Chapter 143: Tower of Justice – The Final Dash – Buster Call & Merry's Last Voyage
"Where did that pirate ship come from?! How did it sneak past the outer warships and get here?!" The lookout on the warship stared in disbelief as the Straw Hats jumped off the bridge one after another. He had thought they were trapped with nowhere to go, but suddenly a pirate ship had appeared silently below!
Bru bru bru— The Den Den Mushi rang urgently. The moment the operator picked up, Vice Admiral Onigumo's furious roar exploded out: "All warships, hear me! Do not let the Straw Hats escape! Open fire! Sink that pirate ship immediately!"
The moment he finished giving the order, Onigumo collapsed heavily from exhaustion. The five Vice Admirals had already struggled to hold their own against Sol earlier. Now, after exerting everything to block his ultimate technique, every one of them was covered in burns from lightning and flames.
"Quick! Protect the Vice Admirals! Medics, prepare for rescue!" The soldiers who had been protected by the Vice Admirals hurriedly carried their superiors away for emergency treatment. The heavy responsibility of commanding the battlefield now fell entirely on the warships that were still firing.
Sol manipulated the air currents to float in midair. Since he would get seasick the moment he boarded a ship, he decided to stay floating until they escaped.
Nami directed Chopper to sail the Merry at full speed, but the dense cannon fire from behind kept raising huge waves, severely disrupting their course. She leaped into the air, flew close to the floating Sol, and shouted anxiously: "Sol, this won't work! We have to stop the warships' bombardment! Can you use that move you did in Alabasta again?"
"You mean raising a waterspout to block them?" Seeing Nami nod vigorously, Sol brought his palms together. A violent tornado instantly formed in his hands.
"Go—Heavenly Dragon's Gale!"
Several massive tornadoes were pushed by Sol toward the rear of the warship fleet, forming a barrier between the Merry and the pursuing warships. The tornadoes quickly sucked up seawater, turning into towering waterspouts that rolled wildly across the sea like roaring beasts.
At the same time, Nami spread her wings and summoned a large stretch of dark clouds. Countless bolts of lightning rained down from the sky, intertwining with Sol's waterspouts to create a moving zone of destruction that looked like a natural disaster.
The closest warship was caught completely off guard. It was instantly dragged into the center of the violent waterspout; its sturdy hull was torn apart like a toy. Immediately after, several thunderbolts crashed down, and the entire large warship vanished from the sea surface in the blink of an eye.
This horrifying scene brought the pursuit of all the remaining warships to an abrupt halt. The Marines stared in terror at the raging storm zone and immediately turned their ships around, retreating at full speed. None dared to advance another step.
When the storm and waterspouts gradually subsided and the sea returned to calm, the Straw Hats had already disappeared, vanishing over the distant horizon.
"What should we do… should we continue the pursuit?" a Marine soldier asked hesitantly, looking toward the Rear Admiral who had temporarily taken command.
"There's no need," a calm and steady voice suddenly spoke. Everyone turned around and saw that Aokiji had appeared on the deck at some point, casually riding his bicycle. "Isn't the result obvious? This battle… was a complete defeat for us."
Meanwhile, at the bow of the Merry as it sailed away with the wind, Luffy sat high up and laughed loudly: "This time we won! We successfully took back our stolen nakama!"
Robin and Vivi exchanged a smile and bowed deeply to all their companions in thanks.
Sol slowly landed on the deck and said to Robin with a carefree smile: "We made a promise long ago. You became our nakama, so we will protect you. There's no need to thank us." With that, he collapsed onto the deck with a thud, instantly switching to "dead fish mode," looking half-dead.
Robin smiled gently and walked over. She let Sol rest his head on her lap and softly stroked his hair:
"Yes, yes~ You worked hard, Vice Captain."
On the other side, Sanji also let out an "Ahh~" and dramatically collapsed to the ground, acting exaggeratedly while groaning. Vivi saw through it but didn't say anything. She smiled and let him rest his head on her lap, saying softly:
"Just this once today, okay, Sanji-kun?"
Nami, watching from the side, couldn't bear to look. While steering the ship with Chopper, she complained: "Sol getting seasick is one thing, but this perverted cook is beyond saving…"
Usopp walked over intending to tease Sanji a bit, but found that the guy had already passed out completely with a blissful look on his face. "Hey hey, is this for real?"
After the Merry struggled onward for a while on the sea, Iceburg approached on a large ship coming from the opposite direction. But at that moment, a heartbreaking cracking sound came from the Merry's figurehead. The entire ship suddenly lurched downward, startling Luffy and the others into panic.
"I witnessed a miracle—a ship that surpassed its own limits." Iceburg's voice came clearly. He explained that after finishing repairs on Rocketman, he had been checking other areas when he heard the Merry's call inside the shipyard. He personally witnessed the entire process of the Merry starting and sailing on its own. That was how he had been able to appear on the sea so quickly.
After hearing Iceburg's explanation, Luffy and the others were already in tears. They all shouted at Sol in unison: "Hurry up and think of something, Sol!"
"Ugh… burp…" Sol endured the agony of seasickness and shakily stood up. "Franky! Quickly remove a section of Merry's keel—hurry!"
Though Franky didn't understand why, he moved quickly and immediately rushed to the bottom of the ship's hold.
A huge magic circle bloomed beneath Sol's feet, instantly enveloping the entire Merry. He released all his magic power. A low dragon roar echoed from the circle: "Dragon Slayer Secret Art – Soul Transfer!"
The complex dragon-patterned magic circle shone brightly. Countless chains made of soul power and Dragon Slayer magic sank into the ship's hull, slowly drawing out the weakened ship spirit Merry.
"I got a section of the keel! What do I do next?" Franky asked urgently, holding up a piece of wood.
Sol motioned for him to place the wood in front of him, then slowly transferred Merry's soul into the keel. The massive magic circle contracted, pouring all the soul power and magic power into that single piece of wood.
The light flared brightly. The ordinary piece of wood gradually emitted a soft glow, its material turning into something like translucent crystal. Looking closely, Merry appeared to be sleeping peacefully inside it.
"Everyone… I need to rest for a while. I look forward to waking up and sailing with you again…" Merry's voice gently echoed in everyone's hearts. Then the glow faded, and everything returned to calm.
"Alright, Merry's soul has been transferred into this section of the keel, but she overexerted herself and has fallen into a deep sleep for now." Using the last of his strength to explain quickly, Sol's body swayed and he too fainted.
Just as he was about to fall, Robin quickly reached out, steadily catching him in her arms, then gently laid him down on the deck.
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