Merry Returns

The first thing Zoro noticed was the longsword at Merry's waist. His eyes sharpened. "Nice sword, it seems you've become a qualified swordsman. Want a competition?"

"Huh?" Merry waved his hands repeatedly. "My swordsmanship is far inferior to Zoro's."

Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Zoro all recognized Merry. They greeted her at the same time, then turned to glance at each other and their companions, saying in unison, "You know Merry too!?"

The air was silent for a second, and then a louder exclamation broke out.

Meli was surrounded and couldn't help laughing: "Yes, you are all my friends."

After a brief chat, everyone found out that Meli had made friends with them in the East China Sea as early as ten years ago. They couldn't help but sigh that it was really a great fate.

Robin froze in shock, a rare crack appearing on his usually calm face. "When Aokiji was chasing me back then, I thought... I'd never see you again."

Merry opened her arms and gave Robin a tight hug: "I'm back! Robin~"

The atmosphere on the deck was very lively. Only Chopper was hiding behind the mast, his two little hooves scratching the wood, with surprise and fear in his eyes.

It was the first time it had seen an octopus mermaid: "What kind of strange creature is this? It's so big! So scary!"

"You must be Chopper, so cute," Merry bent down and extended a tentacle, "Hello, I'm Merry the octopus mermaid."

"Bage Yalu, even if you praise me for being cute," Chopper's face flushed, and his body twisted into a knot of joy, "I won't be happy~~"

“Hahahaha~~”

There was laughter on the deck.

At this moment, the wind is sweet, the waves are soft, and even the mast is swaying gently, as if saying: Welcome back.

The sun sets and the oil lamps light up.

All the Straw Hat Pirates gathered in the restaurant and held a banquet to celebrate Merry's arrival.

A variety of food, including barbecue, sashimi, pasta, etc., is placed full on the long dining table.

"It smells so good..." Luffy held a big piece of bone in his left hand, and swept the delicacies on the table with his right hand like a whirlwind, his mouth bulging like a hamster.

Nami couldn't stand it any longer and punched Luffy on the head: "Luffy! Don't touch Merry's food!"

"Wall-E, Wall-E~~" Luffy answered vaguely, turning his hand in another direction, but his speed did not slow down at all.

When Usopp wasn't paying attention, the meat on his plate was snatched away: "Hey! Luffy! This is my meat!"

Sanji waltzed over to Merry's side and placed the dessert plate down gracefully.

A big and beautiful cake appeared with "Wee Merry" written on it in pink cream and two red hearts drawn next to it.

"It's great that Merry-chan can join us!" Sanji's face was filled with a gentle smile, and he bowed like a gentleman, "This is a welcome dessert I made specially for you~"

Merry's eyes curved, and a sparkle suddenly appeared in them: "Thank you Sanji-san, I am also very happy to continue the adventure with everyone!"

"Ah! What a great smile! It's like an angel has descended," Sanji said, his whole body filled with pink bubbles, "I'm so happy today!"

"Hahaha, this is indeed a day worth celebrating," Nami slapped away Luffy's hand that was trying to steal the food, and raised her glass, "Mina-san, let's toast together!"

"cheers!!!"

Everyone had a smile on their face, and the lively laughter in the restaurant almost blew the roof off.

......

Nami suddenly remembered something and stared at Merry inquiringly: "By the way, Merry-chan, do you know the evil dragon?"

Luffy, who was frantically chewing on his meat, widened his eyes when he heard this: "What? Merry-chan also knows that bastard?"

"Evil Dragon?" Merry tilted his head and thought for a moment, "Ah, is it Arlong, the Sawtooth Shark? We were in the Sun Pirates together for a while, but I haven't seen him in ten years now."

"Sure enough!" Nami put down the wine glass in her hand with force, and some strange emotions appeared in her eyes, "I guessed it before."

Noticing Nami's sudden change in demeanor, Merry lowered her voice somewhat uncomfortably: "Along...what's wrong?"

Usopp swallowed the food in his mouth and cleared his throat: "Merry, things like storytelling should be left to me. That guy Arlong has done a lot of evil in the East China Sea..."

——

Back to 1512, Donghai

The peaceful life of Cocosia Village was disrupted by the arrival of a pirate ship.

The tall Aaron and his gang rushed to the dock in a brutal manner, and the fishmen occupied the island forcefully and cruelly.

"Listen carefully, you human garbage! If you want to continue living, you must pay for your lives. 100,000 Beli for adults and 50,000 Beli for children."

The whole village fell into panic, but facing the powerful fishmen, ordinary villagers had no power to fight back.

When Aaron and his gang arrived at Bellmère's house, she hid behind the door and suddenly jumped out, kicking Aaron to the ground with a clean and decisive move.

Bellmère sat astride Aaron, the barrel of the gun piercing his throat.

"What a shame. I was once a marine after all. What does a notorious pirate want in such a small place?"

Faced with Bellmère's threat, all the surrounding fishmen burst into laughter.

"What's so funny!" Bellmère frowned slightly and the gun barrel went deeper another inch.

Aaron grinned a few times and then suddenly closed his mouth.

"Dang——" The sharp teeth actually bit the fine iron gun barrel into two pieces.

Bellmère opened his eyes wide in horror, but was knocked to the ground by Aaron in an instant.

Aaron spat out the gun barrel like a fishbone, took a step forward, and stepped hard on Bellmère's gun-holding arm.

“Ah!!!” a scream rang out.

Aaron cruelly crushed the arm under his feet back and forth.

"Brother Aaron," Octopus Xiaoba squeezed through the crowd of fish and handed a photo to Aaron, "Isn't this the little brat Meli?"

