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Chapter 26: Seeking Help
"What? You're saying that you and Usopp overheard Klahadore and a guy named Jango plotting to attack this village tomorrow morning?"
On the rocks under the moonlight, the three lay side by side, the sound of the waves gently echoing in their ears.
The three of them enjoyed the night view while sharing the information they had gathered.
The reason it was called a sharing was because Luffy also made a significant discovery.
"Klahadore... Kla... Kuro! There's no mistake, this guy is the 'Hundred Plans' Kuro that Ganyu and I found out about on the ship!"
A sharp glint flashed in Zoro's eyes. Combining the information that Ganyu had "gathered" on the ship by herself, he quickly analyzed the truth.
"Klahadore is that rich lady's butler, and also the pirate 'Hundred Plans' Kuro. The pirates on that ship are all his subordinates. They came here on his orders to rob the rich lady's family property!"
The analysis was good; he had guessed almost everything correctly.
Ganyu nodded secretly, but felt a little annoyed. This guy had clearly been sleeping all afternoon and had taken her seat, and now he was saying, "I found out about this on the boat with Ganyu." He was so shameless!
"But Usopp said he's been Kaya's butler for three years, so why did he only send someone to rob her today?"
A woman's voice came from behind the three of them.
Everyone turned around and first saw a pair of straight, beautiful legs. Then their gazes moved upwards and they discovered that it was Nami standing in front of them with her hands on her hips.
"Nami, what brings you here too?" Ganyu smiled and waved, gesturing for her to lie down next to her.
Nami lay down next to the three of them, hugging Ganyu's arm and whining, "Hmph, I should be asking you three! You've all disappeared, and I've been looking for you for ages."
Upon hearing this, Ganyu and Zoro exchanged a glance.
Zoro raised an eyebrow slightly, signaling her not to mention that he had fallen asleep on the ship.
Ganyu glared at him, but remembering that she was also asleep, she finally said without changing her expression:
"That's right... Zoro and I were on that pirate ship until we just came back from gathering information."
Zoro secretly gave her a thumbs up, his mouth moving slightly as if to say, "I didn't realize you were such a good liar."
Ganyu mouthed the word "Get lost!"
"I'm different. I don't know why I fell asleep, but I had a really good sleep!" Luffy pondered for a while, rubbing his chin, and then said in a serious tone.
"Who cares how well you sleep?!" Nami couldn't help but retort, then fell into deep thought.
"Kaya trusts her butler so much that she doesn't even trust Usopp for him. Logically speaking, he should have had countless opportunities in the past three years. Why did he choose to make his move today?"
Luffy suddenly widened his eyes and angrily punched the rock. "Is it because he saw our chest of gold today that he wants to steal our gold now? D*mn it, that bastard!"
"Did he see you and Nami going to the mansion to exchange for gold?" Zoro asked in surprise.
Nami nodded. "I didn't just see it; he replaced it for us himself. When he handed us the five million Berries, he specifically said, 'Make sure to keep it safe.'"
"It sounds like they really have their eyes on us..." Zoro sneered, a chill running through his smile.
Nami clapped her hands happily. "That makes things much easier! We're all pirates, if he wants to steal from us... then naturally we can..."
The words were left unsaid, but those who understand will understand.
The three exchanged a glance and simultaneously let out a sinister laugh. "Hehehehehehe!"
"These three people… have completely misunderstood." Ganyu, the only one who knew the truth, remained silent.
Contrary to their analysis, the reason why Kuro waited three years to make his move was that his goal was not only Kaya's family fortune, but also to completely replace Kaya's identity.
Therefore, he didn't send those pirates to plunder villages and mansions, but to use them to kill Kaya and force her to leave a will before her death, so that he could rightfully inherit her estate.
After that, he will kill all the pirates without leaving a trace, so that the identity of "Hundred Plans" Kuro will completely disappear from the past, and he will live in Syrup Village under the name Klahadore.
As for these four insignificant outsiders, as long as they didn't affect his plans, he didn't actually want to provoke them.
Ganyu thought about it for a moment, but didn't try to correct them.
The process was wrong, but the result was right. Anyway, even if it's for Usopp's sake, Luffy wouldn't stand by and watch Kaya be killed. As long as they wanted Usopp to join the crew, they would inevitably have a battle with Kuro.
"Speaking of which, what about that long-nosed guy? Knowing that his childhood friend was in grave danger, didn't he think of doing anything about it?" Zoro suddenly thought of Usopp.
Nami smiled mysteriously. "Of course he is, and you'd be very surprised if you saw what he's doing right now!"
...
Moonlight streamed down the slope leading to the village, where Usopp was frantically setting up traps.
As he poured grease onto the ground, he muttered to himself, "Oil, nails... this should be enough..."
But when he looked up at the dark sea, his voice trembled. "But... can I really do it all by myself?"
He shook his head vigorously, trying to encourage himself. "Don't be afraid, Usopp! For everyone on the island, you mustn't be afraid! You can... you can... Ahhhhhh!"
As he was talking, he suddenly screamed as if he had seen a ghost.
"You...you weren't dead?"
"Huh? You mean me?" Luffy tilted his head and asked in confusion.
"Of course it's you. Didn't you get hypnotized by that guy in sunglasses and fall off the cliff today?"
Usopp said, trembling.
But when he saw Ganyu and the others, he felt a sense of relief.
For some reason, being with these guys gradually calmed him down, even though he was initially anxious about the pirates attacking the island tomorrow.
"He won't die from falling off the cliff. Our captain is a Gum-Gum Fruit user, you know," Ganyu explained for Luffy. To convince Usopp, she even grabbed Luffy's cheek and pulled it out a full meter.
Luffy trusted Ganyu, and even with his face stretched out like that, he showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever.
"Ability... He's a Devil Fruit user?"
Usopp was startled by what he heard, then a look of joy gradually appeared in his eyes.
"Can...can you help me?"
He had a feeling that if it were these four people, they might really be able to help him repel the pirates who would attack the island tomorrow!
Upon hearing this, Ganyu, Zoro, and Nami fell silent, their gazes all fixed on one person: Captain Luffy.
Such a request can only be granted by the captain.
Luffy didn't answer immediately; he glanced around.
Then he squatted down, picked up an iron nail, and played with it between his fingertips.
"Tell me first, what were you doing here just now?"
"What... are you going to do?" Usopp's face darkened; he thought the man didn't want to help him, and his tone sounded somewhat disappointed.
"I'm preparing a trap. With these things, we might be able to stop the pirates who are attacking the island tomorrow."
"Will these things really work?" Luffy looked at it suspiciously for a moment, then suddenly reached out, dipped his finger in the grease on the ground, and tasted it.
"Ptooey! This tastes awful!"
"Huh?! You bastard! Why did you eat my trap?!"
Usopp was shocked, then, realizing what was happening, pointed angrily at Luffy and shouted.
"It's just a taste test, why are you so concerned?"
Luffy slowly stood up, facing the agitated Usopp, and grinned, revealing his signature smile.
"The pirates will be coming from here tomorrow, right?"