He turned to Iceburg and shouted loudly, "Iceburg! Say something already! What's going on here? Who are these people?!"
Iceburg slowly walked up to Franky and pointed at Luffy.
"Just like I wrote in the letter. Franky… if you still want to realize that dream you buried deep in your heart—"
"If you still want to personally crush the scum who caused Master Tom's death, then joining them is our only chance."
"What kind of joke is that?!"
Franky roared in disbelief. "I'm living freely here in Water Seven! Why should I join some pirate crew?!"
"And why would they help us get revenge?!"
"Because they…" Iceburg paused, his voice turning deep and firm, "are a pirate crew with a total bounty of 3.129 billion Berries!"
"3.129… billion?!"
The moment that number left Iceburg's mouth, Franky felt like he'd been struck by lightning.
He froze on the spot.
As the leader of the Franky Family, someone who navigated both the underworld and bounty hunting, he knew exactly what that number meant.
In the first half of the Grand Line, tens of millions were already elite. Over a hundred million was rare.
But 3.1 billion…
That was a number that could keep Marine Headquarters awake at night. A level that made even the World Government uneasy.
He slowly raised his head, looking at Luffy, who was grinning foolishly, then at Ronan, whose expression was cold and composed.
"With a bounty like that… what did you do? Attack Marine Headquarters or something?"
Ronan stepped forward, his spear resting diagonally at his side.
"Iceburg is absolutely right."
His voice was calm but heavy.
"We can take you to Enies Lobby… and destroy Spandam—along with the entire island."
"Destroy… Enies Lobby? Kill Spandam?"
Franky shouted, completely stunned.
"Not just that."
A faint, mysterious smile appeared on Ronan's lips.
"Iceburg mentioned your dream—to build a dream ship. Our Going Merry can make that dream come true."
"Our ship has eaten the Munch-Munch Fruit. It can evolve."
"There's only one ship like it in the entire sea."
"But what it lacks… is a shipwright capable of guiding its evolution into the strongest pirate ship."
"A ship that ate a Devil Fruit… that can evolve?"
Franky felt his mind spinning.
As Tom's disciple, he had spent his life chasing the pinnacle of shipbuilding.
But a ship that could devour and evolve like a living being?
That was beyond anything he had ever imagined.
"Is that true, Straw Hat?!" Franky turned sharply to Luffy, his voice trembling.
"Of course it's true! Merry is one of our most important crewmates!"
Luffy grinned, adjusting his straw hat.
"So, wanna join us and make it super strong?"
Franky froze.
Then—
"SUPER——!!!"
He suddenly struck an exaggerated pose, his massive mechanical arms clapping together above his head with a thunderous boom.
"If I don't join a crazy plan like this, it'd be an insult to the word 'pervert' itself!"
"I'm in! I'm going to leave my mark on that Devil Fruit ship with my own hands!"
The moment Franky agreed, Dock One transformed into a high-speed operation.
Iceburg didn't hesitate. He ordered all top-tier materials in the dock to be mobilized.
Shipwrights rushed back and forth, operating cranes and carts, transporting piles of premium timber and high-grade alloys toward the harbor.
Then—
An astonishing scene unfolded.
The moment those heavy materials touched the ship's hull, they sank into it like mud, wrapped in layers of dark golden patterns.
A deep creaking sound echoed from within the ship—
Like a giant beast devouring its meal.
The materials weren't being attached.
They were being assimilated.
"Whoa!! This is insane!"
Franky's eyes turned red with excitement as he watched.
"It's not assembling—it's breathing! It's turning these materials into its own flesh and blood!"
Later, aboard the Merry, after working nonstop, Franky suddenly paused.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he frowned at the large amount of gold still embedded in the hull and turned to Ronan.
"Hey, Ronan. Gold looks flashy, but it's too soft for structural defense."
"Even if the Merry can assimilate it, I'll need to strip it all out."
"Where did you even get this much gold? It's SUPER rich, sure—but shipbuilding isn't about precious metals."
"Not 'you'," Ronan said, stepping beside him and patting his shoulder.
"Franky, from now on—it's 'we.'"
"This gold isn't decoration. It's a foundation."
"If gold isn't strong enough, we'll trade it on the black market for the best material in the world—Treasure Tree Adam."
"Treasure Tree… Adam?"
Franky's breathing stopped.
That was the legendary wood of shipbuilding—the material he had dreamed of buying his entire life.
His eyes began to glisten.
The feeling of a dream finally within reach was overwhelming.
"Treasure Tree Adam… the strongest pirate ship… damn it… this is too moving!!"
The next morning—
As the first rays of sunlight filtered through Water Seven's layered waterways and illuminated Dock One—
A completely transformed ship stood before them.
The once golden Merry had shed its flashy exterior.
Now, it bore a deep, refined brown wood texture, its size nearly doubled.
"For now, this level will do."
Ronan stood at the shore, running his fingers across the hardened wooden armor.
"When we return from Enies Lobby and obtain Treasure Tree Adam… we'll let it undergo its final evolution."
"SUPER——!!!"
Franky, wearing his signature Hawaiian shirt, struck a flamboyant pose, muscles gleaming in the sunlight.
"It now has my dock system installed!"
"A pirate ship that can grow and evolve—this is truly a dream ship!"
"In that case…"
Luffy leapt up, landing firmly on the sheep figurehead.
"Let's go!! We're gonna smash that bastard who threatened us—and blow that island away!!"
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