When they were far enough from Jango, they left the kids under a tree so they could keep sleeping peacefully.
"We have to go look for Luffy so we can get out of here," Nami told them.
"Let him do whatever he wants, I have time to sleep," Zoro said as he got into position to rest a bit.
"I hope we don't leave so soon," Oliver said, looking up at the clouds, which seemed to have a different shape to him.
"What do you mean? We have to keep sailing to keep getting treasure," Nami said a little annoyed.
'Should I try a change at this point?' thought Oliver.
"It's just that if we leave, Kaya and this whole town might get killed."
What Oliver said caught Zoro and Nami's attention.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Nami asked, confused.
"Well, the thing is, that butler is a former pirate," Oliver said.
"A pirate? Are you sure about that?" Nami asked.
"I know a few famous pirates in the East Blue..."
Oliver began saying, alarming Nami a little.
"Three years ago there was Kuro, Captain of the Black Cat Pirates. He was supposedly captured by Marine Captain Morgan and executed, but that butler looks identical to that pirate," Oliver said, trying to sound convincing.
"Are you sure? He could just look similar," Nami said.
"But it's him. Neatly combed black hair, big glasses that fall down, he pushes them up with the palms of his hands because he has gloves with blades on the fingers, so he used to do it that way to not hurt himself, and besides... there's a murderous aura around him, as if his hands were covered in blood," Oliver said.
"He didn't seem like a pirate to me. He even talked as if he hated them," Nami said.
"That's why I called him Cat, to see if he reacted, but he knows how to act well enough to avoid suspicion. Still, it's better not to talk about it until I'm sure. Otherwise I might beat him up and he might not even be the guy," Oliver said.
"Alright," Nami told him.
They heard no response from Zoro, so they looked at him and he was sleeping.
"How can he sleep after what you just said?!" Nami yelled angrily.
"Don't worry. Let him rest, it's better for him to be well-rested in case of a future conflict," Oliver said as he watched Zoro sleep. 'His ability to sleep is impressive.'
Oliver began practicing Hoplomachia while Nami watched him.
"Oliver... do you know all the pirates in the East Blue?" Nami asked him.
"And that question?" Oliver said.
"I-It's just curiosity," Nami said, looking away.
"Well... I know quite a few, though I doubt I know all of them, and some may have already left for the Grand Line. They wouldn't stay in the weakest sea. Do you want to know if I know information about a pirate?" Oliver asked, staring at her.
"No! Nothing like that! It was just curiosity... By the way, what are you training?" Nami asked, trying to change the subject.
Oliver looked at her but didn't want to continue talking about that.
"I'm training Hoplomachia, it's a fighting style created for defense and offense. The right arm acts like a spear, and the left arm acts like a shield, so I'm training to use it better. Do you want to train too?" Oliver asked her.
"N-No, I'm fine," Nami said, letting him continue his training.
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Time passed, and the kids finally woke up, so now they were just waiting for Luffy and Usopp to arrive.
While they waited, Usopp ran past them extremely fast, heading toward the village.
"He's still mad about that butler," Nami said while getting off the railing.
"I don't think so."
"Something must have happened on the coast."
"He's in a hurry, so something definitely happened on the coast."
The three kids said this, since they didn't think their captain would run without greeting them for something like that.
"How can I get there?" Zoro asked the kids.
"Something smells fishy."
"It's time to show our skill."
"Yeah! That hypnotist was heading there too!"
The kids talked about everything except how to get to the coast.
"Okay, but are you going to tell us how to get there?" Zoro asked again.
Oliver saw the direction Usopp had come from, so he assumed that was the path to the coast, and began walking.
"Do you know the way to the coast?" Ninjin asked him.
"I just have to follow the path, right?" Oliver said.
"The Captain's special place isn't on the path," Piiman explained.
"Follow us!" Ninjin said.
The kids led them until they reached a tree where no one was.
"No one's here," Piiman said.
"Then why did the Captain run off?" Ninjin asked.
Knowing where Luffy had to be, Oliver went toward the cliff and saw him there on the ground.
"I found him," Oliver said.
The rest went to look and saw him, then climbed down and found him sleeping.
"Oi, Luffy, wake up," Zoro said as he tried to shake him, but it didn't work.
"Let me try," Nami said, hitting him on the head, which didn't work either.
"This is simpler," Oliver said. "Luffy, there's meat."
The moment Luffy heard the word "meat," he woke up.
"Oh, guys. How are you?" Luffy said with a big yawn.
"What were you doing sleeping here?" Zoro asked him.
Luffy looked around and saw he was on the cliff.
