Preparing to Replace the Ship / Two Months

"If you have time to admire the scenery, you might as well come give me a hand."

Arthur spoke helplessly as he placed a backpack as tall as a person on the king's horse's back.

There was still a large amount of gold and jewelry on the deck beside him.

A sack only slightly smaller than the one on his back hung from each side of the king's horse. For a moment, Dong Stallion, the king's horse who had galloped across battlefields, looked like a camel.

"Hehe... Thanks for your hard work, handsome Sir Knight." Nami walked over, smiling as she cupped Arthur's head and planted a hard kiss on his cheek. Still smiling, she said, "As a reward, you can have my first kiss of the day."

"Heh—smack!" Arthur gave a cold laugh and delivered a chop with the edge of his hand.

"Ow..."

"Cut the nonsense. If you don't help, I'm throwing everything that's left into the sea."

"Please, don't!"

"..."

Amid the cheerful atmosphere, the small cabin sailboat gradually approached Water 7. Before long, it came to a stop on the shore of a harbor.

"Neigh!"

A horse whinnied, and the three of them and the horse came ashore.

Even though the king's horse was already loaded down with backpacks, he still couldn't carry all the treasure aboard the ship.

Just as Robin had once said, there had been too many pirates, bounty hunters, and others who had attacked Arthur only to be wiped out instead. Although they had been quite poor themselves, little by little, the spoils plundered from their ships had almost filled the entire cabin.

Besides the large backpacks on the king's horse, Arthur carried one himself. It was filled entirely with Shandora's gold.

The most valuable things were all in the backpack on Arthur's back.

"Just like its name suggests, Water 7 is an island with more waterways than roads. To travel freely around the island, you need to rent a creature raised by the locals—a Bulu." Arthur walked in front, telling Nami and Robin, who were on either side of him, about Water 7.

In any case, they had the lie about the "notes," and Nami and Robin had already accepted that this was a route the Pirate King had once taken.

They no longer felt curious or puzzled, as they had before, about how Arthur knew so much.

It was worth mentioning that Robin had followed Arthur's orders and put on a veil before leaving the ship. The hooded cloak she wore concealed her appearance.

After all, she was a wanted criminal with a bounty of seventy-nine million. To avoid implicating Arthur and Nami, Robin disguised herself whenever she was off the ship.

At the harbor, the three rented two Bulus from a shop specializing in them, then headed straight for an exchange in Water 7.

On Water 7's central street stood an exchange called Thebolue.

Inside a lavishly decorated room, gold glittered everywhere, filling the room with the corrupt air of money.

Arthur and the two women sat on a sofa, a mountain of gold, valuables, pearls, and jewels before them.

Beside the pile, a table was covered with objects made of gold: cups, bowls, pots, sculptures, and so on...

Across from the three of them, a middle-aged man in a suit, the manager of the exchange, held a magnifying glass and gazed obsessively at the golden objects from Shandora.

Beside him, several employees, sweat pouring down their faces, were appraising the pile of valuables and jewels.

"Phew..." After a long while, the manager put down his magnifying glass and let out a heavy breath. His forehead was already covered in sweat.

"Manager..."

One of the employees beside him leaned close to his ear and murmured something.

"Are you done looking?" Arthur asked impatiently.

"Y-yes." The manager nodded hurriedly, wiping away his sweat with a handkerchief as he looked nervously at Arthur.

His flushed face and racing heart could not escape Arthur's Observation Haki.

"Were you about to say all this gold and treasure is worth only a billion?" Arthur looked coldly at the manager and raised a hand slightly. Blue-white lightning flickered across his fair palm. "You run an exchange this big, so you should know about Logia users, shouldn't you?! I advise you to give me the real price. If you dare lie to me..."

"I... I'm sorry..."

Chapter 56: Preparing to Replace the Ship

"My, my... I never expected the upright Sir Knight to threaten people. There goes your image."

On the street, Nami carried a large backpack and looked teasingly at Arthur, laughing as she spoke.

"I don't want to waste time on this, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to take a loss," Arthur said calmly.

"Eight hundred million in spoils, plus five hundred million in gold. Wow... Shandora's gold really lives up to its reputation. There was so little of it, yet it was worth so much more than all the spoils we plundered." Nami clicked her tongue.

"After all, it's from several hundred years ago. It's only natural that it would fetch a high price when it's still so intact," Robin said softly.

"Arthur, now that we have the money, are we going to the shipyard next?" Nami asked him cheerfully.

Exchanging their treasure was not the only reason Arthur and the two women had come to Water 7. They also wanted a new ship.

The small cabin sailboat was too slow and pitifully small. Its only room had been given to Nami and Robin, so Arthur could only sleep on deck every night.

Nami and Robin had also suggested changing ships, but Arthur had refused each time.

Unless the small cabin sailboat truly couldn't go on, he wouldn't replace it before they had a ship of their own.

The little sailboat carried the feelings and bonds of the three of them. It was also Arthur's first home after arriving in the world of One Piece.

Even if they changed ships, Arthur had no intention of abandoning it.

"No, we're going somewhere else." Hearing Nami's question, Arthur smiled meaningfully.

The Franky Family was a gang of ship dismantlers and bounty hunters with a bad reputation in Water 7.

Their leader, Franky, was a cyborg known in Water 7 as a gang boss.

But few knew that he was actually the junior fellow disciple of Mr. Iceburg, Water 7's current mayor, and one of the only two apprentices of Tom, the world's greatest shipwright.

The thirty-five warships Franky had invented as a boy were used by Spandam, the head of CP5 at the time. As a result, Tom, who could have escaped punishment for building a ship for the Pirate King by creating the Sea Train, used that chance to save Franky instead and was taken away on the charge of attacking a judicial ship.

