SLOPES

Usopp stands alone at the top of a steep dirt slope, looking down at the large crew of Black Cat Pirates gathered at the bottom. A loud "DO--N!" sound effect emphasizes the tense standoff. Jango, wearing his signature heart-shaped glasses and a large hat, looks up at Usopp and asks, "Who overheard our plans. What do you want? You're the one..." Usopp is sweating profusely and panting, "HUFF HUFF". He thinks to himself in panic, "Huh? Where the hell is that guy.... Wasn't he running ahead of me?" wondering where Luffy went.

Usopp strikes a dramatic, wide-stanced pose, pointing down at the pirates, and shouts a bluff: "I have a 100 million crewmen waiting to kill you all! I'm warning you! Retreat now!!" The pirate crew is initially shocked and intimidated. One yells, "Captain! He's only lying!" while another stammers, "So... soo many!" Jango, however, is completely unbothered. He retorts, "What!? 100 million crewmen?! Only an idiot would fall for that..." The pirates quickly realize the lie, saying, "Do you think we're 2 year-olds?" Usopp sweats nervously, thinking, "Ah! They saw through my lie!" Jango glares up at him, saying, "You bastard, how dare you lie to me..."

Nami suddenly appears behind Usopp, carrying a large, heavy sack over her shoulder. She cheerfully announces, "It's quite a lot... probably worth around 4... no, 5 million Beli! We found treasure on that weird boat over there!" The pirates below are surprised by the news. One yells, "Captain Jango! Good news! What! You found food?!" Another corrects him, "Not food!" Usopp's jaw drops in shock as he repeats, "...5 million Beli...!" He wonders to himself, "5 million? Why would those guys have so much money..." Jango steps forward and declares angrily, "That is my treasure!" Nami immediately counters from the top of the slope, "But! I can give it to you!!"

Usopp points down the slope and yells a new proposition: "Yes! I will give you the treasure, but you must retreat!!" The pirates are taken aback by the offer. One says, "Give... Give it to us!?" Another adds, "What... Trying to bribe us?" A caption identifies the men as pirates as they insist, "We are not as low as you think!" Jango smirks confidently and replies, "Of course we're going to take the treasure! But, we don't have to retreat!" Usopp grits his teeth in frustration, thinking, "That sly bastard! Idiot..."

Jango holds up his pendulum ring by its string and begins to swing it, saying, "Look at this... After I say '1, 2, Jango', you will let us pass! One... Two..." Usopp stares at the swinging ring, recognizing it in panic: "That's the thing he used before...!" Before Jango can finish, Nami swings her staff and strikes Usopp hard on the back of the head with a loud "TWHOOP" and "GAAAN!!". Usopp falls forward from the blow. Nami yells at him, "You idiot!" Jango's hypnosis is interrupted mid-sentence, "Jang..." The pirates are confused by the sudden attack. One asks, "Who the heck is that girl?" Another yells, "Captain! This isn't the time to let us pass!"

Nami points her staff threateningly at the pirates below and shouts, "All the treasure on that boat belongs to me! Don't you dare take anything! Put it all back! Do you hear me?" Usopp, sitting on the ground and rubbing his bruised head, complains, "Ouch... You could have just told me! How can you give away someone else's treasure!" Nami looks at him incredulously, "What are you talking about? I just saved you!" Usopp asks, "What!?" Nami points down at Jango and explains, "Like I said, don't look at his pendulum! He's a hypnotist!" Usopp realizes the danger, repeating, "A hypnotist?"

Nami asks Usopp, "Where's Luffy? Wasn't he running ahead of you?" Usopp replies, "I don't know! I was running behind him, but he disappeared from my sight so fast..." Nami looks worried, "Maybe he got lost!? Damn... at a critical time like this!" She then turns to Usopp and commands, "Now... you charge ahead! I'll cover you from here..." Usopp is shocked and protests, "Why me!?" Usopp then argues for himself, saying, "How can I beat them? I'm weak! Don't think just because I'm a man, that I'm stronger! Can't you see that I'm shaking in fear? Look at my legs!" His legs are indeed trembling violently. Down below, the pirates are getting impatient, yelling, "They forgot about us! I can't even move! I bet you're only lying!"

The Black Cat Pirates charge up the slope, weapons raised, roaring, "Everybody charge!!! Destroy the village! Uwooo-oooooo...!!!" Nami warns Usopp, "They're coming!!" Usopp reaches into his satchel and remembers, "Oh yeah! I have these spikes!" Nami excitedly urges him, "Great stuff! Gimme some! Gimme!" Usopp throws a handful of caltrops (spikes) onto the ground in front of them, shouting, "Go to hell!! This will slow them down!" The charging pirates yell, "Get the hell out of our way!"

