Before we start with the chapter, let's talk a bit, shall we.
And this is very important, so please do not skip this.
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I... have read all your comments from the previous chapter. And they were really something.
It looks like many of you didn't like what I did in the previous chapter. One even commented that they quit this story because I wrote something like that and tried to make it realistic.
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I completely understand your anger and criticism, as I myself was shaking while writing that part.
Now, before I continue this talk, I need to mention something.
I made an error in chapter 21.
The whole scene of Jango been knocked down by Usopp's explosive pellet... yeah that scene was never supposed to happen.
Remember when I told you in chapter 17, that Syrup village arc is taking too much time. Yeah, because of that, I made a one more mistake.
I was in a hurry to just finish this arc and made a mistake in time lapse and some of the scenes.
In chapter 22, in the middle of the chapter, there's a small part where it is shown that: A few minutes earlier that Usopp noticed Jango was missing, so he went back to village, searching for him.
That part was rushed and forced, because I was not able to capitalize the time gap correctly.
And because of this one mistake of time gap and me trying to rush the arc, the whole dark part of the chapter seems forced.
That was that.
Now, let's come back to the talk.
...I don't know what to even say!!
I understand that many of you doesn't like something like that happened to a major character like Kaya.
I also understand your disappointment towards content like these. And I am not some evil or sadist bastard to like things like these.
But are you really going to hate the whole story because I showed a little glimpse of reality into it!??
Are you really going to ignore how cruel and twisted pirates are. That how truly dark and messed up One-Piece world is!!
Just because we follow the adventures of Luffy and the others, it does not mean you completely ignore the cruel side of the story.
Have you forgotten Kuma's backstory!?? Have you forgotten what Celestial Dragons and world nobles do!?? How evil and twisted the character like Doflamingo is!?? The whole Sabaody's slave trade!?? And many more messed up things!??
And let's not talk about the type of stories are on Webnovel.
Contents like Ntr, forced sex, rape. The amount of messed up sexual content is on this platform is just frightening.
And then are other platforms like Fanfiction.in and AO3.
Motherfucker they contain child porn. Do you understand how fucking evil that is!??
And here I am, wrote just a small part of realism into the story to show how truly evil pirates are. And what you do.... you criticise me and say that I am evil.
I fucking read a story on Webnovel about someone turning into Sukuna in One-Piece world and fucking violating your favourite female characters. And they had more than 1 million views. (I am not personally calling to the author)
So, why are having any problems with my story!??
I had already mentioned that this story is going to be DARK. If you want this story to be rainbows and sunshine, then you haven't read Berserk yet.
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About the dark content itself. There's going to be more in the story. Not like that specifically, but like other dark stuffs.
You need to understand that this is my own AU.
The final antagonist is story not Imu, Blackbeard or Davy Jones. It is something else. Something that made Yuji. Something that is manipulating the whole this One-Piece world for its own return.
That's the only spoiler I can give you. Because there's going to be some extra stuffs in this story.
And finally, I am really sorry if had somehow disappointed you somehow. Then please forgive me.
I am still a newbie writer, and I am trying to create something which I really wanted to remember forever, even if it is just a fanfiction.
I might make mistakes, as everyone does. I am not some A.I. who can create a perfect story. I am just a human. One day I will gone too. I just wanted to leave behind something of my own hardwork and imagination, that people come back to read even after decades.
I really want to complete this story. No leave things on hiatus like many do. Even if take a year or two, I will continue writing it.
Thank you for listening to me and all those who are supporting me till now.
Afterall, I am just a writer, and a writer is nothing without its readers.
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Here's your chapter.
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Attendance please:
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Usopp slowly opened his eyes.
He saw the world bit by bit. First, the white ceiling; then a fan spinning in slow, lazy circles, chopping up the stale hospital air. Each blink felt like dragging his eyelids through wet sand.
"Wh-What!?" His voice was hoarse, barely a whisper, as if someone had rubbed his throat with sandpaper.
"Oh, you're finally awake!"
The voice was familiar. Usopp turned his head with great effort. The pillow crinkled beneath him like dry leaves. Yuji sat on a wooden stool, elbows resting on his knees, looking as if he hadn't slept in days.
Usopp stared at him, searching for answers in Yuji's tired face. Then his eyes drifted—past Yuji, past the bedside table holding a single glass of water, past the pale green curtains swaying from an open window.
"Don't push yourself," Yuji said quietly. "We're in the hospital."
Usopp blinked and looked at his right hand. A thin plastic tube was taped to his skin, leading up to a bag of liquid hanging from a metal stand.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
"What happened?" The question slipped out before he could stop it, soft and fragile.
