"Of course."
Luffy smiled and said, "Let's welcome our new crewmate, the musician Brook!"
"Ooh!"
Just then, Nika, holding a jug of sake, clinked it against Merry's. "You two know that little girl Uta?"
"You know her? Nika, didn't you only join after entering the Grand Line?" Merry looked at Nika curiously.
"I met her when I was little. She's Luffy's childhood friend, right? That girl could really sing." Nika had intermittent periods of awakening. For a while, the Nika Fruit had been in the hands of that Red Hair guy, so naturally, she also knew about Uta, who had been with Shanks.
"Yeah. I wouldn't be the way I am now if it weren't for Uta. But I haven't run into her since we entered the Grand Line." Merry propped her small face on her tiny hands, looking thoughtful.
"You care about her?" Nika asked.
"No."
"Liar."
"Okay, fine. A little."
Merry said, "At the very least, I want to thank her in person."
Nika eyed her suspiciously. "Why do I get the feeling that's not it?"
Merry got a bit nervous and quickly shoved the sake in her hand toward Nika's mouth, guzzling it down. "Just drink!"
"Wait— mmmph mmmph—"
Nika's limbs flailed about. She almost choked to death.
Who forces someone to drink like that?
Merry looked up again at Luffy in the middle of the banquet. Even though she hadn't been fully awake back then, she knew exactly what Nami and Uta had done that night.
So she was just a little bit curious.
That night, Brook went alone to the edge of Thriller Bark—to the cemetery where his crewmates from decades ago were buried.
The moonlight was cold, shining down on the weathered tombstones.
He took out his violin and played a distant, mournful tune. It was "Binks' Sake."
The sound of the violin was like weeping, as if bidding a final farewell to the friends sleeping here, telling of fifty years of loneliness and the new journey about to begin.
Zoro had also come to the area at some point. He leaned against a dead tree, listening quietly.
"I'm leaving this place. This ship came from the West Blue—it's from our homeland. It's a good resting place for everyone." Brook stood up and said.
"Hey, Brook. Would it be alright if I bury this sword here too?" Zoro stepped out.
"Zoro-san?"
Brook glanced at the broken blade in Zoro's hand and nodded.
Zoro then walked to an open space, dug into the earth with his sword, and solemnly buried Yubashiri there.
This sword had accompanied him through many battles. Its journey had finally come to an end here. Leaving it in this cemetery, filled with so many stories, was perhaps a fitting home.
"From now on, I'll be part of the Straw Hat crew. Nice to meet you, Zoro-san."
"You're not exactly lucky."
Zoro grinned and said, "This crew of ours is a bunch of unlucky bastards."
...
The next day, the sunlight completely dispelled the fog. The sea sparkled. It was perfect sailing weather.
The Straw Hat crew and the survivors of the Rolling Pirates gathered on the shore.
The Thousand Sunny and the Going Merry were docked side by side. After Franky's emergency repairs through the night, they were ready to set sail.
Nothing major had really happened—except when Kuma had thrown that giant paw-shaped bubble out on the sea, it had scared Franky half to death.
He had no idea why some thoughtless idiot was throwing bombs around near dawn. Franky had initially thought the Navy was attacking.
Only later did he learn it had been a Warlord of the Sea.
Franky, who had stayed behind on the ship, hadn't encountered any other incidents.
Back on the ship—
Zoro and Sanji had already removed most of their bandages and were stretching their limbs.
"It's too inconvenient moving around with this stuff." Zoro complained.
"Right. Feels like a mummy." Sanji lit a cigarette and agreed.
"You two idiots!"
Chopper jumped up in rage, charging at them with bandages in hand. "You need those bandages because you were injured so badly! Don't take them off! Lie down like good boys!"
Zoro tried to resist, but Chopper bit down on half his head. Zoro nearly passed out from anger.
Watching the three of them roughhousing, Nami sighed helplessly, then turned to Lola. "Lola, thank you for your help. And for these supplies."
She pointed to some supplies they had found in the ruins of Moria's castle.
"We're the ones who should be thanking you, Miss Nami."
Lola said sincerely, "Without you, we might never have been able to leave this place."
She handed Nami a piece of white paper with slightly jagged edges. "I want to give you this."
Nami took the paper and felt it seemed to be moving slightly. "This is...?"
"This is a Life Card."
Lola explained. "It's a unique kind of paper in the world. It doesn't burn and doesn't get wet. It's made by mixing in a person's fingernail clippings. People usually tear off a piece and give it to someone they trust, so no matter how far apart they are, it can guide them. This is my mother's Life Card."
"Mother?" Nami was a bit surprised.
"Yes."
Lola didn't seem to want to talk much about it. "In the New World, it might be able to help you. I heard your next destination is Fish-Man Island?"
"Yeah!"
Nami nodded. As soon as she said that, Sanji—who had been rewrapped by Chopper until he looked like a rice ball—let out an excited whimper. His eyes turned into hearts. Even though his mouth was covered by bandages, his pervert aura still shot up to the heavens.
Everyone was curious about the Fish-Men.
On the other side, Luffy was holding what looked like an extremely heavy giant dumbbell with one hand, doing simple curls.
Nakama Day was over. The strict schedule of the Pirate King Training Plan had returned. He had to train every minute again.
But after the successive encounters with Moria and Kuma, his usual exercise routine felt somewhat unsatisfying.
Improving one's strength wasn't something achieved overnight.
And on top of that, there was the news that Ace had been locked up in Impel Down.
It was all a bit distracting.
The only good news was that Ace had only been sent to Impel Down—like Golden Lion, he was imprisoned but not in immediate danger of death. There was no need to rush.
Kuma had told Luffy that he could go to the Sabaody Archipelago and find a man named Rayleigh to help.
The name sounded vaguely familiar, like he had heard it from someone before. But asking others for help wasn't really his style.
Luffy had already declared war on the World Government. Breaking into Impel Down would be extremely difficult. The Navy wasn't weak either. Ordinary pirates couldn't even enter, let alone fight their way in.
Looking at it from another angle—could he make a deal with the World Government to trade Ace out?
For example, if he captured someone the World Government cared about, like some high-ranking official... capturing a high-ranking Navy officer to exchange might also work?
Luffy's eyes lit up. His gloomy mood lifted completely.
At least he had found a direction to think in, hadn't he?