One Piece Gunslinger

Chapter 156 Poverty Limits Imagination

Regardless of what kind of terrifying experience Usopp will have tomorrow, Li Ang doesn't plan to continue today. He can't bite off more than he can chew; what Usopp has learned is enough for him to digest properly when he gets back.

Why not use the rest of the time today to visit the local tycoon of Xiluobu village—Kaya?

"Hmph hmph hmph~"

Usopp seemed to be in a really good mood, humming an unknown tune, perhaps his own creation, as he walked towards Kaya's mansion.

"Why did the three of you come along too?" Usopp asked, seeing that he was about to arrive but Li Ang and the other two were still following behind him.

"You must be going to some rich man's house, right?" Li Ang said shamelessly. "I also wanted to see it, so I asked you to be my guide and show me the way."

"What? You're also going to find Kaya?"

Seeing that the slow-witted Usopp had only just realized Leon's purpose, the two women sighed, rubbing their foreheads in dismay at his lack of common sense. Honestly, who else could they be looking for in this direction besides Kaya? Could it be some ordinary family's house they'd never even seen before? They'd already passed inns and restaurants.

Usopp was still basking in his moment of pride and smugness, completely oblivious to the obvious fact.

Upon hearing that Li Ang was indeed going to see Kaya, Usopp immediately became flustered: "Well, Kaya should still be resting, it's not appropriate, is it?"

"Then how come you're suitable?" Li Ang countered.

Now the two women are marveling at Usopp's intelligence.

"This... I'm not going to see Kaya, uh, right, I'm going to see Merry." Usopp looked around, changing the subject.

"Oh, okay, then I'll go find Mei Li too." Li Ang decisively used the parrot technique, repeating what Mei Li did, to deal with any situation without changing his tune.

Just as Usopp was wondering how to deal with Leon's shameless trick, three unruly kids ran over: "Captain Usopp, where have you been today?"

"Are you abandoning us?"

"Luckily, we knew you come here every day, so we waited for you here."

The three mischievous kids ignored the three people following behind Usopp, surrounded him, and started chattering incessantly.

Usopp was also a bit flustered. He used to play role-playing games with the three little brats every morning, but this morning he was caught by Leon and taken to the beach. He forgot about this, which made it seem like Usopp was abandoning the crew.

"How could that be? It's just that pirates came today, and I went to fight them all by myself." Usopp blurted out, not caring whether the lie was plausible or not; he couldn't even fool a child.

"Wow, ah." However, the three children completely ignored what Usopp said, let out a strange cry, and hid behind Usopp.

It turned out that the three little brats had finally spotted Li Ang and his two companions and recognized them as the same three people they had met briefly on the shore the day before.

"Are they the vicious pirates?" a child with an onion-shaped head asked, hiding behind Usopp.

"You big idiot!" Nami shouted angrily.

"Wow, that's scary."

As a result, the three kids became even more frightened and shrank further behind Usopp. There's no way around it; sometimes Nami is just that scary.

After much difficulty, the group managed to calm down the unruly kids, explaining Usopp and what they were doing. They reassured them that Captain Usopp would return in a few days to continue playing, cough, and continuing their adventures.

Finally, some candy was distributed to everyone, which calmed things down. They successfully passed the test and arrived in front of a large mansion.

However, it's worth mentioning that this little-known, isolated island doesn't even have a port or dock, relying entirely on self-sufficiency. This small village is practically a primitive society, where currency plays almost no role.

In such a small village, there is a huge mansion that is completely out of place, and a very rich man lives there. It's really bizarre.

Of course, Kaya wasn't a first-generation tycoon; this vast fortune was inherited from her father. Unfortunately, Kaya's father passed away shortly after saving Kro, and Kaya also fell seriously ill. Otherwise, Li Ang would really like to ask Kaya's father what he was thinking, building such a large mansion in such a remote village and storing so much wealth there—wasn't he afraid of being robbed?

After arriving at the mansion, Usopp left with a very lame excuse. Though he said he left, Leon saw Usopp run to the distant wall and then expertly climb over it.

"Damn it, he doesn't even pretend to leave for a moment. Does he really think I can't see him?" Not to mention Li Ang, even Karina on the side couldn't help but shake her head at Usopp's behavior.

Li Ang knew that this guy had probably gone to climb a tree and brag to Ke Ya.

Since falling ill, Kaya has been bedridden, with very little time to move around each day. Usopp, however, is always eager to help, climbing over the wall and up a tree every day to chat with the lonely Kaya, bringing a touch of novelty to the girl who spends all her time in bed.

Kaya's condition gradually improved after two years, which was definitely related to Usopp's day-to-day, persistent boasting. Usopp's boasting therapy deserves a lot of credit.

Of course, Li Ang didn't actually come here to find Kaya, but rather to find the steward, Kro, who was lurking around Kaya and plotting to seize her large fortune.

