"Usopp, you're back, huh…"
Having finished the first half of their training, Luffy and the others wiped their sweat-soaked bodies with towels as they laughed and walked toward the bow of the Going Merry.
Hearing them, Usopp—who had just finished being "educated" by Red—turned around, not forgetting to brag:
"Yeah! And this time, I've made something absolutely incredible. I'll show you all in a bit!"
"You made another weird invention?" Zoro asked curiously from behind Luffy.
"What do you mean weird invention!?"
Usopp protested immediately, then lifted his nose proudly and grinned:
"This time, this genius is definitely going to blow your minds!"
"By the way, looks like there's a huge dark cloud up ahead. Is it a storm?"
"Nami, is that okay?!"
Usopp pressed his hand above his brow and asked her in concern.
"Huh? Oh, that?"
Nami, having also just wrapped up her training, replied casually:
"It is a storm. But it's fine—didn't Sanji just say lunch is ready?"
"Let's go eat first!"
"Oh, so it's just a storm," Usopp nodded matter-of-factly.
And then the very next second—
"…Huh!?"
His eyes suddenly shot open in terror.
"Wait! Hold on!!"
"How can you all still be thinking about eating right now!?"
"Huh? What's wrong?" Nami blinked in confusion.
Usopp stared at her, dumbfounded.
"What do you mean what's wrong…"
"The storm's coming! Shouldn't we be furling the sails and preparing countermeasures!?"
After entering the Grand Line, he had already lived through who-knows-how-many storms—he spoke with the voice of experience.
But after he finished speaking, Nami's expression remained unchanged; her eyes only glinted playfully.
"Oh, that kind of thing?"
"No worries. Little Merry will take care of it!"
"That's right, Usopp. Leave the sailing to me!"
A soft, airy voice suddenly echoed behind him—instantly making all the hairs on Usopp's body stand on end.
"Wh-who said that!?"
Usopp launched himself like a spring and jumped to the opposite side of the deck.
When he finally dared to look back…he saw a hooded child floating in midair, her face half-hidden by her cloak.
"Gh-gh—GHOST!!?"
Usopp and Chopper's eyes bulged as if ready to pop out, screaming at the top of their lungs.
Little Merry only curled her lips into a mischievous smile as she drifted closer.
Luffy and Zoro, who had just reached the cabin door, froze upon hearing the commotion.
"Ghost!?"
Luffy turned back in surprise. Seeing Little Merry floating in the air, he should have been excited—but instead, he frowned.
"Huh~ that feels… really familiar."
"Well of course."
Red chuckled beside him.
"After all, you sleep on her head every night."
"Oh! I remember now!!!"
Luffy smacked his palm and shouted:
"You're the Merry!!"
"Merry?"
Zoro, who didn't yet know Little Merry's identity, looked over in confusion.
Meanwhile, everyone else—who did know—stared at Luffy in surprise.
"How did you figure it out!?"
Nami instantly rushed to ask.
Luffy grinned widely.
"Because… I've heard the Merry's voice before!"
"I just thought I was imagining it!"
"Amazing! Merry, how did you turn into this!?"
"Ehh? So you already noticed me before, Luffy!?"
Hearing Luffy's explanation, Little Merry blinked in surprise and began explaining the nature of a Klabautermann to those who didn't yet understand.
During this, Red kept watching Luffy, silently marveling:
"The Voice of All Things… I didn't expect Luffy to awaken this ability so early."
The Voice of All Things was a mysterious power distinct from Observation Haki.
Just like the Lunarians' flames or the Minks' electro, it was an innate ability—granted at birth.
In Red's previous life, he only knew of four people in the pirate world who possessed it:
Pirate King Roger, Luffy, Kozuki Oden…and a useless waste elevated purely by bloodline—Momonosuke.
The ability also had prerequisites.
Roger could hear not only Sea Kings but even the "voices" of Poneglyphs.
In the original timeline, Luffy wouldn't awaken this until two years later.
"Looks like with the device's blessing, the hidden power inside Luffy's body is already starting to surface."
"I wonder how long until he awakens Conqueror's Haki… and the Fifth Gear form of his Devil Fruit?"
Red murmured quietly.
Meanwhile—
Because she had missed the chance to watch everyone freak out about the Klabautermann, Nami pouted.
"Seriously, what a letdown~!"
She stretched lazily, her sweat-damp clothes clinging to her curves.
She turned to head back toward the cabin.
But then—
As if today was cursed to keep her away from lunch, a scream echoed from the Merry's lookout:
"Everyone! There's a pirate ship up ahead!"
"And judging by its course, it's headed straight for us!"
Vivi, who was filling in as lookout since she had no training today, shouted frantically.
And then—
Whoosh!!!
A faint slicing sound tore through the air.
Luffy and Zoro's expressions sharpened instantly.
"Vivi, watch out!!"
They shouted together.
"What?!"
Vivi froze for a split second.
Unlike Luffy and Zoro, she didn't have that wild animal instinct for danger.
But she had been strong enough to rank among Baroque Works' top agents.
With their warning, she finally spotted a spiraling bullet slicing through the air—heading straight for her.
She didn't have enough time to channel her Pokémon energy for Teleport.She only managed to shift enough to avoid a fatal hit.
Pfft!!!
The lightning-fast bullet punched through her shoulder—and the force hurled her off the lookout toward the sea below.
"No!!"
Nami and the others panicked, each activating their movement moves to try and catch her.
Petals scattered in the air—
Robin crossed her arms before her chest:
"Treinta Fleur: Catch!"
Dozens of arms sprouted upward from the railing, weaving into a soft net that caught Vivi mid-fall.
Nami rushed forward.
"Are you okay, Vi—"
But her voice died immediately.
Because Vivi—now back on deck—had her entire right shoulder blown open, bloodied beyond recognition.
"Hurry! Get Vivi onto Grassy Terrain!!"
Nami shouted urgently.
Robin once again used her Fruit ability to gently place Vivi onto the Merry's deck.
Though Vivi's face was twisted in agony, not a single scream left her lips.
"Damn it! A sniper!!"
Usopp snapped on his goggles and sprinted to the bow, raising his slingshot—only to grimace.
"No good! The shot came from five kilometers away!"
"My Galaxy Slingshot can't reach that far yet!"
"Luffy! We need to close the distance!!"
(End of Chapter)