Usopp

Usopp is a pirate and the sniper of the Straw Hat Pirates. When Usopp was first introduced, he was often (comically) labeled as the "Liar" of the Straw Hat Pirates. He is the fourth member of the crew, the third to join, and also the third to rejoin at the end of the Post Enies Lobby story arc. He is also known by his alternate name and ego "Sogeking".

Appearance
For most of the story, Usopp is a tanned, skinny teenager with black curly hair and a long nose, which is apparently an allusion to Pinocchio, a wooden boy from a story of the same name who possessed a nose that would stretch after he lied. He usually wears a dark yellow plaid bandanna, a blue and white striped armband on his left arm, special Sniper Goggles, brown overalls with a white sash and no shirt underneath (although he wore a murky green shirt during the Skypeia Arc). Usopp inherited his famous nose from his mother, while the rest of his face closely resembles his father's. During the Straw Hat separation, after landing in the Forest of Gluttony, Usopp had gotten very fat.

After the 2 year time-skip, Usopp, no longer fat, has grown his hair longer. He has also buffed up and grown "manlier"; slightly taller and musclular. Usopp now has a new pair of goggles around his neck (his Sniper Goggles weren't shown) and has some headphones or ear protectors on. He also now has a little goatee along with a new white suncap he wears on his head. He also has a new pair of rolled-up pants, suspenders, and a pair of boots.

Oda claims that Usopp is most represented by the armadillo. Oda has also said that he uses the color yellow to represent Usopp, and he smells of gunpowder.

Personality
Usopp is one of the more sentimental Straw Hat Pirates, and cries or loses his temper in moments of emotional stress. At the start of the series, Usopp was an easily frightened, anxious, insecure, compulsive liar. Unlike Nami (whose cowardice is linked to just wanting to stay alive), Usopp's cowardice is the result of his fear and insecurity, especially when faced with uncertainty. Though Usopp is a coward by nature, he is able to put aside his fear during more desperate times: despite being afraid, he faces those fears for the sake of his friends and sometimes people he barely knows. Most of his lying was intended to make him feel better as Usopp is easily overwhelmed by his opponents, such as Aokiji, and usually ran from them. He is the first to come up with an excuse not to do something to avoid putting himself in danger. One of the most frequently used excuses is that he gets a disease named, for example, "Can't-get-on-this-island disease".

It is this which leads to his feud with Luffy - specifically his refusal to part with the ship he had come to love. This was the result of all his insecurities about his usefulness as a member of the crew culminating within him and finally exploding under the stress of having just been badly beaten by the Franky Family and then losing his ship. He was worried that since his is not as strong physically compared to Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro, he was just a burden to the crew. Though he is very intelligent and a talented sniper, he had trouble seeing his better qualities and his strengths, until the fight at Enies Lobby opened his eyes.

After meeting the giants Dorry and Broggy in the Little Garden arc, Usopp wants to travel to Elbaf one day and meet the proud warriors there. Usopp gave his first glimpse of understanding the ways of the warrior and the pride of a duel during the giants' battle. As a result Usopp often sees the Elbaf warriors he has met in his travels as sources of inspiration in his journey to become "a brave warrior of the sea".

Throughout Thriller Bark, many members of the crew fell victim to the effects of Perona's negative powers, causing them to become incredibly depressed to the point where they can't move. However Usopp, though slightly effected by the power, got to his feet claiming he could not become negative, because he already is negative/depressed, even saying it in a brag-like way. Perona claimed he was the only person who was ever immune to her powers, to the point using her powers on him causes her to become severely depressed, so she fled from him in fear. After finding out about Ace's death he developed the courage to escape and help out Luffy through the hardship or else he will not call himself a crewmate.

He also has a dislike for mushrooms, due to eating a poisonous one when he was younger.

After the time-skip Usopp becomes more confident in himself and boasts that he has become a warrior. When he met Nami in a bar, he showed no fear of the imposters with the guns, going as far as having his back to them.

Alter-Ego
I heard everything from him. You want to save a defenseless girl right? I will lend you a hand for free. Sogeking is Usopp's alter-ego developed during the Water 7 and Enies Lobby arc. When he left the crew, later seeing the others trying to save Robin made him feel guilty for leaving. He stated to Sanji and Franky that he cannot help them fight for this reason. He hastily 'disguised' himself in a mask and cape and began calling himself "Sogeking". During this facade, he sometimes dons a deeper voice which can be seen as the "true" Sogeking. Sogeking also refers to nearly everyone with a "kun" suffix (Luffy-kun, Zoro-kun, Chopper-kun etc.) and when asked of the whereabout of the 'Island of Snipers' he supposedly comes from, maintains that it exists "in your heart". Everyone except for Luffy and Chopper already knew that Sogeking was Usopp at the sight of Usopp's significantly long nose. Tamanegi, Ninjin, Piiman and Kaya were able to recognize him, though they claimed no one else in Syrup Village did.

As his alter-ego Sogeking, Usopp was able to fight alongside the others without having to deal with his departure. During his time spent acting as Sogeking, Usopp began to realize that while he was one of the weaker crew members, his role as the crew's sniper and a supporting crew member make him more valuable than he thought. Ultimately, he had been recorded as Sogeking on his bounty. The fact that Usopp himself is not technically wanted allows him to slip through enemy lines seemingly undetected. Oars originally let Usopp go because (being Luffy's shadow) Oars did not think Usopp was a target.

Sogeking: Calm down!!! Fight with her Usopp-kun. Usopp: Shut up!! I can't do it anymore. There is no way I can win! Sogeking: That's not it. You are a man who can do it certainly. Usopp: Do you have some sort of proof then!!? Sogeking: Nope! Usopp: You don't!!! During his fight with Perona, Usopp showed signs of a split personality and even went so far as to argue inside his head with his alter ego over their situation. Although they are technically the same person, Sogeking in comparison to Usopp is much more confident and took over once Usopp adorned the mask again, only slipping back into Usopp once the mask came off. Whether or not Usopp is developing a multiple personality disorder is debatable and has yet to be confirmed by the author or within the story; though it is also possibly just a coping mechanism to help Usopp deal with the stress of the situation.

Crew
He will often goof off with Luffy and Chopper and shares a strong, brotherly relationship with them. He and Luffy share a common path towards an eventual meeting with the Red Haired Pirate Crew: Luffy to reunite with Shanks and Usopp with his father. Through this small connection and the fact that they are the same age and, thus, at the same level of maturity (in their own special ways,) Luffy and Usopp had a very special bond from the moment they met. Chopper loves Usopp's stories and often falls for his tall tales, and Usopp in turn loves Chopper's hero worship of him and makes a point to act cool in front of his "younger brother". Both Luffy and Chopper were very upset when Usopp left the crew.



He likes Nami as a sister, but (like Chopper) is often intimidated by her more ruthless behavior. Usopp and Nami have a special bond as the only "normal" crew members. At some point during the Arabasta arc, Nami approached Usopp and asked him to make a weapon for her, convincing him to do so by confessing her feelings of inadequacy when compared to the awesome strength of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and even Chopper.

She said that Usopp was the only one who could understand these feelings, and thus was the only one who could help her. Upon them reuniting after 2 years apart she hugged him, complimenting on how he has grown. Zoro and Sanji get on well with him, but often admonish him for his cowardice and sentimentality.

During the Enies Lobby Arc, Sanji sowed a special bond with Usopp as he helped him realize that he wasn't useless to the crew like he previously thought. Usopp was scared of Robin, as well as Brook when they first appeared to the Straw Hats, however, he changed his views over time and sees them as good friends. As for Franky, while he did beat up Usopp during the Water 7 arc, they began to understand each other once they talked about the Going Merry. Usopp is usually the one who tests Franky's cannon-type inventions. They have also bonded over their mutual fondness and ability of engineering. They both tend to the ship together, upgrading and maintaining it.

