Chapter 373: Usopp's Struggling Justice
Syrup Village · In Front of Usopp's Old House
The wind had stilled, and the air felt heavy enough to suffocate.
As Usopp truly processed the identity of the man before him, his chest tightened violently. Fury and a surging, overwhelming tide of emotion warred within him.
Yasopp gazed at his son—now a man. He was tall, his back straight and broad, his crisp Marine uniform shimmering with a cold luster under the sunlight. That face was so similar to his own youth, yet it lacked even a sliver of warmth.
Yasopp's throat constricted. A thousand words were jammed in his chest, but he only managed to squeeze out a single name: "Usopp... I..."
He tried to take a step forward, but in the next heartbeat, he was pinned to the spot by Usopp's piercing gaze. That look was like a blade, a gun, a final judgment that offered no forgiveness.
Usopp's voice was low and freezing, yet it carried the weight of a mountain. "Yasopp. Remnant of the Red-Haired Pirates."
"I see you still remember that you have a son."
He gave his Marine uniform a sharp tug, the corner of his mouth curling into a mocking sneer. "But this outfit... it comes as a surprise, doesn't it?"
His tone grew sharper, dripping with a biting irony. "The son you imagined was probably a failure just like you, right?"
"Becoming a low-life, 'freedom-seeking' pirate scumbag who leaves his terminally ill wife behind just so he can go out and play hero on the sea?"
"—!"
Yasopp felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His body shuddered, and he staggered back. Usopp's words were like poisoned daggers, precisely striking the deepest nerves of his guilt. He opened his mouth to speak, but not a single sound came out. His face turned deathly pale.
Usopp's chest heaved. The fury he had suppressed for years finally detonated, his voice exploding like a thunderclap. "Pirates? These so-called 'adventurers of freedom'? Hmph!"
He pointed violently at the weathered old house behind Yasopp, his eyes burning with an inferno of rage.
"Mother... until the very last second of her life, she was still calling your name! She believed you would come back! She believed you were a great man!"
"And what did her waiting get her?!! Nothing but a cold, lonely grave!!!"
Usopp's fists were clenched so tight his knuckles were white. His voice tore into a ragged scream. "And I waited for over ten years! I didn't get a single word, not even a scrap of paper! Do you have any idea how I survived?!"
He slammed his fist against his own chest, his eyes bloodshot. "I lived on lies! I survived by boasting about you—my 'great pirate father'! I lived like a joke! Like a complete fool!!!"
He ripped open his coat, exposing the medals on his chest. His voice was hot with conviction. "It was the Marines who recognized me! It was 'Justice' that gave me strength and direction! It taught me that a thief is just a thief!!!"
"Pirates are a cancer! They are a plague! They are the root of the evil that shatters countless families!!!"
He stared dead at Yasopp, his voice dropping into a whisper that was more chilling than any roar.
"And you, Yasopp—you are the most despicable of them all! A piece of trash who didn't hesitate to abandon his own home!!!"
Yasopp was trembling violently. His eyes were shot through with blood, and every breath felt like he was inhaling glass. Every word from Usopp was a blade carving out his heart.
Luffy and Nami stood silently behind Usopp, shielding a quiet Kaya. Their expressions were solemn, but they didn't utter a word. They understood—this was a past Usopp had to face alone. This was a reckoning between father and son that could not be avoided.
Usopp's words struck Yasopp like heavy hammers. He had no defense against the accusations regarding his family. It was a scar he could never heal, a sin he could never wash away.
Yasopp's posture slumped. The sharp edge of a legendary sniper had vanished, replaced by the shock and agony of having his old wounds ripped open.
His voice was dry and raspy. "Usopp... I... I failed you and Banchina... I have no excuses... I..."
—He admitted it.
Regarding his decade of absence, regarding his wife's loneliness and death, he had no lies left to tell. That dry confession was heavier than any defense, making Usopp feel as if he were suffocating.
He looked at the man who had once been a giant in his mind, now looking so broken and defeated. The hands that had once never missed a shot were now shaking.
This wasn't the reunion Usopp had imagined a thousand times. This was a cruel tribunal.
Fury still burned—born from the endless waiting at his mother's bedside, the humiliation of being mocked as a "liar" on childhood nights, and the crushing loneliness of being abandoned.
Yet, simultaneously, a different voice echoed in his heart: "He never pillaged or burned after joining Shanks. Yasopp is a deadbeat who abandoned his family, but he isn't a monster who needs to be executed on sight."
"Is this what Justice is?"
Usopp's fists tightened and loosened, his nails drawing blood from his palms. His chest heaved, and the Marine crest on his uniform felt like it was searing into his skin under the sun. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and suppressed the tremor in his voice.
"Yasopp..."
His voice carried a ringing weight. "The principle of the Marines is 'Absolute Justice'... but today, I am not standing here as a soldier."
He lifted his head, his eyes showing a mix of pain and resolve. "I stand here as Banchina's son. And I am giving you two choices."
He stepped closer, his words like a sharp edge. "One: Leave Syrup Village immediately. Never come back. I will act as if I never saw you, and from this day forward, our bond is severed forever."
"Two—"
His gaze sharpened, looking like a barrel leveled at a target.
"Surrender and face a Marine tribunal! I will defend you personally! But you must pay the price for everything you've done!"
The air was deathly still.
Yasopp stared blankly at the young man before him. This tall, broad-shouldered warrior with the Marine insignia was no longer the scrawny boy who shouted "I am a brave warrior of the sea" at the village gates.
He was a Marine. He was a soldier. He was Banchina's son—and the child Yasopp had failed most.
Luffy and Nami remained silent. They simply watched Usopp; no matter what choice he made, they would have his back. Kaya gripped her skirt, tears falling silently as she stepped forward to lightly touch the hem of Usopp's coat. She knew this was Usopp's destiny to face.
Yasopp looked on with a mix of shock, guilt, and a faint, unbidden pride. The estrangement between them felt like a physical wall.
Suddenly, Yasopp's gaze drifted over Usopp's shoulder. On a distant hill stood a solitary, withered apple tree. At the very top hung the last shriveled apple of the season.
It was perhaps the same spot where he had practiced his marksmanship long ago. It was a silent challenge, the only "language" snipers truly shared.
Almost by instinct—perhaps trying to break the silence with the only common ground they had—Yasopp's hand moved with lightning speed toward the flintlock at his waist.
However, the moment his hand moved—
SHING!
A sharp, almost imperceptible whistle of air cut through the space!
A specialized pellet struck with incredible precision. CLANG! It hit the hammer of Yasopp's flintlock with a crisp metallic ring!
The force wasn't massive, but it was enough to knock the hammer out of alignment, rendering the gun unable to fire. The shock made Yasopp's hand go momentarily numb.
Yasopp froze, his pupils shrinking violently. He looked toward the source of the shot—his son, Usopp.
Usopp had shifted into a side-stance, his Marine-issue flintlock leveled with absolute stability. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, filled with absolute confidence and a freezing warning.
That shot was fast, accurate, and ruthless—demonstrating a level of marksmanship and control that far exceeded anything Yasopp had anticipated.
"In front of me," Usopp's voice was steady, carrying an unquestionable authority.
"Do not touch your gun."
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