Chapter 17: Imminent threat

When they were far from Jango, they left the children under a tree so they could continue sleeping peacefully.

"We need to find Luffy so we can get out of here," Nami told them.

"Let him do whatever he wants. That way, I have time to sleep," Zoro said as he positioned himself to rest for a bit.

"I hope we don't leave so soon," Oliver said, looking at the clouds, which seemed different to him.

"What do you mean, 'not yet'? We need to keep sailing to find more treasure," Nami said, slightly annoyed.

'Should I try to change things at this point?' Oliver thought. "If we leave now, Kaya and this entire town might be killed."

Oliver's words caught Zoro and Nami's attention.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Nami asked, confused.

"Well, first of all, Kurahadol is not that butler's real name—his real name is Kuro, Captain of the Black Cat Pirates," Oliver said. "The last thing I knew about Kuro was that he had been captured by Marine Captain Morgan and executed, but here he is, alive."

"Kuro? A pirate? Are you sure about that?" Nami asked.

"His face is the same as on his wanted poster from back then. I'm sure of it," Oliver said. "When he insulted Usopp, I realized it was him, and I wanted to punch him, but I held back."

"Are you really sure? He seemed normal to me," Nami said, not fully understanding. "He didn't seem like a pirate. He even talked as if he hated them."

"That's why I called him 'Cat' to see if he reacted, but he's a great actor, making sure not to raise suspicion. Still, it's best not to talk about it until we're absolutely sure. I wouldn't want to beat him up only to find out he's not actually Kuro," Oliver said.

"Alright," Nami said.

Zoro didn't respond, so they looked at him and saw that he was already asleep.

"How can he sleep after what you just said?!" Nami shouted angrily.

"Don't worry. Let him rest," Oliver said as he watched Zoro sleep. 'His ability to fall asleep is impressive.'

Oliver started exercising again.

"Oliver, what are you?" Nami asked, making Oliver stop.

"This is unexpected. I thought Luffy would be the first to ask me that," Oliver said. "I'm a hybrid."

"A hybrid?" Nami asked.

"Yeah. I'm half-human, half-mink," Oliver said, continuing his exercises.

"That's it? What's a Mink?" Nami asked.

"They're a humanoid race with mammalian traits. That's why I have a tail and animal ears," Oliver said.

Nami looked closely at Oliver's ears and tail.

"Any other questions?" Oliver asked.

"No. No more questions," Nami replied.

[Mission: Defeat the Black Cat Pirates]

[Reward: 32,000,000 Belly, Combat Styles Gacha Token and Talent Gacha Token]

Time passed, and the children finally woke up. Now, they were just waiting for Luffy and Usopp to arrive.

While they waited, Usopp ran past them at an incredible speed, heading toward the village.

"He still seems mad about that servant," Nami said as she got down from the railing.

"I don't think so."

"Something must have happened at the coast."

"He's in a hurry, so something definitely happened at the coast."

The three kids spoke, convinced that Usopp wouldn't have run off like that just because of the servant.

"How do I get there?" Zoro asked the kids.

"Something smells fishy."

"It's time to show our skills."

"Yeah! That hypnotist was heading there too."

The kids talked about everything except how to get to the coast.

"Okay, but are you going to tell me how to get there?" Zoro asked again.

Oliver looked in the direction Usopp had come from and figured that must be the way to the coast, so he started walking.

"Do you know the way to the coast?" Ninjin asked.

"I just have to follow the path, right?" Oliver said.

"The captain's special place isn't along the path," Piiman explained.

"Follow us!" Ninjin said.

The kids led them to a tree, but no one was there.

"There's no one here," Piiman said.

"Then why did the captain run off?" Ninjin asked.

Oliver, knowing where Luffy had to be, went to the cliff and saw him lying on the ground.

"I found him," Oliver said.

The others went over and saw him sleeping.

"Oi, Luffy, wake up," Zoro said, shaking him, but it didn't work.

"Let me try," Nami said, hitting him on the head, but that didn't work either.

"This is much easier," Oliver said. "Luffy, there's meat."

As soon as Luffy heard the word "meat," he woke up instantly.

"Oh, guys. How are you?" Luffy said, letting out a big yawn.

"What were you doing sleeping here?" Zoro asked him.

Luffy looked around and saw that he was on the cliff.

"I was up there, and then..." He tried to remember what had happened to him. "That's right..."

Luffy started telling them everything he and Usopp had overheard—that the butler was actually a pirate planning to kill Kaya to take all her wealth.

