This sudden voice startled Vir!
He instantly tensed up.
Electric arcs flashed wildly in his eyes!
Lightning surged in his hands, already charged and ready to strike.
With just a single thought from Vir, the lightning would instantly tear the enemy apart.
He quickly turned toward the source of the voice.
But the moment he saw who it was, not only did he not attack, but he also let out a deep sigh of relief.
The lightning in his hands dissipated, and his tense body relaxed.
Standing on the deck not far away was a small, ethereal figure.
It wore a cloak with an oversized hood that obscured its face.
But Vir could tell—it was smiling.
This was, of course, the ship spirit of the Going Merry.
Though its entrance had been utterly terrifying.
Even Vir had been startled.
With his highly advanced Observation Haki, he should have sensed any presence nearby. Yet, the voice had appeared from behind him out of nowhere.
Who wouldn’t be freaked out by that?
Seeing that it was Merry, Vir naturally calmed down.
He knew that the Going Merry had a ship spirit.
But he hadn’t realized that such beings couldn’t be detected with Observation Haki.
For a moment, he really thought he’d encountered a ghost.
Looking at the tiny figure before him, Vir was intrigued.
This was the first time he had seen a being like this.
“You’re the ship spirit of the Merry, right? What are you made of? And why don’t you make any sound when you move?!”
Still shaken, Vir circled the little spirit several times, examining it closely like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.
His words, however, surprised Merry.
He actually knows me?
What an incredible crewmate!
Merry felt nothing but joy at this realization, completely ignoring the latter half of Vir’s words.
“Yes! You actually recognize me!”
Merry’s smile grew even brighter. It seemed to love being acknowledged.
After circling the spirit a few times, Vir noted that it looked just like it did in the anime.
So intangible.
As if it had no physical form.
Seeing Merry so happy, Vir decided against his earlier thought of dissecting the little spirit that had given him such a scare.
Ship spirits weren’t known to manifest voluntarily.
For Merry to appear so openly, it must have something important to say.
“Did you need something from me, Little Merry?”
After a brief moment of thought, Vir settled on this nickname.
And indeed, Merry had something to ask of him.
“Yes!”
Merry spoke cheerfully, as if delighted that Vir could understand what it wanted.
Then, it revealed its true concern.
“I can feel it… I’m reaching my limit.”
Hearing this, Vir instantly understood.
Merry had realized that Vir’s ability to reshape objects could affect it, so it had come to ask him for repairs.
“At most, I can carry everyone across two or three more islands. After that, I’ll have no choice but to sink into the sea…”
“But… but I still want to keep sailing with everyone!”
“So, I want to ask you… Could you fix me? Make me sturdier? That way… maybe I can stay with everyone until the very end!”
By the time Merry finished speaking, its voice was filled with pleading.
It truly wanted to sail with the crew to the very end.
But its condition simply wouldn’t allow it.
However, over time, it had seen hope.
It had noticed that Vir could easily repair its damaged parts.
Even during battles on the ship, Vir would transform sections of it into steel to prevent damage from enemy attacks.
These abilities were truly miraculous.
And they gave Merry hope—the hope of continuing to sail.
That was why it had finally revealed itself.
And why it had made this request of Vir.
Looking at the little spirit before him, its voice now choked with emotion, Vir felt a pang of helplessness.
Though he couldn’t see Merry’s eyes, he could sense the tears welling up in them as they looked at him.
Could he fix it?
The answer was yes.
Having spent so much time aboard the Going Merry, he had grown attached to it.
If he could prevent it from sinking forever, he would gladly help.
But could he truly fix it?
The answer was no.
At least, not yet.
The Going Merry simply couldn’t carry them all the way to the end.
Vir could patch it up, sure. But he couldn’t upgrade its core structure.
Yes, he could turn parts of it into steel.
But that ability had a time limit.
The effect only lasted for a short while.
Was he supposed to keep watch over the ship 24/7?
That was clearly unrealistic.
And in the New World, once the Merry reverted to its original wooden state, destruction would be instantaneous.
The seas there weren’t as forgiving as those in the first half of the Grand Line.
Changing ships was inevitable.
But with Vir around, the Going Merry would never end up sinking into the ocean.
He could shrink it down and store it on the future Sunny.
The ship spirit wouldn’t disappear.
That way, Merry could still accompany everyone to the end of their journey.
So for now, repairs weren’t necessary.
It would be better to wait until the Merry was truly at its limit before taking action.
Otherwise, as long as the Merry was still in decent shape, the crew would never agree to switching ships.
With this in mind, Vir let out a helpless sigh and said, “I can’t fix you.”
The moment those words left his mouth, the little spirit that had been so excited just moments ago froze.
Its hood visibly drooped lower.
The corners of its mouth curved downward involuntarily.
A wave of disappointment washed over it, impossible to ignore.
Just as Merry was about to cry, Vir spoke again.
“I really can’t fix you… but I won’t let you sink into the sea.”
The moment Vir finished speaking, Merry froze again.
Not fix me but also not let me sink?
Was he planning to abandon me on some deserted island to rot alone?
If that was the case, I’d rather embrace the ocean’s depths!
Merry was about to refuse when—
“And I’ll make sure you can stay with us!”
Huh?
What?
What did I just hear?
Merry froze again!
A few simple words had completely short-circuited its tiny brain.
Not fix me, but still keep me around?
How was that possible?
Would they tow me with another ship?
But once I’m completely broken, even towing wouldn’t work!
What exactly did Vir mean?
Did he have another plan?
If so, that would be amazing!
“Really?! Really, Vir?! If that’s possible, that would be incredible! But… is it really doable?”
Merry took a few excited steps forward, looking up at Vir with anticipation.
Its tiny hands fidgeted nervously.
It wanted to hug Vir’s leg but felt that wouldn’t be appropriate.
So it kept raising and lowering its hands awkwardly in midair.
Seeing this, Vir couldn’t help but chuckle.
Ship spirits really did have the minds of children.
He crouched down, looking at the spirit that only reached his shin.
With a serious expression, he said, “It’s true!”
“I swear on Chopper staying single for life!”
—–
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