Chapter 15: Loguetown and Smoker ft. Dragon
Loguetown Harbor.
The crew disembarked to refill the required supplies for their journey to the Grandline. Luffy ran off to see the execution platform while Zoro borrowed money from Nami to buy new katanas. Sanji walked towards the fish market as Nami went shopping for god knows what. Usopp was thinking about exploring the black market to find some stuff that could prove useful for his creations. He also wanted to find new lenses to assemble but did not want to encounter Daddy the parent, who was someone equal to Smoker in strength. Even though that bounty hunter was presumably weaker than himself, he wanted to keep away from such inconveniences.
'Wait...I remembered that I need Sea Prism stone! I have to go and loot the Marines if I don't encounter the materials on the market. Why do I have to do something so idiotic?! Why is our most powerful front line fighter a Devil fruit user?!'
Luffy felt a chill through the training suit tuned to restrict his strength to the extreme. Luffy wondered if Usopp was planning something more for him to be tortured with as he kept on going in the wrong direction.
...
Marine Branch, Loguetown.
The door to the room filled with smoke was flung open and a flustered Marine entered the room. He faced the silhouette of the person that was visible.
"Captain Smoker! There is an emergency report! The HQ has intel that that Monkey D. Luffy and his pirate crew are approaching Loguetown! The entire crew's bounty is 120 million Belli!"
The entire tower made of rocks crumbled while Smoker froze for a second.
"120 million belli? Even if they are that big a crew, you don't have to yell so much. Don't ruin my pace!"
Smoker calmed down and walked towards the window and opened it to clear the room of smoke.
"Don't get worked up because of such a matter. Since I took charge of Loguetown, did even one pirate who enter escape from me?"
The half naked body of Smoker became visible, and he questioned the doubts the Marine on taking on the new menace and capturing them.
...
Usopp walked towards the area where they sold large scale goods. These locations were good for hiding the black market trade posts, but was not enough to hide from his observation haki.
'I hope they have some good stuff. I would be happy if they had some dials and new gun prototypes. Asking for Sea Prism stone to appear in East Blue would be improbable.'
The New Telzenn Industrial Works looked like a shop which provided for people in the large machines industry, but a few Belli in the right hands led Usopp straight to the shadows of the underworld's operation in East Blue, which was of the few places yet to be snuffed out by Smoker. One could see tech that was beyond the levels of the current East Blue.
'Some of this materials was probably shipped by Joker...that level of raw materials and products would help me develop a good handgun and a sniper rifle.'
Usopp had experience in creating firearms while he was training in alternative shooting styles, but the few blueprints he could get his hands on were medieval era tech.
He looked around for new model gun blueprints but could not find any, so he settled on getting the best pistol and sniper he could find along with tools for making and modifying guns which cost him a total of 1.5 million Belli. A meito of the 51 Owazamono grade would only cost around that range. The pistol's mechanism, power and stability was beyond the level of weapons held by the Marine officers. The rifle was also top quality, but wasn't the costliest one available. In its base form, It had the ability to take out targets a kilometer away. Usopp chose this particular rifle because was the one which could be upgraded the most. A few good changes would make it worthy enough to be held by the King of Snipers himself.
When he turned away from the arms dealer, he caught a glimpse of a shell hidden in the used section. On closer inspection of the contraption, Usopp started to do a tap dance in his head.
'Which idiot left a bunch of dials around without doing anything?! I'll buy them all and test it later before the dealers get suspicious.'
...
Usopp used [silent steps] to move away from the area and continued to move towards the deserted area near the slums. After he confirmed that no one was around, he took out the new acquired dials to sort it.
The first and second dials turned out to be a lamp dial and an impact dial. Although useful, it was not exactly the ones he wanted to acquire. Then he took out the most robust looking dial, hoping that it would be better suited for modifying a weapon compared to that of the impact dial.
The moment he had clicked on the activation button, a fast gust of wind escaped from it, catching even himself off guard. He did not think that a normal jet dial to have the ability to do that, much less a breath dial.
'Oh dear me. This is definitely the highest grade jet dial! I know just what to do with it! And one more dial to test.'
The last dial also looked promising and Usopp prayed for his luck to continue so that he may have New world class weapons early on in the game. The click was followed by an intense impact which was barely defended by his fortified body. Such an impact could only mean one thing.
