On the other side of the City of Seven Waters, a Marine warship floated on the sea, where Garp and his crew were currently resupplying.
"Garp, you damn bastard!!" Sengoku roared furiously. "Both you and Aokiji went to the City of Seven Waters—why didn't you capture the Straw Hat Pirates?!"
Sengoku was absolutely livid. What were these two playing at? Were they messing with him?
Garp calmly wiped the spit from his face after being yelled at through the Den Den Mushi and said, "Sengoku, you know me. I just didn't manage to catch them, that's all—"
"Bullshit!" Sengoku cut him off. "Do you think I don't know you?!"
"I just didn't catch them, what's the problem?" Garp retorted shamelessly. "That's my grandson we're talking about!"
Sengoku:
"You bastard, if you don't deal with them today, you can kiss your vacation days goodbye this year!"
Click—
Staring at the disconnected Den Den Mushi, Garp made a displeased face. So what if he was the Fleet Admiral? No need to be so arrogant.
"Damn it, how dare he yell at me," Garp grumbled. "I'll swipe all his rice crackers when I get back."
Bogard: ...
As if you haven't taken enough already?
"What are you all staring at? Hurry up with the resupply, then we'll go catch them!"
"Aye!"
Grumbling, Garp walked off to grab a bite to eat, only to spot Kuzan lounging on a deck chair, instantly reigniting his irritation.
"Hey, Kuzan, you brat, why the hell are you here?" Garp snapped. "Because of you, I got chewed out by Sengoku!"
Kuzan: ...
Was it really his fault the old man got scolded? Wasn't it because Garp himself couldn't bring himself to lay a hand on his grandson?
But seeing the dangerous glint in Garp's eyes, Kuzan wisely chose not to argue.
"I asked you a question!"
"Ah~"
"Going back alone was too much trouble. Figured I'd hitch a ride on the warship."
Garp snorted but didn't press the issue further. After all, Kuzan hadn't made a move against his grandson while in the City of Seven Waters.
He owed him that much.
"Vice Admiral Garp, we've received new intel—the Straw Hat Pirates have headed to the coastal area of the City of Seven Waters. Reports say their new ship is there."
"So they're planning to set sail, huh." Garp waved his hand. "Speed up the resupply. We'll go capture them!"
"Aye, sir!"
Is that really the case...? Kuzan pulled his eye mask down, sighing inwardly. If he really wanted to act, he could've gone after them right away.
Ah well. The old man's family matters were his own headache.
Yawn~
Getting sleepy again...
Meanwhile, at the ship graveyard, the Straw Hat Pirates were ecstatically running around their brand-new ship, clearly overjoyed with it.
"This is the ship Franky made for us?!" Luffy laughed heartily. "I love it!!"
"No wonder that guy Franky said he'd give us a huge surprise..." Nami remarked. "This is way beyond expectations."
"Meiser, bring out the furniture."
Meiser nodded, took out the household items from the scroll, and sent out his clones to handle the work while he himself walked over to Merry.
"Merry, how about it? Can you still use your abilities?"
Hearing Meiser's words, the others curiously gathered around.
"Let me try."
Merry closed her eyes and placed her small hand on the ship's hull, as if sensing something.
The others didn't disturb her and quietly waited for her to speak.
A moment later, Merry opened her eyes and exclaimed joyfully, "It works!"
"Really?!"
"Mhm!" Merry nodded. "I can feel this ship's presence and attach my abilities to it."
"In other words, as long as I want, I can completely control this ship."
Now, Merry could operate this ship just as she had with the Going Merry before.
"If that's the case, doesn't that mean Merry could seize control of other pirate ships?!" Meiser said. If so, this little one would be incredibly powerful—she could sneak onto enemy ships unnoticed and manipulate them to cause trouble!
"Well..." Merry hesitated. "I'm not sure if that would work."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because this ship didn't resist me."
"Didn't resist you?"
Zoro looked at Merry in confusion, not immediately understanding her meaning.
"Yes, it didn't resist me."
Seeing everyone's puzzled expressions, Merry explained, "Every ship has its own consciousness. Only we Ship Spirits or... some very special people can sense it."
Her hesitation was because she still didn't know much about this world, so she couldn't say for certain.
"Pirate ships have consciousness too?"
Luffy was surprised—he thought only the Going Merry was special.
"Otherwise, how do you think ships can sense when their crew cares for them?" Merry countered.
With this explanation, everyone immediately understood Merry's point.
If a ship had no consciousness, it wouldn't be able to feel the crew's affection, let alone give birth to a Ship Spirit.
"So, this ship's consciousness didn't resist you..." Meiser stroked his chin. "Is it because it's a new ship?"
Merry thought for a moment and nodded. "Probably."
At the very least, she hadn't felt any resistance from this ship. On the contrary, its faint, budding consciousness seemed to like her.
As for whether other ships would accept her control, she couldn't say.
"Maybe a pirate ship's consciousness inherits the crew's personality," Robin speculated.
"Personality..."
The others glanced at Merry, then at Chopper, and felt... that there might be some truth to it.
"Hey, Uncle Iceberg, where's Franky?" Luffy ran to the ship's side and called down to Iceberg. "We wanted to thank him in person!"
"He seems like he doesn't want to see you again."
Luffy froze, clearly not expecting Iceberg to say that.
"Straw Hat Boy, are you trying to invite Franky to join your crew as a shipwright?"
"Yeah!" Luffy grinned. "I've already decided he's going to be my nakama!"
Upon hearing Luffy's admission, Iceberg broke into a happy smile - the kind an elder brother wears when his younger sibling finally finds their place. "Franky has already figured out your intentions."
"Is he unwilling?"
"Not exactly." Iceberg shook his head. "It's precisely because he lacks the courage to refuse you face-to-face that he chose this approach."
"Truth is, he really wants to sail with you all. He's just bound himself to this island, fulfilling what he calls his obligations..."
Recalling Franky's actions over the years, Iceberg sighed quietly. He understood this troublesome kid all too well - everything he did was just to protect this place.
"Straw Hat Boy!"
"If you want to take him away, you'll have to use any means necessary!"
"Do everything in your power to take him with you - that's the only way to free him!"
"The Franky Family said the same thing," said Meiser, appearing beside Luffy as he looked down at Iceberg. "Are you sure this is the right approach?"
"Yes, if that's what you want, this is the only way!"
"Any means necessary, huh..." Meiser grinned. "Luffy, leave Franky to me."
"Alright!"