{A/N: Had a blackout last week, so I couldn't post, and I decided to take the rest of the week as a break. I have other novels I'm updating by the way, which is why there is only 1 chapter per week.
"Well, this makes our crew a total of three men strong… no offense, Zed, since you know," Kong said with a smile, his tone light.
Zed just waved the comment off. "I'm only a pirate until the World Government is brought down," he replied, a sharp smile tugging at his lips.
Kong nodded faintly, then turned toward the rest of the crew, raising his hand and pointing toward the towering Ant King behind him.
"This is Beru, my new crewmate," Kong said with a smile.
Beru bowed lightly, placing a hand over his chest in a gesture of respect. During his battle with Enel, his body had evolved, becoming leaner, more refined, and sprouting wings to aid his movement. Now, Beru bore an uncanny resemblance to the Beru from Solo Leveling, which was exactly why Kong had given him the name.
Boom.
A loud thud echoed as Enel hurled a Poneglyph onto the ship. It was absurdly heavy, but he had carried it with ease, using his lightning like an extension of his will, controlling it with the finesse of telekinesis.
"You know this is your ship, right?" Kong asked, eyeing the fresh damage left by the Poneglyph's impact.
Enel just shrugged, pointing toward a massive tree suspended midair by his lightning.
"I plan to upgrade the ship. As it stands, it's not ready for the journey ahead," he said with a grin.
Kong nodded in agreement. The trees on this island were unlike any he'd seen—dense, durable, and brimming with energy. If the ship could be rebuilt using that wood… it would be a major step forward.
"By the way, Beru, try to find your role on board the ship. I'm the captain, Enel is the guy who drives the ship… It's called the driver, right?" Kong asked, scratching his head in confusion.
"Helmsman… and I'm the navigator," Enel corrected, sighing as Kong nodded in understanding, completely unfazed.
Beru, meanwhile, fell into deep thought. He didn't speak, but his gaze lowered slightly as he began to wonder: what role could he serve aboard this crew?
"We would be leaving tomorrow. Do you guys want to stop by Water 7 to have them build us a new ship?" Zed asked, his voice calm but practical. By tomorrow, the Log Pose would lock onto a new island, so this was their only window to divert the needle toward Water 7.
"Yes, I think we should improve our ship before anything else," Enel agreed, glancing at Kong with a questioning look that held a hint of expectation.
Kong didn't say a word. He simply nodded, eyes steady, making his agreement clear. A better ship meant a better shot at surviving what came next.
"We can also work on drawing the blueprints for the new ship… let's give it a dragon head," Kong said, eyes lighting up with excitement at the idea.
Enel simply nodded. At the end of the day, Kong was the captain, and his word held weight—no matter how eccentric the vision. And so, they set course for Water 7.
Meanwhile, Beru wandered the ship, quietly observing, searching for a role he could fill. But the deeper he thought about it, the clearer it became—he could do anything. Thanks to devouring his mother, he had inherited her Devil Fruit. He could adapt to any role.
The Queen Ant had used her Devil Fruit through her children, evolving through their deaths. When they were slain, she adapted, evolved, and gave birth to stronger, more resistant offspring. But she had been lazy, never pushing her power's full potential.
Beru, however, was different. He intended to go far beyond her limits.
That battle against Enel had pushed Beru beyond his limits, forcing him to adapt not just instinctively, but with control. He had evolved to guide how he adapted.
Now, he had become a skilled helmsman. When he cooked, he adapted to be the perfect cook. When he cleaned, he optimized every movement. The list kept growing. He was a jack of all trades—seamlessly shifting into whatever role was needed.
And to his quiet joy, it made Kong happy.
'So cool,' Beru thought, eyes gleaming, literally reshaping into stars, as he stared in awe at the rough sketch Kong had drawn of the ship's new dragon-headed design.
"That's the worst drawing I've ever seen," Zed said in amazement, blinking at the sketch. But he froze mid-breath.
A wave of killing intent slammed into him, cold and sharp. He glanced around quickly, only to find Beru staring at him, eyes blazing with fury. The chill that ran down Zed's spine was immediate.
Then, just as Kong turned his attention over, Beru quickly returned to normal, his expression neutral, as if nothing had happened.
A question mark practically hovered above Kong's head, but he simply shrugged and returned to discussing the future design of their ship…
The next day came fast. By the time the sun rose, the ship was already nearing Water 7, just as the Log Pose reset and locked firmly onto it. That meant they had three days, and only three, to upgrade the ship before the Log Pose moved on.
Kong was lazing around on the deck, arms behind his head, eyes half-lidded in peace—until his body tensed.
His senses flared to life. The piece of himself he'd entrusted to Robin had just been hit with water.
"I want to live!" her voice cried out—not spoken aloud, but echoing through the connection. The sudden emotional surge struck Kong like lightning, hitting his eye and snapping him upright.
He looked around, confused and alert. It wasn't hard to recognize what triggered it—Robin's tears had hit the necklace he'd given her. But… what happened? And why now?
"My words stayed in her heart…," Kong muttered with a faint smile and a nod to himself. But the longer he thought about it, the more unsettled he became. Something didn't feel right.
Furrowing his brow, he closed his eyes and focused, channeling his awareness toward the small piece of himself he'd given Robin, urging it to activate its Observation Haki. And there it was.
