"Whoa…" Luffy breathed as he took in the sight of giant cranes and wheels wheeled above, casting long shadows across the sleek marbled walkways, with workers shouting to each other over the hammering of tools. "This is amazing!" No matter how many times he had heard of the shipyard through Ace or Sabo, he couldn't help but practically bounce with excitement as he stood at the edge of it all.
Usopp nodded with wide eyes as towering hulls rose around him like titans. "That one's got a dragon carved into the keel!" he pointed as he leaned forward. "But is it okay to just walk in there without an appointment?" he questioned, as he belatedly noticed Luffy having one foot poised on the edge of the railing like he was about to leap over it and invade the worker's area.
"Eh? Who cares?" Luffy grinned, as he hopped over the fence and landed on the other side, only for a blur of a man to suddenly appear, cutting off Luffy's path like a shadow stepping out of a wall.
"You're not allowed past this point" the man-or was it his pigeon–named Rob Lucci, they had met just an hour or so ago, stopped Luffy from further intruding. "Only Galley-La workers and authorized personnel may enter Dock One."
Luffy blinked at him, eyebrows raised. "Why not?" he asked, tilting his head innocently.
"You're pirates, kid," the man said, like it was just a weather report. "This is a private dock space."
Luffy didn't move back but instead he took a deep breath and cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs, "IIIIICCCCEEEEBBUUURRGGG!!!"
The sound cracked through the air like a cannonblast, startling the entire dock. Several workers dropped their tools or tightened them around their fists in fear of declaration of war.
"Are you trying to declare war on us, pirate?!" Lucci's pigeon seemingly questioned, but Luffy paid no mind to it.
"Luffy! What the hell are you trying to do?! They will kick us out–" Nami tried to attempt to de-escalate the situation but it was already too late. The sharp looking woman whom they had also met earlier had noticed them and was coming towards them with another blue haired man in tow.
The blue haired man paused beside Lucci's side and looked at the caller of his name from the top of his strawhat to the tip of his sandaled toes. He blinked. "Did you lose your parents, kid?" he asked out of genuine curiosity.
Usopp made a choking sound, similar to the one of him trying to burst out laughing while Nami smacked her palm into her forehead because of course! Of course this was bound to happen!
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" the 'kid' in question replied with a pout. "We came to Water 7 'cause an old lady named Kokoro told us you could help!" he reached into his pocket and pulled out a creased envelope with a wax seal that had smudged slightly from the humidity, and presented it to Iceberg.
Iceberg took the envelope and flipped it open. The moment his eyes read over the letters 'Check their ship' and then landed on the slipstick shaped kiss mark on the note, his entire body flinched. He found himself immediately tearing the note into pieces and let it flutter to the stone at his feet.
"Are you not gonna help us?" Usopp asked with wide eyes as he eyed the remaining pieces of the letters. What would happen to Merry now? Was there any hope left..?
"Please fix our ship! We will pay you!" Nami instantly showed the suitcase she was holding.
"We sailed for a long time and the Going Merry is not fine! Help her!" Luffy joined the suit too with wide eyes. If there was a chance of saving Merry then he would do whatever it took.
"No problem," Iceberg said simply with a smile on his face.
"Ehh? Then why did you rip apart the recommendation letter?!" Usopp questioned with confusion clear in his voice.
"I didn't like the lip mark," Iceberg answered as a shiver ran through his body. "Kokoro was my drinking partner. Anyways, I will send Kaku to look over your ship."
"Mayor Iceberg, Kaku has already gone to check out their ship," Kalifa spoke for the first time in a while. "He would be returning any moment," she said, fixing her glasses. "Also, the investigation is complete," she flipped through the pages of her notebook. "The group present before you is the Strawhat Pirates. And the 'kid' is none other than Strawhat Luffy, who holds an active bounty of 200 million beli."
Iceberg blinked, taking in the appearance of the infamous captain before him. He had heard of him, obviously, through the news coo. But as much as he cared he didn't think that the carnage hungry captain in question was so young and innocent looking. But weren't his eyes brown or black? Instead of red?
"The orange haired woman is Nami and the long nosed man is Usopp," Kalifa continued smoothly. "They are all confirmed members of the Strawhat Pirates. Among them are also Pirate Hunter Zoro and Devil Child Nico Robin," she let the information sink before dropping the final piece. "The total bounty known among the crew stands at 354 million."
Iceberg schooled his expression as he let out a low whistle. "Huh, you're that strawhat crew. The ones makin' waves lately."
Nami and Usopp froze in place, beads of sweat forming on their temples. Usopp chuckled nervously. "Uh… she sure knows a lot about us, huh?"
