Syrup Village Arc

The Captain Kuro arc is the third story arc in the East Blue Saga of the anime and manga One Piece. Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, and Nami arrive at Syrup Village looking for a ship, where they meet Usopp, the local village liar. After they learn of Usopp's past and the reason for his lying, they must help him to defeat Captain Kuro to save his friend, Kaya. It is followed by the Baratie arc.

Chapters: 22-41 (Volume 3-5)

Episodes: 9-18 (English Dub: 9-18)

The Man in the Treasure Chest
The first part of this arc sees the group land on a mysterious island inhabited by strange creatures. After passing the "Test" of the forest, the Straw Hat Pirates (now comprising Luffy, Zoro, and Nami) meet Gaimon, a pirate stuck inside a treasure chest that was marooned by his crew. The four become friends and Luffy agrees to help Gaimon get down the treasure he has been guarding on top of the rock. When Luffy refuses to throw down the treasure chests, Gaimon realizes that the chests on the rock are the same as the island’s other treasure chests which are empty. Seeing Gaimon’s disappointment, Luffy offers to take him off the island. Gaimon decides to remain on the island and protect the island’s rare animals which he has become his friends. With that, The Straw Hats bid Gaimon goodbye and continue on.

The Liar and the Deceiver
Next, the Straw Hat Pirates arrive in Syrup Village where we meet Usopp. Usopp entertains notions of grandeur by commanding the Usopp Pirates (called the Veggie Pirates in the English dub). This group is composed of Usopp and three loyal village children, Tamanegi, Ninjin, and Piiman. The Usopp Pirates cause no real trouble, but do frequently annoy the villagers, most often by giving false warnings of attacking pirates.

Usopp's wealthy friend Kaya is bedridden, but is well-provided for by her two butlers. However, one butler hides a dangerous secret: he is actually the evil Captain Kuro, leader of the Black Cat Pirates. Though Kuro was believed to have been executed years ago, in reality, an imposter was switched to take his place. The real Kuro has since been undercover, working to acquire the villagers’ respect and Kaya's assets so he can have peaceful retirement.

The Straw Hat Pirates make a stop at Syrup Village in search of a ship. Usopp is overjoyed to have real pirates arrive, and greets them with a cleverly-conceived act designed to fool the pirates into believing he is the commander of his own huge pirate fleet. The ruse fails, and Luffy and friends proceed into Syrup Village unhindered. Soon the Straw Hats make friends with Usopp when Luffy discovers he is the son of Yasopp, one of the pirates in Shank's crew.

The Plans of the Black Cat
Kuro's long awaited time to act arrives, but his identity and plan was accidentally overheard by Luffy and Usopp. His ship and crew arrive at Syrup Village and meet no resistance, as the villagers choose to not believe in Usopp's warnings and Kaya thinks that Ussop is trying to kidnap her. Ussop then lies to his crew in order to protect them from harm. The Straw Hat Pirates are informed of the situation however, and lend aid on the side of Usopp and Kaya.

Although miscalculations in the Black Cat pirates landing area caused for Ussop and Nami to initially fight the pirates alone, Zoro and Luffy arrive and fight Kuro's crew, then the Meowban brothers, Buchi and Sham. Disarmed of all but one sword, Zoro must fight an uphill battle against the team-work of Buichi and Sham and eventually Nami kicks Zoro's swords back to him, allowing him to defeat the Meowban brothers, but Buchi survives and is hypnotized by Django which injures Zoro faster. Eventually Kaya intervenes, having been informed about Kuro's identity through her butler Merry, and threatens to kill herself unless if Kuro doesn't retreat. However, he stops her attempt and badly injures Ussop only to be attacked by Ussop's crew who had figured out his earlier lie.

While the three take Kaya into the forest, Kuro sends his henchman Django after them, while Zoro finishes off Buchi and heads out with Ussop as his guide on his back to rescue Kaya and the boys (since Ussop can't move due to his injures and Zoro needs him to navigate through the forest), while Luffy deals with Kuro and his lightning-fast movements and his ten deadly finger-blades. Eventually Django catches up with his target and easily overpowers the boys and Kaya forces herself to sign the will to protect Ussop's crew from harm so all of her estate will belong to Kuro, and that he can kill her and "legally" acquire her wealth. Zoro and Ussop catch up and proving himself less useless than he may seem, Usopp aids Zoro in defeating Django and rescuing Kaya and the boys with his sniper skills.

Meanwhile Kuro unleashes his "Shakushi" that attacks everything in sight including his own men and reveals that part of his original plan was to kill his crew including Django so his true identity could never be exposed. Angered by Kuro's lack of respect to his crew, and that Kuro had abandoned the ideal of what it means to be a pirate, the final victory is won by Luffy, however, who defeats him with his devastating Gum Gum Bell attack and forces the Black Cat pirates to leave the village with Kuro's body.

From Play Pirate to Real Pirate
Usopp decides that news of a real pirate attack might be too upsetting for the villagers and would affect their peace of mind and orders everyone to keep it a secret, which Kaya and his crew agree with. Kaya, realizing that confinement in her home and grievance towards her parents deaths had been the cause of her illness, is grateful to the Straw Hat Pirates, and gives them her ship, the Going Merry (or the Merry Go in the English dub). Usopp is grateful to them as well, and now has the confidence to disband his pirate crew and strike out on his own to be a real pirate. But his luck proves to be even better than he knows when Luffy invites him to join his crew. With a new friend and crewmember, as well as a new ship, the Straw Hat Pirates leave Syrup Village to continue their voyage to the Grand Line.

Anime Changes

 * In the manga Luffy, Zoro and Nami go to Gaimon's Island first before arriving in Syrup Village. In the anime, this happens after the Kuro encounter so Usopp is with the Straw Hats at that point and the Going Merry in their possession.
 * When Jango threw the ring at Nami, it doesn't hit the back of Luffy's head on its return like in the manga. Rather, Luffy caught it in his teeth and bit it to pieces.