The sky above the Grand Line was a canvas of piercing blue, broken only by the streaks of white vapor trailing behind five golden-red figures. The roar of repulsors cut through the wind as Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and the two giants, Dory and Brogy, soared through the air in their Mark-series armors.
"YAHOOOOOOOO!"
Luffy's scream of pure, unadulterated joy echoed inside his helmet and blasted out through the external speakers, startling a flock of passing News Coos. He did a corkscrew spin, the thrusters on his palms flaring as he accelerated. "I'M FLYING! I'M REALLY FLYING!"
"Look at me, Luffy!" Chopper squealed, his Heavy Point armor bulky and tank-like, yet moving with surprising grace thanks to the gravity stabilizers Ben had installed. "I'm a rocket reindeer!"
"Gabababababa!" Brogy's laughter was like thunder. The giant's armor was a marvel of engineering, a massive exosuit that made him look like a mechanical god of war. "This magic is incredible, Ben! To think men of Elbaf could take to the skies like dragons!"
"Indeed, brother!" Dory roared, diving past them. "The sea below looks like a mere puddle from this height!"
Down on the deck of the Going Merry, the scene was less chaotic but no less emotional. Ben stood near the railing, monitoring the flight telemetry on a holographic pad. Beside him, Carue, the Super Spot-Billed Duck and faithful companion to Princess Vivi, was staring up at the sky with his beak wide open.
Carue looked at the flying figures, then looked at his own wings. He flapped them experimentally. Nothing happened. He looked at Ben. He looked back at his wings. Then he looked at Ben again, his large, round eyes shimmering with a heartbreaking mixture of anticipation and "puppy-dog" pleading.
Ben glanced down and chuckled. "I know that look, Carue."
Carue quacked loudly, pointing a wing at the sky and then puffing out his chest, as if to say, 'I am a warrior too! Where is my metal suit?'
Ben sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, buddy. I don't have a suit designed for avian physiology ready right now. The aerodynamics for a duck are... complicated."
Carue's face crumbled. The feathers on his head drooped. He let out a low, mournful quaaack, looking at the deck as if his entire world had collapsed. It was the picture of absolute despair.
"But," Ben added quickly, seeing the devastation he had caused. "I've got some blueprints for a 'High-Velocity Beak-Breaker' armor. I'll make one for you in the future. Promise."
Carue's head snapped up so fast there was an audible crack. His eyes sparkled, beams of light practically shooting out of them. He saluted Ben with a wing, quacked a joyous affirmation, and began running in circles around the deck, training for his future life as a mecha-duck.
---
High above, the fun was about to turn into a mission.
"Alright, Iron Pirates," Ben's voice crackled over the comms system. "Target acquired. The wreckage of the sunken ship that is directly below you. Initiate dive sequence."
"Roger that!" Usopp shouted, trying to sound professional despite his heart hammering in his chest.
The five armored figures tipped their bodies downward. Gravity took hold, and combined with the thrusters, they became missiles. They punched through the surface of the ocean with a synchronized splash, the impact absorbed instantly by the inertial dampeners.
The world turned from bright blue to murky azure.
"Engage floodlights," Ben ordered.
Beams of high-intensity light cut through the gloom. The massive, broken hull of the Ship loomed before them, drifting slowly toward the dark depths. It was a ghostly sight, seaweed already clinging to its rotting wood, the shattered masts pointing like accusatory fingers.
"Let's go inside!" Luffy yelled, his repulsors propelling him toward a hole in the hull.
"Wait for us, Captain!" Chopper called out,
Inside the ship, it was silent and eerie. Debris floated in the stagnant water—broken chairs, soggy books, and personal effects of a crew long dead.
"Search for anything valuable," Ben's voice guided them. "Logs, maps, unique artifacts. Ignore the gold; we have enough money. We want information."
Nami grabs Ben's writs and shouts, "No, do not ignore gold, bring them back."
Usopp was hovering near the back, his head on a swivel. "This place is creepy," he muttered. "Why is it so creepy? It's just a ship. A dead, wet, dark ship..."
He turned a corner into what looked like the galley. His light swept across a table.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Usopp screamed, his suit's thrusters firing in a panic, sending him slamming into the ceiling.
There, floating near the table, was a skeleton. It was still wearing the tatters of a pirate uniform, its jaw hanging open in an eternal, silent scream.
"What is it?!" Dory's deep voice rumbled through the water.
"A S-S-SKELETON!" Usopp wailed. "It looked at me!"
"It's dead, Usopp," Zoro's voice cut in over the comms from the Merry. "Stop being embarrassing."
