The streets of Water 7 were unusually loud.
Not with laughter or music—but with tension.
Voices overlapped, rising and falling in uneven waves. Whispers spread through the narrow stone streets like ripples across a canal, drawing more and more people toward the same point.
Luffy and Nami slowed as they turned a corner.
A crowd.
Dozens of people had gathered in a loose circle. Some stood with arms crossed, others pressed hands to their mouths. A few shook their heads quietly, while others muttered in low, uneasy tones.
"…What's going on?" Nami muttered, her grip tightening on her staff.
Luffy frowned and pushed forward instinctively. "Excuse me—sorry—let us through—"
People turned as he passed, eyes flicking from his straw hat to his face. Someone whispered his name. Another stepped aside without protest.
Then Luffy saw him.
Usopp lay sprawled on the cold stone at the center of the circle.
His goggles were cracked clean through the lens. His nose was swollen, his lips split, one eye nearly shut. Blood streaked down his cheek, dark against his skin, mixing with tears that wouldn't stop falling no matter how hard he tried to blink them away.
His chest rose and fell unevenly, every breath shallow and painful.
The world seemed to go silent.
"…Usopp…" Nami whispered, horror creeping into her voice.
Luffy stopped dead.
For a second—just one—he couldn't move.
Usopp shifted weakly when he heard their voices. His fingers twitched against the stone as he forced himself to lift his head.
"Luffy… Nami…"
His voice cracked, barely louder than the wind brushing past the canals.
"I'm… I'm so sorry…"
Luffy dropped to his knees beside him so fast his palms scraped the ground.
"Usopp—hey—don't talk," he said, hands hovering, unsure where to touch without hurting him. "What happened?!"
Usopp swallowed hard, his shoulders shaking.
"I couldn't… protect it…" he sobbed. "The money… the money to fix the Merry… I lost it…"
Nami's breath hitched.
She fell to her knees beside them, gripping Usopp's shoulders carefully, afraid he might break.
"Forget the money!" she snapped, her voice trembling despite her anger. "Are you insane?! That doesn't matter at all!"
Usopp shook his head weakly.
"It does…" he whispered. "That was for her… for the Merry…"
His fists clenched against the stone, knuckles white as his tears dripped between his fingers.
"I tried," he cried. "I fought them… I really did… but there were too many…"
Luffy's hands tightened.
His jaw locked, teeth grinding as his eyes traced every bruise, every scrape, every place Usopp had been struck.
"…Who did this to you?" he asked quietly.
The tone made several people in the crowd flinch.
A man near the edge of the circle hesitated, then spoke up.
"It was the Franky Family," he said. "They ambushed him in one of the back streets."
Another voice joined in.
"He was yelling their names the whole time."
"Telling them to give the money back."
A woman shook her head.
"He wouldn't let go of that bag… not until they beat him senseless."
Nami's eyes widened. "…Usopp…"
Luffy stood slowly.
Something dark flickered behind his eyes—brief, controlled, but unmistakable.
He crouched again and gently slid an arm under Usopp's back and knees, lifting him with care.
Usopp winced but didn't protest.
"I'm sorry," he murmured again, weakly gripping Luffy's vest. "I really am…"
Luffy adjusted his hold, firm and steady.
"Don't apologize," he said simply.
He turned toward the crowd.
"We're going back to the ship," he said, voice calm but iron-hard. "Now."
No one tried to stop him.
People stepped aside wordlessly, making space as Luffy walked through the circle with Usopp in his arms. Nami followed close behind, her expression tight with fury and fear.
As they passed, whispers trailed after them.
"That's Straw Hat Luffy…"
"He didn't even hesitate…"
"…That poor kid…"
The crowd slowly dispersed.
But the weight of what had happened stayed behind—heavy, unspoken, and dangerous.
And somewhere in Water Seven—
The consequences were only just beginning.
—————————
The Going Merry creaked softly as waves lapped against her hull.
Sanji leaned against the railing, cigarette halfway to his lips, exhaling lazily—
Then he saw them.
"…Oi."
The cigarette slipped from his fingers.
Zoro straightened instantly, one hand already drifting toward his swords.
Chopper froze mid-step.
"…Usopp?"