A running gag involving Usopp and the crew is that whenever a topic of discussion is brought up by someone and happens to contain personality traits that link to Usopp (such as his lying habits or his long nose), the crew always turn to stare at him or see a mental image of him (like in Jaya with the tale of the King of Liars Norland, or when they first met Kaku even though the subject may have nothing to do Usopp in particular.)

Friends
He shared a deep fondness for Kaya back in his village due to her losing her parents and often tried to keep her happy. Unfortunately, his lies backfired when he tried to protect her when Kuro put his 3 year plan into action and Kaya lost all respect for him. After Kuro's plan is stopped, she decided to try to remain happy for him while he was gone and Usopp is left happy that she is safe. When his "Sogeking" bounty is made public, Kaya is able to identify him and seemed proud of his accomplishment. Just seeing his poster inspired her to get back to her medical studies, wanting to be able to take care of his injuries upon his eventual return.

Back at the village also, his old pirate trio also await his return. When they last met they parted ways with him to led off on their own dreams. They have been following the reports of him ever since via the newspapers and are proud to have called him captain, even if the other villagers don't know what has become of him, and spoke of making their own imitation masks.

"Sogeking" also made friends with Oimo and Kāshī after he revealed the truth to them concerning the World Governments lie about having their leaders. Having told them of his dream to go to Elbaf, once they felt their debt was repaid to the Galley-La, they offered him a ride to Elbaf with them, though he turned it down to rejoin the Straw Hat crew.

After landing on the Boin Archipelago, Usopp was rescued by, and quickly befriended Heracles, who trired to stop Usopp from injuring himself any more than he already had while he tried to escape the Forest of Gluttony. Heracles also saved Usopp from being eaten by the Stomach Baron, the island they're on itself, when Usopp became fat. He later became Usopp´s sensei and helped train in the 2 years the Straw Hat's were seperated to become "the true king of snipers".

Enemies
He has a deep anger at Kuro, whom he defeated to protect Kaya. While he himself is at ease with the Marines, his alter-ego carries a bounty. He also made an enemy of Perona during the Thriller Bark arc for being the first person to defeat her.

Yasopp
Yasopp is Usopp's father. While Usopp has yet to be shown interacting with his father, Usopp has remained proud of him even though he took the path of a pirate. Yasopp also seems to care deeply about his son despite being absent for the majority of his life. It is also unclear as to how well he knows his father, as it was never said when exactly Yasopp left (except for the flashback during the fight between Usopp and Daddy with Yasopp saying "I left when he was just a baby to sail with Shanks' crew"). One clue is in Ch 41, it's said Usopp's mother died not that long after Yasopp left, in the flashback, Usopp looks like a small child. Usopp either knows about his father from stories told by his mother or from actual memories, which one it is remains a mystery.

Banchina
Banchina was Usopp's mother. He deeply cared about her well being, to the point of creating his original set of lies about his father returning in an attempt to give her hope and keep her alive. When she died, he suffered a deep loneliness that led him to keep on lying even though he no longer had a reason to do so.

Abilities and Powers
According to Oda in a discussion with Tanaka Mayumi, Luffy's voice actress, regardless of who joins the crew, Usopp will always be the weakest of the Straw Hats when it comes to physical strength since otherwise it might upset the balance of the story. Oda also states that this is because Usopp is the closest in strength to a regular human compared to the others and thus this portrayal can be easily related to by the average person's own strength. His attributes mainly lie in his ability to hit pretty much everything he sets his eyes on with his slingshot.

Usopp's role in the crew is that of the marksman. Since early in the series, he was shown to have inherited some of his father's exceptional marksman skills. He managed to shoot the crown of a whale which even the amazes the best marksman in the marines. His abilities mainly rely on his resourcefulness and understanding towards engineering (easily analyzing the tunnel networks made by Miss Merry Christmas), his marksmanship is nearly unmatched, hitting the government flag albeit under the persona of Sogeking, using the cannons of the ship with great ease, another one of Usopp's attributes is that he is a fast runner. In battle, Usopp uses hit-and-run tactics, and works best as part of a team where there are more physical fighters to watch his back. This is due to the fact that he is so high-strung and jumpy, and he often gives into his basic instincts of survival: fight or flight (usually choosing flight).

Prior to the introduction of Franky, Usopp served as the Straw Hat's sole unofficial gadgets and mechanics specialist. His creative engineering has resulted in both the Clima-Tact and Kabuto. For other more complex activities, such as acting as the shipwright for the Going Merry, he is largely inexperienced, as he was barely able to keep the Going Merry going using patchwork repairs. As Franky pointed out, his skills are amateur and he barely knows how to use a hammer correctly for such jobs. After Franky joined the crew, he gladly let Franky take over the reins of maintaining the ship even agreeing to Franky's request to assist him. In return Franky provided a workshop for Usopp to work on his gadgets and creations, something he's more at home with. Even Franky admitted that his skills in gadgets are considerable.

After a major battle, Usopp tends to have severe injuries often caused by his determination to reach his goal. He will attempt to continue even with his injuries. A prominent example of his incredible durability can be observed when Usopp survived being hit in the face by Mr. 4's 4-ton bat. Not only did he survive, but he was still able to continue fighting.

Usopp is also a great artist, he proved that in the beginning of the series when he made his and the Straw Hat's jolly rogers in response to Luffy's poor art skills. A running gag involves Luffy and Chopper building simple snowmen or sand castles only for Usopp to show off his vastly superior skills with a professional work of his own. He also boasted, just like Luffy and Sanji, that he has never been ill during his life (which impressed Vivi). Usopp used to make spiders fight when he was young and knows how to handle them without being bitten by their fangs and being poisoned in the process.

Weapons


Usopp has outstanding marksmanship abilities with his weapon of choice, the slingshot which is the primary reason why he serves as the Straw Hat's Sniper and is often tasked with anything that needs precision at a distance, most notably the Thousand Sunny's Gaon Cannon. His slingshot is his primary form of combat, and he has many different types of ammunition which he carries in a large shoulder bag. He uses eggs to blind opponents and rocks when he runs out of ammunition.

Usopp has other attacks unrelated to projectiles, though they are mainly jokes. These include the 5 Ton Hammer and others. After the Skypedia arc, he has started using dials for attacks such as using the Breath Dial to house explosive gas, using the Flash Dial to blind his foes, and using the Impact Dial to absorb and reflect blows.

Usopp improves his sight with special goggles. He purchased an upgraded pair in Loguetown, but the actual scene of him purchasing them was cut out in the 4Kids Entertainment dub. The scene was also absent in the original manga due to a lack of room.

Kabuto
In the Enies Lobby arc, Usopp introduced a new weapon, the "Kabuto", a slingshot with five bands connected to a long staff. It has much greater power than his normal slingshot because it is powered by Skypiean Dials. Its range is enormous, and Usopp can use it to strike individual targets quite accurately from seemingly impossible distances.

The exact workings of the Kabuto are unknown, except that the five bands increase stability (and thus range), and the Dials in the instrument add spin to the ammunition similar to rifling to increase damage and accuracy, as well as allowing Usopp to choose a variety of different Dial effects to add to each shot.

Pop Greens
After the time skip, Usopp is shown to be quite adept with using Pop Greens as shown when he defeated some of the Impostor Straw Hat Pirates by creating a carnivorous plant.

Hope Born From a Lie
Usopp is the son of Yasopp, a pirate who joined Red-Haired Shanks' crew and sailed away, leaving behind his wife and son. Usopp began to lie that pirates were coming. He first began this practice when he started yelling to his mother that pirates were coming in the hopes that it would strengthen her spirits enough to keep her alive. After he started doing so, he just continued to do so because of the pain of having lost both parents one way or another, leaving himself alone.

Many of the villagers made a show of chasing him and throwing things at him for running through the town, but they were used to his antics. Some villagers even used his daily run through town as a sort of alarm clock. Aside from his cries of pirates attacking, he also made up stories about adventures to entertain Kaya, a young girl he met who was sick and had to stay in bed all day.

Usopp called himself a pirate and took in three younger kids, Ninjin, Tamanegi and Piiman, as his "crew"; he dubs the group "Usopp's Pirates", or in the American version by 4kids, the "Veggie Pirates".

