Usopp Makes His Entrance!

"Follow this slope up, and we'll reach the village~" Nami studied the map and pointed in the right direction~

"So does that mean we can finally eat meat?! Meat!" Luffy's eyes lit up as he eagerly crowded beside Nami~

"Can you go even five seconds without thinking about meat?!" Nami recoiled in disgust from Luffy's drooling mouth~

"There should be a bar, right~ I can finally have a proper drink~" Zoro smiled~

"I seriously can't with you guys..." Nami rubbed her forehead helplessly~

"Thanks for all your hard work, Nami~" Rayson looked at her with a smile~

"Rayson!" A flicker of comfort rose in Nami's heart~

Looking at Luffy and Zoro, one had nothing but meat on his mind, while the other only thought about booze~

As expected, only Rayson truly appreciated her efforts~

"Still... getting into the village probably won't be so easy~" Rayson casually swept his gaze over the clusters of low shrubs along the slope~

"Hm? Someone's definitely hiding in there~" Zoro narrowed his eyes slightly, his right hand instinctively resting on the hilt of Wado Ichimonji as he pushed out a gleaming section of blade~

"Where? Where?" Luffy looked around wildly, searching for someone~

"Watch out!" Zoro suddenly shouted~

In an instant, a barrage of pellets rained down around Luffy's feet, forcing him to dodge backward again and again~

Rustle!

Right after that, several miniature pirate flags bearing skull emblems rose one after another from behind the bushes~

"Huh? That's so cool!" Luffy stared at the little flags with shining eyes~ Though the flags were small, the skulls on them looked rather fierce~

Luffy had always wanted a pirate flag of his own~

"At a time like this, you're admiring someone else's flag?!" Nami stared at Luffy expressionlessly, unable to resist mocking him~

"Ha ha ha! I am the great seafarer who rules this village, Captain Usopp! Everyone praises me and respectfully calls me 'Captain Usopp'!" A long-nosed boy stood beneath the tallest flag, proudly pointing at his nose as he loudly declared~

Usopp had just finished his daily routine in Syrup Village, running through the village shouting, "Pirates are coming!"~

Not long after he finished that "announcement," his "subordinate," Onion Head, came rushing over to report that a suspicious ship had docked~

After learning that there were only four people aboard, Usopp immediately gathered the members of his "pirate crew"—Pepper Head, Carrot Head, and Onion Head—and set up an ambush here to defend the village~

The moment he heard the words "pirate crew," the excitement vanished from Luffy's face. He pouted in displeasure and glared at the boy on the slope~

"If you plan to raid this village, I advise you to give up now! My eighty million subordinates will never let you get away with it!" Usopp continued boasting~

Rustle!

As his bluffing words fell, even more little flags poked out from the bushes, swaying from side to side~

"That's amazing!!!" Simple-minded Luffy actually believed him and couldn't help crying out in surprise~

Seeing the kid below fall for it so easily, Usopp couldn't help feeling smug~

"That's obviously a lie, isn't it?" But in the next moment, Nami's soft laugh shattered his pride~

"Oh no! They saw through me!" Usopp hurriedly clutched his head and shouted~

"You didn't seriously think anyone would believe nonsense like 'eighty million subordinates,' did you?" Rayson found it quite amusing and teased him with a smile~

How many permanent residents did the East Blue even have in total?

"Damn it! There's someone like a strategist among the enemies!" Usopp warily stared at Rayson and clutched his head again~

"Eighty million may have been a slight exaggeration, but I still have capable subordinates!" Usopp hurriedly steadied himself and pointed at the bushes behind him~

The several flags were still being desperately waved up and down by Pepper Head, Carrot Head, and Onion Head, trying to create the impression of overwhelming numbers~

"There are really only three little kids, right~" Nami revealed the truth with a wicked grin~

"They found us!"

"Run!" Onion Head and the other two immediately turned pale with fright, scrambling out of the bushes and vanishing in a flash~

"Hey! Don't leave me behind!" Usopp anxiously stomped his feet~

"Ha ha ha! You're hilarious!" Seeing Usopp's embarrassment, Luffy immediately burst into laughter~

"Don't look down on me, brat! I'm a man of extraordinary courage! That's why everyone calls me 'Usopp the Brave Warrior'!" Enraged by Luffy's laughter, Usopp immediately pulled back his slingshot and aimed it at Luffy~

The moment Usopp drew a weapon, the smile disappeared from Luffy's face. He slowly lowered the brim of his straw hat~

"You saw it just now! My slingshot skills are more accurate than plenty of sharpshooters!" Usopp tried to scare this group of pirates away with his words~

"Once you've drawn a weapon... you need to be prepared to stake your life on it~" Luffy said quietly, raising his head slightly~ Beneath the shadow of his straw hat, a sharp glint flashed through his eyes~

"Huh?!" Usopp's heart shook violently~

"What I mean is, that thing isn't a toy for bluffing~ Once you've drawn it, you need to be ready to bet your life on it~" Luffy's expression became utterly serious~

Rayson understood immediately and turned his head, signaling to Zoro~

"Hmph~" Zoro understood~ His right hand rested on his sword as he pushed the scabbard open slightly, revealing the cold gleam of the blade within while staring icily at Usopp~

"You're facing real pirates now~" Zoro warned~

"Are you ready... to give up your life?" Rayson added at last. The air around him suddenly turned cold as an exceptionally faint trace of Conqueror's Haki pressure seeped out~

Rayson now possessed the foundation of a true powerhouse. Even standing there, the subtle pressure radiating from him was enough to make ordinary people tremble in fear~

"!!!" A suffocating weight instantly crushed Usopp's heart~

Tap~

A pellet slipped from Usopp's hand and fell onto the grass by his feet~

"So terrifying... The aura and pressure of real pirates when they speak are completely different from ordinary people... This is too scary..." Cold sweat poured over Usopp's body, and his legs began trembling uncontrollably~

"Ha... hahahaha!"

Yet in the next second, under Usopp's stunned gaze, Rayson and the others exchanged looks before bursting into laughter together~

"Just kidding! I was only imitating something my most admired pirate, Shanks, once said!" Luffy adjusted his straw hat and grinned brilliantly~

"Shanks?! You know the famous Red-Haired Shanks?!" Usopp's eyes widened, his face filled with shock~