**Cocoyasi Village, Conomi Islands – East Blue**
**The morning after the battle**
Dawn arrived slowly over the village, the kind of soft, hesitant light that seemed unsure whether it was welcome after so much darkness.
Smoke from last night's fires had mostly cleared, leaving only faint gray threads curling from a few blackened rooftops. Villagers moved through the streets in quiet, purposeful clusters—men hauling broken beams to a central pile, women sweeping shattered glass into neat mounds, children carrying buckets of seawater to scrub bloodstains from cobblestones. The air smelled of salt, charred wood, and the faint sweetness of tangerines someone had started slicing for breakfast.
Luffy walked through it all barefoot, shirt still torn across the chest, straw hat pushed back on his head. He carried a plank of wood over one shoulder—not because anyone had asked him to, but because he'd seen an old man struggling and simply picked it up without a word. Now he was wandering, looking for somewhere to put it down.
He found Usopp sitting on the very end of the longest pier.
The sniper had his knees drawn up, long nose casting a thin shadow across his bandaged forearm. His slingshot lay beside him like an exhausted pet. He was staring at the water—watching small fish dart beneath the surface, then disappear again.
Luffy dropped the plank with a clatter and plopped down next to him without asking.
Usopp flinched so hard he nearly fell in.
"You're gonna give me a heart attack doing that!"
Luffy grinned.
"You're hard to kill."
Usopp rubbed his chest like he was checking for damage.
"Yeah, well… I'm trying to have a moment here."
Luffy swung his legs over the edge, heels tapping the wooden pilings.
"Moment about what?"
Usopp hesitated.
Then sighed.
"Everything. Last night. The village. The fact that I didn't run. The fact that… I shot someone. Actually hit him. And he went down."
He looked at his hands—still shaking slightly.
"I've never done that before. Not for real."
Luffy nodded slowly.
"Felt different, huh?"
"Yeah." Usopp's voice cracked on the word. "It felt… real. Too real."
They sat in silence for a while.
Waves lapped. Gulls cried overhead. Somewhere behind them, Sanji's voice carried faintly—barking orders at volunteers who were trying to help him set up a field kitchen.
Luffy spoke first.
"Hey."
Usopp didn't look up.
"What."
"You should come with us."
Usopp's fingers froze on the slingshot.
"…What?"
"When we leave. Join the Marines. Be part of the crew."
Usopp laughed—short, shaky, almost panicked.
"You're joking."
Luffy shook his head.
"Nope."
Usopp finally turned to face him.
"Look at me, Straw Hat. Really look. I'm a liar. A coward. I spent three years telling everyone I had eight thousand men waiting in the wings. I hid in trees and shot ketchup packets at fish-men to make them think they were bleeding. I didn't even tell my own village the truth half the time because I was too scared they'd laugh. Or worse—believe me and expect something."
He gestured at himself—skinny arms, patched-up clothes, trembling hands.
"You really think Headquarters is gonna want someone like me? I'd get laughed out of basic training. Or kicked out. Or—hell—court-martialed for impersonating a capable soldier."
Luffy scratched under his hat.
"I don't care about Headquarters."
Usopp blinked.
"Huh?"
"I care about people who protect their village even when they're scared. People who shoot slingshots at fish-men twice their size. People who cry when they're happy the bad guys are gone."
Usopp's lip trembled.
Luffy kept going, voice steady and simple.
"You don't have to be strong right now. You just have to want to be. And you already do."
Usopp looked away—toward the village, toward the people sweeping, hammering, laughing quietly for the first time in months.
"I… I promised my dad I'd protect this place."
Luffy nodded.
"Then protect it as a Marine. Make sure no one ever takes it again. And when we get a ship big enough… you can come visit. Or stay. Whatever."
Usopp laughed again—this time wetter, more broken.
"You're insane."
"Yup."
Usopp wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
"…I'm not brave enough."
Luffy leaned closer.
"You already were. Last night. You shot that guy sneaking up on Sanji. You led us through the drain. You stood up to Arlong's crew even when you were shaking."
He grinned wider.
"That's brave. The rest is just practice."
Usopp stared at the water for a long time.
The small fish kept darting—silver flashes under the surface.
Then—quietly:
"…Can I think about it?"
Luffy bounced to his feet.
"Sure! Take all the time you want. We're not leaving for a couple days anyway. Gotta help clean up. And eat. Lots of eating."
Usopp snorted despite himself.
"You're really weird, you know that?"
Luffy laughed—loud, bright, echoing over the harbor.
"I get that a lot."
He started walking back toward the village, then paused.
Turned.
"Usopp."
"Yeah?"
