"The real Straw Hat Pirates have appeared!" A Marine Commodore shouted excitedly into a Den Den Mushi, "Everyone, head to the shore by the 42nd grove immediately! Their ship is there!"
"Huh?!"
The person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi was completely stunned by the Marine's shout.
The real Straw Hat Pirates?
So... that group of impostors was just a smoke bomb released by the Straw Hat Pirates?
Damn it, they really are an incredibly cunning bunch of pirates!
"Stop saying 'huh' and get your men moving now!"
"Right!"
Click
After hanging up, the Marine Commodore called out to his subordinates and charged toward the distant streets.
However, just as they rushed out into the street, they were blocked by several enormous insects.
"Boom!!"
"Damn it, why are there insects blocking the path here?!" The Marine Commodore stared in disbelief.
Could this person be a Devil Fruit Ability User?
"Quick, use cannons to blast them!"
"Right!"
The Marines immediately brought out cannons to attack the giant insects upon receiving the order, but to their despair... the cannonballs had absolutely no effect on these massive creatures!
"It's over..."
Watching the insects wreak havoc among his men, the Marine Commodore felt hopeless.
They... couldn't defeat these things.
"Hmph, I can't let you disturb Usopp's departure."
Heracles then turned to look toward the sea, a smile forming on his lips. "Usopp, go and pursue the future you desire to your heart's content!"
"Your master is proud of you!"
His prized disciple Usopp would surely make a name for himself on these seas!
Ha ha ha ha!
"You damn bastard, you're the one who released those insects, aren't you!" A Marine aiming a flintlock at Heracles shouted, "Make them stop now, or else..."
"Or else what?"
"Wha...?!"
The Marine's pupils contracted to pinpoints as he saw the man appear beside him in an instant and grab his flintlock.
"You..."
Crack The hand wrapped in Haki easily crushed the flintlock. Heracles then said calmly, "Just take a nice nap."
Thump!
With a light flick of his finger, he knocked the Marine unconscious.
After dealing with this, Heracles turned his gaze back toward the sea.
"Go, Usopp!"
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
On another street, the Marines there were also experiencing some inexplicable events.
"Hey hey hey, why is it suddenly raining?!" A Marine carrying an ammunition box stared dumbfounded at the sky. "And it's only raining in this specific area..."
Does that make any sense, damn it!
"Damn it, all our ammunition has been soaked by the rain and is completely unusable!"
"What should we do? How are we supposed to fight the Straw Hat Pirates now?"
Given their capabilities, fighting the Straw Hat Pirates with swords would be no different from suicide.
The accompanying Commodore's expression also turned grim. He then picked up the Den Den Mushi to contact the Rear Admiral at the Shambles branch.
"Buro buro buro~"
"Buro buro buro~"
"Buro buro buro~"
Click
"Rear Admiral, sir!" the Commodore reported. "Our ammunition has been mysteriously soaked by rainwater. We currently have no means to pursue the Straw Hat crew at sea."
The Rear Admiral fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then said, "Understood. For now, assist others in capturing the pirates on the island."
"But what about the Straw Hat Pirates?"
"Warships are already heading this way," the Rear Admiral replied. "They'll reach the target area soon enough."
"Yes, sir!"
Click After hanging up, the Rear Admiral rubbed his temples wearily. "Truly troubled times indeed."
"Sir, are you planning to personally capture the Straw Hat crew?"
"Capture them? How?"
The Rear Admiral countered, "Do you really think someone of my strength could capture the Straw Hat Boy who caused chaos at Marine Headquarters two years ago?"
That brat could take down a Giant Race Vice Admiral with a single punch two years ago!
Though reluctant to admit it, he knew he stood no chance against the Straw Hat Boy either.
The adjutant fell silent. Were they just going to do nothing?
As if reading his thoughts, the Rear Admiral stated, "It's not that we're doing nothing."
"If the warships can destroy the Straw Hat Pirates' ship, we'll be able to wait for powerful reinforcements."
Only then could they completely eliminate this pirate crew here.
Without further addressing his contemplative adjutant, he gripped his weapon and headed toward the coast.
"Eh? Sir, didn't you just say..."
