!
A very faint yet sharp whooshing sound rang out!
With astonishing accuracy, a specially made bullet struck the hammer of the Yasopp flintlock pistol with a crisp clang!
The force wasn't great, but it was enough to dislocate the hammer, preventing it from firing, and even made Yasopp's hand go numb slightly!
Yasopp's movements froze instantly, and his pupils contracted sharply.
He looked incredulously in the direction the bullet had come from—it was his own son, Usopp!
Usopp had somehow managed to stand sideways, holding the naval flintlock pistol steadily at eye level.
His eyes were sharp as an eagle's, filled with absolute confidence and a chilling warning.
This shot was fast, accurate, and ruthless, demonstrating a sniping skill and exquisite control of power far exceeding Yasopp's expectations.
"Before me," Usopp's voice was steady, yet carried an undeniable authority.
"Don't touch your gun."