Luffy's attention was completely captured by the long-nosed young man.
He was gesturing animatedly to three boys who looked only seven or eight years old, as if announcing so grand event, his enthusiasm overflowing.
Driven by pure curiosity, Luffy dragged Ralph over to approach them.
Only when they got closer could they hear clearly—the long-nosed young man was nad Usopp, while the three boys were Ninjin, Piiman, and Tamanegi. They were all residents of Syrup Village.
What Luffy found most amusing was that they actually called themselves the "Usopp Pirates," with the long-nosed Usopp proudly serving as their captain!
Taking it at face value, Luffy's large eyes filled with astonishnt. She stepped forward and asked curiously, "Your pirate crew... why do you recruit such young children?"
She pointed at the three little ones.
Usopp was startled. Seeing that Lufia was an outsider girl, he instinctively began his habitual boasting.
"Ahem!" He cleared his throat, pointing his thumb at himself.
"You see, beautiful lady, what you don't know is that I, Captain Usopp, command eight thousand elite subordinates! These three," he gestured toward his expressionless crew mbers, "are just temporary apprentice crew mbers I recruited in this village..."
The three crew mbers muttered quietly nearby.
Ninjin: "Captain Usopp is boasting again..."
Piiman: "But the Usopp Pirates only have the three of us..."
Tamanegi: "But the captain looks so cool when he lies!"
However, Luffy's reaction completely surprised them. She covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide with genuine amazent:
"...Eight thousand subordinates?! That's amazing!!"
Usopp: "..."
Three crew mbers: "..."
Even Ralph nearby couldn't help but facepalm.
The three children stared at Luffy in shock, internally screaming: 'She fell for it that easily?! This girl is way too gullible!'
Luffy's amazent wasn't over yet. She continued questioning: "Then... is this island your territory?"
Seeing this, Usopp's enthusiasm for boasting grew even stronger. He spread his arms as if to embrace the entire island: "Of course! This is just the most insignificant of the over eight hundred islands under Captain Usopp's control!"
"Wow—! So amazing!!" Luffy exclaid with admiration again, her face glowing with the joy of discovering treasure.
Watching Luffy's radiant smile blossoming from such a clumsy lie, Ralph stood behind her, his mind plunged into chaos and self-doubt.
He should have realized it earlier!
If such simple, straightforward, and full-of-holes boasting could make Luffy this happy...
Then weren't his previous elaborate "affection-building campaigns"—carefully planned, demonstrating abilities, sharing ideals, surviving life-and-death situations together—sowhat overly complicated?
Could it be... that he just needed to learn to boast like Usopp?
Ralph began wildly imagining:
'For example... I'm the man who tramples the Four Emperors underfoot and punches the Pirate King!'
No way! Luffy knew Red Hair was one of the Four Emperors, and her goal was to beco the Pirate King. Bragging like this probably wouldn't make her happy.
'Then say I'm intellectually superior, even Vegapunk lags 500 years behind !'
—That probably wouldn't work either... Luffy might not even know who Vegapunk is, and even if she did, she has absolutely no concept of this kind of scientific stuff.
'Looks like I need to learn from Usopp, use concepts Luffy can understand, be more straightforward...'
'I'm actually a great Pirate with a 5 billion berry bounty, I ca to the East Blue to...'
—To do what? Live in seclusion? Experience a normal life? What abilities do I have? What earth-shattering evil deeds have I done to make the World Governnt put a 5 billion bounty on ? Am I a lone wolf, or do I have a crew too? Where are my crewmates?...
Ralph's mind raced, trying to construct a plausible boast, but countless logical details and real-world constraints flooded in like a tide, instantly overwhelming his inspiration.
'It's no use...' Ralph lanted inwardly,
'I can't do it! I can't be like Usopp, completely ignoring these details, lying so calmly and so convincingly with such an outrageous falsehood!'
People really are different after all.
He truly couldn't learn Usopp's naturally gifted "art of lying"!
'No, I can't give up so easily!'
Ralph quickly rallied himself, 'I must learn when I have the chance! If I spend enough ti with Usopp, being constantly exposed to it, maybe it'll click for ?'
Moreover, from a plot perspective, he had to ensure Usopp could join the crew smoothly.
That guy's unbelievable luck, along with his future god-like sniping skills, were both indispensable assets to the Straw Hat crew.
The plotline could be adjusted slightly, but key companions must be in place.
Just as Ralph was engrossed in this intense internal monologue, Luffy had already reached a crucial topic in her conversation with Usopp.
"Since this is your territory," Luffy placed her hands on her hips with a proud expression, "you must know this place like the back of your hand, right!"
This was sothing Usopp didn't need to lie about. He confidently thumped his chest: "Of course! There isn't a single blade of grass in Syrup Village that I, Usopp, don't know about!"
"Great!" Luffy's eyes lit up, and she imdiately asked, "Then do you know soone nad Kuro?"
"Kuro?"
Usopp tilted his head, sitting on the ground with his three followers. They all thought hard for a long ti before shaking their heads blankly. "We've never heard of anyone with that na around here? Miss, are you sure you have the right person?"
"There's no mistake!"
Seeing that they didn't know, Luffy grew anxious, waving her arms as she tried to explain,
"Kuro is a very, very bad Pirate! He... his badness lies in the fact that he was being a Pirate just fine, but then he suddenly stopped! He abandoned his companions and ran away alone..."
