After the name "Thousand Sunny" fully appeared, Merry opened her eyes, brimming with joy.
"Hey, Merry, what's going on here?" Luffy pointed at the summoning scroll and asked, "Why does it have the name 'Thousand Sunny' written on it?"
"Yeah, what does this mean?"
"It's the Summoning Technique," Merry replied with a smile.
She had just had a delightful conversation with the Thousand Sunny, which was thrilled to become her summonable object.
Seeing their confused expressions, Meiser explained, "You remember how Merry summoned me back earlier, right?"
"Of course!"
"Now Merry has the ability to summon our ship!" Meiser emphasized each word. "No matter where we are, as long as Merry wishes it, she can summon the pirate ship!"
Meiser was now completely certain that Merry's technique was based on the summoning scroll.
Although it had significant limitations, if used properly, it could still yield excellent results.
At the very least, the Straw Hat Pirates wouldn't have to worry about their ship anymore—they could simply summon it after battles.
"That's amazing?!"
Usopp and the other two stared at Merry in astonishment, never expecting the little one to possess such an incredible ability.
The implications of being able to summon the pirate ship at will were all too clear to them.
"Merry, how did you do it?"
"Because it agreed to my request and signed its name with my help," Merry happily pointed at the Thousand Sunny and grinned. "So now I can summon it using the Summoning Technique."
After saying this, Merry wanted Meiser to carry her to the sea so she could demonstrate the technique.
But Meiser didn't agree.
"Little one, are you planning to throw Luffy and the others into the ocean?" Meiser said helplessly. "There'll be plenty of chances to show off later."
For one thing, Zoro had finally gotten some time to take a nap—it'd be best not to wake him up unnecessarily.
"Alright, I'll show you all later then," Merry said, a bit disappointed.
Though she really wanted to try it now, she couldn't actually toss Luffy and the others into the sea.
"Huh?"
"It's snowing!" Usopp, feeling the snowflakes, looked up excitedly at the sky. "Hey, Luffy, let's build a snowman!"
"Alright!"
"Let's go get the tools!"
"Merry wants to join too!" Merry raised her little hand enthusiastically.
She carefully felt the snowflakes falling from the sky—this was her first time experiencing snow up close.
"Come on, Merry, I'll make you a huge snow shovel!" Usopp gave a thumbs-up.
"Idiot, Merry's so small—she needs a tiny one!"
"Oh, right."
As the snowflakes drifted down, Chopper's eyes filled with nostalgia. "I wonder what Dr. Kureha is doing now?"
"Missing home?"
Leaning nearby, Meiser smiled at Chopper.
"A little, yeah."
Chopper smiled sheepishly, feeling a bit embarrassed as a man to say such things—it made him seem like he hadn't grown up yet.
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Missing home is completely normal," Meiser said with a melancholic expression as he gazed into the distance. "In fact, as you grow older, the longing for home often deepens."
"Do you miss your home too, Meiser?" Chopper asked curiously. "Where is your hometown?"
"Me...?"
"I can never go back..."
Meiser's words made Chopper freeze for a moment. He looked up at Meiser and cautiously asked, "Meiser, are you... like Robin? Did you also..."
As he spoke, tears welled up in Chopper's eyes. He knew all too well the pain of losing loved ones.
It was an indescribable agony—a pain that would stay with you for the rest of your life.
Instinctively, Chopper reached out with his little hoof and grabbed Meiser's sleeve. "Meiser, don't be sad! You still have me and everyone else. We're all your friends!"
Meiser was taken aback. Seeing Chopper like this, he suddenly felt a warmth in his heart.
This innocent little guy was... really, incredibly adorable.
"Alright, I understand," Meiser said, ruffling Chopper's head.
"Mhm!"
Just then, Luffy and the others came running out of the ship's cabin with tools in hand, their faces brimming with excitement.
"Hey, Chopper! Meiser! Let's play in the snow!"
"Coming!"
Meiser chuckled and led Chopper over to where Luffy and the others were. He pointed at the bags in their hands. "You're planning to collect snow with those?"
"Yeah! The snow's falling way too slowly. If we wait for enough to build a snowman, it'll probably be nighttime," Usopp said, raising his hand. "So we figured we'd gather some first."
Meiser: "..."
He glanced at the tiny shovel in Merry's hands, then back at the bags Luffy and Usopp were holding, momentarily at a loss for words.
Honestly, how did they even come up with this? At this rate, it'd take forever to gather enough snow for a snowman.
"By the time you're done, Sanji will probably have dinner ready," Nami said flatly as she walked up behind them.
"Leave it to me," Meiser suddenly grinned. "Watch me show you something cool!"
"Wind Release: Wind Gathering Technique!"
"Whoosh—"
A small whirlwind materialized above the Thousand Sunny, rapidly sucking up snowflakes from the sky.
Under the force of the wind, the surrounding snowflakes began swirling toward them.
"Wow, that's amazing!"
Merry waved her little shovel excitedly. With Meiser's help, they'd be able to build a snowman in no time!
She'd never built a snowman before in her life.
"So cool!"
Luffy and the others watched in awe. This was the charm of Ninjutsu—if only they could use it too!
"Alright, that should be enough. Get ready for the snow!" Meiser announced.
"Wait, don't tell me—"
Nami's face paled as a bad feeling crept over her. But before she could turn and run, the wind above them vanished, and the gathered snow came crashing down.
"Boom!!"
In an instant, everyone on deck was buried under the snow, with Nami and Usopp taking the worst of it—flattened face-first into the deck.
Fortunately, the snow wasn't too deep, only about half a meter. Nami:.....
Nami climbed out of the snow, veins bulging on her forehead as her anger visibly skyrocketed.
She turned to look at Meiser, who was shielding Merry and Chopper, and flashed a 'friendly' smile. "Meiser, did it ever occur to you to let us return to the cabin before pulling this stunt?"
"Huh?"
"Hahaha, my bad. I forgot."
"You bastard! You never even considered it, did you?!"
In her fury, Nami instantly burst out of the snow and punched Meiser square on the back of his head, leaving a massive lump!
For a moment, Meiser felt like he was seeing his great-grandmother.
"Nami... you... you're cheating..."
Why had her speed become so terrifying? And her strength too... Just like when she'd hit Luffy before, now she was doing the same to him... Was this some kind of friendly fire bonus?!
"Hmph, you just had it coming."
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