The Going Merry sat nestled among the shipwrecks of the rocky cove, bobbing gently in the water. It looked like an easy target. The main crew had dispersed into the city, leaving only one man behind to guard the ship.
Roronoa Zoro.
And he was asleep.
Leaning against the main mast, arms crossed, swords at his hip, Zoro was snoring with a rhythm that sounded suspiciously like a chainsaw cutting through hardwood. A snot bubble expanded and contracted with his breath.
From the cliffs above, five pairs of greedy eyes watched him.
"Look at that," a member of the Franky Family—the bounty hunter gang of Water 7—whispered, adjusting his goggles. "Only one guard. And he's out cold."
"That ship is loaded," another thug grinned, licking his lips. "We saw the long-nose and the straw-hat guy carry huge sacks of gold into the city. There's gotta be more on board."
"Let's strip it clean," the leader commanded. "Quick and quiet. Don't wake the swordsman."
The five thugs slid down ropes, landing silently on the deck of the Merry. They crept toward the cabin door, tiptoeing past the sleeping Zoro.
"Easy peasy," the leader reached for the door handle.
SNAP.
A rope on the deck suddenly coiled around the leader's ankle.
"Huh?" He looked down.
Before he could scream, the rope yanked him upward, hanging him upside down from the yardarm.
"Boss!" The other four turned around.
The ship... woke up.
The ropes that lay coiled on the floor began to slither like snakes. The wooden railing seemed to flex. The anchor chain rattled menacingly.
"What is this?!" one thug yelled.
A loose mop bucket slid across the deck at high velocity, slamming into the thug's shins. He tripped, falling face-first.
WHACK!
A mop, seemingly operating on its own accord, whacked him on the head, knocking him unconscious.
"Poltergeist!" another thug screamed, pulling a knife. "This ship is haunted!"
He tried to stab the mast. The mast didn't flinch. Instead, the sail unfurled suddenly, wrapping around the thug like a burrito. It tightened, squeezing the air out of him.
The remaining two thugs looked at Zoro. He was still sleeping.
"Wake up!" one thug threw a rock at Zoro.
The rock bounced off Zoro's forehead. Zoro didn't even twitch. He just snored louder.
"Forget him! Run!"
They tried to jump off the ship. But as they leaped toward the railing, the railing moved. It tilted inward, denying them an exit. They slid back onto the deck.
Then, the anchor chain whipped out. It wrapped around both of them, binding them together.
YEET.
The chain swung back and flung them—along with their three defeated comrades—off the ship. They sailed through the air, screaming, and splashed into the rocky water of the cove.
On the deck, the ropes recoiled neatly. The bucket slid back to its corner. The sail furled itself up.
Peace returned to the Going Merry.
Zoro's snot bubble popped. He shifted slightly, scratching his stomach.
"Mm... sake..." he mumbled, falling back into a deep slumber, completely unaware that his ship had just successfully defended itself.
---
Deep in the industrial district of Water 7, amidst the clang of metal and the hiss of steam, stood the headquarters of the Franky Family. It was a chaotic, scrapyard-style fortress adorned with neon lights and graffiti.
Ben stood at the front gate, adjusting his coat. Beside him stood Mini Merry, wearing her oversized aviator sunglasses. She hooked her thumbs into the pockets of her blue dress, practicing a swagger she had definitely learned from a certain sniper.
"This is the place," Ben noted. "Loud. Smells like cola. Definitely Franky's joint."
"Target identified: The Franky House," Merry stated, her voice dropping to a mimicry of a street thug. "Yo Papa, this crib looks lit. But it smells like rusted metal and bad decisions. We gonna breach or what?"
Ben shook his head hearing merry continue speak in same way and knocked on the massive iron door.
A viewing slot slid open. A pair of suspicious eyes peered out.
"Yeah? What do you want? We ain't buying cookies."
Mini Merry stepped forward. She puffed out her chest and tilted her sunglasses down.
"Yo, homie," Merry said, channeling her inner gangster. "Open up the crib. The Big Papa is here to see the Boss Man. Don't make us get rowdy, ya dig?"
Silence.
The eyes in the slot blinked.
"Uh... what?" the guard asked, confused. "Is that a kid?"