"True enough, but as a Marine Rear Admiral, there are duties I must fulfill regardless," he declared.
Whether he could win or not was secondary - he had to be there!
"Yes, sir!"
The adjutant nodded and signaled to the troops behind him. "Everyone, follow immediately!"
"Right!"
Ignoring his subordinates behind him, the Rear Admiral charged forward swiftly.
"We're finally back here!"
Chopper's face beamed with excitement as he gazed at the massive Thousand Sunny before them.
"Is this bubble coating the Coating?" Luffy asked curiously.
"Exactly! This is the coating Uncle Rayleigh personally applied to the Thousand Sunny!" Merry explained cheerfully.
She had worked alongside Uncle Rayleigh here for several days back then - though mainly he handled the skilled work while she assisted with moving materials.
"Oh! You've finally arrived!"
Hearing the commotion, Franky came to the ship's side and looked down at his crewmates. "Long time no see!"
As he spoke, Franky took in everyone's appearances, feeling a surge of emotion.
Everyone has changed so much... "So cool!!"
Watching Franky's dramatically transformed body, Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper's eyes instantly lit up with excitement.
Without hesitation, the three of them rushed toward the ship.
"Hey Franky, your body's amazing!"
"You've become a robot!"
"Hey hey hey, can you shoot lasers? Can you transform? Can you combine with anything?!"
"Exactly!"
Striking a SUPER pose, Franky laughed heartily: "I am now a SUPER robot!"
"WHOA!!!"
Hearing Franky's words, the three of them became utterly ecstatic.
"Franky, your hands have gotten so big. Can you still do shipwright work?" Usopp asked curiously.
Ship repair required precision work, and with such large hands...
Before Usopp could finish his thought, Franky raised his hand and extended a small mechanical hand identical to a human palm size.
"Eh?!!"
"EH!!"
Usopp stared in shock at Franky's small hand: "Another hand came out?!"
"So cool!" x3
"Don't underestimate a shipwright, you bastard," Franky said with a smirk. "I'm still super skilled!"
"WHOA!!"
Perona, who had been observing the crew's reactions from afar, fell into complete silence.
So... what's going on now?
Noticing Perona's confusion, Nami turned and patted her shoulder: "You'll get used to it."
Then Nami followed her crewmates toward the ship.
After a moment of silence, Perona wordlessly trailed behind the group onto the Thousand Sunny.
"You haven't changed at all, Franky," Nico Robin remarked.
"Of course I've changed, stupid!"
Franky declared: "Now I'm fully loaded with a man's romance!"
"Witness this unprecedented transformation... I've surpassed human wisdom!"
"WHOA!!"
Watching Franky strike his signature pose again, Luffy and the other two cheered excitedly.
Now that's a man's romance!!
Meiser chuckled at the scene before telling Franky: "You're really getting further from being human, aren't you?"
Two years ago, Franky was still relatively normal - at least nobody could tell he was a Cyborg when he wasn't transformed.
But now... he's practically turned himself into a full robot!
"Oh?"
"Are you calling me a pervert?" Franky gave Meiser a thumbs up. "You really know how to compliment people!"
"Ahahahaha!"
"You recognized Meiser?" Nami asked in surprise.
Even she had needed some observation to identify Meiser, yet Franky recognized him immediately?
"Of course," Franky said, thumbs up. "I'm the SUPER robot Franky! How could I not recognize my own crewmate?"
Even though everyone had changed significantly over two years, he could still identify his comrades through subtle details.
Hearing Franky's words, Meiser smiled: "As expected of a SUPER robot."
"Damn right!"
"Ahahahaha!"
Flattered by Meiser's praise, Franky immediately broke into a wide grin.
"Speaking of which... why haven't those Marines chased after us?" Usopp asked curiously while looking toward the island. "We saw a huge group of Marines earlier."
When they were flying through the sky using Merry's ability earlier, they had spotted a large Marine force gathering on the ground.
Judging by their direction, they were clearly heading toward their pirate ship.
Yet so much time had passed... why hadn't they arrived here?
"Isn't it a good thing they didn't come?" Nami rolled her eyes.
Did they really need a huge Marine force chasing them to make things exciting enough?
