The Great Voyage: The Props Master on the Straw Hat Ship

Is that shipbuilding company more powerful than the world government?

"Then I'll take my leave of you."

Kaku gave another signal and then ran down to the bottom floor to check on the Merry.

Sanji didn't say much, only calmly watching his retreating figure, though his muscles were actually tense.

Be prepared for this seemingly harmless long-nosed guy to do something unexpected at any time.

And so, time slowly passed.

Carrera's, over at Dock One.

"Bro, you're such a great guy, like no other! Hahaha!!"

The blond middle-aged man who had just been chased for debt was now smoking a cigar, his face beaming with obvious delight.

Then, laughing heartily, he greeted Link with great enthusiasm.

"If you're not too busy, I definitely want to treat you to a nice drink at a bar I know. The owner, Bruno, makes really good cocktails!"

"It was just a small favor, don't worry about it."

Link smiled but didn't say anything more.

"Brother, no matter what you say, you've helped me so much, your problems are my problems!!"

The blond man patted his chest vigorously and said earnestly, "You want to repair the ship? That's perfect. I may not have much else, but I have all I have: strength and skill!"

"Don't worry, little brother, leave your boat to me. I'll definitely fix it up nice and shiny... Ouch, ouch, ouch!!!"

Before he could finish speaking, a man with a leopard-print beard and a pigeon perched on his shoulder walked over, grabbed his ear, and dragged him aside.

"Sorry, that's just the kind of person Barry is."

Iceberg apologized there, saying, "He's a gambling addict who often owes money at casinos and doesn't pay it back."

"It's really not worth it for you to help him pay off that huge debt. He should be taught a lesson."

It's okay.

Link waved his hand dismissively, "Meeting is fate, and besides, I find this brother quite agreeable."

I felt we clicked, so helping him out wouldn't hurt.

“Good brother!!”

Barry, who was being dragged aside by the ear, looked at the man in front of him with tears in his eyes—no, the great man who had helped him pay off his huge gambling debts!

[Thank you so much to 'Call Me Monster' for another thousand points! Thank you!!!] (Corpse)

The situation with the Merry (206)! Unable to fly over this area! I suggest you switch ships.

He would never forget that just moments before, when he was being chased by debt collectors and was on the verge of jumping into the river, it was his good brother who stepped forward and stood in front of those people.

Moreover, they took out a considerable sum of money to pay off his debts all at once.

I, Barry, am determined to be friends and brothers with such a generous and generous person!

"I'm sorry to have troubled you with this expense," Mr. Iceberg apologized once again.

"It's nothing, we're lacking everything anyway."

Link flashed a nouveau riche smile, "I'm not short of money."

Yes, the Seven-Colored Mist and the vast fortune amassed in the Golden City mean that the Straw Hat Pirates' wealth is undoubtedly among the top of all pirate crews in the world.

The gambling debts were nothing to Link.

Most importantly, this small sum of money earned him the friendship and a deep sense of goodwill and affection from a top shipbuilding technician at Carrera.

There are also many hidden and unseen benefits, such as Mr. Iceberg's apology.

This deal is exceptionally valuable.

The others couldn't help but give Link a strange look when they heard his arrogant remarks.

This is the first time they've ever seen so many arrogant pirates with billions of dollars in wealth.

"I understand. When we're repairing your ship later, we'll definitely..."

At this point, "707," Iceberg paused and then raised his head.

"It seems he's back."

Without Iceberg's prompting, Luffy and Usopp had already raised their heads.

A black dot quickly appeared in the sky, then grew larger and larger in everyone's sight.

coax!

A figure landed on the ground.

"You're back"

The pigeon on the leopard-bearded man's shoulder suddenly spoke.

"Ah, I'm back."

Kaku responded and then looked at the Straw Hat Pirates.

"It's Usopp, the ship watcher, back!!"

Upon seeing the distinctive features, Luffy immediately called out.

"Hey, I already told you I'm here!!"

Usopp expressed his dissatisfaction with a sarcastic remark.

"You're back. So you've already seen the ship?!"

Nami got to the heart of the matter, "So, how long will it take, and how much will it cost to fix?"

"No matter how much money you want, we can afford it!!"

For the first time, Luffy spoke with such confidence, "We have lots of money!!"

The confidence that money brought him made him stand tall.

Yes, we already know that without you saying it...

Barry, Kalifa, and Mr. Iceberg, who were standing nearby, all had the same thought in their minds.

