Strange Fluctuations

"Huh? What kind of material is this?" Franky marveled at the main mast of the Sea Bass.

"It's an Eve Tree... of course, only a branch was used, not the whole thing is an Eve Tree," Sig felt there was nothing to hide.

"Eve Tree? The Eve Tree that's as famous as the legendary Adam Tree? As expected of Fish-Man Island..." Franky circled the mast several times.

At this time, Franky was still very passionate about ships and hadn't completely shifted his focus to modern weaponry—though, the ships he built were usually warships equipped with all sorts of strange and peculiar weapons!

In the original story, it was only after Tom's death that a devastated Franky stopped building ships for over a decade, dedicating himself to dismantling ships and weapon research.

"Are you from the South Blue? I heard it's the land of technology." After tying up the boat, Sig struck up a conversation with Franky.

"That's right... Huh? You..." Franky's eyes widened.

He clearly remembered a Fish-Man was rowing the boat just now, but in the blink of an eye, a human was behind him?

Sig knew what he was surprised about, so he explained, "Half-Fish-Man, half-human."

Even Sig himself was almost convinced by this explanation.

"Huh? Is that so? Kokoro's daughter isn't like that..." Franky was confused but didn't press further.

Kokoro's daughter, Chimney, was the daughter of Kokoro. Kokoro admired Tom when she was young and came to Water Seven.

Of course, as Tom was married to his ships, nothing happened with Kokoro. Later, Kokoro fell in love with a human on the island and had a daughter.

Unfortunately, Kokoro's husband died in an accident during a "Sea God's Pilgrimage" a few years ago.

As a half-mermaid, Chimney could transform her tail into legs at eighteen. Her swimming ability was far superior to humans, but her resistance to deep-sea pressure was inferior to that of a true mermaid.

However, she was definitely not able to "switch" appearances like Sig!

But the matter of mermaid mixed-bloods was inherently sensitive. Chimney also faced discrimination from residents outside Tom's Workers other than herself due to this. Coupled with teenage rebellion against her aunt Kokoro, she didn't want to stay at Tom's Workers and set out to sea a year ago. Her current situation was unknown, so Franky naturally didn't ask much about Sig's background.

After all, Sig hadn't asked him why he wasn't wearing pants...

On the way back, Franky and Sig chatted very congenially. It was evident that Franky was now interested in weapons, cannons, and the like, and he even invited Sig to visit his "warship" later.

Franky also complained about Iceberg, who was always very nervous about his "heroic deeds," fearing that it would cause trouble for Tom's Workers.

Franky even took the initiative to talk about the South Blue. He was disdainful of his irresponsible pirate parents but didn't say much.

"Since I can remember, I've been on pirate ships. When I was seven, that pirate crew entered the Grand Line, so I don't have much impression of the South Blue anymore, but there were many super cool weapons on the ship..." Franky's spirits lifted when he talked about weapons.

When Sig and Franky arrived at Tom's Workers, the banquet had already begun.

At this time, only Franky and Iceberg, the two shipwrights, along with Kokoro as the secretary, and Yokozuna, the "Sumo Frog" who served as a laborer and mascot, remained at Tom's Workers.

However, seeing Fisher Tiger and Jinbe arrive, Tom still held a banquet. Outside the dilapidated factory that looked like a junkyard, Tom, Fisher Tiger, Jinbe, and other Fish-Men lit a bonfire and sat on the ground.

Tom was a Merman, and unlike the seemingly elegant Dan, he was extremely corpulent...

They had previously ordered Iceberg and Kokoro to buy a lot of Water Seven's specialty, Aqua Meat, and there was plenty of mead in the cellar of Tom's Workers...

Tom wasn't short of money; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to support the research and development of the Sea Train. The reason the place was so run-down was that Tom's Workers couldn't recruit enough staff!

"I'm really benefiting from you guys." Franky rubbed his nose and said, seeing this.

Although Franky had instinctively worried for a moment that Uncle Tom's compatriots would cause more trouble, the naturally generous Franky didn't show it and had basically put this worry out of his mind by now.

Iceberg, another shipwright and also Uncle Tom's student, although not much older than Franky, had an air of premature maturity, looking like he might go bald in a couple of years.

Sig keenly sensed that beneath his formulaic, polite smile, Iceberg harbored greater worries than Franky, but he also didn't show it.

It was just that when he saw Franky dancing with the Fish-Men after drinking too much, Iceberg frowned deeply, but he could do nothing about the now-hyped-up Franky.

Franky felt that the Fish-Man Race didn't give him any strange looks for only wearing underwear, and he felt these guys were great.

This was actually quite normal. After all, on Fish-Man Island, many people wore swimsuits year-round, and mermaids had fish tails for lower bodies, so they didn't need pants...

Arlong could finally drink to his heart's content and was now arm-wrestling with Willy.

Kokoro was on the side, presumably imparting some experience to the mermaids—hopefully not about maintenance!

Sig also drank and ate meat with everyone, even performing a few songs to liven up the atmosphere, earning a comment from Kokoro: "If you were ten years younger, I'd definitely pursue you." Sig inwardly thought: Please be thirty years younger!

When it was past midnight, the banquet's atmosphere hadn't dissipated, but Sig quietly excused himself after drinking a few glasses of ice water to sober up.

Relaxation was essential, but Sig didn't want to delay his training just because he was docked at Water Seven.

Standing 1400 Watts Straight Punch, 1, 2, 3... 3000 repetitions, complete!

Underwater 1400 Watts Straight Punch, 1... 1,1... Huh?

Sig suddenly noticed something strange. When he punched underwater, he should have been most sensitive to the fluctuations of "Water Watts," making it easier to assess than on land.

However, three times in a row, Sig failed completely, each time only reaching around 1200 Watts.

Sig opened his palm and looked at it—was he drunk? No! He hadn't drunk any more than usual, his consciousness was clear, and there were no problems with his exertion, so...

Are the sea currents here different?

Thinking of this possibility, Sig felt somewhat relieved.

The special ocean currents had created Water Seven and were also gradually swallowing it. It was normal for the sea currents here to be different.

Although there was some error, Sig estimated that 1200 Watts here was equivalent to 1500 Watts in a normal place.

Sig, imposing strict standards on himself, finished the 3000 punches of 1200 Watts, and the sky was already starting to lighten.

Finally getting ashore, not needing to row the boat, Sig didn't push himself and fell asleep on the shore.

Perhaps because he slept so soundly, Sig "arrived" in a familiar place again, the damp, musty smell filling his nostrils