Usopp Comes Aboard

Luffy stood at the bow, tilting his head with a baffled look. "Why?"

"Eh?"

Usopp froze, then immediately put on a helpless, slightly exasperated expression.

"You really are cold! What I mean is, from now on, just like you guys, I'm a pirate making my way across the Great Sea!"

"Even though we're parting ways, as fellow pirates, we might run into each other out at sea someday..."

He spoke more and more quietly, because he realized everyone on the ship was looking at him as if he were an idiot.

Zoro folded his arms, raised an eyebrow, and pointed at the deck beneath his feet, a trace of impatience in his voice.

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Hurry up and get aboard!"

"Huh?" Usopp was completely stunned, his mind blank. "Get... get aboard?"

Luffy leaned over the railing, pressed down his straw hat, and revealed a brilliant smile capable of melting away any distance between them.

He extended his hand toward his long-nosed companion on shore.

"We're already companions, aren't we?"

Boom!

Those words were like an electric current, instantly shattering all of Usopp's pretense and stubborn strength.

He stared blankly at Ronan, who had the pitch-black iron spear slung across his back and gave him a gentle nod.

He looked at Nami, who shrugged helplessly but wore a smile across her face.

He looked at Zoro, who still appeared fierce but had already stepped aside to make room for him to board.

He looked at Luffy. That outstretched hand was so unwavering.

So... I wasn't left behind.

So... I'd already been one of them all along.

Usopp's eyes instantly reddened, tears welling in them, but he desperately held them back.

"Id... idiot!"

Usopp suddenly leaped up, using the burst of energy to hide how moved he was.

He shouted as he sprang onto the Merry's deck like a monkey, planted his hands on his hips, and raised his nose toward the sky, instantly recovering Captain Usopp's arrogant air.

"Since you've invited me so sincerely, I'll reluctantly join you!"

He pointed at Luffy and loudly declared.

"But! Let's get one thing straight! I'm the captain, right?!"

The moment Luffy heard that, he panicked and jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Don't say stupid things! I'm the captain!!"

"I'm the former captain, so I have more seniority than you!"

"I'm the man who'll become the Pirate King, so of course I'm the captain!"

Watching the two clowns wrestle over the "captain's throne," Ronan, Zoro, and Nami exchanged glances before bursting into hearty laughter.

"Hahahaha—!!"

Their laughter drifted on the sea breeze, reaching the shore and carrying out across the farther sea.

"Raise the sails! Set off!"

At Luffy's command, the white triangular sail snapped open in the wind and swelled full.

The Ram Figurehead split through the waves as the Merry carried five young pirates slowly away from Syrup Village's harbor.

Ronan stood at the stern, stroking the cold iron spear as he watched the island gradually recede into the distance.

"Goodbye, Syrup Village."

The sea breeze was pleasantly intoxicating, carrying the coolness unique to evening.

The Merry's deck was now full of laughter and cheer.

Having just finished a fierce battle against the Black Cat Pirates and gained a new ship of their own, the double joy brought the Straw Hat Pirates' spirits to their peak.

"Cheers—!!"

Five wooden cups slammed together in midair, producing a crisp clink.

Amber liquor splashed out from the impact, spilling across their hands and the brand-new deck.

"Ha—! This wine's really good!"

Luffy sat cross-legged in the middle of the deck, gripping meat on the bone in one hand and raising a cup in the other, his face filled with a smile that seemed capable of infecting the entire world.

Behind him, a brand-new Pirate Flag fluttered in the wind from the Merry's main mast.

It was Usopp's handiwork.

Half an hour earlier, Luffy had tried to draw his "skull," only to produce an absurd abstract work that made everyone laugh.

In the end, Usopp, who had artistic talent, stepped forward and used his superb drawing skills to perfectly reproduce the Straw Hat skeleton flag on the canvas.

The grinning skeleton wearing a Straw Hat symbolized freedom and adventure.

"Well? Isn't this lord's artwork flawless!"

Usopp's long nose practically tilted into the sky as he proudly pointed at the flag. "This represents captain Usopp, who commands eighty million subordinates... ah, no, our pirate crew's flag!"

"It's amazing, Usopp!" Luffy praised him without hesitation.

Nami leaned against the ship's side, looking at the flag with a touch of gentleness in her eyes.

"Though I hate to admit it, the flag really is well drawn. Now we finally look like a proper pirate crew."

Ronan sat beside Luffy, idly turning his cup in his hand.

He looked at the flag, his heart full of emotion.

So this was where the legend began.

After several rounds of drinks, the sky gradually darkened.

Only half the sun remained above the horizon, dyeing the sky a brilliant purplish red.

The rhythm of the waves against the hull grew gentler, and everyone's excitement gradually settled into calm conversation.

Zoro, who had been drinking alone against the mast, suddenly set down his cup.

His gaze cut through the lightly drunken air like two Sharp Swords, stabbing straight at Ronan.

"Hey, Ronan."

Zoro's voice was low and raspy, breaking the relaxed atmosphere on deck.

Everyone's attention instantly turned toward him.

"That technique you used when fighting the Black Cat Pirates..."

Zoro's hand unconsciously rubbed the hilt of Wado Ichimonji, a thirst for knowledge burning in his eyes.

"That Observation Haki that let you predict the enemy's attacks... what exactly was it?"

In truth, the others had been holding that question in for a long time as well.

Luffy stopped chewing and looked over with puffed cheeks.

Nami set down the Navigation Chart, and Usopp stopped boasting too.

They had all witnessed it firsthand: Ronan strolling through a barrage of attacks as if taking a leisurely walk, remaining completely unscathed beneath Kuro's high-speed slashes, so fast they were invisible to the naked eye.

That calmness, as though he possessed God's perspective, made it as easy and relaxed as a father dealing with his son.

"Observation Haki."

Ronan did not keep them in suspense. He smiled gently and drained the wine in his cup.

"Zoro, you're a warrior too. You should know about that realm where you can 'hear' the breath of all things, right?"

"The breath of all things?" Zoro mulled over the phrase, his brows tightly furrowed.

Ronan nodded, set down his cup, and sat upright cross-legged.

His expression turned serious, because he knew this lesson would be crucial to the Straw Hat Pirates' future adventures.

"On this sea, especially in the Grand Line where we're headed, Devil Fruit users are everywhere, and all kinds of strange abilities emerge without end."

"And the power that can contend with those abilities, even surpass them, is—Haki."

"Haki is mainly divided into three types." Ronan held up three fingers.

"Observation Haki."

"Armament Haki."

"And... Conqueror's Haki."