Luffy, Nami, and Usopp were invited into a VIP room with their gold and sat down on a soft sofa.
"So comfy! Is there water inside these cushions too?" Usopp laughed, bouncing happily on the couch.
anwhile, the appraiser carefully examined the pile of gold on the table with a magnifying glass. His eyes widened before he forced himself to calm down.
"I have 25 years of appraisal experience," he said slowly. "A rough estimate puts this gold at around 500 million Berries."
"500 million Berries?!"
Usopp's face turned bright red as he shook Luffy's shoulders wildly.
"Five hundred million?" Nami's expression darkened as she jabbed Luffy with her elbow.
In the next mont—
Conqueror's Haki burst out from Luffy.
He deliberately controlled its intensity.
"You said… 500 million Berries, right?"
The appraiser felt as if his spirit had been crushed. His face turned deathly pale.
In his eyes, the harmless-looking teenagers in front of him suddenly transford into demons.
He swallowed hard.
"N-No! You must have misheard!" he stamred. "Not five hundred million… it's… 1.5 billion Berries!"
Luffy glanced at the system panel, which estimated the value at 1.2 billion. Satisfied, he withdrew his Haki pressure.
Soon, fifteen suitcases filled with colorful banknotes were brought into the VIP room.
Luffy stored thirteen of them in his system space, leaving behind 200 million Berries to repair and upgrade the Going rry.
In the end, Luffy and Nami walked out shoulder to shoulder in front, while Usopp happily followed behind, proudly carrying the money.
Back in the VIP room, the appraiser—who felt like he had narrowly survived death—collapsed into his chair.
The three headed toward the shipyard.
Not far behind them, several people stood on a rooftop, staring intently at the suitcase in Usopp's hands.
Soon they arrived at Dock No. 1, where a large gate displayed a giant number "1."
A man with a square-shaped long nose approached them.
"Visitors aren't allowed in the docks. What business do you have at Dock No. 1?"
"We were introduced here to et Mr. Iceburg," Nami said with a smile as she handed over a recomndation letter. "We'd like him to repair our ship—and also build a new one."
"A letter from Kokoro-san, huh?"
"But Mr. Iceburg is very busy. If it's ship repairs you need, just tell where your ship is docked. I'll take a look myself," the man said after a mont of thought.
His na was Kaku.
"It's at the rocky cape," Usopp replied.
The next mont—
Whoosh!
Sand scattered as Kaku leapt into the air, sprinting across the rooftops of Water 7, freely gliding through the sky.
Looking down at the bustling city below, he couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
anwhile—
A group of n dressed in black, each with a red star emblem on their chest, boarded the Going rry with blades in hand.
The next second—
A fierce gust of wind swept past.
All the intruders were instantly knocked into the sea.
"Tch… annoying," Zoro muttered.
He opened one eye slightly—then closed it again and continued resting.
At the Water 7 comrcial district, Robin and Chopper walked through the lively streets.
Most of the people around them wore strange masks.
Robin soon noticed a sign painted with a book.
She pointed at it.
"Ship's doctor, look. There's a bookstore over there."
Chopper's eyes sparkled.
"Great! Can I go in for a mont?"
"Of course."
Robin walked toward it happily.
Suddenly—
A masked man brushed past her and whispered:
"I'm from CP9."
Robin froze.
Her eyes widened in shock.
Soon, Kaku arrived at the Going rry.
Zoro, who had been sleeping, slowly opened one eye.
"Oh… it's just Usopp," he muttered.
anwhile, Kaku examined the ship.
"I see. The exterior damage looks bad, but the repairs themselves should be fairly simple."
In the next instant—
Sandai Kitetsu was pressed against his neck.
"Who are you?" Zoro asked coldly.
"I'm… a foreman from the shipyard. I ca to inspect the ship."
Cold sweat trickled down Kaku's face.
What the… I didn't sense him at all…
Back at the shipyard, Iceburg had canceled all his appointnts for the day.
With nothing else to do, he planned to give Luffy and the others a tour of the shipyard.
Suddenly—
Usopp froze.
"The money… where's the money?!"
In panic, he activated the Observation Haki he had recently awakened.
His senses instantly expanded hundreds of ters around him, as if viewing everything from a bird's-eye perspective.
"There!"
Usopp spotted two bounty hunters from the Franky Family, speeding along the canal on Bulls with the suitcase.
