"Whoa," Deity couldn't find the words to describe his excitement, "it's awesome!"
After Brook had finished rattling off every bone joke he knew, he advised Deity to have a look at their ship, the Thousand Sunny, in all its glory. Deity hadn't ever seen a pirate ship up close before, and it was a bit overwhelming.
"She's a beauty, right?"
Deity saw a large man with robotic arms on deck, wearing a flowery beach top, golden chain and dark blue speedo. As the ship was docked behind the palace near an old copper bell used to warn sailors of storms, the crew didn't have to worry about being seen, so Deity could see why they were so at ease. "Hi, there, I'm-"
"Prince Deity, owner of this fab palace." The man jumped onto the side of the boat's railing and stood in a strange pose involving stretched out arms and a crooked lean. "The name's Franky, ultra-amazing cyborg of the Straw Hat Pirates!"
"You're a cyborg?!"
"That's right!"
"Cool!..." Deity frowned. "...What's a cyborg?"
"You don't know what a cyborg is?!" Franky gawked and spun around. "Well, then, come on up and allow the Frankster to explain to you the joys of being part robot!"
"Uh...okay."
Once aboard the Thousand Sunny, Deity saw just how spectacular the ship was. "This is one of the greatest ships I've ever seen," he exclaimed, "who built it?"
"Why, yours truly!" Franky formed into his strange pose again and grinned. "It's my greatest invention yet, baby! SUPER!"
Did he just call me "baby"?
"Now, about being a cyborg! Do you see these superb arms?"
"Yes."
"These rippling muscles?"
"Yes."
"My hair?"
"?"
Franky pressed his nose, and like a button it clicked. His short hair then poofed up into a long perm, and Deity couldn't stop himself from giggling. "You can control your hair?"
"And plenty more, too." Franky flexed his metallic arms with pride. "You see, Deity, a cyborg is a human with robotic extensions and additions to their body that allow them to go above and beyond their normal limitations."
"Did you purposely become a cyborg?"
"That's right, in order to make myself strong enough to fight alongside the crew." Franky rubbed his hand against the main mast of the ship. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect them and the Thousand Sunny. She's part of the crew, too, and as the Straw Hat Pirate's one and only shipwright, it's my duty to keep her healthy."
Deity watched the main flag sweep through the air in the light winds. "...Is she alive? Is the Thousand Sunny a cyborg, too?"
"Not alive like you and me are, but she's got a spirit of her own and lives on through each one of our adventures."
"...Franky, what's your dream?" He examined soft grass beneath their feet. "Does it have something to do with Miss Sunny?"
"Miss Sunny?" Franky howled with laughter. "I don't think I've ever heard anyone speak so politely to a ship!"
Is he mocking me?
"If you want to know what my dream is, then look around you!"
Deity glanced in all directions. "...You want to...overcome your fear of open spaces?"
"What?! No! Try again!"
"...You want to travel the Grand Line?"
"You're getting warmer!"
"...You want to find the All Blue!"
"I'm not Sanji!" Franky sighed and gave the Thousand Sunny's main mast a pat. "I wanted to create a dream ship that would last through dozens of epic battles, and reach the end of the Grand Line – and you're looking at her."
So...the Thousand Sunny is his dream. And he's going to take it to the end of the Grand Line...
"Is Miss Sunny your girlfriend?"
"You can't date a ship!" Franky sat down on the grass and breathed in a gulp of fresh air. "A great man taught me all I know about building ships, and now I'm going to take the Thousand Sunny to the end of the Grand Line."
I wonder who the great man was. Should I ask?...No, I'd rather leave that memory with him.
"You won't be able to accomplish that dream on your own," Deity was starting to understand how the Straw Hat Pirates worked, "so you're going to reach the end with your friends by your side."
"Now you're getting it." Franky pressed his nose again, and his hair shortened. "You know, I can remember the days when I never dreamed of being a pirate."
"What were they like?"
"Lots of hard work, little sleep...okay, some sleep, and plenty of practice for improving my shipwright techniques. I created some pretty cool ships..."
"...Where are they now?"
"...At the bottom of the ocean."
"Huh? Why? Didn't you like them?"
Franky stared at Deity. "I made a mistake all those years ago, and my arrogance led to the loss of a dear friend of mine. Those ships hurt people."
"Was it you controlling the ships?"
"No, but-"
"Then why do you feel so guilty?"
"Hm?"
Deity smiled. "You created those ships from your own sweat, tears and blood. Sure, maybe someone used them for evil, and sure, they hurt someone you loved – but a ship can't be bad on its own, can it? I'm sure your friend would say the same thing...you should love everything you create. It's human nature that taints it, not the ship itself."
Franky was quiet for a long while, and just as Deity tried to think of something to say to break the ice, the cyborg began to wail as flooding tears ran down his face.
"Eh?! Franky, are you alright?!"
"I-i-it's j-just so b-b-beau-ti-ful!" Franky tried to wipe away his tears to no avail. "Y-you've r-really got the h-h-h-heart of a tr-true p-pirate!"
Is he mocking me?!
It did feel good to hear that he had the heart of a pirate, though. The more Deity talked with them, the more he realized how wrong the government was about pirates – they couldn't all be bad.
"...Thanks, Franky."
"Y-y-you g-got it, kid! S-S-SUP-AR!"
"...So, is this how you usually water the grass? You know, with your tears?"
"S-SH-SHUT UP!"
