11: 11.
The Ripples of A Lie 11: 11.
The Ripples of A Lie = 3rd Person’s POV = It had been roughly a year since Usopp woke up with memories that didn’t belong to a child.
A year since he began doing something no ordinary boy should ever attempt— Trying to bend the future.
And like any good story told by a certain long-nosed liar, it started small.
Just letters.
Harmless, quiet, unassuming letters.
…Letters that could shake the sea if read by the wrong hands.
— Inside Makino’s bar in Foosha Village, a small wooden box sat tucked behind the counter.
It wasn’t anything special at first glance.
No locks.
No markings.
No sign that it contained anything important.
But Makino treated it like it held explosives.
Because in a way… It did.
She gently opened the lid, revealing stacks of letters neatly tied together.
All addressed the same way.
All written in the same careful hand.
All from an unknown sender.
And all meant for one person.
“…Vice Admiral Garp,” she murmured softly.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
She had read none of them.
Not because she wasn’t curious—she absolutely was—but because something about them felt… heavy, important.
Like opening them without permission might cause problems she didn’t want anywhere near her peaceful village.
Still, the fact remained— They kept coming.
Month after month.
Without fail.
“Who even sends letters like this…?” she whispered.
No name.
No return address.
Just… persistence.
And that alone made it unsettling.
At the same time, the sea had not been idle.
The Red Hair Pirates had long since left Foosha Village.
And with their departure, they had left behind something far more troublesome than empty bottles and loud laughter.
A dream for a boy, and a power he absolutely should not have.
Monkey D.
Luffy had eaten a Devil Fruit.
And as expected, that did not go well with his grandfather.
When Monkey D.
Garp finally returned to Foosha Village, the peaceful air didn’t last even five minutes.
“YOU WHAT?!” The shout alone nearly rattled the windows of Makino’s bar.
Luffy stood there, grinning like he hadn’t just dropped the most ridiculous news possible.
“I’m gonna be King of the Pirates!” Garp’s eyes twitched.
“LUFFY!” Makino sighed, already used to this kind of chaos.
But even she couldn’t help glancing toward the box of letters again.
Garp never stayed long because he didn’t have much holidays.
It got worse now because his grandson said something stupid in his precious short holiday.
As expected, Garp didn’t stay long in the village.
He had to do something about Luffy’s stupidity.
His solution lay on the mountains, on a certain mountain bandit group led by Curly Dadan.
So he left, dragging Luffy with him, and leaving the letters untouched.
“Keep them safe,” he said casually to Makino before heading out.
“I’ll deal with them later.” Later.
That word stretched into days.
Because Garp’s “business” in the mountains was never simple.
Between disciplining Luffy, dealing with Ace, and undoubtedly causing chaos in Dadan’s base… Time passed.
And the letters waited, silently, patiently.
When Garp finally returned, slightly more satisfied and significantly less angry, his time in Foosha Village was already running out.
A Marine ship had arrived to pick him up.
Duty called.
The Grand Line wouldn’t wait.
Makino approached him just before he boarded.
“Garp-san, the letters.” Garp glanced at the stack.
Then scratched his nose.
“…Ah.
Those things.” He didn’t look particularly interested.
Which, frankly, wasn’t surprising.
Garp wasn’t exactly known for his love of reading.
So instead, he waved his hand.
“Bogard.” A man stepped forward.
Calm.
Composed.
Wearing his usual hat, the ever-reliable right-hand man who had followed Garp through battles that shaped history itself— Bogard.
“Read them,” Garp said simply, already biting into a rice cracker.
“…All of them, Sir?” Bogard asked.
“Yeah.
Tell me if there’s anything interesting.” Which, translated, meant: “Do all the work while I snack.” Bogard sighed internally.
But outwardly, nothing changed.
“Understood.” The ship set sail.
And as the coastline of Foosha Village slowly faded into the distance, Bogard began reading.
One letter after another.
His eyes moved steadily across the pages.
His expression?
Unchanged.
But that didn’t mean nothing was happening.
Because inside, even Bogard couldn’t ignore what he was reading.
“Sir.” Garp didn’t even look up.
“Hmm?” “They are all the same letter.” That got a small reaction.
“Heeeh…” “Sent once every month.
Identical in content.” Garp crunched another cracker.
“So the sender’s stubborn.
I like them already.” Bogard ignored that and continued.
“They describe a sequence of future events.” That made Garp pause.
Just slightly.
“Future, huh?” Bogard went through everything.
Fisher Tiger’s death, Arlong’s capture, Jinbe becoming a Warlord, Arlong’s release, his coming to East Blue, his takeover of Conomi Islands, and then— The deeper, dangerous parts.
Dragon.
And— “…The reference to a ‘child of forbidden bloodline,'” Bogard finished.
Silence followed.
For a moment, only the sound of waves and Garp chewing filled the air.
