Chương 22: Chapter 22

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East Blue – Organ Islands

Gecko Island – Syrup Village

Realizing his mistake in killing an important part of his plan, Kuro stood stunned for a moment, his mouth slightly agape before saying:

"Yeah, if I want something done right, I'll have to do it myself", Kuro said, staring at Jango's dead body. "A bunch of incompetents who can't even follow a simple plan."

"But plans always change, so after I deal with these meddling brats, you, Miss Kaya, will do exactly as I say before suffering an 'accident.' Otherwise, you won't like what I'll do to the village", Kuro said, staring directly at Kaya, who was tearing up, finally facing the reality that one of the people she trusted most was actually a pirate trying to kill her.

"Enough, Kurahadol. If you want my money, then take it, just leave the island", Kaya said, standing up.

"I think you misunderstood something, Miss Kaya. I don't just want your money. I want a peaceful life. What's the point of being rich if I can't live in peace? I faked my death because I was tired of being hunted and chased wherever I went, so there's no way I'm going back to being a wanted criminal", Kuro said, adjusting his glasses with the palm of his hand.

Luffy then returned to Kaya and Merry's side, while Usopp positioned himself at a higher ground, drawing one of his pistols, and Nami extended her bo staff, assuming a fighting stance in front of Kuro.

Going all out from the start, Nami used Soru to charge at Kuro, thrusting her staff multiple times, but unlike in the canon, this Kuro had already mastered and perfected his version of Soru to the point where he could kick the ground fifteen times with each step.

Kuro easily dodged all of Nami's thrusts. Seeing an opening, he advanced with Soru, attempting to slash her with his claws in a downward strike from a vertical angle, which Nami barely dodged using Observation Haki, losing a few strands of hair in the process.

As she dodged, Nami swung her bo staff, trying to sweep Kuro's legs from under him.

Reacting quickly, Kuro jumped over the attack, crossing his arms in an X over his chest and aligning himself parallel to the ground at the peak of his jump before tilting his body into a backflip.

Landing on his feet, Kuro launched an attack that would have hit squarely, as Nami was practically facing away from him after her open attack and wouldn't have been able to react in time.

Just as Kuro thought his claws were about to pierce Nami's back, a thunderous 'BANG' echoed through the area, followed by a projectile that hit his claws, deflecting the trajectory of his attack and causing him to miss his target.

Wasting no time, Nami took advantage of the opportunity. With her right hand, she twirled her staff around her back and hooked the loose end under her left arm, creating tension in the staff that begged to be released.

Nami then let go of the staff with her right hand, creating a powerful strike that hammered Kuro's head, slamming his face into the ground and sliding him a few meters away.

From his elevated position, Usopp watched the fight, smoke still rising from the barrel of one of his pistols.

'Damn, I was aiming for his head', Usopp thought, still getting used to using a firearm.

The fight progressed with Kuro unable to deal significant damage to Nami beyond scratches, thanks to the combination of Nami's Soru and Observation Haki, and Usopp's methodical field control, which was driving Kuro increasingly mad.

Tired of the situation, Kuro faked an attack on Nami, which she dodged, but instead of continuing to focus on her, he charged at Usopp, using Soru at maximum speed, aiming to slice him in half with his claws.

Just as Luffy was about to intervene, he realized that Usopp had instinctively used Observation Haki to dodge the lethal attack but still ended up with five deep cuts running from his left shoulder to his waist, which would surely leave scars.

The force of the attack knocked Usopp to the ground, where he rolled backward, trying to avoid further strikes.

Seeing Usopp get hit, Kaya screamed, standing up and attempting to run to him to help, "NO, USOPP!", only to be stopped by Luffy, who knew she would cause more harm than good.

Nami then appeared, using Soru to defend against an attack with her bo staff that was aimed at Usopp.