After hearing this, Usopp and his three followers looked at each other, all showing confused expressions.
Ninjin whispered: "A Pirate... stopping being a Pirate, that doesn't... seem so bad, right?"
Piiman agreed: "Yeah, maybe he reford and turned over a new leaf?"
Tamanegi concluded: "Though Captain Usopp would never abandon us, of course!"
Though they usually played pirate gas and yearned for sea adventures, subconsciously they felt that a pirate turning over a new leaf... didn't seem to deserve such severe judgnt?
Seeing their complete inability to understand, Luffy grew so anxious she scratched her ears and cheeks, feeling at a loss for words and unable to explain clearly.
She suddenly turned to look at Ralph, who had been silently standing in the background like part of the scenery, as if spotting a lifeline. "Ralph!" she exclaid loudly. "You tell them! Just how wicked that guy Kuro really is!"
Noticing that Luffy needed him, Ralph felt a slight flutter in his heart. The minor frustration from failing to learn how to boast earlier instantly vanished.
See? The opportunity had co naturally. There was no need to force it—just by staying by Luffy's side, he could step forward when she encountered difficulties and needed help.
This kind of gradual, imperceptible reliance would likely form a much more solid foundation than temporary laughter brought by boasting... right?
Ralph stepped forward and went straight to the point with Usopp and the others: "Kuro has a nickna—they call him 'Kuro of a Hundred Plans'..."
"'Kuro of a Hundred Plans'?!" Usopp leaped up from the ground, his face instantly changing. "That great pirate who was captured and executed by the Marines three years ago?! Wasn't he already dead?"
"The executed man was a fake."
Ralph concisely explained how Kuro used Hypnotist Jango to fake his death, how he infiltrated Syrup Village, how he spent three years gaining trust, all with the ultimate goal of seizing a wealthy family's assets.
Finally, he emphasized Kuro's cold-bloodedness, scheming nature, and his madness in intending to eliminate his "partners."
After hearing this, Usopp's face turned deathly pale.
Wealthy... The only family around Syrup Village that could be considered wealthy was Kaya's!
The person who ca to the village three years ago... Wasn't that Kaya's butler who arrived three years ago?!
"N-no way..." Usopp's voice trembled as he grabbed his three followers, urgently asking, "Hey! Do you rember if Kaya's butler ca three years ago?!"
However, his three followers were still just children. How old were they three years ago? Their mories had long grown fuzzy.
Ninjin: "Maybe... yes?"
Piiman: "Can't rember clearly..."
Piiman: "Butler Klahadore seems to have been here for a long ti..."
But children had their clever monts too.
Tamanegi imdiately suggested: "Boss, why don't you just go ask Miss Kaya directly? Then you'll know!"
Usopp snapped out of his daze: "Right! Kaya!" He no longer cared about anything else, turning to sprint toward the village's largest mansion, his three followers noisily chasing after him.
"Hehehe," Luffy watched their retreating figures and proudly clapped her hands, her little face full of "I accomplished sothing great" expression. "Looks like we found the clue! As expected of —I imdiately identified the key person!"
Ralph, standing nearby, frowned upon hearing this and couldn't help but glance sideways at his captain, whose cheekiness rivaled rubber's elasticity.
Was she really taking all the credit for herself?
Clearly, he was the one who provided the crucial information!
rits themselves aren't valuable, but the favorability gained from them... now that's sothing tangible!
However, just as Ralph was inwardly grumbling, Luffy suddenly stretched out her arm and cheerfully patted his shoulder, adding, "Of course, we owe a lot to you too, Ralph! If you hadn't explained things clearly, I wouldn't have been able to make sense of it!"
Her smile was unclouded, pure and sincere: "Let's hurry! We need to find that Kuro and punch him away!"
[Ding! Luffy feels the host's reliability and tily assistance. Favorability 1%.]
The system's prompt sounded at just the right mont, and the satisfaction of being acknowledged and relied upon flowed into his heart like a warm current.
"Alright!" Ralph nodded with a smile.
The two of them didn't delay any longer and imdiately chased after Usopp's group. With their speed, catching up to Usopp and his companions was naturally effortless.
Soon, they followed Usopp to a grand mansion at the edge of the village. The tall iron gate was tightly shut, and the guards had been specially instructed by the butler not to let Usopp and his "wild kids" inside.
"Tch, this again."
Usopp seed accustod to this. He waved to Ralph and Luffy and skillfully led them around to a low fence on the side of the mansion, nimbly climbing over it.
He brought everyone to a window of the mansion and rhythmically tapped lightly on the glass.
After a mont, the window opened from the inside, and a gentle-looking girl with smooth golden hair leaned out, her face showing a bit of surprise but more delight: "Usopp? It's not story ti yet, why are you here so early?"
This was clearly Miss Kaya.
But Usopp had no ti for stories now. He anxiously lowered his voice: "Kaya, never mind that! Tell , where is that bespectacled butler of yours, Klahadore, right now?"
Though puzzled, Kaya replied, "Klahadore? He went out early this morning, said he had business to attend to. Why, Usopp?"
Hearing that Kuro (Klahadore) wasn't there, Usopp relaxed slightly, but his tone grew more urgent:
"Kaya! Listen to ! You need to leave here quickly, or find sowhere to hide! That Klahadore, he's a Pirate! A very, very bad Pirate! He approached you, took care of you, all for your family's wealth! He ans you harm!"
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