After the Disaster: Merry

On Iceberg's ship, the Straw Hat Pirates stared fixedly at the Going Merry in the distance. During these three hours, none of them had moved at all.

Iceberg stood beside them, watching the distance as well.

When he heard Franky say that Straw Hat's ship had given birth to a Ship Spirit, he had been rather surprised. But when he recalled the voice he had heard while repairing the ship before, he understood.

The voice he had heard back then had been the Ship Spirit's voice!

Thinking about it carefully, that made sense. If not for the Ship Spirit, what other force could have allowed this ship, which had been sentenced to death, to pass through the Gods of Water?

He just did not know whether he would still have a chance to see the Ship Spirit with his own eyes.

"So much time has passed. Why is there still no movement over there?" Sanji frowned.

Could it be that even Xi Yan had no solution?

"Sometimes, no result does not mean it is a bad thing," Nico Robin said.

Because Merry might still be saved, right?

At the very least, Nico Robin did not want to see Xi Yan walk over and shake his head. That would mean Merry could not be saved!

"Robin is right," Zoro said. "Wait quietly."

Even Luffy, who was starving, did not run back to the ship to look for food. Instead, he leaned against Zoro and silently watched the distance.

Just then, something changed in the distance.

Bang~

A huge cloud of white smoke suddenly appeared, directly enveloping the Going Merry.

"What happened?!" Nami said. "What's going on?"

Where had that white smoke come from? Could someone have attacked Xi Yan and the others?

"I don't know, but it probably wasn't an attack."

"Look, the ship is gone!"

"What happened? Why did the Going Merry disappear?!"

The disappearance of the Going Merry stunned everyone.

How could such a large ship just vanish like that?

"Could something have gone wrong?" Sanji said worriedly.

"Trust Xi Yan," Nico Robin said.

On the other side, Xi Yan stood on the sea and looked at the Spirit Summoning Scroll spread out on a wooden plank. There was a drawing of the Going Merry on it, clearly the very ship that had just disappeared.

Xi Yan had used Sealing Technique to seal the pirate ship into this scroll. To the left of the drawing was written Merry's name.

Sephiroth-Merry!

This was the name Merry had possessed from the moment she was born!

After signing her name, Merry formed the most direct connection with this Spirit Summoning Scroll. Any Ninja whose name was written on it could summon her with her consent.

"Why do I have to sign this?" Merry, standing on the wooden plank, asked curiously.

"There's no other way. I can only do this," Xi Yan said helplessly. "This is the only way you can survive."

At first, Xi Yan had planned to use Yin Yang Release to sever the connection between Merry and the Going Merry. But after trying, he discovered that it was simply impossible.

So Xi Yan changed his approach. He used Sealing Technique to seal away the Going Merry, forcibly locking its condition in place so that it would at least stop deteriorating.

Yet this action instead concealed the special connection between the Going Merry and Merry. This unexpected gain gave Xi Yan hope.

But the changes that followed made Xi Yan's expression darken again, because Merry's body was gradually becoming transparent, as if she were about to disappear.

After thinking it over, Xi Yan understood. This change was likely because Merry had been disconnected from the Going Merry and had lost the vessel that supported her existence!

In his anxiety, Xi Yan tried using Yin Yang Release to maintain Merry's state, and she temporarily gained a physical form.

Afterward, Xi Yan tried turning her into something like a Summoning Beast, making this scroll into a Spirit Summoning Scroll to serve as her new vessel.

The facts proved Xi Yan right. Perhaps because Merry was an exceptionally special life form between heaven and earth, she easily wrote her name onto the scroll.

The moment she signed her name, her body stopped deteriorating. With the help of Xi Yan's Yang Release Chakra, her vitality rapidly recovered, as though some rule had permitted her to continue existing!

From then on, this little cutie had completely escaped danger and become an independent spirit!

Maybe this little guy will even be able to master Summoning Technique in the future, Xi Yan thought.

"So that means I can keep going on adventures with everyone?" Merry asked.

While speaking, she examined her body and discovered that all the cracks on her had disappeared. She had returned to being that adorable little spirit once more.

"Yes, you can keep adventuring," Xi Yan said with a smile.

After receiving that affirmative answer, Merry clenched her tiny fists and pursed her lips.

This strong little guy finally could not hold herself together any longer. Tears began welling up in her eyes.

"If you want to cry, then cry." Xi Yan, whose face was somewhat pale, crouched down and rubbed her little head. "It's okay."

"Waaah!"

Merry burst into tears, venting her emotions without restraint.

Only she herself knew what kind of pain she had endured during this time.

To save her companions, she had driven the Going Merry alone as it was about to break apart, enduring the pain of her body being torn apart as she forcibly passed through the Gods of Water and crossed the sea to Judicial Island to save people.

And the entire journey had been pitch-black. There had been no one she could talk to, and she had even had to feel out the direction bit by bit herself.

She could feel pain. She could be afraid. But to save her partners, she silently endured all of it.

Only after learning that she could survive did she finally release her emotions.

In the end, she was only a child who had been born a few months ago.

"I was so scared of being alone. The sea was really so dark..."

"Being able to survive is... is just too wonderful!" Merry cried. "I couldn't bear to leave everyone either. I wanted to keep going on adventures with everyone too!!"

Xi Yan could not help but be moved. It was hard to imagine how such a little guy had managed to pass through a tsunami all by herself.

She clearly looked so small, yet she had accomplished such a shocking miracle.

"It's all right now. From now on, you won't be alone," Xi Yan said. "We'll all keep adventuring together."

"Hmm!"

On the other side, the Straw Hat Pirates also noticed what was happening here.

"What's going on? Why do I think I can hear crying?" Sanji said.

"Hey, let's go over and see what's happening," Luffy said. "Iceberg Uncle, please give us a lifeboat."

"All right, I understand. But shouldn't you try to stop that guy?" Iceberg pointed downward.

The moment he said that, everyone immediately noticed Usopp jumping down.

That guy had not even considered waiting for a lifeboat. He had jumped straight in!

"Quick, lower the lifeboat!"

After crying for a while, Merry gradually calmed down. Then a hint of embarrassment appeared on her face. "Sorry, Xi Yan. I got your clothes wet."

"It's fine. That's a small matter." Xi Yan smiled. "Are you ready to meet everyone?"

"Hmm!" Merry nodded forcefully.

"Okay, I'll put this away first." After Xi Yan said that, the Spirit Summoning Scroll shrank, and he prepared to put it into his Ninja Tool Bag.

But Merry said she could hold onto it because she had a small personal space where she could store things.

As she explained, Merry casually took out a hammer to show Xi Yan. It was the very tool she had used to repair the ship before, leaving Xi Yan completely stunned.

"This is... a Free Space Ability?" Xi Yan stared blankly.

But on second thought, Xi Yan understood. Since this little guy was a spirit, was it not perfectly normal for her to possess some special abilities?

"Hehe, I'm amazing, right?"

"That's wonderful!" Xi Yan praised. "Just what I'd expect from Merry!"

After saying this, Xi Yan turned back to look at Usopp, who was dog-paddling through the sea toward them, and continued, "Let's go. It's time to find our companions, or someone is going to lose patience."

"Okay!"

Xi Yan instinctively wanted to pick Merry up, but the moment he lowered his head, his vision went black and he fell straight down.

At that instant, Xi Yan understood that he had overexhausted his Chakra.

Clearly, after the intense battle and the enormous expenditure of saving Merry, Xi Yan's Chakra had been completely drained.

"Xi Yan!!"