Omni-Piece: Without Ben
The Last One-Shot Chapter
(I hope you all enjoyed these oneshots)
EXTRA! Water 7: Sail Worn, Heart Torn (Usopp's POV) 5/5
Usopp limped down the narrow path of Dock 1's back lot, blood dried around the corner of his mouth, his nose swollen, and bruises blooming across his arms and legs. Every step stung. Every breath reminded him that he had failed.
Again.
The second run-in with the Franky Family had gone even worse than the first. He'd used every trick he had—smoke bombs, flash dials, rubber hammers, pop greens, even the Ammo-Ammo Fruit he'd eaten. A power that let him turn anything he touched into ammunition for his musket. Rocks, wood, steel—whatever was nearby could become his weapon.
But it hadn't mattered.
Franky took it all.
Shrugged it off.
Tore him apart with hands that could bend steel.
It was like all Usopp's hopes had been turned to dust along with his pride.
He'd yelled. Cried. Screamed at them. Screamed at Luffy. Screamed at the Merry.
And now… here he was... alone...
Usopp expected to see a pile of splinters when he turned the corner where they had left the Going Merry. Maybe a shattered mast. The figurehead, broken in two. That would've made sense. A fitting end for how much he'd failed.
But instead—
There she was.
Nestled under a temporary canopy, raised on blocks to keep her dry. Tarps were secured over the worst of the wounds. The mast cracked, the hull bruised and bent—but still standing.
Still fighting.
Still the Going Merry.
Usopp stared, wide-eyed, the impossible reality settling in.
"Why…?"
"'Cause a ship deserves to be put to rest the right way."
Usopp turned.
Franky stood at the edge of the dock, hands in his pockets, a cigarette smouldering between his lips—no cocky grin. Just something quieter.
Something real.
"She's done," Franky said. "She's not gonna make it much longer. But she's got a soul. Ships like that—" he nodded toward the Merry—"they don't go out in some storm. They get a proper farewell."
Usopp's fists clenched. "So you… You saved her? After everything…?"
"I know what it's like," Franky said. "To love a ship too much. To want it to sail even after it's lost its legs."
He turned without another word and left.
Usopp stood there, wind tugging at his battered clothes, staring at the ship that refused to die.
"…Thank you," he whispered.
Water filled the floating island of Water 7; the Aqua Laguna had struck hard, nearly swallowing the docks whole. Among the chaos, barely clinging to the edge of survival, floated a battered ship.
The Going Merry.
Her sail still flew the Straw Hat flag—but now, sewn into the jaw of the smiling skull, was another mark. Multiform's symbol... Ben's symbol. A memory stitched into the very heart of their identity.
A brother never forgotten.
On the deck of the ship sat a man, hunched over, his face buried in his arms. His shoulders shook with every broken sob.
"Why did I do that?" Usopp muttered into the crook of his elbow, voice shaking with guilt and frustration. "Why did I throw everything away?"
He lifted his face to the storm-churned sky, his eyes red and bitter. "Even with this damn fruit… even with a new power…"
He slammed his hand against the mast—his ability flaring instinctively, the wood shimmering—but yanked his hand back before it could transform.
"WHY COULDN'T I GET A GOOD POWER?!" he screamed. His voice echoed over the drowning island. He struck the mast again, only to clutch his throbbing hand in pain.
Even with the Ammo-Ammo Fruit, even with every trick he had ever learned, he had been powerless.
Powerless.
"Why indeed?"
A voice, faint but sharp, cut through the rain.
Usopp froze.
No way. Not possible.
Slowly, almost against his will, he turned.
Nothing. Only the torn sails and the empty deck.
But the voice—he had heard it.
Ben.
The memory of their fallen crewmate burned in his mind. Alabasta, where Ben had fought, knowing he wouldn't return. He died for them. For their dream.
The flag that bore his mark was a vow they carried into every battle.
Even Luffy had agreed. Even Chopper, who hadn't stopped crying until he avenged their brother's memory and earned a bounty of his own: ¬Tony Tony Chopper "True Monster"¬.
Even now, the marine base they raided after Ben's name was left off Chopper's poster still bore the scars of their anger.
"Come on, Usopp," the voice urged gently. "Get off your butt and do something."
Usopp whipped around again. Still nothing.
But deep inside, he knew.
It didn't matter if it was real. It didn't matter if it was a memory or madness.
The message was clear.
The ship had held on.
The dream had held on.
He would hold on too... just like the Merry.
"…I'm not done," he whispered, gripping the mast like it could anchor him to the world. "Not yet."
As long as the Merry still floated, so would he.
As long as his nakama needed him, he would fight.
Even if the world tried to sink him.
Even if he had to do it with bloodied hands and a broken heart.
=The End=
