Chapter 31: The Landlubber Ship King Sets Sail! The New World Begins in Hell Mode!
"Aaaaaahhhhh!"
Nami's shriek finally tore through the suffocating silence.
Clutching her head with both hands, the blood drained from her lovely face. She teetered on the brink of a mental breakdown.
"We're done for! We are actually done for!"
"We're ten thousand meters under the sea! And we're on a ship that can't swim!"
"We're going to sink like a stone! We'll be crushed into meat patties by the water pressure!"
Usopp's eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets. He pointed a trembling finger at the Thousand Sunny, then at the dark ocean outside the bubble, letting out a wail that didn't sound remotely human.
"My eight thousand followers are still waiting for me!"
"I don't want to die here!"
Chopper clung tightly to Usopp's leg, his body shaking like a leaf in a hurricane.
"Doctor! I need a doctor!"
Garp and Luffy exchanged a glance, both startled by the sudden freak-out.
"Grandpa! Can the Sunny not swim anymore?" Luffy asked, genuine panic flickering across his face for the first time.
"Well... this old man has never tried feeding a ship a Devil Fruit before..." Garp scratched his head. This specific dilemma was well outside his realm of expertise.
In the midst of this apocalyptic chaos, a calm voice cut through the noise.
"Everyone, chill out!"
Franky stepped in front of the group, spreading his massive arms. Although his expression was a bit twisted, his pride as a shipwright forced him to remain composed.
"Wait! The situation might not be that bad!"
He dashed to the gunwale, lying flat to inspect the hull, then leaped onto the figurehead, rapping his knuckles against the lion head that had come to life.
The lion head let out a low, aggrieved growl and nuzzled against Franky's hand.
"I see!"
Franky clapped his large hands together, a look of realization dawning on his face.
"I get it now!"
"The thing that ate the Devil Fruit is just the figurehead—the 'Soldier Dock System Channel Zero'! It's only the Sunny's lion head!"
Robin, hand on her chin, offered a supplementary explanation.
"It is similar to CP9 Spandam's sword," she noted calmly. "An object consumed the Devil Fruit. The hull itself remains just a ship; it is merely an extension of the creature's ability, but it hasn't been cursed by the sea."
"Roar!"
As if to prove them right, the lion figurehead let out an excited roar. Its neck swiveled with surprising flexibility as it affectionately rubbed its cheek against Luffy.
"We're saved!"
"You scared me to death! I thought my treasure was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean!"
"Thank goodness! My chronic 'I-die-if-I-go-to-the-New-World' disease is instantly cured!"
The ecstasy of surviving a near-death experience instantly washed over the port. The panic dissipated completely, replaced by an even grander farewell ceremony.
Almost every resident of Fish-Man Island had flooded the harbor. The cheers of tens of thousands were so loud they threatened to shatter the massive bubble encasing the island.
The colossal Princess Shirahoshi was crying, tears streaming down her face like waterfalls. She swam up to the ship and extended her pinky finger.
"Luffy-sama! Pinky promise!"
"We have an agreement! Next time we meet, you have to take me to see a real forest!"
Luffy grinned, extending his own tiny pinky to hook around her disproportionately massive finger.
"Yeah! It's a promise!"
Shirahoshi then turned to Garp, her enormous eyes brimming with anticipation.
"Garp-sama! I want to make a promise with you, too!"
"Next time, I definitely want to follow you and see what the sky above the sea looks like!"
Garp pulled a bag of senbei rice crackers from his pocket and tossed it up to her.
"Got it, you crybaby."
King Neptune stood at the highest point of the harbor, his voice booming like a temple bell as he made a solemn declaration.
"Fish-Man Island will forever be a friend to the Straw Hat Pirates!"
Jinbe stood at the helm, his broad back radiating a sense of immense security. He expertly spun the wheel, and the giant bubble once again enveloped the Thousand Sunny.
"Everyone! Hold on tight!"
"Target: The surface! Let's go!"
The Thousand Sunny slowly began to float upward, leaving the harbor behind.
"Goodbye, everyone!"
Luffy stood atop the animated lion figurehead, waving his arm vigorously.
The Sunny passed through the colorful coral forests, drifted over the streets of Fish-Man Island, and continued its ascent toward the endless light above.
The surrounding light grew brighter and brighter.
But just then, the smile on Nami's face froze as she looked at the Log Pose in her hand.
The needle, which should have been pointing steadily toward the next island, was spinning wildly, like it had lost its mind.
"That's strange."
Jinbe, manning the helm, furrowed his brow.
"Why does the water current feel... wrong?"
A flicker of vigilance flashed through his fish-man eyes. Having lived in the sea his entire life, he could sense a highly unusual fluctuation in the water—something powerful that was being forcibly suppressed.
"We're finally hitting the New World!"
Usopp and Chopper were hanging over the railing, completely oblivious to the anomaly, staring excitedly at the brightening surface getting closer by the second.
Pop!
With a soft sound, the bubble encasing the Sunny burst the moment it breached the surface.
