Scaring Usopp

Ronan watched the scene and chuckled inwardly.

He knew those two had let their mischievous sides take over and were deliberately scaring Usopp.

But he did not expose them. Instead, he played along.

Ronan spun the half-broken short staff in his hand through several fierce flourishes, the wind of the staff whistling through the air.

He looked at Usopp with the same serious expression, his aura restrained yet dangerous.

To Ronan, interacting with these familiar anime characters was incredibly interesting.

Although this world was real, it did not affect his personal feelings toward these characters from the story.

He enjoyed it immensely.

Zoro half-opened his eyes and coldly looked at Usopp, who was breaking out in cold sweat.

"Standing before you are real pirates!"

Luffy's sense of oppression, Zoro's killing intent, and Ronan's restrained Fighting Spirit—

Three completely different yet equally dangerous auras bore down fiercely on Usopp like three towering mountains.

Usopp looked at the three imposing, clearly "not to be messed with" guys before him. The hand holding his slingshot trembled harder, while sweat poured down his face like a waterfall.

After holding out for a few seconds, the "pride" he had forced himself to maintain finally collapsed completely.

"Plop."

The slingshot in Usopp's hand slowly slipped free and fell to the ground.

His legs gave out as well, and he collapsed onto the ground as though his soul had left his body.

Using the last of his strength, he looked up at the three of them, his eyes shining with reverence.

"As... as expected... the words and presence of real pirates... really are extraordinary! So... so amazing!"

Seeing Usopp's exaggerated display of utter reverence, Ronan, Luffy, and Zoro could no longer maintain their serious expressions.

They exchanged glances, then burst into deafening laughter.

"Hahahahaha—!!"

Luffy laughed so hard he doubled over. Pointing at Usopp sprawled on the hillside, he loudly revealed the answer.

"—I just copied what I heard!"

"Huh?" Usopp looked stunned.

Luffy stopped laughing, his face filled with pride and nostalgia.

"Those words were said by a pirate I respect, Shanks!"

"Sh... Shanks?!"

Hearing that name shocked Usopp even more than being frightened just now.

He sprang up from the ground and stammered, "Y-you mean Red-Haired Shanks?! That Great Pirate?!"

Luffy nodded happily. "Yeah!" He carefully examined Usopp's face, then suddenly cried out as though he had remembered something.

"Your dad is Yasopp, right?!"

"—!!!"

Those words struck Usopp like a bolt from the blue.

His feet slipped in fright, and he lost his balance, rolling down the hillside with a "rumble, rumble." Dust flew everywhere as he tumbled, until he finally crashed miserably at their feet.

"Yasopp... really is my dad's name..." Ignoring the pain, Usopp looked up at Luffy in shock. "But... how did you know that?!"

After a brief conversation, the misunderstanding was cleared up. Usopp realized Ronan and the others were not bad people.

Led by Usopp, they arrived at the only restaurant in Syrup Village.

Luffy unceremoniously entered full-on feast mode, while Ronan and Zoro enjoyed food and alcohol they had not had in a long time.

Usopp took a huge bite out of a loaf of bread and said indistinctly, "It's delicious, right?"

As he stuffed meat into his mouth, Luffy explained to Usopp.

"I saw your dad with Shanks when I was little. You look exactly like him, so I recognized you at once!"

"My dad... was on Shanks's ship!"

Usopp excitedly put down his bread, his eyes gleaming with admiration. "I never thought my dad was on such an amazing ship!"

Luffy nodded vigorously and swallowed his food. "Yeah! I'm not sure about now, but they should still be together!"

Thinking back on his childhood, he spoke with admiration.

"Come to think of it, your dad was an incredible marksman! Yasopp was an outstanding pirate."

Ronan swallowed a large chunk of meat and quietly listened to Luffy and Usopp talking.

When he heard that Yasopp had abandoned his wife and child for his dream, an almost imperceptible trace of disdain flashed through his eyes.

By Ronan's standards, Yasopp's actions deserved nothing but contempt.

There was nothing wrong with wanting to pursue a dream.

But either settle your wife and child down first before leaving;

Or simply do not get married and have children in the first place.

And what had Yasopp done?

He wanted everything, yet refused to take responsibility afterward—the perfect example of a man who pulled up his pants and denied it all.

For his own selfish desires, he let his wife die of illness and turned his son into a child left behind on the island.

One could only imagine how miserable Usopp's childhood had been.

Ronan snorted inwardly.

This twisted Great Pirate Era had spawned far too many tragedies, yet the people within it did not even consider them tragedies.

Sure enough, Usopp was still excited. He had not realized anything was wrong with his father's actions, and instead declared with immense pride.

"Right! I've always been incredibly proud of my dad, who disregarded all consequences to set out for the Great Sea and risked his life to live!"

Nami had no interest in this "romance between men." She sharply interrupted Usopp's sentimental speech and brought the conversation back to reality.

She looked at Usopp and asked.

"I wonder if we could find a companion in your village who can sail a ship, along with a Large Ship?"

Brought back to reality, Usopp sighed. "You can see for yourself—this is just a small village. Sorry to disappoint you!"

Just as Nami showed a disappointed expression, Zoro, who had been quietly drinking, suddenly glanced at a distant hill.

"There's a very large villa on that hill."

"A villa?!"

Nami instantly came back to life.

She immediately turned to Usopp, a dazzling smile blooming on her face as her voice became sickeningly sweet.

"Usopp~ Does your friend live there? Could you... ask him to contribute some money?"

At the word "villa," Usopp jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, waving his hands in panic. "Not there! Absolutely not!"

Seeing Ronan and the others scrutinizing him, he forced out an awkward smile uglier than crying, then suddenly shoved the table in front of him aside.

"I just remembered I have something urgent to do! I know the owner well, so eat and drink as much as you want! I'm leaving, I'm leaving!"

Seeing him practically flee in panic, Ronan quickly reached out and grabbed him.

"Hey, Usopp! Do you have a Blacksmith here?"

"Y-yes, but he can only make farming tools! Turn right when you leave the restaurant, and you'll see it!"

With that, Usopp ran out without looking back and disappeared around the street corner in the blink of an eye.