Usopp's First Encounter with the Straw Hat Pirates

The sparkling sea was suddenly disturbed by a ship, ripples spreading across the surface as sprays of water rose.

There were four people aboard. Well, naturally, they were our protagonists.

"You don't even have equipment or a proper ship. Even if you have a nautical chart, there's no way you can reach the Grand Line!" Seeing that the entire pirate crew's equipment consisted of a sailboard, Nami was on the verge of a breakdown.

As a navigator, Nami knew better than anyone how unpredictable the sea could be. A nautical chart alone was absolutely not enough to set sail.

"No, Nami. When I was at the Sabaody Archipelago, I saw someone swim to the island," Aaron said, interrupting Nami.

"Even if someone swam to an island, it must have been between two islands that were very close together!" Nami retorted. Then she realized what Aaron had said and looked at him. "What did you just say? Sabaody Archipelago? That's an island in the Grand Line. You're from the Grand Line?"

"Yeah." Aaron then told them everything, from being stranded at Makino's home in Foosha Village at the age of twelve, to meeting Luffy, and all the events that followed.

"Your parents... really know how to take it easy." Well, Nami had originally wanted to call them idiots.

But saying that about someone's parents in front of them seemed a little rude.

"So that means you're at least twenty years old?" Zoro suddenly cut in, staring at Aaron with mild surprise.

"Of course! I'm an adult!" Aaron proudly puffed out his chest, tilting his nose up at the sky with an arrogant look.

Thump! "Luffy, why did you hit me?!"

"I didn't like the look of you."

"Hmph! You..."

"Then why do you have all those strange abilities? Did you eat a Devil Fruit too?" Nami asked curiously.

"No, he can swim." Before Aaron could refute her, Zoro dismissed Nami's theory.

"Luffy, do you know what's going on?" Zoro asked Luffy first.

"Huh? Wasn't Aaron just born like that?" Luffy asked strangely.

Well, Aaron had displayed those strange abilities from the moment he arrived, so Luffy had simply assumed he was born with them.

"...I shouldn't have asked you. My mistake." Zoro turned toward Aaron, then turned away again. "I'd have to be an idiot to think of asking you."

"Hey! Why are you asking Luffy instead of me, the person involved?! Is it because you think I'm short?! Let me tell you, that's serious height discrimination, you know that?!" Aaron jumped up irritably like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Well, he seemed to have revealed something rather significant.

"So do you know what's going on with you?" Zoro glanced at him sideways.

"Uh... probably... probably something like that..." Aaron scratched his head.

He did not know what was behind his abilities either, so he began trying hard to recall what had happened seven years ago.

"See? You don't know either. What would be the point of asking you?" Zoro said, looking up.

"I think... I think I once ate a sponge." A hazy image suddenly appeared in Aaron's mind: himself swallowing a sponge in a state of extreme hunger.

"Are there sponge-like Devil Fruits?" Nami fell silent for a moment before looking at the others.

"Never heard of one." Zoro raised his head and rubbed his chin. "But now that I think about Aaron's abilities, they really do seem like those of a sponge."

Everyone fell silent, then nodded.

He absorbed water, slashing attacks did not work on him, he had a certain degree of elasticity, and his arms could stretch.

"Aha! So you're a sponge man, Aaron! You're pretty similar to me, a rubber man!" Hearing Zoro's analysis, Luffy happily patted Aaron on the shoulder.

"How are we similar?!" Aaron slapped Luffy's hand away indignantly and scratched the back of his head. "Could it really have been because of that sponge?"

"Most likely," Zoro concluded. Then a nasty grin appeared on his face. "But since Aaron didn't get his powers from eating a Devil Fruit, he shouldn't be called a sponge man. He's such a little runt, so why not call him SpongeBob SquarePants?"

Silence!

"Zoro, you bastard! I'll kill you!" Aaron lunged at Zoro like a starving tiger, knocking him into the sea.

"Ahahahaha! That looks fun! Aaron, wait for me! I'm coming too!" Luffy said, jumping into the sea.

"Hey! You can't swim!" Nami cried out in alarm when she saw Luffy jump, rushing to stop him.

Glug glug!

Watching the string of bubbles rise to the surface, Nami could not stop herself from facepalming. "What is wrong with this pirate crew?" Yet the corners of her mouth kept curving upward.

Syrup Village was a peaceful, tranquil village.

Inside a mansion, a blonde girl leaned against her window, staring blankly outside.

Her features were delicate, but her face held an unhealthy pallor.

She was clearly frail and often ill.

At that moment, the door to her bedroom opened. The girl poked her head around and found that it was her butler, Klahadore.

Klahadore wore an immaculate suit. He stood stiffly outside the door, and when he saw his young mistress leaning out the window again, his brow creased slightly. He quickly smoothed it out, adjusted his glasses with his palm, and said sternly, "Miss Kaya, please do not make things difficult for me. Your health is not suited to remaining by the window for so long."

"Just a little longer, Klahadore. Just a little while!" Kaya pleaded as she looked at him.

They looked at each other for a long time. Klahadore looked away first and adjusted his glasses with his palm. "Then only a little while longer, Miss Kaya." With that, he closed the door. "Lunch will be ready soon, Miss Kaya."

"Okay, Klahadore." Kaya responded, but her gaze never left the window.

Rustle, rustle!

Suddenly, the leaves on a branch outside her window began to move without any wind.

Seeing this, Kaya's lips curved upward into a breathtaking smile.

"You're here, Mr. Usopp~"

"What story are you going to tell today? Kaya is really looking forward to it~"

"Hm hm hm hm~" Usopp hummed an unknown tune as he skipped down a forest path.

He was in an excellent mood.

He had just told Kaya the story of the Island Goldfish. Seeing Kaya's adorable smile made Usopp feel as though he had been healed.

