Chapter 427: You Don't Always Win in Life
"Are you... kidding me, hey!!"
In the empty front hall, the exquisite carvings on the stone pillars and the murals on the walls exuded a magnificent and grand aura.
Vines climbed over the already old and dilapidated walls, but still couldn't hide the former glory of this place. Instead, it showed an ancient charm that had been precipitated by the years.
Faced with the pitch-black muzzle pointing at him, Usopp's face showed panic, and a strong warning from his Observation Haki stung his mind.
And what made him even more disbelieving was that his Green Star: Paulownia Leaf Shuriken had actually been crushed with a bare hand!
Are you kidding me!
Without a care for anything else, Usopp hurriedly turned and ran, looking as if he had been scared out of his wits and had lost his way.
"Sigh~, you idiot."
On the chandelier frame above, Yasopp sighed, slapped his forehead, and his expression was slightly disappointed.
"To actually dare to turn your back on a sniper and expose it to the enemy... you're still too green."
Bang!
The trigger was pulled, and a gunshot rang out.
A pitch-black pellet was shot from the muzzle, wrapped in a circle of chaotic airflow, and it streaked across the space in an arc, pursuing Usopp.
"Green Star: Hard Skin Pumpkin!!"
At the same instant Yasopp fired, a seed hidden in the crack of the floor tiles quickly broke out of its shell, and the fleeing Usopp also suddenly stopped and turned around!
"I'm not that stupid! Don't forget, I'm a sniper too! I wouldn't make such a low-level mistake!"
At the center of the vines that had spread along the ground, a fat pumpkin taller than a person quickly formed. At the same time, Usopp had already switched to a more powerful Green Star. Before his vision was completely blocked by the defensive wall, he raised his hand and fired two shots upwards!
Bang! Bang!
"Hissatsu Green Star!"
The moment the pellets left the muzzle, his voice came to an abrupt end.
Before Usopp's disbelieving and terrified eyes, the bullet that had been fired from Yasopp's sniper rifle had hit the hard-skinned pumpkin and detonated with a roar!
Boom!!!
Explosive flames, mixed with rolling thick smoke, and a terrifying explosion engulfed the pumpkin barrier and Usopp behind it!
The firelight reddened the entire castle hall, and a heatwave washed over his face, his one dreadlock whipped about wildly.
Yasopp's face was calm, almost without any expression. He just quietly stared into the flames.
The gap in their strength was too great.
Strength, speed, Observation Haki, Armament Haki, and even combat techniques and experience...
Usopp was no match for him in almost every aspect. It seemed that in the first second of their exchange, he had already seen the result of this battle.
To finally see his son after more than a dozen years... he was proud of Usopp from the bottom of his heart, because he knew how much effort and hardship it had taken to get here.
He didn't think he had gone too far. On the contrary, if he had gone easy on him, it would have been a real insult to the achievements the other had made along the way.
Don't you dare give up, Usopp.
Yasopp prayed silently in his heart, and slowly raised his sniper rifle to aim.
Swish! Swish!
Two pellets suddenly shot out from the flames, tracing arcs from the left and right.
Yasopp's face showed no panic. His fingers naturally and skillfully pulled the trigger, and then the muzzle shifted slightly as he fired another shot.
Bang! Bang!
The two gunshots were so fast they almost overlapped. And the accuracy was impossible to be off. Unsurprisingly, they shot down the pellets that had flown out of the flames in mid-air.
Puff—! Puff—!
Unexpectedly, the hit bullets did not explode, nor did they grow any strange plants like the previous seeds. Instead, they burst into two clouds of purple smoke.
The purple mist spread in this empty space, and it also carried a large number of powdery particles that fell from the air. It quickly put out the flames on the ground.
Obscuring his vision?
Yasopp thought subconsciously. The next second, he rejected this idea.
If it was just a simple obscuring of vision, this move would be a bit too low-level for him. Usopp himself was an Observation Haki user. It was impossible for him not to know this.
Could it be poison gas?
Yasopp frowned. The purple smoke also had a very strong pungent smell. The moment he smelled it, he immediately held his breath.
It doesn't look like it...
That's right. This smoke, which an ordinary person would think was poison gas at a glance, made him a little suspicious. Even if he were to release poison, he should at least use some more clever means. How could a poison gas attack that would alert the enemy at a glance be effective?
Although he thought so in his heart, he still held his breath cautiously, just in case. At the same time, his spreading Observation Haki also constructed the surrounding environment in his mind.
Soon, he sensed a blurry human figure, which was quickly running towards the main gate of the castle.
