To the Sea

Still nursing the bruises of a tough scrap, the trio of Nami, Zoro, and Luffy are sharing food at a local eatery when Kaya steps in and requests a brief word. Over in another corner of the village, Usopp has crammed his travel pack to the brim, intending to set off as a captain, yet the bag proves so heavy that he is wedged in his own doorway. He breaks the door, goes rolling down the hill, then cheerfully scoops his scattered gear back together.

Down by the water, the vessel meant as a gift is revealed: a caravel christened the Going Merry. Nami identifies the design at a glance. Its builder, Merry, launches into a walkthrough of the rudder before she tells him to keep it short, and Kaya mentions she has already loaded the food stores. Usopp comes barreling down the slope toward the hull, halted only by the boots of Luffy and Zoro. When he declares he will sail off and find them again later, the two flatly tell him to climb aboard and serve as crew, with Luffy insisting the captain's seat belongs to him.

The crew gains both a ship and a fourth member, the Going Merry going to the Straw Hats and Usopp joining their ranks. As the sails fill, Ninjin, Tamanegi, and Piiman see their old leader off, glad that the boy who always lived by himself now travels among capable allies. Watching as well, Merry walks Kaya through Usopp's past. His father, Yasopp, once sailed away to chase a pirate's dream, and as the boy's mother, Banchina, neared death, Usopp tore through the streets crying that pirates had come to fetch them. She saw through the lie yet passed away proud of the man she wed and confident her son would grow as mighty as his father. Long after she died the boy kept up the cry. Merry asks Kaya to live on bravely so she never faces the loneliness he once knew, and the chapter ends as she admits her own dream of becoming a doctor.

This installment caps the Syrup Village Arc and sends the Straw Hats off the island. Kaya had wanted Usopp to stay, but she lied so that he could follow his ambition. The color cover shows a young Luffy alongside Shanks's crew, the Red Hair Pirates, including Benn Beckman, Yasopp, and Lucky Roux, all posing together for a photograph.