Rumble—
Above the harbor, the clouds suddenly flared with a dim, dying flash. In the next instant, thunder-like roars shook the entire sky over Loguetown.
Inside the port, everyone stared with eyes blown wide open, as if they had forgotten how to breathe, watching in disbelief as the Straw Hat crew's three main combatants descended from the sky and landed back on the Going Merry.
Their gazes finally settled on that small sailboat—cute beyond words, yet now instilling a deep, instinctive terror.
The Bartolomeo group, who had originally intended to take revenge on Sanji and Nami, froze on the spot. No one dared take even half a step forward.
Revenge?
Those two words suddenly felt absurdly laughable.
Watching the boiling sea and the annihilated Marine fleet, Bartolomeo—who had needed his underlings to support him moments ago—shoved aside the two punkish lackeys at his sides and staggered forward, his eyes filled with raw shock.
"Th-this… this is what pirates are like?!"His crooked mouth produced a slurred murmur.
At the rear of the harbor, Buggy's group was just as shaken by what they had witnessed.
Buggy floated midair, clutching his wildly pounding heart, unable to calm himself for a long time.
"It's really been a long time… since I've seen a spectacle like that."
At this moment, pirates and underworld figures weren't the only ones who had rushed to the harbor.
Despite having most of their forces crushed by Luffy and Zoro, Tashigi finally managed to gather a small squad and hurried to the port.
And then—
They saw the Marine fleet's complete defeat.
"H-how could this happen…?!"
At last unable to hold herself together, Tashigi collapsed onto the ground, her eyes vacant as she stared at the distant sea.
The next second, her palm dug into the ground and clenched tight as she bowed her head and cried out to her subordinates:
"H-hurry…! Organize rescue teams!!!"
This pursuit of the Straw Hat crew had resulted in catastrophic losses—both for the Loguetown Marine base and every Marine unit that had participated in the encirclement.
And the most bitter part was—
All that sacrifice and effort had achieved nothing beyond making the Straw Hat crew even more famous.
It was simply…
A complete joke.
…
…
At the same time—
"You guys really went wild again while I was gone, huh~"
Red's teasing voice suddenly echoed from above the Going Merry.
Faint arcs of electricity flickered beneath his feet as he gently descended onto the Grassy Terrain.
Facing him were the three strongest fighters of the Straw Hat crew—looking as though they'd gone an entire day without food, utterly drained and barely standing.
Who could have imagined…
That these three, who appeared like gods or demons to outsiders, could be this weak and exhausted right now?
This was precisely why Red had sealed Hyper Beam, forbidding them from using it recklessly.
He had already tested Hyper Beam's power with all three of them back in the game world.
But unlike the in-game drawback of being immobilized for a single turn after use, Hyper Beam's side effects in the real world were far more terrifying.
In a single instant, it completely drained every last bit of Pokémon energy from the user, plunging them into a dangerously depleted state.
Even now, Red didn't fully understand why this happened—
Whether it was because Luffy and the others lacked proficiency with Hyper Beam, or because the Pokémon energy within their bodies wasn't sufficient to unleash a full version of the move.
Either way, since using it meant immediate loss of combat capability and wasted far too much time, Red rarely allowed them to use it—even though he had equipped them with such a powerful move.
"Red, you're finally back!"
The moment Red landed, Usopp and Nami rushed over excitedly.
The three collapsed fighters on the ground weakly lifted their heads as well.
"Red… you're back," Luffy said, tongue hanging out, still managing a grin.
"Honestly…"
Seeing this, Red laughed helplessly and shook his head.
The next second, he flipped his wrist and spent a small amount of electricity to retrieve three bottles of Ether from his game inventory.
Items that restored move usage in the game world could directly replenish consumed Pokémon energy in the real world.
After downing a bottle each, Luffy and the other two instantly sprang back to life!
They weren't fully recovered yet, but at least the empty, hollow weakness caused by total energy loss was gone.
From there, they just needed to let the effects of Grassy Terrain slowly restore them.
After hearing Usopp's explanation, Red learned everything that had happened at the port while he was away.
"I really didn't expect the Marines to go to such lengths just to capture us," he said, mildly surprised.
But then he turned his gaze to Luffy and smiled.
"Looks like the East Blue really can't hold us anymore."
"Luffy, it's about time. Shouldn't we prepare to set off?"
In an instant, everyone in the Straw Hat crew turned their eyes toward Luffy.
Because now, they were standing at the very last stop before the gateway to the Grand Line.
Once they set sail again, their destination would be—
The sea that countless people longed for:
The Grand Line!!!
"Shishishi!!!"
Luffy pressed his straw hat down, kicked off the railing, and leapt straight onto the sheep-head figurehead of the Going Merry.
"Alright!!!"
Before the eyes of the Straw Hat crew and the countless spectators of Loguetown, Luffy spread his arms wide, took a deep breath, and shouted toward the sea ahead with all his might:
"Crew!!! Raise the sails!!! Set sail!!!"