Fight with the Felines, Becoming a Straw Hat
When the Black Cat pirates came to town, Usopp, along with Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro and Nami, fought the pirates and their leader, Captain Kuro. Kuro had been spending three years posing as a caretaker for Kaya so he could set himself up to inherit her fortune. He plotted to kill her without anyone suspecting he was behind it.

After Luffy defeated Kuro and the Black Cat Pirates, Usopp disbands "Usopp's Pirates" and leaves them find their own dreams. He decided to stop lying and go on his own way, but Luffy invited him to travel on the Going Merry with him and the rest of his crew. Luffy named him sniper for the crew as he has inherited his father's sharp shooting skills. After joining, he created the flag for the Straw Hat Pirate Crew after Luffy proves unable to draw, and he also paints it on the sail of Going Merry.

Battle for the Baratie
The crew meets Johnny and Yosaku, Zoro's former bounty hunter companions, and they set sail for the Baratie restaurant in search of a cook. Luffy begins his job as a waiter to pay for the damage he did to the Baratie for Zeff, and tries to convince Sanji to join his crew. Gin returns to the Baratie with his also-starving captain, Don Krieg, to whom Sanji once more gives food, but Don Krieg betrays the cook once he regains his energy and attack the Baratie, despite the cooks' best effort to stop him. It is revealed that Chef Zeff was a great pirate known as Red Leg Zeff who traveled Grand Line for a whole year. Gin explains the catastrophe the fleet met in Grand Line when they encountered Hawk-Eyes Mihawk, and Don Krieg attempts to take control of the Baratie. Mihawk has returned to finish the job with Don Krieg's Pirate Armada, but Zoro challenges him to a duel in order to achieve his dream. Unfortunately, he met a most devastating defeat at the hand of the swordsman. Mihawk leaves after defeating Zoro, so Don Krieg continues his invasion on the Baratie and has Pearl, one of his stronger crewmates, attack, and Sanji reveals his fighting skills. Meanwhile Johnny and Yosaku leave with Usopp and the wounded Zoro to go after Nami.

Destruction of Arlong Park
Usopp, Johnny, and Zoro arrive at the island Nami docked at. Zoro is captured by the Fishmen after Usopp and Johnny ditch him, and it's revealed that Nami was part of Arlong's pirate crew the entire time. When a group of Fishmen attack Cocoyashi Village, Usopp comes to the rescue. After Zoro escapes with Nami's help, she tries to prove her loyalty to the Arlong Pirates by appearing to kill Usopp. Later, upon seeing Nami's sorrow and fear for her village, the Straw Hats head for Arlong Park. The Straw Hats face the Fishmen themselves as the villagers watch from the sidelines. While trying to pull Luffy out of the cement, he accidentally knocks over Chew. Frusturated with this, Chew charges after Usopp who runs away. Chew notices the townsfolk and conciders killing them, only to be set on fire by Usopp. Usopp tells Chu, that he is Chew's opponent, only to run away again.



Usopp spends a long time running, hoping to exhaust Chew, but to no avail. He instead uses ketchup and fakes being struck down, so Chew heads back to Arlong Park. Usopp chooses living over fighting, and begins to rub himself with dirt to make a convincing argument that he did in fact fight. Remembering how much Luffy, Zoro, Nami and Sanji risk their lives everyday, and how much Nami needed him, he got up and screamed at Chew, that the battle isn't over.

After receiving powerful punches and kicks, Usopp tricks Chew and hides in a near by bushel of tree. Chew begins to shoot down the trees in search, and Usopp screams in fear, accepting that this is the new life he chose. When Chew finds him, Usopp sets him on fire, then proceeds to smack Chew in the face with a hammer repeatedly until he fell unconscious, making Usopp believe that now, he was a true pirate

He return when Arlong was defeated. As the crew celebrates, Nami reflects on her hometown and decides to officially join the Straw Hat Pirates. They leave Cocoyashi Village and set sail again for their next trip. As a result of defeating Arlong, Luffy now has the highest bounty in East Blue, Usopp laugh as he saw his back on Luffy's wanted poster.

Arrival at Loguetown
The crew arrives at the last large town before the entrance to the Grand Line--Loguetown, the place where Gold Roger was both born and executed, where they stock up on supplies and sight see. He bought his sniper goggles here.He was also tested by Daddy the father and learns of his meeting with Yasopp. Miraculously saved from death by an unnatural green gust and a lightning bolt to Buggy, the Straw Hats rush out of Loguetown. Nami and Usopp arrives at the ship and find Mohji, Buggy's crewmate was planning to burn their ship. They easily defeat them before Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji arrive and get aboard.

Traversing Reverse Mountain and Meeting Laboon
The Straws Hats arriving at Reverse Mountain through the storm after fleeing Loguetown. They are nearly blown off course and into the Calm Belt but eventually reach the entrance of Reverse Mountain and manage to climb its uphill rapids despite some tricky close calls thanks to Nami's navigation. As they come down they hear a noise and notice something is blocking their path. They identify the blockage as a huge whale which is threatening to crush the Going Merry. Luffy manages to keep the ship from crashing into it, but seeing the bow broken off enrages Luffy and he attacks the whale. The whale swallows the Going Merry and her crew, except for Luffy who manages to escape onto the whale's back. Inside, the remaining Straw Hats suddenly find themselves in what looks like an outside setting with a house in the middle of the water where they meet an old man named Crocus. They later reunite with Luffy and two people inside known only as Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday (who apparently are plotting to kill the whale), and it is revealed that the strange setting is in fact the whale's stomach. Crocus reveals that the whale's name is Laboon and that he is trying to ram into the mountain. Crocus begins to explain to the Straw Hats why the whale is covered with scars and continually rams the mountain.

Crocus explains to the Straw Hats about how a regular compass will not work past Reverse Mountain and that they need a Log Pose if they want to travel the Grand Line. Crocus explains how the Log Pose works and mentions the final destination of the Grand Line, Raftel, where One Piece may lay as the only person to reach there was Gold Roger. Luffy reveals a Log Pose he found after they dumped the Mr. 9 pair, but it is broken so Crocus loans them his. The Mr. 9 pair spies on the group from afar until they are knocked into the ocean by The Unluckies for failing their mission to kill Laboon. They reacquaint themselves with the Straw Hats again and beg them to take the two to their hometown, Whiskey Peak, to which Luffy agrees. With that they bid Crocus and Laboon farewell and set off.

Pirate-Loving Town of Whiskey Peak
Usopp and the crew arrive at Whiskey Peak, a town of pirate-lovers who hold them a feast and get drunk together with Sanji, resulting in both of them missing the fight against Baroque Works. He was woken up when they're ready to set sail. Luffy's crew manages to become targets of Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai, and they decide to help Princess Vivi. They also meet Miss All-Sunday, the number two in Baroque Works, and assistant to Crocodile. While she attempts to offer them an Eternal Pose to an island near Arabasta, Luffy breaks it instead of allowing an enemy to decide their destination.

The Honor of Elbaf


Reaching their second island on the Grand Line, Little Garden, meant a somewhat of a change for Usopp. The island's inhabitants, the giants Dorry and Brogy, fought in never-ending battle of pride and honor, which are more important than their own lives - a battle of men, as Usopp defined it, which amazed him. According to him, they are exactly what he wanted to be, the greatest warrior of the seas; to a point where he says that one day he will die with pride, and his last words will be "I am Usopp, the great warrior of the sea!". Usopp was moved to rage when he had discovered that the sake which came from their ship, which they gave to Dorry and Broggy, exploded and interrupted the battle, and even attempted to attack Mr. 5, knowing the risk, joining the battle against the Baroque Work Agents stationed in Little Garden. Usopp frees Luffy from Miss Goldenweek's control, while mounted on Carue, and also figured out the weakness of Mr. 3's Devil Fruit powers, and set into motion the plan that saved Zoro, Nami, and Vivi in time, thus he helped Luffy defeat Mr. 3's team and Mr. 5's team. He still wishes to visit Elbaf, the island the giants came from.

