~ As Usual. Bonus Chapter Every 300 Powerstones!
~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon
<><><><><><><><>
After the raucous party with his comrades, Rowen also learned from Nami what happened while he was asleep.
After the Enies Lobby battle concluded, Nami, relying on her superb navigation skills, had guided everyone back to the waters near Water 7.
Since her Log Pose only pointed towards Water 7, it was their only viable destination. Sailing aimlessly on the Grand Line without a Log Pose was incredibly dangerous—
And with Rowen, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji all unconscious, their crew's combat strength was at its lowest point—So Nami had chosen to anchor in a safe, hidden spot near Water 7. Her Climate Sense allowed her to predict and avoid dangerous weather patterns, ensuring the crew's safety during their recovery. Only someone with Climate Sense could do that.
Only after Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy successively awoke did Nami choose to sail to Water 7, heading to the Franky Family's base to rest and resupply.
The Ark Maxim and the Golden Pillars—had naturally been brought back by Nami as well.
The Going Merry, which came to rescue them, was stocked with many ship repair tools and materials—Merry herself, in the mist, had materialized and asked Iceburg to place them aboard.
For Rowen and the crew, Merry had pushed her potential to its limit, communicating with Iceburg, making all preparations to ensure she could bring them back.
With these tools and materials, Franky, along with the numerous members of the Franky Family, immediately installed a temporary sail on the Ark Maxim.
The Ark Maxim couldn't sail on the sea because it lacked sails to harness the wind for steering; it could only fly using the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power.
This modification wasn't just to transport the Ark Maxim and the Golden Pillars—a larger ship with larger sails could harness more of the sea's wind and power, making it much faster than the Going Merry once controlled.
Nami quickly mastered piloting the Ark Maxim, lashing it to Merry and fleeing the Enies Lobby sea area at top speed.
<><><><><><><><>
"That part was a miscalculation on my part," Rowen admitted, shouldering the responsibility. He had underestimated the true strength and tenacity of those who had risen to power through countless brutal battles on these seas...
He had assumed his Giant Form, empowered by Asura Aura, would be enough to defeat Akainu, or at least allow a smooth retreat.
But Akainu's ferocity and endurance in a life-or-death struggle far exceeded his expectations.
Even then, his victory was only possible thanks to his comrades' shouts and the activation of the Anthem of Courage, pushing him beyond his limits.
EVEN SO—it left him completely drained.
They escaped only thanks to Merry's appearance. He had nearly put his comrades in mortal danger.
Fortunately, the experience had also tempered his spirit significantly. But such a close call—he couldn't rely solely on last-minute breakthroughs anymore.
His future actions needed to be even more meticulous and calculated.
"We're comrades! Even if something happens, we face it together!" Luffy grinned. The others also smiled.
BANG!
"AWOOO! LITTLE BRO ROWEN! YOU'RE AWAKE???" A Perverted figure burst in.
"Franky—" Rowen greeted with a smile.
"I've brought some SUUPER materials! A piece of the Treasure Tree Adam!" Franky pushed up his sunglasses, grinning. "But... to use Adam Wood as a keel, we can only build a new ship. Little Bro Luffy and the others said you might have a way."
The keel was a ship's core, its life. Once a keel was damaged, it couldn't be replaced; a new ship had to be built...
In the original story, Merry's keel was severely damaged, and only with the help of her Klabautermann spirit did she even reach Water 7.
Any other ship would have sunk long ago.
Thanks to Rowen's special protection, Merry's keel wasn't damaged, but reinforcing it was impossible; the wood had reached its limit. They could only repair the other parts of Merry.
But Merry's fundamental structure hadn't changed; she couldn't handle the subsequent voyages on the Grand Line, let alone the New World.
She was built from ordinary materials, unsuitable for the Grand Line's harsh climate. To reach the final island, they needed a ship with a stronger keel—Treasure Tree Adam was an excellent choice.
