The four of them were flung violently into the air. Then, amid Nami's and the kids' terrified screams, they plummeted like meteors and slammed down hard beside a big tree in the mansion's backyard!
Luffy climbed out of the shallow crater they'd made, brushed the dirt off himself, and shouted shamelessly, "Successful landing!"
Nami groaned in pain as she struggled up, her head full of dirt and her hair a mess. "Like hell it is! That hurt like crazy!"
Ronan sprang up with a carp flip, landing lightly on his feet, a knowing smile on his face. "What a strange kind of adventure."
Kaya, who had been listening to Usopp's bragging by a second-floor window, went pale when she saw them drop out of the sky.
"Y-you're not hurt, are you?!"
Up in the tree, Usopp saw it was Luffy and the others and hurriedly explained to Kaya,
"N-no, no! They're fine! They all heard of my great deeds and came all this way to join me—new members of the Usopp Pirates!"
Luffy stood up and cut straight through Usopp's clumsy lie.
He looked at Kaya, his expression serious.
"No, I'm not a new member."
"I need you to help us with something."
Kaya blinked, confused. "Help… me?"
Luffy answered without the slightest hesitation, laying out his goal plainly.
"Yeah! We need a ship!"
Just then, a man in a perfectly pressed suit walked over, his face calm and controlled.
Ronan's eyes sharpened instantly—Klahadore, better known as Captain Kuro, the early-stage boss who wanted to "wash his hands clean" and live quietly after abandoning his old ambitions.
Kuro pushed up the round-framed glasses on his nose. A hint of displeasure flickered in his eyes.
"You're making this quite difficult for us. You've trespassed into the estate without permission—what exactly are you doing here?"
Luffy stared at him curiously and blurted out, "Who's that guy?"
By the window, Kaya looked at Kuro, her expression turning awkward and anxious.
"Th-that… these people are…"
Kuro's movements were polite, yet carried an unquestionable command.
He adjusted his glasses again.
"There's no need to explain now. I'll listen to your reasons later. For the moment—leave."
Luffy completely ignored the order and repeated his request bluntly.
"I'm telling you, we want a ship!"
Kuro's expression didn't change. His tone was cold, edged with arrogance.
"No."
Then his gaze shifted to Usopp hiding in the tree, and a thin, sinister smile curled at his mouth.
"Usopp. I've heard your reputation. You're fairly well-known in the village, aren't you."
Hearing what sounded like praise, Usopp immediately puffed up, pleased with himself.
"Oh yeah? Then you can call me Captain Usopp too!"
Kuro's face darkened. He let out two contemptuous huffs.
"Captain… is it?"
Then his voice turned sharply colder, cutting and cruel.
"I've also heard about your father."
Usopp's face went bloodless, freezing in place. "What?"
At the window, Kaya looked at Kuro urgently, trying to stop him.
"Please… don't say any more."
Kuro didn't even glance her way. His words were full of humiliation and mockery, stabbing right into Usopp's sorest place.
"You're nothing more than the filthy son of a pirate. Whatever you do, it wouldn't surprise me."
Then he added, voice dripping with disdain,
"But could you please stop getting close to my young lady?"
Kuro's venomous words made Usopp's face twist. His fists clenched tight as he barked back,
"Who are you calling filthy?!"
Kuro ignored his anger completely. He adjusted his glasses again, speaking down to him like he was granting charity.
"You and the young lady live in entirely different worlds."
"Is your goal money? Go on—how much do you want?"
Kaya finally couldn't take it anymore. She glared at Kuro, furious.
"You've gone too far! Apologize to Usopp!"
"And why should I apologize to such a barbaric man, young lady?"
Kuro treated Kaya's anger as if it were nothing. His voice was cold, like he was simply stating facts.
"I'm only telling the truth."
Then, with a tone of feigned sympathy, he turned his cruelty into a blade.
"I really do pity you, Usopp. You must hate him, don't you?"
"Hate that bastard father of yours who abandoned his wife and child, left the village, and valued treasure more than his own family!"
Ronan watched Kuro's righteous-sounding attack, then looked at Usopp's furious eyes—and, for a moment, couldn't deny that Kuro had a point.
By ordinary standards, every word was true.
Yasopp really had abandoned his wife and child. And Usopp really was the pitiful one left behind.
Kuro was simply ripping open the pain Usopp might have buried deep inside, using the cruelest possible language.
But Usopp clearly couldn't stand anyone condemning his father like that—his father was his only pride, his only pillar.
He roared in fury, "Don't you dare talk bad about my dad!"
With that shout, Usopp jumped down from the tree, landing firmly on the ground as he glared at Kuro with a vicious look.
Seeing Usopp lose control, Kuro instead wore a mocking expression, like everything was still in the palm of his hand.
"Why are you getting so worked up?"
"At times like this, shouldn't you be using that talent of yours—lying?"
With a sneer, he continued slowly.
"For example, claiming your father was just a traveling merchant…"
"Or better yet, saying you aren't even related by blood…"
That was the final straw.
Usopp's pride shattered completely. Unable to endure it any longer, he shouted, "Shut up!" and swung a furious punch straight into Kuro's face!
Kuro hit the ground hard. Blood stained the corner of his mouth—but he didn't look angry.
Instead, he let out a cold laugh full of mockery.
"See? Straight to violence."
"Like father, like son."
Usopp loomed over him, eyes red as he screamed,
"Shut up! I've always been proud that my dad's a pirate! Proud that he's a brave warrior of the sea!"
"Yeah, I lie all the time—but I've got pirate blood in me!"
"And this pride—this honor—isn't fake for even a second!"
"I'm a pirate's son!"
Kuro propped himself up with one hand, blood still at his lip, and his smile grew even sharper, even more poisonous.
"So pirates are brave warriors of the sea? That's quite the excuse."
"But if you're saying you inherited a savage bloodline… that part certainly seems true."
He stared at Usopp coldly, contempt dripping from every syllable.
"Either you lie wherever you please, or you resort to violence the moment you get angry."
"And in the end—getting close to the young lady for her property."
Usopp's rage burned hotter at the slander. He tried to argue, voice shaking.
"You're lying! I'm—"
Kuro didn't even let him finish.
"If you want to know why you're so crooked, the fact that your father was a pirate is reason enough."
Usopp couldn't take it anymore.
He lunged again, grabbing Kuro by the collar and raising his fist, trembling with fury.
"Are you done yet?!"