"How did the Going Merry end up here?" Luffy looked confused.
Robin frowned slightly. After thinking for a moment, she slowly said:
"Most likely, the people on the Sky Island considered it a burden and threw it away from the port. It drifted along the current of the White-White Sea and happened to float right in front of us."
That was the only explanation.
It couldn't possibly be that someone had deliberately controlled the Going Merry and made it drift in front of them.
Why would they? What would they gain from it?
Crocodile's gaze, however, had not moved from the ship since it appeared.
He slowly rubbed his chin and spoke thoughtfully, "This is actually a ready-made, perfect carrier."
The wooden hull was spacious and sturdy, and it wouldn't be affected by the sea of clouds.
It was simply perfect for enclosing the few Devil Fruit users among them.
However, the moment he said this, Shanks immediately shook his head, "No."
His tone was firm, "That's Luffy's companion."
He knew too well how Luffy felt about that ship.
Earlier, because he refused to abandon the Going Merry, that kid had been willing to risk the destruction of the ship and everyone aboard just to bring it with him onto the Sky Island.
Using this ship as a tool by taking it apart? Luffy would be the first to refuse.
"It's fine."
To everyone's surprise, Luffy scratched his head, looking completely at ease, "If the Going Merry can help, isn't that great? Tell me, what should we do?"
"Huh?"
Everyone froze.
Crocodile raised an eyebrow and looked at him with amusement, "Straw Hat, have you thought this through? This ship is going to be taken apart and modified. Once we're done, it'll probably fall apart, and we'll only be able to put it back together afterward."
"I know."
Luffy's expression was surprisingly serious as he looked at the battered Going Merry, "The Going Merry is my companion, but more than anything else, I respect what it wants."
He pointed at the ship, "Look, it drifted over to us on its own. It's like it wants to help us too. This must be what the Going Merry wants."
He grinned brightly, "The Going Merry is our companion, that's true. But precisely because it's our companion, shouldn't it step up and help everyone when it matters most?"
"It must want us to enter this island and find a way to save Juste."
"This..."
Yasopp opened his mouth, but for a moment, he was completely speechless.
Could there really be someone like this in the world?
How was this guy even more pirate-like than him?
"Besides..."
Luffy patted his chest, his eyes bright, "Once all this is over, I'll definitely restore the Going Merry to how it was! I'll let it stay with us and keep sailing with us! So..."
He turned his head toward everyone and said firmly, "Take it apart! Use the Going Merry! This time, let it help us properly!"
Everyone stared blankly at the boy.
There wasn't the slightest hesitation or reluctance in those eyes, only an almost dazzling openness.
But to the others listening, why did it sound so frightening?
Using high-sounding words to do the cruelest thing to his companion.
"Ha."
Crocodile couldn't help letting out a light laugh, and a trace of appreciation actually flashed in his eyes, "You're quite an easygoing brat. I like you!"
He actually appreciated Luffy's personality even more.
Or rather, the fact that Luffy wasn't so clingy was a good thing for him.
"Since Luffy put it that way," Robin also smiled, "Then we won't be polite."
If even the original owner didn't care, why should she?
Shanks looked at Luffy and remained silent for a moment.
In the end, he only sighed, "Alright, we'll do as you say."
He was beginning to wonder if he simply wasn't suited to teaching others.
He had clearly watched Luffy grow up, so how had Luffy ended up like this?
His mouth was always full of talk about companions, but when something really happened, was this companion really that important to Luffy?
Shanks didn't agree with Luffy's unique view of companions. He even found it somewhat repellent, even chilling.
With the decision made, everyone stopped wasting time.
Shanks leaped onto the floating Going Merry and drew his sword with one arm.
As the blade flashed up and down, he precisely took apart the battered sailing ship.
The deck, gunwales, and planks, thick pieces of wood, were removed one by one in neat order.
Robin used her ability to control the planks, assembling them in midair.
Although Crocodile couldn't control his sand in the sea of clouds, it could still help secure and support the structure at this time.
Everyone worked together, busy but orderly.
The decks that had once carried countless adventures and laughter were now being pieced together into a tightly sealed wooden cabin.
It would be the ark that carried the Devil Fruit users among them through this sea of clouds straight to Upper Yard.
