9: 9.
The Charge of the Beast—Courage Against Crushing Fear 9: 9.
The Charge of the Beast—Courage Against Crushing Fear = Usopp’s POV = The moment that big boar appeared, I knew.
We were in trouble.
Everyone knew we were in trouble, duh.
But no!
That was putting it lightly.
We were completely screwed.
The smaller boar we had just killed lay behind us, its body still twitching slightly from the final blows.
And standing in front of us— Was something far worse.
A bigger boar.
Much bigger.
Its body was massive, easily twice the size of the one we had just taken down.
Its tusks curved upward like blades, and its thick hide looked like it could shrug off anything we threw at it.
It was Breathing heavily.
Eyes burning with rage as it saw its offspring dying.
I felt bad, but this was the law of the jungle.
We were in the forest, so that law really applied here.
“…That’s bad.” “Really bad.” “I think that’s its mom.” “I don’t care if it’s the mom!
…..
Or dad!” Sven whispered harshly.
“We’re dead if that thing hits us!” He wasn’t wrong.
Not even a little.
We weren’t tired yet, but our condition wasn’t good either.
Ghimli’s wooden club— Broken.
The others’ spears— Still stuck inside the smaller boar.
When we were contemplating our doom, the big boar charged.
“MOVE!” We scattered.
The ground shook as it rushed past where we had been standing just a second ago.
Fast.
Way too fast.
“Damn it…!” I had fought boars before.
Smaller ones.
Manageable ones.
But this?
This was different.
Still, it had weaknesses.
Boars couldn’t turn well when charging.
If we predicted its path, we could dodge.
The real problem was, if we were fast enough to even dodge that really fast boar.
I raised my slingshot and aimed.
THWACK!
The pebble shot toward its eye— And missed.
“…What?!” No, it didn’t miss.
It dodged.
The boar tilted its head at the last moment, avoiding the shot.
My eyes widened.
“Since when can boars do that?!” Its gaze snapped toward me.
And just like that, I became its target.
“…Ah.” Great.
Perfect.
It charged straight at me.
“USOPP!” I ignored the shout and focused.
I pulled another shot, aiming for its head this time.
THWACK!
It didn’t dodge.
Of course it didn’t.
I was aiming at the spot where it had a very thick hide and a really hard skull, after all.
The pebble hit its head, and bounced off like nothing.
“…Yeah.
That’s useless.” I barely had time to think before I jumped aside.
BOOM!
It crashed past me, missing by inches.
Too close.
Way too close.
Behind me, my friends moved quickly.
They used the opening and ran to the small boar.
They pulled out the spears.
Good!
At least we had something now.
But the moment the big boar turned around, it charged again.
“Now!” Sven shouted.
They dodged the big boar and attacked from the side.
Their spears thrusted forward.
CRACK!
“…Huh?” The sound felt wrong.
The spears, they broke, just like that.
The boar barely flinched.
Its hide was too thick.
“WHAT THE HELL?!” I dodged again, barely.
Now we had no spears, only clubs.
“…This is bad.” The boar snorted loudly, then it changed targets.
Not me this time.
It’s Ghimli.
“…Why me?!” Ghimli shouted.
Because you were the slowest.
Because you looked like the easiest target.
Because— Animals weren’t stupid.
“GHIMLI!
RUN HERE!” He ran toward me.
His steps were heavy.
Slow.
Too slow.
The boar charged.
It ran faster than Ghimli, closing the distance quickly.
“…Damn it!” I had one chance.
One.
I reached into my pouch, and pulled out something different.
Not pebbles.
Small round red balls.
They were chili paste balls, my secret weapon.
Made from discarded chili peppers.
They were free and cheap.
But they were very effective.
I loaded them, aimed quickly, and fired.
POP!
They hit, and burst.
Red paste exploded across the boar’s face, spreading into its eyes.
“…Bingo!” The reaction was immediate.
The boar roared.
It was a loud painful roar.
But it kept charging, and it charged even faster now “…Oh shit!
I made it worse!” Fortunately, it couldn’t see.
That was the key.
“GET AWAY!” I jumped to the side, using Ghimli as a foothold, so he also got pushed away.
The boar rushed past us.
It ran straight ahead, toward a big tree.
A big, thick, solid tree.
And then— CRAAASH!!
The impact shook the ground.
The sound echoed through the forest.
The tree cracked, it actually cracked.
