The Merry would continue forward. Since it wasn't named, it would go by the Merry until it got named.
Luffy was stabilized and all that stuff—now, it was just a matter of fucking... time.
Kairo's Observation Haki perked up.
He sensed something coming toward them at full speed.
His frown furrowed a bit.
Wait.
He knew who this was.
He could sense it—his Observation Haki had picked up on the fact that something was being repelled toward them and would be there any second.
"The hell is that?" Usopp jumped back when he felt it.
"Something's coming," Sanji said, being the third person to feel that presence.
Though before any member of the crew could even properly register what that was—
Big K appeared.
Amid the rubble of Gecko Moria's fleet, the giant Kuma could be seen.
He stood there tall, at around 22 feet and 7 inches, an inch shorter than Gecko Moria.
At his side, he carried a Bible. He had those cat-like pads on his palms, and he looked calm.
He wore a pretty hat.
The best father stood there, his eyes devoid of any emotion.
"AH—HIM! THAT GUY IS BAD NEWS!" Usopp, bless his poor soul, was terrified. Holy shit, this guy could majorly fuck him up.
Kuma was one of the Seven Warlords... granted, they had defeated two Warlords, one Admiral, and a god so far...
So maybe a Warlord wasn't that scary... maybe.
"You've got to be kidding me," Franky said, a bit shocked. The fuck you mean we beat one just for another to pop out?
"They just keep on coming," Sanji muttered under his breath. This shit was getting annoying at this point.
Kuma simply stared at them.
Then at the rubble.
It seemed like he had come a bit late.
There was no sign of life in this place at all.
Hell, even Moria's big ass couldn't be seen.
Kairo, however, was unaware of the giant. He had not watched One Piece that deeply, so he didn't know about him.
And while yes, Kairo should have been aware of the giant due to the intel he had—
He didn't.
While he had access to that info, he didn't look it up.
It was kinda like how people in the modern age have access to the internet, where all the world's knowledge is, yet most of them don't even know their own history.
Kairo was just like them.
He simply focused on other stuff—like his ninja training, dangerous Devil Fruits, and people to note. Shit like that.
Kuma looked at them after a bit.
"Hee... creepy," Nami said, feeling a shudder run down her spine. Kuma's eyes were giving her chills.
Didn't change the fact that she was currently gathering clouds above him, about to hit him with the meanest combo known to man.
"Hand over Straw Hat Luffy."
Kairo's brow furrowed.
Wait—hold up.
The fuck was this strategy?
Luffy, while yes famous, wasn't the main threat here.
Trying to take him wouldn't make sense right now.
Kairo racked his brain.
Then it clicked.
'I baited Imu a bit ago...'
Yeah.
It made sense.
He had said he would find the next Nika, and the coward was probably trying to gauge his reaction in order to deduce if Luffy was Nika—or just some idiot Kairo was using.
Throughout all this, Kairo's face remained cold.
The blood did a great job hiding the fact that he wasn't willing—he just looked like someone weighing the pros and cons.
Yet before he could act—
"Over my dead body."
Nami stood in front of Luffy protectively.
Usopp nodded aggressively.
"YEAH! OVER HER DEAD BODY!"
"...You're not helping," Nami snapped.
Sanji stepped forward.
"Oi. You're not touching our captain."
Kuma raised his hand.
That strange paw-shaped pad gleamed under the moonlight.
The paw began to glow with immense power.
Usopp started shaking.
Holy shit.
This thing could kill them.
Fuck.
"Paw—"
Kuma lowered his hand.
Kairo was already there.
"Let's not get violent, Kuma. I do not wish to send you to your father."
Kairo's words lacked any hint of malice. He said it in the same tone one would use to comment on the weather—not like someone who had just told another man that if he went through with this, he would die.
And he wasn't lying.
The reason Kuma had even lowered his weapon was because he had received a very vivid image in his mind—
His head being separated from his body before the attack could even reach the ship.
Kairo was way faster than light by now.
He may not have realized it yet, but due to the One Piece world scaling above the Naruto world—
He had long since surpassed Tobirama in terms of strength.
He was closer to the Hokage at the beginning of his journey than he was now.
As he stood now—
As someone who could defeat a Yonko and push practically anyone not named Imu or Joyboy to a high-diff fight—
He was far closer to the peak of this world's power than his favorite character ever was to him.
A/N Since the two souls are aware of each other, and are not activaly working together, chance are high, they become one, if that happen, he will lose his ability to eat two devil fruit.