The afterglow of the setting sun passed through the cracks underground and fell across the mottled wood.
It was as though it were silently bidding the old ship its final farewell.
The enclosed wooden cabin was finally assembled.
It was a temporary box-shaped structure, roughly three meters on each side, made from the Going Merry's deck and side planks.
Although rough and crude, with uneven edges visible at the seams, the materials were thick and sturdy enough.
Robin was even more careful. She created dozens of arms with her ability and used waterproof canvas and hemp rope taken from the ship to tightly wrap and seal every gap, making sure not a drop of water could get through.
"That should do it."
Robin clapped her hands, withdrew her ability, and looked at the crude ark before her, giving a slight nod, "As long as it doesn't break, it should be able to make it through this sea of clouds."
"Then let's get in."
Crocodile stepped inside first, found a corner in the cramped space, sat down, and lit a cigar, "Stop wasting time. The sooner we leave, the better."
Robin followed right behind him. Luffy then jumped in excitedly and bounced around twice inside, grinning, "Hey, it's pretty sturdy!"
He looked so carefree that he seemed to have completely forgotten the fact that the Going Merry had already been taken apart.
Once the three had settled in, Shanks and Yasopp stood outside the cabin. Together, they covered it tightly with the heavy wooden lid, then firmly tied it up from the outside with hemp rope.
"Hey, can you hear me in there?", Shanks knocked on the wooden boards.
"We can hear you!"
Luffy's voice came from inside, muffled but still full of energy.
"Good. Then we're setting off."
Shanks took a deep breath and looked at Yasopp beside him, "Stay close to me. Don't fall behind. No one knows what's beneath this sea of clouds."
"Don't worry, Captain."
Yasopp patted his chest and slung his gun over his back, "I've been making my way around the sea for all these years. I can handle this much."
Shanks nodded, pressed his one arm against the heavy wooden box, and took a deep breath, "Go!"
He suddenly pushed, and the wooden box plunged into the white sea of clouds with a splash.
The moment it entered the water, an unprecedented resistance surged toward them.
It wasn't the buoyancy and stickiness of ordinary seawater, but a much lighter feeling.
It was as though their entire bodies were wrapped in clouds, leaving them nowhere to exert their strength.
"The sea is still just as strange as before."
Shanks didn't feel there was any problem. With his monstrous physique, he regained his balance almost instantly.
"Captain, are you alright? Is everything okay?"
Yasopp leaped into the sea of clouds right behind him and surfaced beside him, his face full of tension.
"I'm fine."
Shanks shook his head. With one hand holding the wooden box, he gestured forward with the other:
"We're setting off now. Keep an eye on our surroundings. If you notice anything unusual, tell me immediately."
"Understood!"
The two of them moved one after the other, protecting the heavy wooden box as they slowly swam toward Upper Yard.
The white sea of clouds was quiet and strange.
The water was as soft as cotton, yet as heavy as thick paste. Every stroke took several times more effort than in an ordinary ocean.
The only sounds beside their ears were the muffled gurgling of the water and their heavy breathing.
Inside the sealed wooden box.
"It's so stuffy..."
Luffy slumped down in a corner, lying there weakly.
The wooden box kept the White-White Sea out, so he could still use his strength.
But for someone naturally free like him, being trapped in such a small cage still made him uncomfortable from the inside out.
"Bear with it. It'll be much better once we're ashore."
Crocodile was in much better shape, or rather, this environment had no effect on him at all.
It was just that being in the White-White Sea, with his life no longer under his own control, made him somewhat uncomfortable.
If this thing sank, he would have almost no ability to resist.
In the White-White Sea, he wouldn't be completely unable to move.
But if the outer shell were breached, there was no need to think about it. It would have to be caused by an external force.
At that point, even if they encountered a large fish in the White-White Sea, he wouldn't be able to withstand it.
Only Robin was completely unaffected. In the enclosed darkness, she simply sat to the side with her eyes closed, calmly resting.
They swam for several minutes.
"Captain, look over there!"
Yasopp suddenly cried out and pointed ahead.
Shanks abruptly raised his head.
In the previously calm sea of clouds, countless tiny purple arcs of electricity had suddenly appeared.
The arcs moved and leaped across the surface of the sea of clouds like snakes, making crisp sizzling sounds as they rapidly approached their position.
