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Gol D. Roger: "Amazing!! Luffy, that companion of yours is a true man!!!"
Watching the screen, even Roger couldn't help but clap and cheer.
Marco: "To protect the village you love, even when you know you're no match for your enemies—that's what it truly means to guard something!"
Edward Newgate: "Gurararara!! What a fine lad he is!"
Shanks: "Jesus Burgess, that's your son, right? He's inherited your excellent genes, hasn't he?"
Jesus Burgess: "No... I feel ashamed when it comes to Usopp. Though I'm proud of him, I don't have the right to say anything as his father..."
Usopp: "Dad!! Mom never blamed you, and I'm proud of you too!!!"
[On the Red Force...]
Listening to Usopp's words, Jesus Burgess couldn't hold back his tears!!!
He knew he hadn't fulfilled his responsibilities as a father...
But he believed in what Usopp had just said...
And he also knew how kind his wife, Banchina, was—a woman who deserved nothing but respect.
The more he thought about it, the guiltier he felt...
Jesus Burgess: "S-son..."
Burgess' choked voice appeared in the chatroom.
Usopp: "Dad!! ——"
[The next morning, the Black Cat Pirates launched their attack!]
[Usopp, Luffy, Zoro, and Nami fought against the Black Cat Pirates!]
[Though the battle was somewhat convoluted, the Straw Hat Pirates ultimately emerged victorious.]
[Sitting on a severed tree stump, Usopp looked at Pepper, Carrot, Onion, and Kaya. He spoke up: "Can we keep what happened today a secret?"]
Hearing this, Kaya's eyes widened. "Eh~? Why?"
"It's true! We fought to protect the village!"
"Everyone will definitely look at Captain in a new light!"
"You're the village's big hero!!!"
Pepper, Carrot, and Onion exclaimed in disbelief.
However, Usopp simply smiled.
"There's no need to tell everyone about what's already passed. Doing so would only bring unnecessary panic."
"If it weren't for today, this remote little village wouldn't have been attacked by pirates. The villagers live peacefully precisely because they believe such dangers won't come knocking."
"But... Everyone misunderstood you before! Don't you want to clear up that misunderstanding?" Kaya asked with concern.
Usopp shrugged. "It wasn't really a misunderstanding. Aside from this one time, I've always been lying. Adding one more lie won't change how people see me. If I were to clarify things now, it'd only make everyone worry about whether pirates might attack in the future. That's not worth it."
[After staying another day in Syrup Village, the Straw Hat Pirates received a gift from Kaya—the Going Merry!]
[Usopp officially joined the crew, and the Straw Hat Pirates set sail, leaving Syrup Village behind.]
At this point, the white-framed screen gradually dimmed...
Meanwhile...
[Syrup Village!]
Though the villagers didn't have the privilege to speak in the viewing system's chatroom, they could still watch the events unfold on the sky-high screen.
When they learned the truth about that day, tears streamed down the faces of every villager...
"Damn it all!!! What have we done to him?!"
"He risked his life to warn us, and we chased him away..."
"We're terrible people!!!"
...
Though the white-framed screen had faded, the image of that lone boy fighting to protect the village remained etched into the minds of every villager in Syrup.
This guilt and self-reproach would haunt many of them late at night, waking up suddenly and slapping themselves hard across the face...
Damn it, I was such a monster back then!
Soon after...
The red-framed screen began to brighten again!
The scene appeared.
[A small boat sailing across the sea...]
["Straw Hat kid, you're only in your teens, right? Why are you so strong?"]
[On the deck, Buggy watched Luffy training his swordsmanship and couldn't help but voice the question that had been bothering him.]
["Training!"]
[Luffy didn't stop his cutting training as he calmly replied, "I saw too many life-and-death battles while I was on my grandpa's ship when I was younger. That's when I realized that if I didn't want to end up as someone else's blade fodder, I had to become the strongest."]
["The strongest..."]
[Hearing Luffy casually state such an ambitious goal left Buggy deeply shaken.]
[No wonder this guy already possesses such powerful Conqueror's Haki at such a young age—he has such lofty ambitions!!!]
["What about you? You've got nothing better to do out here on the seas, right? Why aren't you training? Come on, let's train together!" Luffy turned to Buggy and suggested.]
[But Buggy shook his head. "No thanks. I'm different from you guys. I'm a Devil Fruit user; my way of training isn't something you can understand."]
[Ever since arriving in East Blue, Buggy had stopped training altogether!]
[Training was exhausting!]
[Especially in a place like East Blue, where his Devil Fruit powers were enough to dominate. Why bother training?]
[Lie flat! Must lie flat!!!]
[Of course, he couldn't say that out loud, so he decided to make up an excuse to brush off Luffy.]
[However, Luffy frowned. "Cut the crap. Even Devil Fruit users need to train! Use your imagination to conceptualize techniques, try putting them into practice, and refine them through countless repetitions until you successfully develop those abilities. Isn't that how Devil Fruit users train?"]
[What??]
[Hearing Luffy's explanation, Buggy froze in shock!!!]
[He stared at Luffy in disbelief. "Wait, wait, wait... How do you know so much about how Devil Fruit users train? Are you a Devil Fruit user too...???"]
["Of course! Who isn't these days?"]
[Luffy grabbed his own face and stretched it. "See? I ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi! So... your earlier excuse doesn't work on me. Come on, let's train!"]
["But..."]
[Buggy tried to say something more, but suddenly, an overwhelming wave of terrifying intimidation engulfed him!]
[It felt as though countless menacing killers had surrounded him without physically touching him!]
[Clearly, this was Luffy's Conqueror's Haki!!!]
[And not just any Conqueror's Haki—it was perfectly controlled to envelop Buggy alone!]
[Eh~?]
[Buggy's face froze.]
[I thought you just wanted me to be a guide! Why are you forcing me to train?!]