The photo has faded. Merry and Nami are holding up an oversized crab together, Nojiko is making faces in the back, and Bell-mère is standing at the back with her arms open, hugging the three girls in her arms. The four of them are smiling brightly.

Aaron pinched the photo, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he muttered softly: "That crying coward..."

Memories of the Sun Pirates flashed through my mind. When Merry was injured, tears flowed down her face. When she cried, her eyes would reflect light, which was annoying.

Arlong couldn't help but grit his teeth and cursed in a low voice: That coward not only joined the human pirate group, but also made friends with low-class human trash in such a remote place. He really disgraced them, the fishmen.

He raised his foot to deliver another blow, but somehow, the image of Merry, with shining eyes, looking for him to teach him fish-man karate, reappeared in his mind.

"Aaron! You were so awesome!" Meli waved his hands excitedly, his eyes shining like stars. "How come your whole body can become a weapon? That move you just used, biting a cannonball to pieces, was so cool! Your teeth are actually harder than a cannonball!"

If he killed her friend today, that coward would definitely cry bitterly, right?

Maybe, he would look at him as a stranger and stay away from him in fear, just like his sister Charlie did.

Aaron's feet were hanging in the air, unable to land.

Just when Arlong hesitated, Nami couldn't help but rushed out from the darkness, waving her small fist: "Let go of Bellmère!"

"Hmph!" Aaron kicked Nami away without mercy.

Just at this moment, Kroobi squeezed over and handed over a nautical chart, which detailed the whirlpools, reefs, sizes and other data of the nearby ocean currents.

"That's my nautical chart!" Nami wanted to rush over again, but was stopped by the village chief and Nojiko.

"You drew this?" Aaron looked at Nami, his mind turning, he raised his finger and pointed at Nami, smiling, "Well drawn, take this kid away."

The village chief and Nojiko were knocked down, and Nami's arm was clamped by Xiaoba

"Let me go!" Nami screamed and cried, struggling frantically in Xiaoba's hands, "Bell-mère!"

Bellemeier ignored the excruciating pain in her arm and immediately flew over to hug the fishman, "Put her down!"

"Nami!"

"Let her go!"

"Don't hit the children!"

Ajian and other villagers could no longer bear it and rushed forward to help.

However, the fishmen including Kroobi and Jiu knocked all the villagers to the ground in a few moves.

"They're just lowly people!" Aaron kicked Bellemeier away and crushed her arm. "I told you, if you dare to resist, I'll kill you all!"

"ah!"

Bellmère screamed, but still held Aaron's feet tightly with his other hand and refused to let go.

Aaron sneered and increased his strength.

Crack! Bellemeier's arm was completely broken and fell limply.

"Let her go! Don't hurt them!" Nami was held in the air by Xiaoba, tears streaming down her face. She cried incoherently, "Forget it, don't come to save me, help, someone save us! Bell-mère! Wow..."

"Ahahaha~~" Arlong laughed cruelly, leaned over and lifted Nami's chin, poking her forehead with his jagged nose, "Kid, do you want to save them?"

Nami bit her lower lip tightly, staring at Aaron with resentment and panic, her face full of tears.

"Come and help me draw nautical charts to pay off my debt. If you perform well, your village's salary can be cut in half, only 50,000 yuan for adults and 30,000 yuan for children."

Nami turned her head and looked at Bellmère, Ken, Nojigo and everyone in the village who were lying on the ground, tears streaming down her face.

Bell-mère's wrist was twisted into an unnatural angle, his face was pale, and the corner of his mouth was bleeding, but he still struggled to get up: "Nami... Wait for me! I'm here to save you..."

Looking at the miserable plight of the villagers, Nami's lips trembled until they turned pale. She bit her lower lip, leaving blood beads that mixed with her tears, a salty and bitter taste that was unbearable.

Aaron released Nami's chin and patted her face. A cold light flashed across the saw teeth: "If you dare to resist, I will kill them all, chop them into pieces, and throw them into the sea to feed the sharks."

"No!!!" Nami screamed!

Becomel struggled to get up, but fell back again, silently shouting: Nami! Don't go!

"Have you thought it through? My patience is limited."

"I... promise you." The voice was soft, but it made everyone's heart sink.

"Ahahaha! Let's go!" Aaron waved his hand, Xiao Ba held Nami upside down, and all the fishmen followed.

Tears welled up in Bell-mère's eyes: "I'm sorry! Nami! It's all my fault that I didn't protect you!"

Nami, who was being dragged farther and farther away, turned her head with great effort and tried to curl the corners of her mouth towards Bell-mère.

I'm fine.

As long as Belle-Mère and everyone else are still alive, life will definitely get better.

——

"...The evil dragon broke Bell-mère's hand and used young Nami as a tool, forcing her to draw nautical charts. He also tricked her into saving money to sell the village. Even more abominable, he teamed up with the navy to steal the money..."

Usopp's story was so realistic and vivid that Merry and Chopper's eyes were filled with tears.

Nami's eyes couldn't help but turn red, and her body became tense.

"I'm sorry," Merry sniffed and apologized cautiously, "I had no idea that Aaron would do such a hateful thing in the East China Sea. If I had been there at that time..."

"Stop!" Nami suddenly raised her hand and flicked Merry's forehead. "What does this have to do with you? The one who did the evil was the evil dragon, not you, Merry."

"Wuwuwu..." Chopper buried his head in the tablecloth and wiped his tears, "Nami, you are so miserable..."

"Hey, hey, stop crying, you two!"

"Forget it, let's not talk about these sad things. Come on, everyone, cheers!"

"Today is a celebration party for our new partners, let's all have some fun. Cheers!"

"cheers!"