Nami's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Too much."
Kalifa's gaze did not falter. "It's my job to know everything, Miss Navigator."
"Captain of the Strawhat Pirates, huh?" Iceburg looked back at Luffy with an amused expression. "Well, you don't look like much. You even got your baby teeth still?"
Luffy huffed in response. "I am not a kid!"
There was a soft rustle from Iceberg's breast coat, and a tiny white snout peeked out from his breast pocket, wiggling inquisitively toward Luffy.
"Did you have a good nap?," Iceberg petted his little mouse's head fondly, before turning to the pirates who were staring at him. "This mouse I adopted not long ago is called Tyrannosaurus."
The tiny rat squeaked once. It's black beady eyes locked on Luffy like it was trying to figure out the weird pull in his tiny heart.
Luffy bent closer, eyes wide. "Hello there, little one!" Luffy smiled at the tiny mouse, who squeaked and seemingly got a sudden blush on his little white furry face and ducked back into the coat to hide in embarrassment.
Iceberg raised a brow at his little Tyrannosaurus's reaction of shyly ducking into the folds of his coat. "Huh," he muttered under his breath, his gaze flickering once more to Luffy, who was grinning like a kid getting candy."
While, Kalifa adjusted her glasses, ever so slightly. "Odd," she murmured, "Tyrannosaurus isn't the type to be shy to new people."
At the comment, Nami and Usopp made a subtle eye contact, knowing full well that animals tend to like Luffy instinctively.
Meanwhile, from his perch on Lucci's shoulder, the pigeon named Hattori let out a low, contemplative coo, as if he too was trying to work out what exactly was so… enchanting about the being who stood in front of them.
Rob Lucci, however, said nothing. His stare was unreadable. But something in the way his gaze lingered on Luffy, just half a heartbeat longer than it should've, told a story that words didn't. And Luffy, despite still grinning, returned Lucci's gaze with a flatness of his own before he pointedly chose to ignore the man.
"Wait a minute.." Usopp questioned, squinting his eyes at the water canals, where their sea bulls were parked. "Where.. Where's the money?" he questioned, his panic starting to rise a little.
"What?!" Nami spun instantly, holding her suitcase tighter.
Usopp was already scrambling down the steps, his finger pointing toward the waterway where the sea bulls had been parked. "The suitcases! The money! They're gone! I-I left it with Luffy's bull for one second–"
Luffy blinked. "Huh?"
That was when they all saw, halfway down the canal, a group of figures in outlandish fashion sprinting away, hauling the two black suitcases on their backs, which definitely didn't belong to them but the Strawhat crew.
"The hell?! Thieves!!" Usopp yelled, his eyes wide in horror.
Just before he could scream bloody murder, or Luffy could send his limb to capture the thieves, another blur darted into view, faster than the thieves, slinking between alleyways with a long rope in hand. A tangle of debt-collector lackeys trailed behind him, huffing and swearing.
"Wait," Nami narrowed her eyes, "Isn't that–?"
"PAULIE?!" Usopp shouted as the rope-wielding shipwright darted from the other direction and swiped one of the suitcases from the Franky Family mid-run, only to turn on heel and bolt the other way.
"Sorry! Gotta pay off some small loans!" Paulie shouted, not even looking back as he sprinted past.
"What are you doing?! That's our money!" Usopp wailed, flailing wildly. "You damn rope maniac! Bring that back!"
"PAULIE!" Nami yelled in fury, "I swear on all the maps I've ever drawn, if you touch even one berry from that case–!"
But someone moved again before the chaos could escalate. He moved like a breath across silk, vanishing from his position beside Iceberg. Reappearing in the blink of an eye just ahead of Paulie, making the rope-swinging shipwright skid to a halt with a noise like a wet tire on stone.
Before Paulie could even protest or try to reason his actions, Lucci's pigeon leaned forward and let out a series of sharp, judgmental coos. "You tried to steal other people's money to pay your debt? You are shameless, Paulie."
"Wha?! Since when is stealing from pirates bad?!" Paulie gawked, honestly surprised.
Iceberg sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Nice moves," Luffy absent mindedly commented to Lucci, who was walking calmly back to Dock One, one hand on Paulie's eye like a parent dragging a sulking child, while the said child was muttering protests the entire way.
Lucci stared at Luffy, noticing the flicker of some kind of realization in those crimson innocent-looking eyes, before giving a sharp nod.
"He's always like this," Iceburg said dryly as they returned. "If you see him anywhere near your coin purse again, just throw a boot at his head."