"Don't take too long thinking. The sea's big. Lots of villages need protecting. And we're gonna need the best sniper in the East Blue."
Usopp's mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
Luffy just waved and kept walking—plank back over his shoulder like he'd forgotten he was carrying it.
Leaving Usopp sitting there—slingshot in hand, heart pounding, staring at the horizon with something new flickering in his eyes.
Something that looked dangerously like hope.
—
The rest of the morning passed in a slow, gentle rhythm.
Villagers brought water and bandages to the pier where Sanji had set up a makeshift aid station. He worked shirtless, sleeves rolled up, barking orders at helpers while simultaneously flipping eggs in a giant pan scavenged from the mayor's kitchen.
"More firewood! And someone find me salt—real salt, not that fishy crap from the tide pools!"
Zoro sat nearby, sharpening his blades with slow, deliberate strokes. Every time a villager tried to thank him, he grunted and looked away.
Koby moved between groups—organizing supply lines, helping carry debris, quietly reassuring people that more Marines were coming.
Nami sat on a crate near the dock, sketching a rough map of the village's damaged areas. Every few minutes she glanced toward the pier where Usopp still sat.
Luffy helped wherever he saw someone struggling—lifting beams, carrying buckets, once even holding up an entire collapsed roof while the carpenter nailed new supports underneath.
He didn't ask for thanks.
He just grinned every time someone patted his shoulder or pressed a tangerine into his hand.
Around noon, Usopp finally stood up.
He walked back into the village slowly—slingshot still in hand, shoulders straighter than they'd been yesterday.
He found Nami first.
She looked up from her sketch.
"You okay?"
Usopp shrugged.
"Sort of."
She set the charcoal down.
"He asked you, didn't he?"
Usopp nodded.
"Yeah."
Nami studied him for a long moment.
"You thinking about it?"
Usopp exhaled.
"I'm terrified."
She smiled—small, knowing.
"So was I. The first time he dragged me into something stupid."
Usopp laughed weakly.
"He does that a lot, huh?"
"Constantly."
She looked toward Luffy—now carrying three children on his shoulders while they giggled and pulled his hat down over his eyes.
"He's… impossible to say no to," she said quietly. "And somehow, he makes you believe you're not as useless as you think."
Usopp swallowed.
"I don't want to leave the village."
Nami nodded.
"You don't have to. Not forever. But… if you stay here and Arlong's friends come back, or another crew shows up… you'll be alone again."
Usopp looked down at his slingshot.
"I know."
She stood.
Put a hand on his shoulder.
"Just think about it. No pressure."
Usopp gave a shaky laugh.
"Easy for you to say. You're not the one he keeps staring at like he's already decided I'm part of the team."
Nami smirked.
"Welcome to the club."
—
The day wore on.
By late afternoon, the central square was mostly cleared. Villagers had started cooking over open fires—fish, rice, tangerines, whatever could be salvaged. The smell drifted everywhere.
Luffy sat on a barrel, eating his fifth bowl of rice, when Usopp finally walked up.
He stopped a few paces away.
Hands in pockets.
Looking anywhere but Luffy's face.
Luffy looked up.
Grinned around a mouthful of rice.
"Hey."
Usopp took a deep breath.
"I've been thinking."
Luffy swallowed.
"Yeah?"
Usopp shifted his weight.
"I'm not… I'm not ready to leave. Not yet. My dad's grave is here. The village still needs fixing. Kaya—she's still sick. I can't just… go."
Luffy nodded slowly.
"Okay."
Usopp blinked.
"Just… okay?"
"Yup."
Usopp stared.
"I thought you'd… I don't know… push harder."
Luffy shrugged.
"You get to decide. Not me."
Usopp's shoulders sagged—relief and disappointment mixing together.
"But…" Luffy continued, "when you're ready… the offer's still there. Okay?"
Usopp looked at him—really looked.
"You mean that."
"Yup."
Usopp exhaled shakily.
"…Thanks."
Luffy grinned wider.
"Anytime."
Usopp turned to leave—then paused.
Looked back.
"If… if I ever do join… you better not make me do paperwork."
Luffy laughed—loud enough to turn heads across the square.
"No promises!"
Usopp snorted.
Then—quietly—almost too quiet to hear:
"I'll think about it. For real this time."
Luffy just nodded.
Usopp walked away—back toward the village, slingshot swinging at his side.
Luffy watched him go.
Then he looked up at the sky—clear blue now, no more smoke.
He smiled to himself.
"Take your time, Usopp."
He finished his rice.
Stood up.
And went to find more things to carry.
Because there was still a village to rebuild.
And a crew to grow.
One stubborn heart at a time.
To be continued…