Chapter 138: Between Companions - Resurrection.
"Captain, look—"
A large sailing ship with a pirate flag sailed towards the back of Water 7, and the lookout noticed something unusual.
"A small sailboat without a flag?"
"It looks quite old," the captain of the 'Demon Frog' pirate crew with a bounty of 45 million Beli put down his telescope and stroked his whiskers. "Let's leave them alone..."
"Wait, what's that?!"
On the charred shore lay an unconscious man with a long nose. Of course, that's not the point; the point is the things around him!
"Medical kit, food, sea charts, shells, and—Berry?!"
Ignoring the other items, the stacks of cash instantly caught the attention of the ship! A casual glance estimated at least tens of millions! The Demon Frog captain, with his bulging eyes, immediately ordered.
"Get closer, today we're going to strike it rich—"
Thud,A tall white armored figure descended from the sky onto the deck, raised its ornate helmet, and scanned the area with a cold, murderous voice.
"Leave here, or—"
"Kill him!"
Bang bang bang—Dense bullets bounced off the armor, sparking. 'White Knight - Modified' sighed.
"Isn't it good to be alive?"
Die!
The battle began, the high-speed white armor rampaged across the deck, slaughtering without a match. Even the Demon Frog captain, who relied on the Zoan-type 'Poison Dart Frog Fruit' to enter the Grand Line, soon lay in a pool of blood.
The deadly poison that kills instantly was useless against this 'Armored Knight', and even with the head severed, the powerful recovery ability of the Zoan type was helpless.
The battle ended quickly. Facing the blood-stained deck, the 'White Knight' first looked around, then leaped high!
"Slash!"
A huge white crescent-shaped sword energy crashed down, instantly splitting the entire pirate ship in half! The fierce sword energy even forced the sea to roll away on both sides.
Then the surging waves squeezed in the middle, quickly swallowing the ship and turning it into underwater debris.
After finishing all this, the white knight with wings on his back flew to a nearby hill, silently sat cross-legged, and once again turned into an immobile statue.
---Water 7.
"Feeling really heavy-hearted~~"
On the rooftop of a hotel, Luffy sat cross-legged on the eaves.
"That's what it means to be a captain!"
Zoro, holding the hilt of his sword, pushed open the door to the rooftop and walked over.
"Don't be confused, Luffy."
"If even you are indecisive... who can we trust?"
"Besides, you have more important things to do now." Zoro patted Luffy's shoulder.
"Robin is missing."
"Roman... seems to feel a bit guilty. He thinks he was too oppressive, which led Usopp to..."
---"I should have given Usopp the shells we got from Skypiea to enhance his combat power earlier."
In the room, Roman looked at the few shells on the table and sighed. "But with Usopp's current body, using shells that are too powerful would harm him..."
"In any case, it's my fault as the 'chief strategist' for not adjusting properly—"
"No!"
Luffy, who strode in and pushed the door open, interrupted Roman.
"If anyone is to blame, it should be me as the captain!"
"Whether it's Crocodile or Enel, it was my insistence to fight." Luffy looked around, seeing Nami and Chopper with red eyes, obviously having just cried, Sanji with a pile of cigarette butts in the ashtray beside him, and Roman holding a page deep in thought...
"If my actions have made everyone feel troubled, I apologize."
Facing Luffy, who took off his straw hat and bowed his head, everyone in the room stood up.
"You are the captain..."
"Luffy, don't do this—"
"But,"
Putting on his straw hat, Luffy looked seriously at everyone.
"I don't regret my decision! Maybe in the future, I'll provoke more and stronger enemies. I just want to know, will you—"
"Still support me?"
"Pfft,"
Nami was the first to laugh,"Of course."
"Without us, you wouldn't even be able to sail the ship out of the dock!"
"That's right,"
Roman also nodded seriously,"If no one gives you advice, I can imagine you eating all the 'prison food' of your enemies."
"On the first day at sea, we ate all the food,"
Sanji lit a cigarette and gave a disdainful look at a certain fridge destroyer.
"And then spent the rest of the days starving, what a Pirate King~~~"
"Heh,"
Zoro just snorted, but the slight curl of his lips undoubtedly showed approval.
"Luffy,"
Chopper, wiping away tears, looked at the man who had forcibly taken him to sea.