"I ain't no kid, I'm the Enforcer!" Merry stomped her foot. "You want me to disassemble your hinges? I'll turn this door into scrap, fam! Open up!"
The gate creaked open. A dozen members of the Franky Family—huge men in armor, weird masks, and fishnets—stepped out, surrounding Ben and Merry. They looked amused, but dangerous.
"Look at this," the leader, Zambai, laughed. "A tourist and his daughter thinking they're tough. You lost, little girl?"
Ben stepped in front of Merry casually. "We're looking for Franky. Is he in?"
"Aniki ain't here," Zambai sneered, crossing his arms. "He's out on business. Looting pirates, actually. Maybe he's looting your ship right now."
"Unlikely," Ben smirked. "My ship bites back. But if he's not here, we'll wait."
"Wait?" Zambai laughed. "This ain't a waiting room, pal. This is the Franky House. You pay the toll, or you get lost. And the toll is... everything in your pockets."
The thugs cracked their knuckles, stepping closer. They pulled out swords, axes, and bazookas.
"Leave now," Zambai warned. "Or we throw you in the scrap pile."
"Papa," Merry looked up at Ben. "Diplomacy status: Wack. These scrubs want smoke. Permission to engage?"
"Permission granted," Ben sighed, unbuttoning his cuffs. "But keep the furniture intact. I want to sit down afterwards."
"Bad idea, pal!" Zambai swung a massive iron club at Ben.
Ben didn't move. He didn't blink.
Five Minutes Later
The inside of the Franky House was surprisingly cozy, once you cleared away the unconscious bodies.
Ben sat at the main table, his feet propped up on a chair. He was sipping a bottle of chilled cola.
Opposite him, Mini Merry sat on a stack of defeated thugs (who were groaning softly as makeshift cushions). She was happily eating a bowl of ice cream.
Around them, the remaining conscious members of the Franky Family—including Zambai—were sporting massive bumps on their heads and black eyes. They were running around in a panic, acting as waiters.
"More ice!" Ben ordered calmly.
"YES SIR!" Zambai screamed, rushing to the freezer with a bag of ice on his own swollen eye.
"Yo, you guys call yourselves bounty hunters?" Merry asked between bites of vanilla ice cream. She hopped off her chair (which was a person) and walked down the line of thugs like a drill sergeant.
"Look at those faces!" Merry pointed her spoon at them. "Your intimidation rating is a 2 out of 10! Weak sauce! You call that a scowl? My Uncle Zoro scowls harder than that when he's sleepin'!"
"We're trying!" one thug wept.
"Try harder!" Merry adjusted her shades. "Show me the grill! Show me the menace! If you wanna run these streets, you gotta look the part! Scowl like you mean it, scrubs!"
The thugs desperately tried to make scary faces, terrified of the small girl in the blue dress.
"Better," Merry nodded, satisfied. "Now fan me harder. This ice cream ain't gonna keep itself cold."
"YES MA'AM!"
Ben chuckled, shaking his head. "So, when did you say Franky would be back?"
"Soon!" Zambai sobbed. "Please don't hurt us anymore!"
The Shipyard
While Ben was subjugating the local gang, the "Gold Team" had arrived at the massive Galley-La Company Dock 1.
It was an impressive sight. Hundreds of shipwrights worked in unison, sawing, hammering, and welding giant galleons.
"Wow," Luffy looked around. "So many ships!"
"Focus, Luffy," Nami said, clutching her briefcase of money tight. "We need to find Iceburg. Kokoro said he runs this place."
They found Iceburg in the main office. He was a cool, professional man with blue hair and a pet mouse named Tyrannosaurus.
"A new ship?" Iceburg asked, looking over the catalog he had handed them. "With 300 Million, you can buy almost anything in this catalog. A Brigantine, a Sloop, even a small Galleon."
"We need something strong!" Luffy slammed his hands on the desk. "And cool!"
"Strong and cool," Iceburg nodded. "We can do that."
"Wait!" Luffy dug into his pocket. "I have a plan too! I drew it!"
He pulled out a crumpled, grease-stained napkin and smoothed it out on Iceburg's pristine desk.
"Check it out!" Luffy beamed. "The Dream Ship!"
Iceburg, Nami, and Usopp leaned in.
