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As a die-hard fan of the original story, the first time Bai Ye ever cried while watching anime was during the Going Merry's funeral.
So of course, he wasn't going to take this moment lightly.
He turned to Merry with a serious expression on his face:
"We're counting on you, Mr. Merry. This ship will be an important companion on our journey ahead."
"So please, give it your all—everything you've learned and mastered!"
Hearing that, Merry was initially surprised by Bai Ye's seriousness regarding the pirate ship, but then he got fired up too.
"No problem! If money and materials aren't an issue, then I can finally go all out!!!"
Originally, Merry had planned to just gift them the ship he'd already built—a replica of the original Going Merry—but now, with Bai Ye's support, he could finally bring some of his more ambitious designs to life.
Right after that, Merry got to work, completely overhauling the original blueprint of the Going Merry.
The most important upgrade? Reinforcing the ship's structure, especially the keel, to make it super tough—since they'd gotten funds from selling off three pirate ships.
But of course, that meant building it would take a bit more time.
Good thing Bai Ye didn't mind. That gave them just enough time to wait for the Marines from Branch 153 to arrive, take over the Black Cat Pirates, and hand over the bounty.
"I can't believe it's only been a few days, and you and your crew have already done something incredible again, Mr. Bai Ye."
Brian had come to Syrup Village and was chatting with Bai Ye, looking a bit impressed.
"Haha, I just hope you don't get tired of running back and forth every time we cause trouble," Bai Ye replied with a grin.
He actually liked Brian, so he didn't mind chatting a bit more than usual.
"No way. If it weren't for you, Mr. Bai Ye, the Marines could never take down these pirate crews this fast."
Brian smiled in return.
"And honestly, the fewer powerful pirates there are in the East Blue, the more peaceful life will be for the people here. I should be the one thanking you."
"But..."
Brian suddenly changed his tone. "You're not planning to take down every pirate with a high bounty in East Blue, are you?"
He eyed Bai Ye closely. From Alvida to now, these guys kept defeating stronger and stronger pirates.
15 million for Buggy's crew, 16 million for the Black Cat Pirates...
There aren't many pirates left in East Blue with bounties over 10 million!
Seriously...
They're making the Marines' job way too easy~
"Well, some of it's just coincidence," Bai Ye said with a chuckle. "But hey, your theory actually sounds pretty solid."
"Taking down all the powerful pirates in East Blue to build our rep? Sounds like a great plan, doesn't it?"
"After all, our captain's dream is to become the Pirate King. If our first bounty ends up too low, that'd be kinda embarrassing for me as a crewmate, you know?"
"You've really got guts, Mr. Bai Ye. Talking about becoming Pirate King right in front of a Marine? Not even trying to be subtle, huh?"
Brian laughed and shook his head. He'd gotten used to Bai Ye's personality by now, so he wasn't bothered by it.
But then he added seriously, "You might be different from those scumbags on the Grand Line, but once you've officially taken on the title of pirate, that makes us enemies from now on."
"I'll be transferred to Marine HQ soon. Hopefully I won't have to be the one to arrest you."
Brian sounded a little emotional as he said that.
He'd earned enough merit long ago to get promoted to HQ, but because of Morgan, the higher-ups didn't even know who he was.
After Luffy and the crew defeated Morgan, HQ finally issued Brian's transfer order.
"Oh?" Bai Ye looked surprised at first, then broke into a grin like he'd thought of something.
"Well, congrats, Mr. Brian! Maybe once you're stationed at HQ, I'll have something I need your help with. Hope you won't ignore a friend's request, haha."
"You bastard, do you even consider me as a Marine?"
Brian couldn't help but roast him, and whatever emotional moment he had was gone in an instant.
They locked eyes for a moment, then both burst out laughing.
They might be on different sides, but hey—friends are friends, right?
During their days in Syrup Village, Usopp and the rest of the crew slowly started bonding.
Luffy even started joining Usopp every morning, yelling through the village about pirates coming—just for fun.
They were clearly enjoying themselves.
Eventually, Usopp agreed to Luffy's offer to join the crew.
He already knew his dad was a Red-Haired pirate, and Luffy had told him a lot about him too.
So to one day stand before his father as a real man, Usopp finally decided to leave the village and become a brave warrior of the sea.
And the reason?
"Of course—it's because the pirate flag is calling me!!!"
Usopp declared loudly in front of everyone, echoing the same words his father once said.
While everyone waited...
The ship was finally completed.
Merry stood proudly in front of the brand-new vessel and introduced it to everyone:
"The Golden Merry! That's the name I gave her!"
"I designed it myself and massively upgraded it from the original Going Merry."
"As for propulsion and steering..."
Before Merry could even finish, Nami stepped forward and said:
"If it's about the ship, just tell me."
Nami didn't have any particular thoughts about the ship's details; Luffy, however, had already locked his shining eyes on the goat figurehead at the bow
"Sugoiiiii!!!"
Luffy stretched out his arms and threw himself onto the goat's head, landing on top of it in one smooth motion.
"Wahahaha, this is awesome! That's it, I've decided—this is my spot from now on!!!"
Zoro stood with his arms crossed, a slight smirk tugging at his lips as he looked at the pirate ship in front of them."Not bad at all~" he said.
And it really was pretty good. Even Bai Ye nodded in approval. Unlike the original twin-mast ship from the story, this one had been upgraded—thanks to Bai Ye's willingness to spend big and provide plenty of materials.
Merry had remodeled the Going Merry into a three-masted ship, just like the Thousand Sunny from the original.
The ship was now twice its original size, with various rooms built in for different uses.
But…
Bai Ye took a closer look and realized that, even now, the Going Merry still looked quite different from the Thousand Sunny.
Well, that was understandable. Merry was just a guy from East Blue with a dream of building ships. The Thousand Sunny, though—that was designed by Franky, the disciple of Tom, the world's greatest shipwright.
Still, Bai Ye was already more than satisfied.
He wasn't the kind of guy to stubbornly force everyone to head into the New World on a ship like this.
Even Pirate King Roger didn't sail the whole Grand Line on a single ship.
That's why Bai Ye was pouring money into this—he only had one goal: get the Going Merry safely to Water 7.
Once they reached Water 7, he planned to invite Franky to help rebuild and upgrade the ship.
That's right—Bai Ye wanted both the Going Merry and the Thousand Sunny!
As for whether this would cause the ship spirit to disappear, Bai Ye was confident he had a way to deal with that.
Plus, before any of that, he still had to add a second layer of protection to the ship.
"....."