Nami raised an eyebrow as she saw Luffy take the suitcases back from Lucci. "Will do it gladly," she said, noticing the slight tension between Luffy and Lucci. "But who were those strangely dressed people?"
"The bunch he was stealing from?" Iceburg tilted his chin toward the direction the other flamboyant thieves had vanished. "That's the Franky Family. Local delinquents. Professional ship scavengers, really. They've made a profession out of robbing passing pirates."
"Ship scavengers? No wonder they didn't look like serious mechanics," Nami said out loud.
"Yes, they also work as bounty hunters and attack the pirates who come here," Kalifa added. "They are a troublesome bunch."
"Pirates like us..?" Usopp asked, while sweating.
"Exactly like you," Iceburg confirmed with a thin smile. "So I suggest you don't underestimate their leader. He's eccentric, dangerous and frankly," he paused, giving a withering look to the canal, "a pain in the ass."
Luffy tilted his head curiously. "So, they got a leader?" he asked, having not heard what Iceburg had said moments ago.
"Yeah," Paulie muttered, rubbing his ear when Lucci released him. "Franky. Big guy. Real loud. You'll know when you see him. Can't mistake the guy."
"Franky..!" Luffy's eyes lit up. He fumbled into his pocket, digging out a crumpled, half-damp piece of parchment. "Hey! I drew him! Wanna see?!"
He unfolded the sketch and held it out proudly to the group. It was a scribbled disaster of a blocky humanoid figure with a general silhouette of a possessed refrigerator, with shoulders square as stone slabs, arms bulging like overinflated sausages, and three disproportionate noses stacked. Two mismatched stars marked his biceps, and jutting from the stomach was what appeared to be either a cannon or a very confused toaster. His triangle shaped sunglasses were sketched so aggressively that they tore the parchment in one spot, and the figure's legs ended in boots. Though the most unsettling of all was that he wore only a crooked pair of speedos drawn in bright red crayon, accompanied by a spiky text reading "SUPER!" exploding from his mouth.
If an art could sweat insanity and shout obscenities, this drawing would do both. It was the same one that had caused Sanji to nearly light himself on fire and had made Usopp genuinely consider fleeing before meeting its real life counterpart.
Hence, the reaction of the others seeing the drawing was not unimaginable or too far-fetched. Especially when Iceberg–the man who had grown up with Franky–blinked, and Paulie recoiled.
Even Kalifa pushed her glasses up and leaned in slowly. "…That's… actually not far off."
"What?!" Nami and Usopp shouted in unison.
"No way! How is that accurate?!" Usopp demanded, pointing at the drawing, already dreading meeting the monstrosity for real now.
"Franky does wear those dumb glasses," Paulie admitted with a shrug. "And the hair… well.. but that weird triangle thing is kind of right."
Nami looked between the drawing and the people nodding in agreement. "This place is insane."
Luffy beamed. "Told you I was a good artist."
"No, you're not!" Usopp and Nami shouted together.
Tyrannosaurus peeked out again from Iceburg's coat and squeaked once, seemingly agreeing with Luffy.
"See?" Luffy smirked, tilting his head smugly at the words of the rat only understandable to him. "The little guy believes in me."
But the moment those words left his mouth, a sharp, ruffled chirp sliced through the air. "Kooo!"
Everyone turned as Hattori, the stark white pigeon perched on Lucci's shoulder, let out an exaggerated, high pitched flutter of complaint, its beady eyes glaring daggers at Tyrannosaurus. The rat squeaked defensively and ducked further into Iceberg's coat, his nose twitching with agitation.
Luffy giggled at the clear jealousy he could sense from the little birdy. "Hey there, little birdy! Are you jealous?" he asked the last part in a soft, teasing voice, not even noticing how the eyes of most of them stared into him.
Hattori fluffed its feathers with a scoff and strutted sideways along Luffic's shoulder, making deliberate eye contact with Luffy, then puffing up its chest like a proud rival demanding recognition.
Luffy's eyes sparkled as he heard the little birdy saying that he was better than the little guy in Iceberg's pocket, who was now peeking at them. "Do you want to be petted?"
The pigeon bobbed its head vigorously as it flew off Lucci's shoulder to land on Luffy's outstretched arm. Luffy giggled as he petted the bird's soft feathers. "You're so honest!"
Usopp blinked, almost groaning and eyeing his surroundings for any marine to pop off. He noticed Nami rubbing her temple too, though with a small smile on her face, as she looked at Luffy interact his new friends.