Adventure in a Doctorless Island


While looking for a doctor, the crew meets the pirate Wapol, who attacks them, but only makes Luffy send him flying. They arrive at last to an island only to find out they're not welcome. The Straw Hat crew manages to gain the trust of the people that attacked them, and are taken to the village, except for Zoro and Carue, who guard the ship. Luffy and Sanji must take Nami to the island's sole doctor who lives on a mountain-top. Vivi and Usopp discover the past of the island, and about the pirate Wapol from Dalton. The doctor is discovered to be on the other side of the island, and Usopp, Vivi and Dalton rush to find her. Vivi, Usopp and Zoro deal with the king's army in order to save Dalton. The villagers along with Zoro, Vivi and Usopp start their ascent to the castle through a ropeway, and arrive after Luffy defeated Wapol. Though Usopp reacted negatively like the villagers upon seeing Chopper for the first time, Chopper announces his intentions of joining the Straw Hats to Dr. Kureha, who doesn't take it too well; but after escaping from the castle, she has decided to give the whole Straw Hat crew a farewell gift.

War in Arabasta
The crew saw a Sea Cat as they neared Arabasta. Starving for food, they try to capture it but Vivi stop them since it was considered a sacred animal. As they pass through some steam from an underwater volcano, Luffy and Usopp caught an okama while fishing. As they waited for his crew to catch up, he entertains them with his Devil Fruit ability to copy other people's appearances, one of which was Vivi's father. When the man's crew caught up, he was revealed to be Mr. 2 Bon Kurei of Baroque Works. Knowing his abilities, they made an 'X' mark on their right arms to know when he was posing as one of them.

The crew landed in Nanohana where they encounter Smoker and Tashigi. A powerful pirate named Portgas D. Ace appears, and is revealed to be Luffy's older brother. Ace fights Smoker while the Straw Hats run for their ship. Ace catches up to them and gave Luffy a Vivre Card before departing. They docked their ship near the once 'green city' of Erumalu where they see the extent of the country's suffering as Vivi explained how Baroque Works was using Dance Powder to cause it. After tackling some of the dangers in the desert, they reach Yuba where they meet Toto, a friend of the royal family. They find out that the Rebel Army has moved out of Yuba and headed to Katorea, and the rebel leader Kohza, Toto's son and Vivi's childhood friend, is determined to attack.

The crew travels to the city of Rainbase to take down Crocodile and Baroque Works, but run afoul of Smoker and Tashigi. Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Smoker are trapped by Crocodile. Chopper distracts Crocodile while Sanji frees the rest of the crew, but find themselves trapped yet again. After escaping from Rain Dinners, Usopp and the crew together with Vivi crossed the desert to Alubarna, where the final battle will take place.

Crocodile, however, manages to catch Luffy, beginning the first round of their battle. The crew, excluding Luffy, proceeded to the Alubarna. As they reach the destination, they split up to distract the Baroque Works agents to engage their battle separately. Usoop went with Eyelashes where he was followed by Mr. 2 Bon Kurei, who easily defeated them and assumed Usopp's form, stealing Usopp's sniper goggles in the process. After Mr. 2 left to go after Vivi, Sanji caught up and Usopp explained the situation before leaving to back up Chopper. The battle of Usopp and Chopper vs. the Mr. 4 team then began. Things look hopeless for Usopp and Chopper as they continue to suffer from every attack that the Mr. 4 team makes. When Miss Merry Christmas tells them that Luffy is dead, Usopp refused to believe it, claiming that Luffy will become the next Pirate King. When she laughs at this, Usopp tells Chopper that a real man never lets his friend's dreams be laughed at and must fight for it no matter what. Albeit severely beaten and bruised, Usopp and Chopper finally defeated the Mr. 4 team.



Later, the Straw Hats hurried to locate the bomb before it goes off. Vivi figured out where the bomb was, and had Usopp call the Straw Hats together with a flare. She found it inside of the clock tower, but the Mr. 7 pair of Baroque Works were there. Vivi defeats them but realized the bomb cannot be stopped so easily. It has a timer, and right before it blows up, Pell shows up and takes it into the atmosphere, where he sacrifices himself to save Alubarna. The Rebel and Royal armies continued to fight even after the bomb went off. It wasn't until it rained and Crocodile was revealed to be one behind the drought that they stopped. Tashigi and Smoker both were rewarded for taking on Crocodile, but neither one of them believed it was right since the Straw Hat pirates did all the work. Luffy rescued Nico Robin and Cobra from the collapsing tomb where he fought and defeated Crocodile.

He was then brought to the palace to rest. When he awakened, a banquet is thrown for the pirates. They were then invited to enjoy the hotspring steam-room inside the palace. Later that night, Mr. 2 Bon Kurei contacted them, telling them he prevented their ship from being taken by the Marines. The next day, the day of her speech, Vivi was to make a decision on whether or not she will stay on the crew. Meanwhile, Bon Kurei and his crew helped the Straw Hats escape from Hina so they could get to Vivi, who declined joining them for the sake of he country. Regardless, they all showed their 'X' mark to signify that they will still consider her as one of them. After escaping from the Marines, Nico Robin (Miss All Sunday) appears from inside of the Straw Hats ship. She manages to persuade the crew to let her join since she had nowhere else to go.

Rumble in Jaya
Nami's Log Pose begins to point to the sky, after that, a big ship falls from sky and the crew finds a map in of an island named 'Skypiea' on a 200-year-old ship. They compete with the monkey-like Masira's salvage crew while they search for more clues on how to get there. The Straw Hats decide to go to Jaya island to look for information on Skypiea. The Straw Hats meet with Montblanc Cricket on another part of Jaya; Cricket is a descendant of Montblanc Norland, an infamous "liar" who told of a gold city on Jaya, and Cricket was outcast for looking for artifacts of the gold city. He may be the only person who knows how to get to Skypiea. Cricket explains how the Straw Hats can ride a dangerous vertical current called the Knock-Up Stream to get to Skypeia. However, they first have to catch a South Bird to point them toward the point where the stream will erupt from the ocean. While the Straw Hats are looking for a South Bird, Bellamy and his crew attack Cricket's house, and steal the gold artifacts he'd collected over the years from his salvage work. When the Straw Hats return and see what happened, Luffy decides to take a side trip back to Mock Town. The Going Merry is refitted by Masira and Shojo to be more flight capable, and the Straw Hats catch a ride on the Knock-Up Stream for Skypeia.

Adventure in a Sky Island and Taking Down a God
They start from entering the Gate of Heaven. First they have been recommended by an old woman to pay their extol, but even they haven't pay the old woman let their pass. As they carried by a sky shrimp, they landed on a place that's surrounded by clouds. They met their Conis, a Skypiean. As their conversation continues about the waver, the White Berets interrupt them and casting them a case of illegal entrants. However, the ship has been carried by the shrimp together with Zoro, Nami, Chopper, and Robin. Luffy decided to follow them as Usopp wants to reject. Conis go with them to guide them to the boat terminal. As they proceed, they encounter some trap. Unfortunately, they met one of the priest named Satori.



As Luffy and Sanji fought the priest, he manage to find their boat. As his nakama defeated their enemy, they proceed at finding their nakama. Later, they over cross the Shandian Warriors in their way. They finally reach the Sacrifice Altar and finally reunited with their comrade. The crew has sleep for a new adventure tomorrow. Usopp heard a hammer sound building their ship, he saw Klabautermann mistaking it as a ghost. He woke Zoro but ignored. At the morning, Usopp, Nami, and Sanji together with Gan Fall remained in the ship. Gan Fall demonstrated the use of impact dial. Enel appeared and had a little conversation with Gan Fall. After the conversation, Enel took out Sanji, followed by Usopp. As he and Sanji awoke, they followed the Maxim using Usopp's belt to save Nami. While inside they secretly disassemble Maxim's parts. When they are planning to escape with Nami, Sanji sacrificed himself in order to protect his nakama.