From that point on, Kuro focused more of his attacks on Usopp, gaining the upper hand in the fight as Usopp was no longer able to attack as effectively as before. Despite Nami mastering Soru, she was still slower than Kuro, causing Usopp to get increasingly hurt as the battle wore on.

Covered in blood, Usopp complained loudly, "Damn, this guy's too fast! I don't even know how to use this Rokushiki thing yet."

"But you're using Observation Haki instinctively when your life's in danger! You just need to take control and use it consciously!", Luffy shouted to Usopp.

"Use it consciously, huh?", Usopp murmured, recalling what Luffy had told him about Haki, specifically Observation Haki.

He then closed his eyes and tried to feel the spiritual energy within him and how it behaved.

The fight progressed with Usopp becoming more and more injured while sensing how his body used Observation Haki unconsciously when his life was at risk. Although his body could use it, it only did so when it was too late to fully dodge the attacks. Usopp knew he had to take control soon, or his injuries would get the better of him.

Despite the unbearable pain that made him want to give up and the overwhelming fear he felt at that moment, Usopp kept going, driven purely by willpower because he needed to save the village and couldn't let the person he loved be killed like that.

Usopp then tried to 'grasp' that spiritual energy and replicate what his body did unconsciously when using Observation Haki.

For the first time in the fight, Usopp managed to dodge a Kuro attack without taking significant damage in the process.

He then drew one of his pistols and shot at Kuro while dodging, the bullet grazing Kuro's arm.

From that point on, Usopp continued fighting with his eyes closed because whenever he opened them, he lost control of his Haki.

Now that Usopp could use Observation Haki to dodge, Kuro once again felt pressured by the coordinated attacks of Nami and Usopp.

Despite Nami becoming faster with Soru, now able to kick the ground twelve times per step, and her Observation Haki becoming stronger, allowing her to read Kuro's intentions more effectively and dodge his attacks with greater anticipation, Kuro was also becoming faster, able to kick the ground eighteen times per step.

From the beginning until now, the fight was extremely close for both sides, but the fatigue of having to fight two people at once and the accumulation of injuries began to affect Kuro's performance. Although Usopp was far more injured than Kuro, the fact that Nami was covering his back gave him much-needed time to breathe. Nami, on the other hand, was exhausted from moving so much during the fight, but the upside was that she wasn't badly hurt.

No matter how bad the situation became, neither side gave up, pushing their bodies to the limit, extending the fight for another three hours, during which Luffy had to resupply Usopp with ammunition several times.

Finally, we reach the decisive moment of the battle, when Usopp lands a precise shot on Kuro's shoulder, causing his attack to miss Nami by millimeters. Taking advantage of the opening, Nami delivered a powerful blow with her bo staff, putting all her strength into the attack and hitting Kuro square in the groin, lifting him into the air from the force of the strike.

Wasting no time, Usopp ran and slid under the unconscious Kuro, riddling his back with bullets.

In mid-slide, Usopp got up and walked over to Kuro, who had just fallen to the ground and was barely alive.

And with a simple shot to the head, Usopp erased Kuro from existence, collapsing from exhaustion and injuries immediately afterward.

"USOPP!", Kaya screamed as she ran toward Usopp in desperation, this time without being stopped.

Holding the person she loved in her arms in that state caused so much stress that her body couldn't take it, and she fainted, leaving everyone worried about her health.

=Scene Break=

"So, how is she?", an Usopp, wrapped in bandages and barely able to walk, asked the doctor Merry had brought from outside the island to check on Kaya, as he stepped out of the room.

Looking at everyone present, the doctor replied, "She's been regularly ingesting a specific poison that mimics a disease. She'll be fine; I've already given her the antidote, and now she just needs to rest for a few days."

"Whew", Usopp and everyone else presents sighed in relief.

It had been two days since the fight with Kuro. Usopp had slept for an entire day, and when he woke up, he was extremely worried after learning what had happened to Kaya. Despite her condition being stabilized by the island's doctors, Merry went to another island to bring in a more qualified doctor to treat her.

