Chapter 420

The moment Franky finished speaking, cannon fire struck the fourth pillar behind them. Boom—shattering the bridge between the third and fourth pillars.

"Don't hesitate! Hurry up!" Sima Di said, then ran toward the second pillar.

Usopp, carrying Luffy on his back, was the first to kick off and run. Zi Zi Busheng, Zoro, and the others followed Sima Di's steps without the slightest hesitation. A Yin flew low, carrying Chopper and the others, trailing closely behind the group.

Franky was still hesitating, but Sanji, who had just run past, slapped him.

"Trust my 080 First Mate! He's a prophet!" Sanji said.

"A prophet... really or fake..." Franky muttered, then followed the group's pace.

Regardless of whether the Straw Hat crew truly believed Sima Di was a miraculous prophet, the fact that they "trusted him" remained unchanged.

"The Straw Hat crew has already reached the second pillar!"

"Prepare to fire on the second pillar! Wipe out the Straw Hat crew in one blow!"

The Navy's emergency broadcast rang out continuously.

"Sima Di, the Navy they..." Nami looked at Sima Di with some anxiety.

Sima Di made a shushing gesture and smiled, saying.

"He's here."

He, or she, had already entered Sima Di's modeling range.

"Who?"

"The Merry."

"Merry?!" Everyone looked down in astonishment and indeed saw that familiar ship shadow. And...

Everyone stared in astonishment at this strange creature hovering in mid-air.

A goat-headed humanoid, no taller than one meter twenty or thirty, wearing a short skirt as brilliant as a sunflower, dotted with cherry-red bows. If this creature had an age, it would be at most ten years old.

It's just that everyone found this goat head strangely familiar.

If you think about it carefully... isn't this the Merry!!!

"Merry! You can't be the Merry!" Luffy shouted first.

"Yes, Dad. I am the Merry."

Merry tilted her head and smiled, her voice a sweet little loli tone.

"Haha, Sima Di, you really succeeded!" Luffy laughed loudly.

"Dad? Who are you calling?" Usopp asked.

"Of course Luffy." Merry giggled, then floated over to Usopp. "Dad Usopp, give Dad to me, you also suffered a heavy blow, didn't you?"

Before Usopp could refuse, Merry effortlessly hoisted Luffy up and let him sit on her shoulders.

To an outsider, that sight looked strange no matter how you looked at it. But Merry didn't feel it at all, because Dad has always sat on her head like this; this is Dad's exclusive seat.

Carrying Luffy, Merry turned and smiled at everyone.

"Everyone! Moms and Dads! I've come to pick you up!"

The rest of the Straw Hat crew stared at Merry carrying Luffy, their eyeballs almost popping out.

"The Merry?! Moms and Dads?!!"

And Zi Zi Busheng looked like a famous painting of a scream. "Help! Ship girls are really anthropomorphized!"

"Moms and Dads, hurry up! Or those bad guys will attack again!"

Under Merry's urging, everyone barely snapped out of it and leaped down one by one.

Inside the first pillar.

The nearly unconscious Rob Lucci kept whispering this one phrase over and over.

"Conqueror's Haki... Haki..."

A few days ago.

When Luffy and the others had just left the Sky Island.

Sima Di could not fall asleep no matter what tonight, so he put on a sweater jacket and walked onto the deck to catch some sea breeze.

The only person still awake on the entire pirate ship was him; everyone else was immersed in sweet dreams.

A Yin had taken human form and was steering the ship obediently.

If it were according to the original timeline, they would have had a duty roster. But with Sima Di, it was different; Sima Di's modeling domain covered the entire ship, including the hull bottom. And the spirit constructs Sima Di created could even serve as helmsmen.

Sima Di stood watch twenty-four hours a day, never resting; this was also one of the First Mate's duties. For the other companions, this meant more time for cultivation and study.

Naturally, it also meant becoming stronger.

"It's so quiet... sailing like this, blowing in the night breeze, moving slowly across the sea... this was something unimaginable before." Sima Di muttered to himself, watching the beautiful night through A Yin's eyes.

The bright moonlight spilled on the lake surface, like handful after handful of silver powder sprinkled on the sea, shimmering and twinkling.

"The air is so fresh... I think if I went back, I'd probably get a disease where I can't breathe?"

Sima Di couldn't help but take a deep breath, feeling much more comfortable all over.

Sima Di stood there quietly for a long time before remembering there was such a thing as sleeping.

"It seems I've gotten used to Zoro's training recently; the feeling of fatigue is very weak. But I still can't stay awake without sleeping. Even if I can't see anything, Zoro's training is as strict as ever."

After Sima Di finished speaking, he planned to go to bed.

"Save me..."

An extremely faint cry for help came.

If this night hadn't been as quiet as a resting place, Sima Di probably wouldn't have heard this plea for help that would scatter with a single gust of wind.

"Who is it?"

Sima Di's hair stood on end, and the Divine Art Sword was already drawn from its sheath.

To be able to enter his modeling domain silently, it must be a formidable figure, or the owner of some strange Devil Fruit.

"Do not be afraid..."

"What?" Sima Di frowned.

"I... I am Merry..."

Sima Di watched as a wisp of mist gradually rose before him, within which a tiny human shape was faintly visible.

"Merry?" Sima Di sheathed the Emperor's Divine Technique blade.

"... Save, save me."

His voice was so helpless and pitiful.

Sima Di agreed without the slightest hesitation.

"I understand... I had this idea long ago."

From that day on, Sima Di attempted to strengthen this newly born weak soul. Using the superposition method of dual soul-bestowal, he constantly urged this soul to become more solid.

The interior of the forward cannon deck was where Merry's cannons, gunpowder, and other items were stored; some ship-repair supplies were also placed here. Usopp often conducted research here, and the birthplace of the Clima-Tact was also here.

However, ever since Sima Di began Merry's "resurrection" plan, this place was forcibly requisitioned by Sima Di. Although Usopp complained a few times, he yielded under Sima Di's tyranny.

The reason Sima Di chose this place was none other than that it was closest to the bow of the Merry (of course, except for Luffy's special seat).

Under normal development, Merry would at least need several hundred years to reach the current standard. But due to Sima Di's special abilities, this soul was born prematurely.

The corresponding cost was the loss of three soul-bestowal slots.

Moreover, this method caused Merry's form of existence to be not as a living creature, but as a special soul-bestowed entity.

This form, at first glance, shows no difference from other living creatures, but if Sima Di were to meet with misfortune, Merry would immediately be struck back to her original form.

Water 7, the temporary residence of the Straw Hat crew.

"... This situation is impossible," Zoro stated flatly. "The first time I met you, you were clamoring to commit suicide, yet you still haven't died to this day. You are completely made of iron."

"Made of iron..." Sima Di shot Zoro a dirty look. "Can't you praise me as being like water?"

"Alright, alright, like water... hurry up and get ready, the training for today is about to begin!" Zoro said.

Sima Di's face crumpled into a bun with eighteen folds, each fold writing eighteen unwillingnesses, but under Zoro's stern gaze, he obediently prepared to wash and groom.

"According to Sima Di's words, that means... we can continue traveling on the Merry?" Chopper said.

At this moment, Chopper was playing happily with Merry.

"No, Chopper Dad, my body has already reached its limit and cannot continue sailing, so Mom came up with this method," Merry said sweetly. "And isn't Franky Dad also building a new home for us? I will have new friends too!"