A Reject dial!
...
Usopp's emotions were all over the place that he loosened his guard. There was no problem even if he did that since it was East Blue, but there was one customer that was beyond his standards moving around the area.
"What's gotten you so worked up, kid?"
A gruff, manly voice sounded behind him, to which Usopp jumped up in surprise and punched at the owner of the voice. But he stopped halfway due to the sheer terror that welled up from his soul because he recognized the face.
"D-D-Dragon!"
The man that appeared was of legendary stature. The revolutionary-in-chief, the scourge of the World Government and the most wanted man in the world- Monkey D. Dragon!
"You heard of me before, kid?"
Usopp had never felt such pressure from a combatant. He had not faced the full pressure and blood lust of Mihawk, so taking on the full power spirit of Dragon was an eye opening experience. Usopp's defensive measures were running overdrive but he could not see a future where he could escape.
"Yeah...someone who tries to keep his information updated would know of someone of your stature, sir! Did I do something to upset you?"
Usopp's mental defenses were straining because Haki was mixed into the spirit, and the Haki of Dragon himself was undoubtedly the peak level of the world.
"Why did you set sail? What is your purpose?! What do you seek?!"
Dragon's pressure kept on increasing, and Usopp found it hard to sustain his consciousness. It was his first direct taste of an opponent's haki, and he had received the experience of it from Monkey D. Dragon going full throttle single target Conqueror's haki on him.
"I...I just want an adventure! I will be the best sniper and supporter for my crew! My dream is to see the world and...and make Luffy the PIRATE KING!"
Usopp was almost sweating blood at that moment as he yelled at Dragon about his dreams. Even with his full focus, he could not look straight at Dragon and almost was only a few seconds away from kneeling from the pressure. Then the pressure disappeared and color returned to the world, along with it disappeared Dragon.
Usopp's eyes were strained and bloodshot while his face was blue. The blast of Conqueror's of the world's peak level combatant was not something he could have survived before he had his breakthrough after Arlong Park. With just this meteoric impact from haki, the Armament haki consolidated and advanced to a high level intermediate Armament Haki user, while his Observation Haki was only a step away from the advanced Haki level.
This attack also gave him an estimate of how much more he had to grow to become someone with the ability to protect the life of his crew and their ambitions. He sat down after a while when he could feel his legs again and started to calm down.
'This old man is supposed to never enter the scene directly! Ain't he the hands that move in the shadows?! Also, should I feel happy that my first clash against an opponent with Haki was him? But I am alive and well so it's okay probably.'
Usopp then took all his new gadgets and walked towards the location of the Marine Branch, since he needed one more item on his shopping list.
...
"You are Roronoa Zoro aren't you! Why is a notorious pirate like you cleaning the floors here?!"
Usopp who was sneaking around the Marine Branch saw a hilarious sight of Zoro using [Santouryuu] to clean the floors. He was sure it that Sanji would love to hear the story since Zoro had been going on and on about how Sanji didn't receive any bounty.
Usopp was then also witness to Zoro's unintentionally brutal takedown of two marines using mops that almost killed them due to Zoro exerting too much strength while he was restricted by the suit. Usopp the slowly faded away and walked towards the military stores where the Sea Prism Stones are usually kept (Usopp also bought information of this from the black market).
The stores were well protected but it was easy for someone like Usopp, who specialized in stealth to pass through. He saw a variety of items that interested him but he only took a few handcuffs, nets and 4 high quality rifles which would be used as test subjects. He put all the goods into his backpack and escaped from that location. That day, many civilians near the Marine Branch of Loguetown reported a sighting of a man walking through the air while carrying a backpack.
...
Usopp met with Nami after that and saw Sanji win a cooking competition against a weird woman. Nami then warned of the shift she felt in the weather and ran towards the ship. When the three were on their way, they met with Zoro, now fully equipped with meitos capable of withstanding his punishment.
"An execution is happening! Buggy the Clown is going to execute Monkey D. Luffy!"
A civilian yelled out loud, which startled the crew. Zoro and Sanji unlocked their training suits and started to run towards the execution platform as Usopp jumped into the sky to find a sniping location. He found a clock tower and used the roof of the clock tower as his sniping position.
...