"It's the lightning barrier! It can actually spread into the sea," Shanks's pupils contracted, and he immediately decided, "Quick, keep diving!"
The two took a deep breath and plunged into the depths of the sea of clouds.
The wooden box sank along with them, completely swallowed by the white waves.
Boom! Crackle!
The instant they went underwater, the purple arcs of electricity exploded, sending ripples across the surface of the sea of clouds.
The blinding lightning lit up the entire area as though it were daytime. Terrifying currents scattered in all directions, and wherever they passed, the cloud-water crackled and hissed, giving off wisps of white smoke.
But although the surface was churned by the electricity, the purple lightning didn't continue spreading extensively downward.
Only some of the arcs dispersed and reached down into the water.
Shanks looked up from the deep sea. Through the hazy cloud-water, he watched the flashing lightning above, and something stirred in his mind.
'As expected.'
'The White-White Sea really could block that lightning barrier.'
It just didn't block it completely, but that was within his expectations.
Devil Fruit abilities weren't completely incapable of affecting seawater. It was simply that ability users couldn't use their abilities in seawater.
Large-scale Devil Fruit abilities could still affect seawater.
But only the surface water. They couldn't reach the depths.
And now, the electrical arcs that had spread down to where they were were so weak that they were practically harmless to the human body.
Even Luffy's physique could withstand them.
But... Shanks suddenly felt his heart become heavy and looked toward the wooden box beside him.
Sure enough.
Just as he had expected, the Going Merry, made from ordinary wood, really did risk being unable to withstand the electrical current.
Shanks reached out and touched it. The wooden boards were actually faintly hot.
"No, the wooden box might not hold up!"
Shanks immediately acted, exerting force as his legs moved like a fish's tail, dragging the heavy wooden box deeper.
Fifty meters.
Two hundred meters...
As the depth increased, the residual lightning from above finally disappeared completely, and the surroundings returned to darkness and silence.
Only then did Shanks relax slightly. He continued forward with Yasopp, swimming all the way to the coast of Upper Yard before gesturing for Yasopp to surface.
The two switched positions, with Shanks going first and Yasopp pushing the wooden box from below.
"Cough! Cough!"
Shanks surfaced and took deep breaths of air, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
The full-force diving and dragging just now had consumed quite a bit of his strength despite his physique.
More importantly, that feeling of having to constantly worry about danger had not been pleasant.
"Safe!"
Shanks gave Yasopp below him a signal, and Yasopp then pushed the wooden box to the surface.
After making sure there was no danger around them and that the lightning storm wasn't approaching, Shanks quickly carried the wooden box with one hand and pushed it onto the nearby cloud beach.
"You can come out now!"
The instant Shanks spoke, the wooden lid above was pushed open, and Crocodile flew out first, still holding a listless Luffy in his hand.
"What happened to him?", Shanks froze.
They hadn't encountered any danger just now, so how had Luffy ended up like this?
"You swam too fast just now. The wooden box kept shaking the whole time and made this kid sick."
Crocodile grinned and tossed Luffy onto the ground, letting him spit out what he had eaten.
"This..."
Shanks helplessly covered his forehead.
To ensure their safety, he really had used all his strength when pushing the box just now, without paying attention to the angle of the wooden box.
He could already imagine Luffy rolling around inside the box.
"Let's rest for a bit."
Shanks sighed, while also looking at Robin, who was the last to come out.
She was just as he had expected, completely fine. Her condition was even better than Crocodile's.
It seemed that her strength was most likely greater than Crocodile's.
Were all the people trained by the World Government this strong?
Robin seemed to sense Shanks's gaze and looked up with a smile:
"Thank you, Mr. Shanks."
"You're welcome."
Shanks withdrew his gaze and waved his hand before turning to look at Upper Yard, which was right in front of them.
Luffy's journey was still a long one. He had plenty of time to judge whether the other party was worth trusting.
Even with Sanji's identity, he had considered persuading him to turn over a new leaf, let alone Robin's situation.
They were too short on fighting power right now.
[🙇🏻 You Can Support through P@tr3on—AmbitiousTranslator. It also has 40+ advanced chapters of all the novels and fanfics. It gets updated daily. Thanks for reading, have a great day~]