Mellie is Mellie?

The blue sky gradually darkened.

Not far ahead, a small island came into view, with flames shooting into the sky and black smoke billowing.

"Is that on fire?" Usopp held up the telescope, looking at the flames and smoke on the island, and his voice began to tremble.

"What a nice smell!" Luffy was drawn to the invisible aroma. Half of his body was already leaning out of the side of the boat, his nose inhaling wildly in the wind. "There seems to be a lot of delicious food over there!"

Meili also tried to sniff, but could only smell the pungent smell of smoke: "Your nose for food is really terrifying."

"That's right! I smell a lot of meat. Let's go over there quickly. There must be a barbecue party going on there!"

"It always feels strange. Those flames are so scary. Could it be that the fire roasted all the animals?"

"Luffy's sensitivity to meat is undeniable."

"Anyway, let's go closer and take a look."

"What? My old illness has suddenly flared up. It's the kind that kills people the moment they land on the island."

"Eh? Usopp, are you okay? Doctor, doctor! Ah, I am the doctor."

"Oh, I have a feeling it's going to be really interesting."

"Yohohoho~~ This is really exciting. I haven't eaten barbecue in a long time."

"Hey, are you guys listening? I'm really sick..."

The Sunny slowly approached the island, and the situation on the island became clear to everyone.

Layers of stepped streets wind up the mountain, and millions of lights adorn most of the mountaintops.

There are many baskets neatly stacked on each step, filled with vegetables, meat, fish, fruits and other food, with incense and candles next to them, as well as paper-folded clothes, shoes and hats, and various paper-folded daily necessities.

When the wind blew, the smoke made people's eyes sore, and dozens of human figures shuttled between the fire and the smoke, looking particularly weird.

Luffy stared at the food on the mountain with his eyes shining and his mouth watering: "Sure enough! There are so many things to eat."

Meili couldn't help but exclaim: "It's amazing! The whole mountain has become so spectacular."

Usopp, Nami and Chopper were frightened by the spectacle before them. They hid behind Zoro, Merry and Franky respectively, trembling.

"W-What are you doing?"

"Why does it feel like some kind of undead town?"

"Woo woo, let's not go up, let's turn around quickly."

Luffy was very excited and jumped onto the shore first: "It's a party, right? I love parties the most."

Sanji, cigarette between his legs, jumped ashore right after him. "Ah, isn't it a bit wasteful to leave so much food on the ground?"

"Let's go, let's go, it feels really interesting."

Seeing that several of the most skilled people had already reached the shore, Usopp, Nami and Chopper became even more frightened and had to follow them.

The Straw Hat Pirates climbed the stairs, with Luffy running the fastest. From time to time, when no one was paying attention, he would reach out like lightning, pick up the food from the basket and stuff it into his mouth as if nothing had happened.

Just as Luffy reached into the basket again, a skinny hand emerged from the mist of fire and slapped onto Luffy's shoulder.

"Who are you?" The voice was hoarse, like sandpaper grinding on a gong.

"Ahhhh!!!" Usopp, Nami, and Chopper instantly hugged their companions and screamed loudly, "Ghost, ghost grandma!"

She was an old woman with a bent back. Under her silver hair was a dry and thin face with accumulated wrinkles and grooves. Her eyes were gray and cloudy. She looked very scary.

"What a rude kid." The old woman snorted coldly, and her turbid eyes swept over the Straw Hat Pirates. When she saw Brook, who was just a skeleton, her pupils suddenly dilated.

"The dead, the dead soul!" The old woman's voice trembled, but with ecstasy, "The dead soul has appeared!"

She stumbled forward, pointing a withered finger at Brooke. "It really has appeared! There really are ghosts in this world!"

This cry quickly attracted the attention of the surrounding residents, and more hunched figures rushed over.

When they saw Brooke, they reacted very excitedly.

"The souls of the dead have really returned. The memorial service was not in vain."

“Everything we do is not in vain!”

"Everyone! Please enjoy your meal!"

Luffy's face was filled with excitement, his eyes sparkling: "Can I really eat it? All of it?"

"Of course, all the food tonight is prepared for 'you'."

After receiving a positive answer, Luffy had no doubts, stretched out his arms, and began to stuff food into his mouth frantically.

“Delicious, delicious.”

Meili and the others were shocked and terrified: "Ah? Prepared for us? Why?"

Brooke was surrounded by enthusiastic islanders. He took off his hat and bowed gracefully: "Although I am just a skeleton left, I feel very honored to be liked by you."

Hearing Brook's response, the surrounding residents became even more excited.

Some people pushed the surrounding food to Brook's feet, and some people inserted lit incense into the gaps between his bones. The scene looked even more weird, but also inexplicably warm.

"Yohoho~~ My bones feel like they're about to be burnt." Brooke didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but it was difficult for her to break free and break the etiquette. "Dear ladies, could you please stop stuffing my bones?"

"Delicious," Luffy said while eating without hesitation, laughing, "Hahaha~~ Brook, you look so funny!"

Zoro was not on guard at all. He picked up the wine jug on the ground and took a big gulp.

"Wait, Zoro," Chopper saw Zoro's behavior of making the doctor worry, and instantly threw his fear behind his mind, "You can't drink yet!"

Usopp and Nami looked at each other and cautiously poked their heads out from behind Zoro.

"We...seem to be treated as one of our own?"

"At least now we don't have to worry about getting eaten."