"Of course we can't abandon Merry! She's our precious comrade!" Luffy declared loudly.
Everyone nodded seriously.
This time, it was Merry who saved them from a dire situation!
"IDIOT! FORCING IT TO CONTINUE SAILING IS CRUEL! This ship simply can't handle the Grand Line! If Little Bro Rowen hadn't used his Devil Fruit power to protect her keel, she probably would have been unable to sail long ago! If Little Bro Rowen can strengthen her, I have nothing to say! But if not, then leaving her here and getting a new ship is the right choice! Otherwise, you're just hurting yourselves, and this ship that has given birth to a Klabautermann! Do you want to watch her sink?!"
When it came to ships, Franky was incredibly serious. Even knowing their immense power, he grabbed Luffy's collar and roared.
"If that's all the resolve you have—I MISJUDGED YOU! STRAW HAT!" Franky shoved Luffy to the ground.
"You're right..." Luffy said after a moment's silence, standing up.
"Rowen... PLEASE. If you can reinforce her, let's continue sailing with Merry. But if not—after we return from the Grand Line... we'll take Merry home," Luffy looked at Rowen, his smile heartbreakingly sincere.
Everyone else was silent, but even Usopp didn't object.
After all, Merry was still okay; at worst, she would wait for them here. They could see her again someday. That was better than watching her suffer an unbearable journey and sink.
"Let me try. Using the Munch-Munch Fruit—to fuse Merry's keel with the Treasure Tree Adam," Rowen stated, stepping out of the room, looking at Merry with absolute seriousness.
"MUNCH-MUNCH FRUIT???" Everyone looked on with anticipation.
"Rowen... Everyone... Don't worry. Even if it doesn't work... Being able to travel with everyone to this point... I'm already content. You all... must achieve your dreams!" Merry's voice echoed.
"MERRY!!!!" The crew's eyes filled with tears.
Franky was also deeply moved.
Such a deep bond—no wonder this ship birthed a Klabautermann.
<><><><><><><><>
"Smoke——!"
"Munch-Munch——!"
Rowen wasted no words, directly activating his Smoke-Smoke Fruit ability, then imbuing the smoke with the Munch-Munch Fruit's power.
Being a Smoke Human, the smoke acted as an extension of his own body, allowing this application of his Paramecia ability. The smoke enveloped Merry's keel and the piece of Adam Wood.
The Munch-Munch Fruit could consume anything, turning it into a part of one's body or combining it into something new. But all Devil Fruits had limits. Treasure Tree Adam was special, incredibly tough and resilient.
Rowen couldn't guarantee success...
VMM!
The Munch-Munch Fruit's power activated.
"Hah..." Rowen opened his eyes, his expression grim.
He couldn't assimilate and combine them—Adam Wood was far more resilient than he'd anticipated.
"Did it fail?" Franky sighed. Treasure Tree Adam wasn't ordinary wood; fusing it with normal wood was incredibly difficult.
The crew's faces fell with sadness. Did they really have to say a temporary goodbye to Merry?
"Merry..." Rowen murmured, looking at the ship, his eyes turning bloodshot.
Merry was a gift from Kaya. He had an important promise with Kaya; she was waiting for him to return—aboard Merry, they had experienced countless joys and sorrows.
And Merry had saved all of them at Enies Lobby!
Now... must they part??
Scenes from their journey on Merry flashed through Rowen's mind like a revolving lantern...
"MUNCH-MUNCH! MUNCH-MUNCH!" Rowen roared, his eyes bloodshot.
He wouldn't give up until the very last moment. The desire of the Munch-Munch Fruit was to consume everything—and then, transform the consumed things into a part of oneself, or combine them into something new!
How similar was that—to the power to plunder everything??
Rowen frantically activated the Munch-Munch Fruit's ability, combining it with the feeling of plundering everything, the 'Desire to Munch' within his heart swelling, then merging with the 'Desire to Munch' contained within the Munch-Munch Fruit itself!