After answering a few more questions, the doctor left, paid by Merry, who thanked him profusely.

After a while, Merry came to talk to Luffy. "Mr. Luffy, I apologize for not having had the time to show you and your friends the ship, but if you don't mind, I would like to wait until Miss Kaya recovers before making any agreements."

"That's fine with me. My crew needs some time to train anyway", Luffy said, not minding waiting a few more days.

They stayed for another three days until Kaya fully recovered, no longer being sick.

Kaya woke up a day after the doctor left, and during those three days, Kaya and Usopp interacted a lot with Luffy and the group, developing a friendship.

During those three days, the group continued training with Luffy's help, this time with the addition of Usopp to the training routine.

Zoro was seen training for hours on his air slashes, trying to master the technique.

He also fought Luffy several times, growing stronger with each battle, now infusing Armament Haki into all of his attacks, including his air slashes.

He could now kick the ground eighteen times per step when using Soru, and he had mastered the basics of Observation Haki.

Nami could now kick the ground fifteen times per step, and besides growing a bit stronger physically, she also mastered the basics of Armament Haki.

With Usopp's help, she was almost finished developing a new retractable bo staff, more powerful than her previous one.

Chouchou perfected his Soru, now able to kick the ground seventeen times per step. He had also mastered the basics of Observation Haki and was working on his Armament Haki.

Now that he had space, he trained in his full Zoan form, mastering it and no longer feeling awkward or clumsy when transforming. Unfortunately, he focused so much on his full Zoan form that he ended up neglecting his half-Zoan form.

In addition to growing much stronger physically, Usopp completely mastered the basic form of Observation Haki, no longer needing to close his eyes to use it. He also learned Soru, progressing toward mastering the basics of the technique.

In his free time, Usopp trained with his new pistols and his old slingshot or experimented with creating new special bullets for both his pistols and his old slingshot.

After she recovered, Kaya and Merry took the group to see the ship.

"This is the 'Going Merry,' and as you can see, it's not very large, and I don't know how far it can take you on the Grand Line, but I'm sure Merry will be an important companion on your journey", Merry said, introducing the crew to the charming caravel.

"It's perfect", Luffy said, with a giant smile on his face as he touched the ship's hull.

What no one noticed at that moment was that Luffy already loved the ship so much that its Klabautermann had just been born.

"Alright, how much do you want for it?", Luffy asked Kaya.

"It's a gift of gratitude for saving my life and the village", Kaya said with a soft smile.

After thanking her, Luffy and Zoro began moving their belongings from their old boat to the new ship, carefully ensuring they didn't forget anything.

Meanwhile, Merry explained to Nami how to navigate the new ship.

After everyone boarded the ship, ready to set sail, Usopp said, "Well, I guess this is goodbye. Maybe we'll meet again on the seas someday."

"What are you talking about, Usopp? Get on the ship. You're part of the crew. You too, Kaya. What are you waiting for? Get on board", Luffy said, scratching his ear, calling Usopp and Kaya by their names for the first time.

"Wait a minute, Luffy. I can't just leave the village and the mansion like this. I have to take care of my parents' business", Kaya said, trying to refuse despite really wanting to join Usopp.

"So what? I've already decided you're part of my crew", Luffy said, puffing his cheeks.

"But—", Kaya then looked at Merry for help.

With a smile, Merry said, "It's alright, Miss Kaya. If you'd like to join your friends, I'll take care of things while you're away. Just be careful."

Kaya then looked at Usopp before turning to Luffy and saying, "Alright, I just need to grab my things—"

"I already got your stuff when I brought our things from the old boat to this one. It's all here", Luffy said, patting the ship's white railing.

Without wasting time, Kaya and Usopp boarded the ship, with Usopp saying, "I'm the captain, then."

" No fucking way, Usopp. I'm the captain", Luffy said, smacking Usopp on the head.

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(AN: 2,361 Words)

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