The Going Merry hovered smoothly above the ruined courtyards of the Island of Justice, its engine humming a low, steady thrum that vibrated through the wooden deck. Smoke plumed from the shattered Tower of Justice, painting the eternal daylight of Enies Lobby in streaks of grey and black.
One by one, the victors returned to their sanctuary.
Luffy landed on the deck with a heavy thud, his black suit dusted with pulverized stone, his red shirt slightly torn at the collar. He pushed his sunglasses up his nose, flashing a brilliant, toothy grin. "Man, that pigeon guy had a hard head!"
Whoosh. Sanji touched down gracefully a moment later, his royal blue shirt immaculate, his black suit looking as if it had just been dry-cleaned. He took a drag from his cigarette, exhaling a thin stream of smoke. "You took too long, rubber brain. I was done making mincemeat out of the wolf ten minutes ago."
"I was having fun!" Luffy protested, crossing his arms.
"That went smoothly," Robin's voice floated down from above. She descended gracefully, her massive wings of sprouted hands dissolving into beautiful, ethereal flower petals as her feet touched the deck.
Behind her, Franky landed with a heavy metallic clank, carrying a very confused, unconscious elephant-sword slung over his massive cyborg shoulder.
"SUPER loot secured!" Franky announced, striking a pose with the weapon.
"Excellent work, Auntie Robin," Mini Merry called out from the helm. The tiny android was sitting in her captain's chair, surrounded by floating holographic screens. She adjusted her fedora, her aviator glasses reflecting the data streams. "The Family is almost fully assembled. The Sniper, The Queenpin, The Princess, and The Doctor have already boarded."
Usopp, Nami, Vivi, and Chopper emerged from the lower deck cabins, having taken a moment to catch their breath and check their gear.
Usopp was polishing his Transforming Bow-Rifle, Nami was counting a small sack of Berries she had 'confiscated' from Kalifa's room, Vivi was retracting her Eagle wings, and Chopper was adjusting his tiny black suit, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
"Wait," Luffy looked around, counting heads. "Where's Zoro?"
At the helm, a visible anime-style tick mark pulsed on Mini Merry's forehead. She was gripping the edges of her holographic console so hard her knuckles were white.
"The Ronin," Merry hissed through her teeth, her Mafia-boss persona slipping into sheer, unadulterated technological frustration, "is currently testing the limits of my processing power."
On the main holographic screen, a map of Enies Lobby was displayed. A single green dot representing Zoro was moving. It was not moving toward the ship. It wasn't even moving toward a building. It was moving in a tight, confused zigzag pattern at the very edge of the island.
"Turn left, you walking moss-farm!" Merry yelled into her headset microphone. "LEFT! No, that's right! You're facing a wall! Stop trying to cut the wall, it's a load-bearing structure! Just turn around!"
Through the comms, Zoro's gruff voice crackled with annoyance. "The sun is in my eyes. And someone moved the stairs. It's a maze down here."
"You are standing in an empty courtyard!" Merry shrieked. "There are no stairs! There are no walls! Just walk toward the giant floating ship with the blue fire! Look up!"
"I am looking up," Zoro replied stubbornly. "There's just a seagull."
Merry slammed her head onto the console. "I can't. I literally can't. My CPU is overheating from the sheer density of his directional incompetence."
Sanji sighed, blowing a smoke ring. "Just fly the ship to him, Merry. If we leave him there, he'll somehow wander into the East Blue by dinnertime."
"Executing manual override," Merry grumbled, grabbing the ship's steering wheel. "Setting course for the idiot."
The Going Merry banked sharply, its thrusters flaring as it glided over the island, heading toward the rear of Enies Lobby.
As the ship approached the designated coordinates, a low, deafening roar began to drown out the sound of the ship's engines. It sounded like the world itself was being torn open.
"What is that noise?!" Chopper yelled, covering his sensitive ears.
"Look down," Robin pointed calmly.
Usopp and Chopper rushed to the railing and peered over the edge. Instantly, all the color drained from their faces.
Below them was not solid ground, nor was it the normal, rolling ocean. It was the Abyss. A massive, perfectly circular hole in the middle of the sea, plunging down into infinite, roaring darkness. Millions of gallons of seawater poured over the edge of the island's stone foundation, creating a continuous, bottomless waterfall that defied all logic and physics.
"GYAAAAAAAAH!" Usopp screamed, his knees knocking together violently. He fell backward, scrambling away from the railing. "IT'S A HOLE! THE OCEAN HAS A HOLE! WE'RE GONNA FALL IN!"
"I CAN'T SWIM!" Chopper shrieked, clutching Usopp's leg, tears streaming down his furry face. "I'M A DEVIL FRUIT USER! THE HOLE IS GOING TO EAT ME!"
