Tell No Tales

"Tell No Tales" is the third episode of the One Piece live-action series.

Short Summary
Luffy, Zoro, and Nami land in Syrup Village, where they meet Usopp, a local who introduced the group to Kaya, a sickly shipyard heiress under the care of trio of overbearing house staff. With the help of Koby, Vice Admiral Garp, a powerful marine, sets off in search of Luffy.

Long Summary
For the past seven years at Syrup Village, Usopp has rung the bell and ran down the streets every morning shouting that pirates are coming to the village. Initially creating panic among the villagers, the consistent failure of pirates to appear has led the villagers to be greatly annoyed at Usopp's antics.

Out at sea, Luffy shows Nami the Jolly Roger he made for their crew, which he calls the Straw Hat Crew, ignoring Nami and Zoro's repeated reminders that they are not a crew. Zoro then tells Nami that the hidden compartment under the floorboards inside the cabin, which he mistook for a toilet, is taking on seawater. Nami races to salvage her belongings and finds the Den Den Mushi earpiece she used to make contact with someone about the map is now broken. Luffy is interested in getting a real ship for his crew, and Nami charts the best destination they can reach before sinking is the Gecko Islands, which fortunately for them has a good shipyard.

On Garp's battleship, Koby and Helmeppo help work rigging. Koby notices a knot that Helmeppo, the senior cadet, tied poorly and re-ties it, which Helmeppo chastises him for. Garp then comes out and asks who tied the knot; thinking it would be criticized, Helmeppo gives the credit to Koby. However, Garp reveals that the work was actually good and invites Koby into his cabin. With Koby already being a knowledgeable sailor from his time with the Alvida Pirates, Garp decides to work on strategy with the young cadet by playing a game of go. Koby loses the first game, which Garp attributes to overly defensive play and focusing on not losing rather than winning. In subsequent matches, Koby starts playing more aggressively and starts winning. Garp tells him that this is the mindset they will need to vanquish pirates, as pirates operate based on action and so efforts to stop them must be aggressive rather than reactive. Helmeppo then enters the cabin and reveals that they recovered Luffy's Jolly Roger, and traced his crew to the Gecko Islands. Garp makes plans to head there, and says that Koby will now be senior cadet as he is more qualified and Helmeppo previously held the role due primarily to nepotism.

In Orange Town, Buggy has returned to his big top and is working on restoring his body when a mysterious nonhuman man approaches him. The man says that Arlong wishes to see Buggy, and Buggy brushes this off as he attempts to launch a surprise knife attack against the man. However, the man dodges it with ease and delivers a punch to Buggy's face which immediately knocks the pirate out. Buggy is brought to another location, where he is greeted by Arlong. As the most powerful pirate in the East Blue, Arlong demands tribute from Buggy. Having nothing, Buggy tries to convince Arlong to go after Luffy instead. Arlong has no idea who Luffy is, but Buggy reveals that the Straw Hat currently possesses a map to the Grand Line and offers to use his connections to help Arlong hunt him down, which Arlong accepts.

Upon arriving at Syrup Village on the Gecko Islands, Luffy, Zoro, and Nami immediately head to the shipyard. Zoro sees Buggy's wanted poster and curses not capturing the clown, but Luffy notes that Zoro is now an outlaw himself. Luffy fancies getting a big ship, while Zoro and Nami look for a smaller vessel that they can more easily steal. Luffy is shocked at the idea of stealing a ship, saying he needs to find one with a special connection, but has no answer as to how to pay for one. Luffy then sees a ship with a sheep's head on the bow and immediately takes interest in it. As he takes a look, Usopp emerges from it to talk to him about it. He tells the Straw Hats that the ship is not for sale, but it is owned by a rich friend of his who owns the whole shipyard; he offers to take them to said friend.

Usopp leads the Straw Hats to a giant mansion, and despite his repeated assurances that he is close to the occupant, his sneaking around the property and avoiding the workers nearby indicates otherwise. He is eventually spotted by caretakers Sham and Buchi and told to leave; however, the mansion owner and Usopp's friend Kaya then arrives with butler Klahadore at her side. Kaya happily greets Usopp and the Straw Hats, and although Klahadore strongly opposes their presence, Kaya invites them over for dinner and to celebrate her 18th birthday. Klahadore tells the crew that they must bathe and change clothes before partaking in the meal, however.

