Chapter 12: Sniper
Zoro was pulling their dinghy onto the beach they landed at, Nami looked around to see if she could see anything besides sand and trees, and Luffy was waving goodbye to Levi.
"Bye, buddy!! Don't go too far!! We won't be here for a long time." He told his friend who nodded in response and submerged in the water. Luffy looked at his friends who were looking at him with a smile.
"Well, let's go!!" They start to walk up the hill, towards the forest, but they stop when they hear a voice coming from up above.
"Don't come any closer!!"
They looked up to see six flags waving back and forth with a symbol that shouldn't be described drawn on it. Luffy and Zoro sensed it was just three kids and a teenager, while Nami could tell because of the kids leaving their heads poking out of the bushes to watch their reactions.
"I am god!! You cannot trespass in god's domain!!" The voice shouted out, making Luffy laugh.
"Shishishishi!!! This is hilarious!!! Is there another Box Guy on this island?!" Luffy shouted out with stars in his eyes as he started running towards where he sensed the voice came from.
Luffy's face changes quickly from an excited one to a serious one that Zoro matches as they sense an intent to attack. He used 'Shave' to get back to his friend's side right before the attack was launched.
"I told you not to come any closer!!" The voice shouted before the sound of something stretching could be heard.
"FIREBIRD STAR!!!!"
A massive phoenix made of fire went over their heads faster than most people could see. Nami only realized that she had been moved out of the way by Luffy when she saw her perspective change abruptly. She looked backward and with growing horror noticed the charred ground that very well could've been her skin.
Zoro makes eye contact with his Captain before Luffy nods at him and he disappears.
He reappears a few seconds later with a kid around Luffy's age with curly black hair and a long nose. He was holding what looked like a massive slingshot.
Usopp was panicking. He could barely see this swordsman's movements, and he could shoot a fly from a thousand meters away.
Luffy grinned at the familiar-looking kid before scrunching up his face in thought, steam coming out of his head. His face lit up in a smile as he slammed his fist into his open palm.
"Is your dad named Yassop?" Luffy asked making the teen sputter in surprise.
"How do you know my dad's name?" he asked the straw-hatted teen who smirked at him before taking off his hat and looking at it fondly.
"Your dad, his Captain, Shanks, and all the Red Hair Pirates stopped by my hometown. I made friends with all of them and heard about you a lot growing up. Your name is Usopp, right?" He asked again, getting a dumbfounded nod as Luffy continued.
"Shanks even acknowledged my dream of wanting to become the Pirate King. He told me to give this hat back to him after I accomplish my dreams." Luffy explained casually, stunning all three of them knowing that the person in front of them has a friendship with an 'Emperor of The Sea'.
"Well, why don't we get something to eat? This is no place to talk." Usopp said with a smile, sensing that the teenager wasn't lying. He suddenly looked embarrassed, confusing the trio.
"What are your guys' names?" he asked in a nervous laugh, only now realizing he never got them.
They stared at him for a moment before breaking out in laughter.
"Shishishishi!! This guy's name is Zoro, the girl's name is Nami, and I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'm going to be the Pirate King!!!
.
.
The four are eating at the only restaurant in Syrup Village that was called 'Food'.
Usopp was looking at Luffy with a look of wonder.
"My dad talked about me? Proudly even?" Usopp beamed at Luffy like he just got told the best news of his life. Luffy smiled at him.
"That's right, he wouldn't shut up about you when they visited. Always saying how he had a son my age and how much he missed him." Luffy said making Usopp shed a few tears before smiling brightly again.
"Enough about me, what brings you guys here?" He asked them.
"We are here to buy a ship and get some food. We already did one, now we gotta find the other." Luffy said with a smile before getting smacked over the top of his head.
*WHAM*
"We need supplies too, idiot!! You ate all our food on the first day we were on the water!!" Nami yelled at him while stretching his ear out, much to Zoro's amusement. His cackle died when she turned her glare onto him.
Usopp just stared. He could tell these two guys were crazy strong, probably the strongest people he's ever met. But this girl can scare the hell out of even then.
Usopp felt like he found something he should've left alone, but didn't.