Luffy approached without a word, his arms steady as he carried their crewmate aboard. Usopp's head lolled slightly, goggles cracked, face bruised beyond recognition.
Chopper screamed. "USOPP—!!"
He rushed forward, hands already glowing with frantic purpose.
Luffy lowered Usopp gently onto the deck.
Usopp hissed in pain.
Chopper was shaking as he checked him over.
"Broken ribs… bruising everywhere… internal bleeding—why didn't you tell me it was this bad?!"
Usopp tried to smile weakly. "Heh… sorry, doc…"
Chopper nearly cried. "DON'T APOLOGIZE!!"
He spun into action, tearing open his medical bag, wrapping bandages, administering medicine with trembling hands. His small hooves moved with desperate precision.
Sanji's jaw tightened as he watched.
"What happened?" he demanded, voice low and dangerous. "Who did this?"
Nami stood stiffly beside Luffy, fists clenched so hard her nails bit into her palms.
"The Franky Family," she said.
The name dropped like a weight.
The wind seemed to stop.
Zoro's fingers curled around the hilt of Wado Ichimonji. "…Then we pay them a visit."
Chopper looked up sharply. "Y-You can't just—!"
Luffy stood.
No grin.
No jokes.
Just resolve.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "Let's beat them up."
—————————
The Franky Family base loomed over the canal district like a fortress of scrap metal and concrete.
Lights flickered inside.
Laughter echoed.
They never saw it coming.
The doors exploded inward.
"WHAT THE—?!"
Zoro was first through, blades flashing.
Walls cracked as bodies flew.
Sanji kicked a man clean through a steel beam.
"Don't blink," he snarled. "You might miss your teeth."
Nami's staff cracked against skulls with precise fury.
"This is for Usopp!"
Chopper—eyes blazing—charged in Monster Point's shadow, roaring with raw anger.
"You hurt my friend!!"
Usopp's scream echoed in their minds as they tore through the base.
Men begged.
Men fled.
Men fell.
Without Franky there to rein them in, the Family collapsed into chaos.
Luffy smashed through the central hall like a storm. "WHERE'S THE MONEY FOR MERRY?!"
No one answered fast enough.
The floor caved in.
When it was over, the base was silent.
Broken beams.
Crushed walls.
Groaning bodies scattered like debris after a flood.
The Straw Hats stood amid the wreckage, breathing hard.
One man still stood—barely.
Zambai.
Blood ran down his face as he leaned against a twisted railing, teeth clenched in rage.
"…You idiots," he spat. "You think this ends here?"
He glared at Luffy. "When Franky gets back—he won't let this go. When he returns… all of you are dead."
Luffy turned slowly.
His expression was calm.
Cold.
"Bring it," he said.
Zambai stiffened.
Luffy stepped closer, eyes burning.
"You hurt my friend," he continued. "You hurt my crewmate."
His voice didn't rise.
It didn't need to.
"And I won't forgive that so easily."
Zambai swallowed.
Sanji exhaled smoke beside Luffy. "…Guess you picked the wrong pirates."
Zoro sheathed his swords. "Tch. That should teach them"
The Straw Hats turned away, leaving the shattered base behind.
But no one felt satisfied.
Because when they returned to the Merry—
Usopp still lay injured.
And something far more fragile than money had already begun to crack.
———————————-
Night had settled over Water 7, lantern light reflecting off the canals like fractured stars.
The Going Merry creaked softly at her moorings, every groan of wood sounding louder than it should have.
Usopp sat near the mast, wrapped in layers of bandages Chopper had hurriedly tied around him. His goggles rested in his lap, cracked lenses staring back at him like broken eyes.
He didn't look at anyone.
Chopper hovered close, adjusting a bandage with trembling hooves. "Y–You shouldn't move too much… your ribs are still bruised…"
Usopp nodded stiffly, not trusting his voice.
Sanji leaned against the railing, cigarette burning low. Zoro sat cross-legged nearby, arms folded, unusually quiet. Nami stood near the helm, fingers gripping the rail so tightly her knuckles were white.
The silence dragged.
Then Sanji exhaled smoke.
"…So," he said carefully, "what did Iceberg say?"
Usopp flinched.
Luffy, sitting on a crate across from him, lifted his head. "…He said the Merry can't sail anymore."
The words fell heavy.
