Usopp's Wrath

The four of them were violently thrown into the air, and then, amidst the terrified screams of Nami and the children, they plummeted like shooting stars, crashing heavily beside a large tree in the mansion's backyard!

Luffy climbed out of the shallow crater he'd made, dusted himself off, and shouted with no self-awareness, "Smooth landing!"

Nami groaned in pain as she got up from the ground, covered in dirt with messy hair. "Yeah, right! That hurt like hell!"

Ronan sprang to his feet with a lithe movement, a knowing smile on his face. "What a strange adventure."

Kaya, who had been listening to Usopp's boasting by the second-floor window, was stunned speechless as she watched them suddenly descend from the sky. "A-are you guys alright?"

Usopp, perched in the tree, saw it was Luffy and the others and quickly explained to Kaya:

"N-no, no, they're fine! They heard my stories and came all the way here, impressed by my reputation! New members of the Usopp Pirates!"

Luffy stood up, interrupting Usopp's clumsy lie.

He looked at Kaya, his expression serious:

"No, I'm not a new member!"

"I need your help with something!"

Kaya looked at Luffy, puzzled. "Help? Me?"

Luffy stated his purpose directly and without hesitation. "Yes! We need a ship!"

Just then, a man in a sharp suit walked over, his expression calm.

Ronan's eyes narrowed, and his guard immediately went up—this was the early-game mini-boss, Kuro, the pirate who had supposedly "retired" and lost his ambition.

Kuro pushed up his round-rimmed glasses, a flicker of displeasure in his eyes.

"My guests, this is quite troublesome. Why have you trespassed into the estate, and what are you doing here?"

Luffy looked at him curiously and said frankly, "Who's that guy?"

Kaya, by the window, looked at Kuro with a hint of unease and anxiety in her eyes. "Th-that... those people are..."

Kuro's movements were refined yet carried an unquestionable command.

He pushed his glasses up again. "There's no need to say more now. I'll listen to your explanation later. For now, please leave!"

Luffy completely ignored his attempt to dismiss them and directly repeated his objective: "I said, we want a ship!"

Kuro's expression remained unchanged, his tone cold and arrogant. "Absolutely not!"

He turned his gaze to Usopp, hiding in the tree, a sinister smile curling his lips.

"Usopp, I've heard your stories. You're quite famous in the village, aren't you?"

Usopp, hearing the praise, immediately puffed up with pride.

"Really! You can call me Captain Usopp, too!"

Kuro's face darkened, and he let out two contemptuous snorts.

"Captain?" Then, his tone suddenly turned icy and sharp. "I've also heard about your father."

Usopp's face instantly turned pale, his expression frozen. "What?"

Kaya, by the window, looked anxiously at Kuro, trying to intervene. "Please, don't say any more!"

Kuro completely disregarded her, his tone filled with humiliation and mockery, striking directly at Usopp's sore spot.

"You're just the son of a dirty pirate. I wouldn't be surprised by anything you do. However, could you please stop bothering my young lady?"

Kuro's harsh words made Usopp's face in the tree turn incredibly ugly. He clenched his fists and said indignantly, "Who are you calling dirty?"

Kuro completely ignored his anger, pushed his glasses up, and spoke with a condescending air of charity.

"You and the young lady are from completely different worlds. Is your goal money? Speak up, how much do you want?"

Kaya, by the window, finally couldn't take it anymore and looked at Kuro furiously. "You've gone too far! Apologize to Usopp right now!"

"Why should I apologize to this brute, young lady?"

Kuro completely disregarded Kaya's anger, his tone as cold as if he were stating a fact.

"I'm just stating the facts! I truly pity you, Usopp. You must hate him, right?

Hate your bastard father who abandoned his family and left the village, valuing treasure more than his loved ones!"

Ronan, watching Kuro's righteous pronouncements and Usopp's furious gaze, surprisingly felt that Kuro had a point.

From a conventional moral standpoint, Kuro's words were all true.

Yasopp had indeed abandoned his family, and Usopp was indeed the poor soul left behind.

Kuro had merely used the cruelest language to dig out the pain that might have existed in Usopp's subconscious.

But Usopp clearly couldn't stand others criticizing his father like this; he was his only pride and spiritual pillar.

He roared in anger, "You're not allowed to badmouth my dad!"

With his roar, Usopp suddenly leaped from the tree, landing steadily, and glared at Kuro with a fierce look.

Kuro, seeing the enraged and irrational Usopp, instead revealed a mocking expression of complete control.

"Why are you getting so worked up? This is exactly the time you should be using your signature lying skills."

He said slowly, his tone laced with sarcasm:

"For example, you could lie and say your dad is a traveling merchant, or just say you're not related to him by blood..."

Hearing this, Usopp's pride was completely shattered. He could no longer stand it, shouting "Shut up!" before furiously throwing a punch, smashing it hard into Kuro's face!

Kuro was knocked to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Yet, instead of anger, he let out a cold, mocking laugh:

"See? Immediately resorting to violence. A son is truly like his father!"

Usopp glared down furiously at Kuro, who was sprawled on the ground from his punch. His eyes were red as he roared:

"Shut up! I've always been proud that my dad is a pirate! Proud that he's a brave warrior of the sea!

You're right, I brag a lot, but I have the blood of a pirate flowing through me!

That honor is the only thing that's not fake! I am the son of a pirate!"

Kuro, supporting himself with his hand on the ground, blood still flowing from his mouth, let out an even sharper, more cutting laugh:

"Pirates are brave warriors of the sea? What a twisted way to put it. But it's true you inherited a savage bloodline."

He stared coldly at Usopp, his tone filled with contempt:

"You either brag aimlessly without a care, or resort to violence when you get angry, and in the end—you even approached the young lady for her fortune!"

Seeing Kuro slander him so maliciously, Usopp's anger burned. He retorted, "You're lying! I..."

Kuro didn't give him a chance to defend himself, cutting him off: "If we're talking about why you're so devious, your father being a pirate is reason enough!"

Usopp couldn't take it anymore. He lunged forward again, grabbing Kuro by the collar and raising his fist in anger, "Are you done talking?!"