Beside the little girl crouched a blue rabbit with long, tied-back ears.
When she saw the massive Merry and the colorful crew on deck—especially Luffy covered in bandages—she immediately shrank back in fright and screamed, "Oh no, Granny Kokoro! Pirates are coming!"
"Pirates, schmirates! Let me see!" A slightly hoarse, lazy female voice responded.
"Oh, a lady?!" Sanji's eyes practically sparkled.
Accompanied by the clinking of bottles, a figure emerged from the hut.
Under long, golden curls was a face slightly sagging from age and alcohol, heavily made up but unable to conceal the traces of weariness.
She sported a massive beer belly and walked unsteadily. Just as she was about to step out the door, she tripped directly on the threshold.
THUD!
The sound also shattered Sanji's heart.
W-why?!
Kokoro, having tripped, lay sprawled on the ground. Miraculously, the bottle in her hand remained unbroken.
She drunkenly lifted her head, looking confusedly at the panicked little girl. "How did I get here?"
"Another drunkard," Luffy couldn't help complaining as he looked at this woman called Kokoro. "Is it okay for a lighthouse keeper to be this drunk in broad daylight?"
They already had two drunkards on their ship.
Just then, Nika's drunken head poked out. Who's calling me?
Nami sighed helplessly. She was the first to jump ashore, walking over to help Kokoro up. "Are you okay, Grandma?"
"How rude, little girl!" Kokoro grinned, revealing uneven teeth. She took a long gulp from her bottle before looking at them with bleary eyes. "Who are you calling 'Grandma'? I'm a bona fide lady."
Chopper remembered a certain lady and nodded seriously. "Doctorine said the same thing!"
The crew disembarked, their attention drawn to the railroad tracks nearby.
"Are those train tracks?" Luffy asked.
"You mean the Puffing Tom?" Kokoro replied.
"Puffing Tom? Is that the train's name?" Nami asked casually as she helped the unsteady Kokoro toward a nearby wooden bench.
"That's right, that's right!" The blonde little girl, seeing that Granny Kokoro seemed okay, perked up again and eagerly answered. "Isn't it amazing? There's a train that runs on the sea here!"
"And I'm Chimney! And this is Huehue!" She pointed at the blue rabbit by her feet.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Luffy." Luffy gave a brief self-introduction before asking, "Where does that train go?"
Kokoro belched, but answered straightforwardly. "It departs from Water 7 and passes through San Pualo—the Spring Queen Town, Pucci the Food Town, and Carnival Town."
She took another swig and added, "The train tracks also connect to Enies Lobby. There's a special train that runs there."
"Enies Lobby? What's that place?" Luffy asked.
"It's a place you pirates wouldn't want to go." Kokoro's cloudy eyes glanced at Luffy, her tone carrying something meaningful.
Didn't want to go?
That only made Luffy more interested.
Perhaps due to Nami's courtesy, or maybe because Kokoro was just easygoing, after learning the crew wanted to go to Water 7 to build a ship, this seemingly unreliable lighthouse keeper fumbled in her pocket and produced a crumpled letter. She shoved it at Luffy.
"Here. Take this. Find the mayor of Water 7, Iceburg. Oh, everyone calls him Iceburg. He's the disciple of my little brother, Tom. If you need anything, ask him for help. Tell him Kokoro sent you."
"Granny Kokoro, you're a really kind person!"
"Well, I just happen to like you a lot."
Kokoro cradled several bottles of sake, which Luffy had taken from Nika.
Bidding farewell to the drunk mother-in-law at the lighthouse and the lively little girl, the Merry set sail once more, heading straight for the renowned shipbuilding capital.
Water 7.
Before long, as the Merry sailed deeper, a water city of unimaginable grandeur gradually unfolded before them.
Water 7 was unique—it looked like an island, but was actually a city.
This was the famous water city of the Grand Line. The city was roughly circular in shape, with gates marked with numbers. Beside them were massive water outlets, constantly pouring out waterfall-like torrents.
Luffy really wanted to play, especially on the huge drainage channel that looked like water slides. But after his scheduled study time with Robin, it was time to study with Nami. Currently, Luffy was engaged in a question-and-answer session with Nami about navigation knowledge.
When Luffy voiced his true desire to use the drainage channel as a slide, Nami immediately pinched his side.
"You're a landlubber! Don't even think about it!" Nami kneaded Luffy's face.
Luffy pouted, but his gaze followed the massive walls upward. Countless cascading buildings were divided into districts by crisscrossing giant waterways, all converging upward toward the giant fountain at the top.
Vivi had some knowledge of various geographical civilizations. She leaned on the railing and introduced to her nakama, "This entire city of Water 7 is built on foundations submerged in the sea. It flourished through shipbuilding and possesses the world's finest shipbuilding technology. It's also where the world's top shipwright gather."
"Then we'll find our new ship's carpenter here!" Luffy declared.
Vivi agreed. This was the World Government's royal shipbuilding city—many Marine warships were built here.
But the turbulent winds concerned her.
This required explaining some of Water 7's history. Many years ago, the city wasn't like this. The so-called Water 7 of that time was struggling with rising sea levels and trading difficulties—just an increasingly isolated island, barely habitable for residents.
Like the annual huge tsunami that struck, this island was on the verge of being submerged.
It was the legendary shipwright, Tom, who developed the Sea Train tracks on the abandoned ship island outside Water 7 and built the world's first Sea Train, the Puffing Tom. This transformed Water 7 from a forced closure, gradually deserted town into the bustling metropolis it was today.
The annual Aqua Laguna alert seemed to be within the next few days.
Compared to other cities, the people here were highly desensitized to pirates. Some fishermen warned them not to enter through the front gate as pirates—it would cause trouble. They advised entering through the back streets instead.
Some people they encountered even asked them what they were here for.
"Do normal people ask that?" Zoro couldn't help complaining.
***
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