Chapter 5: Syrup Village
The next day dawned bright and sunny, with not a cloud in the vast sky.
Their group, temporarily joined by Nami, finally arrived at Syrup Village with four members.
As for Jango, he was tossed into the sea to feed the fish. If he survived, it was purely down to fate.
The island where Syrup Village was located had rather unique terrain. Steep cliffs lined almost the entire coastline where it met the sea.
There was only one harbor on the east side of the island, accessible via a long, sloping path leading inland.
After docking and disembarking, Luffy excitedly charged up the slope first.
Reiner tied the boat's rope to a wooden post on the shore, secured it, and followed.
"Honestly, I can't handle this captain."
Nami sighed helplessly, watching Luffy rush off impatiently on his own.
Although she had been thoroughly frightened by the two demons Reiner summoned yesterday, her opinion of the group had gradually changed since then.
Initially, she felt quite favorable towards them for saving her.
Furthermore, after hearing Jango's secret, Luffy's reaction had astounded Nami.
He had spent the entire day yelling about wanting to come here and beat up Kuro.
Are there really pirates who like fighting for justice these days?
The pirates she had known since childhood were Arlong and his crew, whose brutality had instilled in her a deep hatred for all pirates.
To buy Cocoyasi Village back from Arlong, Nami had become a thief, but she exclusively targeted pirates.
In her view, pirates' money was ill-gotten gains. Even though she never considered herself a good person, she stole from pirates with a clear conscience.
She still had no intention of becoming a pirate, but she could accept traveling with this group for the time being.
"Stop right there!"
A shout drew the group's attention.
A long-nosed young man with an afro jumped out from the side, blocking their path. He had tan skin and a pouch tied around his waist.
Reiner recognized him instantly.
The Great Usopp, a man constantly wavering between courage and cowardice.
Speaking of which, Reiner actually admired Usopp quite a bit. Compared to Zoro's unrealistically perfect image, Usopp was more like a reflection of ordinary people.
Yet, it was this timid, weak person who could always face his inner fears at critical moments, step forward, and fight to the death for his companions with unwavering resolve.
He allowed the flower of miracles to bloom on this seemingly insignificant character.
*Looks like the Weakling Trio can be formed ahead of schedule,* Reiner thought.
As for the third member besides Nami and Usopp...
Yes, that would be him!
He was just a logistics crewman.
His undead summons were strong; what did that have to do with him?
Besides, he currently only had two combat-capable undead: the Katana Devil made from Zoro's template and the Chainsaw Devil made from Luffy's template.
Although Luffy didn't use a three-sword style, his fighting talent was excellent, he was agile, and his fighting style was unpredictable with constantly changing moves.
Combined with those three menacing chainsaws, just looking at them hurt. Anyone who faced it would surely shudder.
Shaking off his thoughts, Reiner slowly caught up.
"How did you know I'm Yasopp's son?"
"Hahaha, you guys look so much alike! At first glance, I thought, 'What's Yasopp doing here?'"
Usopp and Luffy, who was leading the way, had already started talking. Luffy recognized him immediately – the father and son really did look alike, especially the afro and thick lips.
"You know my dad!?"
Usopp was both surprised and delighted, quickly chasing after Luffy to ask about Yasopp.
"He should still be on Shanks' ship, I think."
"You mean Red-Haired Shanks?"
"How did you know?"
"What!? But he's a great pirate!"
"Eh, is he?" Luffy scratched his head and grinned.
"Our captain never reads the news."
Reiner felt exasperated with Luffy too. Shanks was the person Luffy admired most, yet he never bothered to find out any news about him.
The group chatted as they walked, with Luffy constantly telling Usopp stories about Yasopp along the way.
When Luffy was young, Shanks' crew had stayed in Foosha Village for a while, and Luffy had often listened to Lucky Roux and Yasopp brag.
Now, unexpectedly, he was repeating Yasopp's tall tales to his own son.
Soon, the five of them reached the village center and randomly entered a restaurant.
"You seem to really admire Yasopp, huh?"
"Of course!"
Usopp stood up on his chair, stepped onto the table, and declared boldly, "My dream is to be just like him, a brave warrior of the sea!"
"That's pretty cool! Then join us as our nakama!"
Luffy grinned, showing his teeth, and invited Usopp.
"In that case, I can be your captain."
"No thanks," chorused four voices simultaneously as the others lowered their heads and continued eating silently.
"Hey, wait a minute! Don't refuse so bluntly! Think about it!" Usopp tried to argue.
"Speaking of which, we're actually looking for a ship."
Reiner put down his utensils and brought up the topic. "Usopp, do you know where we might find one?"
"...A ship, huh?"
Usopp rubbed his chin, looked up thoughtfully, and said, "Around here, there's probably only one place that would have a ship."
"Eh! Great! Usopp, take us there!" Luffy looked up excitedly.
Usopp suddenly remembered something and quickly backtracked, "No, no! You can't go there."
The others were somewhat surprised. Usopp then explained about the mansion in the village and its mistress, Kaya.
"Wait a minute, the Kaya Usopp mentioned... isn't that related to what Jango told us yesterday? Kuro's conspiracy."
Reiner already knew about this, but besides him, Nami was the first to make the connection.
He decided to lay the cards on the table with Usopp directly, then lead the group to expose Kuro forcefully.
"Jango? You know about Kaya and Kuro?"
Usopp was confused. He had only talked about Kaya; how did they know about Kuro?
Reiner slowly explained how they encountered the Black Cat Pirates yesterday and learned about Kuro's scheme from Jango.
"Hey! You're not lying, are you!?"
Usopp looked incredulous, slamming his hands on the table. "This isn't just some lie you cooked up because you want the ship, is it?"
Reiner directly pulled out the bounty poster he'd gotten from Jango and showed it to Usopp.
It showed Kuro's bounty information from three years ago. Probably only Jango and his crew still had copies now.
After all, Kuro had officially been captured, and the Black Cat Pirates had kept a low profile since then.
"Th-This is!" Usopp's expression turned panicked.
He recognized Kuro immediately. He often snuck into Kaya's estate to see her and was always chased away by Kuro (as Klahadore).
"Damn it!" Usopp stuffed the bounty poster into his waist pouch, turned, and bolted out the door.
He had to tell Kaya this news immediately! A pirate with a 16 million Beri bounty had been lurking by her side for three years!
"Wait for me! I'm gonna go beat up that bastard too!"
Luffy hurriedly stood up, grabbing the plate of food from the table as he went.
Reiner and the others followed. Kuro wasn't someone to be underestimated. His 'Shakushi' speed technique was currently too fast for any of them to keep up with.
This was also why Reiner was interested in Kuro – that extreme burst speed was perfect for sneak attacks, which was just...
—So cool!