Luffy and his two companions were ushered into the VIP room with their gold and sat on a soft sofa!
"It's so comfortable! Is there water in the cushions too?" Usopp happily bounced on the sofa.
Meanwhile, the appraiser next to them was carefully examining the gold piled on the table with a magnifying glass, his eyes wide.
Then, he calmly stated, "I have 25 years of appraisal experience. I roughly estimate this gold is worth 500 million Berries!"
"500 million Berries!" Usopp's face turned red as he vigorously shook Luffy's shoulder.
"500 million Berries?" Nami's expression darkened, and she elbowed Luffy.
Subsequently, a raging Conqueror's Haki made its impactful appearance, with Luffy deliberately controlling its intensity.
"Did you just say 500 million Berries?"
At this moment, the appraiser's mind seemed to have suffered a great shock, his face abnormally pale.
In the appraiser's eyes, the seemingly easy-to-handle teenager had instantly transformed into a devil!
He swallowed hard and stammered, "No, you heard wrong! Not 500 million, but... 1.5 billion Berries!"
Seeing the system panel's valuation of 1.2 billion, Luffy withdrew his aura.
Soon, 15 suitcases appeared in the VIP room, each filled with colorful banknotes!
Luffy stored 13 of them in his system space, leaving only 200 million Berries, which he planned to use for repairing and improving the Going Merry.
Finally, Luffy and Nami walked ahead, shoulder to shoulder, while Usopp, beaming with joy, carried the money and trotted along behind them.
In the VIP room, only the appraiser and manager, who had survived the ordeal, remained.
The trio then headed to the shipyard, while on the eaves not far behind them, a group of people stared intently at the box in Usopp's hand.
Soon, the three arrived at Dock 1, where a large number '1' was written on a big gate.
Then, a quadrilateral-nosed man approached them. "Dock visits are not allowed. Is there something you need at Dock 1?"
"Yes, we were introduced to Mr. Iceberg and would like him to repair our ship and also build a new one!" Nami smiled as she handed over a letter of recommendation.
"A letter of introduction from Kokoro-baba? But Mr. Iceberg is a very busy man. You want to repair a ship, right? Tell me the ship's location, and I'll go take a look for you!" Kaku said, holding the recommendation letter and pondering for a moment.
"It's at the cape with many rocks," Usopp replied.
Then, a cloud of dust flew up as Kaku leaped out, soaring freely through the skies of Water 7, enjoying the free wind.
Looking down at the bustling city, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
Meanwhile, on the other side, a group of people dressed in black with red five-pointed stars on their chests.
They boarded the Going Merry with sharp blades in hand, but the next second, a strong gust of wind howled, and the black-clad figures instantly fell into the water!
"Annoying guys!" Zoro's right eye opened slightly, then closed again.
In the commercial district of Water 7,
Robin and Chopper walked along the bustling street, observing the crowds of people, most of whom wore strange masks.
Then, Robin spotted a signboard with a book drawn on it and pointed, "Doctor, look, there's a bookstore there!"
Chopper's eyes lit up, and he flashed to the bookstore. "Great! Can I go in for a bit?"
"Of course!" Robin happily walked over. Suddenly, a masked man flashed past her, and then, "I am CP9!"
Robin froze, her eyes widening.
Soon, Kaku arrived on the Going Merry!
Zoro, who was sleeping, slowly opened one eye. "What, it's Usopp!"
Kaku, meanwhile, was inspecting the Going Merry. "I see. Although the exterior is somewhat damaged, it's quite simple to repair!"
The next moment, Sandai Kitetsu was held at Kaku's neck.
"Who are you!"
"I am... the shipyard foreman, here to inspect the ship!"
Kaku broke out in a cold sweat. 'What's going on? I actually... didn't notice anything!'
At the shipyard,
Iceberg had canceled all his work for the day, and with nothing to do, he planned to give Luffy and his two companions a tour of the shipyard.
Suddenly, Usopp realized that the 200 million Berries beside him were gone!
"Where's the money? Where's the money?" In his haste, Usopp immediately activated his recently awakened Observation Haki, instantly covering an area of several hundred meters around him, as if he had gained a god's-eye view!
"There!" Usopp saw two Franky Family bounty hunters moving on the river in a bull and excitedly shouted, "Who are you guys? Why are you stealing other people's money for no reason!"
Then he excitedly chased after them!
This scene instantly alerted Nami and the dock workers.