Lucci, ever the unreadable, stared at Luffy and Hattori, slightly surprised that Hattori, his Hattori, had taken a liking to a pirate nonetheless. He cleared his throat and began to speak in a flat, mechanical tone, his mouth moving in eerie synchrony with Hattori's next chirp. "Hattori can't speak. I'm a ventriloquis–"
But before he could finish, Hattori twisted sharply to Lucci, flew over to him and jabbed him sharply in the cheek with its beak.
Lucci frowned, as Hattori continued to launch into a flurry of furious chips and flaps aimed squarely at his face. "I.. Hattori.. Stop that," Lucci muttered stoically, fending off his own pigeon.
Luffy, meanwhile, crouched on the railing and listened to the one sided tirade. His face grew solemn as he got the confirmation of what Lucci was first hand from the little birdy, even if he already had his suspicions. For a moment, his cheer dulled, the smile faltered, and his crimson eyes looked onto Lucci with a weight that pierced through Lucci's soul.
"..He doesn't like being spoken for," Luffy said softly, focusing on the last cry of the little birdy.
Lucci met his gaze with a scowl. His eyes searched for something, as if wondering if Luffy was bluffing or really speaking the truth. But truth from a pirate, a scum? That was even impossible to think about.
"I like him," Luffy suddenly smiled again like nothing had happened between him and Lucci or the little birdy.
Usopp blinked, confused. "Wait, what happened?"
"Haha," Nami nervously laughed, stepping forward with a faintly panicked gait. "Clearly the real talent here is ventriloquism. Right, Lucci?" her voice was bright, meant to redirect attention and change the topic and it worked. It worked on clearing the confusion and surprise on the people gathered around them. After all, she really didn't want to be captured for a suspicion of Luffy being anything but normal.
"Ventriloquist?" Paulie blinked, turning to Lucci. "You talk through the bird?"
"It's a special skill," Lucci said flatly, on his own.
"Isn't that more like… the bird talks through him?" Usopp muttered.
"You get used to it," Iceburg said with a long-suffering sigh. "We have the best mechanics in the world, I promise. Just don't expect all of them to be normal," he turned and gestured to the three standing nearby. "That's Rob Lucci. Mute, deadly, and good with a wrench. Don't touch the pigeon though, it.. jabs."
Lucci said nothing. Hattori fluffed up again, smug and triumphant.
"This rope idiot is Paulie," Iceburg continued, pointing with his thumb. "Gambles too much, talks too loud, but no one ties a hull tighter than him."
Paulie scowled. "Oi!"
"And finally, Kaku, whom you guys have met already," Iceburg added with a small gesture. "They are the part of the 5 chief mechanics in this dock."
Luffy, Nami and Usopp nodded in unison.
Iceberg let out a sharp breath and then tilted his head slightly toward Kalifa. "Do I have any meetings today?"
Kalifa, already flipping through her neat ledger, adjusted her glasses. "Yes sir. You have a meeting with the owner of the glass factory in Chiza Hotel. After that you have a speech in the Liguria Plaza. After that you need to meet with Mayor Bimine of Pucci, the Gourmet city, in a press conference for the newspapers. After that there are some documents in your office that you need to go over."
Iceberg's face drooped at the list like someone had just handed him a textbook written in an unreadable language. He waved a hand vaguely. "I don't want to!"
"I'll cancel all of that," Kalifa sighed.
"Hey! Can you even do that?!" Usopp questioned with wide eyes.
"For me, refusing to do those things is just one of my privileges," Iceberg shrugged, then turned to the interesting pirate captain before him. "Since I am so bored today, I'll show you around the place."
Luffy lit up like the sun in joy while Usopp sweated at the man's actions, as Lucci and Paulie opened the main gates to let them in.
"Eh, don't get too excited," Paulie mumbled under his breath, rubbing the back of his head. "It ain't what it used to be."
Inside Dock 1, the sea freeze faded to a soft stillness, as the wooden frames came into view. It was almost like they were waiting for some maintenance. A few workers were moving about, hammering planks, wielding bolts, making platings, each of them greeting when they saw Iceberg, but still something felt off. Almost like there were less people working than it used to.
"Wait… this is it?" Usopp blinked, adjusting the strap on his shoulder. "I thought this place was like the crown jewel of shipyards!" he said, remembering Kokoro's words.
"It doesn't sound like the place Ace or Sabo told me about," Luffy frowned as he let his eyes roam at the workers and their materials. There was something amiss. qq
Iceberg raised a brow at the names and comments, but he didn't seem offended. If anything, he looked tired. "It's seen better days."
"Why's that?" Nami asked.
Kalifa, still at Iceberg's side, answered crisply. "The P.P.P. happened. I suppose you know about them. The Proper and Pirate Proof company. The government backed, globally recognized, and with near unlimited resources. Every time a marine wants a new ship, they turn to the 3P's," she said, almost with a sigh. "Shipwrights even started jumping companies. Literally and metaphorically."
