Bab 21: Gecko Islands
East Blue - Close to Gecko Islands.
A Small black ship was coming near the island, with three men on board, standing on the Ship's deck while looking at the island's appearance. The three men are Austin, Brain, and Zero.
" We are finally here!" Austin exclaimed, looking at the close island.
" My lord, why did we slow down when we were this close to the island? " Brain asked from Austin's right side.
" Well, I want to make our presence known," Austin smiled.
" To whom, my lord? An enemy or an ally ?!" Zero asked from his left side.
" Hmm, neither of them, but they do have the potential to be allies in the future. " Austin smirked, thinking of a certain idiot with a long nose.
30 minutes later, the Ship docked at the island's shore, and Austin's group landed on the beach.
" Haaah! It's really good to be back on the ground again! " Zero exclaimed, stretching his body. Apparently, the big man wasn't really comfortable with his first sea trip on the Ship.
Austin smiled at this display and found the giant man quite amusing, especially since Brain had never shown such a reaction before, at least not in his presence.
Austin glanced around and activated his 'Observation Haki' to scan his surroundings, which got him some results because he discovered 4 people eyeing them from afar while hiding on top of one of the cliffs.
Austin smiled and looked at the top of that cliff, which shocked the four spies, who cried in surprise.
Hearing the sound from a distance made Brain and Zero tense up, and they quickly prepared for action.
" Relax, they are just a bunch of kids," Austin stated.
" Huh? who are they, my lord?!" Zero asked curiously.
But before Austin could reply, suddenly, several pinballs hit the ground near the group's feet, and shortly after, several flags with a standard pirate symbol on them were raised on top of the cliff.
Soon afterward, someone showed up on top of the cliff, a slim tan-skinned teenager with medium-length black curly hair, prominent lips, and a long nose. He wore an olive green plaid bandanna, a pair of clear rectangular goggles on his head, a blue and white striped armband on his left arm, and a brown overall with no shirt underneath.
When Austin saw this man's face, he smiled and used 'Detect' on him to see his stats.
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Name: Usopp
Race: Human
Level: 1
Strength: 10
Agility: 15
Stamina: 15
Charisma: 10
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As expected, he is really weak, weaker even than Nami - Austin sighed in his mind, thinking - Well, Nami is a thief, so she is used to sailing and fighting, while Usopp never fought or left his village before. Hence, it's understandable that he is weaker than her.
Usopp stood on top of the cliff, looking down at the three strangers, and said with a tone full of confidence.
" I'm Usopp, the leader of the great pirates who reign over this village. If you're thinking of attacking this village, then forget it. My eight thousand subordinates won't sit by quietly! "
Right after Usopp finished his talk, some flags started moving left and right, as if many people were holding them.
" Is this some kind of joke ?!" Brain frowned.
" Brat, stop this farce, you and those three kids hiding there! We don't have time for this!" Zero narrowed his eyes and yelled loudly.
Knowing that they had been discovered, the three kids panicked and threw away the flags they were controlling before they started running away, fleeing, leaving Usopp behind alone.
Despite being alone, Usopp didn't give up and grabbed his slingshot, threatening Zero.
" Hey, you! Don't insult me! I'm a very proud man! And because of my great pride, people here call me the proud Usopp " Usopp then put a pinball in his slingshot and aimed it at the group, saying.
" You saw it yourself before. My slingshot skills are far more excellent than your average pistol! "
Austin shook his head and sighed. Despite not being a real fan of Usopp, Austin has come to this village just to see this idiot because he was one of the straw hats, which is why he entrained him so far and gave him face during this whole time. But now Austin had enough of this farce, so he decides to scare this idiot and show him the reality.
Austin used 'Geppo' coupled with 'Wind style speed' and appeared on top of the cliff in front of Usopp, scaring the shit out of the latter, who dropped his slingshot and fell on his butt afterward with a look of horror on his face because he didn't understand what just happened.
" Oy! Brat, I'm not interested in this island or your village." Austin looked down at the trembling Usopp on the ground and spoke in a deep voice, " If I wanted to attack your village or kill you with those kids before, I would have done it without you even knowing how you died. So stop with this farce and lead us to somewhere here, where we can eat and drink! "
Usopp glanced up at Austin with an apparent fear and terror in his eyes before he swallowed his saliva hard and nodded his head hurriedly several times, indicating his understanding.
The group was then led by the still-shaking Usopp to the sole restaurant in the nearest village to the slope, Syrup village.
On their way to the restaurant, Zero grinned evilly and spoke to Austin while looking at Usopp.
" My lord, You shouldn't scare him this much. Look, the poor kid is still shaking."
" Humph! What a joke! A bunch of kids standing there threatening pirates. What was he thinking?" Austin paused, looking at Usopp's back before adding, " I wanted him to know the situation he was in, that he was facing real pirates, not some children pretending to be ones!" Austin spoke with a mocking and loud voice so that Usopp could hear every word he said.
" You are right, my lord! He would already be dead if it was someone else. Because they wouldn't waste time on some lying brat explaining to him that they are not here to attack his village." Brain added more fuel to the fire, scaring the poor Usopp more, which was clearly effective because the latter's shoulders trembled slightly as a result.
