"Y-you've got to be kidding me!!"
The spacious entrance hall was filled with an imposing grandeur, from the exquisite carvings on the stone pillars to the murals on the walls.
Vines covered the old, crumbling walls. They couldn't hide the place's former glory; if anything, they lent it an antique air, as though it had been steeped in the passage of time.
Faced with the pitch-black gun barrel pointed at him, Usopp looked panicked. The intense warning from his Observation Haki stabbed at his mind.
Even more unbelievable was the fact that the Green Star Paulownia Leaf Shuriken had been crushed with a bare hand!
What a joke!
Without a moment to spare, Usopp hurriedly turned and ran. He looked just like someone so frightened that he'd lost his head.
"Ah, you idiot."
Up on the chandelier frame, Yasopp sighed and smacked his forehead with his left hand, looking a little disappointed.
"Daring to turn your back on a sniper and leave it exposed to your enemy. You're still too green."
Bang!
The trigger was pulled, and the gunshot rang out.
A pitch-black bullet shot from the barrel, wrapped in a circle of chaotic air currents as it traced an arc through the air and chased after Usopp.
"Green Star: Tough Pumpkin!!"
At the very moment Yasopp fired, a seed hidden in the crack between the floor tiles sprouted rapidly. Usopp, who had been running away, suddenly stopped and turned around!
"I'm not that stupid. Don't forget, I'm a sniper too. I'm not going to make such a rookie mistake."
Vines spread along the floor, and a plump pumpkin taller than a person quickly grew at their center. Usopp had already switched to a more powerful Green Star. Before the defensive wall completely blocked his view, he raised his hand and fired twice toward the ceiling!
Bang! Bang!
"Special Attack: Green Star!"
The bullet had barely left the barrel when his words cut off.
As Usopp stared in horrified disbelief, Yasopp's bullet struck the Tough Pumpkin and detonated with a deafening roar!
BOOM!!!
Exploding flames mingled with billowing smoke. The terrifying blast swallowed the pumpkin barricade—and Usopp behind it.
The flames lit up the entire castle hall. A wave of heat rushed toward Yasopp's face, whipping his dreadlocks into a tangled mess.
Yasopp's expression was solemn, almost completely unreadable. He simply watched the flames in silence.
The gap in strength was just too great.
Strength, speed, Observation Haki, Armament Haki, even combat skills and experience.
There was hardly anything Usopp could do better than him. It seemed Yasopp had known the outcome from the very first second of their fight.
He had finally seen his son again after more than ten years. Yasopp was genuinely proud of Usopp, because he knew how much effort and hardship it had taken to make it this far.
He didn't think he'd gone too far. If anything, holding back would have been the real insult to everything Usopp had achieved on his journey.
Don't give up, Usopp.
Yasopp prayed silently in his heart as he slowly raised his rifle and took aim.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two bullets suddenly shot out from the flames, curving through the air toward him from either side.
Yasopp didn't look the slightest bit flustered. His finger pulled the trigger smoothly and expertly. Then he shifted the muzzle slightly and fired again.
Bang! Bang!
The two shots rang out so quickly that they almost overlapped. Both were perfectly aimed, and the bullets flying out of the flames were knocked out of the air without fail.
Pfft—! Pfft—!
Unexpectedly, the bullets didn't explode when hit, nor did they sprout into strange plants like the seeds before. Instead, two clouds of purple smoke burst out.
The purple mist spread through the spacious hall, and a large amount of powdery particles drifted down from the air. Soon, they had put out the flames on the floor.
Is it meant to block my vision?
Yasopp thought of that instinctively, then rejected the idea a moment later.
If it was just a simple way to block his sight, the trick was far too basic. Usopp used Observation Haki himself; he couldn't possibly be unaware of that.
Could it be poison gas?
Yasopp furrowed his brow. The purple smoke had a strong, pungent smell, and he held his breath as soon as he caught it.
Still, it didn't seem quite right.
That was right: ordinary people would see the smoke and assume it was poison gas. That made Yasopp suspicious. If Usopp wanted to poison him, surely he'd use something more sophisticated. How could a poison attack that immediately put an enemy on guard possibly work?
Even so, he cautiously held his breath just in case, while his Observation Haki spread out and reconstructed the surroundings in his mind.
He quickly sensed a blurry figure running toward the castle gate.
