Upon hearing the ability's prompt, Usopp's spirits immediately lifted.
Meanwhile, Miss. Christmas on the other side was completely flustered, her mouse-like face twisted in terror, her eyes wide with fright.
She frantically dug at the sand, her plump body burrowing into the ground at an astonishing speed, leaving only her hysterical screams amidst the flying dust: "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"
"Trying to escape?" Usopp stood rooted to the spot, a cold, confident smirk playing on his lips.
He unhurriedly loaded a special bullet, his Black Kabuto Sniper gleaming coldly in the sunlight; even though the opponent had completely burrowed underground, his expression remained calm and composed.
Chopper stomped his hooves anxiously: "Usopp! She, she burrowed underground!"
"Don't worry." Usopp closed one eye, and Observation Haki spread out like ripples.
In his 'eyes', Miss. Christmas's panicked fleeing figure was clearly visible, like a firefly in the dark, with nowhere to hide.
"In front of my Observation Haki, burrowing deeper is just a waste of effort."
As soon as he finished speaking, Usopp suddenly released the Black Kabuto!
"Whoosh!"
The special drilling bullet whistled out, drawing a beautiful arc in the air, precisely drilling into the sand hole where Miss. Christmas had disappeared.
A muffled thud came from underground, followed by Miss. Christmas's shrill screams, the sand trembled a few times then returned to calm, and a wisp of green smoke curled up from the bullet hole.
Chopper's jaw nearly dropped to the ground, his small hooves trembling as he pointed to the still-smoking bullet hole: "This... this is too exaggerated?!"
His big eyes were filled with shock, "Usopp, when did you become so powerful?!"
Usopp instinctively wanted to put his hands on his hips, but he managed to hold back, feeling that it would be too undignified.
Instead, he merely said calmly: "It's nothing, just a bit of hardship."
Chopper: "!!!"
Smoker stared intently at Usopp in the center of the battlefield, his cigar trembling slightly at his lips, his sharp eyes wide open, truly seeing this long-nosed sniper for the first time.
"What a joke..." Smoker squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, "This guy who brags all day... actually has some real skill?"
Tashigi's glasses slipped to the tip of her nose, and she mechanically pushed up her frames: "Co-Colonel... that application of Observation Haki... even an elite sniper from Marineford might not be able to achieve that level..."
"The opponent truly has strength..."
The battlefield instantly fell silent, everyone looking at Usopp with incredulous eyes; those Marines who had once heard his boastful stories of 'eight thousand subordinates' now all had their mouths agape.
"So... so everything King Usopp the Bragger said was true?!"
"I knew it! How could the title of 'Sniper King' be fake!"
Usopp felt the astonished gazes from all directions, his inner smugness practically overflowing.
He cleared his throat, feigning profundity, maintaining his deep posture: "Ahem, basic operation, no need to make a fuss."
Smoker took a deep breath; he began to seriously recall information about this long-nosed sniper. Could the Marine's intelligence department have missed some crucial information?
"Tashigi," he commanded in a deep voice, "Upon our return, immediately re-investigate the data of all Straw Hat Pirates members." His gaze swept over everyone demonstrating their skills on the battlefield, "Especially this 'Sniper King'..."
Just as Usopp was immersed in the astonished gazes of the crowd, a mysterious voice suddenly sounded in his mind:
"Ding! Detected host has completed an epic act of showing off!"
"Show-off targets: Marine Colonel Smoker, Tashigi, all other Marines, Alabasta citizens, Baroque Works remnants."
"Show-off effect: Shocked the entire audience!"
Usopp gasped, almost thinking he was hallucinating, but then, even more shocking ability prompts followed one after another:
"Reward upgraded!"
"Obtained passive skill 'Boast Made Real': During moments of showing off, boastful statements will [randomly] come true!"
"Wh-what?!" Usopp's eyes widened, his mouth agape enough to fit an orange; he instinctively pinched his face hard, the intense pain confirming that he wasn't dreaming.
Chopper noticed his abnormality: "Usopp, what's wrong?"
Usopp suddenly snapped back to reality, his eyes filled with excitement: "Ahem... nothing."
Even if it's just a random probability, as long as it can come true, it's already amazing!
He deliberately straightened his back and announced in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "I was just thinking about whether or not to show off my 'eight thousand subordinates'!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the ability prompt sounded again:
"Ding! Detected a boasting scenario!"
"Quote randomly materializing..."
"Materialization result: Eight hundred subordinates, duration one hour."
Suddenly, a cloud of sand rose from the edge of the desert.
To everyone's horror, hundreds of warriors in strange attire marched out in formation from behind the dunes, shouting in unison: "Lord Usopp! Your loyal subordinates have come to report!"
Smoker's cigar dropped to the ground with a 'clatter': "This... this is impossible... it must be fake!"
Tashigi's glasses shattered directly: "Ei-eight thousand subordinates are real?! But where did they come from???"
Even Luffy jumped up in surprise, completely ignoring his injuries: "Wow! Usopp, you really have eight thousand subordinates! That's amazing!"
Usopp himself was quite startled, but he quickly reacted, immediately putting on an 'I knew it all along' expression: "Hmph, the others must be on their way. You all go clean up the remaining members of Baroque Works!"
"Yes!"
"Understood!"
Ron, who had just been dragged by Nami to dig for treasure, saw this scene and immediately put a hand to his forehead: "Now there's another strange ability."
A strange ability, one that doesn't return tenfold rewards; second, it's completely unclear what will come out.
And in Usopp's mind, the ability prompts continued:
"The boasting effect generated during the 'Boast Made Real' process is not counted."
"Friendly reminder: Please speak carefully in boasting situations; every big talk you make might come true!"
Usopp swallowed, suddenly realizing he had gained an ability that was both powerful and dangerous.
He carefully touched his nose, secretly deciding: From now on, he must control his mouth... unless he thought of an even cooler idea for showing off.
....
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