When Nami reached the ship, she was faced with the Lion Tamer Mohji and his pet lion. Mohji also saw the girl who he remembered was the member of Luffy's crew.
"Richie! Attack her!"
Mohji ordered the lion which quickly moved towards her but it went flying back towards him. The lion's full weight impacted onto Mohji, who passed out on the spot while the lion was already knocked out.
"Usopp did make a wonderful weapon for me! But the damage was way beyond what I expected too... No time to think about it. I need to ready the ship now!"
Nami boarded the ship and began to ready the ship to leave the port as she was completely sure that the four idiots will be able to return without any troubles even in the approaching storm while still being in awe of the clima-tact that Usopp had created for her.
...
Usopp took out one of the four rifles that he had stolen from the marines and loaded it with his own special [firebird] ammo which had been created to fit the chamber of a standard marine rifle.
"[Armament: Hardening]! [Shingan]!"
Using armament on the rifle, Usopp focused his Observation Haki to his eye. Through it, he could define Luffy's aura and the obstacles that might cause deviation in the path of the bullet. Usopp's presence then slowly faded away as he consciously controlled his brain to use its maximum capacity for that one shot and remove all unnecessary senses for that extra edge.
...
"Any last words to say, Straw Hat?!"
Buggy used the most extreme sarcasm he could muster and asked Luffy, who was bound to the platform. Luffy was in this situation because Usopp put a lock on Luffy's suit as he had a tendency to run away from training most of the time. It was also the intention of Usopp that this situation take place.
"I'LL BECOME THE KING OF PIRATES!"
His declaration shocked everyone in the plaza, including the Marines hidden in the shadows. The fear of death was nonexistent in his eyes.
"Is that so? Then let's finish this first!"
"HOLD THAT EXECUTION!"
Zoro and Sanji yelled while Luffy broke into a smile. Buggy was a little startled by their appearance but continued on.
"You have arrived,huh? Zoro! But you are too late!"
Buggy began the execution when Zoro and Sanji went nuts.
"[Santouryuu: 108 pound cannon]!" "[Party Table Kick Course]!"
Both Sanji's and Zoro's attacks cleared out the pirates in one go and continued towards the platform, but a lady deflected all those attacks away from the platform. Three buildings were cut down while many buildings had holes that looked like a cannon was used to attack the walls.
Alvida, the one who deflected the attacks managed to stall them for a second. Sanji won't attack women Zoro would not do so if he had another choice available. They both used [soru] to force their way through and moved to cut down the platform, but the sword was approaching Luffy faster than their help.
"ZORO! SANJI! NAMI! USOPP! SORRY! I' AM DEAD!"
Sanji's and Zoro's anxiety level almost went through the roof but then relaxed when they remembered that they had one more combatant. Someone who specialized in long range combat.
It was at the same time that the lightning strike, Buggy's sword and the crew's attack impact the platform, causing a massive explosion. Only 5 people noticed the explosion that was hidden underneath the guise of lightning, which broke all the ribs on the right side of Buggy's body. Other than the monsters 3 and Buggy himself, only Smoker himself could sense it.
"[Sure Kill: Impact Hammer Flamebird]!"
The culprit Usopp lowered the gun as he focused on the auras and confirmed the situation.
"Wasn't that a good shot... Daddy Maesterson?"
"Of course... the best I have had the opportunity to wintness. A combination of marksmanship, haki and techniques. My haki has not even stabilized properly and a small kid can use it to such an extent!"
Daddy Maesterson, the best bounty Hunter in East Blue stood before him. The original Usopp was humiliated by this guy for good reason, but the current Usopp was far above his level that the match did not even begin and it ended. Usopp had pulled his best techniques just because he had felt Maesterson was nearby.
"Of course it will like that... that is the difference between you and me. A man who had left his strength behind for family is a man I will respect. The name is Usopp, by the way."
Usopp sheathed his rifle and faded into the storm. Maesterson, who stood there till Usopp's outline completely disappear remembered the memory of his rival and savior in a way- Yasopp, and of the son he had abandoned for the Pirate Flag.
"You left behind one monster of a child, Yasopp! Prepare yourself for the beating that your son will bring along with him! Ha Ha Ha!"
Daddy the Parent laughed aloud at the state of Yasopp in the future, and considered it a small revenge.
...
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone