Syrup Village

The next day dawned bright and clear, with not a cloud in the sky.

Having temporarily joined forces with Nami, the group of four finally arrived at Syrup Village.

As for Jango... he was thrown overboard to feed the fish. If he survived, it would be a testament to his resilience.

The island where Syrup Village was located had a peculiar geography; the entire island was surrounded by cliffs except for a single port on the east side. This was because a long, gentle slope led inland from there.

The group docked their ship and disembarked. Luffy, brimming with excitement, rushed ahead up the slope.

Lina tied the ship's rope to a post on the shore, securing it before following.

"Honestly, I can't deal with this captain."

Nami watched Luffy, who was impatiently rushing ahead on his own, with a sense of helplessness.

Although she had been quite frightened by the two devils Lina had summoned yesterday, she had gradually changed her opinion of the group afterward.

The fact that they had stepped in to save her had actually made her feel quite favorably towards them.

Furthermore, after hearing the secret Jango had revealed, Luffy's reaction had left Nami utterly astonished.

He had been clamoring all day about wanting to go beat up Kuro.

Were there really pirates these days who enjoyed fighting for justice?

The pirates she had known since childhood were Arlong's crew, and their brutal methods had instilled in her a deep-seated aversion to pirates.

In order to buy Cocoyasi Village from Arlong, Nami had become a thief, but she only targeted pirates.

In her eyes, pirate money was ill-gotten gains. Even though she never claimed to be a good person, she stole from pirates with a clear conscience.

She still had no intention of becoming a pirate, but she could accept traveling with them for now.

"Stop right there!"

A shout caught their attention.

A man with a long nose and an afro jumped out from the side, blocking their path. He had bronze skin and a pouch tied around his waist.

Lina recognized him instantly.

Great God Usopp, a man who constantly oscillated between bravery and weakness.

Lina actually had a degree of admiration for Usopp. Compared to Zoro's unrealistically perfect image, Usopp was more of a reflection of ordinary people.

Yet, this timid and cowardly individual could always face his inner fears at crucial moments, step forward, and fight for his comrades with a resolve to die.

He allowed the flower of miracles to bloom on this unremarkable little man.

"It seems the Weak Trio can be formed ahead of schedule," Lina couldn't help but think.

As for who the third member of the Weak Trio was, besides Nami and Usopp...

Yes, it was him!

He was a logistics personnel.

The strong ones were his undead, what did it have to do with him?

Besides, he only had two truly capable undead at the moment: the Blade Devil, modeled after Zoro, and the Chainsaw Devil, modeled after Luffy.

Although Luffy didn't use the Three Sword Style, his fighting talent was excellent, and his movements were agile, making his attack patterns unpredictable in combat.

Coupled with those three ferocious chainsaws, just looking at them was painful. Anyone who faced them would surely falter.

Pulling his thoughts back, Lina lit a cigarette and followed.

"How did you know I was Yasopp's son?"

"Hahaha, you guys look too much alike! At first glance, I thought Yasopp was here!"

Usopp and Luffy, who was leading the way, were already chatting. Luffy recognized him immediately, as father and son did indeed look quite similar, especially with the afro and thick lips.

"You know my dad!?"

Usopp was both surprised and delighted, quickly chasing after Luffy to ask for information about Yasopp.

"He should still be on Shanks' ship."

"Are you talking about Red-Haired Shanks?"

"How do you know?"

"What!? He's a Great Pirate!"

"Huh, really?" Luffy scratched his head and chuckled.

"Our captain never watches the news."

Lina felt speechless towards Luffy. The person he admired most, yet he never bothered to inquire about Red-Haired Shanks' whereabouts.

The group walked and chatted, with Luffy constantly telling Usopp about Yasopp.

When Luffy was a child, Red-Haired Shanks had stayed in Foosha Village, and Luffy had often listened to Lucky Roo and Yasopp brag.

He never expected to be bragging to Yasopp's son today about the same things Yasopp used to brag about.

Soon, the five arrived in the village and casually entered a restaurant.

"You seem to really admire Yasopp, huh?"

"Of course."

Usopp stood on a chair, stepped onto the table, and declared grandly, "My dream is to become a brave warrior of the sea, just like him!"

"That's great! Then why don't you join our crew?"

Luffy grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and invited Usopp.

"If that's the case, I can be your captain."

"No need..." x4. The others lowered their heads and continued eating in silence.

"Hey, wait a minute! Don't refuse so decisively, think about it again," Usopp tried to struggle a bit.

"Speaking of which, we're looking for a ship."

Lina put down his cutlery and brought it up proactively, "Usopp, do you know where we can find one?"

"...A ship?"

Usopp touched his chin and thought, "There's probably only one place in this village that would have a ship."

"Eh! That's great! Usopp, take us there!" Luffy looked up excitedly.

Usopp suddenly thought of something and quickly changed his tune, "No, no, you can't go there."

Everyone was a bit surprised. Then, through Usopp's explanation, they learned about the mansion in the village and the past involving its mistress, Kaya.

"Wait a minute, the Kaya that Usopp mentioned, isn't that the same thing Jango was talking about yesterday? Kuro's plot."

Lina already knew about this. Besides him, Nami was the first to react.

He decided to confront Usopp directly and then forcefully expose Kuro with the others.

"Jango? You guys know about Kaya and Kuro?"

Usopp was a bit confused. He had only mentioned Kaya, so how did they know about Kuro?

Lina lit a cigarette and slowly explained to Usopp how they met the Black Cat Pirates yesterday and learned about Kuro's plot from Jango.

"Hey! You're not lying, are you?"

Usopp was incredulous, slapping his hands on the table. "You're not making this up just to get a ship, are you?"

Lina directly took out the wanted poster he got from Jango and handed it to Usopp.

It was Kuro's bounty information from three years ago, likely the only one Jango and his crew had.

After all, Kuro was officially arrested, and the Black Cat Pirates rarely appeared in public.

"This... this is!" Usopp's expression turned panicked.

He recognized Kuro immediately. After all, he often sneaked into Kaya's mansion to meet her, and Kuro always drove him away.

"Damn it!" Usopp put the wanted poster into his waist pouch and turned, bursting out the door.

He had to quickly tell Kaya this news. A pirate with a 16 million Berry bounty had been lurking by Kaya's side for three years!

"Wait for me! I'm going to beat up that bastard too!"

Luffy hurriedly got up, taking the food on the table, plates and all.

Lina and the others followed. Kuro was not to be underestimated; his 'Shya Death' was so fast that none of them could keep up currently.

This was also why Lina was envious of Kuro. His extremely high burst speed was perfect for sneak attacks...

--So cool!