The drawing was... chaos.
"Here is the deck," Luffy pointed to a scribble. "It's made of grass so we can have picnics! And this huge room here? That's the meat storage! It takes up 80% of the ship!"
"And this?" Iceburg pointed to a stick figure on the bow.
"That's a statue of me!" Luffy grinned. "It shoots lasers from its eyes! Pew pew! And see this? We don't need sails, we just put giant fans on the back!"
Iceburg stared at the drawing. He stared at it for a long time. Then he looked at Luffy.
"This..." Iceburg said gravely. "This implies a defiance of physics I have never seen. If you build this, it will sink before it leaves the dock. Also, the laser eyes are structurally impossible."
"WHAT?!" Luffy looked crushed. "But it's so cool!"
Nami snatched the napkin. She pulled out a lighter.
Fwoosh.
"IGNORE HIM!" Nami shrieked, burning the drawing. "We want a strong ship! With a navigation room and a library!"
"Hey! My masterpiece!" Luffy cried as the ashes fell to the floor.
As they walked out of the office with the catalog, Usopp lagged behind. He found himself near a pile of scrap wood.
"Hey, Long-Nose!"
Usopp froze. He turned around. Blocking his path were five men wearing the tell-tale armor and masks of the Franky Family.
"You look like a Straw Hat pirate," the leader grinned. "We heard you guys cashed in big."
"Me?" Usopp pointed at himself. "No, no! I'm just a... uh... local wood inspector!"
"Get him!"
The thugs charged.
Usopp's eyes narrowed.
He didn't run. He jumped, his Spider-legs launching him to a crane. He vanished and then, he dropped.
"Falcon Dive!"
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
Three shots. Three knockouts.
Usopp landed, "I am God Usopp. You picked the wrong long-nose."
He walked back to join Luffy and Nami, dusting off his shoulder. "Just handling some light trash."
---
The sun began to set, casting long shadows over the water city.
Chopper stood alone in the alleyway, his small heart pounding against his ribs.
"Robin?" he called out again.
Silence.
He had waited for twenty minutes.
Panic started to set in. Chopper reached for his Kimoyo Bead bracelet.
"Robin! Robin, answer me!"
Bzzt... Bzzt... No connection. "Signal blocked."
"No, no, no," Chopper hyperventilated.
He tapped Ben's frequency.
Click.
"Ben!" Chopper screamed into the bead. "Ben, help!"
In the Franky House, Ben put down his cola.
"Chopper?" Ben's voice was calm, but sharp. "What's wrong? Where are you?"
"I'm... I'm near the mask shop!" Chopper sobbed. "Robin is gone! I can't find her! Her bead isn't working!"
Ben closed his eyes. He knew the story. He knew the timeline. He had hoped his presence would deter CP9, but trauma wasn't logical. Robin was sacrificing herself to save them from the Government.
"Ben?" Chopper cried. "What do I do?!"
"Chopper," Ben said, his voice steady. "Listen to me. Stop looking. Return to the Going Merry. Do not search the city."
"But—"
"Trust me, Chopper. Go back. Now."
There was a pause. Then a sniffle. "Okay... I'm going back."
Click.
Ben lowered his hand. He stared at the table.
Mini Merry lowered her sunglasses, looking at Ben with serious, glowing eyes. "Yo, Papa. What's the sitch? Is Auntie Robin... ghosting us? Did she bounce?"
"No," Ben stood up. The wooden chair creaked under the pressure of his grip. "She didn't bounce. She was taken. Or coerced."
He looked at the Franky Family thugs. They were huddled in the corner, terrified.
"Thanks for the drinks," Ben tossed a gold coin onto the table. "Tell Franky I'll be back."
"Come, Merry," Ben held out his hand.
Mini Merry took it. Her face hardened into a scowl that would have made Zoro proud. "Where we rollin', Papa?"
"Back to the ship," Ben said, walking toward the door. His coat billowed behind him. "We have a war to declare."
He stepped out into the twilight of Water 7.
"If they want to play gangster," Ben's eyes glowed with blue energy. "We'll show them how the Straw Hats handle business."
"Real talk," Merry nodded, adjusting her shades. "Let's go mess 'em up, fam."