Chapter 178: Weigh Anchor! The Parting Iron Fist and the Golden Lion Shiki Flying to the Sky
On the coast of Scrap Island,
The rising morning sun dyed the entire sea area into a shimmering field of broken gold.
The sea breeze blew gently, bringing the fresh moisture unique to Water 7.
"Apples, oranges, cabbage... fifty freshwater barrels... spare ropes, navigation compass, Water 7 specialty Mizu Mizu Meat..."
On the deck, Nami was holding a long list of supplies, checking off the provisions that had just been moved onto the ship stroke by stroke.
"OK! All supplies are here!"
Nami drew a large checkmark at the end of the list with a quill pen, then turned and shouted to the crowd on the deck:
"Good work, everyone! Preparations for departure are complete!"
"Caw caw—!"
Standing on Nami's shoulder, Crow Clay let out a squawk, very cooperatively straining his throat.
However, not everyone was as relaxed as Nami and Clay.
"Huff... huff... I'm, I'm exhausted..."
"I can't go on... my arms are about to break..."
In the center of the deck covered with soft, emerald-green grass, Usopp and Chopper were slumped on the ground without any sense of decorum.
The two of them had just exerted an immense amount of effort.
They had rolled several oak barrels filled with premium rum from the shore to the storage room at the bottom of the hold.
Right beside them, the gun that had eaten the Dog-Dog Fruit—Lassoo—also had no dignity left to speak of.
Two huge bundles filled with various snacks were tightly bound to its canine back with thick hemp ropes.
Lassoo lay beside Chopper, looking as if life had lost all meaning, tongue hanging out long as it panted heavily.
It seemed to be protesting why it, a weapon, had to be reduced to a porter.
Compared to the exhausted trio,
the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates appeared much more composed and elegant.
"The specialty seasonings of Water 7 are indeed quite good."
"I just bought another batch at the market; it's perfect for showing off my skills in that perfect kitchen."
Sanji walked with light steps, hands in his pockets and a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
"The kitchen is fine as long as the wine cellar is big enough."
"Besides, that lookout tower doubling as a training room is exactly to my liking."
Zoro had his hands behind his head, a satisfied smile on his face.
"I'm also looking forward to everything on the ship," Robin said with a smile, her steps light.
Tatsuya walked beside Robin, a hint of comfort in his black eyes.
While chatting about the local customs of Water 7 and the upcoming route planning, they leisurely walked up the boarding plank.
For these four, the amount of exercise from carrying supplies didn't even count as a warm-up.
Just as everyone was boarding the ship one after another,
"Hee hee hee hee!!"
Accompanied by a burst of extremely cheerful laughter,
Luffy stood on the shore, his arms stretching back infinitely, gripping two discarded iron pillars tightly.
Treating his body like the projectile of a slingshot, he suddenly let go.
"Whoosh————!!"
Luffy drew a parabola in the air and landed steadily on the giant lion-head figurehead of the Thousand Sunny.
"Everyone!! Set sail!!!!"
Franky stood on the aft deck, hands on the railing, looking down at the crowd gathered to see them off.
On the shore, Mayor Iceburg of the Galley-La Company, Foreman Peeply Lulu, and others,
as well as all the subordinates of the Franky Family led by Zambai, were standing densely together.
Their eyes were red, and many had already broken into tears, with snot and tears smeared across their faces.
"Boss!! Take care of yourself!!"
"You must become the greatest shipwright!! Boss!!"
Listening to his subordinates' cries, Franky's nose also suddenly felt sharp.
He snatched off his sunglasses and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes; that usually arrogant face was now full of emotion and reluctance.
He suddenly raised his arms and waved them vigorously in the air:
"You guys!! Iceburg!! And everyone in Water 7!!"
"You all better take good care of yourselves for me too!!!"
"I'm going to the ends of the world!!! SUPER————!!!!"
However,
at this deeply moving moment where even the seagulls seemed to be seeing them off,
"Wooooooo———!!!"
A sudden, loud, and piercing siren from a Marine warship echoed from the distant sea.
Standing on the lion head, Luffy had the widest field of vision.
He followed the sound and, with just one look, instantly jumped up from the bow.
"Aaaaaahhhh!!!"
"It's that dog-head warship!!! It's Grandpa!!!!"
"Why is he back again?!!!"
Everyone was shocked and looked in the direction Luffy was pointing.
They saw a Marineford warship with a dog head biting a bone carved on its bow, riding the waves and approaching Scrap Island at an extremely high speed.
On the bow of the warship,
that burly old man wearing a dog-head hat and a coat of Justice,
Marine Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, was grinning widely, laughing arrogantly.
Beside him was a mountain-high pile of black solid iron cannonballs.
"Hey—!! Luffy!!"
"That old geezer Sengoku yelled at me through the Transponder Snail for ages! Insisting that I let you criminals who destroyed Enies Lobby escape!"
"I have no choice! To keep my salary from being docked, I have to come back and catch you!!"
As he spoke, Garp actually grabbed a heavy iron ball larger than a watermelon with his bare hands, his arm muscles bulging.
"Before that... taste my greeting first!!"
"Fist Meteor!!!!"
Boom!!!
Garp's arm swung out violently, and that solid iron ball, powered by his terrifying wrist strength, actually broke the sound barrier.
With the roar of a sonic boom, it hurtled toward the Thousand Sunny like a real meteorite!
"Not good!! Stop it!"
Zoro's eyes narrowed, and he instantly drew the two swords at his waist.
"Two Sword Style: Seventy-Two Pound Phoenix!"
"Neck Shoot!" Sanji also leapt into the air, flames igniting on his leg.
Bang!! Clang!!
However, the nightmare had only just begun.