“…Holy shit!” If that hit us, we’d be dead.
No question.
The boar staggered.
It was dazed.
But not down.
“…Finish it!” I shouted.
We rushed forward, taking out our knives.
These weren’t toys.
They were real blades.
Used for cutting wood.
They were very sharp.
We stabbed the boar.
Again, and again.
Through the thick hide.
The hide, it was hard.
It was difficult to pierce.
But it was certainly possible, and we did it with some effort.
The boar struggled, but we persisted even when we received some strong hits.
Then, finally, it stopped moving, and fell lifelessly.
Silence fell.
“…We did it.” We collapsed tiredly.
Our breaths were heavy, our arms felt numb, our legs were shaking.
I looked at my friends.
They weren’t hurt badly, just some minor injuries and they were tired.
Thank God no one was seriously injured.
“…That was dangerous.” “But also exciting…” “…You’re insane,” Sven muttered.
He wasn’t wrong.
“We should use traps next time,” Plats said.
“Big boars are too much.” He had a point.
But, “…We’ll think about it later.” For now, we had bigger problems.
Two boars were heavy, very heavy, especially the big one.
“…We’re carrying these back?” “…Seriously?” “We had no choice.” So, we cut 2 long and strong sticks to carry the boars.
Then we cut some long vines to tie them and made sure they wouldn’t fall.
We worked quickly, and when we lifted the boars, heavy.
It was seriously heavy.
But we could do it.
Because we had grown stronger.
Much stronger.
If this was before, it would be impossible.
Now, it was just difficult.
We walked back to the village slowly.
Step by step, carrying proof of our hunt.
When we reached the village, the villagers froze.
“…What the…” “…Are those… boars?” “…No way…” Their eyes widened.
“Did you hunt these yourselves?” Grandpa Vince asked.
Bucky puffed his chest.
“Of course!” I cut in.
“With traps.” My friends coughed, but they nodded understandingly.
Then— “…Ah.
That makes sense.” Of course it did it made much more sense than the truth.
No one would believe some kids really hunted 2 boars only using wooden spears, clubs, and a slingshot.
My friends looked annoyed, but they stayed quiet.
We had agreed about this scenario.
It was less troublesome this way.
Unfortunately, our parents found out, and we got scolded.
A lot.
“You went that deep?!” “What if something happened?!” “Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?!” Yes.
We did.
Very clearly.
We experienced that danger ourselves.
But we didn’t say that.
We just listened, and nodded.
Eventually, it ended, and the mood changed soon because, a feast was prepared.
Our parents said we had to share the boar meat with the villagers, and we didn’t really mind it.
The whole village gathered, and the villagers did not come empty-handed.
Everyone brought something.
Vegetables, fish, rice, snacks, even alcohol, and juice for kids.
There was more than enough food for everyone tonight.
The fire burned bright, laughter filled the air.
Music started, and people danced.
For once, the village felt alive.
Truly alive.
And me?
Of course I joined.
I stood up on an empty table, raised my arms, and began my performance.
“Ahem!” Everyone looked at me.
“I, the great and mighty Captain Usopp will present you a great song of my glorious adventure!” Some people groaned, some people laughed.
Perfect!
I sang a ridiculous song.
About myself.
A handsome, powerful, unmatched warrior who conquered the seas, defeated monsters, saved nations.
Completely fictional, obviously.
“…You’re making that up again!” “Of course I am!” I laughed.
That was the point.
And somehow, it felt good.
Now I understood why I liked telling stories, why it felt natural.
That was because, it was fun, and maybe, because one day, some of those stories, might come true.
As the night went on, I thought of someone.
Kaya.
The rich, yet sick and fragile girl.
Living in the biggest house in our village.
Separated from the world.
Her family didn’t come tonight.
We invited them, but they couldn’t come.
Busy.
Always busy.
Still, they were actually good people.
They often helped the village and supported it.
Without them, things would be harder.
They once helped us when a disaster struck, and the village had no harvest.
No one would hate them even if they couldn’t come, but that wasn’t what worried me.
What worried me, was the future.
Captain Kuro.
A man who would come to their house.
A man who would scheme their fall.
A man who would try to take everything they have, including Kaya’s life.
“…I need a plan.” Because unlike distant problems, this one, would come here.
To this village.
To these people.
To myself.
And when it did, I had to be ready.
This time, running away, was not an option.
I had to face it myself.