A scarred frog, swimming freely, broke the surface of the water and swam determinedly in one direction.
Behind it, the Going Merry followed closely!
"By the way, why are we following a frog?" Zoro asked, leaning against the mast with his three swords.
"Don't you think this frog is interesting?" Luffy countered.
Everyone: "..."
Although speechless, the captain's orders were absolute, so the ship continued to sail straight ahead!
"Stop!" Luffy suddenly blurted out!
It turned out that a buoy had appeared on the sea ahead, and at the same time, a traffic light was stuck in the water not far away! At this moment, it was a red light, buzzing continuously.
"What is this?" Usopp wondered.
Suddenly, a "ding-ding-ding!" sound came!
Then everyone saw a train steaming across the sea!
"Hey, what is that?"
"Is it a ship?"
"How can such a large iron block sail on the sea?"
Everyone instantly became like frogs in a well. Luffy was a bit helpless and tired. He simply didn't bother with it, as there would be an NPC to explain anyway!
Then, everyone saw the frog "valiantly" blocking the train, and it was undoubtedly sent flying!
"There seems to be a station over there! Let's go take a look!" Nami decided.
So, the pirate ship approached the station.
A little girl came out and, seeing the Straw Hat Jolly Roger on the ship, shouted, "Pirates, Granny, it's pirates!"
"What? Really? Chimney!" A drunken old woman ran out and, looking at the Straw Hats, said, "Alright, get the Den Den Mushi!"
Everyone instantly became alert!
"Ha, hey! That... what was I going to say... I forgot!" The old woman seemed to have become senile!
"She's drunk!"
...Subsequently, the atmosphere changed, and the NPCs began to introduce themselves.
The little girl was named Chimney, a small cat that looked like a rabbit but was actually called "Gonbe," and the drunken Kokoro.
After a period of conversation, the Straw Hats headed towards Water 7!
...The calm sea was a magnificent and colorful painting.
The sun rose from the horizon, dyeing the sea a faint golden hue. The sea was like a giant mirror, reflecting the azure sky, sparkling with light. A gentle breeze swept across, and the sunlight danced on the water, as if millions of brilliant gems were twinkling.
Luffy sat on the deck and gathered his crew.
"Everyone, listen up, I have an idea! First, we need to repair the Merry. Although we tried our best to protect her, she still suffered a lot of damage!"
"Mhm, mhm!" Everyone agreed.
"Then, we need to find a shipwright to join us. We'll find one right here in Water 7!"
"Are we getting a new nakama?" Chopper was very excited.
"It's not certain if they'll join our pirate crew yet, is it?" Zoro cautioned against being too happy too soon.
"Finally, we need to get a new ship!"
"Huh?" Everyone was dumbfounded.
"Hey, Luffy! Do you know what you're saying?" Usopp glared angrily at Luffy!
"Alright, I didn't say we're getting rid of the Merry! But the journey ahead is too dangerous!"
So I plan to build a big ship and then put the Merry in its hold, making her our backup ship!" Luffy quickly explained, telling Usopp that he was overthinking things!
"Listen carefully, I will never abandon any of my nakama!"
"Luffy!!" Usopp was so moved that tears streamed down his face as he rushed towards Luffy, only to be kicked away!
But Usopp didn't mind, he hugged the Going Merry's mast tightly, "Merry, don't worry! We will definitely fix you!"
"Thank you... everyone!" An ethereal voice came from the ship.
Everyone smiled.
Luffy looked at the silhouette of Water 7 and said with a smile, "What do you mean 'thank you'! We are... nakama!"
..."Speaking of which, it's a good thing we came to that station first, so now we just need to find someone named Iceberg in Water 7!" Nami took out the map provided by Kokoro. With just one glance, she froze instantly and slammed the map down, "Can anyone even understand this thing? It's as bad as Luffy's drawings!"
Map (image)
Soon, everyone saw the magnificent city of Water 7!