Another old woman brought a steaming hot roasted pig and placed it in front of Luffy. She wiped the stains from the corners of Luffy's mouth with a loving look in her eyes: "Child, it tastes so good, so delicious!"

Robin looked at the flames all over the mountain, and a flash of enlightenment flashed in his eyes: "This, I'm afraid it is the legendary 'Pudu'."

Meili tilted her head, her eyes sparkling with fire. "Pudu? What's that?"

Robin continued to explain: "It is a feast held to commemorate those wandering souls who have no master, no home, and no grave."

Usopp laughed dryly a few times: "Ahahaha, it really is a wandering spirit?"

"I think I've heard that, but why put the food on the ground?"

"It is said that this is to make it easier for all the deceased souls. Children who died young are small, and wandering souls with disabilities have difficulty moving. They are placed on the ground so that they can all receive offerings."

With just one sentence, the fear in my heart was instantly calmed.

Franky wiped his nose, tears welling up in his eyes: "Aww! This is so touching! Tieme!"

"Is that why?" Usopp unconsciously loosened his grip on Franky's clothes.

"Then," Nami murmured, "can a ship spirit like Merry also come and participate?"

When these words were spoken, everyone was stunned.

Usopp quickly understood what Nami meant: "After all, we don't have this kind of worship tradition. Merry, sinking alone in the deep sea, wouldn't she be very lonely?"

Meli's eyes suddenly turned red. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with emotion, but the more she wiped, the wetter her eyes became.

In the end, she simply cried and grinned, her smile brighter than the lights on the mountain.

"No, Meili has her friends to care about her. She is not lonely at all."

At this moment, the atmosphere around is just right.

"Actually..." Meili hesitated for a long time, but couldn't help but muster up the courage to say, "I am Meili."

Although it has changed its form, the Merry has always been with you.

"You're Merry," Luffy nodded matter-of-factly while biting into the roast chicken, "Of course we know."

"No, I mean Merry from the Go Forward Merry."

Merry paused, flames dancing on her eyelashes, igniting the light of courage.

"That day, after the Merry was cremated, my soul sank to the bottom of the sea. When I woke up again, for some reason, I had transformed into a small octopus. To find my friends, I traveled far and wide, only to discover I had traveled back eighteen years. I missed you all so much, so I went to find you as children and became your friends."

"What!?"

"Merry you..."

"This, this, this... this is incredible!"

Everyone in the Straw Hat Pirates was so surprised that their jaws hit the ground and their eyeballs popped out like springs.

"Ah, even though I don't have eyeballs, my jaw is so shocked that it's dislocated, yo hehe~~~~"

"Oh? Are you that ship? That's super-romantic, right?" Franky pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head, and tears flowed like a waterfall.

The others were not in much better condition, shocked and in tears.

Although it was unbelievable, Luffy quickly laughed and clapped.

"I see! So, Merry has been by our side the whole time! So cool!"

The other friends quickly accepted Meli's explanation.

"That's what I was saying. No wonder Merry always seemed so kind to the Merry."

"Huh? But when we were little, Merry-chan was always so special to me... (T﹏T) Wasn't she just special to me?"

"No wonder, Meili knew I liked her the first time we met..."

......

"Huh? You actually believe it just like that?" Meli was a little confused.

"Of course, after all, there's no reason for Merry to lie. Besides, Brook can still move freely even after turning into bones, and it's normal for a ship elf to turn into an octopus mermaid or something like that."

"Normal!" Nami rushed forward and hugged Merry tightly in her arms, "You bastard,"

She loosened her embrace and pinched Merry's face with her fingers. "You hid it from me for so long! Do you know how sadly I cried in the Water City?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't dare to say it before. Who knows if you would think I'm crazy."

Nami rested her forehead against Merry's, her voice choked with sobs: "But, it's great, Merry didn't leave us."

"Yeah, it's great that we can continue our adventure together!"

"Merry! Welcome back!"

......

"Bo~bo~~"

The giant roots of the mangroves break out of the sea, continuously secreting a special resin that forms translucent bubbles that float among the Chagollis Archipelago.

“Wow!”

"Is this the Sabaody Archipelago?"

“Lots of bubbles, it’s so fun!”

Luffy excitedly jumped into a bubble, and the entire bubble floated into the air.

The bubble rose higher and higher, and when it passed the treetops, it burst immediately.

Luffy fell from a great height, but his smile did not diminish at all: "It was so fun~~ I want to do it again!"

Chopper's eyes lit up: "Luffy, Luffy, I want to play too! How do I play this?"

"Just use force like this and you can get in." Luffy demonstrated while holding a bubble.

Nami punched him and said, "What are you kidding? We came to the island to do serious business."

Luffy stared at the large bump, "Private Masai!"

In order to travel to the New World, they must first find a craftsman to coat the ship, and then pass through Fishman Island ten thousand meters below.

To this end, they came to the Sabaody Archipelago under the leadership of Octopus Hachi.

After some simple arrangements, Merry, Luffy, Nami, Robin, Chopper, and Brook followed Hachi and Cammy to the island to find the craftsman, while the others stayed on the ship to guard.

Merry had been to the Sabaody Archipelago before, and now he was revisiting the place with a bit of nostalgia.

She poked at a bubble and said, "Actually, I also know a craftsman named Rayleigh."

Xiao Ba smirked, "Moo, Rayleigh? The craftsman I know is also named Rayleigh."

Luffy laughed as he ran after Bubbles: "Hahaha, maybe it's the same person."