"What story should I tell next time?" Usopp scratched his long nose and said with some distress.

"No, no! How can the things told by the great Usopp be called stories? They're clearly things I experienced myself! Hahahahaha!" He laughed wildly.

Well, that felt oddly familiar.

"Mm, no, no! Hurry up and think about how to tell the story."

...So the highest level of lying was fooling yourself before fooling anyone else. Usopp had clearly reached that level.

Well, he looked completely insane.

"Nami, why did you stop the ship here?" Watching Luffy and Zoro pull the boat ashore, Aaron asked Nami curiously.

Nami snapped the nautical chart shut and tucked it into her waistband. She said to Aaron, "This is Syrup Village. I heard the villagers here are fairly simple and honest, so I was thinking we might be able to ask the rich people here for a ship. Though it probably won't work..."

"Nami, you're amazing! You even know things like that..." Aaron stared at Nami with sparkling eyes, full of admiration.

Nami sighed and roughly messed up Aaron's blond hair. "You can find that out just by asking around! What's so amazing about that? Besides, it feels kind of strange being admired by you for something like this."

Aaron slapped Nami's hand away, covered his head, and ran off. Then he turned back and made a face at her. "Don't touch my head! You idiot! Bleh!"

With that, he hurried deeper into the village.

Well, he was afraid Nami would beat him up.

After entering the island, Aaron muttered to himself, "I wonder if anyone can modify that bug-catching net for me... It's so flimsy that I can't even swing it around in the sea!"

Aaron was referring to the bug-catching net the girl at the Marine base had given him. Although he cherished it dearly, he discovered after testing it himself that an ordinary bug-catching net simply could not be used underwater.

Its hardness, toughness, and everything else were inadequate. It was completely useless!

So the bug-catching net had become a tasteless burden to Aaron. It was still carefully hidden away on the ship.

Bump!

Aaron was walking while lost in thought when he suddenly collided with something and fell to the ground.

Looking up, Aaron saw a long-nosed young man lying on the ground as well.

Clearly, the two of them had run into each other.

The young man had an unusually long nose. He wore brown work pants, a brown vest, and a light-brown headscarf with goggles pinned to it. Overall, he gave off the impression of...

"You look really tacky..." Aaron said bluntly.

"What? Tacky?!" Usopp scrambled to his feet. Seeing that the person who had knocked him over was just a child, he abandoned the idea of picking a fight.

He pulled Aaron up and watched him dust himself off. "You're not from this village, are you? I've never seen you before."

"Yeah, I came from outside. My name is Aaron," Aaron answered honestly.

"My name is Usopp. I'm a great pirate with thirty million subordinates." Usopp raised his nose proudly.

"Thirty million?! That's incredible!" Aaron opened his mouth wide and made an exaggerated gesture.

"Hmph, of course! The great Usopp never lies!" Usopp looked down at Aaron. "So why did you come here?"

"We want to find the rich people here and ask them to give us a ship."

"Give you a ship? Do you have relatives here?" Usopp looked at Aaron's blond hair, a vague guess forming in his heart.

Could he be Kaya's relative? Then I need to take them over there!

So he took Aaron by the hand. "Come on! I'll go take a look at your parents! Honestly, how could they let you come out alone?"

"No, I ran out by myself..."

"That's still their fault!"

When Usopp reached the shore, he saw Aaron running toward two men and one woman, and he began to feel that something was wrong.

Not one of those three had blond hair!

Aaron ran all the way to Luffy, pointed at Usopp, and said, "Luffy! This is Usopp, a great pirate with thirty million subordinates! If we ask him for a pirate ship, we'll have a ship, right?"

"Nani? That's amazing!" Hearing Aaron's words, Luffy's eyes sparkled like stars.

"Hm?" Nami and Zoro both turned their eyes toward Usopp upon hearing Aaron.

"Eek!" Under the gazes of those two people, Usopp felt as though he had been stripped naked.

"Are you really a great pirate with thirty million subordinates?" the green-haired man asked first.

"Th-That's right! I never lie!"

"Then where are your subordinates?" Nami asked next.

"How could I possibly bring that many people with me?"

"Then you should have a signal, right? Why don't you call your subordinates out?"

"Hmph! Watch closely!"

"Mm-hm! We're watching!" Aaron and Luffy stood beside him with starry eyes, watching Usopp expectantly.

Usopp took a deep breath and let out a strange cry toward the island. His voice carried far, but unfortunately, it did nothing.

Well, nothing happened at all.

"Hey, where are your subordinates?" Luffy asked Usopp after waiting for a long time with no result.

"Ah... ahahaha, they... they're still taking their afternoon nap, so they haven't gotten up yet. Ahaha, ahahahaha..." Cold sweat poured down Usopp's face.

Nami held her forehead. She had already realized that Usopp was lying.

But a moment later, a nasty smile appeared on her face. Looking at Usopp, she said to Luffy, "Luffy, since he's a great pirate with thirty million subordinates, his bounty must be pretty high. Why don't we cut off his head and exchange it for the reward?"

"No." Luffy refused decisively. "We're pirates. How can we go to the Marines to claim bounties?"

"You're pirates?!" Usopp suddenly cried out.

"Yeah, we're pirates. Don't we look like pirates?" Aaron answered, looking at Usopp with a pleasant smile.

Thud!

Usopp fainted.

Before losing consciousness, he had only one thought: After pretending to be a ghost every day, I've finally run into real ghosts. Kaya, I'm sorry. I won't be able to tell you stories anymore... Then darkness swallowed his vision.

Well, Aaron was completely dumbfounded. He stared at the unconscious Usopp on the ground in silence for a long time before turning and pointing at himself. "...Do I look that scary?"