After the name Thousand Sunny fully appeared on the summoning scroll, Merry slowly opened her eyes, her face filled with joy.
"Hey, Merry," Luffy pointed at the scroll.
"What's going on here? Why did the Thousand Sunny's name appear on it?"
"Yeah," Usopp asked.
"What does that even mean?"
"It means summoning," Merry said with a bright smile.
Just now, she had happily communicated with the Thousand Sunny.
The ship had been very pleased to become her summoned partner.
Seeing that everyone still looked confused, Jin spoke up.
"You remember how Merry summoned me back earlier, right?"
"Of course!" Luffy nodded immediately.
"That means Merry now has the ability to summon our ship," Jin said slowly, word by word.
"No matter where we are, as long as Merry wants to, she can summon the pirate ship to her side!"
At this point, Jin was completely certain—
Merry's technique system was entirely based on the summoning scroll.
Although the restrictions were greater, if used properly, it could still produce incredible results.
At the very least, the Straw Hat Pirates would never need to worry about their ship again.
After any battle, they could simply summon it back.
"That's insane!!"
Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper stared at Merry in shock.
They knew very well what it meant to be able to summon a pirate ship at will.
"Merry, how did you do it?" Usopp asked.
"Because it agreed to my request," Merry said happily, pointing at the Thousand Sunny.
"With my help, it signed its name—so now I can summon it using summoning jutsu!"
As she spoke, Merry was already planning to have Jin carry her onto the sea so she could demonstrate it.
However, Jin stopped her.
"Hey, little one," he said helplessly.
"Are you trying to throw Luffy and the others into the ocean?"
"If you want to show it off, there'll be plenty of chances later."
Not to mention—Zoro had finally found time to take a nap.
Waking him up now would definitely cause trouble.
"…Okay," Merry said a little reluctantly.
"Then I'll show everyone later."
She really wanted to see it herself, but she couldn't actually dump everyone into the sea.
"Huh?"
"It's snowing!" Usopp suddenly looked up excitedly.
"Hey, Luffy! Let's build a snowman!"
"Yeah!"
"Come on, let's get tools!"
"Merry wants to join too!" Merry raised her little hand excitedly.
She carefully felt the snowflakes falling from the sky.
This was the first time she had ever touched snow with her own hands.
"Let's go, Merry!" Usopp gave a thumbs-up.
"I'll make you a huge snow shovel!"
"Idiot," Nami said.
"She's tiny—she needs a small one!"
"…Oh, right."
Watching the snow gradually fall, a hint of nostalgia appeared in Chopper's eyes.
"I wonder what Doctorine is doing right now…"
"What, missing home?" Jin asked with a chuckle.
"A little…"
Chopper scratched his head shyly.
"It kind of feels embarrassing to say it, like I haven't grown up yet."
"There's nothing embarrassing about that," Jin said, gazing into the distance.
"Most of the time, the older you get, the stronger your homesickness becomes."
"Then… do you miss home too, Jin?" Chopper asked curiously.
"Where's your hometown?"
"…Me?"
Jin paused.
"I can't go back anymore."
Chopper froze.
He looked up at Jin and asked cautiously, tears welling in his eyes.
"Jin… are you… like Robin too…?"
As he spoke, tears spilled out.
Chopper understood that feeling far too well—
the pain of losing loved ones was something that carved itself into a person forever.
Without thinking, he grabbed Jin's clothes with his little hoof.
"Jin, don't be sad! You still have me and everyone else—we're your companions!"
Jin froze for a moment.
Looking at Chopper, warmth quietly spread through his chest.
This innocent little guy was really… unbelievably kind.
"…Alright," Jin said softly, rubbing Chopper's head.
"Mm!"
At that moment, Luffy and the others ran out of the cabin carrying tools, faces full of excitement.
"Hey, Chopper! Jin! Come play in the snow!"
"Coming!"
Jin smiled and brought Chopper over, then glanced at the bags in their hands.
"You're planning to collect snow with bags?"
"Yeah," Usopp said seriously.
"The snow's falling way too slowly. If we wait, it'll be night before we can build a snowman."
"So we're collecting it first!"
Jin: ...
He looked at the tiny shovel in Merry's hands, then at the bags Luffy and Usopp were holding.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
At this rate, they'd still be collecting snow next year.
"By the time you're done," Nami said flatly from behind,
"Sanji's dinner will probably already be ready."
"Then leave it to me," Jin suddenly grinned.
"Watch your big brother pull off something flashy!"
"Wind Release: Gathering Wind Technique!"
Woooo—
A small tornado suddenly formed above the Thousand Sunny,疯狂吸 pulling in the snow from the sky.
Driven by the wind, snow from all around rushed toward the ship.
"Wow, amazing!"
Merry waved her little shovel excitedly.
With Jin helping, they'd be able to build a snowman in no time!
She had never built one since the moment she was born.
"So cool!!"
Luffy and the others stared in excitement.
This was the charm of ninjutsu—
if only they could use it too!
"Alright, that's enough!" Jin called out.
"Get ready to receive the snow!"
"…Wait—"
Nami's expression changed.
A bad feeling surged in her instincts.
Before she could turn around, the wind suddenly vanished.
All the snow that had been gathered overhead came crashing down.
BOOM!!
In an instant, everyone on deck was buried.
Nami and Usopp were smashed flat into the snow.
Fortunately, the pile was only a little over half a meter deep.
Nami: ...
She climbed out of the snow, veins bulging on her forehead as her anger skyrocketed.
Turning her head, she looked at Jin—who was shielding Merry and Chopper—
and smiled sweetly.
"Jin," she said gently,
"before doing something like that… did it ever cross your mind to let us go back inside first?"
"…Huh?"
"Hahaha, sorry! I forgot."
"I think you didn't think about it at all, you bastard!!"
Enraged, Nami burst out of the snow in an instant and slammed her fist into the back of Jin's head—
THUD!!
A massive bump instantly swelled up.
For a brief moment, Jin felt like he saw his great-grandmother waving at him.
"Nami… you… you're basically cheating now…"
Why was her speed so terrifying now?
And that strength—
She was like this when she hit Luffy before too, and now him—
Was this some kind of extra damage to allies?!
"Hmph," Nami snorted.
"You totally deserved it."
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