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The Munch-Munch Fruit and Door-Door Fruit combination, Kamui—without Haki to resist these two Devil Fruit powers, nothing could withstand its space-warping force.
Not just the keel—Rowen used his Munch-Munch Fruit power to reinforce every single material on the Going Merry.
After strengthening the materials, the next step was to modify and upgrade the ship itself.
With the Munch-Munch Fruit's ability, expanding and remodeling Merry's entire structure was easy. To handle the upcoming voyages on the Grand Line and eventually the New World, such a remodel was essential.
And this modification work—was naturally undertaken jointly by Franky and Iceburg.
As apprentices of the legendary shipwright Tom, Franky and Iceburg were arguably the top shipwrights on these seas.
Their combined skill, using materials enhanced by the Munch-Munch Fruit's power—The newly upgraded Going Merry would surpass even the Thousand Sunny from the original story in excellence.
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"It's done."
Under the combined efforts of Iceburg and Franky, the new Going Merry was completed, fully upgraded.
"SUGEEEEEE!"
Seeing the new Merry, Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp—the 'Amazement Trio'—their eyes turned into stars as they roared with excitement.
"Hahaha! This is a SUPER~ pirate ship, built by me and Iceburg, using brand new materials created by Big Bro Rowen's Munch-Munch Fruit ability!" Franky declared, laughing with immense pride as he looked at the new Merry.
"Mm. Even our late teacher, Tom, couldn't have built such an outstanding ship. The power of the Munch-Munch and Door-Door Fruits combined has elevated these materials to an unprecedented level on these seas," Iceburg added with a smile.
The cornerstone of any ship was its materials. That was its life!
Without Rowen's Devil Fruit abilities, it would have been impossible to fuse the incredibly resilient Treasure Tree Adam with other wood.
But Rowen had done it!
Using the space-warping power of the combined Door-Door and Munch-Munch Fruits, he had broken down the Adam wood on a spatial level, then fused it with Merry's original timbers.
Not just Adam wood; during the construction, Franky and Iceburg incorporated many other high-grade woods into Merry's materials—
—The wood of the new Going Merry was now the strongest material ever seen on these seas. With the strongest foundation, even if Franky and Iceburg's skills hadn't surpassed their teacher Tom's, they could still build the strongest ship in history.
Meaning—the new Going Merry was even stronger than the Oro Jackson, the ship Tom built for the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, the ship that reached the final island!
She was, in name and reality, the Strongest Pirate Ship!
"And with your Munch-Munch Fruit ability, Little Bro Rowen, if we encounter even more special wood during our voyage, we can further enhance Merry! It's no exaggeration to say—this ship can be continuously upgraded!"
Franky laughed grandly, his eyes filled with awe. A ship that could be infinitely upgraded—was unheard of on these seas!
The Going Merry had become a super pirate ship, capable of infinite upgrades!
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"You've both worked hard—" Rowen said with a smile, looking at the new Going Merry.
The ship was now significantly larger.
All her materials—keel, deck, sails—had been completely upgraded.
Before, Merry's ordinary wood, no matter how decorated, still looked somewhat fragile. But now, all her wood seemed to glow!
The fusion of the incredibly resilient Treasure Tree Adam and other high-grade woods made Merry's materials incredibly special. Just looking at her exuded a noble aura—This was the powerful presence of the strongest materials in history!
The current Going Merry perfectly matched the status of Rowen and the Straw Hat Pirates!
Of course, Merry's overall appearance remained unchanged; her iconic, cute sheep figurehead's smile now seemed even more lively. The entire ship had been enlarged proportionally—anyone would recognize her at a glance.
Merry now had four levels, and everyone's rooms had been fully upgraded.
Thanks to Rowen's Munch-Munch Fruit, even their beds were the most comfortable on the seas.
The training room materials had also been comprehensively reinforced; even if Rowen and the others trained inside, the materials could withstand the impact without shattering.
Chopper's infirmary, Nami's cartography room, Robin's history research room—all were fully equipped.
There was even a large aquarium observation room for displaying fish caught from the sea—and for emergency rations, if needed.
This greatly relieved Chopper—though Rowen protected him and often scolded Luffy and Sanji, those two still sometimes teased him about being emergency food.
Chopper was overjoyed with his infirmary; his cute reaction made Rowen vigorously ruffle his little head. Nami and Robin were also very happy with their cartography and research rooms.
But the biggest change to Merry was her propulsion system!
Referencing the design of the Ark Maxim, after discussion, Franky and Iceburg upgraded Merry's propulsion. She could now use the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit as a power source!
And Franky also incorporated the Coup de Burst design from the original Thousand Sunny, allowing her to use cola as fuel for a 'Coup de Burst'. Combined with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, it should be called a 'Coup de Tonnerre' (Thunder Burst)!
With the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power added, her speed was now terrifyingly astonishing!
Franky also modified Merry's weaponry, allowing her to directly use the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power for attacks!
One cannon shot would unleash a terrifying 'Railgun' blast, its power extremely shocking. These attacks could also be pre-charged, serving as an additional offensive capability without draining Rowen's stamina in battle.
Propulsion, weaponry, materials, scale—all received an all-around upgrade.
And to accommodate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power, a large amount of gold was also integrated into the design.
The current Merry was now, in name and reality—the 'Golden' Merry!
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"It's wonderful, Merry!" Nami exclaimed happily.
Her tangerine grove had also been upgraded, able to grow more tangerines.
And with the Munch-Munch Fruit's help, Franky had turned it into a temperature-controlled grove, with humidity and temperature perfectly suited for tangerine growth.
