Chapter 909 - 909: The Rift Grows Wider

"No."

Shanks sensed it for a moment, then slowly withdrew the lightning from his fingertips and shook his head, "I can feel it. These hands themselves possess this ability. I haven't become an Ability User myself."

As he spoke, he slowly raised his head.

His gaze involuntarily fell on Sanji nearby.

His instincts told him that this son of Rosse standing before him could give him an answer.

This matter probably had something to do with the World Government.

Sanji received Shanks's gaze and smiled slightly. With a cigarette in his mouth, he was just about to explain something.

However, at this moment.

A voice spoke first.

"This is our World Government's technology."

Everyone looked toward the voice in astonishment.

The one who had spoken was actually Yasopp!?

And "our"?

You, thick-browed Yasopp, when did you defect too?

Lucky Roux's face darkened. He felt that he had just gone too easy on him.

Yasopp was seen kneeling on the ground, his expression unexpectedly calm and certain as he said, "The fruit has already fused into Rayleigh's body. Once you transplanted his arms, that ability naturally became attached to you as well."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of amusement, "But there's good news. Although you can only use the Goro Goro no Mi's ability through your arms, neither your body nor these hands of yours will be affected by the weaknesses of the sea and Seastone."

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the room was shocked.

"Yasopp, how the hell do you know all this?"

Lucky Roux was the first to frown, his face full of wariness and confusion as he stared fixedly at Yasopp.

Something was obviously wrong!

Yasopp was just some lousy sniper. When had he become so knowledgeable?

Something about the fruit fusing into the body, something about not being affected by Seastone...

These secrets that only the World Government could possibly know, even if Yasopp had secretly surrendered to the World Government, he shouldn't know them, right?

And defect at a time like this? Was there something wrong with his head? Wasn't he just asking to die?

However, if this person was Yasopp, somehow everything seemed reasonable.

"It's not me! It's not me!"

Yasopp himself panicked. He shook his head in terror, his face full of disbelief, "Just now... I didn't want to say anything! Those words weren't what I wanted to say at all! They just came out of my mouth on their own!"

He himself had no idea why those words had come out so smoothly just now.

It felt as if, at that moment, his mouth was no longer under his own control.

And among those present.

Only Sanji, Nami, and a few others suddenly fell silent.

They knew.

They knew all too well.

This was Conis's ability.

It was also the most terrifying part of Conis's ability.

Even this time, Conis had merely made Yasopp feel that those words were not what he wanted to say.

If Conis controlled Yasopp and made him believe that those words were what he was supposed to say, then it would be an entirely different situation.

Yasopp would probably be suspected to death on the spot.

As for Conis's purpose... Perhaps she wanted to answer Shanks's doubts, or perhaps she simply wanted to watch a good show.

But regardless, under the circumstances, this matter would be very difficult to explain clearly.

And...

Sanji's gaze paused slightly on Yasopp.

Based on what he knew about Conis, she clearly wasn't trying to help explain things. She deliberately wanted to leave Yasopp covered in suspicion that he couldn't wash away.

Sure enough.

"Oh my, Yasopp, tsk, tsk, tsk."

A voice full of amusement rang out gleefully.

Everyone looked over and saw Usopp leaning against the wall with his arms folded, wearing an expression that seemed afraid the world wouldn't be chaotic enough, "You piece of scum, don't tell me you've secretly defected to the World Government?"

He clicked his tongue, his eyes full of malicious teasing, "Otherwise, how would you know all this so clearly? Even top-secret stuff like fruit transplantation and Seastone weaknesses?"

"Oh, how about this?"

Usopp spread his hands and smiled meaningfully, "If you've really got this connection, don't forget to recommend it to the rest of us too, huh?"

These words seemed like a joke, but every sentence was actually adding fuel to the fire.

He wished these people would start fighting right now.

Preferably, Yasopp would be beaten to death right here by his own crewmates.

All those years of suffering that bastard had caused his mother.

Usopp had remembered every single bit of it clearly in his heart.

He wanted Yasopp to repay every last bit of it, with interest, little by little.

But Yasopp was completely unable to defend himself at this moment.

He looked at the suspicious and scrutinizing gazes surrounding him, opened his mouth, yet found that no matter what he said, it sounded so pale and powerless.