Franky was gravely injured trying to stop the Sea Train carrying Tom away. He survived only by using a large amount of steel to modify himself.

His modifications had changed his body greatly from what it had been before, the Marines could not find his body, and the name on Water 7's records was Cutty Flam. Thus, Franky, who had abandoned his real name, remained undiscovered and continued living in Water 7.

The Franky Family's headquarters stood on a remote stretch of coast.

Knock, knock, knock—

Arthur knocked on the door of a house with a sign reading "FRANKHOUSE," Franky's house.

Creak—

The door opened, and a fierce-looking face peered out, plainly belonging to no good person. Wearing binocular-like glasses, the man sized up Arthur and the two women and asked rudely, his tone hostile, "Who are you?"

"Customers. Can we see your boss?" Arthur pulled out a stack of bills he had prepared and waved it in front of the man.

"Oh—oh! Customers!!"

For these thugs who were also bounty hunters, nothing worked better than Beli. Money was like an all-purpose pass.

Seeing the stack of bills in Arthur's hand, the hostile-looking Franky Family member immediately swung the door wide and said enthusiastically, "Sir, ladies, come in, come in!"

"Ow~~~ I heard that! Super—customers are here!!"

"Ow~~~ I heard that! Super—customers are here!!"

Arthur and the two women stepped inside and were immediately met by a group of figures dressed alike, their builds and appearances all mismatched. A disreputable air seemed to wash over them.

At their head was a tall man whose arms below the elbows had been modified into two shields marked with blue stars.

He was striking a comical pose, watching the three of them with a look that might have been either enthusiasm or a vicious grin.

At the sight, Nami and Robin both frowned instinctively and looked at Arthur in puzzlement.

They seemed to be wondering why Arthur had come looking for someone who was obviously a thug.

"Hello, Mr. Franky."

Arthur paid no attention to the two women's looks. He walked up to Franky and extended his hand. "Let me introduce myself. My name is..."

"B-boss, he... he's..."

But before Arthur could introduce himself, a family member standing beside Franky spoke up in a trembling voice. "He's the 'knight among knights,' the bounty hunter who defeated a Shichibukai."

"What?!"

It had to be said that fame really was useful sometimes.

Almost as soon as the family member finished speaking, startled cries rang out through the hall of Franky's house.

"He d-defeated a Shichibukai..."

"That knight from the newspaper... the one who was attacked by so many people but wiped them all out?!!"

"..."

The group gathered behind Franky as one, staring at Arthur in alarm.

"M-Mr. Knight, what can I do for you?" Franky had dropped his comical pose. He looked at Arthur warily and asked in confusion.

"Don't be nervous. I'm a bounty hunter too. We're not enemies." Arthur extended his fair hand again and smiled. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Arthur Pendragon."

"Franky." The wariness in Franky's eyes had not diminished, but he reached out and shook Arthur's hand.

Rather than a handshake, it was more like he had engulfed Arthur's entire hand.

"I know you..." After shaking hands with Franky, Arthur got straight to the point. "Please don't think of me as an enemy. Let me put it this way! I'm sure you know this name—the Oro Jackson!"

"The Oro Jackson? You—"

Arthur's words made Franky's eyes widen, and he looked at Arthur in shock. "Could you be..."

"No, I wasn't a member of that ship's crew..." Arthur shook his head.

"Right, you're so young." Franky realized it too and laughed awkwardly. "And you're the world's greatest bounty hunter. How could you have been a member of that ship's crew?"

Chapter 57: Two Months

"I see. You want me to help you build a ship!"

"Yes. By chance, I learned something about you. It was because I learned what you've been through that I decided you were the shipwright I needed to find. For that reason, I sailed here from East Blue in a small boat. I want you to build me a ship of my own, a 'partner' who can stay with me forever."

In the hall of Franky's house, Arthur sat on a sofa, looking at Franky across from him. "I believe no one's shipbuilding skills could be better, or more reassuring, than those of shipwright Tom's apprentice."

"Ow~~ Little Knight, that's super... nice of you to say!" Hearing Arthur's words, Franky was overjoyed. He stood up instinctively and struck that comical pose again.

Arthur's praise of Tom and the trust in his words moved Franky so deeply that he didn't even wonder how Arthur knew his identity.

Moreover, Arthur's love for ships struck a chord with him.

"Sure, Little Knight. I'll build you a super... super-great ship." Franky agreed to Arthur's request with barely a moment's hesitation.

"Thank you very much." Arthur thanked him sincerely and gave Nami a look. Six boxes were taken out of the large backpack.

"My ship has to be the best, and my 'partner' must be the greatest." Arthur placed the boxes in front of Franky and said seriously, "There are six hundred million Beli in here. Please use five hundred million to buy Treasure Tree Adam. The remaining hundred million is your fee for building the ship. Is that price acceptable?"

"S-six hundred million..."

Franky and the other family members were stunned by the figure.

Franky looked at the six boxes in front of him, swallowed, and clicked his tongue. "Little Knight, you're rich."

"I'll leave this money with you. I need a large ship, but not too large. A three-masted ship will do, but the interior must be spacious, and the decorations must be plentiful and beautiful." Arthur stood up and said to Franky, "Oh, and make sure to build me a dock. I want to take another partner with me."

"Little Knight, none of that is a problem," Franky said seriously. "But are you really comfortable entrusting me with this much money?"

At that, Arthur's lips curved into a broad smile. He extended his hand to Franky again and said, "You're Mr. Tom's apprentice!"

"Ow~~~ Super... moving!" Franky's eyes filled with tears. He covered them with one hand and gripped Arthur's hand firmly with the other. "Little Knight, come back in two months. I'll give you a perfect ship."

"I'm counting on you. Let your imagination run wild!"