Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
The Log Pose in Nami's hand had finally finished charging its magnetism—now all that was left was Franky's ship.
"Man… that banquet a few days ago was so fun," Luffy said nostalgically.
"I wonder when we'll have the next one."
"You still have the nerve to talk about banquets?!" Nami snapped, glaring at him.
"Do you have any idea how much money you spent treating the entire city, you idiot?!"
"If it weren't for Jin, we wouldn't even have money left to buy furniture!"
Just thinking about it made Nami's fist tighten again.
Luffy shrank his neck and muttered softly, "But… everything turned out fine…"
"Hm?"
Bang!
Nami flashed over in an instant and punched Luffy flat.
Merry's eyes went wide.
"H-Hey, Nami, why are you hitting Luffy?"
"Hmph, he deserves it," Nami snorted, then turned toward Jin with money-sign eyes.
"Jin, next time something like that happens, please don't hold back."
She was obviously referring to the money Jin had taken from Enies Lobby.
"Ah… got it…" Jin replied helplessly.
Seeing Nami in full money-obsessed mode, Jin's mouth twitched.
Yep—this was absolutely in character.
"Jin, the furniture's arrived, right?" Nami asked.
"Yeah. It's all inside the scroll," Jin nodded.
"We'll take it out once we're back on the ship."
Most of the Straw Hats' belongings were currently stored in his sealing scrolls.
When he first showed them that ability, everyone had been completely stunned.
Merry's personal storage space had shocked them just as much.
"Hey, Straw Hat guys! You in there?!"
"That sounds like the square sisters," Jin glanced toward the door.
Bang!
The door burst open as Kiwi, Mozu, and Chimney rushed in, panting heavily.
"It's you guys. What's up?"
"Straw Hat big bro! Our boss sent us!"
"The ship's finished!"
"Really?!"
The entire Straw Hat crew lit up with excitement.
That meant—they were ready to set sail again!
"It's done already?!"
"Five top-class shipwrights worked nonstop," Kiwi said proudly.
"Of course it's fast!"
"Then what are we waiting for?" Sanji said impatiently.
"I can't wait to see the new kitchen!"
"I wonder what the new ship looks like!" Merry said excitedly.
"Let's go take a look," Jin said with a smile, gently rubbing Merry's head.
"By the way, Merry—can you still use that ability to control ships?"
"I'm not sure," little Merry tilted her head.
"I haven't tried yet."
"Then we'll test it later."
"Okay!"
Just then, loud shouting came from outside again.
"Straw Hat big brooo!!"
"Wow, today's really lively," Robin smiled.
"Let's go see."
They stepped outside, only to see the Franky Family rushing toward them, out of breath.
"Don't tell me—you're here about the ship too?" Sanji asked.
"The ship?" Zambai froze for a second, then shook his head.
"No, this is something else."
"Have you seen your bounty posters yet?"
"Straw Hat big bro's bounty is insane!"
"And ninja bro's too—first bounty and it's already terrifying…"
Zambai swallowed hard.
He'd never seen anything this outrageous in his life.
"Oh? I got a bounty too?" Jin grinned.
"That's something worth celebrating."
"Yeah—and everyone else got one too," Zambai nodded.
"Me too?!" Chopper's eyes sparkled.
"Hahaha! I finally have a bounty! Mine's definitely higher than that moss-head's, right?!"
"Tch, you're dreaming, curly-brow."
"Wait—why do I also—"
Unlike the others, Nami completely froze.
"Just… take a look yourselves," Zambai said, laying the posters on the ground.
"Straw Hat Luffy — 420,000,000 Berries!"
"Awesome! It went up! Hahahaha!"
"Blood-Eyed Ninja · Jin — 400,000,000 Berries."
"Ohhh~"
Jin studied his own poster with interest.
Four hundred million on his first bounty—pretty impressive.
The photo looked like it had been taken at Enies Lobby.
But… why did his poster say 'Alive Only'?
"First bounty and it's this high?!" Kiwi shouted in disbelief.
"This is unheard of!" Mozu agreed.
"It's probably because Jin stopped the Buster Call," Robin guessed.
That was the only explanation that made sense.
"Pirate Hunter Zoro — 150,000,000 Berries."
"Hmph. Not bad," Zoro smirked.
"Cat Burglar Nami — 20,000,000 Berries."
"W-Wait—why do I have—?!"
Nami's face turned green.
"Cotton Candy Lover Chopper — Pet — 50 Berries."
"F… fifty…?"
Chopper completely froze.
"Devil Child Nico Robin — 80,000,000 Berries."
Robin simply smiled calmly.
"Hold on—who is this supposed to be?"
Sanji stared at a crude sketch, his soul visibly leaving his body.
"Black Leg Sanji — Photo acquisition failed — 90,000,000 Berries."
Sanji: "..."
At that moment, his world collapsed.
Jin glanced between Sanji and the poster, wondering if the Marines had done this on purpose.
"Hey, Sniper King's here too."
Merry blinked.
"…Isn't that Usopp?"
"Everyone, I know you've got a lot to say," Zambai interrupted urgently,
"but please look at this."
He laid down one more poster.
"That's Franky."
"Cyborg Franky — 50,000,000 Berries!"
"Boss became a wanted man…"
Kiwi and Mozu's expressions changed instantly.
They knew exactly what that meant.
"That's right," Zambai said grimly.
"Now that he's wanted, he can't live peacefully anymore."
"If he gets captured again, we don't have the strength to save him."
"So please—take Franky with you!"
"Even if you have to force him—please take him to sea!"
"Please!"
Luffy suddenly grinned.
"Even if you didn't say that," he said,
"I was already planning to."
"I decided a long time ago—he's gonna be my shipwright!"
"Really?!" Zambai's face lit up.
"Thank you, Straw Hat big bro!"
As long as Franky joined the Straw Hats, the Marines wouldn't be able to touch him.
"Boss… we're counting on you guys."
"Where are you going?"
"Home."
"You're not seeing him off?" the square sisters asked.
"Men don't need many words when parting."
With that, Zambai turned and left without looking back.
"Alright," Luffy said.
"Let's go find Franky."
"Yeah!"
As everyone went back inside to pack, Merry hesitated.
"Usopp… he…"
"That depends on his own choice," Robin said gently, lifting her into her arms.
"Whether he comes back… is something only he can decide."
Merry stayed silent, then nodded.
But as Robin walked inside, her vision slowly blurred.
Looking up at the sky, Merry whispered in her heart—
Usopp… will you come back?
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