The Going Merry's hull scraped a shoal in Water 7's inner harbor, giving a faint creak like an old man's dying sigh.
Usopp sprang up from the bow almost instantly, his fingers digging into the edge of the railing, his face as white as the harbor's sails. He knew that sound all too well-it had haunted his ears day and night throughout the voyage from Long Ring Long Land. Every time the ship rocked, it felt like a dull knife cutting into his nerves.
"Don't panic. We just scraped a submerged reef." Zoro's voice came from beside the mast. He had already tucked his sword-cleaning cloth inside his shirt, and the guards of his three swords gleamed coldly in the sunset.
Nami gripped the Water 7 Shipwright Salary and Credit Handbook she had read three times, placing her fingertip precisely on the address circled in red on the first page. She looked up and tipped her chin at everyone on deck. "Listen up. First, we're going to the official exchange office marked in the handbook to exchange our money for Beli. The black-market exchanges here take a full thirty percent cut. If any of you exchange money wherever you please, I'll throw you all into the sea to feed the Sea Kings."
She paused, sweeping her gaze over the drooping Luffy, and added, "Especially you, Luffy. You're not allowed to touch a single Beli after we exchange it. It's all going toward repairing the ship. If you dare spend it on meat, you'll be eating nothing but vegetable salads for the next month."
Luffy's face fell instantly. Clinging to the railing, he wailed, "Huh?! But meat is essential for sailing! You're too cruel, Nami!"
"Not even if it's essential!"
Sanji walked over with a cigarette between his lips and slung