"Huh? What are those two doing?" Luffy asked groggily, watching the two figures fighting in front of him.
Why were Xia Chen and Zoro fighting again the moment he woke up?
"What else? Having a friendly exchange!" Nami said casually from beside him. Then she turned to Luffy.
"Anyway, why were you sleeping here?"
"Oh, that?"
"Usopp and I saw that butler from before talking to another really weird guy here."
"They said something about killing everyone in the village tomorrow, and then..."
"They spotted me, and then I fell asleep!"
"Fell asleep?" Hearing that, Nami suddenly seemed to think of something.
"Was that weird guy holding an iron ring?"
"Yeah, yeah! I fell asleep after looking at his ring!"
"I see!" Nami rubbed her chin, then continued:
"That man is a hypnotist. You probably fell asleep because he hypnotized you!"
"So that's it!" Luffy clapped his hands together, looking enlightened.
Nami said, "In that case, let's head back to the village and take a look!"
Then she turned toward Zoro and Xia Chen, who were still fighting, and shouted:
"We're leaving, you two!"
"Coming!" Xia Chen called back. Then he took off, appearing beside Nami after using Soru a few times. Zoro, meanwhile, was still over a hundred meters away.
Zoro gritted his teeth and sheathed his swords.
"That bastard!"
Some time later~
Halfway back to the village, the group happened to run into a dejected Usopp returning.
Everyone was puzzled by the state Usopp was in, except Xia Chen.
"Captain, over here! Over here!"
Onion Head called out to Usopp.
Usopp hid his dejection and replaced it with a smile as he waved at them. "Oh, it's you guys!"
But the moment he saw Luffy, his expression changed in shock. He hurried over and asked:
"Weren't you dead?"
"Huh?" Luffy was a little confused, but then he caught on.
"Yeah, I just woke up!"
Just as Usopp was about to say something else, Carrot Head interrupted:
"Never mind that! We heard everything from the Straw Hat guy. Hurry up and tell the villagers about the pirates!"
"Tell... the villagers?" Usopp hesitated for a long time. Then he burst out laughing and said:
"Of course the pirate story was a lie, just like always! That bastard butler made me so mad that I said those things about him!"
"Ahahaha..."
"Oh, that makes sense! We were just saying, how could there possibly be any pirates?"
The three laughed as they headed back.
Usopp keenly noticed that something was off with them and couldn't help asking, "What are you doing?"
"I suddenly feel like I've lost some respect for you, Captain!"
"Me too!"
"No matter how much you lied before, Captain, we never thought you would say things to slander someone else, however annoying that butler might be!"
"Ugh! This is no fun. Let's go home and eat~" With that, the three headed back, chatting as they went.
Usopp watched the three leave, standing frozen for a long time as he recalled their words. In the end, he said nothing, but the determination in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest. Instead, it grew stronger.
That night, beneath a sky full of stars, Xia Chen and his three companions sat with Usopp around a bonfire by the sea.
Usopp gazed distractedly at the burning flames, his thoughts unknown.
Xia Chen asked, "The pirates are real, right?"
"They definitely are, and they'll definitely land here tomorrow!"
"They'll definitely land here?" Xia Chen sounded puzzled. Then he asked pointedly:
"Isn't there anywhere else on the island like this where they could land?"
"Now that you mention it, there's a place just like this to the north! They could land there too!"
"In that case, let's split into two groups. I'll go north alone, and the rest of you can stay here!" Xia Chen said calmly.
"You mean..." Delight appeared in Usopp's eyes.
"Do you even need to ask? Of course we're going to protect this island with you!" Luffy said from beside him, as though it were only natural.
At once, looking at the sincere gazes of the people around him, Usopp's tears poured out uncontrollably like a breached dam.
"Thank you so much! Thank you!"
"Hey, no need to thank us. We only decided to help because you were so determined. If you didn't have that courage yourself, we certainly wouldn't have bothered getting involved!"
Xia Chen spoke calmly.
"Exactly!" Zoro agreed from beside him. Then he changed the subject, looking at Xia Chen as he said:
"I'll go north alone. You guys stay here!"
"Huh?" Hearing that, Xia Chen gave Zoro a puzzled look.
"Third-rate swordsman, aren't you getting a little too confident?"
"Never mind your pathetic strength. With your sense of direction, let's see you actually find north first!"
Clang!
Zoro's swords instantly left their sheaths, but Xia Chen didn't even glance at him.
A third-rate swordsman wasn't worthy of being his opponent!
"Zoro, let's just do what Xia Chen said. We'll stay here, and Xia Chen will go north!" Nami urged from beside them.
"Yeah, Zoro, just listen to Xia Chen!" Luffy nodded beside her.
Compared to Zoro, he still felt Xia Chen was a little more reliable.
Of course, it wasn't that he doubted Zoro's strength, but Zoro's terrible sense of direction really was a bit...
There was no need to say more. Those who knew, knew!
"You guys!" Zoro was a little displeased. So he couldn't find his way around. What was the big deal?
"All right, then it's settled!"
"Operation Protect Syrup Village officially begins!"
The next morning.
Nami marveled at the oil Usopp had found. "I didn't think you'd even manage to find this stuff."
"Of course! Who do you think I am? I'm the all-capable Captain Usopp!"
"Aren't these pirates taking a little too long, though? It's already this late, and they still haven't shown up!" Usopp asked in confusion, looking at the blazing sun overhead.
"Were they joking?"
The thought couldn't help surfacing in Usopp's mind, but he immediately rejected it.
Judging by the butler's demeanor yesterday, he hadn't looked like he was joking at all!
Then, if they weren't here, they must be...
Usopp immediately ran back, calling to Luffy and the others:
"They probably landed on the north side! Let's hurry and help Xia Chen!"
The instant he finished speaking, he felt a red figure flash past, leaving only a voice behind.
"Okay, I'm going!"
Watching Luffy and Usopp race off, Zoro was just about to follow when he felt someone grab him from behind.
Then...
"Nami, you bastard! Let go of me!"
Zoro lay on the oil-covered ground, roaring at Nami.
But Nami ignored him and instead gave a slight smile.
"Got it!"
With that, under Zoro's astonished gaze, Nami stepped on his back and climbed up, saying:
"Thanks!"
Poor Boss Zoro slid straight to the very bottom of the slope under that foot, leaving behind only a furious remark.
"That woman! I'm going to kill her!"
Meanwhile, on the northern slope...