I never imagined such side effects would occur from Robin not being there. After suffering through eye terrorism and trying my best to erase those scenes from my memory, I drove Maxim and moved to "Water Seven."
I needed to drop off people who had nothing to do with us, and the condition of the island natives was also critical. So I planned to stay in Water Seven for a while, treat them, and then move on.
'While I'm at it, I should also witness the final farewell to the Going Merry.'
There were two iconic scenes in Water Seven, but one was ruined, so I felt I absolutely had to see the other before leaving. That's why I had already attached a shadow soldier in advance.
Anyway, as Maxim approached the waters near Water Seven, I lowered its altitude and sailed on the sea like a normal ship, entering Water Seven. I had been here before, but Water Seven was indeed as beautiful as ever.
"This is as far as you come with us. Get off."
I instructed the pirates and people unrelated to us to disembark. Some got off, but some remained.
"Why aren't you getting off?"
In response to my question, one of the captive girls spoke.
"I have nowhere else to go now."
Starting with her words, the others who didn't leave began explaining their own circumstances — why they had come to Enies Lobby — and said they had nowhere to go.
There were truly absurd stories. One person had gone to Marie Geoise to protest after his family was all killed by a Celestial Dragon upon his return from working there, only to be captured and dragged away instead.
One woman had been forced by a noble to become his concubine, but she resisted to the end and ended up falsely accused of all sorts of crimes and thrown in prison.
Another had simply been unlucky enough to be captured by the Navy while traveling. As I've said before, in the One Piece world, unauthorized sailing is illegal, so it wasn't strange for things like this to happen.
Listening to their stories made me realize once again that the One Piece world is truly hell. If you don't have power, the correct answer is to never set foot in the One Piece world.
"Is that so? Then wait a moment."
I read the memories of the remaining people, kept only those who were decent, and sent away those who had issues. Since the Merchant's Island had many secrets, I needed to start screening people. Those who left had no choice but to depart from Maxim, afraid of me.
"I will hire you. But you'll have to work hard."
"Yes, sir."
"You've all been through a lot, so rest for now. Is there anyone here who knows how to cook?"
At that, the former head chef of a pirate ship raised his hand. This guy had lost all his crewmates and survived alone, making it this far. When he was a pirate, he was a peace-maintainer and hardworking. So I planned to get him a job at the store's restaurant.
"I'll assign some people to you, so prepare a meal first. The kitchen is in the center of the first floor."
I assigned the women to him and had them prepare a meal. Then I began treating the island-native Navy soldiers in earnest. For those whose lives were in danger and those who seemed likely to suffer severe aftereffects, I even used Heal, so there probably wouldn't be any major issues.
After finishing treatment and eating, I was resting a bit when I received a contact from my shadow soldier and immediately switched places with him.
The place I arrived at was a ship of the Galley-La Company, the world's greatest giant shipbuilding company, headed by Iceburg. They had likely come to see Luffy and the others off.
I used [Stealth] and watched them.
"Alright, is everyone ready?"
"Yeah…"
"Okay."
By now, the Going Merry was broken beyond repair, its bow completely split in two.
Luffy's crewmates and the shipwrights of the Galley-La Company were watching the Going Merry's final moments, and Luffy was on a small boat, setting the Merry on fire.
"Merry, the bottom of the sea is dark and lonely, so we'll watch over you until the end."
As the Merry caught fire, snow began to fall. But this snow was special — touching it made me start remembering the times I had repaired Merry. It seemed this snow had the power to make people recall their memories of the Going Merry.
'So fairies really do exist in the One Piece world.'
Then, a voice suddenly began to be heard from the burning Merry.
· I'm sorry. I wanted to take everyone even farther…
The crewmembers on the Galley-La Company ship were startled and looked around.
"A voice…"
"Where is it coming from?"
"No way, it can't be… Klaus Bauter only…"
· I'm sorry. I wanted to go on adventures with you forever. But I…
Then Luffy, crying as he looked at the burning Merry, shouted.
"The one who should be sorry is us!!! Merry!!! I was so bad at steering!! I crashed you into an iceberg!! I even tore the sail!! Zoro and Sanji were idiots too and broke all sorts of things!! Usopp fixed them every time, but his workmanship was terrible!!! The ones who should be sorry is us!!!"
At his words, the rest of the crew also began to cry loudly.
· But I… was happy. Thank you for taking care of me all this time. I was truly happy.
"Merry~~~!!!"
I didn't care what they were doing; I was busy taking photos with the burning Merry in the background. I may seem very cold-hearted, but surely anyone who has gained a game life would have done the same.
After witnessing the Going Merry's final moments, I returned to Maxim. The seriously injured seemed to have stabilized to some extent, so I piloted Maxim again and headed toward the store. But while traveling for a while, I spotted a peculiar ship sailing down below.
'Oh~ to see that pirate ship here… Well, it is about time for them to show up.'
I stopped Maxim for a moment, thoroughly observed the ship with [Naked Eye], then resumed moving. The ship I had seen was the Polar Tang. The Polar Tang is the pirate ship of the Heart Pirates, led by the "Surgeon of Death," Trafalgar Law.
The reason I found the Polar Tang attractive enough to stop Maxim was simply because it was a submarine. However, it was an old submarine, and its design wasn't great.
