Usopp couldn't hear Marcus's orders over his heart beat that drowned out everything else as it thundered in his ears. Around him everyone prepared themselves to raid the pirate ship they were chasing and yet here he was scared out of his mind. His palms were coated in sweat and as he wiped them on his pant legs he had to hold them there to stop his knees from shaking.
Someone patted his shoulder which caused him to flinch before they placed a rope in his hand. Usopp looked from the rope to Luffy who smiled wide and pointed at the pirate ship as he excitedly said something. Usopp could only nod in silence, his throat too constricted to even be able to speak. When Luffy turned away, Usopp's eyes darted around looking for a place to run to, to hide as every fiber of his being screamed.
As Usopp glanced around he missed that they already reached the other ship and grappling lines were tossed out. A few moments later the line in his hand which he held in a white knuckled grip nearly ripped from his hand. But in a funny twist of fate his fear kept his hand firmly attached to the rope. The same rope that now launched him into the air as he let out a startled scream of terror.
Time seemed to slow down as Usopp flew through the air. Next to him was Luffy who was also holding a rope and was laughing with joy as he sailed through the air. Usopp glanced around to see Ace, Sabo and others also holding onto ropes as they were pulled into the air. Only a few seconds passed before they were all over the railing height for the enemy ship.
The rope stopped its ascent but the motion swung them towards the pirate ship before they all let go of the rope. Usopp also let go on accident and ended up on his butt as everyone else landed on their feet. As everyone else jumped into a wild melee, Usopp scrambled backwards in a crab walk.
When he finally slammed into the ship's railing he attempted to pull himself up as he glanced around looking for a place to hide. As his eyes scanned the chaotic deck he pulled out his slingshot with shaking hands and loaded it just in case someone got close to him. A moment later he noticed someone about to hit Luffy from behind and he instinctively took aim and fired without a thought.
The metal pellet cracked the man in the back of the head and gave Luffy a chance to notice him. A quick uppercut finished the man off before Luffy gave Usopp a thumbs up and turned to his next opponent. Usopp stood there for a few moments with an open mouth at what just happened before a pirate ran towards him with a dagger.
Usopp's eyes widened as the pirate approached him and scrambled to grab another pellet. In his haste he grabbed one of his experimental ones which he loaded and fired in moments. The pellet hit the man's chest and exploded into a cloud of black dust that covered his head.
A second later the man started to sneeze as he attempted to rub his eyes clear. Usopp took the opportunity to grab another pellet, one he confirmed was metal this time before he loaded it and shot the pirate again. The metal pellet hit the man right above the bridge of his nose with a sickening crack which dropped the man to the deck.
Usopp had no time to think about the man as another pirate rushed towards him from the melee on the deck. Usopp loaded another shot and this time took the man in the knee which dropped him as he screamed in pain. Another pellet hit the man's head and he went quiet before Usopp quickly found another target.
Usopp had no idea how much time passed as he just kept loading his slingshot and shooting any pirate who got closer. He also helped a few other people with well timed shots but he mostly attacked anyone who moved towards him.
By the time the pirate raid finished there were seven pirates on the ground around Usopp. Usopp's eyes were still wide and wild while his heart thundered in his ears when Luffy approached him with a smile on his face as he said something.
Usopp blinked before he asked, "What?"
"That was awesome! You didn't miss a single shot!" Luffy said as he practically bounced on his feet.
Usopp slowly looked around as he took in everything around him before he started to chuckle as he said, "Yeah…"
Usopp threw his head back as he said in a confident tone, "Of course! I'm captain Usopp, I once shot the wings off two flies at the same time!"
"Wow! That's amazing!" Luffy said.
"There's a pirate behind you Usopp, watch out!"
Usopp screamed in terror as he jumped towards Luffy and hugged him before someone burst into laughter next to both of them. Usopp glanced towards the laughter to find Marcus who winked at him and said, "Still a coward, but you at least have some potential."
Usopp let go of Luffy who was laughing at him and straightened his clothes before he said, "I'm not a coward, I just took down over ten pirates."
"Ten? Those are rookie numbers, you gotta pump those numbers up." Marcus said with a chuckle before he added, "Help tie up the prisoners and then start looting the ship."
Marcus helped move the captured pirates back onto their ship before he kept watch over them as the others looted the ship. It didn't take long as it seemed like these pirates were pretty poor. As for usable loot, Usopp lucked out and ended up finding a couple of spy glasses which he used to replace his broken one.
