Robbers

"Do you have any idea who those guys that tried to rob us were? They look like they're a part of a gang." Nami asked Iceburg.

" Ah. I will explain. " Kalifa offered and started explaining. The two punks were a part of a group called The Franky Family.

It is a group of at least fifty ship dismantlers and Bounty Hunters, brought together under the leadership of Franky.

They are the outcasts of Water 7. As a result, they had nowhere else to turn, other than to Franky (who also considers himself something of a failure), joining him and operating on the coast of Water 7 together, dismantling ships and other vessels for materials, cash, supplies, etc.

They regularly obtained, purchased, and sold said materials through dealings in the Underworld, due to the questionable methods they use to get by in Water 7. Though they do cause some trouble to the citizens of Water 7, they are good at heart. They protected Water 7 from other looters and sometimes pirates by moonlighting as bounty hunters, even going as far as to loot from them in the process before collecting the bounties.

"Do they have a base of operations?" Luffy asked her.

"They do. The Franky House stands at the northeast coast of Water 7." She replied making Luffy hum. They then saw a man approaching them.

He is a tall and slim, yet muscular man with arched eyebrows and a close-shaved goatee. He has shoulder length wavy black hair that is sometimes tied in a ponytail.

His pet pigeon Hattori is usually perched quietly on his right shoulder. He has a tattoo of a crossed-out square on each upper arm. He wore a large black top hat with a sepia band. He also wore brown trousers with caramel suspenders over a white tank-top and shoes with black toe caps.

His name is Rob Lucci and he works as a sawyer, treenail, and bolt specialist for the Galley-La Company's Dock 1 in Water 7. His pet pigeon, Hattori is a white pigeon and is always seen wearing a light red tie.

"Our group's scumbag caused you some problems, for that we apologized." Hattori spoke, shocking the Straw Hats.

"Woah! It talked!" Luffy shouted, feeling amazed at Hattori.

"Hurry up and beg for forgiveness, Paulie!!" It shouted at Paulie.

" Hey kid, sorry for getting you involved in my mess. I won't ask for much, just 10% of what you have." Paulie asked, but then he was slammed in the back of the head by a hammer from Lucci.

"Sorry, customer. This punk owes a lot of money and is really desperate." Hattori apologized.

"It's the guys spokesman. Is he antisocial of something?" Usopp mumbled while looking at Lucci. Paulie and Lucci then got into a fight with Lucci winning easily.

"How embarrassing, we made a fool of ourselves. I'm Rob Lucci's pigeon, Hattori. This is Rob Lucci. Nice to meet you. " Hattori introduced.

" Oh, I get it now! It's ventriloquism! " Kaya revealed. Luffy and Usopp were even more amazed.

"That was great! I didn't even suspect it!" Usopp shouted at Lucci.

" Woah! You're pretty cool! Pigeon Guy!" Luffy grinned at Lucci.

" No no. It's nothing really. " Hattori replied while Lucci raised his hands to calm them down.

"What's wrong with you!? You are so shameless showing your thighs and breasts like that!! " Paulie shouted suddenly while pointing at Nami and Kaya. Nami gritted her teeth in anger.

" Shut up!! We don't do it for you, bastard!! " Nami shouted back at him while having a menacing aura and black lightning crackling around her.

"Ahh!! She's the devil!!" Paulie squealed in fear as he hid behind Iceburg who sighed and shook his head.

"Alright alright, chill out. Come on in, I'll give you a tour. Don't let the money off your hands even though there shouldn't be thieves in there." Iceburg advised while Lucci opened the towering door that had the number 1 on it.

"In Dock #1, the best shipwrights of the Galley-La Company gather here to tackle the most difficult of jobs that come our way. " Iceburg explained as they entered Dock #1. He continued explaining while the group was in awe at the sight of the busy dock.

Dock 1 is typically regarded as the most prestigious by many citizens and workers, and it is also the only dock that much information is known about.

The people of Water 7 seem to idolize the foremen of Dock 1, discussing how manly or handsome they are, much like one would expect when talking about celebrities.

All the workers are also highly proficient fighters due to the risks of making ships for pirates who at times will try and threaten the shipwrights or others on the docks.