"Calm down, you big babies," Nami sighed, though she kept a respectful distance from the railing herself. "The ship is flying. We aren't going to fall."
"Target located," Merry announced flatly.
Sitting casually on the very edge of the stone retaining wall, his legs dangling over the terrifying, roaring abyss of the waterfall, was Roronoa Zoro. He had his three swords resting on his lap and was looking out over the endless cascade of water with a mild expression of boredom.
The Going Merry hovered right in front of him.
Zoro looked up, raising an eyebrow. He lazily lifted a hand and waved. "Yo. What took you guys so long? You get lost?"
Sanji's leg burst into flames on the spot. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO GOT LOST, YOU BRAINLESS MARIMO!" Sanji roared, launching himself over the railing to try and kick Zoro off the edge.
Luffy stretched his arm out, wrapping it around Sanji's waist to pull him back, laughing uproariously. "Shishishi! Found him!"
Zoro stood up, dusted off his black suit, and casually hopped across the gap, landing gracefully on the deck of the Merry. "The layout of this island makes no sense. The architects should be fired."
"You should be fired from walking," Merry muttered under her breath. She tapped her earpiece. "Papa. The Family is all accounted for. The extraction is complete."
"Good work, Merry," Ben's calm, smooth voice echoed through the ship's comms. "Bring the ship to the main plaza. We're about ready to wrap this up."
"Roger that," Merry pulled back on the throttle. "Hold onto your fedoras, boys and girls. We're heading to the front door."
---
The main plaza of Enies Lobby looked less like a military stronghold and more like a playground for toddlers who had been given toy soldiers to smash.
Thousands of Marines and Government Agents were scattered across the cracked stone, groaning, bruised, and utterly defeated. In the center of the carnage stood four towering figures, casting massive shadows over the remnants of the World Government's forces.
Dory the Blue Ogre and Brogy the Red Ogre were leaning against their respective weapons—the Uru-metal sword and axe—laughing their booming, earth-shaking laughs.
Beside them, Oimo and Kashii, the former Gatekeepers of Enies Lobby, were panting heavily, leaning on their massive clubs, looking incredibly satisfied.
"Gebababa! That was a fine warm-up!" Brogy roared, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Indeed," Dory agreed, his booming voice echoing off the remaining walls. "It feels good to stretch our legs after a century on that tiny island."
Ben was sitting comfortably on a conjured floating chair near Dory's shoulder, sipping his cola. He watched as the Going Merry descended from the sky, landing gently on a clear patch of stone right behind the four colossal warriors.
"Playtime is over, gentlemen," Ben called out, standing up and brushing off his suit. "The kids are in the ship. It's time to go."
The crew rushed to the railing of the Merry, looking at the sheer scale of the destruction the Giants had caused.
"Whoa..." Luffy's eyes sparkled with stars. "Big guys! You totally wrecked this place!"
"They didn't even leave anyone for us to fight," Sanji smirked, lighting a fresh cigarette.
The surviving Marines, huddled behind broken barricades and overturned tanks, watched the pirate ship land with absolute terror. Their highest-ranking officers were down. CP9 was annihilated. And the very Giants they had relied on to guard their gates had turned against them.
"This is it..." a Marine Captain whispered, clutching his broken rifle. "The Straw Hats... they really did it. They crushed Enies Lobby."
Ben cracked his knuckles.
"Alright, Dory, Brogy. Oimo, Kashii. Brace yourselves. The ship is roomy, but not that roomy."
"Do your magic, little Magician!" Dory laughed.
"Command T: Shrink."
Ben waved his hand through the air. A pulse of violet magical energy washed over the four colossal warriors.
VOOOOSH.
The air pressure shifted violently. In the blink of an eye, the towering, twenty-meter-tall titans began to compress. The ground shuddered as their immense mass was rapidly reduced.
"Whoa! Whoa! WHOA!" Oimo yelled, his deep voice suddenly pitching up into a normal human register as the ground rushed up to meet him.
When the violet light faded, the four legendary warriors of Elbaf were standing on the plaza. But they were no longer mountains of flesh and armor. They were exactly six feet tall.
Dory and Brogy, accustomed to this from their time on the Merry, simply patted their tailored black suits to ensure they hadn't wrinkled.
But Oimo and Kashii were losing their minds.
"Kashii!" Oimo shrieked, looking down at his suddenly very normal-sized hands. "I'm tiny! Look at me! I'm the size of a bug!"
"Oimo!" Kashii grabbed his own face in panic. "The world is so big! Why is everything so far up?! Is this what humans feel like all the time?! It's terrifying!"
The Marines watching from the barricades rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
"They... they shrank!" a Marine Lieutenant gasped. "The Giants! They lost their size! It must be some kind of Devil Fruit trick!"
