Three small, chaotic energy sources in the form of children came barreling into the room, nearly tripping over each other and skidding across the wood floor in excitement.
"Oi—slow down!" the bartender snapped. "No running in here!"
"Sorry, sir!" they chorused automatically, even as they scrambled up to the table where the Straw Hats and Usopp sat.
The tallest—Ninjin,— short with a mop of hair covering his eyes pointed dramatically at the group. "Intruders! Pirates! You will not harm Usopp-san while we're around!"
The second—Piiman, chubby and always two steps behind—nodded vigorously. "We'll defend our captain!"
The third—Tamanegi, a skinny boy with wild hair and glasses—clutched a wooden spoon like a sword. "Prepare yourselves!"
Usopp raised one eyebrow, then exhaled through his nose.
"Stand down, squad. These guys are… alright."
Immediately, the three kids snapped to a loose sort-of-salute and collapsed into seats around the table like they owned the place.
"You let them follow you around?" Nami asked, watching the trio with a bemused smirk.
Usopp shrugged. "They've got spunk. I let 'em tag along when I'm out doing stuff. Teaches 'em some real life skills."
"He teaches us everything!" Ninjin grinned proudly.
"Yeah!" Piiman added. "He's the hunter around here!"
"And the guy who fixes broken windows!" Tamanegi chirped.
"And the one who catches fish when the sea's too rough!"
"And the one who picks herbs when people get sick!"
"Oh! Oh! And he helped build three houses!"
"And repaired the windmill!"
"Don't forget matchmaker! He got old man Derin and widow Sayo to talk again!"
"Wait—he's a matchmaker now?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
Luffy leaned across the table with stars in his eyes. "That's AMAZING! You can do everything!"
Usopp waved a hand as if batting away smoke. "Those are just side gigs."
But the kids were far from done.
"He never does a job halfway!" Ninjin said.
"He's a perfectionist!" Piiman declared.
"Like, if the roof tiles don't line up, he'll redo the whole thing!" Tamanegi chimed in.
"Even if it's storming!"
Usopp was clearly trying to maintain his cool, but the redness crawling up his ears betrayed him.
"Okay, alright, calm down. That's enough."
"Oh, and he's also a great warrio—"
SLAM.
Usopp's hand hit the table.
His eyes opened wide and sharp.
"I'm not a warrior."
The tone stopped the room cold—not angry, but firm. Final.
Zoro's eyebrow arched again, a little slower this time.
"Really. Explain."
Usopp met his gaze before leaning back, letting out a breath as he rubbed the back of his neck. The tension faded, and he answered casually—almost too casually.
"I'm a marksman. I fight from a distance. Yeah, I fight. Sure, I can throw down hand-to-hand if someone gets too close. But that's not what I am. My whole thing is marksmanship. I hit targets others can't. I throw what others miss. That's not warrior stuff. That's sniper stuff. Hunter stuff"
He tapped the table with a finger as he sat up straighter now, back firm against the wooden chair.
"I'm a long-range professional. That's it."
Zoro folded his arms. "Sounds like a warrior to me."
"Not in the traditional sense," Usopp said. "There's an old saying: 'The day man discovered the bow was the day courage died.' Everyone wanted to win without holding a blade. Without risking anything. Cowards."
He shrugged again. "That's what I am. A coward. Cool by me."
The three kids pouted, but said nothing. They'd heard this speech before.
Usopp continued, quiet but confident now.
"I believe in results. You want to protect someone? You do what works. And most of the time, that doesn't mean fighting fair. It means winning. It means out-thinking, out-shooting, out-lasting. Because there are people out there who don't care about honor or rules. And those people will hurt your friends."
He looked down at his drink. "And I'm not letting that happen."
Luffy was quiet. No stars in his eyes this time. Just thought.
Silence stretched for a second.
"…Nah," Luffy said flatly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
Usopp blinked. "What?"
"You're not a coward."
"Agreed," Zoro said bluntly while taking a swing of his flask.
"And being a fighter isn't about the way you fight," Luffy said finally. "It's about why you fight. It's your spirit. Your will."
He leaned forward. "You're not a coward."
Usopp blinked again, but didn't respond.
Zoro grunted, nodding once. "No coward would talk to me like you did back in the woods. You weren't bluffing. You were ready to die if it came to that. That's not cowardice."
"Yeah," Nami added. "And besides… you could've taken us out. You could've kept hiding and picked us off one by one. You didn't. You talked to us. You gave us a chance. That's not what a coward does. That's what a decent person does."
Usopp chuckled low under his breath. "You guys are giving me way too much credit."
But he was touched.
That was obvious now.
He didn't deflect with a joke or duck behind bravado. He just let the words settle, like he was tucking them away for a rainy day.
"…It was a dream, though," he said quietly. "Being a warrior, a Warrior of the sea."
All three pirates looked up.
"My mom used to tell me stories," Usopp said. "When I was little. She'd talk about this brave warrior who traveled the ocean, who faced down storms and monsters and saved the people he loved. She used to say it was based on my dad."
The kids went quiet.
"And I used to believe it. Even after he left. I wanted to become that—for her. That was my dream."
A pause.
Then Ninjin leaned forward. "So why don't you just go, Usopp-san?"
"Yeah!" Piiman chimed in. "You built that ship with mister Merry, right? You could go!"
Tamanegi grinned. "Yeah! You always said we should follow our dreams!"
Usopp froze.
Slowly, slowly, the three pirates turned to him, heads creaking in unison like rusted doors.
"…You built a ship?" Zoro asked.
"You lied?" Nami said flatly.
"YOU HAVE A SHIP?!" Luffy burst out, practically jumping out of his seat with pure, unfiltered joy.
Usopp groaned and dragged a hand down his face. "...Ughhhhh…"