Syrup Village, Restaurant.
"No way, are those two even human? How much have they eaten already?!"
"I-I don't know… but I think the chef's about to break down."
"Forget the chef—I'm about to break. When are our dishes even coming?!"
The other diners stared, dumbfounded, at a certain corner table.
All of them were shocked by the sheer amount of food consumed by the two sitting there.
Those two, of course, were Luffy and Genrou.
"Seriously, I can understand Luffy, but why are you eating so much too, Genrou?"
"How many Beri is this meal even going to cost?"
Nami held her forehead, sighing helplessly.
"Can't be helped."
"Even though Genrou isn't a Gomu Gomu no Mi (Gum-Gum Fruit) user, he also has Maji Saibou Akuma (Demon Cells of Appetite). Of course he can eat like that."
Zoro put down his sake cup, indifferent.
As long as he had alcohol, everything else was secondary.
"But this kind of appetite is going to be a problem. How are we supposed to stock food on the ship later?"
"And Genrou didn't eat this much when we were at sea..."
Nami sighed again.
"That's because I've been controlling my appetite. I don't want us to run out of food midway through our voyage, after all."
Genrou gently set down his chopsticks and elegantly wiped the oil from his lips.
"Besides, Nami, don't worry about the Beri—we did take some from those treasure hunters, didn't we?"
"That should last us a good while if we want to indulge."
Hearing that, Nami puffed up her cheeks and looked at him.
"Shouldn't you be using the Beri in your suitcase to pay?"
"Why should I spend my private stash? Nami, don't even think about pocketing the Beri we all worked to seize."
"But you and Luffy eat way too much, and Zoro's booze bill isn't light either. How about you just let me manage our funds? I'll make sure it's all distributed fairly."
"You want to be our finance manager? Sure, whatever you want."
Genrou waved a hand nonchalantly, then turned to Luffy.
"Luffy, what do you think about my earlier suggestion?"
"Suggestion? What suggestion?"
"Geez… don't tell me your brain only thinks about food. I meant having Usopp join our crew as our sniper."
"Oh, that! Well, if he's Yasopp's son and seems like a fun guy, I don't see why not. But… is he really cut out to be our sniper?"
Luffy scratched his head, uncertain.
During their meal, they'd picked up various impressions of Usopp from nearby diners and restaurant staff.
Luffy didn't dislike Usopp—in fact, he was starting to like him.
But just because his father was a great sniper didn't guarantee the same for the son. Without seeing Usopp's skills firsthand, even Luffy had doubts about assigning him that role.
"Don't worry about that. Just like Zoro will one day become the world's strongest swordsman..."
"Usopp will also become one of the top snipers in this world."
Genrou gave a confident thumbs-up, smiling.
In the original timeline, Usopp had enormous potential in marksmanship, and with the Heroic Spirit template he'd soon inherit, Genrou had every confidence in cultivating him into the best.
"Alright! If you say so, Genrou, then Usopp's our sniper! Hahaha!"
Trusting Genrou's judgment, Luffy slammed his hand on the table and laughed as he raised a giant hunk of meat.
His booming laughter drew more stares and murmurs from nearby patrons.
At that moment, Genrou's sharp senses picked up the approaching footsteps outside the restaurant.
It was none other than Usopp himself.
"He's here."
Genrou muttered as the restaurant door was pushed open.
Usopp's anxious figure rushed through.
"Everyone! Something terrible's about to happen!"
"The Black Cat Pirates are going to invade this village! We need to prepare now!"
He shouted across the restaurant.
But all he received in return were scoffs and annoyed glares.
No one took his words seriously.
Of course, since they had arrived earlier and overheard the villagers' opinions of Usopp, Nami and the others understood this wasn't true rejection—they were just used to his false alarms.
"Damn it! Why won't anyone believe me?!"
Usopp's expression fell at their reactions.
"That's because you've cried 'pirates' way too many times before."
"It's only natural they'd stop believing you."
"So, how about we talk for a bit, Usopp?"
Genrou walked up beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Without giving him a chance to resist, he dragged him outside to a quiet spot.
Luffy, Zoro, and Nami followed close behind.
…
"What? You want me to join your crew?"
Usopp's eyes went wide as he stared at Luffy in disbelief.
"Shishishi, that's right! Come be our sniper, Usopp! Just like how Yasopp was Shanks' sniper."
"You're worried about that Jango guy attacking your hometown, right?"
"Well, if you join us, you're one of us."
"And if you're our comrade, we've got every reason to help protect your home."
Luffy clapped a hand on Usopp's shoulder, laughing joyfully.
Zoro, watching from the side, felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
Wasn't it just a short while ago that he'd been half-coaxed, half-forced into joining by Luffy and Genrou?
Not that he regretted it now—he was perfectly fine being part of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Usopp stared in a daze at Luffy for a long while.
"They really… invited me to be a comrade."
"Could it be… my charm as Captain Usopp has reached such heights?"
"But if they really help, then defeating the Black Cat Pirates and that damn Kuro hiding in Kaya's mansion might actually be possible..."
He muttered to himself, his heart leaning more and more toward joining.
"The villagers said you often pretend to be a pirate here."
"Which means you must really long for the sea."
"Usopp… are you really going to spend your whole life playing pirate?"
Genrou's words struck right at the core, shattering Usopp's last mental defense.
"Y-You said it yourselves! You'll help me fight the Black Cat Pirates, right?"
"Also… I'll be captain, right?"
Usopp placed his hands on his hips, smiling again.
"Idiot, I'm the captain!"
Luffy immediately raised a fist in protest.
"You men are so noisy." Nami sighed, shrugging.
"But what's next? Based on what Usopp said, the Black Cat Pirates won't reach the village immediately."
"Should we go deal with Kuro hiding in Kaya's mansion first?"
Genrou shook his head.
"According to Usopp, Kaya really trusts Kuro."
"If we go straight for him, she probably won't believe us."
"Let's wait until he slips up in front of her. Then we'll strike."
"Don't worry, Usopp—I'll personally keep an eye on him. I won't let anything happen to your friend."
"My bounty is dozens of times higher than Kuro's. He won't be a problem."
Usopp thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
After all, he had already tried warning Kaya, but it didn't work.
If someone with an 800 million Beri bounty like Genrou was involved, he could finally relax.
"Then let's get to the village entrance and prepare. I want to set up traps to slow those pirates down."
Usopp declared with conviction.
"Oh? You're really fired up. Looks like Genrou was right—you're the type to take action when it counts."
Zoro crossed his arms and nodded with admiration.
But then Usopp's next line made his face fall.
"Once the traps are set, I'll leave the fighting to you great pirates!"
Usopp said with a deadpan face.
"Nope. You're fighting too."
Genrou shook his head and placed a hand on Usopp's shoulder again.
"But… I don't have any strength!"
"That's no reason not to fight. And who knows, you might gain power sooner than you think."
Genrou smiled and snapped his fingers.
The air around Usopp seemed to ripple.
In the blink of an eye, everything went dark for a second.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a void-like space of pitch-black emptiness.
"Wh-Where… am I?!"
Usopp's panicked voice echoed into the distance, swallowed by the darkness.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]