Even though Marcus and Usopp didn't start off on the right foot, as long as neither one brought up Yasopp, they seemed to get along. Marcus had no issue with Usopp and actually liked him, so after their first encounter he didn't antagonize the boy anymore. Which worked out well since over the next couple weeks Usopp basically hung around them every day and even trained with them… Well Marcus forced the boy to train since he was there.
Usopp himself was content just to practice shooting his sling shot every day, but after two days of that Marcus stepped in and said, "You know in a real fight your opponents won't let you sit back and sniper them. They will charge you and fight you up close where that slingshot won't help much."
"I'll just run away and keep shooting them."
"Okay, let's see how well that works." Marcus said with a smile.
Usopp started to sweat as he asked, "What do you mean?"
Marcus drew his training sword as he said, "Let's fight and see how you handle an enemy that wants to get close."
"Uhhhh, I wouldn't want to hurt you because of how powerful my slingshot is, so let's not fight." Usopp said as he backed away from Marcus.
Marcus shook his head as he took on a predatory grin before he said, "You better defend yourself because I won't hold back."
"Wait, I can't fight! I need to go use the bathroom first!" Usopp said as he took off running.
Marcus used his almost mastered soru to appear in front of Usopp path with his sword in an attacking stance as he said, "I'll give you the chance to defend yourself and even attack first. But if you try to run again, I won't show you any mercy."
Usopp gulped before he pulled out his slingshot and loaded a wooden pellet into it. He stepped back a bit before he said, "This might not be metal, but it will still hurt if it hits you."
"You can use the metal ones if you want, they probably won't hurt as much as my grandpa's fist."
"Your grandpa sounds scary." Usopp said while his knees shook and he pulled back on his slingshot strap.
"He's a monster of a man and I hope I can be even stronger than him one day."
Even though Usopp was practically shaking in fear, he aimed his slingshot at Marcus and let his first shot fly. The pellet flew towards Marcus's head and with a quick downward slash he blocked it. Usopp's mouth dropped open and his eyes almost popped out of his head as Marcus said, "You shouldn't drop your guard in a fight."
Usopp recovered from his shock and quickly tried to reload with shaky hands as he said, "That shouldn't be possible."
"You're right, it was just luck." Marcus said with a smirk as he stepped forward one and reset his stance.
Usopp was able to load another pellet as he stepped back before he took aim and shot again. Marcus easily used his sword to smack the pellet away which made Usopp's eyes widened as he asked, "How is that even possible?!?"
"It's just luck, don't think about it too much." Marcus said as he stepped forward two times and reset his stance.
Usopp quickly reloaded his slingshot and took aim as he said, "If you have luck, so do I! Take this!"
Another pellet flew at Marcus which he knocked aside before he said, "It looks like you have bad luck."
Usopp quickly reloaded and shot again which Marcus deflected away again as he moved towards Usopp and said, "If this is all you have, you'll lose."
Usopp grabbed something else from his pouch and loaded it as he said, "Fine, take this! Usopp special pepper ball!"
Usopp released his sling but a moment later the ball inside his sling exploded in front of his face before it could properly shoot. A black cloud of dust covered Usopp and a moment later he started to sneeze and cough like crazy. Marcus watched him with a raised eyebrow for a few moments before he closed in and slammed his sword onto the boy's head. Usopp crumpled to the ground a moment later with a large bruise forming on his head.
Marcus ended up beating Usopp four more times that day before the boy agreed to join in the training with the others. He was given a training harnesses a few days later and worked out with Zoe, Sanji and the others in the less advanced group. He still complained a little about the training, but he at least did it.
During that time Marcus found out that Usopp's mom already passed away almost a year ago. As for who took care of him, it was a couple of neighbors who were good friends with his mom. He actually lived at home alone now, but the neighbors would make him food and help out with other things since he was still young. As for adopting him or putting him in an orphanage? Usopp refused to live with anyone else and the island didn't have an orphanage, so he lived in the house he used to share with his mom.
As for Kaya and her family, Marcus ran into them a couple times in town. But at that point Usopp didn't really know Kaya or her family so they never ended up properly meeting.
A month quickly passed with everyone hanging out and trying on the island before they got bored and wanted another challenge. So Marcus made the decision to resupply the ship and head back out to catch more pirates and explore East Blue again. A few days before they planned to leave, Marcus approached Usopp after training and asked, "We are gonna leave in a few days, do you wanna come along?"
Usopp was collapsed on the ground breathing heavily after being pushed to his limits and while he was recovering, Luffy excitedly said, "Come with us Usopp! We can fight pirates and go on adventures, it's the best!"
Usopp's eyes widened slightly at that and once he caught his breath he said, "I feel my I'll-die-if-I-leave-the-island disease acting up."
"Oh, if that's the case you can stay here then."