Yuji sighed. "You were stabbed in your lower back. Your stomach was punctured in several places." He paused. "You're lucky your kidney is fine. It could have been worse."
The word hung in the air like a blade.
He was stabbed? How? Usopp didn't understand. Then, like a wave crashing through a paper wall, the memories came flooding back.
He remembered now. He was with Luffy, Yuji, Zoro, and Nami, fighting the Black Cat Pirates. Then he followed Jango back to Kaya. Then Kuro stabbed him in the back. And then…
Usopp's eyes flew open wide.
He pushed himself up before his body could stop him, and his body screamed in protest.
"Argh!"
Fire exploded along his left side. His vision whitened. He fell back onto the thin mattress, gasping, one hand clutching his bandaged ribs. He could feel the stitches pulling beneath the gauze.
Thump-thump-thump.
His heart pounded like a trapped animal struggling to break free.
Yuji jumped up and pressed Usopp's shoulders down with firm hands. "Don't move, you idiot! Your wounds haven't healed yet! You'll rip your stitches!"
"Arghh! B-but… K-Kaya!?" Usopp's voice cracked like broken glass. "Sh-she…"
"She's okay," Yuji's voice softened. "She's with Nami. Now keep quiet."
Usopp's chest heaved as he forced himself to breathe—slow, shallow, painful breaths that tasted like medicine. Slowly, Yuji released his grip and sat back on the stool, rubbing his forehead. The room fell silent, except for the hum of the fan and the distant squeak of nurses' shoes in the hallway.
Usopp stared at the ceiling as the fan blades turned, spinning around and around.
Then, without moving his eyes, he spoke. "K-Kuro… he tried to…"
"I know, Usopp," Yuji's voice was quiet and heavy. "I know."
Warmth slid down Usopp's temples, tears, silent and salty, tracing paths into his hair. He didn't wipe them away; he didn't have the strength.
"I—I killed him." The words came out flat at first, then cracked. "I killed Kuro with my own hands."
Yuji said nothing; he simply listened.
Usopp's throat tightened. "I… never wanted any of this to happen! But Kuro left me no choice…" His voice broke. "I only did this to protect her… to protect Kaya… but now she'll hate me… hate me even more… everyone will see me as a killer… a murderer…"
He stopped, and the silence stretched on.
Then, barely audible, he whispered, "I guess they're right. I'm just the son of a pirate. The son of a criminal."
Yuji looked at Usopp's tear-streaked face, his vacant eyes staring into nothingness.
"You're wrong, Usopp."
Usopp did not react.
"No one thinks you're a killer or a murderer," Yuji said steadily. "They all see you as a hero, someone who did the right thing in a bad situation."
Usopp's vacant gaze slowly shifted toward Yuji. "What?"
"You've been out for two days, Usopp," Yuji said, holding his gaze. "You don't know what really happened."
Usopp's eyes widened. "Two days!?"
Yuji nodded, then began to speak.
"After we thought Luffy had beaten Kuro for good, we were ready to take the treasure. But then I noticed you were missing from the hill." He paused, his jaw tightening at the memory. "At first, I thought you had gone back to the village. But Nami pointed out that Jango was missing too."
He let that sink in.
"That worried me, so we rushed to the village. Everything was fine there. We asked around, no one had seen you. Then we split up. We left Zoro with Nami in the village. Luffy and I went different ways: I ran toward your house, and Luffy ran toward Kaya's mansion."
Usopp listened in silence. His breathing had steadied, but his hands gripped the thin blanket tightly.
"Your house was empty. The training area was empty. So I ran back to the village. But when I got there…" Yuji's voice dropped. "There was a big commotion. I was confused. Then Nami ran up to me in a panic. She said Luffy had found you, Kaya, the three kids, a bloodied and knocked out Jango, and Kuro's dead body in the back forest of Kaya's mansion."
Yuji leaned back and exhaled slowly.
"Seeing how bad Kaya looked, Luffy had gave her his own shirt. Then he carried you and the kids back to the village, with Kaya at his side." He paused. "Everyone was shocked, seeing Kaya like that, and seeing you covered in blood from head to toe."
He met Usopp's gaze again.
"The villagers blamed us immediately. They said we did this to you and Kaya. Things became so tense that we thought we would have to run. But then—" Yuji almost smiled. "An old man named Taro stopped them."
"Old man Taro…" Usopp's voice was barely a whisper.
Yuji nodded. "Yeah. Without him, I wouldn't be sitting here." He crossed his arms. "Even though he looked at us with suspicion, he got to work. He told Miss Mia to take care of Kaya. Then he and the others took you and the kids to the hospital. As for us…" He let out a dry chuckle. "We were told to cooperate quietly, then locked in a local cell."