"Oh? These training equipment materials are not bad—" Zoro, having gone straight to the training room, commented with a smile after testing them.
"I have my own doctor's office too! HELLO! I'm Dr. Chopper! How can I help you, you bastard!" Chopper play-acted, dancing with joy.
"The storage room and cooking utensil materials are also top-notch. Not bad at all," Sanji also smiled.
"The research lab is great too—and there's a dedicated sniper's crow's nest!" Usopp was also overjoyed. With a research lab, he could maximize his inventive capabilities.
Rowen also felt the massive changes to Merry and smiled.
But what made everyone happiest was that the one carrying them on their future voyages was still their precious comrade—Merry!
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"Shishishi! Nami! How's the Log Pose?" Luffy called out, perched on his special seat on Merry's figurehead.
"It's fully set! We can depart anytime!" Nami replied, holding up her wrist.
"PREPARE TO SET SAIL!" Luffy yelled excitedly.
"Hmph! You're gonna sail this ship—all the way to the final island!" Franky declared with a smile.
Though their time together was short, Franky had grown incredibly fond of Rowen and the crew—They were loyal, and even made a ship's Klabautermann manifest!
And if not for them, he and Iceburg would surely have died at CP9's hands...
"What are you still standing there for? Get on board already," Rowen asked, looking strangely at Franky.
"HUH???" Franky froze, bewildered.
Then he saw Luffy and the others all smiling at him.
"Let's go, Franky! Come with us—to the final island! The end of the world!" Luffy grinned broadly.
Franky was deeply moved.
His dream was to build his dream ship and sail it to the end of the world. Now—the perfect opportunity was right before him.
"I-IDIOT! I already said I'm not going with you! I still have all my cute little brothers here!" Franky yelled stubbornly.
He wasn't a lone wolf; if he left, what would happen to his underlings?? They had risked their lives to save him at Enies Lobby!
How could he abandon them??
"BIG BRO FRANKY! YOU SHOULD GO WITH THEM!"
Franky turned incredulously...
"Zambai?! What are you saying?! I can't abandon you guys!" Franky stated grimly.
"Big Bro Franky—you should look at this first! And you too, Big Bro Rowen!" Zambai said, his forehead beaded with cold sweat as he held out a stack of new wanted posters.
"These are... your latest bounties, Big Bro Rowen!" Zambai roared.
Luffy and the others excitedly rushed over.
"First... Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy. Latest bounty: 1,035,000,000 BERI!" Zambai announced, his voice trembling.
"ONE BILLION?!" Chopper and Usopp's eyes nearly popped out.
"ALRIGHT! It went up! Over one billion Beri!" Luffy cackled, overjoyed.
"1 billion, huh?" Rowen smiled, looking at Luffy's poster.
This bounty was standard for an Emperor's second-in-command. Marine HQ and the World Government now completely regarded them as an Emperor-level crew.
"Next! Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro. Bounty: 600,000,000 BERI!"
"Hmph." Zoro took his poster and smirked.
"Black Leg Sanji. Bounty: 550,000,000 BERI!"
"WHAT???" Sanji snatched his poster.
This time, it was a proper photo from his battle on Enies Lobby, not that abstract sketch. And his bounty had increased tenfold.
A more dramatic jump than Zoro's or Luffy's...
But—
"DAMN IT! WHY AM I STILL LOWER THAN THAT DAMN MOSS-HEAD?!" Sanji's eyes blazed with fire.
"Not happy, Number 4??" Zoro sneered.
"HUHHH???"
Sanji instantly ignited his Diable Jambe and started brawling with Zoro. With his awakened Exoskeleton, Sanji could now activate Diable Jambe instantly.
"And then—Big Sis Desert Princess Vivi. Bounty: 450,000,000 BERI!"
"I'm still young! Don't call me Big Sis!" Vivi first retorted, then happily took her poster.
Reaching this level meant she was one step closer to her dream of becoming an important asset for Rowen.
Vivi smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.
"'Cat Burglar' Nami. Bounty: 300,000,000 BERI!"
"WHY IS MINE 300 MILLION?!" Nami clutched her head, shrieking.
"Probably because you can use Rowen's Rumble-Rumble Fruit power—" Vivi chuckled.
"And then, Usopp! Your title has changed to—Sogeking! Bounty: 200,000,000 BERI!"
"W-Wait! Two hundred million?!" Usopp burst into tears. Two hundred million? Countless people would be after him now!
"'Devil Child' Nico Robin! Bounty: 200,000,000 BERI!"
Robin smiled, taking her poster. Looking at it, for the first time, she felt no fear, only a sense of belonging. She was standing together with Rowen.
"And... pet, Tony Tony Chopper. Bounty: 50 Beri."
"FIFTY?" Chopper froze.
"WHY?! WHY AM I ONLY 50 BERI?! I FOUGHT LIKE A MAN TOO! ROWEN~" Chopper wailed, throwing himself into Rowen's arms.
"There, there. We'll try harder next time," Rowen chuckled, fondly stroking Chopper.
"And finally... Big Bro Rowen!" Zambai swallowed hard, holding out the last wanted poster.
WANTED - DEAD OR ALIVE
THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS MAN! THE MAN WHO CAN STEAL EVERYTHING!
THE STRONGEST & MOST VICIOUS DEVIL FRUIT USER IN HISTORY!
THE FIFTH EMPEROR OF THE SEA! 'SKY SOVEREIGN' ROWEN!
BOUNTY: 3,988,900,000 Beri!
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