12: Chapter 12 Usopp's Hope

The waves of the North Blue bay continued to tirelessly crash against the reefs, shattering salty spray into the air.

On the deck of the Black Cat, the smell of blood gradually faded under the sea breeze, leaving only a deathly silence.

Nami knelt on one knee on the damp cabin floor, stained with large patches of blood. With trembling hands, she stuffed the Berries, jewelry, and thick stacks of contracts and secret correspondence from the hidden compartment into a black cloth bag.

Her breathing was rapid, and she could almost hear her own heartbeat, which sounded like a beating drum, in her ears.

These piles of money, stacked on the ground like a small mountain, shimmered with an intoxicating golden light.

"Five million… ten million… fifteen million…"

Nami whispered, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. For eight years, she had struggled bitterly among pirates and the black market to scrape together the one hundred million Berries for Arlong.

And now, in the time it took to eat a single meal, Rice had used incredibly violent methods to completely wipe out a notorious pirate crew, and while he was at it, cleaned out their treasure vault.

She turned her head to look at Rice, who was standing at the cabin entrance.

Facing the sea breeze, the man stood against the light, his broad, tall silhouette appearing immensely imposing under the sun.

"Rice… everything is packed."

Nami walked out carrying the heavy cloth bag, her eyes shimmering with a reliance she herself hadn't even noticed.

"Hmm."

Rice responded indifferently.

Immediately, he turned around, his deep black eyes landing on the giant beast Richie, who was huddled in the corner of the deck, trying to hide his massive frame in the shadows.

"Richie, get off the ship."

Rice said calmly.

"Whimper…"

The big lion, who had originally thought he could stay on the ship and escape unscathed, suddenly shivered violently.

How could it dare to defy the order of this god of death? It could only pull a long face and, like an orange cat that had been greatly wronged, slink down the gangplank off the pirate ship.

"Hey, since you're down here, don't come empty-handed."

Nami's eyes darted, and without ceremony, she hung the two huge cloth bags filled with heavy gold coins and jewelry, one on the left and one on the right, onto Richie's wide saddle.

The pitiful Richie, the East Blue's number one beast, now hung his head low. Carrying the heavy bags of gold coins on his back, he followed step-by-step behind Rice and Makino, looking exactly like a giant golden retriever helping its owner carry luggage—it was ridiculously funny.

The group, along with Richie, officially set foot on the land of Syrup Village.

...

Syrup Village, on a smooth and quiet slope.

"Pirates are here! Pirates are here! Everyone run!"

A young boy wearing a brown knit hat with a signature long nose was running wildly on the slope like a frightened rabbit, waving his hands and shouting at the top of his lungs.

His face was full of excitement, even though this was his daily, unwavering "routine lying" project.

"It's that brat Usopp again!"

"Lying every day, what a hopeless guy!"

Villagers on both sides of the slope pushed open their windows, scolding him with a mix of helplessness and anger, clearly accustomed to this daily "Boy Who Cried Wolf" routine.

However, just as Usopp was about to shout the next line at the top of his lungs, a visually striking group suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

A burly young man with black hair, bare-chested, with an aura as fierce as a demon god;

Two beautiful young girls;

And… a giant lion with two heavy bags hanging on its back, obediently following behind!

"Uh…"

Usopp's shouting came to an abrupt halt, and because he was running too fast, he almost fell on his butt.

He looked at Rice walking towards him and that beast, which was half a head taller than him, instinctively feeling an indescribable, terrifying sense of oppression.

"Who… who are you guys?!"

Usopp swallowed hard, trying to bolster his courage, habitually reaching into his bag to grip his slingshot, and boasted loudly,

"I'm warning you, I am Captain Usopp, commander of eighty million subordinates! If you know what's good for you, quickly…"

Before he could finish bragging, Rice had already stopped.

Those deep, pitch-black eyes landed without a ripple on Usopp's face, which was filled with nervousness and bluster.

"Usopp."

Rice said indifferently.

"Huh? How… how do you know my name?"

Usopp was stunned, his fingers gripping the slingshot even tighter.

"Your lies are meaningless in front of a true powerhouse."

Rice crossed his arms and looked at him calmly,

"However, I don't dislike you. Because I know you only lie due to an unbearable loneliness and the longing for your father."

Hearing the word "father," Usopp's body jolted, and his originally comical and funny expression froze instantly.

That was the most untouchable pain in his heart.

In the eyes of the villagers, his father, Yasopp, was an irresponsible pirate who abandoned his wife and child, which had caused him to bear countless cold stares and ridicule since childhood.

"What… what nonsense are you spouting! My dad…"

Usopp gritted his teeth, his eyes reddening.

"Your dad, Yasopp, did not abandon you."

Rice looked at the stubborn boy in front of him, a hint of nostalgia flashing in his eyes, and said slowly:

"In Foosha Village of the Goa Kingdom. Shanks used it as a base and often gathered in Makino's bar."

Hearing this, Makino, who was standing to the side, was slightly taken aback, then smiled gently, as if recalling the days of the past.

"Back then, I was just a training kid struggling desperately under Old Man Garp's whip. The thing I looked forward to most every day was going to Makino's tavern to beg for a cup of barley tea. And in that tavern, the person I often met was your father, Yasopp."

Rice stepped forward and patted Usopp's stiff shoulder:

"At that time, Shanks was not yet the 'Four Emperors' who now shake the New World."

"But back then, Yasopp had already been personally invited by Shanks to go to sea, with Shanks rowing a small boat all the way from Syrup Village, thanks to his superb sniping skills."

"Your father once told me personally, 'The Jolly Roger is calling to me.' That was the light of freedom he, as a man, had to pursue."

Rice's eyes became deep and distant:

"But I still remember that every time Yasopp got dead drunk, he would have red-rimmed eyes, trembling hands, and take out a paper with your doodles on it to show off to everyone in the tavern. He would grab my hand and shout:

'Hey, Rice! Look at that! My son Usopp will definitely become the greatest warrior on the sea in the future! He has my blood flowing in his veins!'"

"He never forgot you, Usopp."

Rice stared at Usopp's eyes, which were already brimming with tears, and said in a deep voice:

"Nowadays, the Red Hair Pirates have reached the summit in the second half of the Grand Line, the 'New World,' becoming the 'Four Emperors' who rule the world."

"The average bounty of their crew members is shockingly high, and they are known to the world as the 'most balanced, most impregnable Iron Wall Pirate Crew.'"

"And your father is the renowned top sniper, a core officer in this iron-wall legion, whose name is enough to make countless powerhouses of the 'New World' tremble with fear."

"As his son, you have the blood of a top-tier sniper flowing in your veins."

"Put away those boring lies, Usopp. Do not be inferior; go and become the true warrior of the sea that will make your father proud."

After speaking, Rice didn't linger. He took Nami, Makino, and Richie, who was obediently carrying the luggage, and walked straight past the long-nosed boy standing stunned on the spot, heading towards the luxurious villa on the top of the hill.

"Dad… a top officer of the Iron Wall Pirate Crew… a world-renowned powerhouse…"

Usopp slumped on the slope, tears streaming uncontrollably from his eyes.

For so many years, everyone had been accusing his father.

But today, a man as strong as a monster had told him, as a witness from back then—that his father was a true, upright hero.

Usopp gripped his slingshot tightly, and deep within his originally cowardly eyes, a burning, unprecedented light erupted at this moment.