I was genuinely happy.
Elbaf. Giants. Loud food, louder laughs, and stories carved into trees older than kingdoms.
I was mid-daydream when the ship groaned.
Not the lazy creak of tired wood.
This was sharp. Painful.
Like something had snapped.
I looked down.
There was a hole on the side of the ship.
Not small.
Not manageable.
Water was rushing in, flooding the deck as if the sea had personally decided to board us without permission.
I stared for a second.
Then slowly turned my head toward Spruce.
A smile crept onto my face. Not a good one.
"Show me your shipwright skills, little guy."
Spruce froze.
"…What are you thinking?!"
Gray leaned over the railing, looked at the hole, then at the rising water. His ears flattened.
"…We're not imagining this, right?"
Sea Cat tilted its head, then looked at Spruce.
It understood immediately.
I lunged.
"Come here—"
Spruce vanished.
Tiny legs. Blinding speed. He darted between crates, under ropes, over barrels.
"Bruhh…" I sighed. "Spruce, stop running. You have to fix that hole. You're literally our shipwright."
The ship cracked again.
This time, water didn't rush.
It exploded inward.
"Okay, nope." Gray grabbed the mast. "We are actually sinking."
The deck tilted slightly.
The sea licked Gray's paws. His fur bristled.
"Ash," he said flatly, "your luck is officially running out."
Spruce skidded to a stop.
His breathing slowed.
His nose twitched.
"…I feel it."
Everyone went quiet.
"The grain of the wood," Spruce murmured. "The gaps. The weak screams inside the hull."
He stepped forward.
"Spruce, don't—" I reached out.
"I am the shipwright of the Tontatta," he said firmly.
"Watch closely… Big-Brother-Not-Ace."
Spruce stood directly over the largest crack.
Water surged around his boots.
He inhaled.
His skin shimmered.
Turned silver-bright, reflective like a mirror.
He slammed his palms onto the shattered wood.
"Suigin Suigin no Mi!"(Mercury Mercury fruit)
Liquid silver erupted from his hands.
Not water.
Not slime.
Liquid Metal.
Heavy. Glowing. Alive.
It flowed like a living thing, crawling upward against gravity, slithering into every jagged tear.
Gray's eyes widened.
"…That's liquid metal."
"It's mercury, probably" I whispered. "Actual mercury."
Spruce shouted over the roar,
"Quicksilver flows like water but cuts like iron!"
The silver touched seawater.
Spruce clenched his fists.
"Hardening!"
The mercury solidified instantly.
A violent THUD echoed through the hull.
The water stopped.
Not slowly.
Instantly.
Spruce moved like lightning—liquefying, reforming—sealing cracks no one could even see. The ship groaned… then steadied.
Silence.
I stared.
"…Bruhh. He just welded reality."
Spruce hopped onto my shoulder, breathing hard, fingertips still shimmering.
"The ship is reinforced with Silver Blood," he said proudly.
"It will not sink while I am aboard."
Gray sniffed the metallic air.
"…You're terrifying."
Spruce puffed out his chest.
I looked at the shining silver scars on our ship.
"Yeah. You're never leaving."
Ahead—
A massive shadow moved.
Hajrudin's giant ship cut through the waves.
"OI, SPRUCE!" I pointed forward.
"Set the sail. Follow that giant."
Spruce nodded and ran to the helm.
The modified ship surged forward smoothly.
Gray stretched and sat down.
"…So we almost died."
"You almost slept through it," I said.
"I trust competence," Gray replied. "Apparently, the tiny one has it."
Spruce yelled from the helm,
"Say that louder next time!"
We caught up quickly.
From the giant ship above, a booming laugh echoed.
Goldberg, the giant cook, leaned over the railing.
"Captain Hajrudin said you might be hungry!"
He threw a block of meat from above.
The meat landed on our deck with a heavy THUD.
I stared at it.
"…That thing is bigger than me."
From Hajrudin's ship, Goldberg laughed.
"Eat well! Strength comes from food!"
Gray's ears twitched.
