Chapter 177: The Golden Thousand Sunny! The Underwear Operation and the Shipwright's Tears
Early morning in Water 7, the sea breeze carried a hint of saltiness and freshness.
Surrounded by the underlings of the Franky Family, the Straw Hat crew arrived at Scrap Island in a grand procession.
This place was once an abandoned coast piled high with maritime junk.
But at this moment, all the scrap metal had been cleared away completely.
In the very center of the coast stood a behemoth covered by a massive white curtain.
Iceburg stood before the curtain, his face wearing an undisguisable mix of pride and exhaustion—
This was the miracle he and the top-tier foremen of Galley-La had worked on tirelessly through the night.
"Sorry for the wait, Straw Hat."
Iceburg looked at Luffy, whose eyes were full of anticipation. A smile curled at the corner of his mouth as his large hand suddenly pulled down the thick rope controlling the curtain:
"This is your five hundred million Berries.
"The dream ship built for you by the collaboration of our Galley-La Company and Franky!"
Whoosh————!!!
The massive white curtain slid down like a waterfall under the brilliant morning sun.
A giant pirate ship, radiating unparalleled vitality, was revealed unreservedly before everyone.
It was a brigantine-rigged sloop several times larger than the going merry.
The figurehead was a giant lion's head that seemed to be roaring into the rising sun.
On the deck, a layer of lush green real grass was actually laid out, and there were even a few tangerine trees planted.
"Waaaaah!!!!"
Luffy's eyes instantly turned into shining stars like searchlights, and drool flowed uncontrollably:
"So cool!!! It's too cool!!!!"
"Is this our new ship?! There's a lion! There's grass!!"
Luffy was so excited he was jumping up and down like a monkey.
Usopp and Chopper also hugged each other, shouting and screaming in excitement.
Even Sanji and Zoro had looks of deep amazement flashing in their eyes.
"It's simply a perfect masterpiece," Nami said, covering her mouth.
Iceburg looked at this masterpiece into which countless efforts had been poured, nodded with satisfaction, and made a suggestion to everyone:
"This ship is built from the strongest wood; it will cross the cruel 'Thousand Seas'.
"No matter what wind or waves it encounters, it can sail cheerfully like the sun."
"So, I've given it a name—let's call it the 'Thousand Sunny'!"
"Thousand Sunny?" Luffy's eyes lit up.
"Great name! It sounds full of hope!" Usopp agreed loudly.
Everyone felt the name was extremely fitting and was about to raise their hands to cheer.
Just then.
Tatsuya stretched out his slender fingers, gently stroking the unique grain of the Treasure Tree Adam, feeling the 'pulse' of the ship.
Then, he turned around and looked at everyone with a smile:
"Thousand Sunny is indeed an impeccable name, full of expectations for the future."
"However, Mr. Iceburg, Luffy."
"I suggest adding two words before that name—'Golden'."
"The Golden Thousand Sunny."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire scene seemed to have the pause button pressed.
Luffy's cheering motion froze in mid-air.
Usopp's body trembled violently.
In their minds, they simultaneously recalled that heavy snow.
They remembered the 'Going Merry' that burned with a raging fire on the pitch-black sea and thanked them in its final moments.
That was their eternal pain, and also their eternal family.
"Tatsuya..."
Nami's eyes instantly turned red, and tears welled up.
Usopp even covered his mouth directly, struggling to keep from crying out loud.
Tatsuya looked at everyone, his gaze becoming incredibly gentle as he spoke softly:
"Though Merry's keel is broken and its body has sunk to the bottom of the sea."
"Its soul was brought back by us long ago."
"Merry's soul will be with this new ship."
"This is the inheritance of will and our promise to our old partner from the past.
"We must take its share with us to see the end of the world."
"So... 'Golden Thousand Sunny', what do you think?"
Luffy raised his arm.
When he looked up again, that smile as bright as the sun blossomed on his face once more.
"Alright!!!"
"That's the name!!! Our new ship—the Golden Thousand Sunny!!!!"
"Ohhhhhhh!!!"
The crowd erupted in a cheer even more enthusiastic than before.
"Tatsuya..."
Nami was moved to tears. She hugged Tatsuya's waist tightly, burying her tear-streaked face in his chest.
Tatsuya laughed and patted her back, soothing this excited little cat burglar.
Just as everyone was immersed in the joy of having a new ship.
"Hmph."
Franky, who had been standing to the side, suddenly gave a cold snort.
He deliberately turned around, turning his back to the magnificent warship and the Straw Hat crew:
"Take it. This ship is a gift from this great me to you."
"I'm not going. My home is in Water 7, and I have to stay here to look after this bunch of good-for-nothing underlings."
After saying that, Franky took large strides, preparing to leave Scrap Island.
However.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A series of dense kneeling sounds rang out.
Led by Zambai, dozens of underlings from the Franky Family actually knelt in unison before Franky, blocking his path.
Everyone was crying messily, with snot and tears flowing all over the place.
"What are you guys doing?! Get up now!" Franky shouted in anger.
"Big Bro Straw Hat!! Big Bro Tatsuya!!"
Zambai ignored Franky and turned to Luffy and Tatsuya, kowtowing while crying and shouting loudly:
"We beg of you!! Please take our stubborn Big Bro away with you!!!"
"He gave up his dream of going to sea for our sake...
"But he's now a super wanted criminal with a bounty of 44 million Berries!!!"
"The Marines will come to catch him soon! He only has a dead end if he stays here!!"
"Please take him to sea! Only you can protect him now!!"
"You bastards! Who said I was going to sea! I'm not going anywhere!"