As the Straw Hats try out new outfits for the dinner, Luffy and Nami strike a deal. If Kaya agrees to give them the ship Luffy wants, they will sail on it; if not, they will steal a smaller ship like Nami and Zoro want. Zoro notes that Klahadore looks familiar to him but he cannot pinpoint why. Meanwhile, Usopp comes up to Kaya's room and gives her a birthday present: a rock he claims is a pearl, resulting in him telling a bombastic tall tale of his adventures at sea as a great pirate, something Kaya enjoys very much. Dinner is then served, and the group is joined by lawyer Merry. Luffy is given the opportunity to make his request for the ship, and to the horror of Klahadore, Zoro, and Nami, he openly tells Kaya that they are pirates and starts walking on the table toward her. Before Kaya can give a response, she starts violently coughing, causing Klahadore to intervene. Despite Kaya's protests, he tries to kick Usopp and the Straw Hats out, but she is eventually able to speak up and allow them to stay the night, which Klahadore is forced to acquiesce to.

That night, in the wine cellar, Merry confronts Klahadore over the latter's attempt to take control of the shipyard that was owned by Kaya's deceased parents and has now been passed down to her. After attempting to rebuff Merry, Klahadore then catches him off-guard by running around at a speed high enough to resemble teleportation. He then runs behind Merry and stabs him in the back using long, claw-like blades unsheathed from his glove fingers.

Meanwhile, Luffy and Zoro leave their quarters at the same time to look for food. They head down to the kitchen, where they run into Usopp. Usopp talks to them about Kaya, revealing that her parents died at sea. He then reveals his father is a pirate who set out to sea when he was young, and Luffy realizes that his father is Yasopp of the Red Hair Pirates. Meanwhile, Nami steps out of her room and starts taking valuable items around the hallway and placing them in her pillowcase. She hears a noise and attempts to head back into her room, but in her haste ends up entering Kaya's room instead. Kaya quickly deduces what she is up to, but says nothing about it, instead trying to make small talk with Nami. Kaya talks about becoming chronically ill following her parents' deaths and how Klahadore has sometimes been overbearing on her because of it. She and Nami steadily begin to form a bond, and before leaving, Nami tells Kaya not to let anyone dictate her life. Kaya lets Nami take her stolen valuables with her, but Nami immediately puts them back upon returning to the hall.

Zoro and Usopp head down to the wine cellar to get some alcohol, where they find Merry's unconscious body. Klahadore then steps out with Sham and Buchi, his claws on full display. Zoro finally realizes that Klahadore is the wanted pirate Kuro, captain of the Black Cat Pirates who was supposedly killed by Morgan. Kuro says that he was able to fake his death thanks to Morgan's arrogance, and proceeds to clash his claws against Zoro's swords. He then runs behind Zoro and as Zoro turns around to face him, Sham hits him over the head with a bottle, knocking him out instantly. A terrified Usopp is able to escape out the window, and Kuro, Sham, and Buchi proceed to dispose of Zoro and Merry by throwing their bodies into a well outside. Buchi wants to take Zoro's swords, but Sham forces him to throw them in the well to dispose of all the evidence. In regards to Usopp, Kuro is not worried about what he will tell others, as he knows they will not believe him.

Kuro's words prove to be true as Usopp rings the bell and attempts to alert the villagers about the Black Cat Pirates' presence, but they think he is doing his usual lying routine again and angrily chastise him. It is then shown that Usopp began doing this routine because of his belief that his father would be returning. He told this to his sick mother Banchina, who was touched and encouraged Usopp's belief before she died. Back in the present day, Usopp collapses in despair about nobody believing him. However, he is then approached by Koby, who says that he believes him.