"I was up there and then…" He tried to remember what had happened. "Right…"
Luffy began telling them everything he heard with Usopp, that the butler was actually a pirate planning to kill Kaya and steal her fortune.
"WHAT?!"
"They want to kill Miss Kaya?!"
"And they're going to invade the village?! Is that true?!"
The three kids asked, terrified after hearing the story.
"Yes. That's what they said, no doubt about it!" Luffy said, sitting with his legs crossed.
"And... why were you sleeping here?" Zoro asked again.
"Well, a moment ago I was on the cliff and I woke up down here," Luffy said without realizing it.
"That butler is a really bad guy!"
"Totally!"
"And that hypnotist must be his accomplice!"
The kids said this while Luffy kept trying to figure out what happened to him.
"So that's why your Captain ran toward the village. Well, it's lucky you found out before anything happened so you can escape. Those two made a mistake," Nami told the kids.
"That's right, let's get out of here right now!!"
"Yeah, let's grab our things and get out!"
"Treasures, food, toys, and…"
The three kids started listing everything they needed to pack to escape.
"Let's hurry!"
The kids ran toward the village, leaving them behind.
"OH NO!!" Luffy yelled, realizing something.
"What is it?" Zoro asked him.
"We have to hurry and buy food before the butcher closes!" Luffy said, worried he hadn't bought anything yet.
"You have some very strange priorities," Nami said, not understanding why he's still in the crew. "So it really was Kuro."
"I told you. He looked very familiar," Oliver said.
"You know him?" Luffy asked.
"Yes. As soon as I saw him at the mansion, I thought it was him, that's why I told Nami and Zoro not to say anything," Oliver answered.
"I didn't know that," Zoro said.
"That's because you fell asleep in the middle of his explanation," Nami told him.
They walked back toward the village, and as the sun was setting, they ran into the kids, who were looking for their captain.
On the way, they ran into Usopp, who was returning from the village with an injury on his arm.
"Captain!" the three kids shouted when they saw Usopp.
"Oh, it's you guys," he said, looking at them, and when he saw Luffy, he froze. "Huh?! You're alive?!"
"Of course. I just woke up," Luffy said as if nothing had happened.
"Yeah, he was asleep. Whatever, we know everything! We have to hurry and warn everyone!" Piiman said.
"Warn everyone?" Usopp said, remembering what happened earlier. "Hahahahaha! Come on, didn't you realize it was another one of my lies? I just hate that butler… so I made up the story that he was a pirate!"
The three of them more or less understood something was wrong, unlike the kids—or Luffy, who didn't understand anything.
"It was another lie?" Piiman asked.
"I believed it!" Ninjin shouted.
"And why did you play along?" Tamanegi asked Luffy.
"Huh?" Luffy didn't understand much of what was happening.
"You've disappointed me, Captain."
"Me too."
"No matter how bad that butler is, I never imagined you'd make up stories to hurt people."
The kids left them behind, heading home before dark.
When the sun finally set, they were all at the same place where they had seen Jango along with Kuro.
"I'm a liar. I couldn't do anything, but the truth is the truth. The pirates are coming, right? Yes, they are, but everyone thinks it's a lie. They think tomorrow will be a normal day like any other," Usopp said, knowing what would happen tomorrow.
"So I'll wait for them here!! And I'll turn it into a lie! That way everyone will keep thinking… that tomorrow is just another ordinary day!" he said, determined to do everything he could to save the village.
"They shot me in the arm. The villagers chased me, but I have to protect this place!! I love this village! And I want to protect everyone! I couldn't bear for them to be killed without even knowing it," he said, crying.
"You're a good guy. You made the kids leave so you could fight alone," Zoro said, seeing Usopp's determination.
"We'll help you," Luffy said, ready to stand by him.
"But I'm warning you that I'll be taking all the treasure!" Nami said.
"Huh? You guys… you're really going to fight by my side? But why?" Usopp asked, not understanding.
"You can tell you're scared to death," Luffy said.
"And besides, there are a lot of them, right?" Zoro said.
"Don't be idiots! I'm not scared of them!! I don't care how many they are! I'm the great Captain Usopp, a great warrior of the sea!! Why would I be afraid of them?!"
The four of them stared at him, since Usopp's legs were trembling.
"Damn it! Damn it! Stop shaking!" he said, hitting his legs. "So what?! They're the Black Cat Pirates, of course I'm scared! Any problem with that?!"
"No, on the contrary. You're a good guy and we're going to help you," Zoro told him.
"Exactly, we're going to help you with this," Luffy said.
The words moved Usopp, who began crying again.
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