Becoming Usopp

Through the blazing heat radiating from the desert both Sanji and Buggy were paving their way towards the town of Katorea. It was at this moment Sanji realized how good an investment it was to invest in full body covering clothes and the reason for this realization was the sad state of Buggy.

It had only been about six hours since they had started their journey from Nanohana but Buggy had already finished all of his water.

“W-water…please… can you give me some?” Buggy pleaded to Sanji after realizing that there was not a drop of water left in his water bottle.

Unlike Buggy’s case, there was still a lot of water left with Sanji so he passed on his bottle for Buggy to take a sip. He wasn’t very worried about all their water getting finished as it would be getting dark in an hour or so and after another three or four hours they would arrive at their destination.

…

“Hey Bin, how much do you think we are going to get for these scent bombs?” Gin asked his elder brother.

“I’m not sure but it won’t be any small amount. This is the result of our hundreds of dedicated hours and I see no reason that the Rebel army would underpay us on this offer, They need these bombs more than we need their money so the dice is in our favour.” Bin replied as he whipped the two big lizards to make their cart go faster.

Within half an hour the two of them had reached their destination, Katorea, the town currently famous for housing the Rebel army.

Two guards who were guarding the entrance of the town stopped the carriage and came forward to check the carriage.

“Hey Meldrin it's me, Bin,” Bin replied after seeing a familiar face among the two guards.

“Ah, so it's Bin, sorry didn’t notice you earlier, it’s been an exhausting day,” Meldrin replied in a voice that sounded like it had just woken from a drowsy state.

“It’s alright, it’s tough staying on guard for such long hours,” Bin replied.

“Haha, I know right? So, what good stuff did you bring for us this time?” Meldrin replied.

“Remember the sample which I showed your boss a couple of weeks ago?” Bin replied with a smile.

“Ah! Scent bombs!” Meldrin exclaimed.

“Correct! The first batch of the bombs are ready for sale and as promised, I brought them all for you,” Bin said with a smirk.

“That’s great news! With this in our possession, it would be much easier for us to take over the crown.” Meldrin clenched his fists with excitement.

“Indeed, I’m assuming Sir Koza is in his regular place?” Bin inquired.

“Yes, he is. You may proceed, thank you for your work!” Meldrin enthusiastically replied and opened the way for the cart to move and let them proceed.

“Sir, what are these Scent bombs?” Meldrin’s partner, Berth asked.

“How could you not know?” Meldrin asked in a shocked manner. According to him, this was news that almost everyone in the camp should know.

“Well…” Berth was unable to think of a reasonable explanation.

Seeing this Meldrin could only shake his head in disapproval as he started answering his question.

“Do you know the strongest unit of the Alabasta Royal Army?” Meldrin asked.

“Isn’t that the Royal Cavalry?” Berth replied.

“Indeed, they are one of the biggest obstacles in our path to success. The leader has been constantly worried about this aswell but who knew that a solution to this problem would come looking for us on its own.” Meldrin showed a bright smile as he gazed at Birth who was anticipating his following words.

Not wanting to make the young man wait for long Meldrin continued “These Scent bombs have a psychedelic effect on animals, especially the ones that walk on four legs but that’s not all. A rider can avoid the bomb by making the horse change its course but to avoid that this bomb also has the effect of attracting the horses towards it. As a result, despite the riders’ unwillingness, the horses would continue to march towards the area affected by the scent bombs and get caught in its effect.”

“That sounds great! Doesn’t it mean that after taking care of the riders we would be able to get hold of all the horses!” Berth said with excitement as the prospect of the scent bombs became clearer to him.

“Exactly,” Meldrin said feeling great about the fact that he was able to make his partner understand the immensity of the matter.

While the two of them were discussing the matter the cart had arrived in front of the Rebel Army’s temporary headquarters attracting the attention of all the people who were staying on guard.

A guard soon arrived to check the identity of the visitors and after confirming it he went inside the small mansion to inform the leader about their arrival.

Koza along with his few delegates soon arrived at the scene with anticipation clearly written on their faces.

“Show me the goods, If they are to my liking then we’ll trade with the agreed price,” Koza said in a straightforward manner.

“Right at it sir,” Bin replied with a smile in a well-practised and slowly removed the curtains that had been covering the back of the cart.

“???”

“Is that a bear?” Koza said.

“It looks more like a rabbit to me…” A personal beside Koza said.

“A rabbit Erik! Seriously? Are you high on alcohol again?" Okame, the woman in the pink dress scolded him as she continued “That’s definitely a cute little reindeer…Hey Koza! Can we keep it please?!” Okame pleadingly requested Kuza.

“Ahem…regarding this animal…is it also for sale?” Kuza asked after getting influenced by Okame’s pleadings since it was very rare for her to request something.

“O-Ofcourse Hahah,” Bin said while laughing nervously as he was totally caught unaware by this strange creature that was taking refuge in his cart. Seeing that the bombs were not damaged he soon took a sigh of relief and completed the deal with Kuza.

“Awww, it looks so cuteee,” Okame said as she gave Chopper a tight hug as she rubbed his fur with her hands.