Nami falls down the arc while Usopp stays on top, hidden, so he can retrieve Sanji. He climbes down the ship carrying an unconscious Sanji with him and the two of them fall to the ground. He is seen later cheering Luffy and Nami to reach Enel. After the battle rang, all of the Skypiean with the crew started a celebration party. Usopp trades his rubber bands (a substance foreign to the sky people) for a variety of dials. Next day, they collected gold from the ruins; a group of Skypiean bring a large gold post mistaking them to a cannon. They start to run until they reach their ship. They manage to return to the Blue Sea with the help of Pagaya and Conis.

Davy Back Fight


Usopp and company come across a mysterious pirate ship after trying to escape a giant wave. Soon, they arrive on an island inhabited by strange animals. Going Merry is captured by the Foxy Pirates. After Tonjit re-unites with his horse, they are soon attacked by Captain Foxy and his subordinates, who challenge Luffy in a Davy Back Fight, a contest of pirates where the stakes are members of the crew. The first round of Davy Back Fight involves a race around the island with tiny boats. He teamed up with Robin and Nami. With only Luffy, Nami, and Porche's boat remaining, it's an all out war to the goal, but after Foxy exposes his Devil Fruit powers, Porche wins and takes Tony Tony Chopper from Luffy. The second round prepares to start. Without Chopper, Sanji and Zoro must face the Foxy Pirates in a ball game, but are hampered by their blatant cheating and the crooked referee. She together with the other Straw Hat watch beside as they watch Sanji and Zoro playing the ball game, but are hampered by their blatant cheating and the crooked referee. The bickering rivals Sanji and Zoro manage to overcome the opposing team by working together. Usopp volunteers to be Luffy's coach and gives Luffy the afro for his fight against Foxy. Luffy and Foxy face off in the final game: a battle of brawn aboard Foxy's ship. The Straw Hat crew watch aside as Luffy continues to battle Foxy with the odds not in his favor, and the fight continues inside Foxy's ship. They haven't seen the battle when they fight inside the ship. Luffy manages to finally defeat Foxy by using his ability against him. After getting back his crewmembers, the Straw Hats leave in search for a shipwright.

Water 7: A Breaking Ship, a Breaking Crew
You could just cut off those members that are useless. There's no way I could catch up to you monsters, you don't need any weak members, right? After the Going Merry narrowly escapes being hit by a "sea train", the crew meets an old woman, Kokoro, and her granddaughter, Chimney. Kokoro gives Luffy a map to Water 7. Luffy, Nami, and Usopp buy boats driven by sea monsters called "yagara". Luffy, Nami, and Usopp get strange greetings from the residents and they get to experience the roller coaster-like channels of Water 7. They find out that some pirates had been beaten at the hands of some powerful craftsmen; the Galley La Company. Luffy has their gold exchanged for cash. After, they meet a man who resembles Usopp, Galley La's carpenter employment foreman, Kaku. Two of the suitcases of money are stolen by the Franky Family.

Paulie makes his debut when he retrieves Usopp's stolen money as he runs from debt collectors. Kalifa shows Luffy, Nami, and Usopp around Dock No.1 and tells them how Iceburg founded the Galley La Company. Kaku returns from the Going Merry and tells them that their keel is irreparably damaged. Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Chopper follow Usopp's bloody trail to the Franky House where they find him passed out in front. The four of them challenge the Franky Family only to find out that their real target, Franky himself, is gone and has taken the money with him. Once they're back on the ship, Luffy has to finally tell Usopp that the Going Merry can no longer be repaired and that they've chosen to get a new ship without him.



Usopp believes that Luffy has abandoned the dignity of their ship and says he's leaving the crew. That night, he challenges Luffy to a duel. Usopp fights Luffy in order to decide who keeps the Going Merry; he fights harder than he's ever fought before. Luffy actually seems to pose no threat but all the while, he's remembering what great friends they used to be, sailing together on the same ship. Even after taking a harsh beating, Luffy defeats Usopp. They leave Usopp and the ship behind.

An incredibly high tide called the "Aqua Laguna" is coming and Chopper and Sanji rush to warn Usopp. Usopp attempts to repair the ship enough to withstand the Aqua Laguna. In Franky's underground hideout, Usopp tells him his story and Franky is finally touched. In return, Franky tells him a little about Tom's contributions to Water 7. Usopp believes that the person who repaired the Going Merry in Skypeia was really the Going Merry itself.

Franky says that the ship was inhabited by a spirit who enters ships who are dearly cared for. The spirit repaired their ship just enough for them to reach the next island. The doorbell rings from the sea side and the Galley La foremen enter. The foremen let go of the Going Merry so she would be destroyed at sea. A man hands Nami a letter he found from Sanji. It informs her that Usopp, Franky, and he are on board the train that had just departed.

Sanji fights his way through another train car and finds Usopp and Franky. Usopp separates from them but later, when Sanji and Franky are spotted, a man named Sogeking comes to their rescue. He was wearing a mask and a cape, using the alias "Sogeking" (sogeki means sniper, so Sogeking ("そげキング" Sogekingu) is a portmanteau meaning "Sniper King"). According to his stories, Sogeking is from an island of snipers, Sharpshooter Island, that can be found in your heart, and Usopp has even written a theme song for this identity. Sogeking makes his grand entrance. Franky and Sanji aren't fooled by his costume but they try to humor him. They devise a plan first, then detach the last two cars and fight their way through the rest. Sogeking then meets Robin. Sogeking talks with Robin and tells her that the crew knows about her reasons for leaving. After hiding under Robin's cloak for a few episodes, Sogeking finally shows himself. They stumble into the room with the CP9 and meet with Sanji and Franky. Sogeking produces a smokescreen. The four head into another car, detach it, and escape. It's not long before Blueno pulls their car back, though. Franky knocks down the wall so they can escape but ends up on the enemy car. Robin willingly follows Blueno into his improvised door and Sogeking and Sanji are left alone. For a while, Blueno explains a little of Robin's past involving the Buster Call. Luffy and the others finally catch up to Sanji, Usopp, and the rest of the Franky Family as they near Enies Lobby. Paulie sits down with the group and talks about their plan. Luffy doesn't bother to follow the plan, and slingshots himself beyond the gates before the train stops.

Enies Lobby: Enter Sogeking


He helped Franky and Sanji in order to rescue Nico Robin but they fail to do so. After being in the detached cart 4 and 3 with Sanji, they were found by the Franky Family and finally reunited with Luffy. When they confronted CP9, Sogeking unveiled a new weapon, a long staff with a more powerful slingshot attached called "Kabuto".

After landing on Oimo's back, they been held by Paulie by ropes, unfortunately, he's been held on his neck resulting that remained alone. When he was about to make a move, the floor has been flooded of tears by Oimo. Together they discussed about Dorry and Brogy. When Oimo knew the true that they were only used by the Marines, the two decided to help Sogeking and the three Galley La. He has been sent flying by Kāshī to reach the Courthouse's roof.

As they wait of the bridge to be activated, they lined up at the roof convincing Robin to accept their request by saving her. Sogeking complies with Luffy's request to burn the World Government flag, effectively declaring war on the World Government. The bridge has been half activated. Kokoro volunteers her help by using the Rocketman. The Rocketman ramped at the bridge and together with the Straw Hats, they jumped. As they landed on the Tower of Justice, Fukurou appears and declared that a key is needed to uncuff Robin's cuff which each of the CP9 holds one. They decided to fight individually and search for an agent.

I'll do whatever you cannot do. And you do whatever I cannot do!!!



He confronted Jyabura and was easily defeated. He shortly after switched places with Sanji. Later, as he analyzed what Sanji had told to him, he immediately went to the roof of Tower of Justice and sniped Spandam and the Marines to prevent Robin for being captured. When the Marine battleships begin to fire cannons at the Tower, Usopp jumps, rather than use the stairs where falling debris could potentially crush him, and he has to be carried by Zoro and Sanji to their escape ship in the tunnel. While in the tunnel, they nearly drown and are saved by Kokoro who was a mermaid. There, their escape ship is ready. When he saw Luffy losing to Rob Lucci, he took off his mask and shouted at Luffy to defeat his enemy.