"If possible, make it even sturdier, and add a few more cannons. Of course, sturdiness should be the priority, so it doesn't suffer any more damage!" Usopp, who cherished Merry, also suggested from the side. "It would be best to increase the sailing speed as well."

"Also, could you decorate the outer panels to make them look even prettier?"

Nami also wondered, "Can rooms be remodeled too?!"

"And bronze statues!!"

Luffy raised his arms high, shouting, "Make it as big as you can!!"

"Ideally, it should be five meters tall!!"

"You haven't given up on this idea yet! Even the Going Merry might not be able to accommodate it!!"

Luffy and Usopp started bickering and joking around again.

"Okay, I got it~"

Kaku casually sat down on a piece of wood. "You must have had a very impressive journey, right?"

"Of course, it flew through the sky and then fell from ten thousand meters high; a lot happened during that."

Luffy is happy to share his experiences and adventures with others.

"That's why we wanted you to fix it up properly... Why?"

Luffy also noticed that something was off about Kaku's expression.

"Is it difficult to repair?"

"No, that's not the case..."

Kaku scratched his face. "It shouldn't be too difficult to repair your ship; after all, it's clear you've taken good care of it. But—but what? Isn't it enough that it can be repaired?!"

Usopp said anxiously, "I can't stand the word 'but' right now."

"We're still counting on the Going Merry, intact and reinforced, to carry us on our journey!"

"Ah, I know..."

Kaku paused for a moment, deciding to start from the beginning and explain properly, "Your ship has shown signs of battle, but none of them are obvious."

"Moreover, even after experiencing so many adventures, you have protected it very well. With our technology, repairing such a ship and continuing to use it is no problem at all."

"Then what's the problem?"

Hearing Kaku say that, Usopp breathed a sigh of relief.

His biggest fear was hearing that the Going Merry was beyond saving.

“Listen to me,” Kaku continued, “I’m saying all this on the premise that you don’t intend to use it to continue your voyage.”

"What's the meaning?!"

"What he meant was that if you wanted to use the original ship for transportation or to make short trips between islands, or even to sail the first half of the Grand Line, there would be no problem."

Barry picked up where Kaku left off, knowing what he meant, and spoke in a low voice.

"But if we want to use that ship to continue our adventures, that's definitely not an option."

"why not?!"

Upon hearing this, Usopp immediately erupted.

"We've been through so many adventures before, even successfully landing on a sky island, why can't we do the same for the rest of the voyage?!" "You said it yourself, that's because you guys didn't know about the second half of the Grand Line, or how to get there, right?" Barry, puffing on his cigar, didn't argue with Usopp out of respect for his good friend, and patiently continued to explain:

"To reach the second half of the Grand Line, we will definitely have to pass through the Red Line."

"The Red Line divides the Grand Line into two parts, and the Red Line is an unavoidable obstacle if you want to reach the other side of the sea."

"There are generally two ways to get across the Red Earth Continent. The first is to fly over it from high above, at an altitude of nearly ten thousand meters."

"The second possibility is that it passes through the deep sea, ten thousand meters below the surface, near the location of Fishman Island."

"Almost all pirates choose the second method, which is to cross the sea from the bottom."

"But this is very dangerous. Even with the best protection, only 30% of people successfully reach the new world."

Barry exhaled a thick fog as he finished speaking.

"Even the best ships only have this kind of success rate. Although I haven't seen your ships, you should be able to tell from what I'm saying."

"If your pirate ship is just coated and submerged like this, the probability of reaching Fishman Island will undoubtedly be much lower."

Kaku added, "At least in my opinion, there is no chance of success."

"Are you kidding me?!"

Usopp couldn't hold back any longer and roared angrily, "How could Merry be as useless as you all say?!"

"He's our partner, he carried us all the way here!!"

"That's right, that's right, the Going Merry will definitely be fine!!"

Nami quickly retorted, "Even if diving to the latter part of the sea is dangerous, didn't you say we can also pass over from above?!"

"With Link's joystick, this is nothing for the Going Merry!!"

"That means we've already been to floating islands over 10,000 meters high, so this altitude is nothing to the Going Merry!!"

"Yes, yes!!"

Usopp, Nami, and Luffy took turns trying to explain that the Going Merry was fine...

but?

"impossible."

The one who refuted them was Link, whom they had always considered the most reliable man.

"Link?!"

All three of them looked at Link with mocking eyes.

"Even with my tools, we still absolutely cannot fly over the Red Line."