"Hey, Luffy?" Nami elbowed Luffy, a little confused.
"Do you need our help?" A seemingly aloof man stood in front of Luffy, but it was the bird that spoke.
"No need. Our own affairs should be handled by our own people!" Luffy waved his hand, indicating there was no need to worry.
Could two thieves steal money right in front of a vice-captain? Clearly, Luffy was doing this on purpose!
After a journey, Usopp had grown a lot, and this time, Luffy was using Franky as a touchstone for Usopp.
Seeing Luffy so calm, Nami put her worries aside, and Lucci also stopped speaking.
"What organization are those people who openly steal money from?" Although Nami was no longer worried, she still had to ask.
"They belong to the Franky Family. They work on ship dismantling, and their side business is bounty hunting.
As soon as they see pirates entering this city, they will steal their money and even dismantle their pirate ships to sell the raw materials!" Kalifa pushed up her glasses. "After all, pirates are not protected by law!"
Meanwhile, Usopp arrived on a rooftop, looking with anger at the Franky Family's house not far away.
Inside the Franky Family's house, a joyous atmosphere filled the air.
"Oh! Is it 200 million?" Franky asked in surprise.
"It's 200 million!"
"Amazing, you little guys are incredible!" Franky tapped the 200 million Berries with his hand, then full of anticipation, "With this 200 million, we can get that longed-for item!"
"That's great, big brother! Although it was just that one thing we needed, it took three hard years, that's so long!" A subordinate exclaimed.
"No choice, after all, as soon as we got a little money, we gambled it all on the Bull. After dealing with bounty criminals, we used it all for feasting, and we could never gather the necessary 200 million!" Another subordinate explained the reason.
"Alright, then take this 5 million Berries and go feast! Hahahahaha!" Franky tossed the banknotes in his hand into the air!
Just as the fervent atmosphere reached its peak,
"Bang—bang—bang!"
A series of explosion sounds rang out, and the Franky Family's house caught fire! And the explosions continued!
"Damn it, who is it!" Franky and his subordinates rushed out the door, and in that instant, the Franky Family's house behind them collapsed with a roar, leaving only a lingering fire burning.
"Damn it!" Franky's clothes were charred by the fire. From a distance, he saw the culprit on the rooftop—Usopp, holding a slingshot!
Two gazes filled with equal hatred and anger clashed. Usopp launched the first attack, and streaks of Firebird Stars exploded among the crowd, causing countless injuries but no deaths.
Franky, on the other hand, charged fiercely towards Usopp, ignoring the Firebird Stars that hit him!
Soon, Franky approached Usopp, his arms pressed tightly together, and his arms instantly expanded. "Coup de Vent!"
The explosive wind rushed towards Usopp, but he was prepared and instantly jumped to another rooftop, while the tiles in his original spot were blown away!
Usopp countered with a "Firebird Star," but embarrassingly, it didn't pierce Franky's defense.
Thus, the situation instantly reversed. Usopp's attacks were almost useless against Franky. Usopp's Observation Haki made him hit every shot and predict the future, but Franky couldn't be avoided forever!
Of course, neither of them realized they were being watched! In fact, the entire city of Water 7 was enveloped in Luffy's Observation Haki!
Luffy remained silent, merely observing the battle.
"Ding, mission issued: Partner Trial."
"Host's strength is too overpowered, causing crew members to lack training. To enhance crew strength, please do not attack any CP9 member."
"Reward: All crew members' aptitudes and comprehension will be increased by 100% (can be issued in advance. If the host violates this, the reward will be revoked. If all CP9 members are defeated, the reward will be permanently issued)."
Seeing the system mission, Luffy unhesitatingly chose to accept it. It was a complete welfare, and even if he had to intervene later, the temporary reward was worth it.
"Ding, host has accepted the mission. Reward is being pre-issued...!"
Immediately, no matter where they were, all the Straw Hat Pirates felt a surge of power flowing into their bodies.
It didn't directly enhance any specific strength but rather cleansed their minds and bones!
It was like a struggling student suddenly awakening a root of wisdom; problems they couldn't solve before were now incredibly simple, and they could even extrapolate from them!
After all, if a person's intelligence were doubled, even the dullest person could become a genius!
Of course, it wasn't that exaggerated, but it was definitely not to be underestimated!
Then, Luffy slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again and looked at his arm, his arm seemed to have changed!
"Iron Fist - Proto-Form of Intent!"