East Blue – Shipwright Island.
The air reeked of sawdust, oil, and broken dreams.
Jin stood in the dim workshop, dust swirling through golden sunlight that pierced the cracked windows. Behind him, massive planks of warped timber leaned against rusted metal frames. In front of him, an old man hunched over a set of blueprints like they were sacred scripture.
"I found it," the man muttered, eyes gleaming.
His name was Langatt — once a shipwright of renown, now a relic buried under debts and distrust. He passed the plans to Jin with trembling hands, like a priest offering his final prayer.
Jin took the parchment and skimmed it quickly. The lines were precise, meticulous. Measurements. Hull curvature. Mast design. A list of materials, most of which he vaguely recognized — teak, pine, sea-stone reinforcement plating…
But one name caught his eye.
"...What the hell is 'Bluesilk Wood'?" Jin asked.
Langatt straightened with a proud, almost smug expression. "You've heard of Adam Wood, right? The so-called pinnacle of shipbuilding?"
"Sure. Supposedly the strongest material known to man. Can tank a Buster Call."
Langatt smirked. "Bluesilk is stronger."
Jin raised an eyebrow.
Langatt's voice dropped as he began to pace. "My brother and I discovered it years ago. Back when we had a shipyard on the Grand Line. We were forced out—Navy requisitioned our island, claimed it was for 'strategic purposes.' Bullshit. On the way back to East Blue, we got captured. Pirates wanted warships. We built for them for three years, kept our heads low."
He stopped pacing and tapped the plans.
"But while working, we salvaged scrap. Slivers. Shavings. Used the leftovers to build a tiny submersible and escaped."
"And then?" Jin asked.
Langatt's eyes lit with something close to madness. "Then we found it — on an unmarked island, mid-tempest. A forest of trees like nothing we'd ever seen. Metallic bark. Deep blue grain. Stronger than anything we'd tested. Axes couldn't cut it. Saws couldn't bite. Took us a year just to figure out how to break it down."
He pulled out a small box and opened it. Inside lay a sliver of dark blue wood, polished to a shimmer. Jin tapped it — solid, like steel. No grain lines. It felt… alive.
"This wood," Langatt whispered, "doesn't die. Even when cut. Feed it seawater, it heals. Splinter it, and it regrows. Build a ship from it, and what you'll have is something no one else in the world does."
Jin stared at the sliver.
"A ship that can regenerate," he murmured. "A ship that never dies…"
Langatt nodded, voice trembling. "An immortal vessel. A ship of the sea itself."
Jin's fingers closed over the wood. His pulse thudded with a quiet, growing heat. A living ship… one that could cross oceans, take cannonfire, be reborn again and again.
He let the idea settle, then asked, "How much wood do you have?"
"Not enough for an entire warship," Langatt admitted. "But enough to build the frame and masts of an eighty-five-meter flagship. The rest will be normal materials, reinforced. But the heart of it? Bluesilk."
Jin folded the plans and tucked them under his arm. "And you're offering this why? What if I take your secret and run with it?"
Langatt chuckled, bitter and hollow. "You've seen this place. I tell people the truth, and they call me a fraud. My shipyard's falling apart. Even if I shouted the secret from the rooftops, no one would care. You're the only person who asked seriously."
Jin gave a small smile. "You're betting everything on one client."
Langatt looked him dead in the eye. "You're not a child. You walk like a killer and talk like a king. I think you're the real thing. That's enough."
Jin reached into his coat and pulled out a dark blue card — heavy, metallic. "One billion Berries," he said, sliding it across the workbench. "Password's 5418888. Take it. That's your deposit."
Langatt stared at the card like it was the Holy Grail. "You're not even going to haggle?"
"If that wood is real — if what you build is what you claim — then five billion is a steal."
Langatt opened a drawer, pulled out a wax-sealed envelope, and handed it over. "My life card. It'll lead you to me. Two years from now, bring the balance and claim your ship."
Jin tucked the envelope into his coat. "You'd better deliver."
Langatt nodded. "And you… had better survive long enough to return."
Jin's form flickered — then vanished into thin air.
Langatt stood there, stunned. He chuckled to himself. "That technique alone… yeah. He'll make it."
Later that day...
Jin stepped out of a blacksmith's workshop, expression twisted with mild irritation. The hammer echoes still rang behind him, but the answer was clear.
"Not even a decent slab of steel," he muttered. "I swear, when am I going to find the metal I need for my blade?"
His footsteps echoed along the cobblestone as he made his way toward the harbor.
No rush. I'll find it. But first...
He looked out over the waves. The salt wind stung his skin.
"Time to head back. Kuina's almost ten. Shimotsuki Village awaits."
Commercial freighter – deck.
Jin lounged in a weathered deck chair, arms folded behind his head, eyes closed but mind buzzing. The sun was warm, the wind calm — but his thoughts were racing.
If Bluesilk lives up to its legend… then I'll own something no warlord, no Marine, no pirate can match. A living ship. My home. My weapon. My sanctuary.
In this world, the sea covered eight-tenths of the map. The one who controlled the sea… ruled the rhythm of life itself.
"A ship like that," he whispered, "isn't just a vessel. It's a kingdom."
His fingers tapped the armrest, thoughts still racing.
"Two years… I can wait. Just don't let me down, Langatt."
Because Jin hated disappointment.
Especially when it came to things that were supposed to last forever.
This story is inspired from various fanfics i have read from around the world so if you find any similarities please dont mind . Thank you
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T/N :
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