Chapter 63: Bad News

Sorry for the delay, all. I was on a two-day canoe trip (flipped twice, btw), and didn't get back until 4. Then I had to speed through some online-classwork. However, Here is the next chapter. It's not too interesting, more of a filler chapter since much of it is Canon, but I'm sure you all know about those necessary evils, right?

Chapter 69:

Bad News

"Those guys stole our money!" Usopp shouted, pointing at four men on two yagaras celebrating with the suitcases Usopp had lost. All three were dressed similarly in metal-like one-piece outfits.

"What?" the other four Straw Hat pirates yelled.

"They've got my money!" Nami continued, yelling over the shouting from both the men in the boats and a group of men in suits chasing a blond man on a nearby bridge. "Luffy, get it back!"

"Those jerks!" the captain growled. "We need that for the Merry!" Ignoring the blond man running from debt collectors on the bridge above, Luffy threw his arms out to grip the handles of the suitcases. Luffy's arms retracted, ripping the cases out of the hands of the thieves as the man jumped over the side of the bridge to escape his pursuers.

"Pardon me!" the man called. "I need to borrow your yagaras. Rope Action!" Out of the sleeves of the man's denim jacket came ropes that wrapped around the felons and yanked them off their boats. Landing in one, he took the reins and started taunting the debt collectors.

"Well, it looks like Paulie's at it again," Iceberg sighed.

"Indeed," Khalifa answered. "Shall I have Lucci retrieve him as usual?"

"Yes," Iceberg nodded. "And clear my schedule while you're at it."

"Already done."

"Well, good job." Turning back to the group of pirates who were rejoicing at the return of their money, he said, "You all were lucky. The Franky Family is a dangerous group."

"Who are they?" Amy asked.

"By trade, the Franky Family is a group of ship dismantlers," Khalifa responded, adjusting her glasses, "but they are also notorious bounty hunters who are always causing trouble when pirates are in town."

"Do you think they've attacked the Merry?" Usopp fretted.

"Don't worry," Coby replied. "Zoro-sensei and Gin are there to deal with them if they attack."

"Yeah, you're right," Usopp nodded. "No need to worry."

"Well, anyway," Iceberg interrupted, "shall we get this tour started?"

"That must be it," Kaku muttered to himself as he landed, his gaze landing on the Going Merry. His eyes absorbed the image of her outer damages as he approached the ship. He had to stop, however, when a man appeared in front of him with a crack of thunder, a sparking, golden ball just touching his nose.

"Are you another member of the Franky Family?" Gin questioned, his narrowed eyes boring into the shipwright.

"Oh golly, no," Kaku answered, his hands in the air. "I'm from Galley-La. Your captain sent me down to inspect your ship."

"Prove it," Gin ordered. "Describe the man with a nose like yours."

"Curly black hair and brown overalls?" Slowly, Gin lowered his weapons and replaced his headband.

"Sorry about that," the pirate apologized as the rubber turned him fully-human again. "We were attacked by the Franky Family earlier and I was afraid they had called for reinforcements."

"Jeepers, you have to be careful of people like the Franky Family, but I'm here to get a quote on your ship. Can't discuss the price of repairs if we don't know what we're repairing."

"That makes sense," Gin responded. "Follow me." Walking over the ship, the pirate jumped up to grab the end of a ladder, pulling it down so the two men could climb aboard. Reaching the railing, Gin habitually took in his surroundings and chucked, shaking his head as he climbed the rest of the way. Kaku couldn't help but laugh at was he saw.

On the opposite side of the ship was a sleeping man with green hair, three swords in his grip identifying him as the infamous "Pirate Hunter" Zoro. Next to him was a young teen girl with red hair in two braids. She was, carefully and quietly, painting on his face. He currently had whiskers and glasses and she was in the process of writing "directionless" on his forehead. Noticing Gin and his plus one, she brought a finger to her lips and smirked.

"Don't mind Grace," Gin waved off, introducing the girl. "She won't do that to you unless you fall asleep and she's feeling mischievous."

"I wasn't planning on sleeping on the job anyway," Kaku replied, blinking. He knew his training was tell him that all pirates were evil, but this crew seemed to be an exception. How else could the crewmate of a man worth 60 million draw on his face, multiple times if he was taking the hints from the Man-Demon, and get away with it? "Anyway, I'll get the inspection started. Just pretend I'm not here."

"If you say so. Hey, Grace! You wanted to try to learn how to paint on a Logia?"

"Oh, sure," the girl responded, finishing her masterpiece with a cat nose. "Which paint do you want me to use this time?"

"This place is so cool!" Luffy's head was on a swivel as Iceberg showed the group around Dock 1. Everywhere one looked, the best shipwrights in the world were hard at work making sure every piece was up to standard. None of it made any sense to Nami, Coby, or Amy, but Usopp was absolutely enthralled in the cannons some of the shipwrights were polishing as he ran over to see them close-up.

"Geeze, Ice-Pops," Luffy laughed. "This place is really big. Hey, can I go look at that one?"