Nami took a deep breath before letting go of Luffy's ear, making it snap back. She turned to Usopp.
"Do you know anywhere we could get a ship on this island?" She asked the island-native. Usopp almost went to his natural response of telling some random lie, but his gut told him not to. Or maybe it was what he just witnessed. So, he told the truth for once.
"Yeah, the owner of it lives at the mansion at the top of the hill. Though she's been sick since her parents passed away, so I've been going there and telling her stories to cheer her up." He explained, to which the trio nodded in understanding.
"Well, then let's not bother her," Luffy said to which the other three raised an eyebrow.
'Who would've thought he was that thoughtful?' The three thought to themselves. Usopp looked at his watch and jumped up screaming.
"I'm late!! Sorry guys, I told the sick girl I'd meet her at her house 10 minutes ago!!" He shouted as he took out money to pay for the food and ran out the door.
"Well…" Luffy said as he stood up after patting his back-to-small stomach. His friends looked up at him. He smiled at them.
"Let's go to that mansion!!" Luffy shouted out, making Zoro and Nami deadpan at him.
'Never mind, he's not thoughtful at all!!'
.
.
Usopp is sitting on a tree branch right next to a window of the mansion, waving his arms around as he explains how he took out a goldfish the size of an island with one shot.
A pale, blonde girl around the same age as him was sitting in a chair by the window, smiling amused at Usopp's stories.
Luffy, Zoro, and Nami walked around the metal fence to the mansion to see this scene. Luffy grinned at his two friends and pointed at the girl in the window.
"See!! She looks healthy!! Just get her some meat for that pale skin and she'll be good!" Luffy said with his arms crossed across his puffed-out chest, proud of his reasoning. He got a punch to his head in response.
*WHAM!!*
"What the hell are you even talking about?!" Nami yelled at him making him and Zoro laugh. The commotion drew the attention of the two talking to each other.
Kaya saw an orange-haired girl about her age, a green-haired swordsman a few years older than her, and someone wearing a straw hat with their head buried in the ground. Both she and Usopp burst out laughing at the sight.
"Do you know these people, Usopp?" She asked her friend who smiled and puffed up his chest in response.
"Of course!! These are my fans and loyal serv-" He was cut off when 2 flying slashes sliced the part of the branch he was standing on in front of him as well as a small bit of his nose.
Usopp broke out in a cold sweat and looked over at Luffy and Zoro who were glaring at him while sheathing their respective cutlass and katana.
Nami patted their back with a sweatdrop, still confused about how these two's brains work. Luffy smiled at Kaya, forgetting about his anger when he remembered this girl might be able to get him a ship.
"Hi!! I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I want a ship!! Do you have one??" Luffy asked bluntly, making Kaya giggle and everyone else sweatdrop.
"Yes, we do have a ship, I'd have to ask Merry, but I'm sure that would be fine," she responded making the trio smile. Luffy went to say something else, but they all heard someone start yelling from within the mansion.
Kaya had a worried look on her face as she slowly tried to stand up, only to get pushed back down by Usopp who came inside.
Luffy grabbed Nami's shoulder and used 'Shave' to get inside, Zoro following doing the same.
Usopp and Kaya jumped at the sudden entrance, but Usopp just shook his head and went towards the door.
*BOOOM!!!*
The door to the bedroom was blown off its hinges, a man with a stripped, beard-like growth on his chin, a blue, wide-brimmed hat on his head, and a pendulum with a sharp edge.
The weirdest part was that he was moon-walking, the dance move, not the move from the 'Six-Powers', through the dust cloud and right up to Kaya's bed before turning around and immediately breaking out in a cold sweat.
'Shit, did these kids have to go to the one place that they could mess everything up?' The man named Jango thought to himself.
He had met with his Captain earlier in the day because of a hiccup in the three-year plan to take the fortune of the owner of the mansion.
He knew that his Captain had arranged for the death of the two parents, leaving just the sick girl. Knowing his captain's strength, he thought it was impossible for the plan to fail. He even wondered sometimes why they didn't just take it right away.
But no, he was told that was dumb and that he had to follow the plan, especially because of the variables that just showed up.
