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The Morning After the Banquet
After another night of partying, the Straw Hats prepared to set sail the following morning.
When Sabo saw the Going Merry docked at the port, proudly flying the Straw Hat Jolly Roger, he tilted his head, a bit confused.
"Is this ship big enough for all of us?" he asked, eyeing the small vessel.
The Merry was, after all, a modest-sized caravel—several times smaller than the smallest Marine warship. Originally, it had comfortably carried the core crew: Luffy, Ikki, Nami, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, Vivi, Karoo, and Psyduck.
But now, with Ace, Sabo, Bon Clay, and Robin joining, the ship seemed to be bursting at the seams. Adding four more people was pushing the limits of the Merry.
Ikki, however, just grinned. "Don't worry about it! The Merry can handle us, even if we had hundreds more people!"
Without further explanation, Ikki and Luffy were the first to board.
Luffy immediately claimed his usual spot: the sheep's head at the front of the ship, his self-declared "captain's seat."
Meanwhile, Ikki approached the cabin wall and took out a mysterious door from his space ring. The crew watched curiously as he carefully set the door into place.
Sabo couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing, Ikki?"
Ikki opened the door with a casual flourish, revealing a spacious room inside. The interior looked far more luxurious and comfortable than the ship's standard cabin. The only odd thing? The decor was overwhelmingly pink.
Sabo stared in shock. "What... how is this even possible?"
Ikki, however, frowned as he noticed the overly pink room. He muttered to himself, "Again with the pink... I swear I recharged to change this."
He stepped into the cozy space, opened the TX system panel, and stared at the notification: [Decoration Expired].
His confusion deepened. The decorations he had purchased weren't permanent? He quickly opened the system's shop menu, where the details became clear. Everything in the shop had an expiration date. To obtain permanent decor, Ikki would need to recharge repeatedly and gather fragments through a lottery system. Collecting 100 fragments would unlock permanent items.
Ikki sighed, frustrated. "So they want me to keep recharging just for furniture? What a scam."
While Ikki grumbled over his situation, Sabo stepped inside the cozy room, his expression a mix of amazement and disbelief.
"This... this is incredible! How did you do this?" he asked, stepping in and out of the door several times, even tapping the frame to confirm it was an ordinary door. "It leads to another space entirely. It's like magic!"
As Sabo marveled, Ace strolled in behind him. He took one look at the pink room and smirked.
"Is this your room, Ikki? Pretty girly, don't you think?" Ace teased, grinning widely. "It reminds me of Dadan's place."
Ikki froze.
For a moment, he remembered when Luffy had first seen the pink room and made a similar comment. Now Ace was doing the same. Truly, the two brothers shared an uncanny sense of humor.
If Sabo hadn't lost his memory, Ikki figured he would have chimed in too, saying something like, "Ikki, I didn't expect you to have such a girly heart, just like Dadan!"
Hearing the familiar yet distant name "Dadan," Sabo frowned. The name sparked something deep within him, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall its significance. All he could envision was the vague outline of a large figure standing protectively in front of him.
Noticing Sabo's expression, Ace patted his shoulder with a reassuring smile. "Dadan is the bandit who took care of the three of us. She's also our adoptive mother."
"Dadan..." Sabo murmured. After a moment, he nodded with determination. "When I recover my memory, I'll make sure to visit her."
Ace grinned. "Alright! The three of us will go back together then!"
Once the conversation about Dadan ended, Ikki pointed to the cozy cabin and explained, "This place can comfortably house seven or eight people. Adding that to the Merry's current space, a few more crew members won't be a problem at all!"
Sabo nodded in agreement but raised an eyebrow. "That makes sense, but... earlier, you said the Merry could fit another hundred people. How's that possible?"
He was genuinely curious. If Ikki could create such a compact yet functional space, could he create something even larger? Sabo's curiosity about Ikki's mysterious abilities grew by the minute.
Ikki smirked and pulled out a small, peculiar-looking flashlight from his space ring.
"If you're wondering about the hundred people, it's thanks to this!"
Without further explanation, Ikki aimed the flashlight at Ace and Sabo, pressing a button. Instantly, the two shrank to the size of ants.
Sabo blinked in astonishment, looking around at his drastically changed surroundings. In his tiny state, it became clear how the Merry could accommodate not just a hundred, but potentially tens of thousands of people with this shrinking device.
Satisfied with his demonstration, Ikki returned Sabo and Ace to their normal size and asked them to step out of the cozy cabin. He still had some adjustments to make.
Once alone, Ikki muttered to himself, "No way I'm letting this room stay pink again." Determined to avoid more teasing about having a "girly heart," he recharged the system with some treasure and unlocked a new skin for the cabin's decor. With the pink replaced, he finally left the room feeling satisfied.
Meanwhile, on an Unknown Island
Far away, on an isolated island, Blackbeard sat with a newspaper in hand. His wild laughter echoed through the air.
"Zehahahaha! Crocodile's fallen, huh? What perfect timing!"
Lafitte, the man with a top hat and cane, approached with his ever-present smile. "Captain, are you planning to take the vacant Shichibukai position?"
Blackbeard grinned wickedly. "That's right! Shichibukai is the perfect position for us while we're still building our crew."
His voice lowered as he outlined his scheme. "Once I'm a Shichibukai, I'll use that title to get into Impel Down. From there, I'll break out the prisoners I've already decided will join my crew. That prison is tough to get into... unless you've got the World Government's permission."
He smirked. "And once I get to Level Six and release the worst of the worst, escaping will be a breeze."
After laying out his plan, Teach turned to Lafitte. "Lafitte, head to Marine Headquarters and deliver the message: I want to become a Shichibukai. And to sweeten the deal for the World Government, I'll prepare a grand gift for them!"
With a bow, Lafitte replied smoothly, "Consider it done, Captain."
As Lafitte departed, Blackbeard turned to Doc Q.
"How's Burgess doing?" he asked.
The sickly doctor answered in his usual raspy tone, "His injuries are no longer a problem, Captain. Are we leaving soon?"
Teach grinned, his laughter rumbling again. "Yes. It's time to prepare our chips. Along the way, we'll figure out exactly what kind of offer will make this foolproof..."