"WHAT?!"

"They want to kill Miss Kaya?!"

"And they're going to invade the village?! Is that true?!"

The three kids asked, frightened by the story.

"Yeah. That's what they said, there's no doubt!" Luffy said, sitting cross-legged.

"And... why were you sleeping here?" Zoro asked him again.

"Well, just a moment ago, I was up on the cliff," Luffy said, not knowing himself.

"That butler is a really bad guy!"

"You got that right!"

"And that hypnotist must be his accomplice!"

The three kids said, while Luffy kept trying to figure out what had happened to him.

"So that's why your Captain ran off to the village. Well, it's lucky you found out before it happened so you can escape. Those two made a mistake," Nami said to the kids.

"That's true, we need to leave as soon as possible!"

"Yeah, let's grab our stuff and get out of here!"

"Treasures, food, toys, and..."

The three kids started listing the things they needed to pack to escape.

"Let's hurry!"

The three kids ran off toward the village, leaving them behind.

"OH NO!!" Luffy shouted, suddenly realizing something.

"What is it?" Zoro asked.

"We have to hurry and buy food before the butcher leaves," Luffy said, worried about not having bought anything yet.

"You have some really strange priorities," Nami said, still not understanding why he was in the crew. "It really was Kuro."

"I told you. He looked really familiar to me," Oliver said.

"You know him?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah. As soon as I saw him at the mansion, I had a feeling it was him, which is why I told Nami and Zoro not to say anything," Oliver answered.

"I didn't know that," Zoro said.

"That's because you fell asleep in the middle of his explanation," Nami told him.

They kept walking back to the village as the sun began to set. Along the way, they ran into the kids, who were looking for their Captain.

As they continued, they ran into Usopp, who was returning from the village with an injury on his arm.

"Captain!" The three kids shouted upon seeing Usopp.

"Oh, it's you guys," he said, looking at them, but when he saw Luffy, he was shocked. "Huh?! You're alive?!"

"Of course. I just woke up," Luffy said as if nothing had happened.

"Yeah, he was asleep. Anyway, we know everything! We have to hurry and warn everyone!" Piiman said.

"Warn everyone?" Usopp repeated, remembering what had happened earlier. "Hahahaha! Come on, don't you realize it was just another one of my lies? I just hate that butler... so I made up the story that he was a pirate!"

The three could more or less tell that something was going on, unlike the kids and, of course, Luffy, who didn't understand anything.

"It was another lie?" Piiman asked.

"I totally believed it!" Ninjin shouted.

"And why did you go along with it?" Tamanegi asked him.

"Huh?" Luffy didn't understand much of what was happening.

"You've disappointed me, Captain."

"Me too."

"No matter how bad the butler is, I never thought you would make up stories to hurt people."

The kids left them behind, heading home before nightfall.

When night had fallen, everyone was at the same place where they had seen Jango with Kuro.

"I'm a liar. I haven't achieved anything, but the truth is the truth—the pirates are coming, aren't they? Yeah, they are, but everyone thinks it's a lie. They believe tomorrow will be just another normal day," Usopp said, knowing what was going to happen.

"So I'll wait for them here!! And I'll make it turn into a lie! That way, everyone will keep thinking... that tomorrow is just a regular day!" he said, determined to do everything possible to save the village.

"I've been shot in the arm. The villagers chased me, but I have to protect this village!! I love this village! And I want to protect everyone! I couldn't stand it if they were all killed without even knowing what was happening," he said, crying.

"You're a good guy. You made sure the kids left so you could fight alone," Zoro said, seeing Usopp's determination.

"We'll help you," Luffy said, ready to fight.

"But just so you know, I'm keeping all the treasure!" Nami added.

"Huh? You guys... are really going to fight by my side? But why?" Usopp asked, confused.

"It's obvious that you're scared to death," Luffy told him.

"And besides, there are a lot of them, right?" Zoro added.

"Don't be idiots! I'm not scared of them!! It doesn't matter how many there are!! I'm the great Captain Usopp, a great warrior of the sea!! How could I fear them?"

The four of them stared at him as Usopp's legs trembled.

"Damn it! Damn it! Stop shaking!" he said, hitting his legs. "So what?! They're the Black Cat Pirates; of course, it's normal to be scared! Got a problem with that?!"

"No, quite the opposite. You're a good guy, and we're going to help you," Zoro said.

"Exactly, we're going to help you with this," Luffy said.

The words touched Usopp, and he once again started crying.