Yasopp's Choice: Give Usopp a Future!

The Den Den Mushi was disconnected, and Akira casually tossed it back to Morgan, his gaze lingering briefly on the father and son who had been reunited after a long separation.

Amidst the ruins, the reunion of Yasopp and his son Usopp, after the initial excitement, fell into an awkward silence.

Yasopp looked at his son, who was both familiar and unfamiliar to him, his lips slightly parted, a thousand words stuck in his throat, but he couldn't utter a single one.

He wanted to say "I'm sorry," and "Son, have you missed your old man?" But the fatherly love he had missed over the years could not be made up for in just a few words!

Seeing his father remain silent for a long time, Usopp thought his boast hadn't been grand enough. He sniffed, held back his tears, and straightened his back again. "Father! Don't disbelieve me! I'm really amazing now! The Lord Marshal himself bestowed upon me the title of 'God of Despair,' saying I can always turn the tide at crucial moments! My ten thousand men are all elites, and they obey my every command!"

"Wow! Ten thousand subordinates!" Luffy, his mouth full of roasted meat handed to him by Lucky Roux. "Wow, Usopp is amazing! He's way stronger than me!"

Ace and Sabo exchanged a glance, both seeing amusement in each other's eyes, but neither called out their brother's lie.

Listening to his son's boasting and seeing his face flushed as he tried to save face in front of him, Yasopp could no longer hold back.

This incompetent father abandoned his wife and children for the sake of so-called freedom and dreams, and when Shanks became one of the Yonko, he thought he had the whole world, naively believing that Laugh Tale was at their feet! But in the end, when the captain he followed was killed with a single blow, and when his proud pirate crew was utterly defeated, he realized that he could do nothing! His former high spirits were nothing but a joke in front of Akira, the Navy Marshal!

His son, far from resenting him, regarded his runaway father as a hero and strived to become stronger in order to catch up with him, even resorting to such easily exposed boasts.

Yasopp slowly raised his hand, which trembled as he placed it on Usopp's head and gently rubbed it.

Usopp's body stiffened abruptly, all the boastful words stuck in his throat.

This was the first time in his memory that he had felt the warmth of his father's hand.

"Usopp..." Yasopp's eyes were red-rimmed, and his voice was hoarse as he said, "I'm sorry."

"You... you're a good child."

"Much better than your old man."

After saying that, he withdrew his hand, then took a deep breath, as if he had made a major decision.

He stopped looking at Usopp and turned to walk heavily toward Ben Beckman.

"Yasopp?" Beckman frowned slightly as he watched him approach.

Yasopp didn't speak, but walked up to Beckman, Raqi Rue, and the other executives. Then, to everyone's astonishment, he gently placed the spear he cherished as his life on the ground.

"Gentlemen," Yasopp said resolutely, looking around at the familiar faces, "I've made up my mind. I'm going to Marine Headquarters to surrender."

"What did you say?!" Raki Ru choked on a mouthful of meat, his eyes wide. "Yasopp! Are you crazy?!"

"The boss isn't dead, he was just knocked away! Even if you're going to turn yourself in, you should wait for Shanks to come back!"

"Yes, yes, yes, if we turn ourselves in now, the boss will be very disappointed in us when he comes back!"

"Yasopp, what are you thinking? It's just one failure; at worst, we'll be captured by the Navy Marshal and sent to Impel Down! If we surrender, all the reputation we've built up over the years will be gone!"

The other cadres also became agitated, unable to understand Yasopp's decision.

Beckman silently watched Yasopp, slowly exhaling a smoke ring, and asked, "Have you thought it through?"

"Yes." Yasopp nodded, his expression calm and resolute like never before.

He glanced at his companions, some angry, some confused, then looked back at Usopp standing in the distance, equally bewildered. His voice held a hint of relief. "Over the years, we've built a reputation and status in the New World with Shanks. We considered ourselves the freest pirates, but what was the result?"

The result is that we still cannot control our own destiny.

"Marshal Akira's appearance made me realize one thing."

"Times have truly changed."

"Whether in the New World or the first half of the Grand Line, under this Marshal's iron fist, order is being rebuilt at a speed we cannot imagine. The era of pirates burning, killing, and plundering is becoming a thing of the past."

"If we remain stubborn and continue to live as pirates, we will only become sinners of this era! Scum despised by everyone!"

His words silenced everyone present.

They couldn't refute it.

Because what Akira brought them was not just overwhelming force, but also a subversion of their ideologies.

"It seems you've thought it through, Yasopp," Beckman's voice was deep as he attempted a final plea. "Once you choose this path, you'll likely spend the rest of your life in Impel Down's Impel Down."

Yasopp's gaze returned to Usopp, his eyes softening considerably.

"If my surrender can contribute to the arrival of this new era, and secure a future for my son where he no longer has to feel ashamed because of his pirate father, then I'd rather not spend the rest of my life in prison..."

Even if Marshal Akira were to push me to the Execution Platform, I, Yasopp, would not utter a single complaint!

"Back then Shanks bet an arm on a new era."

"Now, I want to take a gamble too."

"I'm willing to gamble my lifelong pursuit of so-called freedom for Usopp's bright future!"

Having said that, Yasopp stopped talking nonsense, as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders, and turned to walk towards Akira with his head held high.

Unexpectedly, Yasopp made such a choice at this time. Both Beckman and Lucky Roux, who were present, hesitated to speak. They wanted to offer advice, but the words stuck in their throats.

Because Yasopp's behavior at this moment was not simply making a choice, but rather a sudden realization!

As Yasopp said, times have changed!

No matter how hard they struggle, they cannot withstand the overwhelming tide of the new era. The current situation on the Grand Line is almost entirely under the control of the Navy. With an unprecedentedly powerful Navy force, even if all Yonko gathered together, let alone the fact that only they and the Whitebeard Pirates are left in the New World, it would be impossible for any balance of power to emerge again.

Because, only the navy can balance the global situation.

Or rather, the balance of power in the world rests solely on the whim of the most powerful and influential Navy King in naval history.

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