"No," I warned.
Too late.
Gray was already slicing the slab with terrifying precision. Spruce stared in horror.
"…Demon—resu."
Gray didn't even look at him.
"I heard that."
Spruce threw his hammer. Gray caught it.
"You wanna get killed or something little guy?" Gray growled.
Spruce shouted,"Respect our Captain demon!."
He looked at me and said,"…Kitchen time—resu."
"Good choice," I laughed. "Let's cook."
We went inside the ship.
The galley was old and sad. One cracked stove, dusty rice sacks.
Spruce inspected everything seriously.
"Heat control is bad—resu."
He placed his hands on the stove. They shimmered silver.
"Mercury regulation—resu."
The flame steadied perfectly.
"…Bruhh," I muttered. "That's unfair."
"Skill—resu."
I sliced meat while Spruce adjusted the pan using mercury, forming perfect heat lines. The moment the meat hit the pan.
SSSSHHHH.
The smell filled the ship instantly.
From above, Gray shouted, "WHY DOES IT SMELL GOOD?"
"Wait!" I yelled.
Goldberg leaned over the railing, sniffing.
"…That smells better than mine."
Road laughed. Hajrudin crossed his arms, impressed.
First plate—Gray.
He ate silently.
"…Make more."
Spruce almost cried.
Second—Spruce.
He took a bite.
"…Acceptable—resu."
Third—Ripple.
I tossed a huge piece. Ripple jumped, caught it mid-air, splashing happily.
Then me.
I sat on deck, watching the blue sea and sunrise.
"…This is peace."
"We want that!"
Giants leaned over the railings. A crate of meat dropped onto our deck.
I sighed.
"…Back to work."
Spruce rolled up his sleeves.
"Yes—resu!"
We cooked till noon.
Me sweating.
Spruce yelling measurements.
Gray stealing bites.
Giants laughing.
By the end, everyone collapsed.
Gray sprawled out.
Spruce slept on my shoulder.
Sea cat floated beside the ship.
I looked at the calm sea.
"…This is way too peaceful."
The sea slowed.
Not naturally—
but like it was holding its breath.
Our ship drifted beside Hajrudin's fleet, waves barely moving, sunlight stretching lazily across the water. Even the wind felt unsure.
Sea cat floated near the ship, circling once, then twice, splashing softly like it was checking if we were still there.
I leaned over the railing.
"…You saved us back there."
Sea cat clicked and jumped, spraying water all over Gray.
Gray shook himself violently. "If you name it something stupid, I'm leaving."
I ignored him.
"You carried us. You listened. You didn't run."
Sea cat tilted its head.
"…You deserve a name."
It floated closer.
I smiled.
"From today… you're Ripple."
The sea cat let out a sharp, happy cry and leapt high, spinning midair before crashing back into the water. It circled the ship excitedly, splashing like a kid who'd just been praised for the first time.
Spruce clapped from the helm.
"A good name—resu!"
Gray sighed.
"…Yeah. It fits."
For a moment—
Everything felt right.
Too right.
The waves went flat.
Dead flat.
Road's voice echoed from above, serious now.
"This calm is unnatural."
I straightened.
The water ahead darkened.
Slowly… spiraling.
Stansen leaned over the edge.
"The current is pulling inward."
Gerd narrowed her eyes.
"…That's no ordinary flow."
Then I saw it.
A massive whirlpool, forming like a wound in the sea, dragging everything toward its center.
"Hajrudin!" I shouted. "Turn west-north-west—now!"
Orders rang out. The giant ships turned easily.
Ours didn't.
The current caught us.
The deck tilted.
"Gray!" I yelled.
Before he could answer—
SPLASH.
My heart dropped.
Ripple.
Its body was dragged sideways, caught by the pull, claws scraping desperately against the water as it was pulled closer to the spinning darkness.
Spruce froze.
"…Ripple—resu."
Gray's claws dug into the deck.
"…No."
The whirlpool roared louder.
And just like that—
the calm shattered.
"...Bruhhhh."