Episode Notes

 * The live-action series changes the following:
 * The adventure on the Island of Rare Animals is skipped.
 * The Usopp Pirates, three children who assisted Usopp in the other media, do not make an appearance in the series.
 * Syrup Village now is a highly-developed town, whereas in the other media, it's a much smaller, quiet village.
 * It's now known for its shipyard, which was owned by Kaya's parents, who then left it to Kaya when they died.
 * Nami seems unaware of the properties of Reverse Mountain. In the other media, she had enough knowledge about it to explain the phenomenon to the rest of the crew.
 * Nami's glasses make an appearance a lot earlier than in the original.
 * In the original, Luffy designing their Jolly Roger does not happen until after he leaves Syrup Village aboard the Going Merry.
 * Luffy now names the Straw Hat Pirates, rather than having it be a name the Marines gives them.
 * It is revealed that Helmeppo is a senior cadet in the Marines. However, this rank does not exist in the other media.
 * Luffy finds the Going Merry and set his sight on it before the beginning of the main plot. In other media, the ship doesn't turn up until the conflict in Syrup Village is over.
 * Usopp now meets the crew while working on the Going Merry instead of when they arrive on shore.
 * Sham and Buchi now work as Kaya's maid and cook respectively.
 * In this adaptation, Sham is female.
 * Kuro insulting Yasopp, and Usopp punching him, is skipped.
 * This means Luffy now learns that Usopp is Yasopp's son from Usopp, instead of Kuro.
 * Yasopp's Epithet is now "The Great", while in other media he is known as "Chaser".
 * Kaya is said to celebrate her birthday at the time of Usopp and the Straw Hats' visit. Her age is the reason Kuro choose to execute his plan at this time.
 * Merry is a lawyer, rather than a butler serving alongside Kuro.
 * Kaya giving Kuro a new pair of glasses is skipped.
 * Merry is killed by Kuro instead of only being injured by him.
 * Jango, Kuro's first mate in the series, does not appear in person in the live-action series.
 * It's now unclear how Kuro managed to trick Morgan.
 * None of Kuro's lesser henchmen, other than Sham and Buchi, appear in the series.
 * Usopp now decides to stay by Kaya's side after she tells him to leave.
 * The live-action series adds the following:
 * A montage of Usopp "warning" the villagers.
 * Garp playing Go with Koby.
 * Usopp now works as a builder.
 * Buggy being visited by Kuroobi, then interrogated by Arlong.
 * Garp's Marines pursuing Luffy in Syrup Village, and Koby and Helmeppo being sent to the village.
 * Kaya inviting the Straw Hats for dinner, and the Straw Hats changing their clothes in the house.
 * Zoro now recognizes Kuro from his bounty poster.
 * Zoro also mentions Kuro appearing on Mirror Ball Island.
 * The Straw hats questioning Kaya and Usopp about the two's relationship.
 * Nami has a friendship with Kaya.
 * Kuro attacks Zoro, and ordering Sham and Buchi to get rid of his and Merry's bodies.
 * Banchina passing away in front of Usopp.

Trivia

 * The title of this episode is a reference to the old pirate saying "Dead men tell no tales", while also referencing Usopp's habit of lying.
 * During Usopp's flashback, a poster can be seen announcing the death of Victoria Cindry.
 * There is also a poster that reads "Gold Roger's Shipwright Caught [...] Executed".
 * Nami's outfit in this and the following episode is a reference to the one she wears in the Chapter 28 Color Spread.
 * Luffy and Zoro's outfits in this and the following episode are a reference to the ones they wear on the cover of Volume 11.
 * Numerous Sea Kings can be seen in the map's depiction of the Grand Line.
 * One of the Sea Kings seems to be one of the snakes that was worshiped by the Shandia tribe.
 * Alvida and Don Krieg's wanted posters can be seen on Syrup Village's bulletin board.
 * There's also a poster for the World Economy News Paper that reads "War Continues in Broc Coli Island".
 * Luffy getting drawn to the Going Merry and mistaking Usopp's voice as a sign that the ship can talk is a reference to the Klabautermann phenomena.
 * Many of Kaya's garden shrubs have been trimmed in the form of the animal hybrids from the Island of Rare Animals.
 * The one exception is a panda, which may be a reference to Pandaman.
 * When Usopp visits Kaya in her room, she appears to be reading a copy of the Little Mermaid by ‎Hans Christian Andersen.
 * Luffy's fancy dress outfit is a reference to one he wears on the cover of One Piece Red: Grand Characters.
 * Zoro and Usopp's fancy dress outfits are a reference to the ones they wear on the cover of Volume 6.
 * Nami's fancy dress outfit is a reference to one she wears on the cover of Chapter 32.
 * The giant penguin statues on the mansion's staircase are a reference to the cover of Chapter 17.
 * Merry's pocket watch has text on it that reads "Made in USA".
 * The wine cellar has barrels of Déesse in it.
 * There's also a bottle of Ithürzburger Stein from Micqueot.
 * One of the busts in Kaya's mansion resembles Whitebeard.
 * During the credits there's a depiction of a Seaboar near the Island of Rare Animals.

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