Eventually, the Going Merry gave out and ended up dying, being burned by the Straw Hat Pirates in the Grand Line. Naturally, handling the death scene of the Going Merry was not easy for Oda.
Oda was only talking about the death of the Going Merry, who, as fans know, is a part of the family as well. In fact, Oda has previously stated that the death of Merry was needed to make the story ...