Seeing that his ordinary attacks weren't doing much, Usopp immediately switched ammunition.
With nimble fingers, he drew several specially crafted lead pellets from his pouch. Each one was coated with a layer of highly flammable powder.
"Exploding Star: Lead Shot Barrage!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several blazing lead pellets streaked toward Luffy.
Luffy didn't dodge. Instead, he puffed out his chest.
"Gum-Gum Balloon!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The pellets slammed into Luffy's body, only to bounce harmlessly off his elastic skin, leaving nothing more than a few black scorch marks on his shirt.
Usopp's eyes widened.
"What?! Even my special lead shots can't pierce him?!"
"Ow! Hot, hot, hot!"
Luffy proudly slapped his chest.
"That's right! I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit! I'm a Rubber Human! Normal attacks don't work on me!"
Nami pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Are you two idiots?"
"The shells were on fire! Didn't either of you notice that?"
She felt an overwhelming sense of despair for her future.
One idiot insisted on settling everything with an honorable one-on-one fight.
The other saw flaming projectiles flying toward him and thought tanking them with his body was a good idea.
This crew really had no hope...
"A Devil Fruit user..."
Usopp's expression turned serious. He immediately realized he was facing a troublesome opponent.
Still, he didn't retreat. Instead, he carefully observed Luffy's movements.
At the same time, he noticed something else.
Even someone as simple-minded as Luffy understood that neither of them was trying to kill the other.
After all, the truly dangerous black rounds hanging behind Usopp had never once been used.
"Gum-Gum Bazooka!"
Luffy stretched both arms behind him, preparing a powerful attack.
Usopp quickly retreated while pulling several specially made caltrops from his pouch. With perfect precision, he scattered them directly along Luffy's path.
"Caltrop Star!"
Luffy didn't even notice the tiny spikes beneath his feet.
Crunch!
"YAAAH! That hurts!"
The sharp caltrops stabbed straight through the soles of his sandals, making him hop around on one foot while clutching the other.
Taking advantage of the opening, Usopp closed the distance.
He slung his giant slingshot onto his back and swept Luffy's supporting leg with a clean low kick.
Bang!
Caught completely off guard, Luffy crashed to the ground.
His rubber body bounced, allowing him to spring back up almost instantly.
"Hey! That's cheating!"
Luffy puffed out his cheeks.
"That's called strategy!"
Usopp shot back without hesitation.
The two immediately threw themselves into close combat.
Compared to his marksmanship, Usopp's hand-to-hand combat was his weaker specialty.
But that was only by comparison.
Years of training under Yasopp, combined with constant hunting, had given him combat skills that far surpassed an ordinary person.
Of course, talent couldn't be replaced through effort alone.
Usopp possessed extraordinary talent as a sniper.
However, when it came to learning Armament Haki and Observation Haki, he was perfectly ordinary.
Like everyone else, he had to wait until his body fully matured before properly training Armament Haki.
People often assumed mastering Haki was easy because of monsters like Luffy and Zoro.
But geniuses like them only appeared once in several years across the entire sea.
Usopp nimbly dodged Luffy's rubber punches, countering with elbows and knee strikes whenever an opening appeared.
"I didn't expect you to be this good!"
Luffy shouted excitedly as the fight intensified.
"Quit looking down on me!"
Usopp smoothly executed a shoulder throw, slamming Luffy hard onto the grass.
"I'm the man who's going to become a brave warrior of the sea!"
The two rolled across the grassy field, grappling fiercely.
For a while, neither could gain the upper hand.
Usopp continuously used the terrain to his advantage.
He retreated while fighting, constantly leading Luffy through traps and peppering him with every kind of special ammunition he had prepared.
Although Luffy possessed overwhelming strength, unfamiliar terrain prevented him from overwhelming his opponent.
"Gum-Gum Whip!"
Luffy's leg swept across with incredible speed.
There was no way for Usopp to dodge in time.
Instead, he rolled with the impact, using the momentum to widen the gap between them.
Though the tumble hurt, he immediately climbed back to his feet and resumed firing.
