Chapter 60- Taking over Water-7

*Pre pre pre pre pre* A very annoying noise was heard as Luffy picked up his Den Den Mushi. "Hello? Straw Hat? It's me, Paulie. We bought the Adam Tree needed for your ship. However, Franky came in and told us he was part of your crew now and to let him take control. We had sabotage cases like this before, so I'm calling you to ask if he's telling the truth." Paulie's voice came out of the weird snail. "Yeah, Franky's my shipwright now. Let him have all the freedom he needs, but don't be afraid to speak up if you have ideas" Luffy responded. "Will do, thank you for your time," Paulie said as he hang up.

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In the middle of the shipbuilding area, Franky and Paulie were arguing. "No, the cannons need more space. Don't focus on the hall so much!" Franky yelled. "We need to make a big hall for all the loot and crew! I'm sure a little less cannons won't hurt anybody!" Paulie retorted. "Fine, forget about the cannons. I need this much space for some personal upgrades. That's final!" Franky announced as he examined the rest of the plan and changed it. "The hell kind of upgrades are you doing that need so much space? There will bearly be enough to build the citrus garden and cabins." Paulie asked as he tried to understand the changes.

"It's something above your paygrade. You have your men bringing me the materials I asked, right?" Franky made sure. "Yes, but that list is disturbing. Why do you need so much Cola?" Paulie couldn't understand why Cola would be needed for a ship. Much less the fankly monstrous amount Franky asked for. "Create the most powerful ship ever made," Franky announced.

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"Hey!" Luffy called out to his passing crew as he finally found them. "Hey, Luffy. Where did you go to?" Chopper asked in a cute voice as he was eating some cotton candy. As a matter of fact, Luffy noticed his crew members were a little off. Nami had some golden rings around her fingers, Chopper had a mountain of cotton candy, and Robin had a lot of books that Sanji carried around for her. "Did you go shopping?" Luffy asked in a curious tone. The crew immediately averted their eyes and Luffy got a sensation that something fishy happened, and he wasn't going to let them keep a juicy secret.

"What happened?" He questioned with a mischievous face. "N-nothing, we just got a couple discounts." Nami quickly said. "You scammed them, didn't you?" Luffy guessed. "Yeah..." Nami lowered her head in defeat. "Hahaha" Luffy laughed uncontrollably as he clenched his stoumach. "I can't believe you went with her," Luffy continued as he looked at the embarrassed Zoro, Law, and Katakuri. "H-hey! I tried stopping her, but she had a secret weapon." Zoro protested. "What's the secret weapon?" Luffy was curious. "Let's just say that the secret ingredient is crime. Blackmail, specifically."

"You have dirt on Zoro? Spill it!" Luffy got excited. "Sure, but it'll cost you," Nami offered. "Luffy, want to split half-half?" Sanji asked with an evil smile. "Sure," Luffy giggled. "Stop!" Zoro interrupted them before things got out of hand. "Fine..." Nami sighed much to Luffy and Sanji's disappointment. The crowd had a different reaction though. They stared blankly at the group of weirdos and couldn't believe they were one of the strongest forces in the world. It really made them question the World Government, who couldn't stop a bunch like this. In a faraway place, Sengoku felt very embarrassed all of the sudden.

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Next on the Straw Hats' list was to meet with the mayor of Water-7 since they didn't want to take over a territory violently, it wasn't their way.

"U-um, s-so you want t-to make Water-7 y-you t-territory?" The mayor was freaking out. A Yonko stepped into his office half an hour ago and said that he wanted Water-7 as his territory. This was a problem since a lot of business came from the World government. And while Water-7 was neutral and treated both pirates and Marines as equals, the Marines would never come to them again if they were a Yonko's territory. If anything, they would be destroyed as they are such an important asset. The mayor really was between the hammer and the anvil on this one, as he would lose tremendously no matter what he chose.

"If you're worried about the World Government, don't. We have the best security system that will keep you safe no matter the threat." Luffy tried to persuade him. "I-I'm fully aware of your abilities, b-but..." The mayor could bring himself to reject Luffy because of business, who knows how mad he'll be after being rejected for such a petty reason. "Oh, so it's business." Luffy guessed from the look on the mayor and the fact that he jumped so high you could see him from east blue.

"I was right. Don't worry, you'll get plenty of business. I can ask Shanks and Whitebeard to order their men to come to repair their ships here if the need arises. Plus, my grandpa is the hero of the Marines, he can push some weight around and make it that Marines still come here for repairs occasionally. I mean, it's not like we're at war with the World Government." The mayor was happy at the news but he was still hesitant. Still, he didn't really have a choice in the matter. His concerns were addressed and solved, and if he rejected Luffy now, Water-7 would certainly be destroyed by him or one of his allies as they didn't have a valid reason besides wanting to keep their neutrality. And that didn't matter to such big forces like the Yonkos.

"...Fine, but you'll let us keep managing ourselves, right?" The mayor surrendered. "Of course, but there will be times that I'll have to step in." Luffy said with a smile. 'Fuck, so we can't even have that... I thought he was a pirate, not a politician!' The mayor suddenly got depressed as he shook hands with Luffy.

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Hey guys, hopefully, the negotiations didn't feel very forced but I couldn't really write it any better while keeping everyone in character. I hope you enjoyed.