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Chapter 22: Syrup Village
1,300 Words
"Your feeling is right. This is the gold we looted from Buggy."
Just as Zoro was growing suspicious, Ganyu quietly approached him and whispered in his ear.
He instantly understood.
To prevent Gaimon from suffering such a tragic outcome, Ganyu and Nami had taken the gold from their ship and packed it into the empty boxes on the hillside.
Those two women certainly put on a good show.
However, this ending wasn't bad.
It was just a pity that the 5 million Berries they worked so hard for was gone.
Half an hour later.
"Take this box of gold with you. I'm sure you'll find it useful, my friends."
Before parting, Gaimon ended up giving them the chest of gold as a gift.
"Gaimon! Aren't you coming with us?"
Luffy was deeply moved and invited him sincerely.
"I won't."
Gaimon shook his head, turned his back, and returned to the forest he had guarded for twenty years, along with the island's strange animals.
"I will stay here from now on and become the true guardian of this forest!"
...
On deck.
"What! This chest of gold that Gaimon gave us was originally ours?!"
Back on the ship, Luffy's eyes widened upon hearing the news.
His brain was racing, but even with his head spinning, he still couldn't figure it out.
"Luffy, after you landed on the island, Nami and I also…"
Ganyu couldn't bear to see her captain's already-not-so-bright brain overheat, so she explained in detail what she and Nami had done.
"Oh…"
Luffy finally understood and slapped Ganyu and Nami hard on the back.
"Well done, you two!"
"Ouch, that hurts!"
Nami was caught off guard, feeling like her back was about to fall apart.
"Huh? Was that hard? But Ganyu is perfectly fine."
Nami nearly coughed up blood from anger at those words. "Nonsense! How could my physical abilities be the same as Ganyu's?"
"That's right, hahaha!"
"Damn it, how can you still laugh!"
Thwack!
Under Ganyu's shocked gaze, Nami jumped up, tackled Luffy, raised her fist, and gave him a thorough and satisfying beating.
This was a historic moment: the first time a member of the Straw Hat Pirates beat up their captain.
It was the first time, but it would certainly not be the last.
After a long time, unable to bear watching any longer, Ganyu rescued Luffy.
Seeing Luffy on the verge of death, Ganyu asked worriedly, "Are you still alive, Luffy?"
Luffy secretly opened one eye. Seeing that Nami wasn't looking, he said:
"Hehe, it doesn't hurt at all. I'm a rubber man."
That's right. He was faking it all.
Ganyu was taken aback, feeling that the Luffy in front of her was much more cunning and vivid than the one in the original work. He was a real person.
At the same time, she also solved a major mystery from the original story. Nami really doesn't know Armament Haki.
After sailing for about half an hour, Nami suddenly gathered everyone.
"Ahem… everyone, listen to me. I suddenly remembered there's an island to the south. It's not deserted. We might be able to get a large ship there."
"But why don't we just go to the Grand Line to find a ship?" Luffy asked, puzzled.
Nami explained, "That route is too dangerous and requires larger, more robust ships. Our two small boats are too weak. Forget the Grand Line, we probably can't even get out of the East Blue in these."
"But we only have five million Berries worth of gold. That's hardly enough to buy a ship, is it?" Zoro interjected.
To date, the Straw Hat Pirates' entire fortune consisted of only the chest of gold they obtained from Buggy.
"Wrong."
Luffy said with a grin. "We still have a bunch of feathers! Ganyu said we can use them to make money."
"I forgot about that. But those feathers won't sell for much, and I doubt anyone but nobles would buy them."
Zoro remembered. A few days ago at sea, Ganyu had shot down a large pink bird. They roasted its meat and kept the feathers.
"It's alright if we don't have money."
Nami tapped the Log Pose on her wrist and looked at Ganyu, who was deep in thought.
"Anyway, it's on the way to the Grand Line, so let's just try our luck. What do you think, Ganyu?"
After spending several days together, Nami felt she had gotten to know them. A brainless brute, a somewhat intelligent brute, and a thoughtful, intelligent, sweet, and soft-spoken little sister. In short, a perfect little sister in every way.
Nami always lamented that it was fortunate this pirate crew had Ganyu. Otherwise, she would have been driven crazy by those two idiots sooner or later.
"..."
Ganyu lowered her eyes and pondered, thinking about the original plot.
If she remembered correctly, the island Nami mentioned must be Syrup Village, where Usopp lives.
There, they would find not only Usopp, but also the great ship they longed for: the Going Merry.
"Go! Of course we have to go! Luffy, aren't you looking for crew members? Maybe we can try our luck on that island?"
Upon hearing this, Luffy's eyes lit up, and he immediately made a decision:
"Alright! Our next destination is this island! Let's go!"
...
After a day's voyage, they finally arrived at their destination the following morning.
As usual, they moored the boat in a secluded corner on the shore, and the four of them, carrying a box of gold and a bag of feathers, went to the island.
The entrance to the village was a long, sloping ramp, with stone walls seven or eight meters high on both sides.
It was terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. As long as one set up an ambush on the rock walls, they could catch any invaders off guard.
As she climbed the slope, Ganyu observed the surrounding terrain while mentally reviewing the plot.
There were three key figures on this island.
First, one of the main characters, the future "Sniper King," "God" Usopp. Of course, his nickname on the island was "Liar Usopp," a mischievous boy who constantly scared the villagers by crying, "Pirates are coming!"
Second: Kaya, a wealthy heiress who was frail and sickly. She was young, beautiful, an orphan, and owned a massive fortune. She loved listening to Usopp tell stories by her window.
Third: "Captain" Kuro of the Hundred Plans, with a bounty of 16 million Berries, going by the alias Klahadore. Three years ago, this notorious pirate grew tired of his life on the run and infiltrated Kaya's family as her butler, attempting to legally seize her entire fortune.
The plot revolved around these three. The "protagonist," "beauty," and "villain" were all in place.
And now, the last missing "hero" had arrived just in time.
"Hey! You… you guys are not allowed to go any further! This… this island has already been occupied by our great Usopp Pirates!"
Suddenly.
A hesitant, stammering voice came from the top of the slope.
"Hm?"
The four of them looked in the direction of the sound.
At the end of the slope, a boy with a long nose and trembling legs was aiming a slingshot at them.
His bluffing appearance naturally failed to intimidate them.
"The Usopp Pirates? Have you heard of them?"
"I have absolutely no recollection of it. This kid probably made it up."
"What?! We've been exposed!"
Usopp exclaimed in shock, nearly dropping his slingshot.
(To Be Continued)
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