"What was his goal?" Daisy asked.
"How would I know?" Mark replied.
"I thought you knew everything. So there are things even you don't know." Ever since they had set sail, Mark had seemed knowledgeable about everything. Daisy had practically started treating him like an encyclopedia.
"Uh..." Mark was at a loss for words.
Of course he knew why Kuro had come here, but if he told Daisy, it would be far too shocking.
After all, this was Kuro's own plan. If he told Daisy and she asked how he knew... Mark would have no answer.
Should he say they were all characters in a manga, and that he had transmigrated here?
Daisy would definitely take him to Drum Kingdom to have his head examined.
"Usopp?" As the two headed toward Kaya's house, Mark spotted a somewhat familiar figure.
That long nose, brownish clothes, and a netted cap—wasn't that Usopp?
Usopp was walking toward them in a daze. Judging by his route, he had probably just come back from Kaya's house.
"No one believes me. Even you don't believe me, Kaya. Pirates really have come!" Usopp hung his head, looking utterly dejected.
He had thought Kaya would believe him, but she had merely treated his words as another story. She had never believed him.
Bam!
Suddenly, he felt himself bump into something. Looking up, he saw a tall figure blocking his path.
Bronze skin, muscles like steel cables, a handsome face beneath thick swordlike brows, and eyes that seemed to glow as they studied him curiously.
"Sorry, I didn't see you," Usopp said in a low voice.
After saying that, he prepared to go around and leave. Then his eyes suddenly caught sight of the giant axe on Mark's back. From where he stood, he could clearly see the red within the grooves of the axe blade.
It was not paint. Blood... it was blood!!!
Usopp had an instinctive sense of danger that surpassed ordinary people's. Whenever he encountered danger, he always chose to run at the first opportunity.
Step, step~
Terror appeared on Usopp's face as he unconsciously took several steps back.
"This guy is... a pirate!"
He noticed? A glint flashed through Mark's eyes.
As expected of the Straw Hat crew's sniper. If Mark was not mistaken, Usopp possessed an exceptionally keen awareness of danger, one he had probably inherited from Yasopp.
"A natural Observation Haki prodigy!"
Mark grabbed Usopp, who was about to run, and whispered in his ear, "Usopp, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. Yasopp sent me."
Yasopp!!!
Usopp's eyes widened. Upon hearing Yasopp's name, more than half of his fear instantly vanished.
"Dad sent you to find me?"
Mark nodded.
Daisy asked curiously from the side, "This guy is actually Yasopp's son?"
Daisy could hardly be blamed for being curious. Usopp's behavior just now had been nothing like that of a great pirate's son.
Especially compared to Yasopp, who always acted as though he feared neither heaven nor earth. Daisy really could not see anything Usopp had in common with Yasopp.
"Then... that pirate ship..." Usopp told Mark about the pirate ship he had seen by the western shore.
Mark confirmed Usopp's guess.
"That's right. That's my pirate ship!"
"Phew..." Usopp let out a long breath. "Then that means Syrup Village is safe..."
Seeing that Usopp's first concern was Syrup Village rather than asking about Yasopp, Mark asked, "Usopp, don't you hate Yasopp?"
Usopp fell silent for a long while.
"I hated him when Mom died. Back then, I wished so badly that Dad's pirate ship would appear off Syrup Village's shore, but it never did..."
"Mom once said that he was a man of the sea. Even when she passed away, she never blamed him. Gradually... I stopped blaming him too."
"I see..." Mark sighed.
The hatred in Usopp's heart had been worn away by time. It seemed Yasopp had truly owed Usopp a great deal.
"Can you tell me about Dad?" Usopp asked.
Mark nodded. "Yasopp is one of the greatest snipers on the sea. He is also a crew member of one of the four strongest pirate crews in the entire sea. He is incredibly strong!"
"Really?" Usopp asked excitedly.
"Of course!" Mark affirmed.
Usopp's expression turned ecstatic, and he danced with joy.
"Dad is actually that strong. Then I'll become a man like Dad too."
"That's a great ambition!" Mark glanced at Kaya's house nearby and said, "Usopp, I still have something to do. Do you want to take a look at my pirate ship? I'll have Daisy accompany you."
"A pirate ship?" Usopp immediately perked up and quickly nodded in agreement.
He was curious about everything related to pirates.
Mark said to Daisy, "Then you can take Usopp to our Moss first. I'll go by myself."
Daisy nodded. "Come back early after you're done. No one on the ship can cook."
A former captain of the Black Cat Pirates was nothing to Mark. Daisy was not worried at all.
Mark smiled and agreed, then bid Usopp and Daisy farewell.
"Daisy... let me tell you, I'm also the captain of a pirate crew. I have eight thousand subordinates..." Usopp began boasting.
"That's amazing. But does all of Syrup Village even have eight thousand people?" Daisy asked, pretending to be curious.
"..."
The two walked farther and farther away.
Mark turned to look at Kaya's house, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.
Kuro, I'm here!
Lougher Manor, the wealthiest household in all of Syrup Village. Flowers, grass, and trees filled the grounds, while the residence stood like an aristocratic villa amid the countryside, incomparably luxurious.
Kuro walked out of the study and happened to run into a man with a sheep's head.
"Klahadore, the master has you delivering afternoon tea again?" the sheep-headed man greeted Kuro.
Kuro habitually adjusted his glasses and revealed a faint fake smile.
"Yes. You know the master's daily afternoon tea habit. It's just that Prolan production in the village has been low lately, and there is not much left in storage. I was about to go into town to buy some."
"I see. Then go early and come back early!" the sheep-headed man said. Then he seemed to recall something and told Kuro, "Oh, right. A young man just said he was looking for you!"
"Looking for me?" Kuro showed a puzzled expression.
The sheep-headed man said, "Yes. He also said his name was Kuro!"
Creak!
Kuro suddenly clenched his fist.