Zoro is shown running through a narrow, rocky path, panting heavily ("HUFF!! HUFF...!!"). He suddenly slips on a slick surface, yelling "ARGH..." as he slides forward. He manages to catch his balance, planting his swords into the ground to stop his slide. He looks down at the oily surface and realizes, "Huh... I can do this..." He sheathes his swords and begins sliding rapidly down the path on his feet, leaving a trail behind him. He yells, "Uwoooooh!" as he speeds along, thinking angrily, "Damn Nami, I'm going to teach her a lesson!"

Zoro, still moving through the slick rocky path, reaches a fork or open stretch and asks in frustration, "Now... which way is north?!" The scene then cuts to Luffy running through the forest, panting and shouting, "Made it!" He starts running again, chanting to himself, "Run north! Run north!" He runs past some trees, then suddenly stops, looking completely lost and confused. He yells loudly in frustration, "Which way is north?!"

Back at the slope, the charging pirates step on the caltrops Usopp threw. They scream in pain, "Ouch!! Ah! Waa-aah!!" and fall over, clutching their feet. Nami cheers, "Good! It works!" Usopp pulls back his slingshot, aiming at the fallen pirates, and announces, "Now, for my special attack technique 'Namari-boshi'!! (Bullet)". He fires a lead pellet that strikes a pirate right in the face with a loud "GAAH!", knocking him backward.

Nami pats Usopp on the back, praising him, "Good job! Keep up the good work!" Usopp proudly declares, "I'm going to go rest a while! The battle isn't over yet!" Suddenly, a pirate wielding a large mallet jumps up behind them, yelling, "Damn it!" Nami gasps, "Aah! What now?" The pirate swings his mallet, yelling, "You're blocking our way! Now die!" Usopp turns around in shock, realizing his mistake: "There are spikes behind us too! Baka! You threw those yourself!"

The pirate brings the mallet down hard on Usopp's head with a loud "BONK!!". Usopp is knocked to the ground, blood dripping from his head and nose. The pirate laughs mockingly, "Heh! Did you really think you guys could stop us? Let's go! Captain Kuro is waiting for us!" The other pirates cheer, "Heh heh!" Usopp lies face down on the ground, bleeding and silent, as the pirates prepare to move past him.

As the pirate tries to walk away, Usopp grabs his leg, refusing to let go. The pirate looks down, surprised, "Huh? You... What do you think you're doing!" Nami watches in shock. The pirate tries to shake Usopp off, yelling, "Let go! You idiot..." He starts kicking Usopp repeatedly in the face and head ("GAAAN!! GAAAN!!"). Usopp holds on tightly, thinking to himself, "I will.... never.....let go.... I will not let you go... because I want the villagers to believe that I'm a liar!! And the village stay as peaceful as always!!"

The pirate raises his mallet again, yelling, "I'm gonna shut you up!" Before he can strike Usopp, Nami leaps into action. She swings her staff and strikes the pirate hard in the stomach. The pirate gasps, "Damn girl!" Nami follows up with a swift, powerful strike to his head, knocking him down.

Nami knocks the pirate away with her staff, leaving him groaning, "Ow...!!" Usopp lies nearby with blood on his face, staring up in shock. The other pirates are angry. One says, "You... Might as well kill both of them!" Jango, standing further down the slope, yells up at his crew, "You idiots! Just go attack the village! Did you forget Captain Kuro's plan? We can't mess it up!"

Jango glares menacingly, his heart-shaped glasses reflecting the light. He shouts a warning to his crew: "Or else he'll kill us all! Do you hear me, you idiots!?" The pirates are terrified by the mention of Kuro. They sweat and tremble, then quickly turn their attention towards the village, yelling, "To the village!" As they resume their charge up the slope, Usopp weakly calls after them, "Wait... you... bastards..."

A pirate kicks Usopp hard in the face as he runs past, yelling, "You're so annoying!" Usopp reaches out, grabbing at the dirt, and begs desperately, "Wait! Don't attack the village! I beg you! Please... Please don't kill the villagers!!" The pirates ignore him, yelling, "Chaar-ge...!!" Nami watches Usopp's desperate pleas with a pained, sympathetic expression. In the final panel, a sudden impact sends several charging pirates flying through the air in front of Usopp.

Suddenly, a loud "WAAAAAAAAAAH!" echoes down the slope. Zoro and Luffy come crashing down the path, sliding at high speed. They plow directly through the charging pirates, sending them flying into the air with a massive impact. Usopp looks up in shock. Nami asks, "What took you guys so long?" Jango is startled by the sudden arrival, wondering, "What's going on?" while a pirate stammers, "Captain Jango... We didn't know they had these kind of people in the village..."

Luffy and Zoro stand tall amidst the defeated pirates. Zoro holds his swords, saying, "What took us so long? How should I know! Right now I just want to kick some ass!" Luffy yells angrily at Usopp, "Usopp you idiot! You didn't even tell me which way north is!" Zoro then yells angrily at Nami, "Nami! How dare you kick me!" Jango watches the chaotic group, sweating, and asks, "Who are those guys...?"

No description for this page.