The trembling stopped and the sweat on his face disappeared.
“I understand now,” Wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes, he said, “Thank you, sir.” This man must have told such an embarrassing story to help him regain his courage.
After all, losing to someone else would be humiliating.
At that moment, Usopp felt immense gratitude towards him.
“Mister, please give me one more chance!” Usopp bowed deeply to Daddy.
“A chance to stake my life on it!
This time, I won’t cheat!” “Hey!” Nami stepped forward, intending to stop him.
“Isn’t this already over?
What are you trying to do now?!” ‘Have you grown tired of life or something?’ Kain stretched out an arm to stop her and shook his head.
“This is the most important step in a man’s development…
Just watch.” Men needed opportunities to grow.
Especially men like Usopp, who lacked confidence.
At times like this, nobody should interfere.
Usopp shot Kain a grateful look.
As expected…
Only a man can truly understand another man.
“I understand.” Daddy nodded as he looked at Usopp, who was determined.
“This time, use the weapon you’re best with.” Of course, he wasn’t actually planning to kill the child.
If word got out, it would be so embarrassing.
Losing to the father, and then going after the son for revenge?
He couldn’t afford that kind of shame.
Glancing around, Daddy spotted something high in the distance.
“Hit that Weather Vane Bird.” He raised his flintlock pistol and aimed it directly at Usopp’s head.
“If you miss, my bullet will go straight through your skull.” He wanted to see if the boy could demonstrate the level of skill he required under pressure.
“I understand.” Usopp nodded, pulled out his slingshot, and aimed at the distant weather vane bird.
“Kain…” Nami gripped Kain’s hand tightly, clearly nervous.
“Don’t worry,” Kain said, trying to comfort her.
“I believe in Usopp.” At the same time, he raised a finger quietly and narrowed his eyes at Daddy’s trigger hand.
Usopp stared at the distant target, his face covered in sweat.
The pressure he felt was immense.
However, when he thought about his companions standing beside him and believing in him, he gradually calmed down.
‘That’s right.
He still had to become a brave warrior of the sea!’ ‘How could he stop now?’ With that thought, Usopp’s eyes sharpened.
He released the lead pellet from his slingshot.
Whoosh!
The pellet flew through the air, piercing the Weather Vane Bird’s crown.
Daddy’s eyes widened in shock.
“He actually did it…” “Of course he did.” Kain wrapped an arm proudly around Usopp’s shoulders.
“He’s the sniper of our crew.” “Having skills like that is only natural.” “You’ve got some excellent companions.” Daddy looked at Usopp with admiration.
Like father, like son.
“You win this duel.
Let’s go, Carol.’ “Okay,’ Carol nodded.
However, instead of immediately following her father, she first handed her goggles to Usopp.
Only then did she leave.
As she watched Usopp smiling and waving goodbye to them, Kain’s expression became rather strange.
This Usopp…
He truly was a little-girl magnet.
Once Daddy and Carol had disappeared from sight, Usopp suddenly grabbed Kain by the neck.
“You bastard!
You were here the whole time?’ “Then why did you just stand there and watch?” “Well~ You’re a brave warrior of the sea, aren’t you?
How could I interfere?” Kain shrugged.
“Hmph.” Usopp snorted.
He was just venting his frustration.
He knew nobody should have interfered in a situation like that, but he had been scared!
Never mind.
It was all over now.
He was officially a brave warrior of the sea!
“Feels good to win, doesn’t it~?” “You bet!” Usopp proudly raised his head.
“From now on, you should call me the Great Warrior of the Sea, Lord Usopp!
Hahahahaha!” … Meanwhile, after leaving the area, Daddy looked down at his flintlock pistol.
“That feeling just now…” He recalled the young man standing beside that girl.
Why had he felt such a strong sense of danger at the time?
It was as though… If he had dared pull the trigger, he would have died.
“What’s wrong, Daddy?” Carol looked up at her father, her eyes full of curiosity.
“Nothing.” Daddy shook his head before crouching down and picking her up.
“Let’s go home.” “Okay~ Daddy, I want ice cream!” “Alright, Daddy will buy you some.
Haha.” The scene was incredibly heartwarming.
“I wonder if the others are done shopping yet.” After handing his belongings to Kain, Usopp looked toward the crowd in the distance.
“Is there some kind of event going on over there?” “A cooking competition,” Kain replied casually.
“And the winner has already been decided.” “It’s Sanji.” “Sanji?” Usopp froze for a moment before nodding as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“If it’s Sanji, then that’s not surprising at all.” In his opinion, Sanji’s cooking skills were absolutely the best in the world.
After all, Sanji’s food was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten.
“You guys are finally here!” Sanji, carrying his prize fish over his shoulder, spotted Kain and the others and immediately shouted, “Come help me carry this thing!” “No need to make it so complicated.” Kain walked over and, as if performing a magic trick, stuffed the enormous fish into his pocket.
The storage space inside was separated into independent compartments, so there was no need to worry about different items touching each other.
“Magic?!” Sanji’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
His reaction was almost identical to Usopp’s earlier.
“Well~ We can talk about that once we’re back on the ship.” Kain waved his hand.
“More importantly, aren’t you going to say goodbye to that young lady?” He pointed toward Carmen, who was watching from a distance.
When Carmen noticed Sanji looking at her, she proudly raised her chin, turned around, and walked away.
“No need.” Sanji smiled.
“We already said our goodbyes earlier.” Still… He had never expected a woman to chase after him for ten years.
“Then let’s head back to the ship.” Nami looked up at the sky, a slight frown appearing on her face.
“This feeling in the air… It’s going to rain.” She was certain of it.
There was no way she could be wrong.
(End Of This Chapter)