@freedom:
I feel a little uneasy when I keep reading about the difficulty Luffy had with fighting Usopp. For starters, Luffy didn't want to fight him, so his spirit wasn't into the fight. Next point is that Usopp has been traveling w/ Luffy for almost the entire series, he knows Luffy in and out, and came quite prepared to fight him. I'm not saying Usopp is weak, I don't think any of the characters are weak, they all have their strengths in different areas.
About who Usopp will fight - I do agree that I expect Usopp to fight against someone he can fool, that is part of his character, and is part of the great comedy in OP. I don't expect Kaku to be easily fooled, so that's why I don't expect Usopp to fight him, but this is all speculation.
sigh shakes head Usopp gets ne respect, no respect. He also channels Rodney Dangerfield.
Seriously though, I just think the whole nose setup is foreshadowing of an usopp-kaku battle. And if not, I still think he could with that fight. That said, I think Usopp could probably take any given villain from the east blue (with the possible exception of Buggy, who's doing well on the grand line :wacko: ) and that's what I think of Usopp's fighting chances.
As for the trouble Luffy had with him, they were both totally intense. Just look at their faces. Neither of them them really wanted the battle, but they were into it man, I mean just look. And Usopp had Luffy coughing up blood. He could SO take Kaku