Usopp's eyebrows shot up. "You were put in jail!?"
"For a few hours, yes."
"But why?!" Usopp's voice rose. "You helped save the village! Why would they do that?!"
Yuji's expression remained unchanged. "None of them know about that, Usopp. To the villagers, we're outsiders who arrived just a day ago. The next day, they find you covered in blood, the three children beaten, and the only daughter of their late mayor…" He hesitated. "…naked and broken. The only conclusion they could draw was that we did it. So, we didn't argue."
He paused for a few seconds.
"A few hours later, we were released. That old man, Taro, came to us. He said they had conducted an investigation and found bodies on the northwest beach. At first, they were confused. But then the three kids woke up." Yuji's voice hardened slightly. "They told the villagers about Jango attacking Kaya, everything that happened before Kuro knocked them out. After hearing that, the villagers turned on Jango, who was blind by then, and beat the truth out of him."
Usopp swallowed, his throat clicking.
"And Jango told them everything: about Kuro pretending to be Klahadore, killing Kaya's parents three years ago, slowly drugging Kaya, and planning to take her inheritance. The whole plan, attack the village, make it look like pirates did it, us stopping them, and then…" Yuji's voice dropped lower. "Kuro trying to rape Kaya as a last desperate move, and you killing Kuro to protect her."
Usopp said nothing as the fan turned.
Whirr-whirr-whirr.
"The old man called the Marines from a nearby base to clean up and capture the surviving pirates," Yuji said flatly. "Jango was hanged in the village square, then burned along with Kuro's body."
Usopp felt a cold sensation settle in his stomach.
"As for the dead servants, the maids, and Merry," Yuji continued, "they were all buried at your local graveyard. Kaya attended the funeral." He paused. "That girl is quiet now, traumatized. Nami and the other women stay with her, trying to help her get through it."
He shifted on the stool.
"Your followers, Carrot, Onion, and Pepper, were praised for their bravery in protecting Kaya, even though their parents scolded them." A ghost of a smile appeared on Yuji's lips. "As for you…" He looked directly into Usopp's eyes. "They called you the hero of the village. After learning what you did, protecting the village and, ultimately, protecting Kaya, everyone is grateful. They truly see you as a brave warrior of the sea."
He smiled softly. "You have become what you always wanted to be."
But Usopp did not smile.
He looked away. His eyes settled on the window, the pale green curtains, a sliver of gray sky, and a solitary bird perched on the ledge.
Yuji frowned. "What's wrong, Usopp? If something's on your mind, tell me. I'll listen. Don't hold it in."
Silence.
Usopp continued to stare at the bird, which tilted its head.
Then he spoke—slowly, each word drawn from somewhere deep within. "Before Kuro died… he called me a monster." he paused. "And now that I think about it… I believe he was right." His voice cracked. "I really am a monster."
Yuji's expression softened. "No, Usopp. You're not a monster. Kuro was the real monster."
"But I killed him!" Usopp choked out, turning to face Yuji, tears streaming down his face, his eyes red and raw. "With my own hands! I watched the light leave his eyes! I felt his blood on my face!"
Seeing Usopp's broken expression, Yuji spoke again. "You did what you had to do in that moment." His voice was gentle but firm. "Remember what I told you? Life will give you one moment to become what you were always meant to be." He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "It gave you that moment in the worst way possible. Life isn't fair, Usopp. It never is. It throws impossible challenges at poor, weak people and gives everything to the rich and greedy. That's how the world works. And if anyone tries to break that cycle…" He shook his head. "They get called outcasts. Rejected by everyone."
Usopp's lips trembled.
Yuji leaned closer. "And if you still think you're a monster, then let me tell you what my grandfather once told me." His voice dropped to a whisper. "It's okay to be a monster if it means protecting the people you care about—the ones you love. Even if they end up hating you, at least you can carry that hate on your shoulders, knowing they're safe, even if they see you as a monster."
The words hung heavy in the stale air.
Usopp's chest heaved. "Do you think…" His voice broke. "Do you think my mom would hate me if she were here?"
Yuji gave a soft, warm, genuine smile and shook his head. "No. She would never." His eyes glistened. "She'd look into your eyes with pride and say something like, 'My brave boy. You've finally become a man.'"
Usopp broke down.
He covered his eyes with his left hand and wept, big, shaking sobs that rocked the hospital bed, pulled at his stitches, and tasted of salt, sadness, and something else. Something that might have been relief.
Yuji didn't speak. He didn't need to. He simply reached out and patted Usopp's leg, firm and steady, like a heartbeat. Like a promise.
That— We're here, even if the whole world rejects you. We're here.
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Like the chapter, then please share your powerstones with me.
See you in next chapter.