Luffy and Nami huddled around Merry.
Seeing Luffy wave at her, little Merry immediately stopped flailing her tiny mallet.
She glanced timidly at Nami, but finally, still clutching her precious hammer, she shuffled one tiny step at a time over to Luffy's side. She reached out a small hand, tightly grabbing the edge of his towel, and buried her face in it, peeking out at Nami with only her large, bright eyes visible.
Luffy laughed heartily, his large hand naturally coming to rest on Merry's fluffy curls, giving them a ruffle. No wonder I always felt like there was an extra person on the ship sometimes, and the feeling was everywhere. If it's Merry, then it all makes sense.
The scene stirred a strangely sour feeling in Nami's heart. Why did even the ship spirit favor this idiot Luffy, who was constantly damaging the deck? She was the one who took meticulous care of the Going Merry!
A feeling akin to rivalry made her unable to resist reaching out to Merry as well, softening her voice. "Merry? Won't you come over here?"
Merry immediately flinched back like a startled rabbit, darting behind Luffy. Her small hands clutched Luffy's towel even tighter. Luffy tugged at his own towel, afraid it might slip, and spread his arms to shield her.
"Hey, Nami, don't scare her."
"How am I scaring her? Have you ever seen me with such a kind smile before? It's different from the ones I give you idiots."
With a statement like that, she only solidified her title as the ship's tyrant. No wonder Merry was so afraid of her—it wasn't without reason.
If Merry can get close to me and even let me pat her head, maybe you should think about your own approach for a change?
Nami, unconvinced, tried to move around Luffy to reach Merry.
One trying to grab, the other trying to block. In the midst of their pushing and pulling, Nami's foot slipped. With a yelp, she lost her balance and pitched forward.
Luffy instinctively moved to catch her and was hit squarely. With a thump, his back hit the floor, while Nami landed squarely, straddling his waist.
Both of them froze instantly.
Why did this scene look so familiar? It had a strange sense of déjà vu.
"Hurry up and get off, Nami!" Luffy was the first to speak, leaving Nami utterly flustered.
She felt like she'd heard that sentence somewhere before... Wait, if the roles were reversed, wasn't that something she had said?
Nami saw Merry's curious gaze from the side, her eyes fixed on her unblinkingly.
It felt like she was putting on a live performance. A peculiar, flustered heat rose within her.
Just then, footsteps sounded from outside. The cabin door was pushed open.
...
Zoro stood at the doorway, two new swords slung over his shoulder, looking utterly exhausted—clearly just back from reuniting with the supply team. Standing there, he'd inexplicably sensed a wave of... something. The green-haired head peeked in, his gaze accurately landing on the Captain and Navigator piled on the floor in an extremely suggestive position.
Then he spotted Merry beside them.
The air froze for three seconds. Zoro's face showed not a flicker of change in expression. He very naturally took a step back, reached out, and slammed the door shut.
Muffled voices from Usopp and Sanji could be heard outside:
"What's with Zoro?"
"What's the situation in there?"
Zoro's voice, completely devoid of inflection, came through, deliberately raised a little: "Nothing. Go wait over there. They probably need some private time."
"At least do that kind of thing in a room..."
That sentence carried immense implications.
Even Sanji's anguished howl could be heard from outside.
Zoro was actually the one who suffered the most critical internal blow. For a moment, he questioned what year it was. Why is it that after one trip out, it looks like Luffy and Nami already have a kid...
Nami completely petrified. The blush on her face exploded instantly, spreading all the way to the tips of her ears and down her neck.
"No, it's not like that!"
"It's all your fault! Hurry up and get off so we can explain things to them, Luffy!"
Nami grabbed the shoulders of Luffy, who was still lying there confused, and began shaking him violently.
...
"998, 999, 1000..."
Luffy's training regimen on the deck had been upgraded a notch. Having Nami sitting on him was one thing, but Merry joining in the fun truly doubled the training effect.
Merry held a natural closeness to Luffy. Using Luffy as bait, Nami successfully lured Merry, gaining the chance to chat with her in whispers. The scene filled Usopp and Sanji with envy.
And then their murderous gazes turned towards Luffy.
Luffy felt wronged too.
Don't you all reflect on yourselves? Using external factors to shift the blame... Is it because I seem easy to bully?
Luffy directly challenged them to a 1v1 man-to-man battle.
The result was Usopp lying on the deck like a corpse, while Sanji escaped by citing his cooking duties.
After leaving Loguetown, the lightning and thunder soon gave way to bright sunshine.
Right, this is the normal weather pattern. Based on ocean currents, temperature, humidity... Loguetown was completely abnormal.
Luffy vaguely felt it was related to that man named Dragon.
"Could he be a Devil Fruit user?" Luffy did squats with Merry riding on his shoulders.
"Hmm?" Merry could talk now. Initially, it was just overwhelming shyness that kept her hidden. Her voice was still soft and quiet. "Luffy, are you talking about a man in a cloak?"
"You know about him?"
"That man came on the ship. I think he noticed me." Merry had sensed that the aura around Dragon was terrifying, as if his body concealed some monster. But there was no malice either, which made it all very contradictory.
However, that feeling was familiar.
Merry had sensed a similar feeling from Luffy as well.
"So he really is suspicious."
"Stop being suspicious. You come help prepare for tonight's banquet too. There's still a lot to do." Nami brought over two glasses of orange juice, one for Merry and one for herself.
"Nami, I'm thirsty too."
Nami was about to flatly refuse when she saw Merry already holding her own glass out with both hands, offering it to Luffy.
She spoils this guy even more than I do!
Tonight, they were holding a grand welcoming ceremony for Merry.
Merry's cuteness was lethal to the entire crew. Especially after she took her hat off, her adorable appearance was simply too precious. Nami couldn't help but go up and nuzzle her cheeks. And as a fashion expert, it was hard not to have the urge to dress her up in beautiful clothes.
No clothes that fit?
Such a challenge clearly couldn't stump Nami. By the time they emerged, Merry was wearing a new outfit—a Lolita-style dress with a pure white base, looking like it was stitched together from various garments. Her hair was tied into two small ponytails that swayed behind her, paired with black stockings and long boots.
You'd think she was a princess from some country.
In her new clothes, a smile on her face, Merry excitedly ran up to Luffy. She spread her arms and spun in a circle, looking utterly charming and adorable.
"Let's welcome our nakama, Merry! Time for a banquet!"
***
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