The reason he met with his Captain earlier was because of the people who just showed up on the island randomly. Jango was told that they were very strong and shouldn't be allowed to interfere no matter what. His job was to make sure of that.
So, he went straight to the mansion to hypnotize the girl and get the fortune before lunchtime, because there was no way in hell could he do anything about some crazy strong kids that made even Kuro wary. The only problem was the kids he wanted to avoid were staring right at him, nothing more than an arm's reach away.
Luffy looked at the guy for a second before he sensed malicious intent. Before he could punch the guy two islands over, he heard Usopp load his massive slingshot on his back and fire it within half a second.
"FIREBIRD STAR!!!"
A massive firebird, that looked exactly like the one shot at them when they first landed on the island, slammed into the man, sending him flying back into the doorway he had just broken.
"Who the hell are you?! What do you want with Kaya?!!" Usopp shouted out, already having his 'Kabuto' reloaded and aimed at the broken doorway.
Luffy and Zoro smirked at Usopp, genuinely impressed at the strength of the shot and how his cowardice immediately bled away when he realized Kaya might be in danger.
Nami looked at Usopp's 'Kabuto' with a pondering expression and Kaya looked at him in shock, not believing that her friend was the one who performed that attack.
'What the fuck?! Didn't the Captain tell me the kid with the long nose is just a coward?!!' Jango thought to himself as he forced himself upright, wincing as he felt the burns on his stomach.
As he was standing back up, he saw 'Klahadore' walk into the hallway, eyes shadowed with his fingers twitching.
"Oh, Captain!! You came to save me?!" Jango shouted in joy as soon as he saw him, which made the twitching of his fingers get much worse.
Kuro was not having a good day.
Earlier, he sensed two very strong people show up on the island. They were much stronger than anything he had felt before. He honestly doubted he could take one of them down, let alone both of them.
That's why he called Jango to tell him to ensure these unbelievably strong kids don't get in his way. That was twenty minutes ago.
He had taken a bit of a stroll before returning to the mansion, thinking about the peace he could relish after everything was completed.
He smiled a true smile for the first time in a long time. He's been stuck playing the part of a butler for years, just waiting for his chance, and it was almost time.
Just as he walked back into the mansion, however, he sensed those crazy strong kids speaking with the girl. As he went to go play his part and 'kick out the ruffians', he sensed something so unbelievable he just stopped in his tracks to make sense of it.
Jango, the one he had just told to make sure these kids don't do exactly what they are doing now, was in a shouting match with Merry, the head butler, on the top floor.
Merry was trying to get the unknown person to leave and Jango was doing who knows what.
He went as fast as possible without looking too suspicious towards the commotion, only to sense Jango hitting Merry over the back of his head with a pistol.
By the time he finally reached his destination, Jango had kicked the door off its hinges and did his weird backward walk into the room. He reached the top of the stairs just as he came shooting back out, covered in fire.
He was already debating blowing his cover when Jango screamed out for the whole mansion to hear that he was his Captain.
Everyone looked at the butler when he walked onto the scene. Kaya with relief, Usopp with dislike that bordered on hatred, Nami with confusion, and Luffy and Zoro with seriousness.
Boy Luffy and Zoro could sense how strong this so-called 'butler' was and it made it clear to them that he probably wasn't an ally.
Kaya went to say something to 'Klahadore', but she was held back by Nami, who saw the looks Luffy and Zoro were giving the butler. Kaya was confused as to why she did this, but when she heard the man from before calling him Captain, it clicked.
'Klahadore' wasn't 'Klahadore' at all! He was a pirate captain who was likely after her money!! He might've even been behind her parents' death!!
Usopp saw as the dickhead butler he hated, get called 'Captain' and honestly, he had been looking for a reason to attack him and this was more than a good one.
He immediately drew back his 'Kabuto' and fired.
"GUNPOWDER STAR!!!"
*BOOM!!!*
The attack hit the wall behind the 'butler' as he dodged out of the way of the attack which was much too slow for him.
'Shave'
Kuro reappeared behind Usopp, blades on each of his fingers, each reaching for Usopp's throat. The sniper saw him move, but his body couldn't move fast enough to react.