"Damn it! Stop jumping around like a monkey!"
Luffy grumbled.
He stretched both arms behind him.
"Gum-Gum Slingshot!"
His entire body launched forward like a cannonball.
This attack was far too fast.
Usopp couldn't react in time.
Bang!
The two crashed into each other head-on.
Locked together, they tumbled wildly across the ground before rolling straight down a steep hillside, disappearing from Zoro and Nami's sight.
Nami stood frozen.
"They... they flew away?!"
Zoro calmly nodded.
"Yeah."
"They flew away."
Nami finally snapped back to reality.
"You idiot! What are you standing there for?! Go after them!"
"Oh."
Zoro immediately turned around and sprinted... in the exact opposite direction.
Nami nearly exploded.
"WRONG WAY!!!"
"YOU DIRECTIONLESS MOSS-HEAD!!!"
Meanwhile...
Luffy and Usopp finally came to a stop.
"Oww..."
Luffy rubbed his aching head as he sat up.
Usopp grimaced in pain as well, but the very first thing he did was check whether his slingshot had survived.
The two looked at each other.
Then they both froze.
They had rolled into a forest.
More specifically, they had landed deep inside it, on a patch of soft grass.
Without realizing it, they both lay back down side by side, staring at the sunlight filtering through the canopy above.
After their intense chase and brawl, both of them were exhausted.
The forest grew quiet.
Only the sound of their breathing and distant birdsong remained.
Usopp turned his head and looked at the straw-hatted boy beside him.
Luffy was grinning like an idiot, as though the fight they had just had meant absolutely nothing.
Somehow...
The hostility in Usopp's heart quietly faded away.
Fighting really was a strange thing.
Sometimes it let you understand someone faster than words ever could.
"Hey."
Usopp spoke first.
"What's your name? I'm Usopp."
"I'm Luffy!"
Luffy turned toward him with a huge, carefree smile.
"Ahahaha! You're pretty fun to fight!"
Usopp scratched his head awkwardly.
"Hmph... of course I am..."
"Wait a second!"
"Weren't we just trying to beat each other up?!"
Only now did he realize how ridiculous the situation was.
There wasn't even a trace of anger left in his voice.
After a moment of silence, he sighed, as though he had finally made up his mind.
"...Forget it."
"I'll take you into the village later so you can restock your supplies."
"Really?!"
"Arigato!"
Luffy's eyes sparkled instantly.
His rubber arms flailed around excitedly.
"Hey, Usopp!"
"Why don't you come sail with me?"
The sudden invitation left Usopp stunned.
He looked into Luffy's eyes.
There was nothing there except pure sincerity and anticipation.
"What... is your dream?"
Instead of answering, Usopp asked his own question.
Luffy immediately sat upright and adjusted his straw hat.
"I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"
"Usopp!"
"Come out to sea with me!"
He extended his hand.
Usopp stared at the hand reaching toward him.
His heart skipped a beat.
Setting sail.
Adventure.
Becoming a brave warrior of the sea.
Wasn't that the dream he had always hidden deep inside his heart?
For a brief moment...
He almost reached out and accepted it.
Then images flashed through his mind.
His mother, Banchina, whose health had improved but still required constant care.
Kaya's gentle smile, still shadowed by illness.
He couldn't leave them behind.
He slowly shook his head.
His expression was calm, but unwavering.
"Sorry, Luffy."
"I can't leave yet."
"There are still people here... that I have to protect."
Luffy looked at him.
He quietly withdrew his hand and simply tilted his head.
"I see..."
Just then, Usopp's expression suddenly changed.
Without warning, he grabbed the still-relaxed Luffy and pulled him down into the tall grass.
"Shh."
Usopp motioned for silence.
His ears twitched slightly as he focused on a particular direction within the forest.
His Observation Haki was still far from reaching its full potential.
Even so, he possessed an exceptional natural talent for it.
He could clearly sense someone approaching.
Kaya's butler...
Klahadore.
He was walking straight toward them.
Why would he be here?
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