"I didn't! I really didn't defect to the World Government!", he hoarsely defended himself, "You have to believe me! Those words really weren't what I wanted to say!"

But, who would believe him?

"Enough."

Shanks tiredly raised his head. His eyes were already filled with blood vessels, and now they held even more helplessness and exhaustion.

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable authority, abruptly putting an end to this farce, "Let this matter end here. If nothing unexpected happened, it should have been people from the World Government controlling Yasopp."

In fact, everyone understood this.

They were just taking the opportunity to make something of it.

Since the captain had said so, the members of the Red Hair Pirates naturally couldn't say anything more.

Lucky Roux snorted coldly, gave Yasopp a hard glare, then turned away and ignored him.

Snake and the others also dispersed, each finding a corner to sit down in.

However, although they no longer said anything, everyone firmly remembered this matter in their hearts.

The already fragile trust between them and Yasopp had quietly weakened a little further.

They could more or less guess that the World Government had probably been behind those strange words just now.

But the problem was.

Why didn't the World Government control someone else and instead choose to control Yasopp?

Moreover, since they could control Yasopp into speaking this time.

Then next time, could they control him into pulling the trigger and shooting someone?

When they were on the battlefield, if Yasopp suddenly shot at them.

Where would they go to argue over whether it had been Yasopp's own decision or whether he had been controlled by the World Government?

No... that wasn't even the most important thing.

The important thing was.

If they really were killed in such a muddled way, who could they even go to for justice afterward?

Thinking of this, a deep chill rose in everyone's hearts.

Shanks looked at the scene before him, and a sense of helplessness also welled up in his heart.

Once some things happened, it was difficult to return to how things had been before.

If the two sides had been completely close, they wouldn't have been so easily driven apart. Instead, they might have cursed the World Government together.

But ever since Cocoyasi Village, there had already been a gap between Yasopp and Lucky Roux's group that was difficult to mend.

Now, this incident of him being controlled had happened as well.

He could foresee that going their separate ways might already be only a matter of time.

But Shanks couldn't do anything about it right now, nor did he have time to deal with these things.

Just thinking about how to deal with the World Government had already exhausted all his energy.

The internal matters could only be dealt with slowly later.

Not long afterward.

Luffy also slowly woke up. With some simple treatment from everyone, although his injuries were still serious, he could at least move with difficulty.

Thus, the group no longer stayed there and left the small building where they had been held, slowly heading toward the port of Angel Island.

They had already seen the Poneglyph.

The secrets recorded on that stone tablet had also been engraved into their minds.

They had no reason to stay here anymore.

The group walked silently, each with their own thoughts.

However, when they arrived at the port and stood at the edge of the dock paved with cloud sand.

A grim reality was placed before them.

The port was completely empty.

Apart from the surging sea of clouds and the drifting thin mist, there was nothing.

The Going Merry was gone.

"Huh? Where's the Going Merry?"

Usopp froze for a moment and looked around. A trace of unbelievable panic gradually appeared on his face, "Where did the Going Merry go?"

He anxiously ran around, even going to the edge of the port and leaning out to look into the depths of the sea of clouds, as if the ship had merely been temporarily hidden by the clouds and mist.

"Going Merry! Going Merry!"

He shouted loudly, his voice full of anxiety and unease.

As for how anxious he actually was, that wasn't necessarily so.

But after all, the Going Merry was sponsored by him, and now he could conveniently make trouble again.

"The Going Merry can't have disappeared! It must be nearby! Hurry up and help me look for it!"

Usopp turned around, grabbed Shanks by the collar, and shouted almost pleadingly.

Shanks frowned and looked at Luffy, his expression complicated, but he said nothing.

"Usopp."

Crocodile, a cigar in his mouth, slowly walked forward, his tone calm and cold, "The Going Merry isn't here. It has already been dismantled. Just find any ship that can take us down to the Grand Line."

"What?"

Usopp froze.

He had already had a bad feeling before, but he hadn't expected that the Going Merry had really been dismantled.

Pirates dismantling their own ship. Was this how pirates were supposed to be?

They really stopped at nothing.

Fortunately, he wasn't a pirate in the true sense, and he also looked down on pirates.