In the anime, he saved Zoro by shooting Shuu, who rusted Zoro's Yubashiri but suddenly, their escape ship exploded due to Marines fire power. As Luffy had already defeated Lucci, their current problem was their escape ship. Usopp heard a voice telling them to jump into the sea. When they realized that it was the Going Merry, they jumped out into the sea and finally escaped. Soon as the crew had escaped from Enies Lobby, Usopp put back on his Sogeking mask and neither Luffy nor Chopper have realized that they are one and the same.



With the Going Merry, everyone has managed to escape Enies Lobby safely. However, after escaping, Iceburg arrives in a Galley-La just in time to pick up the Straw Hat Pirates as the Merry suddenly breaks apart. Luffy then gives the Going Merry a viking funeral by burning it as the crew tearfully says goodbye. Usopp then finally accepted that the ship was beyond salvation.

Aftermath of Enies Lobby
Back in Water 7, Usopp sat on Kāshī's shoulders bummed out. Kāshī offered to take Usopp to Elbaf but Usopp seems to reject it because Usopp was later seen peeking through the window of the temporary HQ with Yokozuna watching the whole Luffy and Garp situation. Usopp tried to find a way to re-enter the crew, Sanji caught him rehearsing but did nothing.

Sanji informed Luffy about Usopp's rehearsal, and a delighted Luffy wanted to go get him. Zoro, however, believed that Usopp's behavior was disrespectful to Luffy's rank as captain and threatened to leave the crew if Luffy allowed himself to be pushed around. Eventually, the crew agreed with Zoro, and decided to only allow Usopp back if he acknowledged his wrongdoing and apologized. After waiting for the Thousand Sunny to be completed, the Straw Hats (with the newly added Franky) were forced into a hasty departure without Usopp. Usopp was, however, already on his way through town to the Scrap Island with the intent of rejoining the crew. He spots the Straw Hats making a fast getaway from Garp and his Marine ship. Usopp tried to communicate with his crew but all except Chopper ignored him. Eventually, the sight of his friends sailing away drives him into a heartfelt apology yelled to the ship. With this, Luffy tearfully pulls him to the ship and proclaims his crew is again complete.

Usopp has now officially rejoined the crew after 106 chapters of absence. He escaped the Marines along with the rest of the crew thanks to the Thousand Sunny's Coup de Burst.

Thriller Bark
After sailing for some time on the Thousand Sunny, Usopp and the rest of the crew came across a mysterious barrel floating on the ocean. Upon opening it, a flash shot up from it. After braving a storm that mysteriously came after wards thanks to Nami and Franky, Usopp and the rest the crew found themselves in the Florian Triangle. Usopp, having not heard from Kokoro about the ghosts within the area, became very frightened. He and the rest then came in the presence of a ghost ship.

This ship apparently belonged to a skeleton named Brook who through by chance initially accepted Luffy's offer to join the crew. Usopp was especially frightened by Brook and by this time, he had donned all sorts of equipment used for exorcism such as garlic and crosses due to the circumstances. Just as Brook was about to perform before Usopp and the rest of the crew after dinner, a ghost appeared and some clanking sounds were heard These sounds were caused by the gates of the island that suddenly appeared, Thriller Bark, closing. These events prompted Brook to head to the island before Usopp and the rest of the Straw Hats' eyes.



With Luffy's resolve to go to the island, Usopp couldn't do anything about it. At that moment, Franky then decided to show the crew a little present, the Mini Merry II. This pleased the crew very much that Usopp decided to join Nami and Chopper for a test drive. However while sailing on the little boat, Usopp and his companions accidentally bumped into the moat of Thriller Bark and fell from the Mini Merry II into it. There, the three met the Cerberus which chased them until they hid in a tree. In the tree, the three met Hildon who decided to take them to meet Dr. Hogback.

After riding a carriage with Hildon through some woods filled with all sorts of stitched-up creatures, Usopp and his companions were left in the middle of a cemetery. There, they were attacked by some Zombies. Usopp was luckily able to drive these creatures away with flame star so he and his companions can escape. In response however, the Zombies called Usopp a pyromaniac. Usopp and his companions then came across Hogback's mansion and met with the good doctor and his maid, Cindry.

After dinner with the good doctor in which the three asked about Brook, Nami decided to take a bath. For this, Usopp and Chopper were put in charge of guarding her from intruders from the outside. In the middle of the bath however, Nami was attacked by an invisible thing. Luckily, Usopp came in the bathroom and drove it away. Later after the incident in the bathroom, Usopp and his companions found out that the paintings and taxidermy in the dining room were all Zombies. Fortunately, the three escaped through a secret door before the Zombies could catch them.

Beyond the secret door, Usopp and his companions found themselves in a room filled with Cindry's pictures. Through a newspaper article that Nami found, the three learned that Cindry was an actress that died ten years ago. Just as they were about to leave, the three stumbled across a treasure chest. Inside however, was a horrific Jack in a box that frightened the three out of the room.

As the three were running through the hallways of the mansion from more painting Zombies, a mysterious bodyguard decided to chase them. They discover Hogback's lab, while he's doing a new zombie named Mario. But the Bodyguard, who talk exactly like Brook, catch them. The Bodyguard is named Ryuuma and, while he can talk like Brook, he has the body of a Legendary Swordsman. He proves that stopping Usopp's team with an odd technique.

For the moment, Usopp, Chopper and Nami are unconscious inside Hogback's Lab. Eventually, they manage to escape and overhear Moria's plan. However, they are caught and make a run for it but eventually run into a bunch of zombie bodyguards. Nami is captured during this battle and soon Franky and Robin show up to help Chopper and Usopp to defeat the zombies. They eventually get back to the ship where they find Luffy, Zoro and Sanji sleeping. Usopp tells a lie to wake them up and the rest of the crew explains the situation to them. Luffy then tells the Straw Hats to prepare for the counterattack.



As the crew ventured back onto the Thriller Bark, Usopp eventually ended up facing Perona and her personal zombies because he was the only one able to resist her powers and, therefore, defeat her. Usopp defeated the majority of his opponents and the fight soon boiled down to Perona, apparently invincible, bombarding Usopp with attacks with him only able to flee. When her only remaining zombie Kumashi was about to land the killing blow, a terrified Usopp, knowing that if he lost to Perona, all hope of survival for himself and his friends would be lost, was about to give in to despair and cried out to Sogeking to save him. In that split second, Usopp donned Sogeking's mask and defeated Kumashi. Sogeking then proceeded to converse with Usopp as "they" ran from Perona, helping him to figure out how to defeat her. Sogeking disappeared at this point, but Usopp used the hints he gained to uncover Perona's weakness and defeat her.

After finishing the battle with Perona, Usopp then joined up with the rest of the crew to combat the rampaging giant Zombie, Oars. After recovering from the initial assault, Usopp scored several hits on the monster, but to little effect. After Oars incapacitated Zoro, he attempted to crush Nami and Usopp but they were saved by Luffy in his Nightmare Mode.

Luffy, so empowered, was able to nearly defeat Oars and knock Moria unconscious. Usopp aided Franky in fixing the Thriller Bark's freezing systems to lock Oars into place so Luffy could land the finishing blow. After Oars was defeated, Moria woke up and used his most power attack - Shadow Asgard, in an attempt to kill everyone once and for all. Usopp did not participate in the battle, but stood at the front lines to show his support for Luffy even as he was screaming his head off. Luffy, using his Gears, finally defeated Moria, freeing all the captured shadows. Immediately after, Bartholomew Kuma reported that Moria's failure to kill Luffy and that he was badly wounded. Kuma was ordered to kill everyone on Thriller Bark and evacuate the wounded Moria. However, instead of outright killing everyone as his orders said he offered everyone a deal - let him kill Luffy (who cannot fight back now) and he'll leave everyone alone. Usopp, along with the other Straw Hats and everyone else on the island told Kuma no way, forcing the Shichibukai to set off a bomb made out of deflected air that badly wounded everyone. However, before he could finish off Luffy, Zoro rose again and vowed he wouldn't let Kuma touch Luffy. Kuma accepted Zoro's offer to just kill Zoro, though Zoro survived. Kuma then left, praising Luffy for having such good friends.