*DING*
Usopp saw as a blade appeared in front of him, much faster than he could see, and blocked the blade aimed at his neck. Zoro had a bloodthirsty smirk on his face.
"I think it's safe to assume you're no butler, right?" He asked, making the former pirate click his teeth in irritation before he backed off.
He scanned everyone in the room, noticing his Vice-Captain practically out of commission and two very strong individuals guarding his target. He scowled at them.
"Every one of them is useless…" He muttered as he was about to charge again, but before he could, he sensed more than saw, the kid in the straw hat move towards him at unbelievable speeds while stretching(stretching?) his arm back while twisting it as much as he could.
"Gomu-Gomu no…"
He tried to put his blades up to block the blow, but how could some weak blades like those stop a 'Gear 2nd' punch enhanced with 'Armament Haki'?
"JET RIFLE!!!"
*SNAP*
*BOOOOM!!!!*
Kuro was launched through the wall of the mansion, digging a massive trench with his body in the courtyard. His signature 'Cat Claws' shattered to pieces, completely useless, and with a massive burn on his chest.
Luffy jumped out of the building with Zoro and Usopp following him on either side. They saw Kuro coughing up blood and holding his burn wound while muttering to himself.
"My plan can't fail.... how could it fail?... What did I do wrong?..." He kept going as the trio walked up to him, stopping right a couple of feet in front of him. He looked up at them with rage before trying to force himself to stand.
"It's all you bastard's fault... My perfect plan could never fail... My plans never fa-"
*WHAM!!!*
He was cut off with a hard punch to his jaw from Luffy. They all deadpanned at him. Zoro scoffed.
"So, this guy was pretending to be a butler for..." He trailed off. Usopp filled in the blank.
"Three years."
"This guy was pretending to be a butler for three years and was talking about some perfect plan, only to get burned once and punched twice before that's the end?" Zoro asked, getting a nod from Usopp and a laugh from Luffy before he became a bit serious.
"No, Zoro, you might not have noticed, but that guy was using 'Observation Haki' to try and block my blows. Along with knowing 'Shave', There's not many people in the 'East Blue' that could beat him." Luffy said, surprising Zoro and confusing Usopp.
"'Observation Haki'? What's that?" Usopp asked making both of them look at him funny.
"You were using it the whole fight, you know?" Zoro asked back, astounding Usopp. Zoro went to continue.
"It's a sixth sense that lets you sense people's intentions and position, along with a few other things. You have the basic form unlocked, like me, which is just basic sensing of attacks and locations of people." Zoro explained, making Usopp nod as that did sound familiar. Luffy smiled at them as he picked up where Zoro left off.
"I can sense pretty much everything on the island! Shanks told me that there are people who can even see a couple of seconds into the future!!" Luffy finished off excitedly, making the two look at him in surprise. Luffy turned around, making the other two follow, seeing Nami supporting Kaya as they walked out of the front door to the mansion, noticing how Nami's face went completely pale when she heard his explanation of 'Haki'. He narrowed his eyes at her but ignored it for now since it wasn't the time.
"Shishishi!! Sorry for breaking your mansion, Kaya!! But, we got the fake butler!!" Luffy laughed as he apologized and held up the now-unconscious Kuro. Kaya winced when she saw Kuro, but shook her head at his apology. She went to say something but got cut off.
"Kaya-ojosama!!!" They heard a voice yell. They turned to see Merry with his head wrapped up in a bandage.
"Kaya-ojosama, are you alright?? Some ruffian broke into the mansion and knocked me out! By the time I woke up, there were doors kicked in and a massive hole in the wall! What exactly happened while I was unconscious?!" He fired off, much to the worry of Kaya and the amusement of everyone else. Luffy cut off his rant.
"Don't worry, Sheep! Everyone is all good and I already caught the bad guy!!" Luffy said with a smile, holding up Kuro's unconscious body again, making Merry gasp and pull out his pistol, aiming it at Luffy.
"Unhand him, you ruffian!! What have you done to Klahadore?!!" He shouted as Luffy started laughing at him. Kaya immediately went forward with Nami's help to dispel the misunderstanding.