"Wahahahaha! Not bad! Then how about this move!!"
Garp laughed, his hands turning into countless afterimages.
"Fist Meteor Shower!!!!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!
The sky full of black iron balls rained down on the Thousand Sunny like a violent storm.
"Waaaaahhh!! Help!!"
Luffy ran around the deck with his head in his hands, tears flying out from fright:
"It's over, it's over, it's over!! Grandpa is serious this time!! Getting hit will kill me!!!"
Zoro and Sanji were exhausted on the deck, constantly intercepting those lethal iron balls.
But the quantity Garp threw was simply too much; even the two main fighters felt overwhelmed, and the situation on the deck was perilous.
"Tsk, conventional cannonballs are useless?"
On the warship, Garp saw the iron balls being intercepted, but instead of getting angry, he became even more excited.
He turned and roared at the Marine soldiers behind him:
"Bring out my 'little toy'!!!"
Under the operation of a group of sweating Marine soldiers, an ultra-oversized iron ball that blotted out the sun was slowly pushed onto the deck.
A thick steel chain was connected to the iron ball.
Garp grabbed the chain and roared as he spun his body, swinging that asteroid-like giant iron ball in a full circle.
"You won't get away this time!!!"
Garp's arm muscles surged as he aimed that sun-blotting iron ball at the Straw Hat crew's ship and threw it with all his might:
"Take this!!! Giant Iron Ball!!!!!"
Looking at the massive black shadow crashing down, the weak trio on the deck had already huddled together, eyes closed, waiting for death.
However,
Franky, standing at the stern, didn't show a trace of panic; instead, he threw back his head and laughed out loud:
"Wahahahaha!!!!"
"Don't underestimate the masterpiece of a Super Shipwright!!!"
Franky pushed open the door to the underground hold, shouting as he rushed inside:
"Today, I'll let you Marines witness the true secret weapon of this Dream Ship!!!"
"As long as there's cola... this ship is invincible!!!!"
Franky rushed into the engine room at top speed and opened the massive energy conversion furnace.
Without hesitation, he loaded three large barrels full of special cola into the energy slot.
"Energy charging complete!!!"
Franky gripped the red control lever in the center tightly, and at the critical moment just before the giant iron ball was about to hit the top of the ship, he slammed the lever all the way down.
"Launch—!!!"
"Coup de Burst!!!"
Boom———!!!!
A thunderous explosion, a hundred times louder than a thunderclap, erupted in the waters near Scrap Island.
At the stern of the Thousand Sunny, the massive jet port instantly opened!
The terrifying recoil instantly acted on the entire ship.
The sea water was blown into a huge depression by this airflow.
"Whoosh————!!!"
Under the gazes of everyone who was shocked to the extreme,
this massive pirate ship actually broke free from the sea's shackles, turned into an afterimage, and soared into the sky!
"Rumble!!!"
The moment the ship took flight, Garp's giant iron ball slammed heavily into the sea where they had just been.
The violent force kicked up waves dozens of meters high, like a small tsunami.
And amidst the spray and the refraction of sunlight,
the Straw Hat Pirates' Thousand Sunny traced a magnificent rainbow arc in the sky.
Like a lion that had grown wings, it not only perfectly avoided the fatal blow,
but also flew directly over Garp's massive warship, speeding toward the distant horizon.
"It... it's flying?!!!"
The Marine soldiers on the warship were all dumbfounded: "How can a ship fly?!"
Garp stood at the bow, looking up at the pirate ship that was gradually becoming a small black dot in the sky.
He grinned widely, hands on his hips, and laughed out loud:
"Wahahaha!!"
"Escaping by flying directly into the sky?! What an interesting way to run away!!"
"As expected of my grandson!!! Nicely done!! Wahahahaha!!"
Hearing Garp's unconcealed praise and proud laughter, the Marine adjutant Bogard beside him was speechless.
He was frantically complaining in his heart, but looking at Garp's happy face,
he eventually sighed and said nothing.
...
A long while later.
Accompanied by a sharp sense of weightlessness, the Thousand Sunny landed smoothly on the safe sea in the distance after traveling several kilometers in the air.
"Splash!"
A huge splash rose, the ship bumped a few times on the water, and then steadily broke through the waves.
On this sun-kissed deck, all the members of the Straw Hat Pirates were finally fully assembled.
At the highest point of the lion-head deck,
Nami gently held Tatsuya's arm, leaning her head lightly on his shoulder.
The two stood there side by side, letting the sea breeze blow through their hair and clothes.
Tatsuya looked down at Water 7, which had gradually become a tiny blue dot, a trace of emotion flashing in his deep black eyes.
In this city full of water and fire, despair and miracles, they had left behind too many memories.
He thought silently in his heart:
"Goodbye, Water 7."
Then, Tatsuya's gaze fell on the hard and life-filled deck beneath his feet.
He seemed to see that small figure in a yellow raincoat again, running happily by the helm.
A soft curve formed at the corners of Tatsuya's mouth:
"Long time no see... Merry."
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the Host: Successfully completed a major main storyline node—Water 7 and Enies Lobby Arc!]
[Story Evaluation: S+ (Perfectly blocked the Buster Call, rescued Robin with zero casualties, killed the CP9 commander, and successfully guided the inheritance of the Klabautermann)]
[Reward: 5000 Ninja Points]
[Current Ninja Points balance: 15000 points]
Hearing the system's prompt, the smile on Tatsuya's face deepened.
He put his arm around Nami's waist and looked up at the boundless, vast sea ahead.
"Luffy! Where to next?!" Nami shouted into the wind.
"Do you even need to ask?!"
Luffy sat on the lion head, pointing forward:
"Of course it's—the end of the adventure!!!"
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