Galley-La Company
The houses and streets of the Water 7 are quite unique.
The cityscape is also 'pleasing to the eye'.
This city suffers from massive tsunamis every year, resulting in a landscape distinctly different from other island cities due to its geography and environment. Besides building ships for One Piece and merchant caravans, Water 7 is also a shipbuilding center under the World Government. This allows Water 7 to receive government protection, mitigating the impact of the Tom incident. This was also Mayor Iceburg's decision to consolidate the original seven shipyards.
Therefore, Water 7 quite prosperous... and it is also a 'stopover' with a huge flow of people on the route Oboro and his companions traveled.
Not to mention, besides shipbuilding, the tourism industry here has always been quite popular, driven by factors such as the sea train. It also allows residents of the nearby islands to easily travel to and from the area.
However... when Oboro and the others walked the streets of this 'water city', the scene before their eyes was completely different.
"There's nobody here..."
Dorans looked around and said something.
Yes... the entire street was deserted.
Let's go.
Long did not stop walking.
During a tsunami, the residents of Water 7 would temporarily take refuge in shelters, and the city would look the same as it does now—deserted. It seems Mayor Iceburg has already issued a notice to the entire city... because of their Hell Pirates.
"Heh, but what's the point of doing this? It wouldn't be difficult for us to destroy this city if we wanted to."
Kaka yawned. "Isn't he afraid of backfiring and angering us?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a graceful figure appeared at the street corner ahead.
A woman wearing a tight-fitting suit, with beautiful blonde hair and glasses, exuding an intellectual and mature charm, walked towards them.
Finally, he stood before a group of people and bowed in respect.
"Everyone from the Hell Pirates... Our president invites you."
Long nodded.
Rob Lucci, standing beside him, remained calm and composed.
The woman who suddenly appeared was none other than Iceburg, the secretary of Mayor Iceburg, Kalifa.
She is also Rob Lucci's partner and the only female member of CP9.
The two met briefly, then pretended to be complete strangers.
Kalifa led the way, and they followed behind.
Crocodile stared at the woman's retreating figure, a cold smile playing on his lips.
Clearly... he figured something out.
It's worth mentioning that Enel and his two priests did not accompany the group; instead, they went sightseeing.
The three of them still found everything about the Blue Sea novel.
Moreover, there's no need for so many people to negotiate.
After a while, the Hell Pirates arrived at the gate of the Galley-La Company.
"So this is the world's leading manufacturer and repairer of ship hulls." Dorans smiled as he looked at the Galley-La Company's sign.
The entire Water 7 is actually a huge shipbuilding company, Galley-La Company is undoubtedly the leader in this industry.
This has boosted the city's economy, making Water 7 a commercial hub.
Led by Kalifa, Oboro entered a building and arrived at the president's office.
They met Iceburg, the disciple of the fishman Tom.
"Please have a seat."
Iceburg appeared calm and composed, showing no sign of panic. He was very polite and smiled as he spoke.
Kalifa did not leave, but began to perform her duties as secretary, serving tea to the members of the Hell Pirates one by one.
Then he stood to one side.
Judging from the Iceburg's reaction, he had clearly been waiting for a long time.
God Slayer, former Shichibukai Crocodile, and the rest of the Hell Pirates, the mere fact that these two visited Water 7 is enough to make them 'heavyweight'.
"I am honored to have such a distinguished guest here, as the mayor of Water 7 and the president of Galley-La Company."
"I wonder what brings someone of your stature to Water 7? If there's anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask."
Iceburg spoke first, adopting a very humble attitude.
He did this not for himself, but for all the inhabitants of Water 7.
The World Government's deceptive attitude has made Iceburg realize something. The fact that the Hell Pirates can freely 'travel' along the first half of the Grand Line means that even though they are employed by the World Government, they lack protection and it is impossible for them to seek help from the Navy.
They had no choice but to find a way to escape this calamity on their own.
"We would like to commission your company to build a ship for us," Oboro said.
Then, Dom got up and handed over a drawing, placing it on Iceburg's table.
Oboro had already come up with an idea about the Hell Pirates' flagship, so he wrote down One Piece ship's structural diagram and his own opinions on a piece of paper.
Hearing this, Iceburg breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as it's business... it's easy to talk about.
"Let me take a look."
Iceburg picked up the blueprints and examined them carefully.
After a moment, he put down the blueprints, his expression slightly surprised.
He had originally thought that One Piece of the Hell Pirates' caliber would need large One Piece ships, equipped with a wide range of functions and areas, including weaponry, navigation, and defense. However, he was surprised to find that the God Slayer only required medium-sized One Piece ships. This would save him a lot of trouble in terms of materials and construction time.
On this vast sea, all the prominent figures, especially One Piece, have remarkably consistent requirements for their One Piece ships. First, they must be large; second, they must have a distinctive design; and third, they want to utilize every part of the ship to the fullest extent, arming it to the teeth.
But these are actually very difficult to achieve... because from an insider's perspective, the more functions and the more weaponry a ship has, the more it means to reduce other aspects of the ship's attributes, which reduces the margin for error when sailing at sea.
A truly good ship only needs to be able to adapt to various maritime environments, have variable and controllable maneuverability, and have excellent resistance to any external factors.
Only after this can we enrich the crew's activity space and other functions.
Iceburg was somewhat surprised; the God Slayer's understanding of ships... was spot on.
"There are no strange requests... You can rest assured that we can handle this kind of ocean-going vessel."
Iceburg said with a smile.
"However, it will probably take a long time before the ship is completely ready to leave the shipyard and be launched... after all..."
"The materials are already on their way, so you don't need to worry about that."
Before the former could finish speaking, Crocodile suddenly opened his mouth and said coldly, "What you have to do is try your best to build the ship... to our satisfaction. As for money, not a penny... Our reward is that your city can still exist on this sea."
"..."
The room fell into a deathly silence upon hearing this.
No one expected Crocodile to say that, as Oboro had prepared a huge sum of money.
"Call."
The Crocodile chewed on a cigar and exhaled smoke.
His eyes flashed coldly as he stared at the Iceburg. "What we need... is the best shipwrights. Mobilize all the top craftsmen under your command. Being excellent isn't enough... Is that alright?"
"..."
The Iceburg remained silent.
He closed his eyes first, and after thinking for a few seconds, he opened them again. "Okay... but you have to keep your word."
Crocodile, upon hearing this, did not respond and simply got up and walked away.
Very stylish.
Long, standing to the side, smiled and shook his head.
"Please, the sooner the better."
Before he left, he said something to the Iceburg in a gentle manner.
This can be considered as giving the other party peace of mind.