A year ago, Kro was rescued by Kaya's parents. Not long after, Kaya's parents passed away from illness, and Kaya also fell seriously ill. Coupled with Kro's ambition, it's easy to imagine that the changes in Kaya's family are related to Kro's arrival.

However, Kro was quite dutiful. In order to gain the trust of the villagers and Kaya, he served as the housekeeper for three years.

However, just as Kro was about to launch his plan, the protagonist and his group arrived on the island, ruining Kro's plan that he had been meticulously preparing for three years.

What can be said? Kro's plan was almost perfect, it's just a pity that he made a brain-dead mistake at the end, not only revealing his true colors but also insisting on launching an attack while the protagonists were in the village.

It's ridiculous! They've endured three years already, what's a few more days? Why do they have to be so headstrong and keep running into the protagonist? Isn't that just giving away experience points?

However, having learned from his previous encounters with Morgan, Buggy, and Nami, Leon knew that he, like a giant bird, had already secretly flapped his wings countless times, and the future was no longer so predictable. What if Luffy and his crew missed Kuro's attack due to these unforeseen circumstances?

Or perhaps Kuro's intelligence kicked in and he didn't bite the bullet and attack when strangers came to the village, then Kaya and Usopp might have become a pair of star-crossed lovers.

So, since Leon had already dealt with Colonel Morgan and persuaded Bucky the Clown to leave, he figured he might as well take care of this Crowe while he was here. He'd already flapped his wings countless times, so what's one more time?

So Li Ang stood in front of the gate outside the mansion, thinking about how to knock on the door.

There was nothing he could do; poverty limited his imagination. For all these years, Li Ang had no idea how to call out to such an iron gate. It wasn't like modern times where you could ring a doorbell.

Fortunately, Li Ang was only standing at the door for about ten seconds when a servant noticed them.

"Um, if you have something to ask the owner of this house, or the butler or something, that will do." After hesitating for a long time, Li Ang finally managed to say this.

"Pfft." Karina couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh from behind, "No matter what your real identity is, I understand now, you're at least not a rich person. I've never even had this much contact with rich people before."

Upon hearing this, Li Ang's expression darkened: "I'm truly sorry, being a poor revolutionary soldier."

There's no way around it; Li Ang genuinely doesn't have any wealthy people around him. If he had to say he had any contact with the rich, it would be with the Yutakana royal family. Every time they met, they didn't go through the main gate; they had to use various means to make secret contact. So, he didn't need to use any of those complicated etiquettes.

Other wealthy individuals were used as "weapons." Wherever the revolutionary army fought, they often faced not only the existing local armies but also the private armies of these aristocrats and tycoons. In such situations, there was no room for etiquette; it was simply a matter of exchanging firearms.

So Karina seized this tragic situation and used it to finally defeat Li Ang.

However, Karina wasn't just standing behind and secretly laughing at Li Ang's misfortune; she also stepped forward to speak with the servants on Li Ang's behalf, making one wonder if Karina was actually from a wealthy family.

When Li Ang saw the elegant Karina, he was not angry about Karina's previous mockery. Instead, he was happy that he had found a treasure. As for whether he could successfully lure her up, Li Ang was not worried about that at all.

After Karina's efforts, they finally got permission to let them in and asked them to wait in the living room for the butler to receive them.

Having successfully entered the mansion's hall, Li Ang looked around at the opulent attire. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He first glanced at Karina with approval, then looked at Nami with a hint of disdain, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Nami immediately understood what Li Ang meant, and glared back angrily to express her dissatisfaction.

Just as the three were struggling to communicate with their eyes, the butler, Chloe, dressed in all black, walked into the hall.

Chapter 157 Rebels

Kuro, the captain of the Black Cat Pirates, is a rare high-IQ character. He has been plotting and biding his time for three years in order to achieve his goal of extricating himself from the criminal world, retiring from his life of crime, and becoming rich overnight.

For a pirate crew, wealth is never the most lacking thing. When they are short of money, they can just pull off a few heists and catch a fat sheep to live on for a long time.

As pirates, what they lack most is a stable life. Not all pirates are like Luffy, yearning for a precarious and adventurous life. Kuro simply doesn't want to live on the edge, doesn't want to be a typical pirate anymore. For this reason, he can endure being a nice guy for three years, going against his nature.

Unfortunately, just when they were about to succeed, the protagonist and his group lowered their IQ, leading them to choose the worst possible way to take the final step, resulting in their ultimate failure.

Therefore, Li Ang cannot place all his hopes on Chloe lowering her IQ. If Chloe's IQ does not decrease, then his plan is very likely to succeed.

Kro sat down opposite Leon and his two companions, scrutinizing the three unfamiliar faces with a questioning look, and asked, "It seems the three of you are not locals. May I ask what brings you here today?"

