Chapter 388

388

Even though Franky was a bit surprised that the unknown pirates knew about his shipwright skills, when the pirates mentioned Auction Island it made some sense. 

You see, the main work of the Franky family was to disassemble ships and sell those parts officially in Water 7 or the auction island nearby. But sometimes Franky would get creative and build functional ship parts, such as weapons or jet engines to sell it at the auction island.

And when someone bought them, Franky had to set them up in their ships. While doing so, Franky would usually go a step further and check out the whole ship, if possible, either fix them or recommend solutions for it. He had been doing it for a few years now. So he did have a reputation as an unusual shipwright. 

Actually, Luffy was the one who told Usopp all of this. When the rubber man asked Usopp to recruit Franky, the sniper of course asked why. And Luffy had explained it, he couldn't just tell how he knew of his future crewmate.

Which wasn't a lie. Luffy had been keeping an eye on Franky by Morgan's news birds. The cyborg did have a reputation there. So Luffy told him that. 

Usopp started, "Like I said, our crew is relatively new. We were mainly a bounty-hunting crew not too long ago. But stuff happened and some shitty marines labeled us as pirates. So yeah, rather than going into hiding we now fly a jolly roger." 

"Yeah, fuck the world government and the Marines!" the so-called vice-captain added from the side. The square sisters nodded along. They also had brought snacks and tea in the midst of the conversation, and Gin was gulping them down, after lifting the mouth portion of his knight helmet.

Franky nodded, it wasn't new. Many pirate groups do come about like that, there were many corrupt marines, and sometimes when cashing in bounties they wanted a good portion of the share. If not they will sometimes wrongfully accuse you of piracy and brand you as criminals.

While Franky might not like working with pirates, it was better working with marines or any world government agents. And besides it was a shipwright's duty to help ships in need. 

"Well, can't argue there…" Franky said, before rubbing his chin, "Anyway, it's a bit late… do you want me to check out your ship now, or first thing in the morning?"

"Now," Usopp replied, not hesitating, "… if it's okay with you."

Franky stood up, "Sure, this will be SUPER awesome!" He grinned, "Let's check out your ship first," he said, standing up, "And tell you what… I already like you guys. If it comes down to it, and in future, you guys do need a ship, I will give you guys a discount." 

Usopp just smiled underneath his mask. 

After that, all of them left for the Going Merry. Franky checked out the whole ship, and he was really impressed. The ship was from the east Blue, just by looking at the craftsmanship and design, he could tell it was from there.

But what made Franky truly impressed was the fact that a ship from that far managed to come here without taking any significant damage. Of course, the ship had been reworked multiple times, to add layers of protection. But he was sure the crewmates of the ship really took care of it. 

While Franky was looking over the Going Merry, the rest of the Straw hats returned from their trips. Well most of them, Law had yet to return. But that wasn't the main concern. Other than the group, there were also a few unwanted people who were keeping an eye on them.

After the initial checking was done, the ship sailed in near Franky-House where Franky could get fully into work.

But what Franky and the Straw hats failed to notice some figures that were observing them. A few hours had passed and the CP9 was back at the island, and they had their target in sight. They just had to set things up.

Of course, with the Straw Hats wearing disguises they didn't recognize any of them. But it didn't matter. Their main target was Franky after all.

"Got to say, you guys really take good care of your ship." Franky said, impressed, "The ship needs some repair, but I have to ask, why did you guys put a dinosaur skull in front of the ship? You part of the new pirate group that's in Galley-La?" 

Usopp was confused under his mask, but like always, he decided to lie, "Eh… it's complicated." He said, before trying to change the subject. Not knowing how he threw off their unwanted observers, "So how long will the repairs take? We would also like you to add some of your personal modifications for the ship." 

Franky grinned, "Heh, you sure? I get pretty crazy when it comes to modifications." He said, "They are SUPER! So you won't have to worry. But before that let's talk about payment!" 

Nami snapped her head at Franky when she heard that. Her money senses were tingling. She then snapped her head towards Usopp and Gin, who felt a shiver down their spine when they noticed her. They gulped.

But of course, Franky didn't notice it, "Twenty thousand for the checking and thirty thousand for repairs… oh, and the modifications will cost extra! So are you guys paying upfront?"

"That's just ripping us off!" Nami roared coming to the side.

Franky was a bit surprised when the girl appeared from nowhere, but he wasn't backing down. "I mean of course it's expensive… But unlike others, I'm only charging you four times the amount as Galley-La company. But you did say, money wasn't a problem… Now this is just getting back on your words as a man."

What Franky didn't mention was that, unlike Gally-la he was going to do all the work alone. And even though the ship was small, it would still take four men to do it. So he was taking four times the payment. Even though he was ripping his customers off, in his mind it was justified. They did seem loaded, after all, also this would give him enough money to buy that Adam wood. 

"No no…" Usopp quickly said, stopping Nami. Internally wincing at the earful he was going to receive later, "My crewmate, Mani, is a bit shy when spending money… but don't worry about it. But still, we would like a discount." 

Nami's brows twitched, hearing this, but she calmed down her nerves. Sure they had a shit ton of money, but she wouldn't let Usopp waste them like this. She looked at her side spotting Anchor and Cricket. 

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