Summary:
As the crew returns to Water 7, they meet the Galley-La Company, Iceburg, and everyone who sails out to greet them. The Going Merry cracks and breaks under its own weight, and the crew bids their farewells alone as they give the ship a Viking burial, finally laying it to rest. As she goes up in flames, Merry apologizes and then thanks them for keeping her for so long.
As they sail away from the smoldering ruins of Enies Lobby, Luffy looks around the Going Merry for Usopp, wondering who came to Enies Lobby by ship to save them. He still gets fooled by Sogeking’s costume; Usopp retreats behind it, wondering how long it will be before Luffy and Chopper figure out that he is Usopp. Sanji tries to get Usopp to admit the ruse, but he won’t. Robin just laughs knowingly. Sogeking states that Usopp sailed ahead to Water 7 in another ship. Zoro wonders how they didn’t realize it was Usopp. Nami is also amazed that no one else is on Merry.
Zoro and Robin are sure they heard a voice from the ship when they were rescued, but Luffy says it was Merry’s voice. But Franky remembers in Water 7 before CP9’s betrayal, when Usopp told him, Moz, and Kiwi about what happened in Skypiea, how a mysterious figure was seen “repairing” the ship. The figure’s voice, the same as the one they heard in Enies Lobby, said that he would carry the Straw Hats for a while longer. Usopp was sure the figure was Merry’s ghost. Franky said the figure was the Klabautermann, a legendary manifestation of a ship’s spirit that repairs an old ship when it wants to sail a little longer.
They are soon met by a massive Galley-La Company ship piloted by Iceburg himself. Iceburg was impressed that the Straw Hats and his brother came back alive and got Robin back. Suddenly, however, the Going Merry is reeling in the water before it splits across her beam amidships and her bow folds out to sea. Kaku’s diagnosis came true: her hernia had ruptured. Luffy begs Iceburg for help, not wanting to lose Merry right after she saved them. But Iceburg tells him there’s nothing he can do. While the Straw Hats were on their way to Enies Lobby, he heard a crash on Scrap Island, where the ship had stopped after being washed away by CP9. Although the Aqua Laguna was grounded, he heard a voice saying that he wanted to sail once more. So Iceburg did as much patching as he could that night and let the hull go out to sea on the next Aqua Laguna wave. To his shock he heard a “thank you” and the ship seemed to float away as if it had a mind of its own. Seeing this as a sign, he took one of his company’s ships after her and led him to find them now.
Iceburg says that the Going Merry is a magnificent ship that, like the rest of the crew, has exceeded its limits. But she wasn’t going to go back to Water 7. Luffy finally agrees with Iceburg: it was time to let it go. The rest of the passengers board one boat while Luffy lags behind the other. He takes a torch and sets the Merry’s hull on fire and proceeds to arrange a Viking funeral for the ship so that it will not suffer the loneliness of the seabed. Luffy thinks it’s better if Usopp isn’t here to see it, but Usopp tells Zoro that he has accepted his ship’s fate. They all watch as Luffy slowly walks away from the ship and their captain thanks Merry again for carrying them.
As the ship burns beneath the newly falling snow, each of the Straw Hats recall their fondest memories of the ship. As the mast burns and the ship begins to list, the crew hears Merry’s ghost speaking. He apologizes that he can’t carry them any further. Luffy shouts that the crew should apologize for their inexperience and incompetence in maintaining the ship; that if they had known better, Merry would never have gotten into such a bad state as she did. At this moment, none of the crew could help but cry. But Merry speaks up and says she was always happy and knew they loved it.
Merry thanks them one last time as her figurine, Luffy’s “special seat”, disappears in the rising flames. Luffy screams her name as she crumbles into ash.