A flicker of a scene came into view: Robin, bound and held prisoner. He didn't need to see more. She was in danger. Kong wasn't the type to tolerate disrespect, and especially not when it involved someone he considered a friend.
"I'll be gone for a bit. I'll meet you all at Water 7," Kong said, leaving behind a clone without further explanation. Then, without hesitation, he leapt into the sky and vanished using Soru.
At the same time, his legs compressed, amplifying his strength to absurd levels. With a single tap, he launched forward, covering dozens of miles instantly. Thanks to how Soru functioned, he kicked off the air more than a thousand times in the blink of an eye.
Kong streaked through the sky like a bullet, correcting his trajectory as he went left and right without consciously realizing it. That instinctive movement cost him a little time, but his speed was overwhelming.
Before long, Robin and the rest of the Straw Hats entered his range of senses.
Kong began to slow down, his senses expanding as he honed in on the situation. A Buster Call had been initiated.
The infamous military protocol—one of the Marine's most devastating actions—was now underway. It was reserved for only the most extreme cases, meant to wipe out everything: a single criminal, a pirate crew… even an entire island.
"That fool," Kong muttered with a deep frown, realizing Luffy's crew had no means of escape. They were surrounded—cornered by the full force of Marine authority.
But just as that grim thought settled in, something strange caught his attention. A sound—faint, unexpected, and out of place.
"I'm coming… please hang in there." A gentle, pure voice drifted into Kong's ears. It was soft—almost like a whisper—but unmistakable.
He looked around in confusion, eyes narrowing, before realizing the voice had come from something within the range of his Observation Haki. Focusing, he caught sight of it—the Straw Hat ship. It was moving, rushing toward the crew on its own.
"What the…?" Kong muttered, stepping forward as something clicked into place. Without another word, he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki.
Even from this distance—still extremely far from where the Buster Call was unfolding—Kong believed his will could reach it. And it did.
"No… that was our only way of escape!" Nami cried out in horror, watching helplessly as the stolen marine battleship exploded into flames and debris.
They were surrounded—bruised, bloodied, and exhausted from the battle. And now, their last chance at freedom was gone. That ship hadn't just been a vessel; it had carried one of their crewmates… along with the friends they'd made along the way.
But then, Sanji emerged from the smoke, gritting his teeth, arms loaded as he carried the injured out of the wreckage. He had saved them, but even so, they were still surrounded.
In a matter of moments, the crew found themselves cornered on a crumbling column of stone, nowhere left to run. Luffy, though victorious in his fight, now lay completely spent, unable to move, defenseless.
"I'm here! Look below—hurry!" the voice rang out again, clearer this time. This time, the Straw Hats all heard it.
Their eyes widened in disbelief as they spotted their ship sailing toward them, somehow riding the waves despite having been in no condition to move so far from Water 7.
Though shocked, they wasted no time. One by one, they began to leap into the sea, aiming for their miracle of a ship. Robin carefully rolled Luffy off the crumbling stone column, guiding him downward with her powers.
"What a wonderful ship…" a distant voice echoed, calm yet heavy with meaning. "I'm sorry my fool of a brother didn't treat you right."
Luffy, mid-fall, froze—his eyes widening as he recognized Kong's voice… And then it hit.
From far beyond the battlefield, a titanic wave of Conqueror's Haki surged across the sea, crashing down like a god's will made manifest.
Everyone aboard the surrounding Marine ships collapsed instantly, fainting the moment Kong's Conqueror's Haki washed over them. They didn't last a single second beneath its overwhelming force.
"Hop aboard, everyone! Back to the boundless seas of adventure—one last journey!" the Going Merry seemed to cry, its voice echoing in the hearts of the Straw Hat crew.
The ship was falling apart—its hull cracked, its frame battered. It wouldn't last long. But it didn't care. Even as it splintered, it stood firm, refusing to abandon its crew. Just one more adventure. It was unwilling to let them go without it.
"Everyone, you can relax—Kong's here!" Luffy laughed, his voice filled with relief. The crew's eyes widened at first… then softened. If Luffy said it, they believed it.
Robin gently held the necklace around her neck, her fingers tightening for just a moment before she smiled.
They hit the water and quickly swam toward the approaching ship. A net unfurled from the deck, lowering for them to climb aboard. But as they reached the top, they froze.
The ship was empty. No one was on board.
"Weird… I'm pretty sure I saw this ship get destroyed," Franky, the new ally the straw hat made, muttered, frowning deeply. He wasn't alone—everyone was left wondering the same thing. How did the ship make it here? And more importantly, who was the person who had spoken to them?
"The ship somehow came to life," a voice cut clean through their confusion. Everyone turned their eyes skyward—there, descending from the clouds like a falling feather, was Kong.
"Kong! I'm so happy to see you!" Nami cried, rushing forward with tears streaming down her face as she threw her arms around him.
She wasn't alone. Chopper was already in tears, and as he turned, he was also swept into a tight embrace by a masked man—one of their allies. Laughter, tears, and disbelief filled the ship, as what felt like the end now shimmered with hope once more.
"No need to thank me… I'm sure you guys would've made it out," Kong said casually. "Sure, a few of you might've died, but still." He gave them a cheerful thumbs-up.
The three instantly burst into tears. Meanwhile, Luffy just laughed—even though he couldn't move a muscle.