Soon after, Usopp joined everyone in a celebratory party at Thriller Bark (save for Zoro, who was still recovering from his wounds) lead by Brook and his piano. Luffy finally revealed to Brook that he is friends with his old friend, Laboon. Brook stopped partying, cried, and revealed a Tone Dial which had the last song the Rumba Pirates ever performed together on it for Laboon. Brook stateed that since he has new friends in Luffy and the others, he will follow them around the world and get back to Laboon that way, where he will give the Dial to Laboon. Brook then asked if the Straw Hat crew 's invite was still good and Luffy assured him it is. Usopp joined the others in a shocked response.

Brook later asked him and Franky to build a memorial for the Rumbar Pirates to finally put their souls at peace. Usopp and Franky, working together are not only able to finish this memorial, but it was also beautifully done. They then help Brook bury his Rumba Pirate friends and hold a small ceremony, in which a recovered Zoro also laid to rest his broken sword.

Sabaody Archipelago and Destruction of the Straw Hat Crew


Leaving Thriller Bark, the crew met up with a mermaid named Keimi and a talking starfish called Pappug after Luffy attacked a Sea King in the belly. Keimi offered to sell them Takoyaki in gratitude, only to have Pappug tell her she should instead give it for free. Keimi requested that they save a friend of hers named "Hachin" upon learning he was kidnapped by the Macro Fishman Pirates, with the help of the Flying Fish Riders in Grove 44 of Sabaody Archipelago. To receive some Takoyaki, The Straw Hats agreed to save her friend. Unfortunately, Keimi didn't seem to understand the possibility it could be a trap, and they came under attack from the Flying Fish Riders. They then retreated under the orders of their boss, Duval, upon recognizing a certain person in their crew.

The Straw Hats then continued into the base. Reaching a floating town of sorts, they find a prison in which "Hachin" is prisoner. After several pathetic attempts to prove otherwise, "Hachin" was revealed to be really Hatchan, formerly of the Arlong Pirates, making the Straw Hats very reluctant to save him. Knowing that Hatchan was a past enemy of her new allies, Keimi, with Pappug decide to rescue him themselves and end up captured by Macro, the leader of the Fishman Pirates. The Straw Hats decide to rescue Keimi as well as Hatchan, after Nami assures them it's not a problem for her.

Reunited with Hatchan, Keimi was glad to have found such strong allies. Soon the leader of the Flying Fish Riders, Duval appeared, and revealed why he has a grudge against the Straw Hats: his face resembles Sanji's wanted poster. He tried to drown Sanji, who is rescued by Keimi. Duval then tries sinking the Thousand Sunny but Usopp and Franky activate its latest weapon, the "Roar Cannon", destroying much of the Flying Fish Rider's base. Sanji promptly rearranges Duval's face with a barrage of kicks, which ironically turned him into a good-looking narcissist and grateful towards Sanji.

The crew reach the Sabaody Archipelago, they witness an enslaved pirate being shot for trying to escape by the World Nobles. The crew met Shakuyaku, who was an old friend of Hatchan, for help in search for a mechanic called Rayleigh, although he is in the further parts of Sabaody. Shakky warned the crew of nine pirates with bounties exceeding 100,000,000. Keimi is later kidnapped to be enslaved and sold, prompting the Straw Hat Pirates to attempt to rescue her.

During the attack on the Auctioning House, Usopp was pushed off of a flying fish and landed on Saint Roswald's head, smashing the nobleman's face into the floor and effectively knocking him out. Usopp, along with the rest of the Straw Hats and the Kid and Heart pirates, assaulted the incoming marines to make their escape. The Straw Hats, with Silvers Rayleigh returned to Shakky's Rip Off Bar in Grove 13 to rest. There, Rayleigh reveals he was First Mate in Gold Roger's crew to the surprise of the Straw Hats. He also explained that Roger was not captured by the Marines, but rather gave himself up. This was due to an incurable illness he caught, and spent the last four years of his life fighting the disease, taking Crocus as the crew's doctor. In three years, Roger and his crew conquered the Grand Line, and he became known as the "Pirate King". While he enjoyed the wealth and fame he amassed, he knew what it all meant as he was to die anyway. So a year before his eventual death, he disbanded the Roger Pirates, with many members disappearing. On his last meeting with Rayleigh, he told him he wasn't going die, and gave himself up to the Marines. The Marines claimed to have captured Gold Roger, and his execution in Loguetown was to make an example of him, but Roger said his last words, and started the "Great Pirate Age". Usopp asked if Roger had intended to start the Great Pirate Age, and Rayleigh replied because Roger was dead, he couldn't answer that question and it was up to the people who were alive create their own era.

Rayleigh later congratulated the Straw Hats for making it as far as they did, Soon Robin asked if Rayleigh knew the True History. Rayleigh confirmed that he did, but told her that the Roger Pirates may have misinterpreted the translation of the Poneglyphs and that she should go out and see for herself. Still, he offered to tell if she still wanted to learn their conclusions. Robin declined. Usopp, not one to miss an opportunity to ask a question of one to had finished the Grand Line, asked where the ultimate pirate treasure: One Piece was located. Furious, Luffy berated Usopp for asking such a question, believing it wouldn't be fair on the several numbers of pirates that risked their lives to find it. Luffy also threatened to quit being a pirate there and then, if his crew persisted in asking Rayleigh the location of One Piece, or asking if the One Piece even existed, rather than go on a boring adventure, Usopp then apologized. After telling his tale, Rayleigh agreed to coat the Thousand Sunny free of charge, and gave the Straw Hats pieces of a Vivre Card to locate him as he would be moving the ship to a safe location due to the Admiral's imminent arrival on the archipelago. Unfortunately, it would take at least three days to coat the ship, so the Straw Hats had to survive the situation they had caused in the meantime.



As the Straw Hats said their goodbyes to Shakuyaku, Keimi, Pappug and Hatchan they went on to find a good hideout, Usopp noted Franky was honored to have met Rayleigh, and said he didn't know he was the "elder respecting" type. Soon afterward, a man who appeared to be Bartholomew Kuma confronted the Straw Hats. Usopp was crucial in defeating the fake Kuma when he accidentally hit his weak point. After the Pacifista was defeated, Sentoumaru and another Pacifista arrive to confront the Straw Hats much to his horror. Usopp and the others attempt to flee but things just went from bad to worse by the arrival of Admiral Kizaru who cripples Zoro. He and Brook try to fight the Admiral, but their attacks merely go through his body.

To Usopp's horror, the real Bartholomew Kuma arrives and Usopp watched in shock as Kuma made Zoro vanished. He found himself trapped between the Pacifista and Kuma, helpless to escape or fight. Kuma teleports the Pacifista away and one by one, sends each of the Straw Hats away until he himself dissapears along with them.

Straw Hat Separation Adventure: Greenstone


After he was sent flying by Bartholomew Kuma, Usopp landed several days later on one of the islands in the Boin Archipelago called Greenstone, the forest of thieves. Before being attacked by an oversized stag-beetle, he was saved by a local named Heracles. After a quick introduction, he was saved again by Heracles from a man-eating plant. He is now the fourth of the Straw Hats to be featured in a cover story and is seen fighting gluttony and "I'll-Die-If-I'm-On-My-Own Disease" while hungrily watching Heracles eat ramen. Thanks to that, Usopp has become really fat.

Usopp is still eating when a News Ku brings him a newspaper about the war. After hearing about Ace and his death, he runs frantically through Greenstone to find a way off the island, despite the constant warnings of Heracles. He fights a giant beetle and some man-eating plants and gets injured. Heracles gives him some medical help, he is seen standing next to the fallen Usopp. Heracles starts to explain that it is impossible to escape the island since the more dangerous species living there reside on the the outer rim, making it very difficult to reach the shores by anyone stranded from within, only to realize that Usopp has disappeared.

