"I will never forgive that woman!"
Lock patted Zoro on the shoulder and advised,
"Don't worry, Zoro, look, I was stepped on too."
"How is it the same? That guy still made me have oil all over my face!"
Zoro pointed angrily at the slick sheen across his cheeks.
"Don't worry, I have a solution."
After saying that, Lock stretched out his hand and whispered:
"Purify yourself!"
Wow, wow, wow—!
As Lock's voice fell, a clear water curtain instantly appeared around the two of them, flowing gently over them like a dance.
After a moment, the water curtain dissipated, leaving them clean and refreshed.
Their skin was smooth and delicate, and their clothes looked brand new—like they'd just come out of a washing machine.
"Hey, hey, hey, how come you have all these weird abilities? This water curtain can make my whole body clean without getting my clothes wet."
Zoro looked down and touched his spotless outfit in surprise.
"They're just little tricks. Let's go, Zoro."
Lock put his hands behind his back, closed his eyes, and walked slowly up the slope with the air of a seasoned master.
"Hey, the oil on the slope is still there!" Zoro called after him.
"...What?"
Slurp—snap—!
"Ouch!"
Lock had completely forgotten about the oil. The moment he opened his eyes, his feet slipped, and—just as expected—he tumbled back down the slope.
Zoro looked down at him and deadpanned, "You're an idiot."
"Purify yourself!"
Swoosh!
Lock cleaned himself up again with magic and stood back up.
"Don't panic, it's just a small problem."
Zoro sighed. "...How do we get up there now?"
Lock didn't answer directly. Instead, he whispered: "Levitate!"
A moment later, the two of them floated gracefully up to the top of the slope.
"Okay, let's go!"
"How many abilities do you have?" Zoro asked as they landed.
"Not much, but enough," Lock replied.
"Enough? I get it."
Zoro thought about it briefly… then decided it wasn't worth thinking about.
He'd find out eventually.
North Coast —
"I'm Usopp. I've been waiting for you here for a long time. I advise you to leave quickly."
Usopp looked down at the pirates gathering at the bottom of the slope and thought,
"What's going on? Am I the first one here? Luffy was ahead of me. Oh no… this is bad."
Village Entrance —
Huff—huff—
Luffy panted as he looked at the village ahead.
"How did I end up at the village? That's weird."
"He said it was the north, so I ran toward where it felt colder. How did I still end up here? Did he remember it wrong again?"
Luffy didn't think he could be the one running in the wrong direction.
North Coast —
Jango looked up at Usopp on the slope and asked,
"So you're the one who eavesdropped on our plan. What do you want?"
Usopp forced himself to speak despite his nerves.
"Warning… warning! Get out of here right now, or my 100 million subordinates will beat you to pieces!"
"One hundred million?"
"Hey, hey, hey, your lying skills aren't even as good as a kid's."
"Who would believe that?"
The pirates burst out laughing.
Behind them, Jango gasped,
"What! One hundred million? That's… impressive!"
"This is a lie, Captain," one pirate muttered.
"You believe anything," another said.
The first pirate started sweating. "I just called the captain an idiot… I hope he didn't hear that."
"They saw through me? But what's wrong with what I just said?" Usopp thought in disbelief.
Jango pointed at him and yelled,
"How dare you lie to me, you little brat!"
Just then, a pirate ran up from behind Jango.
"Captain Jango! You're amazing!"
Jango turned with a smile. "Really? Not bad, huh?"
"No, it's great—we found treasure on those two ships. Worth at least… a billion Berries!"
"A billion?!" Jango's jaw dropped.
Up on the slope, Usopp's eyes widened.
"A billion Berries? How could they have that much money on their ship?"
"Those treasures are mine. Please leave today for the sake of those treasures," Usopp said firmly.
"Is he trying to bribe us?" one pirate scoffed.
"How despicable!"
Jango tipped his hat forward.
"Idiot. We're pirates—of course, we'll take the treasure."
"Yes! Then—" Usopp began, but Jango cut him off.
"However… that's no reason for us to retreat."
He pulled out his hypnotic ring and pointed it at Usopp.
"When I say 'One, two, Jango!' you'll make way."
"One, two, Jan—"
Bang!
Thud—!
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Before Usopp could be hypnotized, Nami arrived, whacking him on the head with her staff.
"It hurts!" Usopp clutched his skull, eyes bulging.
"Captain! Now's not the time to hypnotize yourself!" one of the pirates yelled at Jango, who had accidentally put himself under and was standing aside, making a polite "please go ahead" gesture.
Nami jabbed her finger at the pirates.
"All that treasure is mine! I'm not giving you even a single Berry! Hang on tight—I'm taking it back right now!"
"It hurts so much…" Usopp muttered.
"How could you give my treasure to someone else, you idiot?!" Nami snapped.
"It was just talk!" Usopp shot back.
"So, where's Luffy? Wasn't he the first one to run ahead?"
Usopp shrugged. "Who knows? He's probably scared… or lost."
"Ah…" Nami sighed. "Then he'y lost. Really, at a time like this!"
Usopp pointed toward the pirates.
"Alright, you handle them. I'll cover you."
"Wait—why am I the one going?!"
Nami froze at his shamelessness.
"How could I possibly win against that many? I'm weak!"
"Hey—" Usopp laughed awkwardly. "Don't overestimate me just because I'm a man. Look, my legs are shaking."
He made sure to point at his knees, trembling like rattles.
"So what? Look, I'm so scared I could cry," Nami countered.
"Your tears are dry. If you're gonna lie, at least make it believable."
"You have no right to say that to me!"
"There's no time for this! Crush them and head for the village, men!" Jango barked.
"Whooooa!"
Da-da-da—
The pirates charged up the slope with swords drawn…