"There's more money and security there," Iceberg added. "But less freedom. Everything has to be done by the book, rules, standards and regulations. No passion, just paper work and other things like a mindless being."
He gestured around Dock 1. "So, I gathered the last of the stubborn ones. The independent carpenters who still want to build something real and untamed. I merged every rival company left in Water 7 and formed the Galley-La. All of this–" he waved at the hollow ships, the scaffolding, the stained blueprints lining the benches, "–was built by hands that didn't want to be told how to make a ship float."
There was a brief silence as the crew took it in.
Usopp scratched his head, with admiration in his eyes. "That's actually kind of cool."
Nami nodded slowly. "But doesn't that make things harder for you?"
"Oh, it's a nightmare," Iceberg said cheerfully. "But at least it's my nightmare."
Kalifa sighed like a woman who was too professional to agree aloud.
"So you're fighting the P.P.P.?" Luffy asked, frowning slightly, and feeling slightly guilty for being technically responsible for the birth of the company itself.
"Trying to stay afloat while they buy out every nail and hammer in the sea," Iceberg replied. "They even have their eyes on the city's law now. Won't be long before they try to privatize the canals."
"That sucks," Luffy muttered, frowning, only smiling a little when the winds ruffled his hair softly, while whispering things. "Hey, mister, everyone says you're a really good ship repairman, want to become a pirate with us?"
"WH-WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Paulie shouted with wide eyes, vehemently against the idea.
"YOU, ILL-MANNERED BRAT!!" Even Kalifa shouted in anger.
Nami choked. "Luffy!"
"You're asking Iceberg to be your shipwright?!" Even Usopp flailed. "I thought you were going to ask Franky! Though I am not complaining or anything."
Luffy nodded. "He's cool! And he already has a mouse friend!"
Iceberg stared at him for a beat, expression unreadable, then burst out laughing, a low, rolling sound that echoed off the beams above. "Tempting," he said, ruffling Tyrannosaurus' fur as the mouse peeked out to chirp. "But I'm the mayor, kid. My hands are full with this sinking ship of a city."
He leaned in slightly, voice more sincere. "But if any of my carpenters are willing? You've got my blessing to ask."
Luffy's eyes lit up. "Really?!"
Iceberg nodded. "Just don't poach all the weird ones. I'm already short."
Just as Luffy was still grinning and enjoying at Iceberg's offer and muttering under his breath about poaching all the weird ones in his crew, a distant familiar voice called from above.
"Mayor! I've returned!" The voice was clear, accompanied by a wind slicing whoosh as a figure vaulted from a rooftop beam and landed gracefully on the upper platform of Dock 1.
"Kaku," Iceberg said, looking up. "That was unnecessarily acrobatic."
"Every journey needs flair, Mayor," Kaku replied, saluting before leaping lightly down to their level, dusting off his knees. "
"Kaku!" Nami stepped forward at once, voice sharp with urgency. "Did you see our ship? Did you check the Merry?"
Kaku adjusted his cap with a respectful nod. "I did. I conducted a full preliminary inspection. She's an elegant vessel. You've treated her well." His voice was calm, but something behind it was reserved—almost reluctant.
Iceberg noticed. "What's the diagnosis?"
Before Kaku could reply, Luffy stepped forward, his face still relaxed but something had changed about him. His posture had straightened. His smile had faded. His hand flexed once at his side and his aura radiated nervousness which was beyond anything any of them had seen from him up till now. Even if the seriousness was new.
"Can you save Merry?" Luffy asked softly, almost as if he was afraid to hear the verdict himself too. "And how much will it cost? We have lots of money.. So please save Merry." he looked pleadingly in the eyes of the carpenters. He knew in his heart that Merry couldn't be fixed, but that didn't mean he had to accept it. Galley-La had to have some solutions.
The tone in his voice startled even Iceberg. It was quiet, but too quiet. And it didn't suit the speaker at all. Iceberg studied him for a moment, having not thought that the merry go happy captain can sound so sad, it was almost breaking his heart.
Kaku, too, looked slightly taken aback. He opened his mouth but before a word could be spoken, Luffy's body tensed. His head turned sharply towards the far end of the dock, not in confusion but in certainty, eyes narrowing. His feet shifted, his shoulders squared and his gaze zeroed in on a space behind the group, where Usopp had just been lingering by the open edge of the dock, peering at the beams and bolts of the shipyard with wide eyed curiosity.