Usopp's head snapped up. "…What?"
Nami swallowed.
"The keel is broken," she said softly. "No matter how much money we have… she can't be fixed."
For a second, Usopp didn't react.
Then his breathing quickened.
"…So that's it?" he snapped suddenly, forcing himself to stand despite the pain.
"You believe what those random strangers told you?"
Luffy looked at him sharply.
"They're just shipwrights," Usopp continued, voice rising. "They don't know the Merry like we do. She's our nakama."
The word echoed across the deck.
"She carried us through storms," Usopp said, eyes burning. "She saved us!—at Reverse Mountain—everywhere! And you're just gonna listen to some guy we just met and decide she's done?!"
"Usopp!" Luffy snapped.
The deck went dead silent.
Luffy stepped forward, fists clenched so tight his hands shook.
"They're shipwrights!" he shouted. "This is their whole life! They know ships. They know what they're talking about!"
Usopp shook his head violently.
"No," he said hoarsely. "You just don't want to try anymore."
That one cut deep.
Luffy froze.
"I did try!" he shot back. "I asked. I listened. I didn't want to hear it either!"
He took a breath, forcing the words out.
"But pretending she's fine won't save her."
Usopp laughed bitterly.
"So you're choosing them," he whispered. "Over her."
Luffy's jaw clenched. "I'm choosing what won't break her anymore!"
For a second, Usopp didn't breathe.
The words hung between them—heavy, irreversible.
And for the first time since they'd met—
Usopp looked at his captain like he didn't recognize him at all.
Then his chest started rising too fast.
"…So that's it?" he said, voice trembling. "You're just—giving up?"
Nami took a step forward. "Usopp, please—"
"No!" Usopp shouted, pain breaking through. "You're saying this because I lost the money, aren't you?!"
Sanji's cigarette snapped between his fingers. "That's not—"
Luffy stood.
"It's not about the money!" he snapped back.
Usopp's fists clenched against his bandages.
"Then why?!" he yelled. "Why are you abandoning her?!"
The word abandoning hung in the air like a blade.
Luffy's jaw tightened. "I'm not abandoning her!"
His voice echoed across the deck.
He took a sharp breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"Iceberg told us something," he said."'Would you force a horse to keep running… even if its back was broken?'"
Usopp shook his head violently.
"That's not the same!" he cried. "She's a ship! She's not alive!"
Zoro finally spoke, low. "…She carried us here."
Usopp spun on him. "Then why aren't you fighting for her?!"
Luffy stepped forward.
"It is the same," he said firmly. "She's done everything for us. She crossed storms, survived cannon fire, flew through the sky."
His voice cracked for just a moment. "I won't make her suffer anymore."
Silence swallowed the deck.
Only the water moved.
Then Luffy's voice softened. "We'll buy a new ship."
Usopp flinched.
"But that doesn't mean we forget the Merry," Luffy continued. "We'll take her wood. Build her into the next ship."
He looked straight at Usopp.
"She'll still be with us."
Usopp's shoulders shook.
Tears slipped down his bruised face, dripping onto the deck.
"…You promise?" he whispered.
Luffy nodded without hesitation.
"I swear."
For a brief moment, the tension eased.
Nami let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.
Chopper sniffed, wiping his eyes.
"…Luffy…Ussop"
Usopp lowered his head, breathing slowing.
Then—
"…Where's Robin?"
The question cut through the air.
Everyone froze.
Nami's heart skipped.
"…She was here earlier," she said, scanning the deck.
Sanji frowned. "She didn't come back with you?"
Zoro stood. "She left earlier. Said she needed to grab some books."
Chopper swallowed hard. "…Then where is she?"
The water lapped gently against the hull.
Too gently.
The lanterns flickered.
Somewhere in the city, gears turned.
Plans moved.
And without realizing it—
The Straw Hats had lost more than money.
They had lost one of their own.
————————
Author's Note
Hey guys! First of all, Merry Christmas!
I hope you all had a fun and meaningful holiday with your loved ones.
Thank you so much for sticking with this story and for all the support you've shown so far. It honestly means a lot. The Water Seven arc is just getting started, and for the next few chapters… I've got a little surprise planned so stay tuned.
As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you continue enjoying the journey with the crew!