Blinding sunlight instantly flooded the entire deck. The fresh sea breeze, carrying the scent of salt, hit their faces.
And so did the sight of dozens of massive Marine battleships, their cannons gleaming with a cold, ghostly light, surrounding them completely.
"What is going on?!"
"The Navy? Why are there so many Marines here?!"
"We're surrounded! They're on all sides!"
"It's a trap! They knew we were coming out here!"
"It's over! This time we're really finished!"
"This formation is even bigger than Enies Lobby!"
The cheers of the Straw Hat crew froze in their throats before they could even escape.
On the sea level, dozens of warships were closing in from every direction. The dark muzzles of their cannons locked down every escape route, forming a cage of steel.
On the deck of the lead flagship, a leisurely figure lay on a beach chair, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, looking for all the world like he was enjoying a sunbath.
He slowly sat up and stretched.
On the deck beneath his feet, several vibrant flowers bloomed silently from the wood.
He looked toward the Sunny, a lazy yet dangerously sharp smile playing on his lips.
"Welcome to Hell, Monkey D. Garp."
"My, my... what a hassle. To think we'd have to roll out such a massive reception just to catch one living legend."
Aramaki spoke lazily, his voice broadcast across the entire encirclement via an amplified Den Den Mushi.
Aboard the flagship, countless Marine soldiers trembled uncontrollably as they stared at the old man in the floral shirt standing on the Sunny's figurehead.
"It's really him... It's the Admiral! The new Admiral, Greenbull!"
"Do we really need an Admiral just for that monster, Garp?"
"Shut up! That man has a bounty of 5.5 billion berries! He's the monster who single-handedly flipped Mariejois upside down!"
"And he's with Straw Hat Luffy! Two lunatics from the Monkey family in one place!"
"I heard he punched a hole straight through ten thousand meters of deep sea at Fish-Man Island! He literally threw the Ark Noah onto the surface!"
"You're kidding, right? Is that something a human can even do?"
"I don't know! But Admiral Greenbull is a monster among monsters too!"
"He was chosen through the World Military Draft! We'll be fine!"
The Marines whispered amongst themselves, their voices a mix of terror toward Garp and hope in their new Admiral.
On the Sunny, the atmosphere was heavy enough to crush bone.
Garp walked to the bow, looking at the formation before him with an expression of sheer annoyance.
"Talk about a lingering ghost."
He turned his back to the enemy, facing Luffy and the others, who had already taken their battle stances, ready to fight to the death.
"You guys go ahead. I'll handle this."
That single sentence stunned the entire Straw Hat crew.
"No way!"
Luffy was the first to shout. He took a step forward, standing right beside Garp. "I'm fighting with you, Grandpa!"
"Exactly!"
Zoro clamped the Wado Ichimonji between his teeth, his hands gripping the Sandai Kitetsu and Shusui. "We aren't the same people we were two years ago!"
Sanji lit a cigarette and took his place on the other side.
"Don't look down on us, you shitty old geezer!"
Looking at the three brats burning with fighting spirit, Garp grinned.
"Brats. In your current state, you'd only be dead weight here."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he stomped his foot heavily onto the Sunny's deck.
BOOM!
An invisible shockwave of pure Conqueror's Haki, rippling like a physical wave, exploded outward. However, this impact wasn't aimed at any person; instead, it was poured entirely into the ship beneath his feet.
The eyes of the Sunny's living lion figurehead suddenly erupted with a blinding crimson light!
"ROAAAR!!!"
A roar that shook the clouds burst from the lion's mouth. It was no longer the sound of creaking wood, but the furious bellow of a prehistoric beast!
At that moment, the entire ship seemed to be injected with a soul!
The hull surged forward violently, leaping straight up from the sea surface using nothing but its own brute strength!
"Coup de Burst!"
Franky, acting on pure instinct, shouted the command the moment the lion head leaped.
BANG!
A massive propulsion force exploded from the rear of the Sunny!
The ship transformed into a streak of golden light, like a comet tearing across the sky! It forced its way through the only gap in the Marine encirclement—the sky itself!
This sudden turn of events left everyone dumbfounded.
"Wha... What?"
"The... The ship is flying?"
"What is that thing?! It moved on its own!"
"Fire! Stop it!"
"Too late! It's too fast!"
The Marine fleet instantly dissolved into chaos. Cannonballs were fired blindly into the sky, but they couldn't even touch the Sunny's shadow.
On the flagship, the lazy smile on Aramaki's face finally froze.
He slowly stood up, watching the golden streak disappear over the horizon, then slowly shifted his gaze back down.
The spot where the Sunny had been was now empty.
No.
There was one person.
Garp stood alone, his feet planted firmly on the empty air.
Like an immovable pillar of the ocean, he remained behind.
Behind him were his grandson and companions, who had just escaped certain death.
In front of him stood the new Marine Admiral and a massive fleet capable of annihilating an entire nation.
"Listen up, rookie. Let me, a former Marine Vice Admiral, measure whether you actually have what it takes to be an Admiral!"
(To be Continued)