Better not... she definitely didn't want that.
Just then, Merry spoke up: "They were blocked by someone."
"Blocked by someone?"
Everyone looked curiously at Merry, who seemed to be concentrating hard on listening to something. "Blocked by who?"
"I heard some voices," Merry explained. "The Marines said it suddenly started raining from the sky for no reason."
"Then some others were blocked by giant insects."
"That's probably why they haven't reached us yet."
Hearing Merry's words, the others were momentarily stunned. Insects and rain?
What kind of explanation was that?
But Usopp and Nami seemed to have realized something, their faces immediately lighting up with excitement.
"It's them!"
"It's our teachers!"
At their exclamation, the crew turned their attention to the two.
"What do you mean?" Franky asked curiously.
"I spent these two years training on a Sky Island," Nami explained. "They're the ones who sent me here this time."
After speaking, Nami looked up toward the sky and silently whispered her thanks.
"So that's how it is..."
Franky nodded, then turned to Usopp. "What about you?"
"I was able to come here thanks to Teacher Heracles too," Usopp said. "He used giant insects to transport me from the Boin Islands to Sabaody Archipelago."
"So... he's the one who used giant insects to block the Marines, right?"
"Yes."
After answering, Usopp paused briefly, then looked toward the island with deep gratitude.
Thank you, Teacher Heracles!!
Usopp felt genuine heartfelt gratitude toward Heracles.
"Merry, how were you able to hear sounds from the island?" Chopper asked curiously, looking at Merry.
At this distance, hearing some noises would be impressive enough, but Merry could actually hear people talking?
How did she manage that?
"Of course by relying on the power of wind," Merry replied.
"Wind?"
Recalling how Merry had used wind to lift them earlier, Nico Robin showed a surprised expression. "You can use wind to eavesdrop on distant information?!"
"Something like that."
Merry nodded. "If I want to, I can use wind's power to hear distant sounds."
"At the same time... I can also use wind's power to send some sounds over there."
After developing her ability for two years, she could easily accomplish such things.
Then Merry looked at Usopp and Nami. "Would you like me to deliver your messages to them?"
Usopp fell silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No need. Men don't require many words when parting."
It's enough to quietly keep this gratitude in our hearts.
Though Merry didn't fully understand, she nodded and turned her gaze to Nami.
Seeing this, Nami shook her head and said, "I've already said everything I needed to say to them."
Saying anything more would feel overly sentimental, so it's better to leave it at that.
Seeing both of them shared this sentiment, Merry didn't press further.
"Heh, I never expected Merry to awaken wind powers. That's truly surprising," Sanji chuckled.
This was the first time he'd seen someone gain supernatural abilities without eating a Devil Fruit.
"Is it because Merry is a Ship Spirit?" Usopp asked curiously.
"Probably," Merry replied.
"Probably?"
"Because Meiser said I might be a Nature Spirit," Merry explained.
Upon hearing this, several question marks seemed to pop up above Usopp's head.
What did Nature Spirit mean?
When everyone turned their attention to him, Meiser explained, "Merry might not be an ordinary Ship Spirit."
He then recounted how Merry had resisted the Devil Fruit's influence before.
"There was such a thing?" Usopp stared at Merry in astonishment.
Resisting a Devil Fruit?
If that's the case... could Merry really be the legendary Nature Spirit?
"Yes," Meiser nodded. "That's why I suspect Merry might be a Nature Spirit."
"But without concrete evidence, we can't be certain."
Hearing Meiser's words, everyone fell into thoughtful silence.
Merry was even more remarkable than they had imagined.
"Who cares!" Luffy declared. "All we need to know is that Merry is amazing, right?"
Whether she's a Nature Spirit or a Ship Spirit... does it really matter?
The others paused at his words, then exchanged smiles and agreed, "Well said."
"Hahahaha!"
Just then, Merry suddenly exclaimed, "Huh?!"
"I think I can still hear some Okama chasing after those Marines."
Sanji:
Please, for the love of god, don't bring that up.
As if recalling something traumatic, tears immediately welled up in Sanji's eyes.
Watching Sanji lying on the ground weeping, Nami covered her face with her hand.
This guy is just too pitiful...