"I don't know, but Uncle Gekko said it might be here, so I came to see." In fact, after arriving here, Luffy felt a strange attraction, though it was very faint. At first, Luffy thought it was the smell of food.
Luffy sniffed again and realized it wasn't a scent.
"You... What are you doing?!"
Seeing Luffy sniffing around him, Usopp quickly took two steps back.
"Strange, what is it?" Luffy wondered.
"You, you're really looking for something, aren't you?!" Usopp became even more cautious. Even though Luffy had helped him 'defeat' that monster earlier, Luffy was a pirate, and how could pirates be trusted?
"Maybe I was mistaken," Luffy said, ungracefully picking his nose with his hand and looking dejected. "Speaking of which, why do those monsters keep attacking here? I haven't seen that kind of monster anywhere else."
"Maybe you weren't paying attention, and you didn't see very clearly, right?" Usopp said helplessly, while thinking about when this guy would leave.
But...
He hadn't actually heard of such monsters anywhere else.
Usopp thought for a moment. In the "Marine" newspaper and "The Black Order" newspaper he subscribed to, he had never seen such monsters listed in the dangerous monster introductions. It was as if they were a special product of Syrup Village...
"Forget it, I see you definitely won't leave easily, so come to my house," Usopp sighed, looking at Luffy, who showed no intention of leaving.
Luffy grinned and strode after Usopp.
The sky was still bright, but the streets were already crowded, with everyone wearing expressions of hard work mixed with happiness. Though their lives were a bit tough, they could live peacefully.
The East Blue was the safest sea in the world. People living in the East Blue were much happier than those living elsewhere. At least they didn't have to worry about pirates, and even demons appeared less frequently than in other seas.
When they saw Usopp, people greeted him warmly. Usopp excitedly led Luffy back to his home.
Luffy looked at the people along the way and felt it was different from what he had imagined. He had heard from Zoro that Syrup Village had a notorious liar and assumed Usopp would be ostracized. But now, it seemed he was living quite well.
"Hmph, people here aren't what you think," Usopp said dismissively, seeing Luffy's thoughtful expression and knowing what he was thinking. "You pirates always judge others by yourselves."
Actually, Usopp had been isolated at first.
Initially, he fabricated stories about pirates coming to cause panic, but people understood because they knew he did it for his mother.
Later, his mother passed away, and soon after, Usopp awakened his Quincy abilities. After that, he could see monsters outside the village constantly eyeing it. Usopp was scared and rushed to notify everyone, but when they arrived, they saw nothing.
Because Usopp had a history of lying, they thought it was a prank. It was during that time that they considered Usopp a lying braggart, and that nickname spread then.
However, as time went by, even the most foolish could start to realize.
Yes, they couldn't see the monsters, but they could see the damage the monsters caused. Whenever they saw huge footprints or signs of destruction outside the village, they gradually understood that the monsters Usopp spoke of might be real.
Especially later when demons tried to enter the village and ferociously wanted to eat people, it was Usopp who came to their rescue. So, they believed Usopp's words and knew that this child had been protecting the village all these years.
Once they understood this, they naturally stopped isolating Usopp. Instead, they took good care of him.
Usopp softly sighed, "In short, everyone here is a very kind person."
However, Luffy seemed indifferent to his sentiment. After entering the house, he looked around, and finally stopped in front of a photograph.
"Huh?! Yasopp! Isn't that Yasopp?!"
Luffy exclaimed in surprise, looking at the man in the photo.
"Yasopp...?" Usopp's ears twitched. The next moment, he zipped over to Luffy, staring at him with wide eyes. "You know him?!"
[A novel app that has been running stably for many years, comparable to the old version of the bug-catching app used by everyone, huanyuanapp.]
"Of course, Uncle Yasopp is Shanks's crewmate!" Luffy said, recalling his time in Windmill Village. "He's a very strong person!"
"How did he get here, could it be..."
He looked at the photo, which showed a man, a woman, and a child. As if remembering something, he pointed at Usopp and said, "Are you Yasopp's son?"
"Of course! Do you know where my dad is?!" Usopp said excitedly.
Luffy replied, "Uncle Gekko said that Shanks is a formidable pirate in the Grand Line now. Uncle Yasopp is with Shanks, so he must be a formidable pirate too, right?"
"Grand Line..."
Usopp's excitement lasted for a moment, then he became somewhat disappointed.
The Grand Line... it was too far from here.
With monsters surrounding him, how could he leave Syrup Village?
"Don't worry! After I defeat Kibutsuji Muzan, we'll definitely find out why this place attracts monsters. Once everything is resolved, you'll become our sniper!"
Luffy patted Usopp on the shoulder.
"That's too sudden!" Usopp was surprised. Was recruiting pirates this casual?
But...
He was indeed tempted.
If it weren't for his concern about the monsters attacking the village, he would have set sail long ago...
However, whether to join Luffy's pirate crew still needed observation. Although he didn't seem like a bad person according to the newspapers, the newspapers had also said that many pirates would pretend when their goals hadn't been achieved yet.
Perhaps he was a bad person disguised with a friendly appearance...
Maybe?
Usopp looked at Luffy, who had suddenly lain down on the bed as if he had fallen asleep, and his mouth twitched.
Someone like that...
Could he really disguise himself?
Just as Usopp couldn't help but want to complain, he suddenly saw a fragment emitting a faint glow sticking out of Luffy's pocket...
It looked like a piece of broken glass, emitting a faint light.
He frowned, feeling like he...
had seen this thing somewhere before.
----
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