Chapter 443: Reconstruction and Upheaval

By the time dusk settled, Zoro, Sanji, Chopper and Gin finally returned to Pirate Harbor, only to find the Going Merry being dismantled.

At this point, the Merry was down to just the lower cabin and keel. The ship had already been dragged ashore, while everyone’s belongings were neatly arranged nearby, each item carefully labeled with its owner’s name.

Gin had left at Ye Fan’s request to track Lucci and the others. Once he got their precise location, he came right back.

“Hey, what the heck is going on here?” Sanji dropped his huge bag on the ground and strode over to Luffy and the others standing on the open lot.

Glancing at those pitching in and the ones simply watching, Sanji already had a guess at what was happening.

After all, their main reason for coming to this island in the first place was to find a shipwright to upgrade and rebuild the Merry.

“Stop it! Stop right now!”

Chopper was happily making his way toward the shore with an armful of medical books, when he was hit with the sight of Merry getting torn apart. He rushed over, dropped his books on the grass, and tried to stop Franky.

Chopper had never seen how a ship upgrade worked—he just thought they were abandoning Merry to build a brand new ship from scratch.

Usopp, busy at work inside the ship’s hold, heard Chopper’s protest and popped his head out to explain to everyone.

“We’re remodeling the Merry. As long as we don’t damage the keel, we can finish the rebuild in just three days and have a brand new ship. Our new home will be ready soon!”

Every time Usopp mentioned ‘new home,’ he worked with renewed energy. Back on their old ship, the guys all had to cram into a single room, but with the new one, everyone would have their own space.

Just thinking about it made Usopp move even faster.

“Ah, I see. So that’s how it is.”

“Well, I can’t just let you all go hungry, can I?” Sanji, satisfied with the explanation, stepped forward and took out some kitchen tools, then began showing off his culinary skills with the fresh ingredients they’d bought.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle!!

In no time the air was thick with the scent of roasting meat.

Gin and Chopper clambered up to help Usopp with the deconstruction, and under his guidance they made quick work of the remaining framework.

Meanwhile, in secret, Ye Fan was quietly channeling more Wood Element into the keel, letting it subtly grow larger.

That caught Franky’s attention as he was cutting planks to the original size. “Am I losing it or is the keel actually longer than before?”

“That’s my ability—I’ve got control over the Wood Element. To make sure the ship can hold our current crew and anyone who joins in the future, I need to extend the keel a bit more.”

Ye Fan hadn’t mentioned this to Franky; it was his oversight.

“Well, then that’s even better.” Franky laid the blueprints down in front of Ye Fan and began explaining how the keel and parts of the frame could be grown instead of built.

On the new blueprints, the ship was designed to house up to twenty-five people, each with their own twenty-square-meter room. The new vessel would have five decks—two on top, three below.

The top two decks would have the kitchen, captain’s quarters, Nami’s charting room, and such.

The uppermost of the three lower decks would be the biggest, holding a gym, entertainment lounge, Usopp’s gear room, some storage, food warehouse and ten cabins.

The next level down would have another ten cabins, plus the ship’s power system and Franky’s signature Coup de Vent cannon. A quarter of its space—set in a circle—would be devoted to diving equipment, connecting with the bottom deck.

The lowest deck was simpler: five guest rooms and a vast extra space that Ye Fan had left specifically for Franky after he joined, though Franky himself didn’t know about it yet.

While everyone was hard at work overhauling the Merry, the Four Seas were thrown into turmoil.

Ever since Luffy left East Blue for the first half of the Grand Line, his father—Dragon—had launched a new campaign across the Four Seas. With the main character gone, it was finally time for a new chapter in those waters.

The biggest changes were happening in West Blue, because the Revolutionary Army had left none other than the infamous Sakazuki behind.

West Blue’s Mafia was the largest criminal syndicate in all Four Seas.

But today—the Mafia would be left in the past!

“Evil must be wiped out, once and for all.”

Sakazuki stood outside Sophia Kingdom, extending his Observation Haki to sense the pain and sorrow coming from beneath the kingdom. His fists clenched tight.

After years in the Revolutionary Army, he’d seen tragedy up close. He knew the suffering the World Government had inflicted on the seas, and he became resolute: evil had to be eradicated, roots and all.

“Hmph. If Dragon hadn’t said the time wasn’t right, you lot wouldn’t even be around! Go!”

Thinking back on Dragon’s words always left Sakazuki stifled and irritated. He could have liberated these people so much sooner, yet everything had been dragged out until now.

With a wave of his hand, tens of thousands of Revolutionary Army troops surged toward Sophia Kingdom. Their mission: free the kingdom as quickly as possible.

Why so many Revolutionaries? Because they’d kept a low profile for years, hiding under names like Resistance, Mafia, and even bandit gangs, all to lull the World Government. Now, in every sea, their forces numbered well over a million.

“Doo~ doo-doo~ doo-doo!”

Across Sophia Kingdom, loud bugles blared. The kingdom’s guards hadn’t even formed a proper defense before they were scattered by the surging tide of revolutionaries.

Sophia Kingdom was a mid-to-large country in West Blue. Its island boasted a permanent population of 1.2 million. As a member of the World Government, it only kept a meager 50,000 troops.

Those troops were lazy, too—the West Blue had always been the World Government’s backyard.

No one expected the Revolutionary Army to attack a World Government member state. Maybe after so many years of peace, they’d forgotten just how terrifying the Revolutionaries could be.

Typically, the Revolutionary Army only stirred up trouble in the New World or on the Grand Line. This was their first massive campaign in the Four Seas.

“Houndstooth Crimson Lotus!”

“Great Eruption!”

Before two regiments of ten thousand men could organize, Sakazuki obliterated them with his attacks in an instant.

Just like that, almost all resistance in Sophia Kingdom vanished. The Revolutionaries surged into the heart of the kingdom.

Their next move: judge the king in front of everyone and carry out his execution in public, winning the people’s support and establishing a new nation as quickly as possible.

They were old hands at this. In the New World, their methods—just like the ancestors used—always produced great results. The number of Revolutionaries swelled year after year.