After a while, Nami said, "We came to this island to find a crewmate who can handle a ship and see if we can get a bigger ship!"
Usopp fell silent for a moment at her words, then looked out the window and said:
"As you can see, this is just a little village. There's no way you'll find any of that here!"
"Huh? Really? But I saw a huge estate up on the hill!" Zoro said in confusion.
"That? That one's out of the question!" Usopp shook his head hard, then turned to Xia Chen and the others.
"Um, I just remembered something important I have to do, so I'll be going!"
With that, Usopp hurried outside.
"What's he doing?" Luffy craned his head out in confusion.
"Who knows? Maybe he's off to tell some tall tales!" Xia Chen said casually after taking a sip of his drink.
Of course, he knew why Usopp was leaving now. He was simply going to tell Kaya stories.
After Kaya's parents passed away, it was only Usopp telling him stories every day that had kept her from growing weaker.
Going to tell Kaya stories had thus become one of Usopp's daily tasks.
And barring any surprises, they would be going to take a look soon too.
At that thought, an interested look appeared in Xia Chen's eyes.
"Kuro of a Hundred Plans. He's one of the highly intelligent pirates in One Piece that old man Oda personally acknowledged."
"It's just a shame... he's a little weak!"
While Xia Chen was still thinking, a commotion beside him drew his attention.
Three children, none even half his height, were staring fixedly at them. Though their legs kept trembling, they still demanded:
"Wh-what did you do... to Captain Usopp?"
"Ahh~ I'm stuffed!" Luffy rubbed his belly contentedly.
That belly rub and contented sigh instantly made the three little ones beside him think of something terrible.
They asked shakily, "You didn't..."
"Heh heh heh..." Xia Chen and Zoro let out wicked laughs in unison, then put on frightening expressions as they looked at them and said:
"Your captain... got eaten by us!"
"Aaah!" They instantly screamed in terror, but faced with Zoro and Xia Chen's frightening appearances, they dared not say anything else.
In the end, they went to Nami, who looked relatively kind, and said:
"Tigress!"
(╬◣д◢)!
"Why are you looking at me when you say that?!"
"Phew~"
"So it wasn't true! You scared us to death! We thought you really ate Captain Usopp!"
The three wiped the sweat from their foreheads, still shaken.
"He rushed out halfway through his meal just now. By the way, do you know where he went?"
Zoro looked at the three of them and asked.
"Sure. At this time of day, Captain Usopp should be..."
"Come with us!"
With that, the three ran outside.
Xia Chen felt a little helpless at the sight. Was it because they had spent too much time with Usopp? Why was every one of them so impatient?
Still, they said nothing more and followed the three in a certain direction.
A while later~
The group arrived beside the estate's boundary wall on the hill. Onion Head pointed inside and said, "Captain Usopp should be in there right now!"
"In there? Okay!"
Luffy loosened up his arms, then ran up to the fence, grabbed the top with both hands, and let his whole body hang down.
Zoro and Nami blanched at the sight.
"Hey, you're not planning to..."
Before they could finish, the two rushed over to hold Luffy down. Seeing this, the three little ones eagerly hurried over to help hold him down too.
Mom and Dad had said that when you didn't know what to do, you should look at what everyone around you was doing and follow their lead!
And then...
All six of them flew into the sky.
At that moment, the three children had only one thought.
"Maybe Mom and Dad aren't always right!"
Xia Chen couldn't help shaking his head as he watched the six soar happily through the sky.
The fence was so low. Why did they have to cross it that way?
He couldn't understand it!
With a light leap, Xia Chen jumped inside.
Once he had landed steadily, he released his Observation Haki. After sensing a familiar presence, he slowly walked in that direction.
A few minutes later, when Xia Chen arrived at his destination, he happened to see Usopp punch Kuro in the face.
Oh, no. He should be called Klahadore!
Even after falling to the ground, Klahadore kept insulting Yasopp, making Usopp want to go over and punch him again.
At the crucial moment, Kaya stopped Usopp. Before Klahadore was exposed, Kaya still trusted him deeply and felt very grateful to him.
But Usopp was also a very good friend of hers, and she didn't want to see conflict between them.
In the end, thanks to Kaya's intervention, Usopp did not strike him again. Instead, he walked silently toward the back by himself.
Seeing that Usopp had already left, Klahadore said to Luffy and the others, "Please leave immediately as well!"
Xia Chen was annoyed at those words. Damn it, I only just got here!
I haven't even watched the fun for a minute, and you're already telling me to leave?
Besides...
He found Kuro rather irritating. That was the most important thing.
And whenever he found someone irritating, he taught them a lesson on the spot, unless they were stronger than him!
An overwhelming pressure radiated from Xia Chen and bore down on Kuro.
In an instant, Kuro felt as though his mind had been struck by a sledgehammer. His head swam, and he lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground.
Xia Chen was not at all surprised that his Conqueror's Haki could knock Kuro out.
It would have been strange if it couldn't. He wasn't some fraud, while Kuro was merely a pirate with a bounty of sixteen million.
That level of strength might let him dominate a corner of the East Blue, but in the New World, he was nothing more than fodder.
At this stage, even Luffy and Zoro couldn't withstand Xia Chen's Conqueror's Haki.
After all, the two of them were currently about on par with Kuro. They were all fodder!
Seeing Kuro collapse, Kaya hurriedly shouted, "Someone, come quickly! Klahadore, the butler, has fainted!"
As the estate gradually grew noisy, Xia Chen offered no comment. He simply said to Luffy and the others, "We've seen the fun. Let's go!"