Yasopp barely needed time to aim. He raised his rifle, and its muzzle lined up precisely with the running Usopp. He even anticipated the route Usopp might take to dodge.
But the instant his index finger touched the trigger, Yasopp's expression changed, and he stopped moving.
Gas?!
His ability to see the future let him glimpse the image of a spark from his gun setting off an explosion all around him. There was no doubt about it: he was surrounded by flammable, explosive gas.
When did that happen?!
He was certain the pungent smell he'd noticed at first hadn't been gas. Was the smoke in front of him meant to conceal the real attack?
Yasopp quickly figured it out. He pushed off the ground and leaped backward. Whatever else happened, he had to get out of there first.
At that very moment—
"Special Attack!"
Usopp reached the doorway and hurled himself outside. He turned in midair and raised a slingshot.
To keep the sparks from a gunshot from setting off the gas and catching him in the blast, he had left both revolvers hooked at his waist. Now he held a small slingshot, a pellet pinched in the leather pouch between his fingers.
"Firebird Star!!"
Whoosh—
The pellet flew into the castle hall and struck the now-empty chandelier frame, bursting into fierce flames. The next instant—
The gas filling the hall exploded with a roar. The high-temperature pressure expanded violently, and the blast was even more terrifying in the nearly enclosed space!
BOOM!!!
The muffled blast thundered through the air. Waves of heat and flame surged out through the windows and doorway, and the powerful explosion shook the entire castle.
Smack!
The shock wave hurled Usopp away. He hit the ground and rolled several times before slamming into a broken wall with a thud.
"Cough, cough, cough!!"
He covered his mouth and coughed hard a few times. His trembling arms braced against the ground as he struggled to sit up, his eyes immediately fixing on the inside of the castle.
A searing pain spread across his whole body. His skin was scorched black in places, and several patches had been torn open and left raw.
Recalling the terrifying power of Yasopp's shot, he was still shaken. And—
That power was way too ridiculous!
What a joke! Weren't you a sniper? A sniper, for crying out loud!
A sniper was supposed to rely on precise marksmanship and impeccable timing to deal a fatal blow in the ever-changing chaos of a battlefield!
What was with a bullet more powerful than a Marine battleship's cannon?!
That was clearly an artilleryman's shot! And catching a bullet with your bare hand? That was too ridiculous! Other than carrying a sniper rifle, there was nothing about him that seemed like a sniper!
Usopp ranted wildly to himself.
He put away his slingshot and switched back to his modified dual revolvers. He looked over the surrounding terrain, and a patch of open ground not far away caught his attention.
It had probably been an open-air garden or courtyard once. Though it was now in ruins, the general shape of its architecture remained.
Weeds crowded the flagstone paths. Plants and moss covered the broken walls and rubble, and shattered stone pillars lay scattered in all directions.
Against an ordinary sniper, such complicated terrain would obviously provide excellent cover. But Yasopp was clearly no ordinary sniper.
The Tough Pumpkin, sturdy enough to withstand even a cannon, had been blown to bits by one shot. Usopp couldn't believe hiding behind a building would protect him from Yasopp's attacks—not even if it were a Giant's building.
"At this point, I've got no choice but to try. At least I'd have absolutely no chance in open terrain."
Usopp gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet despite the pain. He reached into his pouch and grabbed a handful of Green Star pellets, then charged toward the open ground with his head down.
Of course, he didn't think the gas explosion had defeated Yasopp. Even he had only suffered those injuries after being caught in the blast; Yasopp's Armament Haki was far stronger than his.
And that was exactly what had happened—only it was even worse than Usopp had imagined.
BOOM!
The dome above the castle was blasted open, and Yasopp leaped out through the hole. He landed on the roof and surveyed the area, taking in everything below.
He quickly sensed Usopp's presence. He was hiding behind a massive stone pillar.
"I have to admit, that move of yours was pretty good. You really did give me a scare."
Yasopp's thick lips curled into a teasing smile. Aside from a few scorched edges on his clothes and a little dust, he showed almost no other injuries.
After his Observation Haki showed him what was about to happen, he'd immediately escaped the spot where the gas surrounded him. He'd also used cover to block most of the heat and force of the explosion that followed.
He hadn't been hurt, but he'd seen what Usopp was capable of. At least, Usopp wasn't completely without a chance of beating him.
