บท 163: Chapter 163: After Safety - Never Give Up.
The night had passed,
And daylight had returned.
"Ahhh, where's Usopp?"
Riding on Chopper's back, Luffy asked around.
"Where did he go!?"
During the final battle, Usopp got so excited that he threw off his mask to cheer for Luffy, but now that things had calmed down...
'Hey, Luffy's calling you.'
Sanji nudged the 'Sogeking' who had put his mask back on, but Sogeking... or rather, Usopp shook his head like a windmill.
'No... no way... I said those things...'
"Ahem, Usopp has already taken a small boat back."
Hearing this, Luffy and Chopper, who were stacking themselves up, were shocked.
"Why!"
"After all, this is his ship~~"
"—How did you two even have the same Usopp's characteristics?" Zoro, standing with his arms crossed, couldn't help but complain.
"There's really no one here."
Nami, after circling the cabin, came out rubbing her forehead.
"I clearly heard a voice..."
"That's right, I also heard a voice saying it came to pick us up—"
"Roman, wasn't it your White Knight steering the ship at that time?"
Facing the others' questions, Roman rolled his eyes from the helm.
"I was so entangled by a group of captains that I didn't even have a chance to help Luffy, let alone steer the ship."
"I told you, it was Merry~~" Luffy said to everyone without hesitation, but such a thing...
"Thank you all,"
The intellectual beauty Nico Robin placed her hands in front of her and bowed to everyone on the deck.
"You saved me."
"Hehehe, we're friends! Saying such things is too formal~~~"
Faced with the Straw Hat crew, filled with laughter and warm friendship, Franky, leaning against the ship's rail, adjusted his sunglasses, his eyes full of envy behind the black lenses.
"Hey? There's a ship coming ahead?"
"Could it be the Marines!"
Having just experienced a fierce battle, the Straw Hat crew became alert again. The rapidly approaching ship did indeed resemble a Marine warship!—Because they were produced by the same company.
"It's a ship from the Galley-La Company."
Franky's words put everyone at ease, and the giant ship, now slowing down, had Mayor Iceburg and his shipwrights on board, all wrapped in bandages.
"Oh oh oh, it's the Straw Hat crew!"
"You're still alive~~~ That's great~~~"
"You crossed the tsunami, broke into Enies Lobby, and brought your friend back... truly impressive!!"
Amidst the cheers, the Going Merry slowly approached the giant repair ship of the Galley-La Company. Roman observed the mayor's expression: not a trace of anxiety or worry.
That meant:
"Mr. Iceburg, did another group of people break into Enies Lobby after we left?"
Hearing this, Franky's face changed!
During the battle, he did hear the Marines mention a group of people breaking into Enies Lobby. There was no time to think about it then, but now, upon reflection, it was likely his subordinates: the Franky Family.
"Ah, it's nothing."
The bandaged Mayor Iceburg waved his hand.
"Because the World Government forcibly took the sea train, we from Water 7 sent 'craftsmen' to catch up and provide technical support to those amateurs."
As expected of someone who became a mayor, his ability to lie with a straight face is top-notch.
"Although there was a 'small conflict,' I managed to contact the Marines in time, so the misunderstanding has been resolved."
He then winked at Franky with a reassuring look.
"Waaah~~ Iceburg, you jerk!!"
Franky, with tears streaming down his face, wiped his eyes.
"And those guys, they're all jerks~~~ I'm not crying! I'm not crying at all!"
"By the way, Straw Hat crew."
Iceburg looked at everyone on the deck.
"Come aboard my ship."
??
"Your ship can no longer sail."
"How is that possible! Merry carried us through the great tsunami, broke into Enies Lobby! And saved us, we—"
"But it's reached its limit."
Iceburg looked at Roman at the helm.
"Young man, can you remove your 'ability'?"
...
"Yes."
As the paper covering the Golden Merry receded like a tide back to Roman, it revealed:
"No way,"
Nami, covering her mouth;
"Sigh,"
Sanji, silently smoking;
"Merry!"
Usopp... Sogeking and Chopper, crying.
And:
Luffy, Zoro, and Robin, silently standing.
Only Roman at the helm silently clenched his fist. The reason he hurriedly drank the 'Cell Will Awakening Potion' was for this moment, wasn't it?
"This is a miracle,"
Iceburg looked at the sailboat in front of him, barely held together by a mess of iron plates, with arm-length cracks everywhere. It wouldn't be surprising if it fell apart the next second.
"In all my years as a shipwright, I've never seen a ship as tenacious as this."
"It—fulfilled its mission!"
But it had also reached its limit.
As the large ship from the Galley-La Company lowered the platform, everyone stepped onto it and turned to face the battered Golden Merry.
'I'm sorry...'
A voice echoed in the ears of the Straw Hat crew.
'I really wanted to continue adventuring with you all, but I...'
"We're the ones who should apologize!!!"
Luffy cried out to the Going Merry, tears streaming down his face.
"It was my idea to go to Sky Island! I always pushed you to sail beyond your limits, even tearing the sails..."
"Zoro and Sanji are idiots, always causing damage..."
"Roman's paper couldn't absorb the impact..."
"Even though Usopp always fixed you, his skills were terrible..."
"We're the ones who should apologize!!"
'But I was very happy,'
Even though they encountered a group of adventurers who often put 'themselves' in danger, they genuinely treated the Going Merry as a 'home' and a companion.
'Thank you all for being so good to me—'
"Uwuuwu!!"
"Merry, waaa~~~"
"Hey, hey, hey, why are you all crying?"
Seeing everyone start to cry, Roman had to interrupt their 'farewell'.
"Did you all forget why we stormed Enies Lobby? One of our goals was to solve the problem with the Going Merry, right?"
???
"Uwuuwu, Roman, do you have a solution?" X3
Facing the three Straw Hat idiots clinging to his leg, Roman rubbed his temples.
It's been less than a day, right? I just told you the solution yesterday, did you think I was lying to you?—Although there were some minor hiccups along the way, the result was still perfect...
"Merry, did you forget my 'dream'?"
Roman spread his arms.
"My dream is to see my friends' dreams come true!—And that includes you, Merry."
!!
"So, you'll have to bear with it for now."
As Roman extended his right hand towards the damaged Going Merry, a large iron-barrel-like mouth appeared in his palm.
"Seimei Kikan—"
As Roman activated his ability, the large mouth in his palm transformed from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, growing larger with the wind! It stretched forward, becoming a massive sea king-like mouth.
"Munch-Munch Factory!"
Poof!
The large mouth swallowed the Going Merry in one gulp, then quickly shrank back, turning back into a picture in Roman's palm.
"Ahhh, you ate Merry!"
"Uwuuwu, give us back Merry!!"
"Roman is a bad guy!"
...
"Stop it, did you forget that Wapol can perfectly fuse two people?"
"As long as we have a sturdy enough ship to fuse with Merry, the Going Merry can continue to live."
Roman had also considered any potential problems that might arise, ensuring that Merry could accompany the Straw Hat crew to the end of the world...
"Uwuuwu, Roman is so reliable~~~"
"Waaa, Roman, you're my hero~~~"
"Uwuuwu, I wrongly accused Roman~~~"
!
"Enough! Stop wiping your snot on me!!"
"So what, Roman, aren't you made of paper?—Give us some napkins~~"
"Get lost!!"
Seriously...
Franky, standing nearby with his arms crossed, calmly wiped away the tears streaming from under his sunglasses.
A bunch of touching idiots!
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