บท 10: Chapter 010
After that, it wasn't long before they reached their destination. As the island came into sight, both Luffy and Zoro felt waves of nostalgia upon sensing the familiar presence on the coast. Soon, three other auras joined him. They stretched their arms and legs as they walked onto the shore, and it wasn't long before Nami noticed them. "Hey, we're being watched." They all turned toward their observers, and three of them instantly ran back towards the town.
"Hey! Don't run away before it even begins!" the fourth one shouted. He nervously turned back to the newcomers and raised a green slingshot. "Stop right there! I am Captain Usopp, the great protector of this village! State your business here, otherwise my 80 million followers will chase you to the ends of Hell!"
Luffy and Zoro exchanged an amused glance as Nami looked at the eccentric villager with disinterest. "Damn," Luffy said. "He's got over a tenth of the world's population as followers."
"That is pretty impressive. Maybe we should run," Zoro added. Usopp gulped, doing the math in his head. He hadn't really thought that one through, but it looked like they were buying it. Maybe this would work.
"He's lying," Nami stated in a bored tone.
"Crap! I've been found out," Usopp exclaimed as Luffy burst out laughing. Usopp swayed back and forth comically as he wondered out loud what he was to do now that he'd been discovered. Nami almost looked guilty for what she'd reduced him to. He quickly recovered though.
"Don't you dare laugh," he said firmly with his slingshot raised. "I am a man of intense pride! I don't take well to being laughed at! That's why everyone calls me Usopp the Proud!" This was another lie. No one called him that, but they didn't have any proof of that, did they?
"Hey, calm down," Luffy managed as his laughter subsided. "You're Yasopp's son, right? Let's just talk about things over food. We're not here to pillage or anything."
Usopp lost his balance and fell off the hill he was standing on, landing face first in the dirt. He got up with an embarrassed expression. "It's true that I'm Yasopp's son…but how did you know?"
Luffy smiled genuinely. "You remind me of him. Even the way you gloat is the same." Usopp's chest swelled up with pride upon hearing this, and he agreed to talk things over as a restaurant town. He even went as far as to offer to treat them.
Nami noted that the restaurant they were eating at had a sign that simply said "Food." This suggested that it was basically the only restaurant in the area.
This really was a small village. As they ate, Luffy told Usopp stories of the boy's father and his incredible marksmanship, and Usopp listened eagerly. His eyes bulged out when Luffy mentioned that he was the sniper for the crew of Red-Haired Shanks. He always knew his father was amazing, but it felt good to hear someone confirm it.
He soon excused himself from the restaurant, though, saying that he had somewhere to be soon. They continued eating after Usopp left until the three kids from earlier rushed into the restaurant, almost falling over each other. "We're here to defend the village Captain!" one shouted with newfound resolve. He then looked around confused.
"Where's Captain Usopp?" another demanded, holding up a wooden toy dagger in what he hoped to be a menacing manner.
"Ah, that was some good meat," Luffy sighed, patting his stomach in satisfaction. The three kids looked at him in horror.
"What? No way! Don't tell me you ate the Captain!" the third one shouted indignantly. Luffy looked at him in obvious amusement. Nami giggled.
"About your Captain," Zoro said, catching their attention. He put on his best evil grin. "He was delicious." Once Nami managed to calm them down enough to convince them it was a joke, Luffy asked if they knew why Usopp took off in such a hurry. One of them, who introduced himself as Carrot, replied that he usually went up to the mansion on the hill to recite his farfetched stories to the girl that lived there. They explained that she was always sick and isolated, and that Usopp's lies cheered her up.
Luffy got up. "All right, let's go then." Carrot looked up at him.
"We're actually not allowed to go there," he said disappointedly.
"Captain gets in through a secret entrance," the boy that had introduced himself as Pepper added proudly.
"All the more reason why we should go," Luffy said casually. Nami wanted to protest the logic, but the three boys cheered and took off in the direction of the hill, led by the boy who had introduced himself as Onion. Luffy laughed and trailed after them while Zoro followed wordlessly. Nami sighed as she was outvoted.
A tall gate surrounded the mansion, stretching around the full perimeter. The vegetable trio was wondering if they could find the Captain's way in when something wrapped tightly around the waists of Zoro, Nami, Pepper, Carrot, and Onion.
"Gomu Gomu no…" Luffy said jovially. The entire group, minus Zoro, looked in shock from Luffy to what was wrapped around them and back to Luffy. It was his arm. It was coiled around them like a snake. His other arm was also stretched out and had grabbed the top of the gate.
Before anyone could question the absurdity of what was currently happening, Luffy shouted, "Sorry to intrude!" They tried to avoid the inevitable, but were pulled along with him as he launched himself past the gate and high into the air. Luffy just enjoyed the breeze as the rest of them, minus Zoro, screamed their lungs out. Before they landed, Zoro pulled free of his grip, knowing this would only be painful if his landing was dependent on his Captain, who wasn't exactly worried about him dying from a fall like this.
He landed on his feet and skidded in a long line before finally coming to a stop. Luffy stuck the landing with his knees bent and one arm wrapped around his captive passengers, which were dangling above his head, gasping for breath. He promptly let go of them, his arm snapping back to his side as they fell to the ground in a thud.
"Infiltration successful," he said formally.
"Like hell it was!" Nami shouted, wondering how they were still alive. She was about to ask what the hell he just did, but was trying to find the right words, and the veggie trio beat her to it.
"That was awesome!" Pepper shouted.
"Can we do that again!?" Carrot pleaded.
"How did you do that!?" Onion demanded.
Luffy addressed them in order as he turned to each of them. "Yes it was. Maybe later. I ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi. I'm a rubber man."
"Rubber man…" Nami repeated helplessly, and her head sagged. Of all the ridiculous things in the world. Zoro looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
"How could you not know by now?" he asked disbelievingly.
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