Shipwright Joins, Sniper Returns

"Stop!!"

With a powerful roar, the Straw Hat began their frantic sprint.

"Luffy, what does your grandpa mean?!"

Zoro, sporting panda eyes, Luffy at Luffy beside him. No one would be happy to be inexplicably beaten up. Except:

"Hehehehehe, how would I know?"

Luffy, sporting a head full of bumps, didn't seem to care; he was already used to it.

"Maybe Grandpa helped us train our resilience to blows..."

"What kind of training is that?!"

Sanji's blond hair was all messed up from all the hopping around. He had just kicked Garp's fist and now one of his legs was numb like a club.

"Don't we have some on our ship?"

Faced with Luffy's words, Zoro Sanji were speechless. Ever since Roman learned Armament Haki, getting beaten up has become the Straw Hat crew's new training exercise, further fueling everyone's resentment towards Roman's growing strength.

In short, amidst the chaos, the trio were chased and beaten by Garp, who had released them into the sea, until they reached the beach, where several figures stood beneath a brand-new sailboat in the distance.

"Hmm, you all look great."

Roman glanced at the trio who had been beaten beyond recognition, then pointed his thumb toward the ship behind them: Nami, Robin, and Chopper were already standing on the deck.

"Get on board, Captain."

"Hehehe, there's one more thing!"

Beside him were Usopp, who was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the group, the foreman of the Galley-La Company, Mayor Iceberg, and Franky.

"Hey, Straw Hat Kid, give this 'King of Beasts' ship a try—"

Whoosh! Snap!

Before Franky could finish speaking, a rapidly extending rubber arm wrapped around him, and then his other hand snapped onto the ship's side.

"Come up here too!"

?

"Hey, hey, let go of me, Straw Hat Kid!"

Brush,

Franky, rambling incoherently, was dragged by Luffy onto the new sailboat, and then:

"Franky, set sail!"

??

"This is the boat you built, isn't it? If we don't get it moving soon, Grandpa will beat us to death!"

Snap, snap, snap,

Zoro, Sanji, and Roman also leaped onto the ship one after another.

"Stop!!"

Not far away, Garp, who had quietly slowed down, casually threw a punch to the side.

Boom--!!!

With a single punch, everything in the direction of his fist—a massive 'grave' stretching for thousands of meters, composed of countless abandoned ship hulls—was instantly struck as if by an invisible giant's fist!

Countless massive shipwrecks collided and flew backwards for thousands of meters. Faced with this force that could split mountains and cleave the sea, these broken ships were crushed and squeezed together, forming a bizarre 'plank' as huge as a city wall that could not be separated.

Around the trajectory of the giant 'fist' is a weightless world!

All the wood, steel plates, and other materials were shattered in mid-air, slowly rising and disintegrating! Flames burned in the air, clearly the product of high-speed friction, filling the air with the pungent smell of burnt wood and steel.

With a single punch, the old man who had been chasing after them swept away the hundreds of years of abandoned ships that Water 7, instantly creating a wide 'plaza'!

Faced with this terrifying attack, before the expressions of horror could even form on everyone's faces, their facial muscles were already trembling wildly under the impact of the oncoming shockwave, as if a Category 12 hurricane was blowing on their faces! An overwhelmingly domineering aura in the air caused the temperature to rise by dozens of degrees.

Sluggish--

Then:

"Grandpa~~"

"Oh my god!"

"Set sail! Set sail now!!!"

"Raise the sails, turn the rudder, faster, faster, faster—"

Faced with the power of this punch that could pierce through a thousand meters, Zoro and Sanji, who had just been indignant, instantly calmed down; Franky, who had been clamoring to get off the ship, immediately ordered everyone to start the new ship beneath their feet, as he dared not use his own ship to withstand the opponent's punch!

So:

"Oh no, how could I have..."

When Franky came to his senses, he realized he had unknowingly boarded a 'pirate ship' and quickly rushed to the side of the ship, preparing to jump overboard and swim back. However:

Brush,

A huge package was thrown over, which Franky instinctively caught. The one who threw the package was Zanbai, the squad leader of the 'Franky Family'.

"Boss, we've prepared all your luggage! You can go without worry."

Go to hell!

"Damn it, I..."

"Franky," Mayor Iceberg, who had joined the construction of the new ship, patted his suit, "Teacher Tom forgives... no, he has never resented you, and neither have I!"

Because the warship Franky built was used to attack the judge on Enies Lobby, his mentor Tom was framed and murdered. This is a thorn in Franky's side forever.

"It's time for you to forgive yourself, Franky."

The only person in this world who still harbors resentment towards Franky is Franky himself!