Its overall shape resembled a fountain, with streams of water gushing out. There were several gutters within the walls, with water flowing continuously, and the entire city was surrounded by water (image).
"So beautiful!" Everyone exclaimed, this time even Luffy was no exception.
The ship slowly approached Water 7. Suddenly, someone on a small boat on the sea waved and shouted, "It's not good for pirates to enter the city openly, it creates a bad impression. You'd better go around to the back street!"
"Yes, thank you!"
The ship went around to the back street!
Here, the streets were replaced by canals, much like the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan!
Soon, a restaurant owner who was cleaning shouted at Luffy and his crew, "No pirate ships allowed here! What are you doing? Robbing us?"
"No, we're here to repair our ship!" Nami retorted.
Subsequently, guided by the owner, the ship arrived at a secluded cape.
Sails down! Anchor dropped!
"By the way, why aren't the people on the island afraid of pirates?" Nami wondered.
"To a shipyard, pirates are also customers, I suppose!" Zoro said calmly.
"Or perhaps, even if pirates cause trouble, there are bodyguards who can deal with them!" Robin smiled.
"Bodyguards... who can deal with them?" Nami looked at Luffy, who was playing with Usopp.
"Let's go! Luffy, Usopp! We're going to exchange money, repair the ship, and also build a new one!" Nami called out to the two.
"Alright!" Luffy and Usopp saluted.
"First, let's get the gold out!" Nami rubbed her forehead.
Soon, everyone set off!
"Now I don't have a chance to go out with them!" Chopper leaned against the railing, looking dejected.
"Let's go out together later!" It was clear that Robin was very fond of Chopper.
"Really? Will there be bookstores?" Chopper was very excited!
...Soon, the trio arrived in front of a wooden house.
"Bull Rental!" Nami read the plaque on the wooden house.
"Then let's go rent a few Bulls!" Luffy walked in, dragging a large bag.
"Aren't you going to ask what those are first?" Nami, dragging a slightly smaller bag, rushed in!
In the small house, an uncle was reading a newspaper, "Welcome, do you want to rent a Bull? Bulls are...!"
"Okay, three of them!" Luffy held up three fingers.
Soon, three Bulls were brought before the trio.
"That'll be three thousand Berries in total!" The owner chuckled, then looked at the increasingly large sacks behind the trio and casually asked, "What's in these bags?"
Luffy smiled slightly, "Gold!"
"You're so funny, it doesn't matter either way!" The owner clearly didn't believe him, and then his eyes were blinded by a golden flash. It turned out Luffy had opened the bag!
"Can I have it?"
"Who would give it to you!"
"The Bulls will be 5 million Berries in total!"
"The price went up, uncle!"
In the end, 3000 Berries were handed to the uncle! The group received a tourist map.
Riding the Bulls, they prepared to head to the center of Shipwright Island.
The three played rollercoaster on the steep slope.
"Woah!" That was Luffy's voice.
"Ahhh!" Those were the voices of the other two.
Finally, they fell directly into the commercial street from the rooftop, which was a shortcut after all.
Luffy walked leisurely through the commercial street, one hand holding a Water Water Meat, the other leading a Bull by its rope.
Meanwhile, at the shipyard, a pirate crew was causing trouble!
"Although we asked you to repair our ship, the price is too high!" A masked man was provoking them, clearly not wanting to pay.
But in the next second, the shipyard workers took action. In an instant, they defeated all the pirates.
"On a craftsman's territory, there's no reason to let pirates run rampant, right!"
...On the Going Merry.
"What?! Robin left!" — Sanji
"Yeah, she went shopping with Chopper!" — Zoro
"So, it's just you on the ship!" Sanji scratched his head frantically, "What a boring free time!"
"I agree!" Zoro closed his eyes.
"Then I'm going out to buy things too! Marimo, watch the ship!" Sanji decided to leave.
"Whatever!" Zoro began to snore.
...Meanwhile, the group also arrived at the bank in the center of Shipwright Island...