276 Chapter 276

276

A few days passed and the Going Merry was ready to set sail, along with her, the crewmates of the ship were now prepared to face the storm that would come their way.

The small ship looked quite bold in its design, having a black colored metal coat, most of its areas boosting its defensive capabilities. Along with that, it now supported a few well-built cannons and a few other weapons.

The ship had gained a lot of weight due to the modifications but with Momoo pulling the ship, it wouldn't be much of a problem. And speed also wasn't an issue when you had a Speed-based devil fruit user on the board. Also, they had rarely used the sails on the ship.

Only when Momoo was resting or having his chow time did they pull on the sails to continue the ride. Speaking of the sea king, he also had gotten an upgrade.

After seeing so much improvement being done to the ship for its defensive purpose, Nami had raised a very good point.

Most of the time, Momoo would be pulling the ship. Wouldn't the sea king need protection? Sure, stray cannonballs or attacks could now be tanked by the Going Merry to an extent, but what about Momoo?

Meaning, the sea king needed armor, a good set of armor at that.

And so Anchor had made a giant-sized armor that fit the sea king. The blacksmith was very much up for the challenge, and did as best as he could. An armor for a sea king, even one that wasn't as large as other sea kings would need a lot of metal.

But it seemed Anchor was able to put the pieces that were left unused for the Going Merry to make the armor.

Previously the adorable and cute sea king now looked utterly badass. The upper part of the armor covered his back and chest, with chainmail dragging down the lower portion in a way that wouldn't make any difficulties for his swimming abilities. The armor was black in color, matching the Going Merry, making him look menacing.

Though the most impressive design was the large helmet that Momoo had. It had covered most of his face, along its horns, and given them a sharp edge.

The sea king got used to added weight. And underwater the added weight didn't matter much, and Momoo rarely left the sea, so it didn't matter.

Momoo loved the design and had worn it since it was made. The sea king also wanted a large trident for some reason, but that couldn't be made now. Anchor needed his sweet time when he got into making a weapon.

And time was a bit of an issue as the hunt for Teach couldn't be delayed any longer. Luffy hadn't revealed that he knew exactly where Teach was. Ace would have gone then and there to avenge his crewmate.

Instead, he played on the bought time and trained with his brothers, while his crew sharpened their own skills.

But now it was time to leave.

With the Going Merry ready to set sail, the Straw Hats started undocking the ship. It was late in the night. Other than the Straw Hat crew, only a few people knew that the new Warlord was leaving Alabasta.

It was for the best. Most of the pirates didn't want to get anywhere near the desert island due to Luffy being there. And Luffy wanted to ensure the peace for a few more days.

His new bounty hunting organization (CDS, old Baroque Works) was still setting up things. With Mr. 3, Galdino, being in charge along with a few others, Alabasta should be relatively safe.

"Be careful, okay?" Vivi said as she sniffed, hugging Luffy. The girl is already missing him. "And be sure to call… and… and… be careful."

Luffy separated from the hug, and gave her a smile, "I know… I know… you have said that a few times already." He said, cupping her face, "Don't worry about me, princess. I… I'll miss you. So… just be careful?"

Vivi snorted, wiping away her tears, "I will miss you too…" she said, before looking behind him. "You and the rest of the crew…"

Behind them, most of the Straw Hat crew were either crying or were silent. Heck, even the giant sea king was crying. Which really didn't match his new intimidating look.

Luffy stepped to the side as Nami gave Vivi a hug, whispering something into her ears. Both girls gave a small laugh as they wiped away their tears, easing the mood a bit. Vivi then looked ahead and gave a small nod to Kuina who returned it.

She then looked at Robin and also gave her a nod. Robin nodded back with a small smile on her face. Both women had made amends with themselves in the past few days. A very good development on their part.

A large snake rubbed Vivi's cheek, making the princess look at her. White Fury also looked sad as she was going to miss the crew.

She wasn't going to continue the journey, rather she was going to stay with Vivi. White Fury really had bonded well with Vivi, and as she was staying in Alabasta the snake would be staying with her as well.

Vivi was the first human that the large snake appreciated as a friend and she didn't want to leave her. It was a very hard choice for the snake as she also wanted to continue the journey, but she wanted to be with Vivi. In a way, White Fury viewed Vivi as her most treasured friend and didn't want to leave her as a result.

The princess had appreciated it. Having another friend around would help her. And while Karoo had some thoughts on that matter, the super spot-billed duck kept those to himself.

After the tearful goodbyes, the Going Merry finally sailed upon the ocean once more.

Luffy looked at the island as it shrunk into view. Vivi was worried but she had reasons, she was there when Morgan had called, and she knew what Luffy would be doing.

The captain of the ship looked at his crew, most of them were still sad. But as time went on, the crew fell into place.

Zoro had started going through his night drills in the sky, while Kuina had decided to just enjoy the breeze for the night. Sanji was back in the kitchen, setting things up there, while Hatchan helped the cook.

Sparky was hanging off the crow's nest along with Usopp as they looked around. Coby was with the newest member of the crew talking about his time when he was in the marines.

Gin was fishing with Bon Clay as a tied-up bait for kissing him, while Barto was warily keeping an eye on them.

Bon Clay was joining the journey with them temporarily as Sabo would take him to the Revolutionaries. So for now, the energetic okama was journeying with them.

Johnny and Yosaku were still sad that they had to leave two crewmembers back for the journey. Robin was in the crew's storage room where she was going through all the various books the crew collected back on Drum Island, Nami was also helping her with that.

Sabo and Ace were talking about some stuff, while Masked Deuce was scribbling down something in his book.

'It's time to tell them.' Luffy thought, with how fast Momoo was pulling the ship, by Nami's estimation it would take a day and a half to reach Jaya. 'They need to be ready.'