"Grand Line—we're coming!!!"
Whooosh—!
The harbor of Loguetown, which had only just calmed down, suddenly surged once more with towering waves!
Just as terror spread across the faces of those at the port, thinking the waves would crash ashore—
The sea magically split in two.
The surging waters swept behind the Going Merry, lifting her hull and pushing her forward, steady and true.
In that instant—
It was as if everyone saw a master surfer riding the waves, weaving past wreckage and obstacles, heading boldly toward the wide-open world beyond.
A brilliant beam of sunlight pierced through the clouds, shining upon the Going Merry's sails.
The pirate emblem beneath the straw hat was burned into everyone's hearts, impossible to forget.
The raging wind and rain came to a halt.
The warm sun returned, as if heralding—
A brand-new day…
Had begun!!!
…
…
"The Straw Hat kid's crew… they're gone."
At the harbor, people's minds were still stuck on the moment the Marine fleet was obliterated.
Watching the figures vanish beyond the horizon, Bartolomeo stood at the edge of the port, eyes gleaming, and suddenly turned to Alvida beside him.
"Alvida… do you know what preparations you need before going out to sea?"
Marine-organized rescue ships soon set sail, beginning the operation to save the stranded Marines.
Merchant ships in the harbor also joined the rescue efforts one after another.
Buggy's group pulled up their hoods and melted back into Loguetown, preparing for their own future plans.
After all, before long, they too would follow the Straw Hat crew—
Into the long-awaited Grand Line.
In this moment,
Silence belonged to Loguetown.
So did the clamor.
The revolutionary leader who had intended to secretly protect Luffy—Dragon—appeared atop a clock tower in Loguetown.
Watching Luffy and the others ride the waves away, surprise flickered in his eyes.
"So… the winds of the era have already reached you, Luffy?"
"Looks like I'll need to pick up the pace as well."
A fierce gale howled.
Dragon's figure vanished into the storm.
…
…
"Look—there's a light!!!"
"That must be the guiding light at the entrance to the Grand Line!"
After sailing atop the waves for a while, Nami suddenly pointed forward and explained excitedly.
"So that means we're about to enter the Grand Line, right?!" Zoro grinned, one hand resting on his sword, his fighting spirit blazing.
"The Grand Line… where the strong gather."
He hadn't forgotten what Red had told him before he joined the crew.
At Nami's cue, everyone looked instinctively toward the distant beacon.
Just then, Sanji seemed to recall something. He emerged from the cabin carrying a large barrel and set it down on the deck.
Grinning with a cigarette in his mouth—one that never seemed to go out—he proposed:
"To celebrate entering the Grand Line, let's do a send-off ritual!!!"
"Yeah!!!" Luffy shouted, instantly raising both arms in approval.
The rest of the crew gathered around as well.
Sanji, the one who made the proposal, placed his foot on top of the barrel first.
It was a common seafaring ritual.
Not especially formal—but for the Straw Hat crew at this moment, that casualness only made it more meaningful.
With rare seriousness, Sanji declared:
"To find ALL BLUE—and to become stronger!!!"
Luffy laughed loudly and planted his foot on the barrel next.
"To become the Pirate King!!!"
"Sounds good," Zoro said as he followed, lips curling upward."I'll defeat that man… and become the world's greatest swordsman!"
"As for me…" Nami hesitated briefly.When she placed her foot on the barrel, she said firmly:
"To draw the world's greatest navigation map—so we can sail anywhere, through any weather, to every corner of the world!!!"
"Uh—um…"
Nervous, Usopp stumbled over his words. Perched on the barrel, he clearly hadn't decided what to say.
Swallowing hard, low on confidence but still forcing it out, he said:
"To become a brave warrior of the sea…"
Then his voice suddenly grew loud:
"To become the world's greatest sniper!!!"
Swish!
Everyone's gaze turned at once to Red, who was standing nearby with a smile—clearly expecting him to share his dream.
"A dream, huh…"
Looking at this scene straight out of the anime, emotion flooded Red's eyes.
He remembered how he'd once thought his cheat had malfunctioned, rushing out to sea with Luffy without any preparation at all.
Now, understanding how it truly worked, he had no more doubts—
But he also knew he could no longer leave this ship.
Thump!
Red followed their lead and placed his foot on the barrel, then laughed loudly.
"To personally make up for those regrets!"
"To witness the ending of the story with my own eyes!"
Regrets? Ending?
Red's words immediately caught everyone's attention.
Yet at this moment, no one pressed for answers.
Luffy grinned widely and raised his leg high.
"Let's go!!!"
"Our destination is—"
"The Grand Line!!!"
BOOM!!!
With everyone kicking together, the barrel shattered apart.
At that moment, every face was filled with genuine smiles and anticipation.
The flames of their dreams burst into the most beautiful fireworks, blooming above the Going Merry.
(End of Chapter)