The world around Luffy dulled, with voices fading and footsteps muted, as his senses locked onto a sudden, dissonant ripple at the edge of his haki. Before his eyes noticed the motion of three masked figures erupting from the shadows of a tarp covered hull.
It was the Franky Family once again. Sloppy and loud, gaudy as ever but fast. But this time, they weren't just about to steal the money. This time, they were about to touch one of his own. He could clearly foresee one of them lunging for Usopp, his arms about to snap around his chest like ropes, and lift him clear off the ground while making sure that Usopp couldn't scream for help. While the other two were already diving for the suitcases still resting beside Usopp's legs.
But the moment they touched him, the hammer dropped and with it came Luffy's rage, his voice ringing out, sharp, cold and predatory. "Leave. Him. Alone."
The world did not pause, it recoiled at the words coming out of Luffy's mouth. The air around him grew thicker, denser with something unspeakable, almost as if it could snap the necks of the mere thugs aiming to abduct what's his. His words struck the dock like the first crack of thunder before a strom, low and echoing, crawling beneath the skin rather than ringing in the ears.
And the Franky Family? They froze mid-motion. With Usopp, half lifted from the ground, gasping–more in response to the sudden shift in atmosphere than the sudden grip on his ribs. His eyes went wide, breath catching as he sensed what was rising behind him. Because Luffy was angry. Not just tantrum angry or pouting over meat angry. He was really pissed off.
A cold, seething one that bled from every pore and held the sea, sky and the sun in its breath, literally and metaphorically.
Luffy's fists clenched at his sides, fingers twitching with restraint, and his pupils dilating, ringing faintly with a golden-red-blue hue that shimmered like sunlight flashing through blood. Even his Conqueror's Haki roared beneath the surface of his skin, invisible but crackling, begging to be freed, to lash out and crush the insignificant ones who dared to touch what belonged to him.
And Luffy, who had once burned ships for a brother and crushed fleets to rescue friends, felt that trespass in his bones. But he didn't unleash it. Not here. Not now. Not yet. Not with the eyes of the government slithering around him, watching his every move. So, he swallowed it down like fire. Bitter, burning and heavy.
He gave the Franky Family thugs a moment, to leave Usopp and their money, and get the fuck out of there, while snuffing his Conqueror's Haki which wanted nothing but destroy them. Though he still let only a sliver of that wrath leak into the air. Just enough to freeze the lungs of everyone present in the robbery and kidnapping. Just enough to make the Franky Family regret every decision they had made that morning.
Though the thugs, finally getting a chance to take a damn breath, blinked dazedly, before they still moved with panic overriding instinct. One man hefted Usopp fully off the ground, his grip faltering as his knees trembled, legs stumbling into a sprint. The other seized the suitcases and took off in opposite directions, trying to scatter before the captain could react.
But they were too late and Luffy had already given a warning. His arms snapped out with a sharp, vicious crack, stretching through the air like a strike of lightning. His expression didn't change though. He didn't yell. He didn't give chase. He simply reached and caught all three. Wrapping his rubbery limbs around them, before yanking them back.
The scream that tore from the men was short lived. They flew backwards, arms flailing, feet barely skimming the ground before slamming into the stone dock with bone rattling force, crashing in a heap beside a small explosion of scattered berri and torn cloth. The suitcases landed with a heavy hud, miraculously intact.
Usopp rolled out of the pile like a ragdoll, coughing and covered in dust. He blinked, dazed. "Okay... okay... next time, warn me before turning me into a projectile!"
Luffy strode over with the calm of a drifting cloud and offered his hand.
Usopp took it with a groan, letting himself be hauled up. "Still, uh, thanks, I guess," he muttered, brushing wood splinters off his vest. "You saved my skin again."
"Of course," Luffy said simply but his gaze flicked back to Lucci. The pigeon-wearing shipwright was watching. Not surprised. Not impressed. Just… watching. As if he was noting his every move and somehow, that made it worse.
Paulie let out a low whistle. "That was... somethin'," he said, not having accepted the tiny little kid to pack such a heavy blow–or rather, pull.
Kalifa paused in her note-taking, her pen hovering above the paper. While, Kaku's smile faltered, just slightly. Even Iceberg looked momentarily unsettled, Tyrannosaurus half-buried in his coat with his ears twitching with awe.
"Shishishi!" Luffy simply laughed, as if nothing had happened. "So, anyways, what about Merry?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with boyish curiosity, even as his arm remained stretched out behind him, still holding the squirming thieves mid air.