'I'll fix that problem later by modifying it.'
The Heart Pirates also seemed to have noticed us, as they all came out onto the Polar Tang's deck and were looking up at Maxim. Trafalgar Law was no exception. But since Maxim was at a considerable altitude, there was no way they could tell that I was watching them.
Leaving that unexpected encounter behind, I was able to return to Mock Town.
As soon as I arrived, I moved the people from Maxim into the store to rest, and stored Maxim back in my inventory.
Two days later, a merchant ship arrived at the store. After unloading the goods, I instructed that the island-native Navy soldiers be transferred to the island's hospital. The children who had come with us were also sent to an orphanage.
After that, I assigned suitable work to the remaining people. The store was in a busy period, and continuing to rely on the merchant ship's crew was becoming difficult.
'Next is Impel Down. This works out well anyway, since there are abilities to be gained there.'
While preparing to leave again, an employee came running to me, out of breath, holding a newspaper.
"President, you should take a look at this."
At those words, I took the newspaper and checked it.
[Breaking News] King of Merchants Single-Handedly Raids Enies Lobby… Judicial Authority Devastated
Enies Lobby, the World Government's core judicial authority, was single-handedly attacked by the "King of Merchants."
As a result of this attack, major facilities have been destroyed, and a large number of judicial officials have lost their function, it has been confirmed.
The World Government has designated this an unprecedented major incident and raised the King of Merchants' bounty. Meanwhile, some analysts are suggesting that this incident may herald the dawn of a "Five Emperors Era."
That was the article. My bounty had risen by another 500 million berries, making it 3.5 billion berries. And now, the phrase "Alive Only" had disappeared.
I immediately called the store staff and gave instructions.
"For the time being, strengthen the store's security and keep a close watch on Mock Town at all times."
"Yes, sir."
I had originally planned to go straight to Impel Down, but with this incident, I couldn't predict how the World Government or the Navy would react, nor could I predict how the pirates would move. The pirates in the One Piece world have an unusually strong sense of pointless challenge.
So I decided to observe the situation a bit more from the store. Meanwhile, in preparation for my absence, I created an underground waterway connecting to the store and a modified version of the Polar Tang, so that the store employees could evacuate quickly if needed.
'I'm also worried about the island-native Navy soldiers imprisoned in Impel Down, but my employees are important too, so I suppose I have no choice.'
The modified version of the Polar Tang was refitted using Adam Wood and alloy, and the design was made sharper and prettier.
Thanks to that, I also gained the side effect of increased base speed, and I added a booster function using pressure and dials, allowing for rapid escape from the sea area.
One might ask why I don't just use the cutting-edge submarine I made back in the modern world, but as I've said before, any mode of transportation I don't pilot myself is considered over-technology that doesn't exist in the One Piece world, making it difficult to use. Still, I judged that this would be sufficient to survive dangerous moments.
Over the next few days, I built the waterway and submarine beneath the store and trained several select employees. Of course, this was a last resort, so I made sure they kept their mouths shut. The employees had also seen the condition of the island-native Navy soldiers, so they understood the importance and there seemed to be no risk of leaks.
Fortunately, there was no movement from the Navy or the World Government during that time. The employee training was also complete. I moved to the Merchant's Island briefly to stock up on supplies. With my [Material Copy] ability, it didn't take very long.
After that, I spent some time with my wives and prepared to go rescue the children in Impel Down.
"Are you going to Impel Down now?"
Vivi asked me.
"Yeah, I have to go."
"I understand, since the island-native Navy soldiers are imprisoned there, but after what happened at Enies Lobby, they might be prepared and waiting."
Vivi seemed worried.
"Don't worry. I'm not that weak."
I hugged Vivi once and then moved to Impel Down.
But just as Vivi had said, I could see numerous Navy soldiers gathered in front of Impel Down, waiting. It seemed they had predicted that I would come to rescue the island-native Navy soldiers and had prepared in advance.
Once again, I arrived confidently at the entrance of Impel Down and began walking in. But there were no Marines or guards trying to stop me.
After walking for a while, I understood why. In the open space, two people were standing: Kizaru and Magellan. It seemed they intended to stop me with these two.
I looked at them for a moment, then opened my mouth.
"Kizaru, it's unfortunate that we meet under such circumstances. Given the situation, I have no intention of letting it slide. Take your Marines and return to headquarters."
"Hoooh~ Taejin, you're scary~! Well, I understand to some extent, but we also have our own circumstances. Rather, I'd like to ask you a favor. I'd appreciate it if you'd surrender quietly."
I frowned and asked back.
"You know perfectly well that I've come to rescue your former subordinates, Kizaru, the children who have worked for the Navy for years, yet you still say that?"
"Of course I know, but the higher-ups ordered it. I have no choice."
At Kizaru's firm stance, I let out a deep sigh.
"I thought you were more reasonable than Sakazuki, but I was wrong. My belief is that the Navy should act not for the World Government, but for the kingdoms. Well, you've already become the World Government's dogs and have come to a point where there's no turning back, so I suppose words won't work anymore."
At those words, Kizaru silently reached up and slightly adjusted his sunglasses. Outwardly, he seemed calm, but one could sense that he too felt bitter about how things had turned out.