Beneath the azure sky, the weather was clear and pleasant. Cool breezes swept over the sea, stirring up gentle waves.
Sunlight spilled across the sea, glimmering in dancing golden ripples as seabirds occasionally swooped past.
Rocky Cove's beach was made up of exposed rock scattered with patches of moss, like a giant sapphire set in a field of emerald green.
The Merry swayed gently by the shore. High above it, a falcon soared with wings outstretched, blotting out the sunlight.
The falcon descended slowly onto the deck. Lina and the others had arrived first, and the undead guarding the ship had all been put away as soon as they approached.
"Thank goodness, Merry!"
Usopp was so excited he danced around the deck, waving his arms and shouting for no apparent reason. "We found a great shipwright to take a look at you. Soon, you'll get a thorough overhaul!"
"Come on, Usopp. You don't have to get that excited," Nami said with an exasperated laugh. "It's a ship, not a person. You make it sound like the Merry's come to life."
"What would you know, Nami? I saw it before..."
Usopp stood beneath the mast with his hands on his hips. He was about to argue, but couldn't figure out how to explain it. "Ah, never mind. You wouldn't believe me anyway."
"You mean that night, don't you?"
Lina eyed Usopp strangely and ventured a question. "The night before we came back from Sky Island?"
"Hey, wait a second!"
Usopp immediately rushed over, his face full of surprise. "You mean...! Lina, you saw it too, right? I knew it was real! I wasn't sleepwalking!"
"What are you two talking about?"
Nami looked at him in confusion. "The night before we came back from Sky Island? The night we were looking at