Kaku blinked once, then again. For a man who leapt across rooftops with the grace of a bird, he suddenly looked very much like someone who didn't want to believe the sudden change in atmosphere and the mood of the teen. His mouth opened, closed, then opened again, but then he remembered the words from Lucci of how they ought to be careful of the teen the government had their eyes on. He had not believed that the teen was anything close to powerful or really qualified for the huge bounty on his head. But now, after seeing everything, he was sure that he needed to take the teen seriously, before he got his ass kicked. Though the latter was way too far fetched. After all, he is one of the best agents in CP9.
"Yeah! I want to know too! We have the money, so please help Merry! Our ship!" Usopp too begged, ignoring the fact that he was about to be kidnapped.
Kaku exhaled, "I checked every inch of your ship," he said, his voice calm but low. "I went over the frame, the ribs, the masts, the seams. Inside and out. I looked twice, even three times at Pirate Hunter's request, just to be sure."
The others leaned forward. Usopp's mouth was slightly open with hope slowly shining in his eyes. Nami's eyes narrowed just a hair, waiting for the result to spill. And Luffy had his head tilted, his red eyes peering straight into Kaku's.
Kaku's voice dropped even lower. "But I am sorry. It's no good."
The words echoed like a dropped anchor.
"..What?" Usopp asked, barely above a whisper, while Nami let out a gasp. They had known it, after all, Luffy had spelt it to them, but still listening to it from shipwrights doesn't help at all.
Kaku's face softened slightly. "The keel, the very spine of the shop, has taken heavy damage, beyond repair. She won't hold for much longer. Especially not if you keep sailing through the Grand Line."
Luffy didn't react. He knew it. Knew the very fact that Merry won't last and they gotta replace her soon. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt any less. He truly wanted to deny everything but he knew he gotta be mature right now and hold tight.
Usopp sagged beside him, his fists clenching. "Then.. what about repurposing her?" he asked softly, voice tight. "If she can't sail.. Can she still come with us? In the form of a dinghy? A smaller build? Or anything?"
"If it's money that you want, we have lots!" Nami added, her voice urgent now. "We'll pay whatever it takes."
"We want to keep Merry with us," Luffy stated, his fingers twitching. "If you need anything–materials, tools–whatever it is, just say it. Just.. don't let her vanish entirely."
The plea of the trio was desperate, quiet and hopeful. The way someone prays not for a miracle, but for a reprieve.
Paulie looked at them, then away. "The keel at the center of a ship is its lifeline. It runs through her bones. If the keel's broken, it's not like replacing a sail or a mast. You can't just swap it out and call it the same ship. Replacing the keel is the same as… building a whole new ship from scratch," he looked at Luffy, Nami and Usopp. "Thus, no one can repair your ship or repurpose it either."
Usopp's hands curled into trembling fists. "Then.. then just remake her!" he cried, his voice cracking. "Remake the Merry from the start! Piece by piece, if you have to!"
"That's not possible either," Lucci's voice came emotionless, carried through Hattori's sharp coo. "Even if we built a ship that looked exactly like yours… it will never be the same."
"What the hell does that mean?!" Nami snapped, unable to hold the grief tightening in her throat. "You're builders, aren't you supposed to do something?!"
"Tell me," Hattori translated, lifting his wing like a solemn conductor, "have you ever seen two perfectly identical trees in the world?"
No one answered.
"And ships," Lucci continued through the pigeon, "are born from trees, from their wood. Each piece is unique. Even if we have blueprints, even if we copy every curve and every nail, the one who'll feel it first that this isn't the same ship…"his dark gaze turned to Luffy. "..will be you."
Usopp staggered back a step, his shoulders shaking. "So you're saying.." he whispered, "Going Merry will never set sail again?"
"That is correct," Kaku said gently, his usual theatrics gone. "You can either dismantle her now, or let her sink naturally. But there's no saving her."
"I'll think of ideas," Iceberg offered with a sigh, softer now. "Maybe there's a way to salvage a part of her, repurpose what you can. But I won't lie. Don't keep your hopes high," he glanced at the briefcases filled with money. "You've got enough to start over. A new ship. Strong, capable and built to survive the Grand Line properly."
They had known. All three of them had known. The whole crew knew. And still they had hoped for a way to keep Merry around. Even if she couldn't carry them anymore, they had wanted her with them through the end of their journey. Anything that would let them sail forward without leaving her behind entirely.
But Iceberg's words were final. There couldn't be any repurposing, no remaking, no illusions. Because Merry won't be the same. She won't be the same if she is repurposed.
Luffy didn't speak immediately. He just stood there, facing the ground as though searching for something. "..Is there really no other way?" he asked, his voice almost too soft to hear.
Iceberg watched him for a moment, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully, before he sighed. "If you're that insistent," he said at last, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "then we can try to salvage something. Maybe use what's still stable in her frame to craft a small speedboat."