Dory chuckled, his now normal-sized voice still carrying a weight of authority. "Do not panic, little ones," he said to Oimo and Kashii. "It is merely the Magician's power. It allows us to travel on their ship without sinking it. We will return to our true glory once we reach the sea. Gebababa!"
"Oh," Oimo blinked, patting his chest. "That is... very convenient magic."
However, the Marines saw something entirely different. They didn't see convenience. They saw an opportunity.
"Listen to me, men!" the Marine Captain suddenly stood up, rallying his terrified troops. "The Giants have lost their size! They are just regular men now! And the pirates are all gathered in one spot!"
The Marines, desperate to salvage some shred of victory from this disastrous day, gripped their weapons.
"This is our last chance to defend the honor of the World Government!" the Captain roared. "Eradicate the Straw Hat Pirates! FIRE AT WILL!"
CLACK. CLACK. CLACK.
Hundreds of flintlocks, rifles, and bazookas were raised and aimed directly at the Straw Hat crew standing near the ship.
"Incoming!" Zoro growled, his hands dropping to his hilts.
Sanji readied his leg. Luffy cracked his knuckles.
But before the Monster Trio could move, a figure stepped to the front of the group, pulling down his sleek black sunglasses.
"Stand back," Usopp said, his voice carrying a calm, chilling confidence. "God Usopp will handle the fodder."
"Usopp?" Nami blinked.
Usopp drew his Transforming Bow, his movements fluid and practiced. He reached into his high-tech quiver and pulled out an arrow with a glowing blue, crystalline arrowhead. He notched it, pulled the string taut, and aimed it straight up into the air.
"FIRE!" the Marine Captain screamed.
A hail of lead and explosive shells erupted from the Marine barricades, creating a literal wall of death flying toward the pirates.
Usopp released the bowstring.
The arrow shot twenty feet into the air and suddenly stopped, hovering in place. With a loud, resonating HUMMM, the arrowhead detonated, not with fire, but with hard-light energy.
A massive, translucent, hexagonal blue dome expanded outward from the arrow, crashing down into the stone plaza and perfectly encasing the Going Merry, the Straw Hats, Ben, and the four shrunken Giants.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT! BOOM! BOOM!
The bullets and bazooka shells slammed into the blue energy field. They didn't penetrate. They didn't even crack it. The kinetic energy was absorbed completely, the shells flattening against the barrier before dropping harmlessly to the ground. Ripples of blue light danced across the dome with every impact, illuminating the plaza in an ethereal glow.
The Marines stopped firing, their jaws dropping as the smoke cleared to reveal the pirates standing completely untouched inside a glowing bubble of invincibility.
"It's... it's some kind of shield!" a Marine cried out in despair. "Our weapons are useless!"
Inside the dome, Usopp lowered his bow, blowing imaginary smoke from the string. He pushed his sunglasses up his nose. "As I said. Fodder."
"SUUUUPER shield!" Franky cheered, his eyes sparkling.
"Incredible tech," Robin murmured, analyzing the hexagonal patterns.
Ben clapped his hands together, drawing everyone's attention. He looked around the dome, noting the dramatic blue lighting and the backdrop of the ruined Tower of Justice visible through the translucent energy.
"You know," Ben said casually, reaching into his suit pocket, "the lighting in here is actually fantastic. It really brings out the contrast in the black suits."
Nami stared at him. "Ben. What are you talking about?"
Ben pulled out a sleek, modern, high-definition digital camera. "I'm saying we just declared war on the World Government, dismantled their most elite assassination squad, and leveled their impregnable island. This is a milestone event. We need a commemorative group photo."
Nami's jaw hit the floor. Her eyes bulged out, transforming into shark teeth. "ARE YOU INSANE?!" she shrieked, pointing wildly at the Marines outside the dome who were currently reloading their bazookas in a panic. "WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A WARZONE! THEY ARE ACTIVELY TRYING TO KILL US! AND YOU WANT TO TAKE A SOUVENIR PHOTO?!"
"A memory unrecorded is a memory lost, Nami," Ben said sagely.
[Ruler's Authority]
Invisible telekinetic tendrils wrapped around the camera, lifting it out of his hands and floating it ten feet away, angling it perfectly to capture the entire crew with the Going Merry and the ruined Enies Lobby in the background.
"Everyone, gather around!" Ben directed, waving his hands like a professional photographer. "Luffy, center stage. Zoro, Sanji, flank him. Giants, take the back row so you don't block the short people. Usopp, hold the bow up, it looks cool."
"Oh! A picture!" Luffy grinned, instantly abandoning his fighting stance and jogging to the center, striking a wide, triumphant pose.
"This is ridiculous," Zoro grumbled, but he obediently stood to Luffy's right, crossing his arms and putting on his most intimidating, badass scowl.