Showing a lack of fear, Usopp races to the ocean, only to be stopped by the appearance of a sea hippo. As it starts to feast on the sweet-smelling plants that lured it there, its weight causes the collossal "island" to close, revealing that the four islands of Boin Archipelago are not true islands but a "giant island-like flower floating on the ocean". As it closes, a fissure opened in the very center of the 'island' like a mouth. Heracles reveals the carnivorous nature of the Boin Archipelago by saying "The island has started eating its meal!".

Usopp falls with the sea hippo, but is saved by Heracles, asking why is he so active all of the sudden. He replies with tears in his eyes that he needs to see Luffy so he can comfort him in times like this, otherwise he could not honestly say he is a Straw Hat Pirate. Usopp shows an unusual lack of fear in his attempts to get off the island to rejoin Luffy, showing no hesitation in facing the giant beetle who was bigger than he was.



He later reads the article about Luffy infiltrating Marine HQ and says that he gets what Luffy is saying by praying at Marineford. Roused by the message, he runs off, deciding that he needs to lose weight, gain muscle, and get stronger. After Heracles catches up with him, Usopp reminisces about his time under Luffy's captaincy and admits that he just planned to stand around and watch while Luffy became Pirate King. However, as things are, he sees that Luffy is not invincible and for that reason, he decides to lend him his "super power" to become the Pirate King. He decides to grow stronger to help Luffy and asks Heracles to teach him everything he knows about fighting techniques, learning about the nature of the forest such as Pop Greens, so that he may grow strong and become a true Sniper King.

Straw Hat Reunion
After two years, Usopp escaped the Boin Archipelago and has returned to Sabaody Archipelago. At a bar, he easily ties up a group of fakers who are pretending to be the Straw Hat Pirates with his new Pop Green weapon. Usopp then meets and gets reacquainted with Nami. Usopp states that he graduated from the "weakling trio" and has become a warrior who is not afraid of anything, but immediately afterwards is surprised to see people posing as Luffy and himself, the Fake Sogeking and Fake Luffy. After Nami gives the Impostor Straw Hat Pirates a thunder cloud, Usopp and Nami leave the bar to avoid the impact. Once outside, Nami tells Usopp that she was on a sky island and acquired some new technology.

Filler Battles

 * Usopp vs. Skunk One
 * Usopp and Nami vs. Horn Eaters
 * Usopp, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Robin vs. Governor
 * Usopp and Sanji vs. Salco and Arbell

Anime and Manga Differences
In the anime, when the Pacifista was locking onto to Usopp for it's next attack, its bounty detector labeled him as Sogeking, even though he was not wearing his Sogeking mask. Though his nose or the Kabuto could've given him away.

Translation and Dub Issues
Usopp's name is probably based on "Isoppu", which is the Japanese pronunciation of Aesop, the ancient Greek fabulist. Considering that uso and usoppu mean "lie" and "liar" respectively in Japanese, the name Usopp can be taken as a portmanteau name between uso and Isopp, since Usopp is both a liar and a storyteller. The name is also a Japanese pun in that saying "Ore wa Usopp!" can mean either "I am Usopp!" or "I am a liar!" because Usopp's name is writen using Hiragana characters and not Kanji.

In regards to his alter-ego, Sogeking is a play on words as the Japanese word for sniper is "Sogeki". Another example of such a play on words is the Bliking.

In order to avoid references to death, Usopp's "Sure Kill" part in his attacks' names are removed in the 4Kids dub. Both Usopp and Yasopp were voiced by Jason Anthony Griffith.

Crossovers

 * Usopp appeared in a Shonen Jump special, where Enel attacks Tokyo and Odaiba.
 * Usopp and other characters also appeared in Cross Epoch.
 * Usopp has appeared in the games Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars for the DS. He also appeared in Battle Stadium D.O.N on the GameCube and PlayStation 2.

References in popular culture

 * In an episode of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, in Harumi's room, we can see action figures of Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Sogeking.

Merchandise
As a main character, Usopp has been the choice character in many forms of merchandise. He has been featured alongside Chopper in the series of models Portrait of Pirates. He has featured in trading figure sets such as One-Piece Motion Figure box and the One Piece Styling Figures (alongside Chopper).

He also featured in the 5 piece One Piece VS Figure Gashapon set. Another Gashapon set he featured in was the One Piece Full Color R Gashapon series. He featured in the One Piece Monkey Island Mascot Keychain series alongside Chopper.

He was issued alongside his father Yasopp in a One Piece Block Figures set featuring the Straw Hats and their past mentors/loved ones.

Songs

 * Usopp*Drop
 * Usopp no Hanamichi
 * Fly, Merry, Fly
 * Sogeking's (Hero) Song
 * Akuma no Mi (Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji)
 * Hi! Ho! Ready Go! (Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji)
 * Family (with other crew members)
 * We Are! (with other crew members)
 * Utae! Jingle Bell (with other crew members)
 * You Are the One (with other crew members)
 * Jungle Fever (with other crew members)
 * A Thousand Dreamers (with other crew members)
 * Sekaiichi no Otoko to Yobareru Tame Ni (with Sanji and Zoro)
 * Friends (with Chopper)

Trivia



 * According to Mr. 2, Usopp has the weirdest nose in the world.
 * It is possible that Usopp's long nose was inspired by the fairy tale "Pinocchio", as Pinocchio was a wooden puppet whose nose grew longer whenever he told a lie.
 * In addition to the Straw Hats' Jolly Roger, Usopp also has one of his own, like all the other members of the crew. The flag was first seen when Luffy asked him to design and paint a Jolly Roger for the crew. Though it was supposed to reflect everyone, Usopp designed his own Jolly Roger as their symbol, reflecting his delusions of captainship. It has Usopp's nose, bandanna, a star, and a slingshot for a cross-bone. Usopp's design was immediately rejected.
 * Usopp is described as being like the third son of a family.
 * Ironically, most of the tall tales he told Kaya have came true at some point during the Straw Hats' voyage. These include meeting a Giant Goldfish (as the crew was leaving Little Garden) and fighting against a giant mole (against Miss Merry Christmas during the climax in the Arabasta arc).
 * In the 4th Japanese Fan Poll, Usopp was voted the eleventh most popular character in One Piece.
 * Usopp's favourite food is pike from an autumn islands as well as other fish of the season. He hates mushrooms because when he was young he ate a poison mushroom.
 * Usopp can be seen in the corner of Luffy's wanted poster and Zoro's wanted poster. In Luffy's he is simply viewed from behind. In Zoro's his silhouette is faintly seen through the smoke in the background of the poster doing a Crocodile impersonation. However, in the anime, the latter was cut out of Zoro's poster most likely due to the fact that it's not easily visible and was thus overlooked.
 * Kappei Yamaguchi, Usopp's Japanese VA, came up with the notes to the Sogeking song. Oda-sensei provided the words and then asked him to develop the notes himself. Kappei also stated that the Sogeking song is the most requested song for him.
 * He is the one who introduced the rubberband to the Skypieans.
 * Usopp would be African in the real world.
 * Sonny Strait, the Funimation VA for Ussop, has stated several times during the Funimation DVD commentaries, that Kappei Yamaguchi is his favourite japanese voice actor, saying that whenever he listens to Kappei's performance in recording it's like he's saying "Top that american voice actor!".
 * "Hercules" and "Kabuto" are both types of beetles and incendently represented by both Heracles and Usopp respectatively (in Usopp's case it is his weapon).
 * Usopp's name is likely inspired by the great story writer Aesop, who's most famous book is titled "Aesop's fables." This would make sense in that Usopp is notorious for telling "fables" (lies or exaggerated tales) all the time.

Related Articles

 * Straw Hat Pirates
 * Yasopp
 * Banchina
 * Kaya
 * Usopp's Pirates
 * Heracles

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