The air in Kaya's sunlit room grew heavy with the weight of a confession. Klahadore—no, *Kuro*—pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, the gesture now seeming like a shield.
"The job on the merchant ship was my last attempt at an honest life," he said, his voice a low monotone that belied the storm in his eyes. "Your father pulled me, half-drowned and wanted, from the sea. He gave me a name, a purpose. And I failed him. The ship was lost. The cargo, ruined. I could not bear to look into his trusting eyes and see the disappointment I had brought upon his house. So I buried the man he saved, and let the butler remain."
Kaya's hands trembled in her lap. "So you've been lying to me… for years?"
"To spare you the burden of a failure," Kuro replied, but the words sounded hollow, even to him.
***
Near the village outskirts, perched on a weathered wooden fence, Nami tapped her foot impatiently. "Where did that rubber-brained captain wander off to now?"
Zoro, leaning against a post with his eyes closed, didn't bother opening them. "He went to find the liar."
"Usopp's at the coast!" chirped Ninjin, one of the two remaining Usopp Pirates. His companion, Piiman, nodded vigorously. "He always goes there to think!"
"Where's the third one? Tamanegi?" Nami asked, scanning the empty lane.
"Ah, he runs off sometimes," Piiman said, waving a hand. "Always comes back shouting about some crazy thing he saw. A giant frog, a walking tree, once a cloud that looked like a meat-on-a-bone."
As if summoned by the description, a high-pitched shriek tore through the calm. Tamanegi came barreling down the path, face pale with terror. "HE'S COMING! A MAN! WALKING BACKWARDS!"
"Not again, Tamanegi," Ninjin groaned.
"You're such a liar!" Piiman added.
But a slow, rhythmic *tap… tap… tap* of heels on dirt made them all freeze. From around the bend, a lanky man in a striped shirt and a flamboyant cape appeared, walking with precise, backwards steps. He halted before the stunned group.
"You called?" said the man, Jango, with a theatrical bow—still facing away from them.
"Whoa! A backwards man!" the kids gasped, their skepticism forgotten.
"Mister, are you a hypnotist?" Tamanegi breathed, eyes wide.
Jango's smile was audible in his voice. "A perceptive child! For that, you shall have a front-row seat to the greatest show on earth!" He produced a silver pendulum from his cloak. "Watch the sway… feel the rhythm… let your minds drift…"
"Don't look at it!" Nami warned, but it was too late. The three children were instantly mesmerized, their eyes glazing over. Jango's own eyes rolled back, and with a comedic snore, he collapsed into a deep, self-induced hypnotic sleep, followed by the three kids slumping over in a heap.
Nami face-palmed. "Unbelievable."
Zoro cracked one eye open. "Trouble's napping. Let's move."
***
At the wind-swept coast, Usopp sat alone on the cliff's edge, the vast, unforgiving sea mirroring the emptiness in his chest. The words *"You're just a burden"* echoed with every crash of the waves.
"Hey."
The voice came from directly above. Usopp yelped, scrambling back as Luffy dropped down, hanging upside-down from a tree branch like a bizarre fruit, his straw hat brushing the grass.
"Warn a guy, will you?!" Usopp shouted, heart hammering.
Luffy ignored the complaint, his usual grin softened by something like understanding. "Your dad… is his name Yasopp?"
The world seemed to tilt. Usopp's breath hitched. "H-How… how could you possibly know that?"
A wide, genuine smile spread across Luffy's face. "I met him. A long time ago, in my village."
**FLASHBACK.**
The air in Foosha Village's tiny bar was thick with smoke and laughter. A younger, beardless Yasopp, eyes crinkled with mirth, balanced a single pistol on his finger. A young Luffy, all gap-toothed awe, watched intently.
"See that apple, kid?" Yasopp nodded to a barrel across the room. Before Luffy could blink, the gun spun, flashed, and *crack!* The apple's stem snapped, the fruit rolling neatly into Yasopp's waiting palm.
"Whoa! Amazing!" Luffy cheered.
Later, Yasopp ruffled Luffy's hair. "I've got a son about your age, you know. Usopp. Probably driving his mother crazy with his wild stories right now." His voice held a deep, wistful pride. "He's gonna be a brave warrior of the sea one day, I just know it."
Luffy, fidgeting after the tenth story, didn't notice Yasopp place an empty glass on his head. *Tap.*
Yasopp stood, his gaze suddenly fierce and clear, looking past the walls to the horizon. "The Jolly Roger's calling, men! Time to sail!"
The bar erupted as Shanks's crew roared, mugs raised high. Yasopp's farewell was a promise etched in gunpowder and sea salt.
**END FLASHBACK.**
Back on the cliff, Usopp's eyes were stinging. "Shanks… The Red-Haired Shanks? My father… sails with a *legend*?"
"He's awesome!" Luffy declared, righting himself. "And he talked about you all the time. He's out there, living his dream. You should be proud."
"I am," Usopp whispered, then stronger, "I *am*!" He swiped at his eyes, a new fire kindling in his gut. His father wasn't a deserter; he was chasing glory. "Alright! I'll go back to the mansion! I'll swallow my pride if that butler just *apologizes*!"
But Luffy wasn't listening anymore. He was staring past Usopp, towards the forest path, his body coiled tight. The easygoing air around him vanished, replaced by a predator's stillness.
"Luffy?" Usopp followed his gaze.
Emerging from the treeline, walking with a silent, predatory grace that made Jango's act look like a cheap joke, was Klahadore. But the kindly butler was gone. His glasses gleamed opaquely in the sun. His fingers were extended, curled into strange, blade-like points that scraped together with a soft, metallic *shink*.
"Ah," Kuro said, his voice devoid of all warmth, a perfect, polite smile on his lips. "The nuisance and the stray. How fortuitous. It saves me the trouble of hunting you separately."
He took one smooth step forward, and the very sunlight seemed to grow cold.
**"Now,"** he whispered, **"shall we dance?"**