"Really?" Usopp and Luffy both asked in surprise.
Marcus shrugged as he asked, "If Usopp doesn't want to leave, who are we to make him? Besides, it's not like he has a dream to be a brave warrior of the sea or anything, right?"
Usopp's eyes widened again as he said, "Yes I do!"
"You do?"
Usopp nodded his head seriously as he said, "Of course, I wanna be like my dad."
Marcus held himself back from commenting on Usopp's father and instead said, "If that's the case, you need to join us when we leave or you'll never leave this island."
Usopp shook his head as he said, "But I'm too young, I can't leave the island yet…"
"We're the same age and I've already left my home island to go explore and have adventures." Marcus said before he pointed at Luffy and added, "He is the same age as us and also went out to sea."
"Both of you are way stronger than I am!"
Marcus raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Didn't you say you beat a giant in solo combat?"
"I. I. I did beat a giant… But it was a small one." Usopp said as he patted his chest with one hand.
"Then there is nothing to worry about, you'll be fine fighting normal pirate scum." Marcus said as he smirked.
Usopp argued against leaving the island for the next few days but on the day they planned to leave he showed up with his slingshot and a backpack filled with stuff as they were preparing to set sail. Marcus, who was on the dock as he collected a crate of supplies, noticed Usopp first and asked, "Come to see us off? Or did you decide to join us?"
"Of course I came to join you as the captain!" Usopp said proudly.
"If that's the case, you can stay here. The only open spot on the crew is a marksman." Marcus said as he turned around and headed towards the ship with the crate in his hands.
Usopp hesitated for a few moments before he said, "Okay, I'll join as the marksman!"
Marcus kept walking as he said over his shoulder, "If that's the case, grab one of those crates and follow me."
Usopp struggled to lift one of the crates but was able to do it and even carried it up onto the ship where he was forced to set it down. Marcus glanced at Usopp who was on the deck sweating and breathing hard as he said, "Even with a month of training you are still so weak… You definitely need to work out more."
Marcus picked up Usopp and carried him down to the dock where he placed him next to the other crates and said, "Grab another one."
"It's too much, I don't think I am cut out for this." Usopp said as he looked at all the crates on the dock.
Sanji, who was still skinny compared to the other boys, walked down from the ship and easily lifted a crate before he headed back to the ship. Marcus glanced down at Usopp as he pointed at Sanji and said, "If little zombie boy can do it and not complain, so can you."
Usopp reluctantly stood up and grabbed another box which he was barely able to carry and slowly made his way back onto the ship. Usopp managed to carry six boxes onto the ship before everything was loaded and while he didn't take them to their final destination. It was still an impressive feat for the boy who was weaker than everyone else.
Once everything was properly stored away, Marcus took over the helm and started directing everyone to prepare to set sail. Usopp who was lost being on a ship for the first time ended up next to Marcus who glanced at him and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Ummmm, I was just… Making sure you were doing a proper job." Usopp said with a hint of confidence in his voice.
Marcus pulled out his spare spyglass from his pocket and handed it to Usopp as he said, "Take this and go up to the crows nest."
As Usopp took the spyglass into his hands Marcus added, "No matter what you do. Do not let Luffy use it."
Usopp glanced down at the spyglass for a moment before he looked towards Luffy who was helping release the ship from the dock as he untied the lines before he asked, "What's wrong with letting Luffy use it?"
"He's broken ten of them."
"Ten?!?" Usopp asked with widened eyes.
"He broke the ones we had on the ship after we first set sail, so when they were replaced. We banned him from even touching them. But whenever we raid a pirate ship he always finds one or two of them and will break them within minutes to hours of getting one." Marcus said as he shook his head.
Usopp glanced at the spyglass in his hands before he quickly hid it in his pockets. Marcus nodded in satisfaction before he pointed to the crows nest and said, "Head up to your post and keep a lookout. Someone will trade out with you around dinner time."
Usopp glanced up to the crows nest at the top of the main mast and gulped. It was at least sixty feet in the air and the only way up was the netting that hung down from the mast on each side. Usopp started to sweat and his knees shook as he said, "My, I'll-die-if-I-climb-that disease is acting up, you should have someone else go up there."
"I can try and throw you up there if you want… Or have Luffy try and pull you up once he is in the crows nest."
Usopp's eyes widened as he said, "Throw me up there?"
Marcus shrugged as he said, "I might be able to do it. If not I'll at least aim for the net so you don't land back on the deck and worst case you will just fly out and land in the water."
Usopp quickly sprinted to the netting as he said, "It's okay, I think my disease went away! I'll just climb it myself!"
Marcus smirked as he watched Usopp struggle to climb up the net as the ship finally freed itself from the dock and slowly started to pull away. He turned the helm to navigate out of the harbor and into the open sea for the next adventure and to hunt some more pirates.