Accompanied by the deafening roar of machinery, Emet slowly rose to his feet. The light within his eyes flickered between bright and dim before finally stabilizing.
The gigantic robot made Nami instinctively uneasy, and she quickly hid behind Luffy while clutching the corner of his shirt.
Luffy, however, simply stared upward at Emet with visible confusion in his eyes.
Emet lowered his enormous head and looked down at the tiny figure standing beneath him. His mechanical voice echoed across the area.
"Joy Boy... is that you? We finally meet again!"
By the end of his sentence, excitement could clearly be heard in his voice.
Nami and the others immediately looked toward Luffy nervously.
Under everyone's gaze, Luffy shook his head.
"I'm not Joy Boy. I'm Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy!"
The group instantly sighed in relief.
Ever since the one calling himself Joy Boy had appeared, something about Luffy had felt strange. They were genuinely worried that Luffy might completely lose himself and become overtaken by Joy Boy.
Emet paused after hearing Luffy's response and muttered to himself.
"Not Joy Boy? Then what was the sound of the Drums of Liberation just now... Wait... the name D..."
As he spoke, Emet slowly leaned closer. His gaze settled on the Straw Hat resting atop Luffy's head, and realization suddenly struck him.
His massive head slowly nodded.
"So that's how it is.
You are the one who inherited Joy Boy's will.
As expected, his will could never disappear."
Luffy frowned slightly and was about to speak when his mind suddenly became heavy.
A moment later, his right pupil turned golden.
At the same time, his face showed two completely different expressions. One side looked confused while the other appeared serious and composed.
Nami and the others instantly understood.
Joy Boy was "possessing" Luffy again, but this time it only seemed partial.
Even Joy Boy himself was surprised by this situation, though he quickly regained his composure.
"It seems the battle against Blackbeard consumed far more mental energy than I expected. I can't fully control this body anymore... Fine. It's about time I properly spoke with this kid."
Luffy frowned with the left side of his face and muttered in confusion.
"Huh?
This feels weird.
Why can't I feel the right side of my body anymore?"
Joy Boy, who currently occupied the right side, chuckled before speaking.
"Luffy, that's because I'm controlling the right half of your body right now!
Come to think of it, this is the first time we've properly talked like this."
Luffy's eyes widened immediately.
"Huh?! Huh?! Huh?!
Then who was talking just now?!"
He began wildly flailing his arms and legs in panic.
Seeing Luffy seemingly argue with himself, Nami and the others rushed forward and grabbed onto the left side of his body, the side that still appeared normal.
In their panic, they pulled far too hard.
Luffy's left side stretched outward instantly.
Oddly enough, the right side of his body remained perfectly still despite nobody holding it, almost as if it had been nailed to the ground.
Seeing Luffy's body stretch farther and farther, everyone hurriedly let go.
The stretched half instantly snapped back with a loud smack.
The recoil caused half of Luffy's body to shake violently, leaving him dizzy.
Joy Boy took the opportunity to speak again.
"We only met a little while ago. There's no need to be this nervous around me, right?
I'm really not a bad guy."
Nobody believed him.
Nami and the others stared at him with obvious hostility.
Even Lindbergh, who understood more about Joy Boy than the others, firmly stood beside the Straw Hat crew.
At this moment, he was arguably the strongest fighter present.
Seeing the situation unfold, Lindbergh immediately stepped in front of everyone. Electricity crackled around his claw as he fixed a wary stare on the side of Luffy's face controlled by Joy Boy.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Suddenly, Emet spoke in shock.
"There's no mistake!
That aura... You truly are Joy Boy!"
Joy Boy rotated one eye upward toward Emet's glowing mechanical eyes and smiled faintly.
"It's been a long time, Emet.
You've slept here for ages, haven't you?
Sorry for waking you."
Hearing the familiar voice, the light within Emet's eyes flickered rapidly.
For a machine incapable of tears, this was the closest thing to crying.
With a deafening crash, Emet dropped heavily to the ground.
"I am truly sorry!
I failed to fulfill our promise!"
Sadness flashed across Joy Boy's face, and the smile he wore gradually disappeared.
He stared silently at Emet for a long moment before finally speaking.
"Emet, don't blame yourself.
You've already done enough.
The one who truly failed the promise... was me.
I let down far too many people."
At that moment, the other half of Luffy suddenly regained awareness and immediately struggled to retake control of his body.
From the perspective of Nami and the others, Luffy's entire body began trembling violently.
The left side of his face twisted awkwardly as if he wanted to speak but couldn't.
Meanwhile, sweat covered the right side controlled by Joy Boy as he gritted his teeth and spoke.
"I'm sorry, Luffy.
Please let me talk to Emet for a little longer.
Please."
Because his mental energy had been heavily exhausted after the battle, suppressing Luffy's consciousness and gaining complete control over the body was extremely difficult for Joy Boy.
The more fiercely Luffy resisted, the more unstable Joy Boy became.
After hearing Joy Boy's request, Luffy unexpectedly stopped struggling.
"Okay... I'll lend you my body for a bit."
Nami immediately panicked.
"No!
Luffy, don't listen to him!
Take your body back right now!"
Luffy struggled to turn his head slightly and could only glance at Nami from the corner of his eye.
"Nami, no matter what, he saved us.
He also helped me defeat Blackbeard.
Letting him borrow my body for a little while is fine."
Nami froze after hearing that.
Luffy then looked forward again and quietly muttered as though speaking to himself.
"Alright... the rest is yours."
The pupil in his left eye immediately lost focus before slowly closing shut.
Joy Boy softly replied from the other side.
"Thank you, Luffy."
Emet also noticed that Luffy had now completely become Joy Boy and was about to speak.
However, Joy Boy interrupted him first.
"Sorry, Emet. Time is limited.
Do you still remember the thing I sealed inside you?"