Once the ship was cleaned out, the boys scuttled it and set sail again to their next destination and the marine base that was in the same island chain. During the trip, Marcus forced Usopp to be one of the people helping take care of the prisoners. He only did it once he noticed Usopp was still afraid of them even while they were tied up. Marcus hoped it would break the boy of his cowardly habits.
About a week passed by as they traveled without running into anything until the eighth day where they found an island. When Marcus checked his map and estimated their location he was happy to find they were close to their destination. The marine base they wanted to visit wasn't far from the island they were at. Marcus quickly changed course to head around the right side of the island and the shortest path to the base.
Over the next few hours they passed by a handful of small uninhabited islands which only confirmed they were headed in the right direction. Around sunset they spotted the marine base with a couple of ships docked in the man made harbor. The marine base had a good amount of buildings, all of which were marked with the number sixteen. Of the buildings, one of them stood out, which was placed in the middle of the base and was a giant dome with a rat head on top of it.
Marcus studied it through his spyglass for a few moments as they approached before he issued commands and most of the sails were quickly lowered as they coasted towards an empty spot on the dock.
When they finally reached the docks, a full company of marines were there and waiting for them. At the head of them was a slim, dark haired man with a mouse like appearance. He wore a captain's coat with a hood that had mouse ears on it and what looked to be a set of whiskers sprouting from his upper lip.
Once the boat was docked and tied off, Marcus had Zoe go to negotiate with the marines for the bounty turn in. Marcus quietly watched from the ship as Zoe started to frown at whatever the marine captain was saying to her. The longer the man talked, the worse things seemed to go as he started to point at the ship which made Zoe step in front of the gangplank to block them.
As it looked like a fight might break out between Zoe and the marines, Marcus took action and yelled out, "What the hell is going on?!?"
Zoe didn't take her eyes off the marines in front of her as she yelled back, "This marine captain wants to take the bounties and not pay us for them, captain."
Her statement made most of them look towards the ship and see Marcus who focused on the marine captain. The man turned to see Marcus before he put on a slimy smile and asked, "The captain of your ship is a child?"
Chi chi chi chi chi chi, the man laughed before he asked, "Who lets a child captain a ship? Are you stupid, woman?"
Zoe gritted her teeth as she thought about attacking the marine captain but he was behind a line of soldiers. Marcus on the other hand, pointed at the man and said, "And I have no idea who was stupid enough to promote a corrupt person like you to a captain's rank, Nezumi."
Nezumi's laughing stopped and he focused on Marcus with narrowed eyes before he asked, "What did you say brat? Did you just insult a marine officer?"
"Insult? I asked a question… Maybe you are not only corrupt, but also stupid to boot." Marcus said with a smirk.
"I will not be insulted by a brat! Someone bring him to me! I want to beat some sense into him!"
Marcus moved before anyone else and appeared right in front of Nezumi before he said, "Here, I saved your men time."
Nezumi's eyes went wide as he stared in shock at Marcus who looked up at the man and asked, "Weren't you going to teach me a lesson? Go ahead, I'm waiting for you to do it."
Nezumi backed away from Marcus as he squeaked out, "How did you do that?"
"Do what? Move? It's simple and the same thing you're doing, one foot in front of the other." Marcus said with another smirk.
Nezumi hid behind some more men as he said, "No it's not! You moved too fast! Just who the hell are you?"
"Oh, now you want to know who I am? I thought you wanted to teach me a lesson?"
"No, no I don't." Nezumi said as he furiously shook his head.
"Really? Then what exactly did you say?"
Nezumi started to sweat like crazy as he stared at Marcus who grinned back at him. After a few moments Zoe who was still guarding the gangplank to the ship said, "I believe he said he was going to double the bounty payout for our hard work."
Nezumi looked like he was about to protest when Marcus appeared in front of him again and asked, "Is that true? You offered to double the bounty payout?"
Nezumi jumped back as he screamed in fear before he retreated behind more marines. When he finally recovered he said in a shaky voice, "Sure… Double the bounty payout, no problem."
Marcus smirked at the man before he appeared back on the ship and yelled out, "Prepare the prisoners for transfer to the marine's custody."
The bounty payout was quickly totaled and doubled by a different marine since Nezumi ran away to hide in his office. After collecting their money, the ship set sail to another island in the area where Marcus planned to make a temporary base.