Watching this touching yet ridiculous scene, Luffy adjusted his Straw Hat and exchanged a look with Tatsuya.
The two understood each other perfectly.
For this kind of stubborn guy who was harsh in speech but soft at heart, reasoning was useless; they could only use the rogue methods of a pirate.
"Hee hee hee..."
Luffy grinned, his right arm suddenly stretching backward.
"Gomu Gomu no————"
"Huh? Straw Hat, what are you trying to do?!" Franky was startled.
"I'll take that!!!"
Swish!
Luffy's arm shot out like lightning, with pinpoint accuracy grabbing the only blue speedo on Franky's body, and then pulled hard!
Rip!
"Aaaaaaaaaah!!!"
A scream of extreme terror echoed through Scrap Island.
Franky only felt a chill in his lower half. Looking down, his ultimate line of defense had actually vanished!
Meanwhile, Luffy was already brandishing that blue speedo, sprinting across the ruins of Scrap Island.
"Wahahahaha!!!"
Luffy made a face while running and looking back:
"If you want your underwear back, come on board and get it yourself! You pervert!!!"
"You bastard Straw Hat!! I'm going to kill you!!!"
Franky completely lost it.
Naked in the back, his hands desperately covering his vital parts, he moved his two hairy legs and began a frantic chase behind Luffy.
"Give me back my 'dignity' and my 'lower half'!!!!"
"Come and catch me! You can't! Bleeeeh!"
The two of them staged an eye-searing chase on Scrap Island.
"Pfft... Hahahaha!!"
Zoro and Sanji watched from the side until their stomachs hurt, letting out heartless laughter.
"Oh dear, that's just hideous."
Nami blushed and quickly pulled Robin to turn around, not looking at the unsightly scene.
After chasing for a while, Franky found he simply couldn't outrun the rubber man and became fly with rage.
"Dammit! You forced me!!"
Franky stopped, his hands suddenly aimed at Luffy: "Weapon Left—"
Just as he was about to fire.
"Since you still refuse to honestly face your own heart..."
Robin, who had been standing with her back to them, suddenly spoke.
A dark, mischievous smile curled on her lips, her hands crossed in front of her chest:
"Then we can only use our forceful pirate ways."
"Dos Fleur: Grab!"
Swish!
On the inside of Franky's thighs, two slender, fair arms suddenly grew out of thin air.
Those two hands, without any hesitation...
"Gah?"
Franky's movements instantly froze.
The next second.
"AWOOOOOO!!!!"
A tragic, inhuman scream like a slaughtered pig erupted from Franky's throat.
The agony contained in this scream made all the men present,
even those underlings of the Franky Family, unconsciously suck in a breath of cold air.
Everyone reflexively clamped their legs shut, feeling a phantom pain in their own lower halves.
"Thud."
Franky instantly lost all combat capability, his knees hitting the ground hard as he foamed at the mouth, his hands clawing weakly at the air.
"Robin-san... this... this is too brutal..."
Sanji clamped his legs, cold sweat pouring down.
Tatsuya's eye twitched as he walked up to the painfully contorted Franky.
Looking at Franky's expression of being better off dead, he sighed helplessly and called out to Robin in the distance:
"Robin, loosen up a bit."
"If they're really crushed, our shipwright won't just be unable to fix ships; he might not even be able to be a man anymore."
Robin smiled slightly and reduced the pressure a bit.
Tatsuya knelt down, his playful demeanor gone, his gaze becoming serious:
"Franky."
"Is your dream really satisfied by just staying on this small island and 'building' this ship?"
"If you don't personally board it, if you don't watch it cross every wild wind and giant wave with your own eyes, if you don't accompany it to the end of this world..."
"To you... this ship will forever be an unfinished work!"
"As its creator, are you really content with that?!"
Tatsuya's words were like a heavy hammer, striking hard against Franky's heart.
"I..." Franky gritted his teeth, his eyes already brimming with tears.
At this time, Iceburg also walked over.
In his hand, he held a bulging backpack—it was the tool bag Franky usually used.
"Thump."
Iceburg tossed the backpack in front of Franky, looking down at this junior fellow apprentice he had grown up with:
"Go, Franky."
"Water 7 doesn't need you anymore, and I'll settle this bunch of underlings."
"Go fulfill your dream.
"Go finish the path that Mr. Tom... didn't get to finish!"
"Senior..."
Franky looked up, his vision completely blurred.
He looked at Iceburg standing before him.
He looked at Zambai and the underlings kneeling on the ground, crying their eyes out.
He looked at the Golden Thousand Sunny quietly waiting for him.
Finally, he looked at Luffy, Tatsuya, and all the Straw Hat members who were smiling and reaching out to him.
Franky could no longer deceive the longing in his heart.
"Waaaaaaaah!!!"
His tear ducts completely broke down, and tears gushed out of his eyes like two small waterfalls.
"Give me back my pants!!"
Franky snatched back the blue speedo Luffy threw to him and put it back on with the hand speed of someone single for over thirty years.
He stood up from the ground, wiped the tears and snot from his face, and slammed his arms together in front of him.
That iconic Star Pose looked incredibly dazzling under the sun.
"SUPER!!!"
Franky let out a roar, grinned, and revealed that confident smile:
"Since you bastards are begging me so much..."
"Then this great me will reluctantly..."
"Be your exclusive shipwright!!!!!"
"Ohhhhhhh!!!"
On Scrap Island, an ear-splitting cheer erupted once again.
With this cheer, the eighth member of the Straw Hat Pirates—Shipwright Franky—officially joined the crew.
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