"Go live the life you want! Water 7, me, or the teacher. We don't need someone who's been pretending to be crazy for over a decade to 'protect' us."

········

"Hehehe, Franky, you can stay and be our boatman."

"Didn't you say this ship could cross any sea?"

Luffy adjusted his Straw Hat and looked intently at the half-human, half-mechanical man with the airplane-shaped hairpin.

"You didn't even see him cross all the seas with your own eyes! How can you say you've fulfilled your dream?"

·········

"If there's really no other way, then I'll come and help you!"

Franky wiped away his tears and put on his sunglasses.

"I, Franky, accept your invitation to be your shipwright!"

"Oh oh oh oh~~~"

"Oh, right,"

Luffy snapped out of his daze.

"Who just called me 'Grandpa'?"

?!

"If it wasn't you? Then who could it be—"

········

"Hey, stop joking around."

Standing on the shore Usopp watched helplessly as everyone boarded the new ship and set sail. Just as everyone rushed onto the ship, neither Luffy, Zoro, nor Sanji reached out to him. Only Roman gave him a meaningful look!

"... Don't you really want me anymore?"

No, that's not it.

If I had just reached out, they would have taken me with them, right?

And after all those days, if only I had admitted my mistakes to them sooner...

Even someone as strong as Roman could admit his mistakes, so why can't I...?

"Hey kid!"

A commanding voice sounded from behind, and the three-meter-tall old navy man glanced down slightly, instantly causing Usopp's knees to buckle and he to fall to the ground.

"Are you a pirate too?"

"Based on your answer, I will 'deal with' you as appropriate!"

An imposing aura, as imposing as a mountain, pressed down from behind, instantly extinguishing any thought of resistance in Usopp! It was as if a tiny person were facing a roaring tsunami or a collapsing snow-capped peak.

There's nowhere to hide, nowhere to conceal yourself!

"I·····"

"If your answer is no, I will send you back to your hometown."

"I······"

"If your answer is yes, I will put Judge You right here!"

The voice behind him seemed to pierce through Usopp's body and soul, making every cell in his body scream, run away, and beg for mercy! As Usopp lay limp on the ground, his lips trembling, he watched the new ship carrying the Straw Hat crew slowly sail away.

"I... still... have one more thing to say!"

Biting his lower lip hard, trembling all over and with his mouth full of blood, Usopp looked at the ship on the sea—at the stern, a row of figures of different heights silently watched him, as if waiting for his decision.

"Sorry!!"

"I'm Usopp Straw Hat crew's sniper!!"

The imposing aura behind him clearly told Usopp that his opponent could kill him in less than a second, but Usopp still shouted those words without hesitation.

"Although I said I would leave the pirate crew,"

With his face covered in snot, tears, and blood, Usopp shouted at the departing ship.

"Can those words be retracted!?"

"If I have to die, I'd rather die as the Straw Hat crew Pirates' sniper!"

Ahhh, Captain Usopp... no, is the legend of Sniper Usopp really over? If Luffy and his crew could forgive their own recklessness, that would be perfect—

Snap,

A hand slapped his face, making Usopp, who was waiting to die with his eyes closed, look with teary eyes at the arm that was reaching out in the distance.

The only person capable of doing something like this is Luffy, who is Rubber Human!

"Fool!!"

Luffy, with tears and snot Luffy down his face, shouted as the ship sailed away.

"Hurry up and grab him!!!"

Snap,

Their hands clasped tightly together, and then they pulled sharply.

Boom!!!

Vice Admiral Garp's fist slammed down, but in vain, it smashed a huge hole in the entire coastline in an instant.

Call out--

Usopp was already being pulled into the new ship like a rocket, making the Straw Hat crew smile as they watched Luffy and Usopp tumbling together.

"Fool,"

"How embarrassing!"

"Hehe,"

"Snort,"

"Waaaaah~~~"

"This is so incredibly touching!"

········

"A bunch of brats,"

After striking a pose for a while, Garp slowly raised his head, his wrinkled face relaxing as he gazed softly at the departing Boat of Laughter.

"Can't you just give this old man a break?"

"Sigh, the child has grown up." The tall, elderly man, now standing straight, closed his eyes. "He has his own pursuits, and I, as his grandfather..."

"Vice Admiral!"

Faced with his belated subordinates, Vice Admiral Garp, the Marine Hero, Guotou, his face etched with wrinkles as if carved by a knife and axe!

"Return to headquarters!"

P. S.: Because the editor-in-chief highly recommends this on the 13th, which is the day after tomorrow, and requires 10,000 words per day, there will only be two updates today. Actually, I'm just putting the extra chapters on the day after tomorrow...