Sanji smoothed his hair, turning slightly to the side to capture his best angle, casually lighting a fresh cigarette. "Make sure you get my good side, Magician."
Chopper immediately transformed into his Heavy Point (muscle form), flexing his biceps. "I'm a monster!"
"You look adorable, Chopper," Robin smiled, standing next to him and offering a serene, elegant pose.
Franky flexed his massive cyborg arms, throwing his head back. "SUPER!"
Vivi stepped up next to Ussop with the spear in hands.
Dory, Brogy, Oimo, and Kashii squished together in the back row, grinning widely, though Oimo still looked a little uncomfortable being so small.
Caroo the duck waddled to the very front, wearing his bowtie and sunglasses, and snapped a perfect military salute.
"Nami, get in here," Ben called, stepping into the frame himself with Mini Merry on his shoulders, adjusting his glasses.
"I hate all of you," Nami grumbled, but she quickly ran into the frame, placed one hand on her hip, raised her Clima-Tact, and flashed a perfect, million-berry smile.
"Alright," Ben announced, the floating camera beeping as the timer counted down. "On three. One... Two..."
"CHEESE!" Luffy roared.
FLASH!
The camera captured the moment perfectly. The Straw Hat Pirates, dressed like a mafia syndicate, standing victorious inside a glowing energy dome amidst the ruins of Enies Lobby.
"Perfect," Ben snapped his fingers. The camera flew back into his hand. "Alright, photo op is over. Merry, drop the shield and hit the gas."
"Roger that, Papa!" Mini Merry said. "Next stop: Anywhere but here!"
The blue hexagonal dome vanished instantly.
"FIRE!" the Marine Captain screamed, seizing the opportunity.
But it was too late.
FWOOOOOOSH!
The massive engines on the rear of the Going Merry ignited with blinding blue fire. The ship didn't just sail; it launched like a rocket, tearing into the sky, leaving a trail of steam and displaced air that blew the front row of Marines off their feet.
"They're getting away!" a Marine wailed, watching the ship become a speck against the clouds. "We couldn't stop them! We failed!"
High in the sky, Ben stood at the railing of the Merry, looking down at the shrinking island of Enies Lobby. He held the digital camera in his hand.
"You know," Ben murmured. "If we're going to declare war on the world... we shouldn't make the World Government work too hard to figure out who hit them. It's only polite to leave a calling card."
He opend his spatial pouch then thousands of glossy, high-quality photographs began to pour out of the pouch.
In the pictures there was Luffy, grinning wildly (Monkey D. Luffy).
Zoro, scowling with his hand on his swords (Roronoa Zoro).
Nami, winking with her Clima-Tact (Nami).
Usopp, looking like a high-tech assassin (God Usopp).
Sanji, smoking coolly (Black Leg Sanji).
Chopper, flexing his muscles (Tony Tony Chopper).
Robin, looking serene and deadly (Nico Robin).
Franky, striking his pose (Cutty Flam / Franky).
Ben, adjusting his glasses with a smirk (Ben the Magician).
Dory and Brogy, grinning fiercely (Dory the Blue Ogre / Brogy the Red Ogre).
Even Caroo got his own solo shot mid-salute (Caroo the Duck).
And finally, Vivi. with red hair and small changes in facial feature.
(Ariel, The Eagle).
"Delivery," Ben whispered, sweeping his wand in a wide arc.
A massive gust of wind caught the thousands of photographs, scattering them down toward the island like a torrential blizzard of glossy paper.
Down on the Bridge of Hesitation, the Marines stood in stunned, defeated silence.
Suddenly, something fluttered down from the sky. Then another. And another.
"What is this?" a Marine soldier asked, reaching out to catch a falling piece of paper.
He looked at it. It was a crystal-clear, high-definition photograph of a man in a black suit with a long nose and a glowing bow, with the words "God Usopp" printed elegantly across the bottom.
"Sir!" another Marine yelled, catching a different photo. "It's them! It's the pirates! They dropped pictures of themselves!"
The Marine Captain grabbed a photo out of the air. It was the entire pirate crew, smiling and posing in different angles.
The absolute disrespect of it made the Captain's blood boil, but the sheer terror of what they had accomplished chilled him to the bone.
"Don't just stand there!" the Captain suddenly barked, snapping to attention, his military training taking over his panic. "Gather every single one of these photographs! Put them in a secure lockbox!"
"Yes, sir!"
"And get me a direct line to Marine Headquarters in Marineford! NOW!" the Captain roared, his voice cracking with fear. "Tell Fleet Admiral Sengoku that Enies Lobby has fallen! Tell him CP9 has been annihilated! And send him these pictures!"
The Captain stared at the smiling face of Monkey D. Luffy on the photograph in his trembling hands.
"The Straw Hat Pirates... they're not rookies anymore. They are a disaster level threat."