Li Ang had to give Klo a thumbs up for this. If the three of them weren't locals, then Klo had already gotten to know almost all the villagers in just one year.

In his daily life, he also had to diligently handle all the affairs of the house, and in his spare time, he would take the time to build good relationships with the villagers and gain their trust. This not only required a lot of effort, but also required that Kro's actions could genuinely move the villagers.

After listening, Li Ang nodded, then looked around to make sure there were no other servants nearby before speaking: "I'll get straight to the point. I came here for you, 'Hundred Schemes' Kro."

This time, Li Ang wasn't going to use any tricks or worry about alerting the enemy; he was going to go straight for the bullying. He wanted to try what villains often do.

"Although your name is 'Strategist' Kro, not everything can be solved with scheming. When your opponent is far stronger than you, you must know when to back down. A wise person knows when to yield; it's not a good thing to oppose them. What do you say?"

In contrast to Li Ang's calm expression, Kuro was somewhat shocked. During Kuro's valuable operation over the past year, the hypnotized Morgan had already brought the fake Kuro to justice. Kuro's name should have disappeared from the seas. If it weren't for exceptionally strong intelligence capabilities, they certainly wouldn't have discovered that he was the captain of the Black Cat Pirates.

Karina and Nami were also somewhat surprised. They hadn't expected that Captain Crowe, who had been causing trouble a year ago and then suddenly "arrested," would end up working as someone else's butler. Perhaps because the two women had seen so many surprising things since following Leon, they didn't show their inner turmoil.

"You're not from the Navy or the World Government, are you? How do you know my identity so well?" Having his identity exposed, Kuro naturally stopped pretending. He glanced at the calm trio, adjusted his glasses, and asked.

At this point, Kuro's intelligence kicked in. If Leon were from the World Government or the Navy, he would have come knocking on his door long ago, and it wouldn't have been a simple conversation. He would have brought a group of people to arrest him.

Li Ang didn't intend to answer Kro's questions: "You don't need to know who I am. You only need to know that I come from the New World, and that I and the forces behind me can easily crush you. If you know what's good for you, leave quietly. I'll take over this place."

Seeing Li Ang's confident demeanor, Kro felt a little uneasy and even considered backing down, but his greed made him reluctant to give up.

To be honest, Kro must be a man who fears death; otherwise, he wouldn't have considered retiring from his life of crime. At the same time, he's also a man who craves wealth and luxury; having achieved his goal of disappearing from the world, he still desires immense riches.

“Fine, we won’t go too far. If you’re not willing to give up like this, then come to the beach alone tonight. If you can beat me, then we’ll pretend we didn’t see anything, and you can do whatever you want.” Seeing the hesitant Kro, Li Ang offered another solution.

"but……"

When he said "but," Li Ang's voice rose several octaves: "Our dignity cannot be easily offended. If you fail, you will disappear from this world, truly disappear."

Having said that, Li Ang didn't intend to stay any longer. He stood up and led the two outside. Kro watched the three figures until they gradually disappeared from sight.

……

"Wait, how do you know he's that Chloe? I thought Chloe had been arrested a year ago." After leaving Kaya's mansion and returning to her hotel, Karina grabbed Leon and asked.

Seeing Karina's furrowed brows and serious expression, Li Ang smiled and said, "It's simple, intelligence."

"So you have a huge intelligence system behind you?" Nami asked thoughtfully.

"So, have you two taken action? Have you decided to work with me?" Li Ang brought the topic back to this.

During this period, Li Ang seized every opportunity to throw olive branches at the two of them, so many that they could be piled up into a ball, turning into a rugby ball.

Unexpectedly, as usual, after Li Ang extended an olive branch, the two immediately hid to the side. Karina whispered in Nami's ear, "We're doomed. Given the brutality of the rebels, we definitely can't escape."

Nami leaned over and whispered, "This is bad. The rebels are notoriously terrifying. I knew they had ill intentions from the beginning, but now it seems we have no choice but to follow them."

Li Ang stared blankly as the two of them ran off to the side and started whispering to each other right in front of him.

Although the voices were very faint, Li Ang easily picked up what Karina and Nami were saying thanks to his Observation Haki.

"What the hell? I heard everything, okay? What the hell is this 'rebels'? You two don't seem to be saying anything nice." Seeing that the two of them were getting into a sad mood as they were talking, Li Ang quickly interrupted them.

As soon as Li Ang finished speaking, the two of them screamed: "Oh my god, how could you eavesdrop on the whispers between ladies? You didn't actually hear it, did you?"

“What do you mean by eavesdropping? I was listening openly and honestly,” Li Ang said shamelessly. “I heard everything you said clearly.”

"I'm doomed, if this keeps up I'll get caught and skinned alive, boohoo."

"I'm still young, I don't want to die, sob sob."