Usopp

Usopp is the snipef or the Straw Hat Pirates.

Statistics

 * Japanese Name: ウソップ / そげキング
 * Romanized Name: Usoppu
 * English Name: Usopp
 * Nicknames: Sogeking
 * Age: 17
 * Birthday: April 1
 * Height: 174 cm   (5' 8½")
 * Affiliations: Straw Hat Pirates
 * Japanese VA: Kappei Yamaguchi
 * English VA: Jason Anthony Griffith
 * First Appearence: Manga Chapter #23, Anime Episode #8
 * Last Appearence: Manga Chapter #430; Anime Episode #281
 * Rivals: None
 * Confirmed Relatives: Yasopp (father); a mother that died when he was young
 * Dream: To become a brave warrior of the sea like his father.
 * Bounty: None as of now.

Personality
Usopp is a liar and likes to play pranks on his crew members or just goof off with Luffy and Chopper. He also likes to tell tall tales with Chopper (or Kaya when he started with it) as thankful listeners. He sometimes sees a role model in Zoro who never seems afraid but always proud. Usopp lacks a bit of self esteem and is often taken advantage of by Nami to make her weapons or repair and improve them. Usopp is also very artistic, and drew the Straw Hat Pirates Jolly Roger.

Usopp is easily scared and always tries to make up excuses so he does not have to go on an island, which are simply ignored by his teammates. Despite his timid nature, he realizes when his friends need him and will do anything to help them, even if it means to stand up to a disproportionately more powerful enemy. In battle he normally tries to trick his enemy by telling tales or deceiving the enemy. His ability to bear loads and loads of damage is one of his best traits, in addition to his cunning and intelligence, saving the Straw Hats on many occasions. Also he proved to be very brave during the Enies Lobby arc; he stood up to Lucci after he had seemingly beaten Luffy, proving that he was not afraid to die for his crewmates.

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 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.

Abilities and Powers
Usopp has outstanding marksmanship abilities with his slingshot and is probably on his way of becoming one of the best snipers in the One Piece world. His slingshot being his prime form of combat, and he has several different types of ammunition. He is also not averse to using anything around him as a weapon. He uses eggs to blind opponents and rocks in the slingshot when out of ammunition. He is also able to absorb unbearable amounts of damage (he once got struck by a four ton, metal baseball bat to the head only to continue fighting minutes later) and sometimes uses his hammer for close combat. (At least twice he rapidly hit someone with it, along with an 'Usopp Rubberband')

Usopp's greatest ability is his penchant to outrun just about anybody and anything. He utilizes hit and run tactics, provoking an enemy while his teammates attack or waiting for a sufficient opportunity himself. This most likely will continue until he runs out of ammunition or he tires out.

His ammunition, called "stars", has great range, from rotten eggs and hot sauce to shurikens and powerful explosives. Usopp has other attacks unrelated to projectiles, though they are mainly jokes. These include the 5 Ton Hammer (which is actually only about 2 kilograms) and Usopp Noise, where he plugs his ears and scratches a chalkboard. He has also recently started using Skypiean 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 Roguetown, 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 lack of room.

Sogeking has recently introduced a new weapon - "Kabuto" - a slingshot connected to a long staff. The exact properties of the "kabuto" are unknown, but he used it to launch a bird shaped flame at the World Government's flag, in a symbolic gesture of defiance after Luffy asked him to. It seems as if "Kabuto" uses several rubberbands, making the shots somewhat faster and stronger. It is also very likely that it's powered by dials; Usopp has used them often since Skypiea, and their presence is suggested by the weapon's extremely high power and range. The weapon was named "Kabuto" probably because of the shaple of the head of the staff resembles the trunk of a kabuto beetle.

Past Story
Usopp is the son of Yasopp, a pirate who is part of Red-Haired Shanks' crew. He lies to relieve himself of the pain of having his father not coming back in time to save his mother from dying from an illness. 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. Many of the villagers make a show of chasing him and throwing things at him for running through the town, but they are used to his antics. Some villagers even use his daily run through town as a sort of alarm clock. He also makes up stories about adventures to entertain Kaya, who is sick and has to stay in bed all day.

Usopp calls himself a pirate and takes in three younger kids, Ninjin (meaning carrot in Japanese and renamed as such in the dub), Tamanegi (meaning onion in Japanese, renamed as such in the dub), and Piiman (meaning pepper in Japanese and renamed as such in the dub), as his "crew"; he dubs the groups "Usopp's Pirates", or in the American version by 4kids, the "Veggie Pirates".

Present Story
When the Black Cat pirates came to town, Usopp, along with Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro and Nami, fight the pirates and their leader, Captain Kuro, who has been spending three years posing as a caretaker for Kaya so he can inherit her fortune when they kill her.

After Luffy defeats Kuro and the Black Cat Pirates, Usopp disbands "Usopp's Pirates" and leaves them to become the local liars. He was going 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 creates 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. Usopp also tried to claim the position of "Captain" several times, much to Luffy's objection.

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 Broggy, 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. He still wishes to visit Elbaf, the island the giants came from.

After the battle with Aokiji, Usopp watched his friends easily beaten which scares him and makes him question his belonging in the crew. He was afraid that the crew is encountering stronger adversaries and since he was the weakest crewmember he started to lose confidence. A series of conflicts, particularly Luffy's choice to get a new ship, results in Usopp leaving the crew. After a battle with Luffy, where Usopp displayed an uncharacteristically vicious fighting style, he gained the now terminally-damaged Going Merry. After becoming friends with Franky, who had previously robbed him, Usopp was detained by CP9 and the Going Merry was supposidely destroyed.

After being freed from CP9 captivity by Sanji during the Sea train chase, Usopp announced that he has no business with the Straw Hat Pirates and disappears. Yet Usopp came back a minute later in a disguise. 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 pun 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 themesong for this identity.

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".

All of the Straw Hats (including Galley-La and Franky Family) realize who he really is except for Luffy and Chopper. Later on, when Luffy is nearly knocked unconscious by Lucci, Usopp takes off his mask and calls on for Luffy to keep on fighting, which encourages him enough to place a final blow. The Going Merry returned to carry everyone away from Enies Lobby, only to break apart when they reached safety, so the crew gave the ship a Viking funeral by burning it, showing that Usopp finally accepted that the ship was beyond saving.

As soon as the crew 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. As of yet, Usopp has yet to make amends with Luffy.

Recent Chapters
Chapter 430: 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 Strawhat 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.

Trivia

 * 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 Ms. Merry Christmas during the climax in the Alabasta arc).

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