Yasopp needed almost no time to aim. The moment he raised his hand, the muzzle of his gun was already accurately aimed at the running Usopp. He had even predicted the route the other might take to evade.
However, the moment his index finger pressed on the trigger, Yasopp's face changed, and his movement immediately stopped.
Gas?!
The ability to see the future had let him see in advance the scene where the sparks from his gun would detonate the surrounding space. There was no doubt that he was now surrounded by flammable and explosive gas.
When?!
He was sure that the stimulating smell he had smelled at the beginning was definitely not gas. Was the smoke in front of him used to cover up his real means?
Yasopp quickly reacted. He pushed off with his feet and leaped back. No matter what, he had to get out of here first.
It was at this moment.
"Hissatsu!"
Usopp, who had rushed to the door, directly threw himself out. In mid-air, he turned around and drew his bow.
To avoid the sparks from his gun detonating the gas and affecting him, his two revolvers were hung at his waist. He had switched to a small slingshot, and a pellet, wrapped in a leather pouch, was pinched between his fingers.
"Kacho-boshi!!" (Fire Bird Star!!)
Swish—
The pellet was shot into the main hall of the castle, hit the chandelier that was no longer occupied, and burst into a fierce flame. The next moment...
The gas that filled the main hall exploded with a roar. The high-temperature air pressure expanded violently. In this almost enclosed space, the power it produced was even more terrifying!
Boom!!!
A dull sound, like thunder, rang in their ears. A wave of fire and heat rushed out of the windows and the main gate. A powerful explosive impact caused the entire castle to shake violently.
Slap—!
Usopp, who had been sent flying by the shockwave, fell to the ground and rolled several times, until he crashed into a broken wall with a 'thump'.
"Cough, cough, cough!!"
He covered his mouth and coughed hard a few times. His trembling arms propped himself up on the ground as he struggled to sit up. His gaze immediately fixed on the inside of the castle.
A fiery, burning pain came from all over his body. His body was covered in scorched black skin, and several places were cut open, revealing his flesh and blood.
He recalled the terrifying power of Yasopp's shot just now, and his heart was still pounding. And...
The power is too exaggerated!
Are you kidding me! You're a sniper, a sniper, hey!
A so-called sniper! Shouldn't you rely on precise shooting skills and perfect timing to deliver a fatal blow to your opponent in the ever-changing battlefield!
What the hell is this bullet of yours that's even more ridiculous than a Marine warship cannon!!
This is clearly a cannoneer! And you catch bullets with your bare hands! That's too ridiculous! Besides your weapon being a sniper rifle, there's nothing about you that resembles a sniper at all, hey!
Usopp screamed and complained crazily in his heart.
He put away his slingshot and switched back to his modified dual revolvers. He looked at the surrounding terrain. An open space not far away caught his attention.
That place should have been a garden-like open-air courtyard before. Although it was now in ruins, the shape of the building was still roughly preserved.
The stone-paved road was overgrown with weeds. There were broken walls covered in plants and moss everywhere. One broken stone pillar after another was lying askew.
If he were facing an ordinary sniper, this complex terrain would obviously provide a lot of cover. But Yasopp was clearly not in the category of an ordinary sniper.
After all, even the hard-skinned pumpkin that could withstand cannon fire had been blasted to smithereens by one shot. He really didn't think that hiding behind a building could defend against the other's attack, even a giant's building.
"At this point, I can only give it a try. At the very least, I have absolutely no chance of winning in an open terrain."
Usopp gritted his teeth and stood up, enduring the pain. He reached into his pouch and took out a handful of Green Star pellets, then buried his head and charged towards the open space.
He certainly didn't think that the gas explosion just now could have defeated Yasopp. After all, even he had only been injured this much by the aftershock, let alone the other, whose Armament Haki was far stronger than his.
And the facts were indeed so, and even more cruel than he had thought.
Boom!
A hole was blasted in the dome above the castle. Yasopp's figure jumped out from it. He stood on the roof and scanned the area, taking in all the scenery below.
He soon sensed Usopp's presence, who was hiding behind a giant stone pillar.
"I have to admit, that move of yours just now was pretty good. You really scared me for a moment."
Yasopp's thick lips curled up into a teasing smile. Besides the scorched corners of his clothes and a little dust, there were almost no other injuries on him.
After his Observation Haki had seen his future, he had immediately left the area that was surrounded by gas. The high-temperature impact of the subsequent explosion had also been mostly blocked by the cover.