The shipwrights started greeting Iceburg left and right. Usopp noted how popular Iceburg is. Kalifa then explained that he united the seven battling carpenter companies to make the Galley-La Company and despite becoming the leader, his technique and love of carpentry is still the same.

"Hey, mister. Everyone says you're a good shipwright. Do you want to join my crew and become my shipwright? " Luffy asked Iceburg.

" What did you just say?!! " Paulie shouted with a baffled expression.

" Ill mannered brat!!!" Kalifa scolded him. Iceburg laughed.

" I'm sorry kid, but I'm the mayor of this city so I can't come. There are a lot of good shipwrights here, but I don't know which one is willing to become a pirate. If you do find one who is willing, I don't care if you take him with you. " Iceburg replied.

" Really?! Thanks! "

" Hahaha! You're welcome. By the way, there is a girl named Nico Robin on your ship right?" He asked.

" Shishishishishi!! Yeah, she's really cute and smart!! " Luffy replied. At the same time, Kaku returned so they gathered around.

They noticed that Usopp wasn't here with them, they then saw the suitcases Usopp was carrying sitting on the ground and suspected nothing for now.

Luffy wanted Usopp to be here so that they discuss it together, but they can save that for later. They need to know about the price first before they could continue.

"How much will it cost to upgrade it? I have tons of money! But let me ask something first, is there something that needs repairing?" Luffy asked Kaku. Kaku grinned at him.

" Nope! Your ship is in tip top shape! I think it's the cleanest ship I've seen in my life! There's not even a speck of dust on it! " Kaku replied happily while giving Luffy a thumbs up.

" But if we were to upgrade it, we need to rebuild the ship completely. You want to upgrade everything correct? That means you want it bigger, better, faster, stronger and have a different look to it. So that means we would need to rebuild it from step 1. Hey, where's my twin? Wasn't he here with you?" Kaku asked, noticing that Usopp wasn't with them. Kaya looked around with a concerned expression.

"Yeah, where did he go off to? Usually Zoro is the one that gets lost, not him." She mumbled.

A man then approached them. He is a muscular man with black hair and a mustache who usually wears sunglasses. He constantly has a part of his hair sticking up. When he tries to push it down, it always pops up somewhere else, such as the other side of his head, his mustache, his hand, and other people's heads.

His upper body is covered with intricate tattoos, green on his chest, and red on his arms. He wears pants that have lighter colored stripes around his waist and on the top of the legs, and standard shoes.

His name is Peepley Lulu and he is one of the five foremen of Dock One of the Galley-La Company in Water 7. His specialties as shipwright are pitch, block and tackle, and blacksmithing.

"Iceburg-san, there are guests at the front door. They're the representatives of the World Government again. Should I tell them to leave? " Lulu asked Iceburg. Luffy cursed as he, Kaya and Nami grabbed their suitcases full of Berry and hid behind a pile of logs.

They listened to the conversation Iceburg was having with the World Government representatives.

The leader of the officers, Corgi, claims to 'smell' pirates however, ignores this and says he wishes to talk with Iceburg who childishly tells him to go away.

After they depart with Iceburg, the Galley-La Company is seen discussing why the World Government is always harassing him.

"Hey, why is it light? Lemme check." Luffy whispered and opened the suitcase.

"AAAHH!!!!"

"Oi! What are you screaming for!? Shameless girls! Why are you sitting like that?! " Paulie shouted at Nami and Kaya who glared back at him.

" I said we don't do it for you asshole!!! " Nami shouted as she looked at three empty suitcases which Usopp was previously holding.

"So noisy. Hey Kaku, weren't you with the Frankies earlier?" Lulu asked Kaku.

" Hm? What? I haven't seen them at all today. What are you talking about? " Kaku asked back, feeling confused.

" Huh? That's weird. I'm sure I saw your long nose—

"Hold up! What did you just say?! Is Usopp with the Frankies?!" Kaya interrupted and asked Lulu.

"Yes. More precisely, the last time I saw him, he beat them up to a pulp and was heading towards where the Franky House is." Lulu replied, surprising them. Luffy looked at the girls in his group.

"Nami, Kaya!! Go back to the Merry with the money. I'll go catch up with Usopp! "

" Aye Captain!!"

To be continued....