Luffy didn't respond. He didn't like the idea. Neither did Usopp or Nami.
Iceberg continued. "Or.. we turn her into a floating home. Moor her somewhere. Reinforce the hull just enough so she won't sink."
Usopp's hands curled into fists again, his lower lip trembling at the thought of someone, anyone, butchering Merry to make her into something else. Nami's gaze dropped to her boots, her mouth tight at the realization. Even Luffy, as still as a statue, didn't seem to breathe. Because it wasn't what they wanted.
Iceberg took into the sight of the three teens–shoulders drawn in, jaws clenched, eyes flickering with all the weight they were trying not to carry–and didn't press further. He knew what this moment was. He'd see it before, more than once. When a crew learned that their first ship would never sail again. But before he could speak, he heard footsteps. Not the heavy gait of shipwrights or the clatter of tools he was acquainted with.
These steps were sharp, and patterned.
Kalifa's head snapped toward the gate. "..Marines," she muttered.
Paulie turned as well, brow furrowed, eyes narrowing as a cluster of uniformed men strode through the entrance of Dock One. They walked in perfect sync, their blue coats pristine, sabres sheathed at their hips. At their head was a shorter man, stiff-backed, glasses glinting in the sun as he consulted a folder with bureaucratic urgency. It was Corgi.
Lucci's expression didn't change, but his attention turned fully to the arrival.
Kalifa stepped forward before they could go farther, her heels echoing like gavel strikes on stone. "This is a restricted work zone," she said sharply. "You have no clearance to enter."
Corgi didn't stop walking until he was nearly nose to nose with her, forcing her to lift her chin just slightly. "We're not here to sightsee," he replied, his reedy voice clipped. "There's been a report," he announced to no one in particular. "A tip that the Strawhat pirates have been seen inside the dock. We're here to verify."
Iceberg stepped in then, slow and deliberate, his hands behind his back, gaze lazy but unreadable. "And did your little report also mention barging into the private property of the Galley La Company without an appointment?"
Corgi frowned. "This concerns government security."
"It concerns my dock," Iceburg said, voice like steel wrapped in velvet. "And unless you're here to buy a ship, I'd suggest you take your investigation somewhere with less sawdust."
"We have reason to believe they're hiding here," Corgi insisted. "The Strawhat crew is dangerous. We won't leave without searching the premises."
"Then you'd best bring a warrant next time," Iceburg said calmly, shifting slightly to stand directly in front of Corgi's path. "You think pirates just walk into my dock for tea?"
Behind them, just out of the view, Luffy, Nami and Usopp stood frozen in the shadows of a half finished hull.
Luffy hadn't even registered the presence of the Marines when they entered. His Observation Haki had kept him focused on something deeper, the ache in his chest, the echo of Iceburg's words, the image of Merry slipping through his fingers.
But Nami had moved faster than any instinct he had drilled into her. Without a word, she reached up and knocked his strawhat backward, before proceeding to tug the hood of his jacket up and over his head, casting his face in soft shadow. Her fingers lingered only a second longer than necessary, but in that second, she made sure he didn't look like the boy on the wanted posters.
"Don't," Nami whispered to Luffy as they stood facing their backs to the marines.
Luffy blinked, startling out of his thoughts. His breath caught as he finally realized the situation they were in. Nami didn't even need to whisper her warning again, or clarify it. He understood. Now wasn't the time. Not with the Merry in jeopardy. Not with the Government this close.
His arm slackened, his rubbery grip loosening on the struggling Franky Family thugs still tangled in his grasp. They didn't even hesitate. Scrambling over one another like startled cats at the sight of the marines, the trio bolted into the open space of the dockyard, yelping threats as they ran.
"We'll pay you back!" "Eventually!" "Probably!"
They vanished behind timber stacks, slipping out of sight before any Marine could get a proper look.
Corgi blinked at the noise. "What was that?"
"Rats," Iceburg said flatly, not turning his head. "They show up now and then. Must be the smell of the marines drawing them out."
Corgi bristled. "You're interfering with a direct Marine investigation, Mr. Mayor."
"The shipyard's a very dangerous place, officer," Iceberg said smoothly. "I am just preventing some accidents from happening, you see."
Behind them, Nami tugged lightly at Luffy. "Come on," she breathed.
Luffy didn't nod. He just looked once, toward Iceberg, who hadn't spared them a glance, and turned. His hands drooped gently to Nami's shoulder. The other found fear-frozen-Usopp's sleeve and pulled him back from the light.
"Let's go home," he said softly, in a tired voice.