"Hey! Who do you think you are?! Why are you stealing soone else's money?!"
He imdiately chased after them.
The sudden scene shocked Nami and the shipyard staff.
"Luffy…?" Nami nudged him with her elbow.
A cold-looking man stepped forward—though the one speaking was the pigeon on his shoulder.
"Do you need help?"
"No need," Luffy replied, waving his hand. "We'll handle our own problems."
Could two petty thieves really steal money right in front of a future Pirate King's first mate?
Obviously not.
Luffy had allowed it on purpose.
After their journey together, Usopp had grown a lot. This ti, Luffy intended to use Franky as a trial stone for Usopp.
Seeing how calm Luffy was, Nami relaxed.
The man—Rob Lucci—said nothing further.
"Those people who robbed the money so openly… what group do they belong to?" Nami asked.
"They're part of the Franky Family," Kalifa explained while adjusting her glasses.
"They dismantle ships for a living, but their side job is bounty hunting."
"Whenever pirates enter the city, they steal their money—or even dismantle their ships and sell the materials."
"After all," she added calmly, "pirates aren't protected by the law."
anwhile—
Usopp stood on a rooftop, glaring angrily at the Franky House in the distance.
Inside Franky House, the atmosphere was lively.
"Whoa! Is this really 200 million?" Franky asked in surprise.
"Yeah! Two hundred million!"
"Nice job, guys!" Franky laughed as he tapped the stacks of money.
"With this money… we can finally buy that thing we've been dreaming of!"
"That's amazing, boss!" one of the underlings said emotionally.
"We've been trying to get it for three years!"
"Well," another underling explained, "every ti we got so money, we spent it gambling on Bull races, or eating and drinking after capturing bounty criminals. We could never gather the full 200 million."
"Alright then!" Franky shouted.
"Take this 5 million Berries and go eat and drink to your hearts' content!"
He threw the money into the air.
Just as the excitent reached its peak—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions erupted everywhere.
Franky House caught fire, and the blasts continued.
"Damn it! Who did this?!" Franky and his n rushed outside.
Behind them, the entire Franky House collapsed, leaving only roaring flas.
Franky's clothes were scorched black.
From afar, he saw the culprit standing on a rooftop—
Usopp, holding his slingshot.
Their furious gazes collided.
Usopp attacked first.
Firebird Star!
Explosions erupted among the crowd. No one died, but many were injured.
Franky charged straight toward him.
Even when Usopp's flaming shots struck him, Franky ignored them completely.
Soon he closed the distance.
Franky pressed his arms together as his forearms suddenly expanded.
"Strong Right!"
A violent blast of compressed air shot toward Usopp.
But Usopp had already prepared for it.
He leapt to another rooftop just in ti.
The tiles where he had stood were completely blown away.
Usopp fired another Firebird Star—
…but embarrassingly, it couldn't penetrate Franky's defenses.
The situation quickly reversed.
Usopp's attacks barely affected Franky.
Although Observation Haki allowed Usopp to predict attacks and aim perfectly, Franky couldn't be avoided forever.
Neither of them realized—
They were being watched.
In fact, the entire Water 7 was within the range of Luffy's Observation Haki.
Luffy said nothing.
He simply observed the battle.
Ding! Mission Released: Crewmate Trial
The host's strength is far beyond normal limits, preventing the crew from gaining sufficient experience.
To strengthen the crew, the host must not personally attack any mber of CP9.
Reward:
All crew mbers' talent and comprehension increased by 100%.
(Reward can be granted in advance. If the host interferes, the reward will be revoked. If all CP9 mbers are defeated, the reward becos permanent.)
Luffy accepted the mission imdiately.
It was basically free benefits.
Even if he had to interfere later, the temporary reward alone was worth it.
Ding! Mission accepted. Pre-reward distribution in progress…
At that mont—
No matter where they were, every mber of the Straw Hat crew felt a mysterious power flowing into their bodies.
It didn't directly increase their strength.
Instead, it refined their minds and bodies.
It was like a struggling student suddenly gaining enlightennt—problems that once seed impossible now beca simple, even allowing them to infer new solutions from old ones.
If soone's intelligence doubled, even the dullest person could beco a genius.
Of course, the effect wasn't quite that exaggerated—
But it was still extraordinary.
Luffy slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again and looked at his arm—
It felt different.
"Iron Fist — Prototype of Will."
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