"Ah… another unfamiliar ceiling."
As Jin opened his eyes, those were the first words that left his mouth.
He instinctively sat up and glanced around the room, quickly realizing it looked like a temporary living area. Several wooden beds were lined up side by side—and on one of them, someone was still sleeping.
"That's… Luffy?" Jin said in surprise.
That guy was still asleep?
Then that meant he hadn't been out for very long.
Just then, a small, adorably cute little girl came wobbling in from outside. The moment she saw Jin sitting up, her eyes lit up with joy.
"Wow!"
"Jin, you're awake!"
Merry trotted over, blinking her watery eyes as she looked up at him.
"How do you feel? Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?"
"I'm telling you—Sanji's cooking is super delicious!"
As if recalling the taste, Merry happily squinted her eyes.
Jin froze for a second.
…She can eat?
Then again, now she wasn't a pure ship spirit anymore.
Being able to eat actually made sense.
"Sanji's cooking…"
Jin smiled and rubbed her head gently.
"I'm really looking forward to it."
Hearing the movement inside, the others soon rushed in as well.
"Jin, you finally woke up!" Chopper said excitedly.
"Everyone…"
Jin swept his gaze across the room. Aside from Zoro and Usopp, the rest of the Straw Hat crew were all there.
"How are you feeling now?" Chopper hurried over.
"You know, you were unconscious for two whole days!"
As he spoke, Chopper pulled out his medical tools and began checking Jin's condition.
Jin didn't resist at all, letting him do his examination.
"Two days?" Jin blinked.
"I was out that long?"
"Yeah," Sanji nodded.
He subconsciously reached for a cigarette, then paused and put it away.
"What exactly happened? Why did you suddenly collapse?"
"Right," Nami added.
"If Merry hadn't caught you, you would've fallen straight into the sea."
At the time, it had been terrifying.
Jin had been standing on the water just fine—then suddenly lost consciousness and dropped without warning.
Thankfully, Merry had caught him.
"…I ran out of chakra," Jin said. "So I just—"
He suddenly stopped and looked down at Merry.
"You caught me?"
He weighed at least as much as a grown man.
How did a little girl who looked five or six manage that?
"You didn't get hurt, did you?" Jin asked worriedly.
Merry puffed out her chest and raised her arm confidently.
"Hey—don't underestimate me!"
"I'm really strong, you know!"
Her proud little pose instantly made everyone laugh.
"I'm serious!" Merry said firmly.
"My strength isn't small at all. Otherwise, how do you think I repaired the ship before?"
That made everyone freeze.
…Right.
How did she repair the Merry on her own?
According to Usopp, she had fixed the ship entirely by herself—including moving heavy materials.
Only now did everyone truly realize something they had never questioned before.
Jin blinked, then looked at Merry, who was clearly waiting for praise.
"I didn't expect you to be this amazing."
"Hehe, of course! I'm super amazing!"
"Alright, everything looks fine," Chopper said as he put away his stethoscope.
"Jin's body has recovered really well."
"Guess my body's pretty tough too," Jin chuckled.
"You're still joking," Nami sighed.
"You have no idea how scared we were."
They had no clue what was wrong with him at the time.
Only because Chopper determined it was exhaustion did they manage to calm down.
"Yeah," Chopper nodded seriously.
"Don't push yourself like that again."
"It was for Merry," Jin replied.
"I just didn't expect such a small body to need that much energy."
If he weren't a hybrid of Uchiha and Senju…
he really might've died there.
"I'm sorry…" Merry said softly.
"It's fine. I'm not blaming you."
Jin smiled and rubbed her head again.
"After all, our Merry is just too cute."
"…You're probably hungry," Sanji said.
"Come on. Lunch is ready."
"There's something new you can see too."
"Yes yes! It's really fun!"
Merry grabbed Jin's hand eagerly.
"Let's go to the dining room!"
"Alright, alright—let me get up first."
Jin put on his shoes, then glanced down at himself.
"Strange… where are my old clothes?"
"Who changed them for me?"
"Of course Chopper did," Nami rolled her eyes.
"Who else would it be?"
"They're over there," Robin said, pointing behind him.
Jin turned around and saw his clothes neatly folded on the cabinet—clean and tidy, clearly washed.
"Let's go eat, let's go eat!" Merry urged.
"Alright, let's eat."
Jin withdrew his gaze.
He could think about the clothes later.
In the dining room, the table was covered with an incredibly rich spread of food.
Jin swallowed instinctively.
"…That's a lot."
"A lot?" Sanji raised an eyebrow.
"You'll see soon whether it's a lot or not."
He placed a plate of noodles in front of Jin.
"Here. Try it."
Jin took a bite—his eyes instantly lit up.
"This is good, Sanji!"
"As long as you're satisfied."
For a chef, nothing was happier than having their food praised.
"I told you!" Merry said proudly.
"Sanji's food is the best!"
Receiving Merry's praise made Sanji grin even wider.
He turned and handed her a prepared glass of juice.
"Merry-chan, thank you for the compliment~"
"Wow! Juice! Thank you, Sanji!"
Watching the warm, lively scene, Jin felt deeply relaxed.
This world was completely different from the ninja world.
In the shinobi world, most days were spent killing.
But here…
There was warmth.
It made his heart feel at peace.
"Jin, wanna go shopping later?" Nami asked.
"Definitely," Jin replied.
"I need to buy some clothes anyway."
"Then let's go together," Robin said with a smile.
"I want to go too!" Merry raised her hand.
"Of course. Little Merry comes along too."
"Hehe~"
Merry beamed happily.
She loved moments like this—going out together with everyone, seeing new things.
Just then, a figure suddenly rushed out of the room at lightning speed—
whoosh—
—and plopped straight down across from Jin.
Watching Luffy eat while still half asleep, Jin twitched at the corner of his mouth.
"…Just how hungry is this guy, exactly?"
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/ZoroTL442