Chapter 29 — Uphill Battle
Original serialization: Weekly Shounen Jump 1998, #13
Usopp stands up to the Black Cat pirates, while the pirates discover the treasure on Nami’s ship. Usopp tries to bargain with it, but the pirates obviously realize that they can take the treasure and still do whatever else they want. Jango prepares to hypnotize Usopp, but Nami catches up and hits him in the head with her staff just in time (for trying to bargain with her treasure, and to prevent Jango from hypnotizing him).
The pirates begin to charge at Nami and Usopp, but the two of them throw Usopp’s caltrops out at the pirates.
Meanwhile, Zoro finally makes it up the hill using his swords to stab the ground for support, and Luffy is still lost…
The caltrops have temporarily stopped the Black Cat pirates, and Usopp fires his lead stars from his slingshot to further slow them down. Nami realizes that she threw caltrops behind Usopp and herself, too…
Just then, one of the pirates comes forth and smashes Usopp’s head with a stone hammer! Usopp grabs the pirate while on the ground, and the pirate continues to hit him in the head, though Usopp says he’ll never let them pass.
Another pirate rushes to stab Usopp, but Nami hits the pirate with her staff to save Usopp. A different pirate then attacks Nami, and Nami blocks his attack, but is slammed against the cliff wall by the force of the attack.
Jango says that they’re already late, and to not bother with killing them.
Usopp again grabs another pirate, but the pirate kicks him away. Usopp screams out in desperation for the pirates to stop… and the pirates are suddenly knocked back through the air!
Luffy and Zoro have arrived, both in a bad mood!
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All right, safe now. I’m not even sure how Usopp survived after getting hit so many times in the head by a giant rock, but perhaps it was out of sheer resolve to protect his village.
But now that Luffy, mad at Usopp for not telling him which way was north, and Zoro, pissed off at Nami for leaving him behind in the oil, have arrived, they finally stand a chance at protecting the village again. So here’s where the real battle will begin.
Also, I liked the dialogue between Nami and Usopp. They were both trying to get the other one to do the fighting, which was pretty funny. And Nami acts like she cares about nothing but treasure, but she saved Usopp a couple of times, risking her own life the second time.
And Usopp’s determination to protect his village is amazing. He never stopped, no matter how much he was injured. He surely would have died very soon had Luffy and Zoro not arrived when they did.
But now that they’re here, it’s time to start the fight… Let’s go, in the next chapter.