377
The next day,
The Straw Hat crew were in for a busy morning, their normally carefree demeanor replaced with a sense of urgency.
Luffy led the charge with uncharacteristic focus, wanting to do everything right as the crew prepared.
He barked orders to his crew as they scurried about the deck of the Going Merry, they were out in the open now. On the new port of Upper Yard, which was built not too long ago in the new city of Skypiea.
Both Shandorans and ex-Angel island residents crowded the port seeing the crew off as they hurried to prepare the Going Merry.
Of course, they would come. Not only were the people very fond of the straw hat crew, the new port was built right near the New city of Skypiea. So when the people saw the crew preparing to leave, almost all of them came to say their goodbyes .
For them, the Straw Hats saved them from a great calamity and gave them a new home. The old hidden city of Shandora and Angel Island was completely destroyed by Enel.
And with Enel's brutality only getting worse day by day, people started losing hope. That is until the crew of dreams came along.
The people of Skypiea viewed the straw hat crew not as pirates, but as the crew of dreams. One that gave them back their lost hope and established a new home for them.
The crew even helped with building houses for them with plethora of other things. Their new home was far better than the previous one, along with a soil-rich environment. Making both parties (Shandorains and previous Angel Island residents) of Skypiea grateful.
Of course, the people of Skypiea would miss their beloved king. Sanji had taken the title by Skypiean tradition and did his duties justly, even if he gave most of his complex duties to Gan Fall.
The fact that such a strong warrior was their king made the people of Skypiea feel secure. Especially when Sanji was adamant in helping his people with food and other daily stuff rather than abusing his powers. So they were a bit sad to see him leave.
Some of them were even crying and showering the crew with gifts, meals or other things they could for their journey.
Even though Luffy and Sanji assured them multiple times that they would be back, the people of Skypiea were very much sentimental about this. For them, the Straw hat crew were their saviors, so seeing them leave was very emotional.
Funnily enough, some of the well-known beauties of Skypiea even wanted to honey-trap Sanji into staying, but a few even glare from Robin was enough to keep them away from him.
Of course, Sanji, seeing this, made a lot of effort to not look at other women and closed himself in the kitchen to do so. Robin chuckled at him for doing that, though she was a bit sad.
Unlike the others, she would be staying behind after all. She wasn't the only one either. Bartolomeo, Chopper, Bepo, Penguin, Sachi and Momoo were also staying in the sky island.
Bepo, Penguin and Shachi could be seen with the people of Skypiea, while only Law was on the ship. After what happened with the heart pirates both Penguin and Shachi had taken the hit quite greatly.
And unlike Law and Bepo they weren't that strong. Sure, they could fight, but after hearing that this mission might be a bit dangerous, they took it when given the option to stay in Skypiea. There were doctors after all, and the people of Skypiea appreciated their work greatly.
Of course, they also had another reason as both of them were massive simps for winged women, especially Conis and Raki. So, yes, while they did stay to learn more about Rokushiki and possibly observation haki from Wyper, they also had other not-so-good motivations. Though whatever their motivation might be with Bartolomeo around, the barrier user would make sure they got their daily dose of training.
Chopper and Bepo actually wanted to go. But Luffy didn't want them to join on the journey just yet. While Chopper was strong, more than his canon self, with random threats popping up every now and then, it would be better to make him strong before joining in on the dangerous stuff.
While Chopper was sad, he promised to use that time to master his sulong form. And as Chopper was staying back, Bepo decided to do it as well. Both of them were minks.
And like Chopper, Bepo had problems with his sulong transformation. So both minks decided to stay back and train. Both minks had many things in common, such as love for medical stuff and so they grew a brotherly bond because of this.
Chopper also planned to use the time to get better at using the Rokushiki and maybe teach Bepo about it. As minks they had natural talent for martial arts so he wanted to be better at it.
Robin was staying because she was much more fixated on her research on ancient history. Well, she wouldn't have minded joining. But Luffy convinced her otherwise. Someone had to stay in the dungeon, and out of everyone, only she was responsible enough for that.
Luffy could have given that task to someone like Gin and take Robin with him. But he didn't.
Luffy was confident in his ability to save his sister if needed. But he would much prefer to be on the safer side. Especially with Kuzan running loose on the first half of the grandline. And that's not even mentioning CP9. Sure they might not be a threat, but there were always unaccounted variables. So yes, it was better to not risk it.
Bartolomeo was also staying behind in case of an emergency. He might not be physically strongest, but his barrier was very powerful. So if something did happen while they were gone, then he could guard his crewmates.
Of course, he was bound to train as well. Missing a day to train was a crime for the straw hat crew. Or that was the joke that was going around.
But then again the sea king Momo was also training himself in his own way by fighting other larger fishes of the white sea. He was also staying back and not returning to the blue sea.
Luffy would have liked to get to sail with every member of his crew. But he knew for now it would be better to split up for a bit.
Things might get dangerous within Water seven. So he just wanted them to be safe. Luffy didn't know if Saint Camael had other schemes set up or not. So it's better to not bring the weaker members of the crew for now.
Especially since Luffy himself would not be there for water seven. That's the reason for Going Merry's sudden design change.
From far the ship looked nothing like the Going Merry. It still had its same layout and design. But the similarities ended there.
——