Then— “GAHAHAHA!” Garp burst into laughter.
Loud.
Unrestrained.
“…That’s one hell of a letter.” He laughed, but his eyes, they weren’t laughing.
“What do you think, Bogard?” Bogard adjusted his hat slightly.
“The sender is either extremely well-informed…” He paused.
“Or possesses an ability related to future sight.” Garp grinned.
“Devil Fruit?” “Most likely.” Because what else could explain it?
The level of detail, the specificity, the knowledge of secrets that weren’t public.
It was too precise to be a coincidence.
It was too dangerous to ignore.
“But they had limitations,” Bogard added.
“They could not predict your arrival timing.
Nor contact you directly.” “So not perfect.” “That is correct.” Garp’s grin widened.
“Good.” If that kind of ability was perfect, then that would be terrifying.
“Do you want me to investigate the sender?” Bogard asked.
They could send agents to trace the letters’ origin.
Even anonymous letters left trails.
But Garp waved it off.
“No need.” That was unexpected.
“For now,” Garp added.
“We wait.” He leaned back, arms crossed.
“If even half of this comes true…” His voice dropped slightly.
“Then we’ve got a problem.” A big one.
Because that wouldn’t just mean someone could see the future.
It meant someone out there knew things that could destabilize the balance of the seas.
“If it’s real,” Garp continued, “we stop Arlong.” Simple and direct.
As expected of Garp.
“And the sender?” Garp’s eyes sharpened.
“Find them.
Someone with that kind of ability can’t be left wandering freely.” Not in a world like this.
“Better they’re under our watch,” he muttered, “than someone else’s.
But don’t let those people up there know about this.” Bogard nodded understandingly.
— Far away from that ship, the “dangerous individual” in question was currently arguing over who got hit first in a mock battle.
“THAT DIDN’T COUNT!” “It totally did!
I hit you!” “You tripped me!” “That’s called strategy!” Usopp stood in the middle of the chaos, wooden slingshot in hand, looking every bit like a commander of a very disorganized army.
“…We’re all going to die,” he muttered dramatically.
His friends ignored him, as usual.
Unaware of the storm slowly forming around him, Usopp continued living his life.
Training, laughing, planning.
His group had changed over the past year.
What started as simple play had turned into something more serious, and more focused.
Dreams had taken root.
Bucky and Ghimli wanted to become Marines.
They trained with purpose now.
Clear determination in every swing, every movement.
The others followed.
Even those without clear dreams yet.
Because strength, strength was never wasted.
But Usopp’s mind wasn’t only on training.
There was another problem.
Kaya.
He frowned as he sat under a tree, staring into the distance.
“…How do we even start knowing each other?” He didn’t know.
His “memories” didn’t shown their first meeting.
“…How should I approach her?
What if I say something stupid?” He gasped.
“…No, wait, I always say something stupid.” That wasn’t the issue.
The issue was, he needed to get close to her.
Not for selfish reasons, but because of Kuro.
Because if he didn’t act, then everything would play out exactly as it once did, and he refused to let that happen.
Fortunately, the opportunity came naturally to him.
One day, Kaya’s parents visited his house for business.
The discussion was about the medicinal plants.
The ones Usopp and his mother had been cultivating.
Plants that had slowly gained attention across the village and beyond.
Those weren’t ordinary plants, after all.
They were very valuable medicinal plants that were rare outside their island.
Which made them profitable.
Usopp stood near his mother, ready to jump in, to assist her, to show off his intelligence, to prove that he, Captain Usopp, was not just a genius in battle but also in business.
“…Alright, time to shine—” “Let’s discuss the terms.” He froze.
Because his mother, Banchina, had already taken control.
And within minutes… Usopp realized something horrifying.
“…I am completely unnecessary here.” His mother was incredible.
She was calm, confident, and harp.
She negotiated with Kaya’s father without hesitation.
Pushing when needed, yielding when necessary.
Balancing risk and reward like she’d done it her whole life.
And maybe, she had.
By the end of it, a deal was struck.
A fair and balanced deal that was beneficial to both sides.
The villagers would supply the plants.
Kaya’s family would handle distribution.
And Banchina, would stand in the middle, as the bridge, the quality control, the leader.
Usopp stared at her in awe.
“…Mom.” “Yes?” “…Are you secretly a legendary business tycoon who ran away from her empire for love?” She blinked, then laughed.
“Where do you even get these ideas?” “I’m serious!
This was amazing!” She smiled gently.
“I just have experience.” That was all she said, but Usopp understood.
In another life, another timeline, she never got this chance, and that thought alone made his chest tighten.
Still, this changed things, because now their families were connected.
Which meant, he finally had a reason to approach Kaya.
Usopp grinned slowly.
“…Alright.” His fingers tightened around his slingshot.
“Step one complete.” He was happy by this small chance, without knowing that his dangerous gamble had taken effect.