"Wait, Merry!! 'Klahadore' isn't 'Klahadore' at all!! He is a pirate captain who tried to kill me!!" Kaya shouted at Merry, making him gasp in shock before slowly lowering his pistol and glaring at Kuro's unconscious body.
"Then good riddance!" Merry said, completely trusting Kaya's word. He looked over at everyone else who was there and was surprised to see the town's resident liar. Usopp rubbed the back of his head bashfully when he saw the gaze.
"Thank you for protecting Kaya-ojosama when I was not able to, if I can repay this favor in any way, please let me know," Merry said as he bowed to the four. Luffy started laughing as he dropped Kuro on the ground.
"Shishishishi!! Some meat would be great!!" He laughed before Nami smacked him on the head.
"We still need a ship, idiot." She reminded him, making him laugh again. Merry smiled at them.
"I have the perfect ship for you."
.
.
The Going Merry was a medium-sized caravel that had a slightly elegant appearance. it was painted in light brown tones with white wooden details that curled up to simulate sheep's wool, with a figurehead that is a sheep's head.
The trio of Luffy, Zoro, and Nami gazed at what would be their new home with a feeling of happiness. Luffy was the first to jump up and sit on the figurehead.
"It's great!! This is my spot from now on!!" He shouted out with a happy grin, ecstatic he finally got his first real pirate ship. Zoro looked on with an approving gaze before jumping up himself and lying down on the deck, nodding to himself before standing back up.
"Yep, it's perfect." The swordsman said, making Nami roll her eyes. They didn't ask a thing about the ship.
"Just tell me everything to do with the ship." She told Merry who nodded at her in amusement. They all looked up the hill when they heard shouting. They saw Usopp with a backpack three times the size of himself on his back, rolling down the hill in their direction.
"STOP ME!!!!" Zoro looked over at him before sighing and using 'Shave' to get in front of him. He stuck his foot out.
*WHAM!!!*
"Oww...." His foot hit Usopp right on the nose. Kaya giggled at him before sighing sadly.
"So, you're really leaving?" She asked him, making him smile sadly at her.
"Yeah, I'm really leaving. The sea is calling out to me!!" Usopp said as he proudly puffed out his chest, making Kaya giggle again. He took a deep breath before looking at Kaya.
"I know this is horrible, to say this as I'm about to leave for a long-" He was cut off by Kaya crashing her lips into his, silencing him.
"Don't make me wait too long..." He heard her mumble after snapping back to reality and kissing her back. He smiled at her.
"Don't worry, when I come back, I'll have plenty of stories to tell you." He said, making her smile. She stood and walked on her own so he wouldn't feel bad about leaving. She was getting better!
They were interrupted by Luffy and Zoro's wolf-whistling and Nami's giggling, making both of them blush. Usopp shook that off and looked at them with a smile.
"Well, I hope to see you guys someday on the seas!" He said to them, getting confused looks in return.
"What are you talking about?" Luffy asked him making Usopp look at him like an idiot.
"I mean, I hope we see each other again when we are sailing as pirates," Usopp explained, now getting the 'you're-an-idiot' look directed at him by all three of them.
"Get on already," Zoro said with a smirk making Usopp's eyes widen. He looked over at Luffy who nodded at him with a smile. He started tearing up.
"I-I'M THE CAPTAIN!!"
"NO WAY, THAT'S ME!!!"
*WHAM*
"OWW!!!!*
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
ntc15
ntc15 Yo! 12th chapter done! I thought it was funny if they never even learned what Kuro's name was, mainly because I have ideas for him, Jango, and the rest of his crew that never showed up here. Don't worry, I didn't forget about those no-name idiots, I just wanted to use them in a better way than getting knocked out right away like most goons do.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to writing the next coming chapters, with Sanji getting introduced and Zoro's fight with Mihawk back-to-back, it'll be a lot of fun. From now on until I find something better, the plan will be to post every day Monday-Friday or Tuesday-Saturday depending on where you are in the world. It'll help me up the quality of my writing, so sorry in advance for no chapter after the one tomorrow for a couple of days!
Thanks for reading and hopefully see you next time!!
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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