Syrup Village

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

The group temporarily took Nami in, and the four of them finally arrived at Syrup Village.

As for Jango, they had tossed him into the sea to feed the fish. If he survived, then fate had spared him.

The island where Syrup Village stood had rather unusual terrain. Everywhere it met the sea was lined with cliffs.

There was only one port on the eastern side of the island, where a long slope led straight into the interior.

After docking and disembarking, Luffy was the first to excitedly charge up the slope.

Reiner tied the ship's rope to a wooden post on the shore, secured it, and followed after him.

"Honestly, I can't stand this captain."

Nami looked helplessly at Luffy, who had run off on his own in such a hurry.

Though Reiner's two summoned devils had frightened her badly yesterday, she had gradually begun to change her opinion of the group afterward.

The fact that they had stepped in to save her had already left a good impression on her.

And after hearing the secret Jango had revealed, Luffy's reaction had seemed even more unbelievable to Nami.

He had spent the entire day shouting about coming here to beat up Kuro.

Were there really pirates these days who liked standing up for justice?

The pirates Nami had known since childhood were Arlong and his crew. Their brutality had made her despise pirates deeply.

To buy Cocoyasi Village back from Arlong, Nami had become a thief, but she only targeted pirates.

In her view, pirate money was ill-gotten wealth. Though she had never claimed to be a good person, she could steal from pirates with a clear conscience.

She still had no intention of becoming a pirate, but temporarily traveling with them was something she could accept.

"Stop right there!"

A shout drew everyone's attention.

A long-nosed man with an afro leaped out from the side and blocked their path. He had bronze skin and a pouch tied around his waist.

Reiner recognized him at once.

God Usopp, a man who constantly walked the line between courage and cowardice.

Come to think of it, Reiner rather admired Usopp. Compared to Zoro's unrealistically handsome and perfect image, Usopp was more like a reflection of every ordinary person.

Yet this timid and weak man could always face his inner fear at critical moments, step forward, and fight to the very end for his companions with the resolve to die.

He made the flower of miracles bloom upon an inconspicuous little man like himself.

Looks like the Weakling Trio can be formed early after all, Reiner thought.

As for who the third member besides Nami and Usopp was...

That's right, it's me!

He was just a logistics guy.

His undead were the strong ones. What did that have to do with him?

Besides, he only had two undead who could fight at the moment: the Sword Devil made using Zoro's template, and the Chainsaw Devil made using Luffy's template.

Though Luffy could not use Three-Sword Style, he had excellent combat talent and was agile. In battle, his attacks were unpredictable and constantly shifting.

Paired with those three vicious giant chainsaws, they looked painful just to look at. Once they started fighting, anyone would be terrified.

Pulling himself from his thoughts, Reiner slowly followed them.

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

"Hahaha, you two look so alike. At first glance, I thought, why is Yasopp here?"

Usopp had already begun talking with Luffy, who was at the front. Luffy had recognized him at a glance. After all, father and son really did look alike, especially their afros and thick lips.

"You know my dad!?"

Usopp was both shocked and delighted, hurriedly chasing after Luffy to ask about Yasopp.

"He should still be on Shanks's ship."

"You mean Red-Haired Shanks?"

"How do you know?"

"What!? He's a great pirate!"

"Eh, is he?" Luffy scratched his head and laughed.

"Our captain never reads the news."

Reiner was speechless over Luffy as well. Red-Haired Shanks was clearly the person he admired most, yet he had never bothered to look into any news about him.

As they walked and chatted, Luffy kept telling Usopp stories about Yasopp.

When Luffy was little, Red-Haired Shanks had been staying in Foosha Village, and Luffy had heard plenty of Lucky Roux and Yasopp's boasting.

Unexpectedly, he was now repeating all the tales Yasopp had bragged about to Yasopp's son.

Before long, the five of them entered the village and casually picked a restaurant.

"You seem to really admire Yasopp."

"Of course."

Usopp stood on a chair, planted one foot on the table, and declared boldly, "My dream is to become a brave warrior of the sea, just like him!"

"That's great. Then become our companion!"

Luffy grinned, flashing a mouthful of white teeth as he invited Usopp.

"In that case, I can be your captain."

"No need." ×4 The others lowered their heads and silently continued eating.

"Hey, wait a second. Don't reject me so decisively. Think about it some more," Usopp tried to struggle.

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

Reiner put down his utensils and brought it up. "Usopp, do you know where we can find one?"

"...A ship?"

Usopp stroked his chin, looked up, and thought for a moment. "There's probably only one place around here that has ships."

"Eh! Great, Usopp, take us there!" Luffy excitedly raised his head.

Usopp suddenly remembered something and hurriedly changed his mind. "No, no. You can't go there."

The others were somewhat surprised. Then, through Usopp's explanation, they learned about the mansion in the village and its mistress, Kaya.

"Wait, the Kaya Usopp mentioned—isn't that what Jango told us about yesterday? Kuro's scheme."

Reiner had known about it already, but Nami was the first to react besides him.

He planned to come clean to Usopp directly, then take everyone to expose Kuro through force.

"Jango? You know Kaya and Kuro?"

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

Reiner slowly explained that they had encountered the Black Cat Pirates yesterday and learned of Kuro's scheme from Jango.

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

Usopp could hardly believe it. Slamming both hands onto the table, he said, "You didn't make this up because you're after the ship, did you?"

Reiner directly took out the wanted poster he had gotten from Jango and handed it to Usopp.

It bore Kuro's bounty information from three years ago. Jango and the others probably had the only copies now.

After all, Kuro had supposedly been arrested, and the Black Cat Pirates had rarely appeared in public since then.

"Th-this is...!" Usopp's expression turned panicked.

He recognized Kuro at once. He often sneaked into Kaya's estate to meet Kaya, and Kuro drove him away every time.

"Damn it!" Usopp stuffed the wanted poster into his pouch, turned, and rushed out the door.

He had to tell Kaya immediately. A great pirate with a bounty of 16 million Beli had been lurking at Kaya's side for three years!

"Wait for me! I want to send that bastard flying too!"

Luffy sprang to his feet in a rush, taking the food on the table along with the plates.

Reiner and the others followed as well. Kuro was not someone to underestimate. His Shatter Dead was so fast that none of them could keep up with it yet.

That was also why Reiner coveted Kuro. Such incredible burst speed would be perfect for ambushes...

—So damn cool!