Although he hadn't suffered a loss, it had also let him see the bright spot in Usopp. At the very least, he was not completely without a chance of winning against him.
"Don't be careless next. I won't go easy on you until you shout 'Dad, have mercy'."
Yasopp raised his sniper rifle and aimed with one eye. Before his voice had even faded, the gunshot had already sounded.
Bang!
A pitch-black bullet, wrapped in a circle of airflow, tore through the air and instantly crossed a hundred meters, striking the stone pillar that was being used as cover.
However, this time, it did not trigger an explosion. Instead, it opened a hole the size of a finger and directly pierced through this stone pillar, which was nearly three meters thick!
Squelch—
"Urk...!"
Usopp's expression was pained as he let out a muffled grunt. The bullet had pierced through the flesh of his waist and had brought out a spray of blood. It had left a black bullet hole in the floor behind him, from which a wisp of smoke was rising.
Crack—Crack—Crack!
The cover in front of him, with the pierced hole as the center, spread out with cracks, and then it shattered and collapsed with a roar.
The terrifying penetrating power and explosive force were simply unheard of. This had clearly surpassed the limitations of the weapon itself and had reached another level for a gunman.
Whether it was the explosive彈 just now or the penetrating彈 now, it was all under the condition that the gun and ammunition itself had not changed, and was only relying on Yasopp's application of Haki to change the bullet's ability.
The number of people in the entire sea who could combine Haki and marksmanship to this extent could be counted on one hand.
And among them, the Red Hair Pirates had two: Beckman and Yasopp.
The wound on his waist was as if it were burning. Blood trickled out. Usopp clutched it with one hand and, gritting his teeth, he fired his other gun continuously at the top.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Six shots in a row emptied the revolver's cylinder. While firing, he also quickly charged out to find other cover, and at the same time, reloaded his ammunition.
The bullets traced beautiful arcs from all angles and shot at Yasopp, a perfect blockade after precise calculation.
At the very least, in terms of sniping talent, Usopp was not in the least bit inferior to him. And with his various tactical methods, this was also the reason why he thought Usopp had a chance of winning against him.
However, Yasopp still had a relaxed and at ease expression. He just casually fired one shot and then jumped directly from the roof.
Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!
One after another, explosions rang out above the castle. The one shot that Yasopp had fired had accurately detonated an explosive彈 in advance, and he had jumped out of the blockade's gap.
After landing on the ground, he directly closed his eyes. His Observation Haki spread out like a radar and scanned the surrounding terrain. He soon locked onto Usopp's position.
He hadn't even started to open his eyes, but he had already started to raise his sniper rifle. By the time his eyes were fully open, his index finger was already on the trigger.
Bang!!
A fatal bullet was fired with the muzzle flash. The vacuum trajectory it left in the space, by the time Usopp's Observation Haki had sensed the danger, the bullet had already pierced through several obstacles and was behind him.
Squelch—
A spray of blood flew from his shoulder. The powerful kinetic energy was transmitted to his body, and Usopp's two feet were suspended as he was thrown face-first to the ground.
He gritted his teeth, and his trembling arms forcefully propped himself up on the ground, trying to crawl up. However, his hands went limp, and his body fell with the inertia.
"Damn it!"
Bang!
Usopp slammed the ground unwillingly.
Strong. Too strong.
Before meeting him, he had never thought that his own father would be so strong.
Without a Devil Fruit ability, and without any strange and bizarre methods... just by relying on a sniper rifle and Haki, he could completely suppress him.
He still had many methods he hadn't used, but it was meaningless. He had thought through all the trump cards in his hand but couldn't find a single way to defeat the other.
The two of them were both snipers. The moment his Observation Haki was crushed, half of the winner had already been decided. The power of his shots was also a big step behind.
He couldn't dodge, he couldn't block. His counterattacks also had a hard time hitting. And even if they hit, they couldn't necessarily cause enough effective damage.
It was a complete and utter crushing.
"Well. Game over. I win."
Just as Usopp was still struggling to get up, a voice came from behind again. Immediately after, a heavy rifle stock struck his head.
"To actually be defeated so quickly. I thought I could at least last a while..."
Usopp's tone was filled with a sense of loss. A deep self-blame appeared in the depths of his eyes.
"That's so shameful..."
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't say that. I am, after all, the third in command of the ship, and also your biological father."
Yasopp smiled and sat down on Usopp's back. He looked up at the sky and said with a light laugh:
"If I were to be defeated by a brat who has only been out at sea for two years, where would your old man put his face?"
(End of chapter)