——
—[Awakening conditions met!]—
—[Munch-Munch Fruit—AWAKENED!]—
——
VMM!
A strange ripple emanated from Rowen's body!
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Countless black holes suddenly appeared on the ground around them. These black holes could devour anything—and transform it into a part of Rowen's body!
The Munch-Munch Fruit—had Awakened at this moment, unleashing its full power!
"The Devil Fruit Awakened!" The crew exclaimed excitedly.
Having seen the Door-Door Fruit's Awakening before, they instantly recognized what was happening! Another of Rowen's Paramecia fruits had Awakened!
<><><><><><><><>
"Munch-Munch—Door-Door!"
WHOOSH!
An Air Door materialized beneath the Treasure Tree Adam, instantly swallowing it whole!
The Door-Door Fruit ability, combined with the Munch-Munch Fruit ability—UNLEASHED!
With both Paramecia fruits Awakened—they could be perfectly combined. If the Munch-Munch Fruit alone wasn't enough, then add the spatial power of the Door-Door Fruit!
Amplified by the spatial ability of the Door-Door Fruit, the Munch-Munch Fruit's power became terrifyingly potent. It even possessed a touch of reality-warping power!
This power... Rowen's eyes suddenly lit up.
Twisting and warping devoured objects into the alternate dimension!
Wasn't this ability—the combination of the Door-Door and Munch-Munch Fruits, practically identical to Obito Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan power—Kamui—from the Naruto world???
"KAMUI!"
——
New Ultimate Technique Trait:Kamui (Apex Gold): Combines the Awakened Door-Door and Munch-Munch Fruits. Creates a dimensional tear, capable of warping targets partially or fully into an alternate dimension.
——
And like Obito, it could even forcibly draw targets into the alternate dimension.
Of course, like all Devil Fruit powers, it could be countered by strong enough Haki, but even failing to fully capture a target—this powerful spatial warping would still significantly weaken their Haki defenses.
It was an extremely useful ability.
Rowen could also infuse this warping power into his physical attacks, combined with Haki, for even more horrifying power!
And like Kakashi Hatake infusing Kamui into his Raikiri—this Door-Door and Munch-Munch Fruit combination could naturally also be integrated into a Logia ability—further enhancing its power!
Of course, such usage would also carry a heavy stamina cost from wielding multiple Devil Fruits—but compared to the increase in power, it was a minor concern.
'I hadn't expected the Awakened Munch-Munch Fruit to hold this kind of benefit.'
But Rowen's joy lasted only a moment; his expression turned serious again.
These were just secondary gains.
What truly mattered now—was Merry.
<><><><><><><><>
"Kamui!"
The Adam Wood, incredibly tough, couldn't be fused with ordinary wood. Even the Munch-Munch Fruit alone was insufficient. But add the spatial warping of the Door-Door Fruit—directly warping it at the dimensional level!
No matter how tough—without Haki to negate a Devil Fruit's power, nothing could withstand such spatial distortion!
WHOOSH!
Under this terrifying warping force—the Adam Wood was completely disintegrated and absorbed—
"FUSE!" Rowen roared.
He fused the Adam Wood with the Going Merry's keel!
VMM!
A brand new keel was born.
Forged from the fusion of Treasure Tree Adam and Merry's original keel—a super-strong keel!
"MERRY! ON THE PATH TO STANDING ABOVE ALL—I CAN'T HAVE YOU NOT ACCOMPANYING ME, YOU DAMN SHIP!" Rowen roared with laughter.
"Did it... Did it work?" The crew asked, their eyes wide with hope.
"Rowen... thank you," Merry's voice echoed, filled with profound emotion.
"Everyone... I will take you—anywhere you want to go," Merry's gentle voice declared.
The crew erupted in cheers!
"IT WORKED! MERRY!!!!"
<><><><><><><><>
~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
<><><><><><><><>
~# Keep the chapters coming — Support with Power Stones!
~# Every 300 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter