Task

"Li Ziming, is Robin all right?" Sanji asked worriedly.

"Her body is mostly fine. The most important thing is her heart." Li Ziming shook his head helplessly. "This time, we may be in serious trouble, so you'd all better be prepared."

"That guy was really strong." Luffy pursed his lips. Even he, who feared neither heaven nor earth, had to admit that Aokiji was far stronger than all of them.

"He's the Navy's highest-ranking combat force besides the Fleet Admiral. If he weren't strong, he wouldn't be able to hold that position." Li Ziming shook his head. "I even suspect he never used his full strength."

"Indeed. Back in Loguetown, we encountered Smoker, who was also a Logia user, but the two gave me completely different feelings." Zoro frowned. "If Smoker felt like someone whose limits I could still see, then that Admiral felt bottomless."

"What exactly is going on with Robin?" Nami asked. "Is all this really that serious?"

"It's complicated to explain. I'll tell you all about it when we reach the next island." Li Ziming shook his head. "Right now, the most important thing is getting to the next island, and the problem with our ship, the Going Merry."

Li Ziming's tone startled everyone. Usopp forced down the unease in his heart. "Hahaha, what are you talking about, Li Ziming? The Going Merry is still doing great! We just need to find a shipwright on the next island and get her fixed!"

"Is it serious?" Luffy was the one who showed an unusual calm at this moment.

"Let Edward explain it to you." Li Ziming shook his head helplessly. "Shorty, come out."

"How many times have I told you?! Don't call me Shorty!" A childish voice gave everyone a fright.

"What is that?" Sanji said incredulously. "Could it be...?"

"Your illegitimate son?" Zoro looked at Li Ziming and Edward in astonishment.

"Are you blind?" Li Ziming looked at Zoro with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"So cute!" Nami exclaimed delightedly.

"Who is this? Why have I never seen him before?" Luffy asked in confusion. "Is he a new crew member you recruited, Li Ziming? But he's so small."

"I'm not!" Edward flew into a rage. "You bunch of bastards, I'm a Ship Spirit! Watch it, or I'll throw every one of you overboard!"

"A Ship Spirit?" Usopp was the first to react. "So you're the Going Merry? The figure I saw on Sky Island was you? And you were the one who helped us repair the ship?"

"Of course." Edward looked smug.

"But why are you called Edward? Shouldn't you be called Merry?" Usopp asked doubtfully.

"Merry was only the name of my maker. My goal is to become the greatest person in this world, so naturally I took the name of the strongest man on these seas!" Edward declared proudly.

"Wasn't the strongest person, as far as I remember, the Pirate King Roger?" Sanji asked in confusion.

"No. The strongest man now is Whitebeard. Whitebeard's name is Edward Newgate." Robin still had droplets of water in her hair. "So this is a Ship Spirit? It really is fascinating."

"You're all right?" The moment Li Ziming saw Robin emerge, he immediately abandoned Edward.

"You forget all decency when there's a woman around." Edward curled his lips. "I'm still at a life-or-death moment here."

"Life or death?" Usopp grew tense. "What's going on?!"

"You know it too. My body has already been damaged beyond a certain point, and most importantly, my keel has suffered irreparable damage." Edward tried to keep his tone calm. "So it's very possible that I won't be able to go on adventures with everyone anymore."

"No! No! What are you talking about?! We can definitely fix you!" Usopp's eyes were full of panic. "You'll definitely sail the seas again! You definitely won't break!"

"Enough!" Luffy pressed down his hat. "Is it really... impossible to repair?"

"The keel is the most important part of a ship. Once the keel is damaged, the ship has suffered irreversible destruction. So we have no choice but to replace the ship." Li Ziming shook his head.

"Waaah, I'm sorry!" Luffy suddenly shouted. "I shouldn't have treated you like that back then! I even tore down your mast several times! I used to damage you like that too!"

"It's okay!" Edward's eyes filled with tears as well. "It's okay, it really is. Everyone truly took good care of me, and I'm already very satisfied. I really enjoyed the time I spent with all of you! It's just that my journey can only end here. From now on, all of you have to sail with my share too."

"No! Even if we die, we won't give up the Going Merry!" Usopp suddenly became agitated.

"Sorry." Li Ziming appeared behind Usopp and knocked him unconscious with a punch.

The Going Merry carried Usopp's memories of his hometown and his memories of Kaya, so he was the one who found abandoning the Going Merry hardest to accept.

"Chopper, help keep an eye on Usopp." Li Ziming handed Usopp over to Chopper. "He's too emotionally agitated. I'm worried his body won't be able to take it."

"Okay." Chopper's face was covered in tears. Clearly, he couldn't bear to part with the Going Merry either.

"Is there really no way at all?" Zoro didn't think Li Ziming had brought this up just to make everyone sad.

"I don't know." Li Ziming's shake of the head left everyone utterly disappointed. "But that doesn't mean there's no hope." Those final words immediately excited everyone.

"But this is only my guess." Li Ziming continued. "Edward is the Going Merry's Ship Spirit. You could say that if the Going Merry dies, Edward will disappear too. But the Going Merry is a ship, an object, and Edward is attached to the ship. So could we transfer Edward to another ship?"

"But how would we do that?" Luffy did not understand. "What if we dismantle the Going Merry and build a new one from the pieces?"

"I already said I don't know." Li Ziming said helplessly. "But the next city, Water 7, is a holy land for shipbuilding. Even the Pirate King's ship was built there, so there may be some way. I'm telling you this now because I hope you can find a solution in Water 7, as well as a shipwright for the crew."

"What about a new ship?" Edward asked. "We should prepare for both possibilities."

"Indeed. But I already have a suitable shipbuilder in mind for a new ship. When the time comes, I'll take the money and go straight to him, so there's no need to worry about that. Your most important task is to find a way to solve the Ship Spirit problem." Li Ziming looked at Nami. "When the time comes, I may need to use some of the gold we got from Sky Island."

"Use it without worry!" Nami's sudden generosity surprised Li Ziming. But thinking it might be because of Edward, he did not dwell on it.

"Everyone, whether Edward can be saved depends on us!" Li Ziming gave everyone one final rallying cry.

"Don't worry! We absolutely won't just let Edward die like this!"

"Can it really be solved?" Robin hesitated, her eyes flickering as though she were pondering something.