"To get onto Upper Yard, we needed a sealed vessel to cross the White Sea," Crocodile exhaled a mouthful of smoke, his tone flat, "The Going Merry's wood was just right. So we dismantled it."

In his view, there was no need to fuss over a ship.

For a lousy ship like the Going Merry, he could get a hundred of them with ease.

"You!"

Usopp's body began to tremble slightly.

"What gives you the right?"

He suddenly raised his head, his expression changing instantly, an almost crazed fury burning in his eyes, "That's the Going Merry! That's our ship! What gives you the right to decide on your own to dismantle it!"

"What right do you have?"

He practically roared as he charged forward and grabbed Crocodile by the collar.

Crocodile didn't move at all. He merely looked down at him from above, without the slightest ripple in his eyes.

"I don't have the right," Crocodile slowly said, "But I wasn't the one who made this decision. It was your captain, Luffy."

As soon as these words came out, Usopp's hand suddenly loosened.

He stiffly turned his head and looked toward Luffy in the distance.

Everyone present also turned their gazes in unison toward the straw-hat-wearing boy.

Taking the Going Merry and risking the journey to the Sky Island had been Luffy's decision.

The Going Merry being beaten to the point of almost being wrecked before reaching the Knock Up Stream and Upper Yard had also been the result of Luffy insisting on his own way.

And now, the Going Merry had been completely dismantled into planks with Luffy's consent, never to be restored again.

"Luffy..." Usopp's voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, "Why...?"

"Can't be helped."

Luffy scratched his head, not the slightest bit guilty. Instead, his expression held a matter-of-fact calm, "It was what a crewmate wanted. I felt the Going Merry's feelings."

"It said it was willing to help us one last time."

"Bullshit!"

Usopp suddenly charged forward and punched Luffy in the face.

But unfortunately, because he hadn't used Haki, he only stretched Luffy's face without causing any actual damage.

"How could a ship possibly have thoughts of its own? It's just a ship! A ship made of wood!"

"You're just using the excuse of a crewmate to send it to its death!"

"No!"

Luffy also craned his neck, refusing to back down:

"The Going Merry really does have thoughts! It told me! It was willing to do this!"

"That's nonsense!", Usopp's eyes were already red, "What right do you have to make decisions for the Going Merry? What right do you have to risk its life on your own?"

"I didn't make the decision for it! It was willing to do it itself!"

"That's because you forced it to be willing!"

The two confronted each other, almost about to start fighting.

Meanwhile, everyone nearby, whether the members of the Straw Hat Pirates or the members of the Red Hair Pirates, fell silent.

They instinctively, involuntarily, took several steps back, putting some distance between themselves and Luffy.

They looked at the boy before them, and for the first time, a hint of fear appeared in their eyes.

This whole theory of crewmates was simply too frightening.

Today, Luffy could say that the Going Merry had been willing to be dismantled.

Then tomorrow, could he also say that someone was willing to go and die?

Or the day after tomorrow, would Luffy force them to do things they didn't want to do?

They didn't want to be represented by this boy using the same reason someday.

"Luffy."

Lucky Roux spoke in a low voice, his tone unusually carrying a trace of seriousness and warning, "Usopp is right. A ship is an inanimate object. It doesn't have a will of its own. And given the Going Merry's condition, it doesn't even qualify to produce a ship spirit. When you say it was willing, that's nothing more than wishful thinking on your part."

"But I really heard it!", Luffy became anxious, "The Going Merry really talked to me!"

"That's just your own hallucination!", Snake also frowned, "Luffy, if you keep going like this, sooner or later you'll get everyone killed!"

"I didn't!"

"You did!"

The argument grew more and more intense.

And the team, which was already close to falling apart, had its rift torn open even further at this moment.

Usopp, on the other hand, withdrew to the side after stirring up the conflict, hiding his contribution and saying nothing, lowering his head as if he were crying over the passing of the Going Merry.

"Stop arguing!"

Shanks finally couldn't take it anymore and shouted, barely managing to make everyone quiet down.

He wearily pressed his forehead and took a deep breath:

"What happened has already happened. There's no point arguing about it. Let's leave this place first."

He glanced at Luffy, then at Usopp, a deep sense of helplessness flashing through his eyes.

This group was way too difficult to lead.

The group was already on the verge of breaking apart. How were they supposed to fight the World Government like this?

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