30 minutes later, the group arrived at the village's restaurant and ordered some food and drinks.
Later on, they sat at one of the tables with the still-silent Usopp, who was sitting at the edge of his chair, sweating profusely all over his body, not daring to look at Austin's group faces.
" Relax! I don't have any ill intentions toward this village. We are just gonna stay here for a couple of days to rest before we continue our journey afterward" Austin decided to stop scaring the shaking Usopp and reassure him.
" Humph! Weren't you saying you are a brave and proud man before?! Then act like one!" Brain scoffed and added.
Noticing that these pirates didn't seem to have any intentions of attacking the village, Usopp sighed in relief and relaxed a little bit, but nevertheless, he still kept his guard up.
" So, do you live here ?!" Austin suddenly asked, trying to ease the stress Usopp was feeling.
" Ah?.. Yes! Yes! I live here!" Not expecting to be questioned, Usopp stumbled in his answer.
" Alone or with your family ?!" Austin questioned.
" Alone," Usopp replied.
" Where is your family ?!" Austin raised his brows.
" My...mother died when I was young, and my father is still alive " Usopp stopped for a moment before adding, " He is a pirate!"
" Ho?! What's your father's Name?!" Austin asked, pretending to be gathering information even though he already knew everything.
" His Name is Yasopp. He left the island 17 years ago! " Usopp looked proud at the mention of his father.
" Hoh?! I think I kinda know of him," Austin said, smiling.
" Is he some well-known pirate?!" Zero asked curiously.
" HAHAHAHAHA, he is more than just a 'well-known' pirate. The man is a crew member in the Red-hair pirates and not any regular crew member either, but one of the commanders!" Austin stated.
" The Red-hair pirates? You mean that Yonko's crew, Red-haired Shanks?!" Brain exclaimed, surprised because this was the second time he heard Austin mentions Shanks.
" Yes, there is no mistake on it. " Austin affirmed while lifting his cup to drink.
" What?! ... a commander in a Yonko's crew?! ...My father?!" Usopp murmured in disbelief, clearly shocked by this revelation.
The group then continued to chat for a while about various things, making Usopp happy, prompting the latter to lower his guard after realizing that Austin's group didn't seem to harbor any evil intentions toward the village or its residents.
Suddenly Austin peeked through the window at the huge mansion in the distance and asked.
" Tell me about that mansion." Austin pointed at the mansion " Who is living there? And how many staff members do they have? "
" Why...Do...you want to know ...that?" Usopp tensed up immediately at the mention of Kaya's mansion because the way Austin asked that question implied that he harbored some ambitious ideas about that place, especially since he was inquiring about the number of staff working there.
" I'm just curious, so don't tense up. I have no interest in mansions or lands. I'm a pirate, after all." Austin smiled and replied casually.
Still, Usopp didn't put his guard down as he began to speak about Kaya and how her parents died a year ago. He then proceeds to talk about the staff working there while obviously neglecting to mention many critical facts, such as Kaya's inherited wealth or the existence of the mansion's guards.
Usopp seems to do it intentionally, thinking that if Austin and his group have any bad intentions about the mansion, they will be caught off guard by the false information.
Austin saw through his little scheme but didn't say anything and just smiled slightly in response, continuing with his show of ignorance and pretending he didn't already know everything about the village.
Only when Usopp started speaking about Kaya's butler, Klahadore, AKA 'Captain Kuro,' did Austin interpret Usopp by asking.
" When did this man start working there ?"
"Hm?!" Usopp thought for a moment before answering, " I believe in 2 days, it will be an entire 3 years. "
Austin nodded in response and started thinking about his next move.
So, Kuro's Operation will start the day after tomorrow at dawn - Austin starts contemplating his options - Hmm, I need this crew of pirates since they have 3 individuals with bounties on their heads among them, which will be of great help in my Quest.
Austin then spent the time Usopp took talking about his village to think about how and when he should intervene in the upcoming event.
Hmm, I think I will not expose Kuro's secret, for now, so I will let the events proceed normally like the anime, and I will only interfere when things start to get out of control, or else they wouldn't feel like they have survived if things didn't get bigger. - Austin smiled evilly - I want them to feel despair, thinking it's the end of their lives and the village, because only then will they truly understand the real importance and impact our help was in saving the day.
I can also help this idiot and get him to feel in debt to me - Austin glanced at Usopp and thought - Even though Usopp is weak, he will still be part of Luffy's crew in the future, which will be beneficial to me in the long run.
I don't know what the future holds since I died before the end of the anime, but having a good relationship with the protagonists is considered a token of assurance just in case things go sideways. - Austin sighed - So I hope everything goes well!
After he finished thinking about his upcoming plan, Austin stood up and said.
" We had a good meal here, but now, I will have to trouble you by showing us someplace to stay in." Austin smiled, adding, "We intend to stay here for two days to rest and gather some supplies before we continue our travel afterward."
" Alright, this is a small village anyway, so there's only one place where you can stay," Usopp told them about the only motel in the village.
Before they left the restaurant, Austin remembered something and grinned evilly, asking Usopp," In which direction is the north slope?!"
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