Chapter 22 - Syrup Village 01.
[Chapter Size: 1074 Words.]
Third Person POV
Syrup Village, East Blue.
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With the ship arriving at a deserted beach on the island, Luffy asked Zoro to steer the helm in a straight line and let the sand naturally slow down the ship. As the sand rose with the impact of the Marine ship, it came to a halt, and the rest of the crew descended using a ramp placed on the side of the ship.
A ship shouldn't come to a beach, as it would get stuck in the sand. But this rule didn't apply to Luffy. He gently touched the ship and as soon as everyone disembarked, the captain used his power on the massive 30-meter-long object.
[Moa Moa no Mi: Mass, reduce by 0.001 times!] The ship obediently transformed into a small object in the palm of Luffy's hand, reducing from 3000 centimeters to 3.
"What!? Hm? Darn, I said that too loudly!" Luffy, as he held the ship, heard a surprised shout, and his crew's reaction was no different as they all looked up at some rocks on a hill beside the beach.
"Come out from where you are," Luffy said seriously but had a playful glint in his eyes.
"YOU'RE NOT MARINES? YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE MARINES!" The voice from the other side shouted with an alarmed tone, without revealing its face.
"No, we're pirates!" Luffy calmly said, and before the person on the other side could respond, some of his companions commented with curiosity.
"Incredible! A talking rock, the surface is so full of possibilities!" Shirahoshi exclaimed, fascinated, as she looked at the rocks on the hill.
"Sharky! Sharky!"
"Woof! Woof!"
Both animals believed Shirahoshi's words.
"The sea is even stranger outside of Wano..." Yamato commented on the side since the rock was beyond the reach of her Observation Haki.
"ARE YOU ALL REALLY BELIEVING THIS?" Zoro lost his composure at this, while the other girls, Nami and Kuina, had defeated looks at the naivety of the two other women.
"Hahaha!" Luffy laughed, and even he lost his composure at that moment, finding it hilarious.
"Anyway, I'm going to face these 8 million." As he said these words, wings began to sprout from his back, and he flew toward that hill.
"WHAT IS THIS? HE CAN FLY? HE'S NOT HUMAN!! RUN!!" Luffy heard a collective shout from the kids as he approached.
Luffy landed on the rock and, on the other side, saw a young long-nosed man with three other children prepared to raise some poor flags. As soon as they saw him, the kids dropped the flags and ran toward the village, leaving the long-nosed man behind, who looked at Luffy as if he was going to die at that moment.
"Yo!" Luffy greeted with a smile.
"Ah, are you going to kill me?" Usopp asked in fear.
"Of course not. I came to recruit you!" Luffy said.
"Huh? Recruit?" Usopp was stunned by this man who had barely arrived and spoke these words as if it were something normal.
"Yes, I believe you have potential. How about joining my crew?" Luffy asked with a smile.
Boom
"Is this our new crew member?" Yamato appeared at the side, startling Usopp even more.
"Is he strong?" Yamato couldn't help but comment, scratching her chin.
"It's clear that he's strong. I'm a brave warrior of the sea, the strongest with my fleet of 8 million pirates!" Usopp gained courage with Yamato's comment and spoke his delusions out loud.
"Really!?" Yamato asked, amazed, looking for the other 8 million people under Usopp's command.
Luffy just sighed at that.
"He's lying, Yamato. This island can't fit that many people to begin with..." Luffy said calmly.
Caught in the lie, Usopp started to sweat.
"Luffy-sama?" Shirahoshi arrived at the scene flying.
"A woman with a tail who can float?" Usopp exclaimed with comical eyes when he saw the princess. He had heard of a mermaid but didn't know the exact description.
"Shirahoshi, cover your tail with the dress I gave you, so you don't attract too much attention," Luffy said calmly.
"Yes, Luffy-Sama." She obeyed, lowering the dress to cover her tail.
"Wasn't there more shouting here?" Nami asked, inspecting Usopp and the area since she hadn't seen the children shouting and running.
By this point, everyone had already surrounded a scared Usopp.
"Only a boy?"
"Did he get lost?"
"Sharky!"
"Woof!"
"Who are you?" Usopp asked, still cautious about the presence of these strange people and animals who suddenly appeared.
"We're the Straw Hat Pirates," Luffy led the conversation.
"And what do you want here?"
"We want to sell a ship. I heard there's a shipbuilding company here, so we came to this island," Luffy explained.
"Yes, there is one, I know the owner, but you're not here to cause trouble, are you?" Usopp asked, still cautious.
"We're pirates; we do what we want. But we're not here to loot towns and villages. That's beneath us," Luffy said seriously.
"But then, since you're a brave warrior of the sea, why don't you join me and my crew? I need a good sniper, and you look like you might be one of the good ones?" Luffy asked again.
"Hmm? Of course I am! But why do you want that?" Usopp looked at him incredulously since he knew deep down that he was weak, and no one expected much from him.
"Because you have potential, and I know your father." Luffy said simply.
"My father, really? You know my father?" Usopp couldn't be more shocked.
"Of course, his captain gave me this hat. How about joining me on my adventures and finding him later? I can make you even stronger than your old man!" Luffy proposed.
"Hmm... I don't know..." In the end, Usopp didn't agree, as it was all too sudden, and he had his life in this village, no matter how much his heart longed for adventures on the vast and unknown sea.
Even looking at this unique group he never imagined seeing in front of him, he wanted to say yes deep down, but he was afraid of the unknown and was still attached to this place.
However, he didn't reject Luffy's offer either. Luffy saw this and hoped to change his mind as he stayed on this island.
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