"I'm the captain here. I'm the one who gives the orders. Are you confused or something?"

"Why should I listen to you?"

"This is all your fault! How can you just sit there sipping tea like nothing happened?"

Luffy, Zoro, and Alex had just finished their brawl, but now they were all united… in questioning Nami.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Nami, without any hesitation, smacked the three of them into the ground. "Enough nonsense! I've got something important to tell you!"

Seeing Alex and the others flat on the floor with large bumps on their heads, the restaurant owner broke into a nervous sweat.

These people had been eating and drinking like mad—was he really supposed to charge them? Especially when the woman didn't even seem willing to pay for her tea. This was bad.

At that moment, the owner silently cursed Usopp to high heaven for bringing these lunatics in.

Ten minutes later, Nami shared with Alex and the others what she had learned from Usopp.

Apparently, in this village, the only person with a large enough ship was the local rich girl. She was a sickly young lady who had been bedridden since her parents died a year ago, leaving her a huge estate and inheritance.

"So if we want a ship, we'll have to go talk to her," Luffy said, swallowing a whole bone along with the meat. His tone made it sound like getting the ship was a done deal.

"Usopp sure ran off fast. Wonder what he's up to," Alex muttered, sitting at the edge of the booth to keep some distance from Nami.

"That guy really should've told us directly," Zoro said, scratching his head before taking a big gulp of sake.

"Well, if you guys hadn't been goofing off, he wouldn't have had to tell just me," Nami shot back.

She had noticed Alex keeping his distance from her, and she was getting annoyed. Just as she was about to start a conversation with him, three children burst into the restaurant.

"Usopp Pirates, deploy!"

The three kids charged in but stopped suddenly as fear crept onto their faces. "Where's the captain? Don't tell me… he's been killed by them?"

"What are these kids doing?" Nami asked, raising an eyebrow at the trio wielding toy weapons.

"Hey! You pirates! What did you do to our captain? Hand him over right now!" a chubby boy with an onion-shaped haircut shouted at them.

"Mmm… the meat here is so good," Luffy said, rubbing his round belly. He had finally eaten his fill and didn't even notice the terrified kids staring at him.

"Did you hear that? He said the meat's good…"

"Does that mean they really ate our captain…?"

The poor kids jumped to conclusions, almost wetting themselves in fear over Luffy's innocent remark.

Noticing their reaction, Alex looked at them and deliberately said in a sinister tone, "You're full already? But there's still fresh meat arriving."

He gave the kids a sharp look.

"I can still eat. Got any more meat?" Luffy asked with glistening eyes, gulping down drool. The kids went pale with terror.

Nami stifled a laugh at the sight of their horrified expressions.

"Your captain? I already ate him," Zoro added darkly, propping up his chin and narrowing his eyes menacingly. His fierce aura made the children scream in terror and huddle together.

They turned to Nami—who was quietly laughing at the side—and shrieked, "Aahhh! There's a Tiger Witch too!"

Nami's laughter stopped instantly. Her fangs bared, she roared, "Why are you looking at me?!"

"What's a Tiger Witch?" Alex asked the kids curiously.

"A Tiger Witch is like you guys—an old monster that eats people!" they answered, shivering and backing away.

Old monster?

Alex took a sip of tea and glanced at Nami sitting beside him. He quickly turned away and held in his laughter to avoid a beating.

"You like meat too, huh? But I don't wanna eat people. Your taste is pretty weird. Are all Tiger Witches like you?" Luffy asked Nami with innocent eyes.

"HAHAHAHA! Great question!" Zoro laughed heartily, slapping the table with one hand while holding his sake in the other.

"Alex, do you think Nami's a Tiger Witch?" Luffy asked as Alex turned away, shoulders trembling.

Pfft!

Alex couldn't hold it anymore. He sprayed out his tea and burst into loud laughter. "That's the most accurate description ever!"

"You three…" Nami growled, her head lowered, fists clenched.

The room instantly turned icy cold. Everyone felt a chill run through their bones.

BANG! THUD! BANG! THUD! BANG! THUD!

After unleashing her fury, Nami calmly returned to her seat and sipped her tea.

She looked at Alex and the others, now collapsed on the ground with enormous lumps on their heads, and said sweetly, "We were going to ask about borrowing a ship, right? Time to get going."

She turned to the three terrified kids hiding in a corner and asked with a sunny smile, "Can you three show us the way?"

Not long after, with the kids leading the way, the group arrived at the grandest villa in Syrup Village.

The three children—Onion, Pepper, and Carrot—were easily distinguished by their vegetable-shaped hairstyles. They were members of the Usopp Pirates, a gang Usopp had formed in the village.

Each kid admired a different quality of Usopp.

Onion liked how Usopp always bragged. Pepper liked his commanding presence. Carrot admired his nosy, meddling nature.

According to the kids, Usopp visited the villa every day around this time to see the young lady who lived there—Kaya. Though frail and bedridden after losing her parents, Kaya looked forward to Usopp's visits.

Usopp would sit with her, spin wild tales, and make her laugh. Over time, his daily visits lifted her spirits and even helped her physical health improve bit by bit.

This revealed just how skilled Usopp was at storytelling—he could tell different lies every day for a whole year and still entertain someone.

When Luffy heard this, he said, "Usopp is amazing." And he was right. Usopp had no obligation to Kaya, yet he visited her daily and tried everything to cheer her up for an entire year.

That kind of dedication… wasn't something just anyone could manage.

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