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Water 7,
Right before the crack of dawn, the straw hats could be seen celebrating with the Franky family. All of them were a lively bunch that enjoyed partying and with the Going Merry going back into its pristine condition, the crew could relax a bit.
Of course, Franky did warn the crew that the Going Merry wasn't meant for the grandline, and that it would get damaged from usage. He also suggested buying or making a new ship meant for the grandline. One that wouldn't strain the ship.
Everyone was now in the Franky house, the giant warehouse that housed all the members of Franky's group. Having a mixture of ship-related things and the cavernous interior was divided into sections, each meticulously organized with an array of shipwright tools, materials, and equipment. Stacks of lumber, coiled ropes, barrels of tar, and bins of nails lined the massive shelves that were scattered around the area.
The place was big, enough to fit a few ships inside, and situated near the open sea, so ships could be easily disassembled for their parts. After Franky checked the Going Merry, the group of bounty hunters and pirates decided to throw a small party to celebrate.
And Hatchan was the main man of the show, with his six-armed cooking skills that he had improved over the months, he was gaining a lot of attention from the food freaks of the Franky family. They valued him as a cook and the six-armed fishman really appreciated it.
Yosaku, Anchor, and Cricket were also there, doing their own thing. Mainly keeping themselves busy with either stupid challenges or stuffing their face.
However, Anchor did get multiple challenges by the Franky family for arm-wrestling matches. Which he won every time. Other than that, they were more or less relaxing. Still, the pirates were already missing Sky Island.
The environment and the atmosphere were just better up there. That was more suitable for relaxing. Water Seven on the other hand was more or less an urban city, so things were a bit different.
Aisa and Groot were also enjoying the party, they could be seen running around going from one place to another before going back on the Going Merry playing on the ship.
Nami was doing her own thing. As she was super busy with all the weather-related tech the Franky family had. Most of them were junk or scavenged from old ships, but some of them were quite interesting to her.
Especially a log pose that had three needles, a log pose that was meant for the second half of the grandline. For the Franky family, they were mostly junk, but for Nami she was very interested in those junk.
Gin on his end went out looking for Law as he hadn't returned yet. Luffy warned Gin, Usopp and Nami about possible CP9 members being here, so they weren't using transponder snails as their conversations might get eavesdropped on.
Usopp on his end was quite happy that they managed to fully get the ship fixed by a professional shipwright. Said shipwright was trying to make him drink and reveal his secrets to wealth.
It was funny in a way, cause the only one who was getting drunk was Franky. Usopp wasn't a drinker and when you join a crew whose captain is fully a health freak, you tend to avoid it. And besides Usopp had to keep his guard up, all the time. Water Seven was relatively dangerous with what Luffy had said so the last thing he wanted was to get drunk and in trouble.
So even though Usopp was on his fourteenth bottle he wouldn't be getting drunk any time soon. The sniper had many tricks up his sleeve and one way to not get drunk was not to drink. And he was doing just that, his powers were really useful in fooling people. In some ways, he made the right choice when choosing this fruit.
The same couldn't be said for Franky, as the cyborg was piss drunk. The cyborg wasn't used to drinking, so rather than Usopp revealing his secrets to Franky, the shipwright was confessing to the sniper instead.
"Ya know when I was wee-bit younger, I used to make ships for someone big, heh, I even worked with that Iceburg idiot. Our teacher was the greatest shipwright of all times, and my inventions were a lot cooler than that Ice-idiot." Franky mumbled under the loud music of the party.
Other than Usopp no one would usually be able to pick up on his words, and then again, who would listen to a drunk man's rumblings? Franky wasn't usually like this with other people. He usually kept most of his past to himself, but Franky found some comradery in Sogeking.
A man who wanted to be a brave warrior of the sea, and a man who also had a passion for building things. So Franky had a gut feeling that trusting him would be good, that's why he was a bit eased in telling him about stuff. Mainly since Usopp had brought up one day building a ship like Oro Jackson.
"Things happened, and I had an accident…" Franky said, like a drunk man who's reliving his sour memories, "I had to turn myself into a cyborg to survive… can ya believe it, Sogeking? A cyborg that runs on cola… isn't that SUPER cool?!"
"Cyborg? That's so cool?!" Usopp nodded solemnly, "But do you know what's even cooler? Cyborgs with capes…"
"Cyborgs with capes? Sogeking you are weird… But I do have to admit, a cape would be cool. No, SUPEEER!"
"Wait? Is that why you are so tough?"
"Heh, why else would I be?" Franky said before winching, "Oi, don't poke a needle in my ass! I turned myself into a cyborg, so I was only able to do the front part! My back parts are still human!!!"
"Huh, still cool!" Usopp said, while Franky rambled along, about his past. And Usopp just listened. If he was going to be a future crewmate, this might be screening of some sort.
It might be naive to think, but Franky was a good guy at heart. He, just like others in the crew, had a bad past. He had a big dream, and Usopp could see why Luffy wanted him on the crew.
"So, that's why I plan to make a ship that will sail to the ends of the world! Grandline and beyond!" Franky rambled completely drunk, "And you know what… Sogeking-san I got the perfect material for the ship! A whole trunk of Adam wood that's sitting right now in the auction island… the best wood in the world for the world's best ship!"
"You serious?" Usopp asked, leaning in, "That's awesome! I heard that Oro Jackson was made with the same wood? Is it true?
"Of course it is!" Franky grinned, before whispering, "Don't tell anyone I said this, but I heard the ship was built here, in water seven. But don't tell anyone that…"
Usopp nodded. "About the Adam Wood, isn't that usually a lot expensive?"
Franky sadly nodded sloping down on the counter, crying comically, "Yeah, it's 200 million berries… I don't think I will be able to buy it. That's a lot of money."
"That is a lot of money, alright… even we don't have that much," Usopp lied, scratching his chin thoughtfully, "But I might know a guy who might be able to buy it… he's even looking to make a ship. A big one… hmm…"
Franky grabbed Usopp/Sogeking, "What really? He needs a shipwright, right? I can make his ship? Who is he anyway? Please say he isn't a marine…"
Usopp pushed Franky off while holding his head, "Well he isn't a marine per say… but…" Usopp was about to persuade him to join his crew. Or at least the straw hats, but then something happened. He started feeling dizzy, "Eh, what's that smell?"
Franky also frowned at the smell, as he started getting dizzy, "I smell women…"
Usopp had a lot to say about that last statement, but he plopped to the counter table, along with Franky. Immediately falling asleep.
And it wasn't just them, everyone in the Franky Family house who were partying dropped to the floor one by one, almost falling into deep slumber.
"What is happening…" Anchor was the last one to say, before falling asleep like Cricket and Yosaku.
Even Nami was on the floor snoring like the rest. The same case was for Aisa.
"I am Groot?!" Only Groot was awake, and the young one was panicking, trying to shake Aisa awake. They were just playing on the Going Merry when suddenly everyone started falling asleep in the Franky house. Something was wrong, and Groot couldn't tell what.
Suddenly the warehouse door was kicked open, revealing the silhouette of four figures. All of them dressed in black suits as they walked in.