Chapter 10: The Going Merry – A New Ship and a New Dream
Kaya immediately ran over when she saw Usopp, worriedly helping him up. "Usopp, you dummy—are you hurt? Is it bad?"
Usopp stood up shyly, then struck a pose with hands on hips and laughed loudly. "Of course I'm fine! Under the brilliant leadership of the great Captain Usopp, that small-fry Kuro was no match at all!"
"Sugoi, Usopp!" Kaya praised warmly. Usopp instantly melted into a blissful daze. "Ahahaha, no big deal~"
Nami watched and deadpanned. "He only fired one explosive shot the whole time and did nothing else. Sol and the others handled all the enemies—what's he so proud of?"
Sol shot back at Nami. "You're one to talk—you just stood there holding your staff like an idiot."
"How can I be compared to you monsters?! I'm a navigator—a navigator!" Nami bared shark teeth and roared. "And would you really let a delicate girl like me get hurt?"
"Nami looks super strong—definitely not a delicate girl," Luffy laughed—only to get pummeled by her.
Seeing Merry and Kaya's stunned looks, Nami instantly switched to innocent mode. "I'm not like that at all, hehe~" She turned away, pumping herself up. "Phew, almost let them think I'm a violent maniac. Nice cover, Nami!"
"Anyway, everyone—please come rest at my house for now. Merry can handle things here," Kaya said gently, pretending not to notice Nami's outburst as she invited them back.
Merry went to notify the village chief to organize the villagers in tying up the pirates and sending them to the nearest Marine base.
On the way, Kaya greeted everyone and they introduced themselves. But Kaya seemed frail, coughing constantly. Near the mansion gate she nearly collapsed—Usopp, who had been watching her anxiously the whole time, caught her just in time.
"Kaya, your forehead's burning—are you running a fever?" Usopp asked worriedly. Ignoring her surprised yelp, he scooped her up and carried her on his back toward the villa.
The guards and servants saw Usopp—the guy who'd recently claimed Klahadore was a pirate—and immediately grabbed weapons to drive him off, especially since he was carrying Miss Kaya.
"Stop right there, Lying Usopp! Where are you taking Miss Kaya? Put her down!" They moved to block him—but Kaya stopped them. "Usopp wasn't lying. Klahadore really was a pirate. We were all wrong about him."
Usopp didn't explain further. He carried Kaya straight to her bedroom like he'd done it a hundred times. As he was about to run for a doctor, Sol stepped forward and took Kaya's hand.
A soft blue glow emanated from his palm. Under Usopp's wide-eyed, angelic gaze, Kaya's body visibly recovered—her pale face regaining a healthy rosy glow.
"My body hasn't felt this light in so long… Thank you so much, Mr. Sol. What kind of medical technique was that? It's incredible," Kaya said gratefully, then tilted her head curiously like an excited child.
Sol wiped sweat from his brow. "It's healing magic—not medicine."
"Magic? What an amazing power, Mr. Sol," Kaya said in awe.
Sol's stomach growled loudly. He'd expended a huge amount of magic not just to cure her cold, but to strengthen her overall constitution. A simple fever would've been easy, but this was more. Kaya giggled at the sound, hopped off the bed with surprising energy, and realized her body felt as light as a swallow's.
Usopp stared in shock. "Kaya… you're completely healthy again. I can't believe it."
Kaya bowed deeply to Sol again in thanks, then led everyone downstairs to the dining room. Being the richest family in the village, it took less than ten minutes after they called for food before dish after dish arrived in an endless stream.
Sol attacked the table like a starving beast. Luffy refused to be outdone. Zoro downed a few bites of roast meat and switched to chugging rum. Usopp had already stuffed himself and was sipping tea to digest.
Nami sat beside Kaya, twirling pasta. "These two have terrifying appetites. The food we stored on that little boat wouldn't last them three days."
Kaya, unusually hungry as if making up for years of illness, polished off two or three people's worth of food herself.
Hearing Nami's comment, Kaya looked at her. "Miss Nami, I overheard earlier—you don't have your own pirate ship yet. If you don't mind, I'd like to give you one of our family's ships!"
"A pirate ship!"
Luffy's head snapped over instantly. "What kind is it?! I'm getting excited!"
"It's called the Going Merry. Sheep-headed figurehead, lateen rigged on the mizzen, central rudder at the stern—a fast clipper," a voice explained.
They turned—Merry the butler. "Miss Kaya, Klahadore and the pirates have been tied up by the villagers and sent to the Marine base. And Miss Nami—the Black Cat Pirates' treasure you mentioned has been loaded onto your small boat."
"Thank you, Mr. Merry," Nami said gratefully.
Once Luffy and Sol were full, Merry led them to view the Going Merry. "I started designing this ship 22 years ago when I was just a boy. It was finally built two years ago—as a gift for Miss Kaya to sail the seas someday. But now… it belongs to you."
Seeing the ship, Luffy grabbed Sol's hand and jumped for joy. "Yosh! Sol—we've got our own pirate ship!"
"We'd better take good care of her, Luffy," Sol said, grinning. This vessel was more than twice the size of their previous cheap buy.
Zoro smirked. "Things are moving fast. Sniper recruited, ship acquired. Won't be long before we're famous across the seas!"
Usopp wasn't there—he was at his secret base with his three little crewmates, holding a solemn farewell.
"…Don't give up on your dreams so easily. Let's swear here: we'll keep going until we achieve them."
"Starting today, the Usopp Pirates are officially disbanded. I'm heading out to sea to chase my own dream." Usopp hugged the three kids as they all cried—but in the end, they parted ways.
Luffy's group began moving luggage and treasure onto the Going Merry. They decided to spend the night aboard.
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