The person is wearing a straw hat, and starts with the power of words!

Page 394

"No, that's impossible. We clearly destroyed that door..." Sima Di staggered down to the door, only to find familiar scratches on the door and bloodstains remaining in the gaps of the handle.

All of these things proved to him that this door was the door he once knew.

Emperor Sima, refusing to believe it, walked to the table and found that all the things he had written were still intact on the table, stained with indelible bloodstains.

"How can it be……"

Usopp's personality should have been corrected long ago; he always treats everything as a game. Honestly, if Usopp hadn't joined Luffy's crew, and instead was on any other pirate ship, he would have just been a lowly soldier hidden in the forward gun emplacement, unable to utilize his abilities at all.

"What are you talking about? Don't say such exaggerated things at a time like this! What's wrong with you!" Nami grabbed Sima Di by the collar.

"This is a pirate ship, isn't it? And we are pirates, not playing house. The captain's orders are paramount, and we must adhere to this principle, especially in critical and crisis-ridden moments. And now... I think I can call it a critical moment," Sima Di said.

"Sima Di, please stop talking!" Nami wished she could shut Sima Di's mouth.

"No, he's not wrong. The first mate is supposed to obey the captain and faithfully carry out his orders. In that case... I'll leave the pirate crew. That way, I won't have to obey the so-called captain's orders."

Usopp's words shocked everyone.

"Usopp! Do you know what you're saying?!" Sanji was getting a little anxious.

“I know, and I know very well.” Usopp pointed at Luffy. “Luffy, since you are the captain of this ship, then let’s duel! This ship belongs to the victor!”

Luffy pressed down on his straw hat, obscuring his expression.

"Okay, then it'll be 10 PM tonight."

Usopp left the ship, and the whole group had a very unpleasant argument because of it.

Some say this was the darkest time for the Straw Hat Pirates.

Sima Di agreed, for his heart was just as heavy.

I intended to remain an outsider, but I ended up getting myself involved without even realizing it.

Even though he knew exactly how the story would unfold, he couldn't relax at all.

Now, that's the only thing he can do.

Nami saw Sima Di suddenly stand up and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Forward gun armor compartment."

Before Nami could finish speaking, Sima Di's men had already left the conference room and closed the door behind them.

"Speaking of which, ever since we came back from Skypiea, Sima Di has been staying there. What exactly has he been doing?" Luffy suddenly asked.

"Usopp's matter is more important than this!" Nami angrily tugged at Luffy's clothes. "If one is like this, and two are like this too... why did you agree to the duel with Usopp?!"

83. Kneeling and confessing.

Time flew by this time, and it was already ten o'clock.

Emperor Sima did not watch the duel because he felt there were more important things to do.

The battle then concluded with a victor.

Luffy handed over the disposal of the ship to Usopp.

Nami called Sima Di out of the cabin.

"I've packed everything for you, including the poster behind the door. You've seen everything in the modeling field, haven't you? So... we should go."

"I see."

Sima Di got up and followed the others out of the Going Merry.

The group found an inn in Water Seven and left their belongings there.

As night fell, none of them could sleep. Sima Di, who was alone in his room, even left the inn.

Usopp lay sprawled on the deck, his body aching, but not as much as his heart. His eyes were wide open, his thoughts in turmoil.

"Oh, you're still awake?"

The familiar greeting jolted Usopp to his feet.

Under the moonlight, Usopp could clearly see who was coming.

"Emperor Sima... no, Emperor Sima, what are you doing here?"

"Are you really willing to do this? To break with everyone for the sake of a ship?" Sima Di sighed.

“But you all abandoned Merry! I can’t! I’m not like you. Merry is irreplaceable to me!” Usopp cried.

“It’s not just you; the Going Merry is equally important to us.” Ignoring Usopp’s attempts to stop him, Sima Di leaped onto the deck of the Going Merry. “You’re sad, but aren’t we sad too? Or rather… wouldn’t the Going Merry be sad to see us like this?”

"What good is being sad? You all still listened to the captain and abandoned the Merry! Straw Hat Pirates' vice-captain, you should just listen to Luffy! Get off the Merry! This is not a place for you!" Usopp actually pulled out his slingshot and pointed it at Sima Di.

"Do you think I was wrong before?" Sima Di asked in return.

“…You’re right. But I can’t do it! I can’t stand by and watch Merry be abandoned by you all, he’ll be heartbroken…” Usopp’s hand holding the slingshot trembled.

I want you to hear a story.

"what?"

Sima Di leaned against the bow of the Merry and recounted the story in detail.

This family consists of three people. Although they are poor, they are very happy.

One day, my father, who was the pillar of our family, suddenly fell ill. The illness came on very suddenly. When we went to see a doctor, he said that he had cancer.

People in the countryside don't know much, and they thought that besides taking medicine and eating some good food, they could recover. Their family spent all their money on medicine and buying chickens for their father, making chicken soup every day, believing it to be a great tonic. The father was very happy, eating a whole chicken every day, and the family was happy too. Whenever they saw his hearty appetite, they felt that cancer was no problem at all, and that he would recover quickly.

Their good fortune didn't last long; their savings eventually ran out, and the father passed away.

"Why? He had medicine, and he ate a chicken every day... How could someone with such a voracious appetite just die like that?" Usopp asked, puzzled.

Do you know what kind of cancer that father had?

"What is it?"

“Intestinal cancer.” Sima Di stroked the Merry, his expression nostalgic. “Think about it, how much pain must a person with intestinal cancer endure to eat a whole chicken every day? Yet that father did not cry out, but instead smiled.”

"Why would this person do this? Is he an idiot?"

"I actually think he was foolish too. Just because he didn't want his family to be sad for him, he silently endured all the pain in the last moments of his life. I heard that the father was smiling when he died."

Usopp opened his mouth but said nothing, clearly realizing something.

Sima Di continued, "This ship is like a father with bowel cancer, and we are the family feeding it chickens. The Going Merry is already battered and bruised, yet we still want to repair its irreparable wounds, forcing it to sail through pain. This shameless clinging to a dying person, preventing it from resting in peace—don't you think that's cruel...?"

“But…I…” Usopp dropped his slingshot to the ground, his whole body trembling.

"Rather than letting the Going Merry endure this suffering and live on, it's better for us to send it off with a smile. This is the best outcome for both of us. Luffy, he must have understood this a long time ago."

84. Emperor Sima has also disappeared?

"Thank you, Emperor Sima! Um... I'd appreciate it if you could put in a good word for me these next few days."

"No time," Sima Di replied decisively.

"Emperor Sima..."

"Me? I really don't have time."

Sima Di looked at Usopp's aggrieved expression with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"Then where are we going?"

"Do you remember what I said about the duties of the first mate?"

"It seems to be... assisting the captain in his work and helping him make some decisions."

"anything else?"

"Follow the captain's orders without question."

"That's right. But besides these, there's one more thing."