"Well, sure. Just don't mess with anything."

"Sorry about him," Nami apologized as the excitable teen rushed off. "He may be our captain, but he still acts like a little kid."

"I'm sure you thought otherwise that night in Skypia," Amy smirked. "After all, you two had your own little party, didn't you?"

"You what?!" Coby nearly screeched, his face going red. The navigator was no better as she babbled some sort of denial.

"That's interesting," Khalifa noted impartially. "Shall I add this information to their documents?"

"Well, I don't care," Iceberg waved off. Khalifa nodded and marked down the tidbit. "Well, anyway, this is the first dock of the Galley-La Company. Working here are the best of the best under the best five foremans. Kaku, the man with the long nose, is one of them. Here, we don't care about personality, only skill. So, even if they seem a little strange, every person here is one of the best."

"I don't think this crew cares about strange," Coby commented. "By the way, we're looking for a shipwright to join our crew. Is there anyone you would recommend?" Iceberg stopped, balking.

"You mean your crew has made it this far without a shipwright?" The man's voice was filled with disbelief.

"If we had, we wouldn't have had to come here for repairs," Amy pointed out.

"Yo, Boss!" Kaku called, leaping over the dock's entrance to land next to the pirates. "Oh, I see the pirates found you. That makes things easier."

"Have you checked the Merry, yet?" Nami asked. "How much will she cost? Money isn't a problem." Coby and Amy balked, gaping at the navigator. Kaku said nothing as he moved to sit on some lumber.

"Captain Luffy!" Coby yelled, getting over his shock. "We need you back here!"

"Ok!" The rubber-man jumped from the galleon he was standing on. "Where's Usopp?"

"Are these yours?" a dock worker asked, holding out the suitcases the sniper was supposed to oversee. With a sigh, Nami accepted the carriers and placed them next to the other eight. Usopp was still unaccounted for.

"I have bad news," Kaku finally muttered, the pirates stiffening.

"What is it?" Luffy demanded. "Whatever it is, we'll pay. No price is too steep for our Merry."

"It's not about price," the shipwright responded. "I can tell that you all love that ship and that she's been through a lot. I'm sorry, but your ship can't be fixed."

"What do you mean?" Amy got out. She may have not ridden the Going Merry for as long as most of the others with her, but it was still her home.

"The keel is the backbone of any ship. Your ship's keel his busted. Freshly-busted, I'll admit, so it's a good thing you're here, but she can't go any further."

"Can't you just replace it?" Luffy questioned.

"That would be like building a brand-all new ship." Kaku shook his head. "And I'm sorry, but the odds of making it to the next island with a busted keel, even if you made it here, is zero."

Luffy was in shock. He couldn't believe what these people were telling him. Had he been any less mature, he would have told than that he didn't care, that they would keep sailing the Merry, but he knew that wasn't possible. He'd known for a long time that the Merry would meet her end during their journey.

"But..." Coby cried. "But..."

"Hey, Iceberg!" a man interrupted. He was tall and tan with no shirt to hide his muscular and tattooed upper body. His black hair was uniform around his head save for one spike shooting out and maroon pants hid his legs.

"Oh, Lulu," Iceberg greeted. "Now may not be the best time."

"Sorry, but there are some government officials at the door waiting to see you. Do you want me to tell them you aren't here?"

"That would be nice," the man nodded. "Thank you."

"Ah, Iceberg," a short man in a suit sneered, he and two bodyguards approaching through the dock. Kaku quickly ushered the saddened pirates behind the lumber. It wouldn't do for paying customers to be arrested.

"Hello, Corgi. As you can see, I'm not here at the moment. Could you leave a message?"

"Don't screw with me, Iceberg," Corgi snarled. "I came here by sea train just to meet with you; it would be impolite to turn me away."

"So?" Iceberg questioned childishly, picking his nose. "I don't like you."

"We have things to discuss, Iceberg," the government official spat, losing his patience. "Come on."

"Hey, Nami?" Luffy asked as Iceberg and his secretary were all but dragged away. "I think we have a problem."

"What is it now?" the girl snapped quietly.

"These suitcases are really light."

"What do you mean, really light?"

Coby chose to bypass talking and opened the suitcases that were supposed to be in Usopp's care. They were empty.

"What?!" the four pirates all but screamed. "Some of our money's gone!"

"Yo, Kaku," the man Iceberg had called Lulu said, completely ignoring the pirates. "What were you doing hanging around the Franky Family earlier?"

"What do you mean?" Kaku responded. "I haven't seen a member of the Franky Family all day."

"Are you sure? Huh. I thought I saw your long nose earlier."

"Did you say 'long nose'?" Amy questioned.

"Yeah," Lulu answered. "Although I guess hanging out and being dragged away are kinda different."

"The Franky Family got Usopp," Nami deduced. "And 200 million of our Beris!"

"We'll go teach them a lesson," Luffy growled, punching his palm. "Let's take this stuff back to the Merry. Then we'll track down those bastards and show them what happens when they mess with us."

End of Chapter 69

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-SwordOfTheGods