"You try being down here in a tin can!" Usopp shot back.
"Focus," Ben commanded. "Luffy, check the captain's quarters. Giants, check the cargo hold."
Luffy, unfazed by skeletons or ghosts, smashed through the door to the captain's cabin. He saw a chest bolted to the floor. "Found a box!" he announced, ripping the lid off. Inside wasn't gold, but a Log Pose—an older model—and several maps.
"Good," Ben said. "Secure them. Merry, scan the cargo hold."
"Scanning," the AI responded. "Detecting trace amounts of alloys. Dory, Brogy, grab the rusted weapons in the corner."
While they worked, a shadow fell over the surface far above them.
---
On the surface, the Going Merry was suddenly not alone.
A massive ship, easily three times the size of the Merry, had pulled up alongside them. It was a bizarre vessel, painted in garish tropical colors, with huge pulleys and cranes dominating its deck. The figurehead was a giant, goofy-looking monkey.
"OY! YOU THERE!"
A voice boomed across the water. Standing on the bow of the new ship was a man who matched his figurehead perfectly. He was huge, hairy, and wearing a jumpsuit that looked like a banana peel.
"I am Masira!" the man shouted, striking a pose. " The Salvage King! This is my territory! Anything that falls from the sky into these waters belongs to me!"
Nami, Sanji, Zoro, and Vivi tensed up. Sanji's cigarette shifted in his mouth. "Trouble?" he asked quietly.
Ben stepped forward, raising a hand to signal the crew to stand down. He put on his best 'harmless traveler' smile.
"Greetings!" Ben called back. "We're just passing through. We saw a big ship fall and were just... admiring the splash. Quite a sight, wasn't it?"
Masira squinted at them. "Admiring? You aren't trying to steal my salvage?"
"Steal?" Ben laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "We're just a humble crew. We wouldn't dream of interfering with a professional like you."
While he spoke, Ben tapped a rhythm on his wrist console.
Merry, patch me through to the underwater team.
Ben didn't stop smiling at Masira, then he spoke to Luffy and the others below when Masira was ordering his crew.
"Listen up. We have company. A salvage pirate named Masira just showed up. He thinks the wreck is his. I need you to finish grabbing whatever you can in the next sixty seconds and get out."
Below the waves, Luffy paused. "A pirate? Can I fight him?"
"No," Ben replied instantly. "Not yet. We don't want a war over garbage. Just get the intel and get back to the ship unseen."
"Roger," the team replied.
Back on the surface, Masira puffed out his chest. "That's right! I am a professional! Men! Prepare the buckets! We're going to pump air into the wreck and raise it!"
"Aye aye, Boss Masira!" his crew shouted, scrambling to man the massive air pumps on the deck.
"You see," Masira lectured Ben, "Salvage is an art! You have to respect the sea!"
"Fascinating," Ben said, his eyes flicking to the sonar display on his wrist. "Tell me more about your technique."
---
While Ben kept Masira distracted with questions about air pressure and buoyancy (topics Masira barely understood but loved to brag about), the underwater team was moving.
"Merry, guide us in," Chopper whispered.
"Calculating blind spot," Merry's voice was cool and precise. " The Victory Hunter—Masira's ship—has a visual obstruction on its port side due to the crane assembly. Approach from deep, come up directly under the Merry's starboard hull."
The five Iron Pirates moved like shadows. They abandoned the wreck of the St. Briss just as Masira's divers began to splash into the water on the other side.
Using their thrusters at low power to avoid surface turbulence, they glided beneath the Merry.
"Magnetic clamps engaging," Merry announced.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
The suits latched onto the hull of the Merry underwater. They climbed up the side of the ship opposite to where Masira was pontificating.
As they crested the railing, the suits hissed. The back plating opened up, and Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, Dory, and Brogy stepped out.
"Armor return protocol," Ben muttered under his breath.
The five suits immediately disassembled into their component parts and flew, low and quiet, into the open hatch of the research lab, stacking themselves neatly in their charging bays.
Luffy shook his head, spraying water everywhere (even though he was dry, it was a habit). He grinned, holding the bundle of wet maps and the Log Pose.
He saw the crew gathering near the port rail, talking to the monkey-man.
"Hey!" Luffy shouted, sprinting across the deck, waving the rusted Log Pose in the air. "GUYS! LOOK WHAT I FOUND IN THE SUNKEN SHIP! IT'S A MYSTERY BOX AND A COOL COMPASS!"
The silence on the deck was deafening.
Ben closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Nami turned slowly. Her eyes were white with fury. Usopp, who had just managed to sneak back into the group, turned pale.
"YOU IDIOT!"