"Don't let your guard down now. I won't go easy on you until you cry, 'Please spare me, Dad!'"
Yasopp raised his sniper rifle and aimed with one eye. Before he'd finished speaking, the gunshot rang out.
Bang!
The pitch-black bullet, wrapped in a ring of air currents, tore through the air and crossed more than a hundred meters in an instant, striking the stone pillar that sheltered Usopp.
This time, however, it didn't explode. Instead, it punched a finger-sized hole straight through the pillar, which was nearly three meters thick!
Pfft—
"Ugh!"
Usopp groaned in pain. The bullet pierced the flesh at his waist and carried flecks of blood with it, leaving a smoking, pitch-black bullet hole in the floor behind him.
Crack—crack—crack!
Cracks spread through the cover from the hole the bullet had pierced. Then it shattered with a thunderous crash.
The terrifying penetration and explosive power were beyond anything he'd ever heard of. This was clearly beyond the limits of the weapon itself—a new level of skill for a marksman.
Both the explosive rounds from before and the penetrating shot just now had been achieved without changing the ammunition or firearm. Yasopp had simply used his Haki to change what his bullets could do.
There were only a handful of people in the entire sea who could combine Haki and marksmanship to such an extent.
And two of them were in the Red-Haired Pirates: Beckman and Yasopp.
The wound at Usopp's waist burned like it was on fire, and blood trickled out. He pressed one hand against it, gritted his teeth, and raised his other gun, firing several shots toward the sky.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He emptied all six rounds in a burst. As he fired, he quickly rushed off to find another piece of cover, reloading as he went.
The bullets traced elegant arcs toward Yasopp from several different angles. Calculated with precision, they formed an almost perfect net.
At least when it came to sniping talent, Usopp was in no way inferior to Yasopp. Combined with his wide variety of tactical tricks, that was why Yasopp thought he might have a chance to beat him.
Yet Yasopp still looked completely at ease. He fired just one shot, then leaped straight off the roof.
BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
A series of explosions rang out above the castle. Yasopp's shot detonated one of the explosive rounds before it reached him, and he leaped through the gap in the barrage.
Once he reached the ground, he closed his eyes. His Observation Haki spread out like radar, scanning the terrain around him. Before long, he had pinpointed Usopp's location.
He hadn't even opened his eyes yet, but he was already bringing up his sniper rifle. By the time his eyes were fully open, his index finger had pressed the trigger.
BANG!!
The deadly bullet shot out with a flash of flame from the muzzle. It left a vacuum trail in its wake. By the time Usopp's Observation Haki sensed the danger, the bullet had already pierced several obstacles and reached him from behind.
Pfft—
A spray of blood burst from Usopp's shoulder. The force slammed into him, lifting both feet off the ground and sending him pitching forward into a face-first fall.
He clenched his teeth. His trembling arms braced against the ground as he tried to push himself up, but his strength gave out, and he fell back down with the momentum.
"Damn it!"
Bang!
Usopp slammed his fist into the ground in frustration.
He was strong. Far too strong.
Before meeting him, Usopp had never imagined his own dad could be this powerful.
He had no Devil Fruit ability and no strange tricks. With nothing but a sniper rifle and Haki, he had completely pinned Usopp down.
Usopp still had plenty of tricks he hadn't used, but there was no point. He'd thought through every trump card he had and still couldn't find a way to beat Yasopp.
They were both snipers. The moment Usopp's Observation Haki was overpowered, half the battle had already been decided. Their shooting power was just as far apart.
He couldn't dodge, couldn't block, and couldn't reliably land a counterattack. Even if he hit Yasopp, there was no guarantee it would do enough damage.
He was outmatched in every way.
"Well, that's the game. I win."
As Usopp was still trying to struggle to his feet, a voice came from behind him. The heavy rifle stock then cracked against his head.
"To think I lost so quickly. I figured I'd at least be able to hold out for a while."
Usopp sighed dejectedly, a deep sense of guilt showing in the depths of his eyes.
"That's so embarrassing."
"Hey, hey, don't say that. I am one of the top three on the crew, after all—and your real dad, too."
Yasopp chuckled and plopped down on Usopp's back. He gazed up at the sky and said with a laugh,
"If you beat me after being at sea for only two years, where would that leave my reputation as your old man?"