"But what about Usopp and Robin? I'm so worried about them~~~"
"Of course—"
Luffy turned his head, looking seriously at Roman.
"Roman, you come up with a solution."
???
Am I now a wish-granting machine?!
"I..."
Seeing the expectant and trusting eyes in the room, Roman could only shrug.
"Alright, alright."
"I've sent the 'White Knight' to guard Usopp..." As soon as Roman finished speaking, a collective sigh of relief filled the room, including Luffy!
It was clear they hadn't really let go of Usopp. Otherwise, why would they leave behind those medical supplies, sea charts, and Berry..."The core issue this time is that Usopp feels he's dragging us down."
"Can't you think of a way to help him, Roman?" Sanji tapped his heel, the two 'Jet Dials' on it already mastered, allowing for short-distance aerial flight.
"I have been considering ways, but Usopp's physical condition..."
Although Usopp's physical condition had greatly improved with consistent training since boarding the ship,
Unlike Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, who had been trained by masters since childhood, Usopp was just an ordinary person before meeting the Straw Hat crew. He had never trained properly, let alone received guidance from a master.
It's not easy to catch up on over ten years of training — expecting to catch up with others' ten years of hard work in a short time is unrealistic, right?
"Of course, Usopp has great potential, and if he keeps at it, he can stand on his own. The key is:"
"Is he still willing to fight — or rather, fight with us!"
That's the most crucial part. If Usopp chooses to return to East Blue and get married, Roman wouldn't mention anything about enhancing combat power.
"There's no need to discuss that."
Luffy pressed his straw hat, "No matter what Usopp chooses, I will respect his decision. — Because we are lifelong companions!"
"Alright, then the second issue: the Going Merry."
???
In an instant, everyone in the room was a mix of shock and disbelief.
"Actually, the Going Merry can be saved—"
Swish, swish,
Bang!!
Two figures rushed in, grabbing Roman by the collar from both sides and pinning him against the wall.
"You bastard!! Why didn't you say you had a solution earlier??"
"Calm down,"
Facing the furious Luffy and Zoro, Roman waved his hand.
"Even though I said I have a solution, it's not for now, and it's not a hundred percent certain. —You know I won't guarantee anything until it's successful."
"So, what is your solution to save the Merry?"
Facing the excited Luffy, Roman shook the paper in his hand: it depicted a large mouth like an iron barrel.
"That iron-jawed 'Munch-Munch ability'?"
"That's right, Wapol's 'Munch-Munch Fruit' can create a 'Munch-Munch Factory' that can combine two people into one."
As Luffy and Zoro let go, Roman's collar automatically straightened.
"Similarly, I can use the 'Munch-Munch Factory' to merge the Going Merry with a new ship, thereby extending the Merry's lifespan."
"Wow, that's amazing!! Roman~~"
Chopper jumped up excitedly.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go! Once we save the Merry, Usopp will—"
"It's not that simple,"
The now calm Zoro crossed his arms,"There must be some limitations, right? Otherwise, Roman would have said it earlier."
"That's right, there are two difficulties."
Roman held up two fingers, as Devil Fruits are not omnipotent, especially his 'bootleg' ability.
"First, we need an exceptionally good ship to merge. Otherwise, with the Merry's condition, an ordinary ship wouldn't be able to share its damage."
This problem can be solved with the legendary material Treasure Tree Adam that Franky is going to buy.
"Second, the Munch-Munch Fruit has its limits. Swallowing an entire ship is beyond my ability—even beyond the original user Wapol's ability!"
"So Roman, you must have a solution to this problem, right?"
Facing Luffy's question, Roman nodded.
"This page is an extension of my 'body', so if I can enlarge the page, I can proportionally increase the Munch-Munch Fruit's swallowing capacity."
Those two golden pillars were swallowed in a 'chewed up' form, but we can't use that method on the Merry. —Not to mention whether 'chewing up' would kill the Merry's 'ship spirit', we can't just spit out a bunch of parts and slowly assemble them, right?
"And to do that, I need to master a skill."
"Seimei Kikan!"
"Where can you learn this skill?"
Facing Luffy's serious expression, Roman pointed to the city center, —towards the headquarters of the Galley-La Company.
"CP9!"
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