WHAM!
Nami's fist collided with the top of Luffy's head with the force of a meteor.
BONK!
Usopp joined in, chopping Luffy. "SHHHHH! We're supposed to be sneaky!"
Luffy rubbed the massive lump growing on his head. "Oww! Why did you hit me? We got the treasure!"
On the other ship, Masira froze. His ears twitched. He leaned over the railing, staring at the Straw Hats.
"Sunken ship?" Masira asked, his voice low and suspicious. "Did that straw-hat guy just say he found something in the sunken ship?"
Nami stiffened. She grabbed Luffy's face, stretching his rubber cheeks into a grotesque smile. She turned to Masira, sweat dropping down her forehead.
"Ahahaha! No, no! You misheard!" Nami laughed nervously. "He said... uh... he found a... bun in the... chip! Yes! He found a potato chip bun! He's very hungry! You know how captains are!"
"A potato chip bun?" Masira scratched his head. "That sounds delicious. But... I could have sworn he said 'sunken ship'."
He narrowed his eyes. "You guys aren't trying to trick me, are you? I take salvage very seriously."
The tension rose. The rest of Masira's crew stopped working and picked up their weapons.
Luffy pushed Nami's hand away. He looked at Masira. He tilted his head to the side. He squinted.
"Hey," Luffy said bluntly. "You look like a monkey."
The entire Straw Hat crew stopped breathing.
Sanji dropped his cigarette. Usopp began to recite his last will and testament. Nami looked ready to throw Luffy overboard. You don't just insult a pirate captain to his face, especially one who is clearly sensitive about his appearance.
Masira stared at Luffy. His mouth hung open. The silence stretched for five agonizing seconds.
Then, Masira blushed.
He put his hands on his cheeks and wiggled his body shyly.
"Oh, stop it!" Masira giggled. "You're embarrassing me! There's no need for such high praise!"
"EHHHHHH?!" The Straw Hats (except Luffy and Ben) jaw-dropped.
"He took it as a compliment?!" Usopp shrieked.
"You really think I look like a monkey?" Masira asked, batting his eyelashes. "Like, a real, strong monkey?"
"Yeah!" Luffy gave a thumbs up. "Totally! A big, funny monkey!"
"BROTHER!" Masira shouted, tears streaming down his face. "I like you! You have a good eye for character! Men! Stand down! These are friends of mine!"
"Aye aye, Boss!"
Ben chuckled, leaning back against the mast. "Diplomacy, Luffy style."
"So," Masira wiped his eyes. "Since we are friends, you can watch the Master at work! Observe! I shall raise the ship!"
---
Masira turned back to the sea, ready to command his divers. But something was wrong.
The water between the two ships began to bubble.
It wasn't the bubbles from the air pumps. It was something else. The ocean surface began to dome upward, frothing white.
"Is that... the ship coming up?" Vivi asked, holding onto the railing.
"No," Ben said, his tone dropping instantly. He checked the sonar. A massive red blip had just appeared, eclipsing everything else. "Back away from the rail. Now."
"What is it?" Zoro asked, his hand going to his swords.
"Something big," Ben warned.
RUMBLE...
A deep, guttural vibration shook the hulls of both the Going Merry and the Victory Hunter. The sea seemed to boil.
Then, the ocean exploded.
A massive shape erupted from the depths, blocking out the sun. Water cascaded off a shell the size of an island. It was a sea turtle—but of a magnitude that defied logic. Its mouth was a gaping cavern, and jagged teeth lined its jaw.
And in its mouth, crunched like a toothpick, was the wreckage of the St. Briss.
"IT ATE THE SHIP!" Usopp screamed, clutching Chopper.
The turtle continued to rise. It just kept going up. Its neck was thick as a tower, and its eyes were glazed over with predatory indifference. As it fully breached, the displacement of water created a massive wave that rocked the two pirate ships violently.
The Going Merry and Masira's ship looked like bath toys next to this leviathan.
"That..." Masira stammered, his monkey-pride forgotten. "That's... that's not salvage! That's a monster!"
"It's huge!" Luffy shouted, his eyes sparkling again. "Can we eat it?"
"IT WILL EAT US FIRST, YOU MORON!" Sanji yelled, kicking Luffy.
The turtle let out a deafening roar, snapping the St. Briss in half with a sickening crunch of wood and metal. It turned its massive head slowly, its gaze falling upon the two tiny appetizers floating next to it.
"Ben!" Nami shrieked. "Do something with your magic!"
Ben stood firm, his coat flapping in the wind generated by the beast's breathing. He raised a hand, his fingers glowing with a soft, arcane light.