| 19. Merry? Robin where are you? |
Water 7 Saga
"It hurts."
Nezuko flinched when she heard that voice. The ship swayed because of a wave. She's been hearing that soft voice since they dropped ten thousand meters from the sky. The voice is tainted by agony, pain, and suffering.
"Huh? Anyone heard that?" Ussop said, picking up his tools from the ground.
"Heard what?" Luffy responded, eating a chunk of meat.
"That's weird. It's probably just the wind or something." Ussop didn't mind it.
So the sniper heard it too.
"How long until water 7?" Nezuko asked, tugging Nami's shirt.
"I don't exactly know, probably a few hours from now. Why, are you excited to go shopping?"
"I'd like to explore the city of water. But I'm worried about Merry. When I was underwater hiding from the Marines, I saw a big crack on her. Water 7 is full of skilled shipwrights. Maybe they can fix Merry." Nezuko said.
"Oh, I see. Wait, is that a house floating on the water?"
They come across Kokoro, a stationmaster for Shift Station that drives the Puffing Tom, the sea train. Nezuko also played with Chimney, Kokoro's granddaughter. The stationmaster made them a recommendation letter that can help them contact the most skilled shipwrights.
"Whoah! Awesome!" Luffy shouted in amusement.
"Amazing! So this is the city of water!"
"If we slide on the canals, will we fall in the sea?"
"Most certainly. Water will slowly creep inside your lungs and die."
"Don't ruin the moment with your dark humor!"
The city is glimmering. The city really lives up to its name.
"Hey, you guys! It's not good for you pirates to be openly sailing to the front! Go around to the backstreets over there!" A fisherman said.
"Oh? Thank you!" Nami thanked the guy.
They enter the back. Everyone keeps admiring the city.
"Hey hey you guys! Pirate ships shouldn't be here! Are you guys here to plunder?" A happy old man waved his hand.
"Nope! We're here to get our ship fixed!" Luffy shouted back.
"I see! Then there's a cape over there, just anchor your ship there for now!" The old guy responded.
"Wow. Even the people are nice." Nezuko admired the city even more.
"Isn't it suspicious? Why are they being nice to pirates?" Ussop whispered to her.
"It's fine, Ussop-san. I sense no insincerity from the old guy." She said positively.
"If it's coming from Nezuko, then it's true." Zoro added.
They anchored their ship. Zoro lowered the sails but suddenly the mast broke down. The swordsman had to hold it so that the piece of wood won't crash into Merry.
