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"Aw man, that old guy didn't wanna join our crew after all."
On the calm sea, their pirate ship—once Buggy's ride—moved forward at a steady pace.
At the bow, Luffy looked a little bummed.
"Guess he lost the will to sail," Zoro said casually, lifting massive dumbbells while working out.
"Twenty years chasing after a treasure chest, only to find it empty... that must've crushed him," Nami added, sounding a bit sad.
Just a day earlier, they'd landed on a deserted island during their journey.
There, they found a man who'd been stuck inside an empty treasure chest for twenty years.
He had spent all those years chasing a treasure that supposedly sat atop a giant rock on the island.
But he couldn't climb it—being trapped in the chest and all.
When the crew arrived and helped him up the rock, they found nothing but a pile of empty boxes.
The man finally gave up. Luffy invited him to join the crew, but he refused.
"Come on, Luffy," Bai Ye said, trying to cheer him up, "At least the guy told us something useful before we left."
Before they set sail again, the man had shared some important info about the Grand Line.
The Grand Line... it was a sea like no other.
Whether it was the "Paradise" half at the start, or the "New World" at the end...
It was home to not just a ton of vicious pirates, but also insanely dangerous natural disasters.
Magnetic fields, weather, sea currents, wind patterns—nothing in the Grand Line followed normal rules.
In that kind of place, no navigation skill could compare to a single Log Pose.
If you wanted to sail those waters, you'd need one thing above all else—
A pirate ship that could handle anything the sea could throw at it.
"Syrup Village?"
Luffy tilted his head when he heard Bai Ye mention the name."Huh? There are shipbuilders there?"
"That's right, Luffy. And…"
Bai Ye smiled mysteriously and added,"If my info's right, we might even find a little surprise there."
"Huh? A surprise?! What kind of surprise??"Luffy's eyes lit up with curiosity and he immediately started asking questions nonstop.
"Well, if I told you what it is, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?"
Bai Ye had clearly gotten used to Luffy's unpredictable personality. He smiled calmly and said,"Anyway, before we get there, let me tell you all a bit about this village."
"Bad news! Bad news!!"
A panicked voice rang out through Syrup Village.
"Pirates!!! Pirates are here!!!"
"They've invaded the village! Run for your lives!!!"
As the desperate shouts echoed across the town, the villagers of Syrup Village knew: a new day had begun.
Some people peeked out of their homes at the young man yelling and grumbled with a smile,"That liar Usopp's at it again. Doesn't miss a single day, does he?"
Others leaned out of their doors and shouted from afar,"Hey, Usopp! Up early today, huh?!"
And of course, some folks were less patient, storming out of their houses, yelling,"You little brat! Stop yelling so damn early in the morning! If I catch you, I swear I'm gonna give you a beating!!"
But no matter what was said, no one actually believed his cries of "Pirates are coming!"
That loudmouth kid's name was Usopp. He had a head full of curly hair, wore a brown bandana, and brown overalls.But his most noticeable feature was his long nose, which he got from his mother.
His dad had been a pirate who, even after knowing his wife was pregnant, left to sail the seas, saying,"The pirate flag is calling me!"
Because of that, Usopp's mom had a rough life, and she eventually died from illness when Usopp was still just a kid.But she never once blamed his father.
When she was bedridden and fading away, Usopp started yelling "Pirates are here!" just to cheer her up.That was the beginning of his daily routine.
Ever since then, the whole village had gotten used to hearing Usopp's daily false alarm about pirates.
Thanks to his mom's influence, Usopp had always dreamed of becoming a brave warrior of the sea.
On this particular day—just like any other—after dodging some angry villagers, Usopp ended up outside the fanciest mansion in the whole village.
He glanced around carefully, then climbed over the wall and scaled a large tree in the yard.
"Kaya! I'm here!"
Usopp grinned and waved at the silhouette in the second-story window of the mansion.
"You're here, Usopp!"
A soft, cheerful voice replied. It was Kaya—the owner of the house.
She used to have a loving family, but her parents had passed away not long ago, and her health had started to decline.
Since Usopp had gone through something similar, he really felt for her.So every day, he came to visit her at this time, telling her wild, made-up stories to make her laugh.
"And then, I led my 8,000-man pirate crew straight into the enemy's hideout—and found a giant golden fish, bigger than an island!"
Usopp waved his arms excitedly as he finished telling his tall tale.
"Wow! Something like that actually exists?!"
Kaya clapped along with his story, fully enjoying it. Because of her poor health, she rarely left her room—so she loved hearing about the outside world.
And just like that, the two of them built a special friendship through the window between them.
As for why Usopp never used the front door?
That was thanks to the mansion's butler, Klahadore, who didn't allow Kaya to meet with strangers—especially not someone like Usopp, the village's notorious liar.
"Miss Kaya, I believe I've told you many times—it's best if you don't meet with outsiders."
Klahadore walked into the room, bowed slightly, and continued,"And you shouldn't leave the window open either. The wind's no good for you."
Before Kaya could say anything, Klahadore had already made his way to the window.
"And you! If I catch you sneaking into the mansion again, I'll report you to the village chief!"
Dressed in a pitch-black butler uniform, with his hair slicked back, Klahadore adjusted his glasses as he scolded Usopp.
"Kaya, I'll head out now. I'll come tell you another story tomorrow."
Usopp ignored Klahadore completely, gave Kaya a casual wave, then climbed down from the tree.
"Geez, Klahadore, don't treat Usopp like that…"
Kaya sighed, clearly frustrated.
"Miss, I just don't understand—why are you so nice to that liar?"
Klahadore shut the window and asked flatly.
"Usopp's actually… a really good person."
Kaya sat on the bed, looking a little spaced out as she answered softly.
"I still don't get it."
Klahadore shook his head, then picked up a bowl and handed it to Kaya.
"Miss, it's time for your medicine."
"Thanks, Klahadore. You've really taken care of me all these years."
Kaya smiled as she took the bowl from him.
Klahadore watched carefully as she drank the medicine down to the last drop, then took the empty bowl from her hands and said with a strangely calm tone:
"Everything I do… is for your sake, Miss Kaya~"
So that you can die quietly… without anyone noticing.
"....."